1/22/08
Jay Dykes has used up nearly $10K in the last month on the Bird. He has accomplished a lot, but I am frankly staggered at what it is taking to complete this project. He has built the fuel tank, installed subframe connectors from the firewall to the rear axle area, recessed the right fender panel for the K&N filter system, built a new exhaust system, including changing the headers to 3” collectors, made a new 4-fan shroud, mounted the fuel pumps, and changed out the heater core THROUGH the firewall. And there is more.
In contrast to Scott’s HotRods (no argument about quality, but certainly Scott’s public relations are poor), Jay constantly asks me if I am happy with his work, how we are with money, and consistently throws in many hours of off-the-clock work. 
The heater core thing was HUGE (happily, my idea), saving perhaps a thousand dollars and the tearing apart of the entire dash. What a ridiculously stupid design on Ford’s part. I never saw a car so apart as when I had the heater core changed normally on a prior ’90 SC I drove while struggling with the Condor after the MASSIVE screwing by Dave Smith in 1999. I STILL have not gotten my money on that judgment against Smith, now totaling about $10K with interest.
The 427 engine is back at QMP and they appear to have all that is needed save the starter, which I will deliver tomorrow. They are at least a week away from actual dyno work.
I have borrowed a substantial sum to get me through this work and attorney expenses, and hopefully I’ll come out the other end looking good on both fronts.

2/11/08
I took the engine to Jim Grubbs Motorsports in Valencia. They were to have it on the dyno last Friday. They did, but as of today it STILL is not usable with the blower. They HAVE started it on motor alone. They cannot get the Edelbrock Projection system to retard spark relative to boost nor add fuel pressure relative to boost. These are MAJOR flaws. I did a LOT of research with Edelbrock prior to buying this system, detailing for them the EXACT specs on what I was going to do. Now no one there has a clue. The motor is useless if this system cannot be made to work. The short story: buy a FAST controller for a few thousand dollars.
This is yet another incredible setback in this seemingly endless project.
That I am WAY beyond broke with the horrible arbitrational fiscal killing and attendant attorney’s fees (the whole thing has run over $40,000) has made this just like more bleeding. I have NO idea how I will pay for this. I have $11,000 coming from a settlement on a disputed job (only a year to get it), and perhaps I can steal some dough from that to fund this.
I have more thousands yet to pay Jay Dykes for his engine compartment prep (nice, of course). I am due there tomorrow to work on wiring simplification.

2/20/08
The ONLY thing that stays constant in the Condor project is CHANGE. The Edelbrock system has been adjudged by a half dozen professionals as junk for this application. On the bright side, Randy has need for this controller for his modified Hilborn system to be run on his 392 Hemi, to be nestled in his 55 Chevy.
I was pointed to the FAST system, and I talked with a tech there, David Page. He was very helpful and convincing.
I then talked with Brian at B&D Racing in Canoga Park, and he was a strong proponent of the Anderson/Ford system. Sadly, the sensors on my Edelbrock throttle body are GM type and not compatible with the Ford/Anderson system. So no go there.
Someone also recommended Josh Deeds in Chatsworth , who happens to be three blocks from QMP. Josh was also very helpful, and strongly recommended the Big Stuff 3 approach using a 3-bar MAP sensor (good to 30 psi boost). Josh assures me the adjustability of Meaney’s stuff is fine (as in precise) on the low end. Meaney created the FAST system, then moved on to his own brand and improvements.
I am going with Josh. The setup is about $2400, his time is around $500 to dial it on QMP’s dyno. He knows the guys there very well.
Josh has ordered the system with NO money down from me, and will call in about 10 days when it arrives.
Hopefully Mike will be done with the 427 by that time and be ready to throw it on the dyno.
I just spoke with Mike, and they still have not disassembled the motor. This is the major pain the butt about this industry. No time safeguards, no keeping your word.

