Man thanks for that. I really like it and I'm not usually a fan of whitewalls. Chrome rims are definitely on the list when funds allow but I hadn't really thought about bobbed fenders. Hmmm.
Not totally sure as I never did the work but looks to be a 3 inch chop. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thought it might be time for an update on the shAm sedan. After running at Pendine I just enjoyed using the car on the street as often as possible and embarrassing the odd German performance saloon. Next competitive event was a hill climb at Prescott, home of the Bugatti owners club. I was in the invitational and American marques class but as you can see from the entry list I was very much on my own in that respect and hugely outgunned. Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr The car is completely unsuited to this kind of event being an auto, drum brakes, crossplys etc, but I guess that's what makes it fun. I finished with a sub 60 sec run which is good up this course but I wasn't anywhere near the limit of the car mainly due to me still getting used to it. Here are a few pics and a video of one of my runs. Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr Thinking about Tremecs! Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr The return drive from Prescott had my mind filled full of manual trans swaps, race rubber etc but those will have to wait. At the early part of this year I was asked to display the car at a BIG indoor car show that Miles at jackhammer was organising in Holland. Hmmm European road trip, indoor custom show, 3 days on the beer? I was in. This prompted a pretty major 'semi' rebuild of the car that pretty much took up all my spare time prior to the trip. I was happy with the way the car looked but there were a couple of things I wanted to improve and generally just tidy it up as there were some very impressive cars going on display. So, in no particular order... The complete front and rear suspensions were removed, cleaned and repainted. I also swapped out the mono leaf on the front for a conventional spring pack. A new slimmer gas tank was mounted up against the rear panel and all new fuel lines ran. I plan to fit a back seat eventually. I replaced a number of suspect lifters as it suffers from occasional tapping noise. I finally fitted my Eelco intake manifold and 3 Rochester set up. The interior was lined with sound deadening which has made a hell of a difference. Windows were fitted. Fitted a ratchet shifter. I started on the interior but ran out of time to finish it. I continued the white accent colours onto the I beam, backing plates, screen surround, and head lights. The best improvement I made was fitting a cowl steering box from Mikes speed shop to replace the Schroeder. These are based on F1/F100 Gemmer boxes and are a work of art. The ratio is 18-1 and has made the car a heap more pleasurable to drive. So here's how it ended up for the show. Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr The route took us through the channel tunnel then up through France, Belgium and then into Holland. Didn't take many pics. Too busy enjoying myself. Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr The car performed faultlessly during the 800 mile round trip although the lifter noise is still an issue I need to look into. As I'm writing this I'm not long back from this years VHRA vintage nationals where again the car ran great and bagged a new pb of 13.6 secs at 98mph. by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr So that's us pretty much up to date. Future plans are to finish up the interior and fit an rear seat. I still have a shift kit to go in the trans, eliminate the lifter noise and carry on beating on it!
That’s fantastic, loved that car from the get go but am excited to see you using it and making it your own. I know there had to be hot rod guys in the crowd watching you tear up the hill. Bet they were stoked! Think you’ll paint the frame white? You seem to be swapping the rest of the black to white?
Thanks for sharing your adventures with this Hotrod @ukgav. Its great to see primitive vehicles being put through the paces and delivering. Good on you...also its great that your bringing critical issues forward and discussing options and attempts to remedy them. Oh yeah and running the Bias to boot...priceless...
Thanks I'm not sure how far I will go with the white accents. One thing I know is they are a pain in the ass! Seems as soon as I painted something and turned around it was already dirty! There were plenty of hot rod guys at the hill climb event as it has an American theme so lots of rods, classic American and muscle cars attend. It would be nice to see a few more competing but it is a full MSA sanctioned event so isn't cheap to enter and the regs are quite strict. Clark, Enbloc on here, was competing in the flathead class in his gorgeous 36 coupe and despite having half the power of mine he was still marginally quicker In my defense he knows his car very well, it's set up right plus he is a talented driver. Here he is adjusting his shocks. Proper racer type stuff Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr
I've already joined a local club that runs events at a sprint track that has lots of run off so I'm aiming to get in plenty of practice there. Hey Mart. Haven't touched the car since the drags. I've ordered a full set of new lifters and push rods from Rockauto to fit so we will see if that cures it. I also need to find the cause of the misfire I had on the way back.
More updates. First here is a montage of short clips from the previous Prescott event. A couple of weeks ago I fitted new lifters and pushrods and finally the top end noise has gone. Yay! To celebrate I tried breaking things again by, haha, by going along to a members track afternoon at the car club I joined. The idea is get more seat time in the car away from public roads and get used to driving it hard. I really need to start driving a lot smoother on track though as this will improve times but it's hard not to hoon it! Anyway here are a couple of clips. They run a slightly different lay out each time you go out. I have finally fitted a rear seat too so that the kids can join me. I don't drive it like this with them in though!
That looks like fun...good on you...I really appreciate your connection to vintage right down to the tires......keep the updates coming... @ukgav...
Been out having more fun in the shAm! In early August I was invited to be a guest 'demonstration' car at an event at Shelsley Walsh hill climb. The majority of the day is a RWYB type of deal with people taking their cars up with the guest cars going up periodically throughout the day. Again the old sedan was a fish out of water with the rest of demo cars comprising of purpose built vehicles ranging from a pikes peak prepped Audi to a RS200. Non the less I tried to put on a good show and I think I achieved that, helped some what by the fact that there were no noise restrictions and I could uncork the headers. The nailhead sounded sweet! and the car felt good. I had fitted racing bias plys in the form of some Engelbert's which were made by Michelin and used on 70's-80's Ferrari' and also invested in some adjustable shocks all round. Some clips and pictures. Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr The following week was the VHRA GOW event back at Prescott hill climb. I had a blast running up the hill that I have come to know quite well and was able to give a few friends a bit of a thrill ride. Going off my camera footage my times are similar to when I competed there last year which is slightly disappointing given the improvements I have made ie tyres, shocks, etc but I wont know for sure until I compete there again in a few weeks and will be officially timed. Guess I will need to push harder! More video spam and some great pictures from Neal Reed, John Issac and Stefan Marjoram. Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr Untitled by Gavin Meanley, on Flickr
Best last year of 59.07 and judging by my cameras at GOW I'm around the same or very marginally quicker. I was hoping the tyres and shocks would be worth a couple of seconds.
Following my 'guest' appearance at retro rides back in August Hillclimb monsters have seen fit to do a little mini feature on the sedan which is cool. I also competed at Prescott hill climb a couple of weeks back and managed a new PB of 57.45 seconds so the tires and shocks must be working.
That's great, Gav. I meant to ask you how it went at the Autumn Classic when I spoke to you the other day.
Yeah it was a good day. Great to have another hot rod in the class in Jim Henshaw with Clark and Biggles mixing it with the flatheads. First run was a waste of time due to the wet track but it had dried out a bit by the second where I bagged the PB. Of course being full of confidence for the third I very nearly put it into the bank on the first corner. The final run was a 58 something as I was still a little rattled by the 'moment' earlier
That looks like a blast. Kick ass ride and you aren't going easy on the old girl either. Sent from my rotary phone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Man, that hill climb stuff sure looks fun and something I'd like to take the T on, car looks good too.
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