Great looking car, Ron. You have really done a beautiful job! Love the push bar, planning on one on our car, it really fits the era. It would be neat to be able to push start the cars like the old days.
Beautiful, truly an ode to the era. I dig the hell out of your piss can and your starter link. Query; was notching the plenum for the linkage fore or hind sight?
Thanks for the compliments on the car's looks. I have to give credit where credits due. My partners (Dwight McGowan, Dean Isackson, Kevin Brodrick and Tim McLaughlin) all have special talents and used them when building the car. The notches were planned as everything on the car was engineered before a single weld was made or a bolt was turned. (I know I'm going to hell for lying but I can't help it) I think we set both the ET & MPH record for HA/GR cars @ 12.10 @ 120.51 MPH. That and $1.00 might buy me a cup of coffee. The track was super sticky at KCIR this weekend and the car bogged badly taking off in 2nd gear. Taking off in 1st helped but it wasn't a perfect run since Dwight was granny shifting to keep from breaking the tranny. Dwight did a great job of driving the car, and running against Roy Merritt and Bob Hindman means you have to be on your toes all the time. Their tough! We're going to MoKan next Sunday if we can get the car fixed. Ron
Bob, The distributor gear has all the teeth stripped off and it also took the teeth off the cam gear. It would cost more than $700 to replace the cam and lifters and it might happen again. Therefore I'm in the process of building a set-up for driving the oil pump and distributor off the front of the crank. I have the mount almost done and I'm waiting for an oil seal for the oil pump shaft. I'm having to build everything cause a single stage oil pump is $606 and I can't afford that. Besides, isn't that what hot rodding is suppose to be all about! I won't be able to race at MoKan this coming weekend but I'll be there to watch and give support as needed. Ron
OUCH!! You using one of the late model pumps to do that? I mean the ones on most engines that drive off a couple of flats on the balancer or crank snout? (should be bulletproof that way, and there should be one of those pumps available that would put out more than enough oil). The hard part would be making the cover fit (no small task). Good luck. 120 Daayyyuummm!
I'm using a modified BB Chrysler oil pump and the original GMC distributor. The pump has a filter mount on it and the pressure can be adjusted externally. Kinda heavy but it should fill the bill. Ron
Jeff, I'm about finished with the machining on everything and will take some pictures for anyone wanting to duplicate it. I don't suggest anyone do this unless it's absolutely necessary. I did it only because the cam gear was destroyed along with the distributor gear and it would cost me about $800 to replace the cam, etc. Being a poor boy, with a Bridgeport mill and a lathe available, I decided to build a better set-up (I hope). Ron
Ron, I think you have the spirit of the class down pat. Nice to see people fabricating things instead of going to the catalog. Anxious to see what you come up with. Pete
Pete, I don't think I'm as much a racer as I am a fabricator. I like to build things and try to make it different than what's been done before. Sometimes it works out the first time and sometimes it has to be changed. The engine worked out OK, but I'm sure I'll make some more changes this winter and look for more power. 347 HP is Ok but 375, or more, would be better. It's not so much for going faster, just to see if I can improve on what I have. Hell, I don't even like to drive race cars, I just like to build them. Ron
"Being a poor boy, with a Bridgeport mill and a lathe available" I like your notion of a "poor boy", where do I go to pick up my Bridgeport and my lathe?
Dick, The Bridgeport and lathe belong to the machine shop where I hang out 5 days a week....... with no pay. I dyno all their engines and help wherever I'm needed, and in return get to use any of their equipment and get my parts at their cost. Keeps me off the street and out of my wife's hair. Besides, I wouldn't have been able to build our car otherwise. Believe me, I've worn out more hacksaw blades building cars than I like to think about. Maybe that's why my right arm is bigger than my left. Then again, it could be bigger for other reasons. Ron
Did you ever finish making the front mount oil pump dizzy? ....and before I get flamed, yes I realize this is an old thread!
The Jalopy Journal
