i'll sign up for all the classes, as long as you let me set up a cot and fridge in the corner of your shop i really wish i lived by there, is this done at a shop or like a school with a shop?
A cot would be nice, but what are you going to do the 30 days in between the classes? Can you hold a broom? It's at the shop on Sundays.
I got this from Pat at Wilcap. A great example of why we're doing this class: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aMPztuRTRXg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aMPztuRTRXg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
So here we have our victim. It's a classy 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air Post. I got this as part of a deal to secure a usable frame for Jimbobs' '54 that had a badly installed Gamaro front clip. We used the frame from this car, along with a JW Rod Garage MII to solve his problems. Now he has a safe chassis for his, and we got a nice body for our gasser freak. There will be two build articles in Traditional Rod & Kulture about HR101 this year. But since we're building a gasser and not demonstrating body work in the classes, I thought I'd share that part of it with you guys. The car is in pretty good shape, but we'll replace at least the inner rockers, probably at least one quarter panel lower section just behind the drivers door, and the drivers door bottom need some attention. Some of you may be wondering about the name we selected. Emotional Abuse. Just talk to anybody that has been drag racing for more than one or two times at the strip, and they'll tell you all about how emotionally abusive both drag racing and their car can be.
Getting an old car back to your home or shop can be one of the most fun parts of the whole build short of the day you drive it the first time. I was a little peeved that the car had no garnish moldings save for the windshield one, yet all the windows were still in it. I swapped Jimbob the front seat for the front spindles and brakes from the old frame, so that was the first order of business. Once out, I started cleaning out the back. What a mess. the old door cards and back seat cards were piled in the back, along with some boxes and other junk. Low and behold, all four garnish moldings were hiding under the door cards. Score!! Of course there were the ubiquitous mouse nests and excrement. I'd like to pause here to mention the importance of wearing some type of breathing mask when doing your "dirty day" and tearing into an old car. The copious amounts of dust, dirt, decaying upholstery and mouse crap aren't very good for your lungs or sinus's. Here's just one link to a site http://www.napamosquito.org/Rodents/RodentBorneDiseases.htm listing all the nasty diseases you can get from mouse crap. If you read it, one of the most common ways to catch whatever mouse crap has in it is to stir up an area where it or mouse urine is and breath it in. Do your self a favor, don't be a tough guy/girl and get at least a dust mask. You can't really see it too well in the second photograph, but almost all the stuff on the passenger side floorboard is mouse crap.
The plan is to make the car a unibody. So the first order was to cut out the floors. Another good time to wear some type of breathing protection. I used a plasma cutter and a sawzall. And you can imagine how much dirt and dust that threw up in the air, as well as shaking it loose onto the shop floor. So I picked a Sunday afternoon to to it all. No sense in making everyone in the shop wear a dust mask all day. Once the floors and inner wheel houses were out, it was a quick trip to the curb for the Jawa's. I'm sure that stuff is probably gone by now. Their pretty efficient. Here they are standing outside the shop door waiting for some scrap. Buggers.
Here's a chance for you guys to have some input. The car will have a 'glass tilt-nose. Scoop or no scoop? What kind? The base era for the car is about 1964. And aesthetic wise, it will look that period in Gasser history.
I will have to look into the possibility of DVDs if that seems like something that would we could pull off.
Have you given any thought to having a design contest to decide the final paint scheme and/or look for the car? I am sure the HAMB'ers could devise some hella-cool looks for it.
The scheme is on the car on the flyer. Gold and black, like the Hurst Hairy Olds and the Hemi Under Glass cars.
SCORE!!! Last night I scored a Weiand 2x4 manifold. Although Edelbrock and Offy both made 2x4 manifolds also, the Weiand was the only one to have the correct mounting pads and bolt patterns to use the Carter AFB / Edelbrock Performer carbs as direct bolt ons. (They also had the coolest logo, the Weiand Starburst logo). Say "Why-And" baby! Now I just need to find a set of the matching valve covers. Hmmmmm. I'll post a photograph of it as soon as it shows up. For those of you Olds parts horders out there, we're looking for a HOT Isky cam & lifters. Prefer NOS if we can get it. PM me if you've got one you want to let go of.
