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3/28/02
Derek showed today and we did some web updating. If you've checked
into the site (which you're obviously doing now) you'll see some of
the first finished yellow car pix, and a few of me at the track, including
a rather rare shot with Al Hoffman, as he has now departed from the
Jim Dunn camp. Found out some distressing news on the transmission:
I had a heck of a time trying to install the spare trans and converter
(and gave up), and we discovered that the input shaft (a new hi-dollar
piece) wasn't splined quite right, and was a force fit (not good).
And, we found that the nuked trans wasn't just cripsy, it had broken
the input shaft when I shifted into high gear. This is very annoying
as it was portrayed that this had a 300-M input, the most expensive
and stoutest available. So, I gotta get the spare shaft "dressed"
if possible, and replace the primary box shaft with a new "certified"
300-M or Vasco unit, another $300 or so. I took both boxes to Gene,
and he is going to re-check the spare, just to be sure all is good.
I also tried Randy in the FC for a change of steering wheel position,
and it appears he is too tall to drive the car. It would be much too
tight for his head and neck, so the driving position appears open
from June 1st to about July 20th. I'll have to do some searching,
as Tommy Ivo has declined my invitation. We unloaded the crate motors,
and have them both sitting on the floor of the garage. Chris at Continental
Converters will have the spare FC converter opened and checked, and
the Tbird converter "converted" to 2500 stall by Monday.
So we'll likely get started on the dually motor transplant, as I have
a spare 750 Holley ready to go (off the Gremlin). Then it's the FC
trans stuff. I'll probably hold out for Gene to repair the primary
box, but who knows?
3/30/02
The trailer batteries appear to be toast, notwithstanding they are
not that old. Ah yes, more expenses. The arthroscoped left knee is
doing OK, and I probably WAY overdid walking on it the next day. On
this the third day, it is now a bit swollen and quite sore. I now
see just how sore my right knee is, too. But that is about two months
down the road. We are quite busy work-wise, thankfully, and I'm striving
not to get too far ahead of the money here. It appears we'll have
the trans back in the FC this week (if Gene can get the parts), and
perhaps the following weekend we'll do another test and tune.
Randy will be moving the last of his "transplant" house
goods out of the garage on Monday, and that should free us to get
going on the dually motor switch. We are also busy building cabinets
in there, so the garage is a full-service deal right now.
4/3/02
Gene got the trans apart, and the high gear clutch pack was SOLIDLY
welded together. He dropped the clutch disc pack from 6' to the floor
and it just bounced as a single lump (it should have scattered as
6 discs). The internal gears are good stuff, and are OK. The backup
10" converter is still at CTC, and will be for two more weeks.
We're using the 9" unit anyway. The planetaries and drum are
good as well. Got a new input shaft, and ordered and paid for another
one for the spare trans, along with a deep pan. The bands and reverse
clutches also were good. Gene feels the input shaft broke because
by the time I shifted into high gear the clutches had slipped to the
point of welding themselves, and had NO give at all. Whatever, we're
getting closer. Picked up the Condor AOD trans, and Gene will slap
that unit on the new 430 HP Ford motor next week. We're about ready
to hoist the dually engine and trans out-LOTSA stuff to disconnect.
Boy, the new engine sure is pretty. We'll do some prettyfying to the
dually engine compartment, but not get stupid about it. There is just
too much accessory equipment to make it worthwhile. And in Gremlin
news, a guy called with some interest, after seeing the car at Flames
last Friday. I changed the steering box, idler, and pitman arm out
to new stuff today, along with new KYB front shocks. Still stringing
the Nigerian scammer along, but the Secret Service guy on the case
is out until next Monday. Oh well. In other news, I moved my right
knee replacement up to April 24th, so I will be out of commission
for driving until late in June. Looking for a driver until then. The
CIFCA guys are having a field day on the chatboard with this driver
subject.
4/8/02
No progress on the FC transmissions. I left a message for Gene to
throw the new pan on the spare trans so I could get it in and prep
the car for a test pass by the weekend, perhaps Friday night at LACR
(where else?). I will not go to Mexicali on the 14th (actually, we'd
go Saturday the 13th) without a test pass. And having the dually running
might be nice, too. The dually's old motor is sold to a fellow and
his son I met at the Friday night cruises at Flames. We've bolted
the 400 trans and converter up to the new motor, and will attempt
to get it back in the truck tomorrow. E2 spent today running for parts,
solvent, and doing some cleaning of the components.