2/29/08
Thinking of time frames, Boyd Coddington, the master of the  short time to build scenario, just died.
Mike did get to the 427 and found it had not EVER been balanced. THEY did not balance it after changing pistons. YIKES! Also, the motor is externally balanced, and therefore the front balancer needed weight and the flex plate also needed weight. In all, it was 380 grams out. That’s nearly a POUND!!!! It bogs my mind to think these guys didn’t rebalance the motor.
Anyway, all appears good, and will be going back together next week, as Mike is out of town from Wednesday to Monday.
I removed all the Edelbrock controller stuff for Randy, who wishes to buy the setup. I need to find a fair price for him and his injected 392 application.

I owe Jay $2553 right now, and the $11K has yet to arrive. We still have to simplify the wiring, and address the leaking trans before the motor comes back in. This will undoubtedly be more thousands of dollars.

3/6/08
Finally reached Mike at QMP on Wednesday. As a recap, he had promised the 427 would be on the dyno no later than last Jan 4th. As noted above, he didn’t make that, and I took it to Jim Grubbs. Mike returned Monday, and has done ZERO on both motors. I gently inquired about the time frame for getting them done, and he defensively barked at me that I could pick up the parts if I didn’t want to wait. I gently asked again just what he thought would be a time frame, and he snapped “about a month.”
So this is just unadulterated, bald-faced. Screw-you horseshit no-service, I don’t-give-a-fuck about you the customer behavior. My problem is that Josh Deeds is three blocks away and knows these guys, and if I take the engine parts now, I have no recourse for their workmanship. So I am just screwed here, eating more crap. The simple decision is to let him take his goddam time, and once he finishes both motors, NEVER go there again, EVER.
The utter lack of any remorse, acknowledgement of putting me endlessly on hold, the utter UN-accountability, including not balancing the motor and making lame excuses as to why they did not, just make me crazy. I had asked Grubbs what his time frame would be, brought him the motor when he asked, and he did exactly as he said he would, and didn’t charge me up the ass for a lot of extra time he had to take. The $1000 I paid over at his place was a major waste, as this could have all been found on the dyno at QMP, and it would have been their bad. Randy noted he thought there were really nearly no good guys out there. I said I disagreed, but that FINDING them was VERY tough. I noted that shit begets shit, and the friends and recommendations of the good guys are the people to whom to give business.

As noted before, this junk really takes all the fun out of the enterprise and sport. Guys like this and Dave Smith, a real criminal, probably don’t have a clue as to the deeper damage they do to the people they screw. This is akin to getting raped. It takes the joy out of sex and cripples trusting people thereafter.
Yuk!!!

3/15/08
Just got back from Burbank Speed and Dave Akard. Randy and I picked up both motors at QMP, and for a paltry $2100 I got the 348 motor back along with the 427. Of course neither saw the dyno. Funny how fast Mike got it done, and of course how quickly the bill was ready, interestingly, dated for early January. I got the call, and was there with a check within 3 hours. Mike and Brad were not there, so John and his assistant were most helpful and we got the hell out of there.
Akard’s dyno is empty, so there should be no delay. We’re looking to get the 348 done by the end of next and then move on with the 427.
I put a call into Josh Deeds today, but he was on his way somewhere and I won’t hear from him until Monday. I spoke with hi a few days ago and he thought the controller was there in a box, among many others.
I paid jay his $2553, and I’ll need a check from Tom Yeager for my weekly draw on his HUGE garage project in order to pay Josh for the Big Stuff 3 controller, plus another $500 when he does the dyno setup.
I have held off asking Tom for money for several weeks, as his plans are still at the City, and nothing else is being done on his project yet. But this coming week should see our plans come up at plan check, and that completion will trigger some cash flow.
All said, it appears that around March 24th we may see some action on the 427 motor.