So we mocked the car up at ride height last night. Remeber, Two Lane Blacktop is the inspiration. That's '64 up to about '68 style. The cars were more level, and lower to the ground. Sure, there were cars still racing with the earlier 60's style of slightly nose up, and a bit higher off the ground. Zombies '53 Dodge is that style. The contrast in the articles will be two of the three eras of style between 1958/9 and about 1966. Technology was moving fast, and drag racing at the time reflected it. Eric, who heads up the Coker Perfomance Division, was nice enough to help out with tire sizing and supply. The deal with M&H is that most folks don't realize they still exist as a company. Coker has acquired the distribution rights, and we've teamed up with them to help spread the word. M&H still makes all the slicks they made in the '60's. Only with the benefit of modern tire compounds. The styles are just the same though. The slicks and front runners we're using are just like the ones they sold in 1964. And they look just as good now as back then: As my buddy Max Evil says, "Drag-Fucking-Ster baby" Here's a shot of one of the front tires on a scale: And yes, the reading does say 12 lbs. per tire:
Is this going to be filmed so we errr... 'Out of towners' can get a look in? I would happily pay the entry price its the 4g airfare that stops me!
Kevin, I Vote 'YES' to use a small hood scoop like this. http://www.rodnrace.com/product/790/Nostalgia-Street---SQUARE.htm
LOVE THE M&Hs!! i had no idea they still made the old style ones... that video is VERY sobering! especialy when it goes into slow-mo and you can see him fall out of the car and his seat get ejected. YIKES!!! ...as for the hood scoop. i vote for WITH. i like the short one Ahotrod posted. nothin too obnoxious. i just don't think some huge scoop would look right.
It was Christmas today! The Weiand Manifold came. It's awesome, and what's better, is that it's NOS!!!! "Say Why-And" Baby!
Well, we're just about ready to send the body up to Redi Strip so we can start in on the pre-class construction and body repairs. I thought I'd post a nice shot of the wheel and tire combination we're using.
I vote yes on the scoop! I like mine, but then I remember seeing them alot when I was a kid. Sevral people here on the HAMB tell me it dosen't work on my car, but hey that's OK not everybody likes the same things..... Cal Custom:
looks like a great project. thanks for the posting about the mouse droppings,I had heard that there not good for you,but had no idea how bad. http://www.napamosquito.org/Rodents/RodentBorneDiseases.htm
Thanks for posting about he scoop. But I think we've decided to go without for now. At least until the car is a roller.
Well yesterday was the first of the gasser classes...all i got to say is hell yea!! and thank you Kevin for the opportunity. I have a feeling that these classes are going to lead to a new project for me and my brother....at the least get me back in the garage to finish the projects i have currently!!! The information we received yesterday on rearend setups and your different options to lifting points and pinion angles was amazing....And having actual setups to look at on current projects just made the information that much easier to grasp... looking forward to the next class! Mike
i had a great time. definitely learned some new things. Kevin REALY knows his way around a race car chassis and did a great job of presenting the information in a way that i think everyone understood. great stuff and way more in depth than i even expected. it may have been alot to take in for some but even if you did'nt retain it all it gave you enough of an insight that you would know the right questions to start asking when you start your own build. nice work Kevin.
Thanks guys. I now it's a ton to take in in a few hours. Like I said, drag racing is no long guess work and "lets see what that would do." Science my friends. No black magic (although some build cars that are stupid fast and don't look a ton different from others. And yet "something" is different".) I hope everyone took away a sense that being safety conscious and design accurate DURING the build are what makes the car SAFE and FAST at the track! I was really hoping everyone would have a good time and learn too! Awesome.
The Jalopy Journal