4/9/02
Gene claims he'll have both trans ready for tomorrow, so that I can
go to Mexicali with a SPARE. So the plan is to hit LACR Friday night.
4/11/02
Well, Gene could not get it together, and I'm just not up to running
in there and grabbing my #2 trans out from under him and getting into
some controversy. And, I'm not into a thrash. So we'll just take it
easy, take our time over the weekend, and go out next week at our
leisure. As I'm getting the right knee done in 10 days on 4/24, it
appears my first and last opportunity to take a lap will be next weekend,
unless by some miracle we get it together Saturday and make it to
LACR on Sunday, which is unlikely. I also checked with Tom Short at
Milodon and confirmed that our BBC engines should hold 8+1 quarts.
I think we had 11 in it years ago, not a good thing. The 11 was at
the suggestion of Mike O'Brien. Little things, BIG importance.
So at this point it will be 10 in the trans and 9 in the motor.
4/13/02
Gene didn't make it today, either. I can't be choosy here, he is donating
the labor, and I very much appreciate it. But this one week delay
took us right out of the Mexicali race, period. So, next week MAYBE
a test and tune, and then we park it until I find someone to drive
it for two races. That is, unless my leg is somehow miraculously good
after 3 or 4 weeks. Just don't want to take any chances on destroying
my new knee. But we'll look at all that in 6 weeks when it is more
pertinent. Meanwhile, we'll miss Sacramento unless a replacement driver
is found. I doubt Jimmy Scott will want to compete against his own
kid, but who knows? Maybe Maher will drive for me. Gene says he will
do both trans tomorrow, Sunday. If so, Mikey may come over and do
the reinstall with me.
4/15/02
Mikey came by and we went by Gene's shop-no one there. Gene called
me later and explained his troubles. Bottom line: he didn't do them.
So today, Monday, he assures me he will get the primary trans done.
The spare is fine, he just wants to check it, and perhaps update the
clutches with some newer units. Palmdale is open on Wednesday nights
now (until Nov 1st), so I might get a shot there. Webmeister Derek
was here on Friday doing more on my web tutorial. I still have not
found how to get access on my MAC to the still pix I'm taking with
my new Sony PC9 camera. I may have to resort to trying it on the PC
(ugh!). I want to get the proper pictures up there with the new look.
Put a call into Maher about driving, waiting to hear back.
4/16/02
Still waiting, so put another call into Jim, who is obviously on HIS
phone taking orders. Randy is finally getting around to some work
on his car, and for the near future we'll just be showing them at
a couple of local car shows over the next two months. Jim declined
the ride, and suggested Gary Kortz and Ron Smith. I called Gary who
is more local, and it works for him. He'll come down and see if he
fits in the car, and take a lap at LACR Friday if we make it there.
E2 is working on completing the carb install on the dually, removing
all the smog hoses, etc., (and keeping them all together in a box,
along with the Quadrajet carb), so we have something with which to
tow the beast. Derek was here, and we installed a Fire Wire card in
the PC, still to no avail. Turns out the camera will download the
still pix ONLY through the USB cable, not the Fire Wire connection,
which is used for the video info. Yikes. Got another cable, and will
give that a go shortly.
4/18/02
Well the Sony PC9 camera works great now with the USB cable (on the
MAC), so there is hope for new pix on the website here. Also got the
Ricoh digital camera back, so that gives me, well, a backup. Gary
Kortz came down this evening to trial fit himself in my FC to see
if he could be the driver for two months. No go. He's just too tall.
