| 2/6/03
Not much progress on the FC, although Jerry Garrison is anxious (as
am I) to come up and get to work on the tune up. I haven’t had
a chance to roll it out yet, as we’ve been working on the Condor
and Dually. The dually is working wonderfully. It is astounding this
is a 17-year old vehicle. It rides and looks as new. The Condor has
been severely beaten up by the weather, sitting outside for 4 years.
It will need new paint. The interior needs some work, not drastic.
There are some missing amplifiers, an equalizer (all of which I believe
are here). We were majorly freaked out yesterday while looking for
the accessories for the Ford motor: alternator, brackets, pulleys,
headers, etc. Nowhere to be found. I went to Duttweiler’s and
found ALL of the stuff there!!! Whew!!!! So Ed is sorting through
the stuff right now, I’ll go out momentarily to assist, and
we’re moving along there. I’ll have to re-drill the header
flanges for the narrower bolt spacing (back and forth, crap!!), and
hope we can get the motor in place. There appears to be a hood clearance
problem from just looking at the intake manifold. It is higher than
the old Offy I used earlier. I may just have to surrender to a racy
hood.
2/16/03
A lot has happened in the last 10 days, and a lot has NOT happened.
Zilch on the FC. Good news on the Condor: Milt Wade in Vancouver has
agreed to purchase the old Windsor motor, along with the roller rockers,
and valve covers and Stealth manifold. I am sending it up there this
week as son as I locate a shipper and get it picked up.
We located the missing neutral safety switch for the ford AOD trans.
I am ready to drop the motor in. We’ll just have to work out
the header hassles once the engine is in place. I’m torn between
getting a new set built and just again modifying the original set.
I’ll do a little more investigation and find out if the existing
set is really a performance killer. If so, they‘re gone.
Saul may show up today and help me light up the FC to see how our
tune up has fared. We’ve made some progress in the garage, and
getting more parts out really helps. With the Windsor motor gone and
the 430 HP MotorSports engine in, we’ll be dramatically more
clear in there.
I was thinking of testing the spare race motor (BBC) in the engine
compartment just for the hell of it.
I’d really like to jerk the engine out of the Mercedes and throw
a BBC or something in there and get rid of that nightmare of leaks
and expense. I may just have to send the MB down the road, as it has
some annoying little stuff that needs repairing (not critical), and
I’m just over the line on doing more to the car. On the Gremlin
front the fellow who came looking did not return. I’m going
to call him now, and if he’s not taking the car, I’ll
remove the blower and get it ready to go in either the dually or the
Condor. Also, I need to renew my Reycler ad. Talked with Rob Anderson
at Vortech, and will attempt to reach Bob Endress there come Tuesday
to see if he is ready and willing to install the Mercruiser injection
on the dually. That would pave the way for a fairly easy Vortech install
on that package.
2/17/03
The fellow doesn’t want the Gremlin, so off the blower will
come. I spent yesterday afternoon making tool box trays. We now have
THREE layers of pliers, cutters, etc., and two layers of screwdrivers.
It was good to get in there and get a little something accomplished.
Ed and I built some boxes to send the 420” Windsor parts out
tomorrow (given an OK from the buyer). The short block will get strapped
to a pallet.
Nice to see stuff going out of here, and for money!!
2/24/03
The 420 is outa here! I will receive my check in about 10 days. One
more giant leap for the Garage Mahal. The Condor motor is now in place.
We had to swap the old pan to the new motor. The earlier pan had been
dramatically modified to clear the cross-member. The mounts finally
did line up, although not easily. Mark and Ed feel the hood will now
not clear the carb nor the front pulleys. That would be odd, since
everything is the same height as before. I’ll be checking on
that later, once we’re ready to set the hood back on. I also
got a call today from a fellow interested in the Gremlin, WITHOUT
blower. He is to call or come by tonight. That raises a couple of
questions for me: first, can I even fit a Vortech under the hood.
Certainly I can’t get the carb box to clear, so I’ll be
right where I was on the Gremlin in terms of cutting the hood. Of
course, there are reverse scoop hoods made. I think I’d prefer
the what’s-it look of the Vortech aluminum carb box sticking
through the hood. I bought aa Hi-Torque starter for the Condor, as
the one on the motor did not seems able to crank it around. It may
have been our power source, but why take a chance? So the motor and
trans are in the car, the driveshaft is connected, and the fuel tank
and exhaust have been taken out. The car has been sitting so long
that it is unsafe to start it up with the very likely large amount
of garbage in the bottom f the tank. We are cleaning out the tank
to be sure. The tank on the work truck was similarly in bad shape,
with some leaks, holes, and lots of dirt in it. That has been corrected
and reinstalled, and we now know it holds about 37 gallons. Unfortunately,
we did not change the sending unit for the gas gauge, and it is apparently
still stuck with dirt. No biggie, Mark is now a tank changing expert!!!