3/20/08
Spoke with Josh Deeds yesterday and he is good for next week at Akard’s. However, Josh did not get the controller as yet. That should arrive Tuesday or Wednesday, so the timing will probably work out fine. Just spoke with Dave, and he is waiting on two things: the exhaust adapters and a water pump pulley and crank pulley set. I have purchased a dual-groove crank pulley (to allow for AC), which has not arrived. So Dave feels we are looking toward the END of next week. Whatever.
I am adhering to my new code of conduct, and staying in touch nearly every day with whomever I have working on anything for me.

4/3/08
Josh called today to say he has the controller. Meanwhile, Akard at Burbank Speed has dynoed the 348 a few times with miserable results. That is another story. Akard will be ready to run the 427 next week. I need to take the controller and wiring package over and connect it up. I need about $3500 to complete the payment of the controller, pay Akard a minimum time on the dyno, and pay Josh. $2425 of that money was to come from Tom Yeager’s job, which is stalled in plan check.
I will get some photos soon to update this a little more thoroughly.

4/26/08
I picked up the controller, and could find nothing that plugged into it on the 427. It says LS-1 on the box, so I took it and tried it on the KK. Pretty much nothing worked there either save a temp sensor plug.
Josh met me at Akard’s and noted he would have to change some components on the injector, strongly advised revising how the fuel lines connected to the fuel rails, said he would make up some electrical adapters, and suggested I invest in a crank trigger system to allow me to get about 25 mpg on the freeway. It has been over two weeks, and I have heard nothing from Josh. We have not altered the fuel rails yet.
As bad as this motor has been, the 348 is beginning to dwarf the ineptness here. Again, more on that later.
I have sold three cars, and have two more being shipped to Indy Monday, so I might have room to bring the Tbird back from Jay’s while I build up money. I also do not need the  Montrose retirement hoe storage spaces any longer, so I might try sub-letting those out.

5/23/08
Now almost a month later, Josh has not gotten to Akard’s to install the harness or new pieces. I have completely run out of money as well, so things are grinding to a halt, and a lot of them. The Condor has also developed a new drip, this time from the left CV joint at the rear end. I am presuming this is because the car has just sat for so long. I imagine this is not the end of the world to replace, but I certainly do NOT want any drips whatsoever once this is completed. I still have the trans shifter leak.
Todd at Vortech has informed me they, too, are in deep financial stress. So no more free parts. They weren’t really free, as I did work for Todd in trade. Hopefully (THE favorite word in all these updates) we have enough parts now to make the 427 engine function. The withdrawal of Vortech support will affect the KiloKub more than this car.
So, per history, the car just sits, at least this time in MY garage up on MY rack and out of the weather. I will be sanitizing the undercarriage soon, and this will give me a little feeling of progress.
There remains some significant work to do to put the motor back in the car. Jay must finish the brake lines and reinstall the master, finish the fuel lines form the new tank, install an O-2 sensor in a test set of dyno pipes and put a bung in the car itself for that sensor.

6/9/08
Today is my birthday, but mo presents from Deeds or other mechanics today. I have left more messages for Josh with no response.
John and I have spent some time trying to clean up the paint on the Bird, as it has been sitting for WAY too long. We washed, clayed, re-washed, re-clayed, and did quite some buffing on parts of the hood, only to find the clear is not coming perfectly “clear” despite large amounts of time and effort.
Nick from Hamrick’s saw it yesterday and said bring the hood to his shop, where he will color sand and re-clear the hood.
He promises to come back here with some buffing equipment and do the rest of the car. I have put the car cover on and will leave it for him to work. I just spoke again with him and will deliver the hood to him tomorrow.
Jay Dykes came over Saturday and unfortunately kept coughing with asthma symptoms and finally just had to leave. I ran through my list of things for him to complete on the Condor, and given money to pay him, he will happily do so. I figure another $5000 or so with him to complete the brake lines, wiring, reassembly of the front end parts, exhaust, and setting the motor back in.
I also need to get the trans to someone to have a new front seal installed and cure the leaking shifter rod situation before putting the engine back in.
I will call Brad at TransAction tomorrow and see how he responds to the idea.