Mind you, I raised that rollbar 7 inches from original. So, looks
like we'll just pass on that backup driver for now, and take our time
displaying the car and getting the trans in (some day). Called Gene
twice today, and late this afternoon his wife Chris said she was on
the way over to get the shortened piston (to allow for more clutch
discs, actually 8 now). So it appears now that maybe Friday (tomorrow)
we'll see the primary transmission ready. Gene insists he wants to
retrofit the spare as well, so they are clones. Fine by me. Looks
real unlikely that I'll make any passes before the knee surgery. The
new 425 HP dually motor runs, although with an horrendous exhaust
leak, which MIGHT be the smog lines into the exhaust manifold. But
it starts at one click, and sounds a little lopey. Nice. Gotta find
and fix the leak, and hope that the shorter serpentine belts I bought
today are the right length.
4/20/02
The longer of the two worked, and just right at the edge of adjustment.
I'll put out a search for a nice medium-sized belt, but this works.
The exhaust leak was the left side manifold. So we put a gasket on
that side. OK now. The dually ran HORRIBLE at first. Popping through
the carb on throttle, no power, missing terribly. We took back the
very new plug wires purchased in late January, and got a new set.
BINGO! Sweet! Love that AutoZone lifetime warranty. Dan Stucker is
on his way down to help me load the old 454 into the truck and take
it to his place. We have the hoist OK, it's just slipping the truck
into the garage requires two people, as I have to fold the side mirrors
in to make it. Got the trans from Gene. As he was carrying it, the
input shaft slipped out, usually no big deal. In this case, the rather
silly little sleeve at the very back of it cocked slightly, requiring
about 45 minutes of front end disassembly of the trans and some tweaking.
The then stator was sticky going into the converter, apparently due
to some minor burrs on the shaft. And the converter was again likewise
sticky for the same reason going on the input shaft. These were the
exact problems I had, but I ended up replacing the second input shaft,
as it didn't yield to "deburring". So Sunday Mikey may come
over and, if so, we'll slam that tranny back in, replace the lift
system pivot, and get the puppy ready to run. Oh yeah, fluid and oil,
too. The Gremlin "tossed a clot" again. Something is getting
into the carb needles, or something is awry with the needle and seat
system, as it did its "won't idle" thing again. We have
a K&N filter on the intake, and a fuel filter, so I just don't
know how anything can be contaminating the fuel or air intake. But
then I am vastly carb ignorant. Stay tuned….
4/20/02
Took the dually motor out to Dan Stucker, got paid, so one less hunk
of iron in the garage. The dually runs much better with the new plugs
wires, but the alternator is NG, probably a wire or something. The
outside left rear tire was just about flat, and as I can't find my
valve extensions to bring the stems around to the front of the wheels,
we jacked it up in the street and ran 100' of air line out to it and
used the impact gun and air nozzle. Ross Stuckey commented on how
nice it is to have the tools. I thanked him for niticing and agreed,
reminding him that was what the over 5-year break from racing was
about: building the operation. Dr. Derek (webmaster) will be here
in the morning and we will do some serious expanding of the website,
mainly to add a granite and marble section to the construction section,
and add some FC pix.
4/21/02
Mikey came by about 4 PM, and we proceeded to installing the trans.
It
went well, untill I noticed that the torque converter bolts were
about a half bolt diameter inboard of the holes in the flex plate.
I was freaked. I had used this converter before, though obviously
not recently, like not in about 6 years. We had not turned the motor
over since pulling the 10" converter out. I had Mike rotate the
engine and sure enough, a second set of holes the proper radius showed
up. Thank you!!! I used very large bolts in the torque converters,
a result of one cross-threading years ago, and my solution being to
tap them out to the next size, about 9/16". Getting them started
has always been trying, but this time they went in relatively easily.
Thank you again! So the trans is in, the shifter cable adjusted, the
trans brake wiring connected, the driveshaft in and end play adjusted,
the driveshaft tunel is in, the fuel shutoff connected (though looking
for the return spring-not critical, but desirable), and we're about
to put the body lift pivot bar in and the bellypan.
4/22/02
Randy dropped by today, and he and E2 made some corrections to the
Gremlin carburetor settings. Somehow, the floats were way too high,
and the Holley 750 was pouring fuel into the secondaries at idle.