The FC has not seen any action. We are now about to get another couple
of days of rain, so that will wait. The canopy has not been set up
as yet, either. Just a little more stuff to get rid of in the front
yard. Real close now. The dually continues to run well, and thankful
relief. Including the choke, which is now adjusted and working as
designed. I am going to Vortech tomorrow to see Endress about the
Mercruiser injection.
2/25/03
Missed Endress today, looking to connect tomorrow.
Ed has made more progress on the Condor. We have the carb on (from
the earlier iteration of the Gremlin, a vacuum secondary 750 cfm Holley,
just dynoed by Jennings two weeks before we took it off to install
the Vortech blower. The manifold is WAY higher than the previous one
on the Condor, so there will be serious hood problems. Ed and I were
peering into the engine compartment imagining where the heck a Vortech
blower could go. I’ll need Anderson, Endress, and Armstrong
at Vortech to look it over and come up with some ideas. Meanwhile,
we’re just moving ahead to get it working as is. The trans bolts
turned out not to be the 7/16 x 20 we had thought. They appear to
be a metric 12 x 1.25. Ed is off to the bolt house to see what he
can find.
The Gremlin call has not called again. I just KNOW that the moment
I take off the blower it will get sold to someone who wants the blower
on. No way to test the universe without actually doing it.
We got a real good dose of rain last night, so the Garage Mahal has
proved its worth once again.
I put the old Tbird motor (the supercharged V-6) in the Auto Trader
and Recycler on a run until it sells basis, along with the Mercedes
500 SEC. That car has gotten $15K put into it in the last 24 months,
and I’m only asking $7900!!! People who look for these cars
have NO idea of the maintenance required, and are often misled by
hope or lies about the true condition of the cars. Now FC’s,
that’s a WHOLE different story (NOT!!!).
2/27/03
Ed has gotten the new Northern aluminum radiator in the Condor mounted,
including the 4-fan pack (from before). We had to lower the new radiator
down by removing the locating pockets below, which had been made for
the prior radiator. It looks good, is incredibly complex, and needs
one new fan motor (I swear I’ve seen one around, but will, of
course, have to order a new one from PermaCool). The wiring scenario
for these fans is quite involved, and I am working on remembering
just how it all goes together with three relays, etc. We hand-held
the headers up in place with 3/8” spacers and they appear to
work, so I’m gong to contact Jim at Rewarders Headers, get some
gaskets for the new heads, and take the headers up there for him to
cut new plates, thread them, and test fit the headers to them. Hey,
we might just get this thing running soon!!
3/7/03
Got the dough from Milt up in Washington for the Windsor motor, so
one more thing gone and paid. Got some calls last weekend on the Benz
and Gremlin, none of whom actually showed up. A fellow from San Diego,
Matt, called again yesterday and reiterated his interest in the Gremlin,
saying he would come up this weekend with the money. Works for me.
I may have gotten him a ride up with one of my guys, who is taking
a mini-vacation there this weekend. Had another fellow with a Cougar
inquire about the Super Coupe supercharged V-6 motor, but nothing
solid as yet. Also spoke with Todd at Vortech today about what it
will take to “air up” the dually, Condor, and Randy’s
BBC 65 Chevelle wagon. So we’re moving along there. Endress
has not yet made it here with the Mercruiser injection parts and to
view the dually engine layout, but will do so tomorrow, Saturday.
The radiator for the Condor is ready, the exhaust flanges will be
ready on Monday, and I’m still waiting on a warranty replacement
for the bad fan motor from PermaCool. All in all, a fairly productive
week. With luck, we’ll have the Condor running mid-week. Once
it is operational, I will get a spare hood from Pick your Part, and
do some experimenting.
3/8/03
Matt from San Diego appears not to be the buyer he purports to be.