Makes for a horribly rough and nasty engine. With that corrected,
the Gremlin is again purring, instead of pouring. Randy is convinced
it was running on essentially 7 cylinders at LACR back in November,
and feels it should get close to the 11's in present tune. I think
it might be good for low 12's with a proper shifter, like a B&M
Quicksilver. Down the road for that. For tomorrow, a VERY busy day,
I'm going to attempt to get the bellypan on the FC, get some fluids
in it, and roll it in the trailer. The plan is to button the trailer
up and get it in the garage during my recuperation. The dually is
at the body shop, and it, too, needs the carb adjusted. E2 ran over
and got an air cleaner on it, so that helps somewhat. We've reached
midweek, and we're still farting around with the cars and not hitting
the cabinet business at hand as we should. So back to business we
go.
4/29/02
In an unprecendented move, Dick Wagner has taken a radical design
move away from his "weight don't count" philosophy to lighten
his car: he has gone to titanium. Wagner feels that replacing the
weighty and sluggish
bone and battered cartilage in his right knee with titanium and teflon
will
significantly improve reaction times and lower unsrprung weight.
4/30/02
The show schedule is beginning this weekend with the Boystown Show
in Chatworth, where the Gremlin placed 3rd in its class last year.
Randy will bng his FC, as will I, along with the Gremlin. His friend
Jack may bring his xlnt 55 Chevy. Improvement with the knee is dramatic
and painful. But this is the routine, so we do it. I am walking without
assistance, although a walker makes it a quicker experience for others,
The walking stiffens up the leg and makes it sore, and then the sessions
on the CPM (Constant Passive Motion) device restore the flexibility
and range of motion. I am not quite ready to walk without the stiff
leg support brace. I mean I can, but the rule is you gotta be able
to lift the leg on you own and hold it under control. And boys and
girls, that really hurts. I'm quite close on that now. I MIGHT get
back in the FC a bit sooner than expected, but that's ony a MAYBE.
We got the FC oiled up, tested the trans (before the surgery), and
all seems good. It is resting comfortably in its trailer.
5/1/02
Visited the truck (almost totally primered now), and Gene at AutoRite
(almost totally frazzeld now). Gene has not touched the spare trans,
huge spurprise. He is still struggling with his mania for doing people
favors, most of whom, unlike me, don't pay. He needs me as his pricing
and collections manager. I'd have him out of his troubles and doing
only profitable work in a flash. But hey, we all got our demons. Randy
and plotted our course for getting onto the field at BoysTown School
for the Sunday car show. Little tricky with the extemely low clearance
on the FC chassis, and it's just not feasible to get the trailers
out on the field. I'll steal the truck out of the body shop for the
day for the show, then return it for final paint prep. I overdid it
on the knee rehab, and got it SOOOOOOOO swollen as not to be believed.
This really hurts!. Took about two days for it to recede enough to
drop out of major pain. Hopefully my blood pressure on Firday will
reflect a more pleasant experience. Gota cool it and take it slow,
just like the instructions say. So I am one whipped puppy for a few
days, and being most judicious on my weight-bearing on the fresh knee.
There were some other complications, but trust me on this, you don't
want to know. I've got 4 possibles for the crew on Sunday for the
show. E2 is diligently working our drawer job, and putting three new
rocket-ship computers for Randy, himself, and me.
5/4/02
Signed another job and got the first day check, thankfully, and got
to work on it immediately. And got another headache job outa my life
today, although at substantial cost. But I can't aford to screw with
problems now. I owe my allegiance to the people who are enjoying our
diligence and attention, not those who are trying to make it tough
and stupid. One more costly lesson learned and paid for. I am about
to run over and pick up the dually, as have enough movement in the
right leg to get behind the wheel. I doubt I can get by goofy leg
in the FC, however. We are taking the cars to a show for tomorrow.
5/7/02
Some good news, some bad. The good news is I was able to get in the
car and start it! More good news, it sounds crisp and snappy. Bad
news, I caught a microscopic bump in the ground driving it to the
parking place on the football field and trashed the left front spoiler
and fender area. Otherwise, it was a lovely day, with Randy's FC and
my Gremlin there. I naturally over-used the fresh knee, and sat most
of the day sort of letting it subside. It appears actually to be doing
fine, and I'm now walking with no assistance whatsoever. The trick
is to get that magic 90-degree bending of the knee ASAP. I'm at 75
degrees, quite good really. So we brought the puppy home and started
grinding away at it. Oh well. Had to happen sooner or later, in this
case rather sooner. The dually is about ready for paint, and Nick
called and they somehow can't get it to start, notwitshtstanding the
brand new alternator I put in on Saturday. Off I go to see what happening
there. Seems there was some bad connection. After 45 minutes of fooling
around, we got it handled. Gonna take some rehab time in the CPM machine
(constant passive movement) to continue to loosen the knee, and offer
me a chance to just sit down. I'm beat between no sleep, pain meds,
and knee pain and strain. The good news, I just might make the Tucson
race if I can get a lap or two first. The car feels very stout. We
shall see how our patch work turns out. More fun stuf to learn.
5/9/02
I've done some of the bondo work, and will get on with the glass work
today. I am just BEAT, probably from the lack of sleep and the meds.
Tucson is this weekend, and I ain't going down there with no laps
on the car. So I'll enjoy taking a bit more time and doing our patient
thing here. I might get Nick or Terry from Hamrick's to shoot the
repair areas after I do all the prep. We'll see how that goes. Meanwhile,
the dually is at the paint shop getting its revitalized Apple Red
paint again. Afer that it goes To Chinto's for color sanding and buffing.
It runs decently, and I'll need a litle more towing to determine if
the new engine is making the difference I'd hoped for. If not, it
will be Vortech time.
5/10/02
Did the grinding, glassing and first bondo phases on the front end
repair. Oh well. I've left several messages for Nick re: shooting
the paint on the repairs. Can't seem to connect with him. No word
either on if they got the truck back from being sprayed as yet. Took
the Gremlin to Flames to the usual gaping and interest, just no one
has stepped up to buy it. I've got to go another direction and get
aggressive with this to get it sold. Good buddy Saul, 86 years young,
enjoyed the heck out of the Gremlin "bomb." He had his nose
in every car there, asking questions of owners, in his usual indefatigable
way. Real nice to have him back. Will handle some job stuff in the
morning on Saturday, then continue on with bondo on the nose repairs.
The knee replacement is coming along nicely, now at 90 degreees of
movement, a milestone in the rehab process, and at only 17 days. Still
is painful, but hey, I'm walking.
5/11/02
On schedule-got the jobs going, and did considerable glass and bondo
work. Giving it a break for a bit, then I'll hit it with the DA, probably
another coat or two, and then get into the red stuff (the one step
finishing/glazing compound). Nick has agreed to shoot the repair.
Did a few more coats of bondo, and ready for one more sanding, then
I'll start blocking it with the red stuff. I am not going to be as
perfecto-conscious on this repair. I say that now, we'll see how my
reflexes go as I continue. Had a lovely tri-tip BBQ dinner with Gene
and Chrissy Christianson two nights ago.
5/12/02
Spent the day again today doing several coats on the front end. Randy
showed up this morning, a pleasant surprise, and provided me with
some compliments on my work to date and some motivation to make the
repair a little better. After some rough blocking, went one more coat,
then went to the one coat (red glaze). Waiting for that to dry now.
I presume it will take one or two more "reds" to knock it
pretty flat, then Nick should be ready to come in and do what he does.
5/13/02
Well, the knee is at 100 degrees of movement, a very healthy figure,
and about 20-30 degrees away from the max. I am having the CPM machine
removed tomorrow, and then it's just up to me to keep stretching it,
a daunting task. Kinda like fixing the nose of the FC, which has seen
the red coat blocked down, and another touch up coat applied. It will
probably take one or two more touch-ups, but it is close. Tried Nick
re: the dually, but the truck is not there yet. The color coat has
been done at another location and sanded, and the clear is going on
tomorrow. After that, it goes to Chinto the Detailer for color sanding
and polishing, then gets reassembled. So it's looking like the end
of the week or so. Nick says he'll stop by tomorrow about 1 PM to
look at the FC and see what's needed to shoot it. Had to drive the
Gremlin for work today as my other car was blocked in. The thing runs
SO strong! Wow! The jobs are grinding along, a couple of new ones
have started, but the money pinch is closing in. Of course getting
some end of job checks will help a lot.
5/14/02
Put another red coat on, and will get to sanding it a little later
today. Nick MAY come by today around 1 PM or so. Putting lots of energy
into the jobs right now, as we have about 6 going at the moment. I
have a worker who has proven once again to be an immature and undisciplined
person who just does NOT have it together. How he fathoms himself
as being a success when he goes out on his own is utterly mysterious.
He has put my jobs in jeopardy several times now. Hence, I have to
spend a LOT more time getting things done around his failures to do
so. So I will be looking to replace him, as my customers come first.
All of which detracts from the time and cash flow available to devote
to the race car.
5/15/02
Another detraction and distraction is surprise dental work, like today.
Got that kinda handled, though I hve to go back in a couple of weeks
for the fitting of the new crown, and then get on some serious preventive
maintenance for my continuing one loss. Not good, not at all. Jobs
going OK, getting close to having to bid some new ones. Got two large
ones on the table to price first, though. Nick still has not come
by to look at the nose of the FC. He got the truck back, and it is
going to Chinto tomorrow. So it looks more like the beginning of next
week before it is reassembled and ready to go.
5/16/02
Went by and saw the dually-very red, very straight. Has a lot of clear
on it for lots of sanding. Chinto will take it tomorrow, so we're
definitely into next week on this. Nick came by, and other than suggesting
a little more tuning on the repair (blocking), said just to call him
when it's ready to shoot. Also went by AutoRite to see about progress
on my spare trans, now that it is all paid for. Nada. I don't know
when Gene is going to make time for it. It is still sitting in the
very same spot as it has for the last month or so. Might just be better
to grab it and send it off to Bob Bailey if I really need it (don't
yet). But the point is to have it with me in case I do, like the outing
at Famoso. Have been feeling WAY down on horsepower today, perhaps
some combination of pain, lack of sleep, medications, stress, dental
work, etc. Yuk!
5/19/02
Switched off the Vicodan a few days ago, and while a certain awakeness
has returned, I am hurtin'. So that's not particularly great, either.
The hoped for consciousnes to pay attention to bids has been replaced
with the nagging distraction of pain. Ah, so much fun here. Did a
bit of sanding yesterday and a little more bondo work and cut out
some small areas which didn't take well, and am about to go sand on
those and see where we are.
Did those and will go out now to sand on that new layer, and hopefully
be close enough for Nick to apply a shot of primer to see where we
are.
5/21/02
The truck is back at Nick's from Chinto's, and Nick claims it looks
better than the last time. He is getting some new parts: bumper, trim,
etc. and should be done in about two days. I'm still "plinking"
away on the nose of the FC, doing what I hope to be the last sanding
before primer in a moment. Perhaps I can get Nick to come by tonight
and shoot this thing.
Jobs are OK, knee is doing fine, and the surgeon was thrilled with
how it looks and functions this morning, noting "it is very tight,
no slop in the joint." I had him hand me the pieces of a new
knee, and they are surprisingly heavy, with robust titanium construction.
The frictionless teflon portion is easily replaced, though not as
simply as an arthroscopic procedure, but with a two day-hospital stay.
In about 15 years I can look forward to that, or sooner if I get really
aggressive with the knee. But that's how they're designed.
5/23/02
The nasty rumor of the day is that the truck will be ready tonight
(NOPE). Not banking on it, but at least it's a good sign. Did get
a wad of dough from one of our jobs, so that helps stay ahead of the
game. And finished one smaller job, nice to be done with that as well.
The Memorial Day weekend looms ahead, and I'm hoping to get a few
things done around here, as well as getting caught up on some long
overdue bids. Will go out in a moment and hit the FC with a perhaps
final sanding before Nick sees it. I dearly hope he will shoot the
paint this weekend so I can get back to reality on the FC. I invited
Randy to bring his car here, but it just looks like he won't do that,
for a few reasons. He really just wants to have it in his own garage,
and maybe his holding out will make him jump on the garage sooner.
I'm ready when he is to jump in and get going on it. I think the myriad
things we do in there like cabinets, etc. scares him (dust, etc.),
and he isn't to be convinced otherwise. There was an auction for a
FC and some other items posted on the CIFCA chatboard, and I'm researching
how to maybe do it over the phone on the auction day.
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