I’ll be thrilled to be proven wrong (read on). No show again
today. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. Endress DID show up today with everything
of my injection setup except the distributor. I am going to go to
his place tomorrow to look at some remodel work and we’ll talk
trade. He also has a later version of the Mercruiser injection with
a slightly smaller manifold and body, which MIGHT prove better. We’ll
look at that in real time tomorrow. Endress and I talked about what
I might use of the Gremlin blower setup on other cars, and it turns
out to be not much. The blower itself is usable, although the body
needs some changing to get the outlet in the right spot, but most
of the bracketing, etc. will not transfer. This is good news for Randy,
who can then buy my polished stuff cheap for his wagon install. However,
the carb box, blower, filter, and maybe some of the tube might work
for the Condor setup. I have considered going to a throttle body injection
setup, Edelbrock or Fel Pro, which would lower the whole intake dramatically,
possibly enough to fit under the hood. This adds about $3K to the
whole thing, although it would offer tremendous advantages in economy,
detonation control, reliability, etc. It’s really a matter of
having the dough. If the Gremlin and Benz can be sold, then I’ve
got the dough (and the room!!).
So the next step is get the Condor just working as-is, (no hood or
a modified unit for now), and then see what can be done a little later.
Ditto for the dually injection: get the injection on and de-bugged
BEFORE dropping the blower in there.
I also have to do a little switching on the Gremlin to remove the
blower: the carburetor is set up too rich for normally aspirated driving.
I’ll try the 600 Holley I have here from the earlier Condor
days, and see how that works. I also have to remove two of the three
bottom pulleys and put in short bolts.
I won’t have really any time tomorrow to get to any of that,
as I have a full schedule.
3/10/03
Well, a few interesting things have taken place. First, Matt the Marine
from Miramar appears serious about the Gremlin and claims to be sending
me a check in tomorrow’s mail (without blower). There is also
another fellow (same first name, Matt) from Pennsylvania who has been
watching the car for quite a while, and had been inquiring about shipping
costs. It appears moot for Matt (PA) unless he wires some money into
my account in the next couple of days.
I spoke with San Diego Matt tonight, laid out all the undone things
on the car (just a few, really), made sure he understood what the
car is, and he is delighted. He is tired of Mustangs and Camaros,
and has always liked the AMC’s. Oh, I like him! I met with Endress
again yesterday, and he is going to use one of his own Mercruiser
injection setups (a later version, 26 of which he purchased at a closeout,
brand new in boxes). It’s the same thing, but slightly smaller
in dimension, happily in some critical areas in my dually engine compartment.
I’ll just trade him my unit (which is a John Lingenfelter design
done for Chevrolet) pretty much straight across (at least I think
he will). He is researching his schedule (his wife is just about to
pop a baby). He is also doing some remodel work at home, so it appears
we are going to do some trading.
We also talked about what it would take to huff the Condor, and it
appears very doable. As noted earlier, if I were to go to an Edelbrock
throttle body injection, I might get the hood clearance back.
The Benz is getting its front oil leak fixed, and a valve job. The
mechanic who did the front cam chain replacement is doing all the
labor, except the valve job, for free as he made an error on his front
cover install and broke the front of the left side head gasket off.
Mind you, the valve grinding alone is about $800 (!!). I will endeavor
to illuminate the car buying public as to its availability, and hopefully
the next guy will do nothing to it for years. Hey, between the original
owner and me, that car has seen over $16,000 of maintenance in the
last 2 years!! How much is there left to replace??
So with the departing of the little orange ground pounder, I’ll
have some dough to get right on the Condor body work and paint, and
have one more parking space. This is entirely a good thing.
The header adapter plates are ready at Rewarder Headers in Camarillo.
That will help mightily, as we can’t start the Condor without
those exhaust pipes connected. Of course, setting the gas tank back
in is important, too. Still waiting on the fan motor from PermaCool.
And the FC?? Oh that! Well, just waiting for some time and room (now
that the weather has cleared), to drag it to Palmdale (after a driveway
light up to be sure). Gotta get a hold of Cool Suit and do the test
at their facility. Massively underwhelming performance to date. Something’s
gotta be wrong. I know these suits work for others (of course!).
Doing some updating to the site (as you will notice by the time you’re
reading this). Added some of my mom’s incredible art work, thinned
out the pictures, and will be adding a few of the Condor.
I appreciate your patronage. Wanna be a sponsor?
3/15/03
So, the Marine from Miramar has still not gotten his payment in yet
for the Gremlin. The other Matt (from PA), is interested, but doesn’t
have the money yet. Tony, interested in the Mercedes, has said he’ll
call next week. The fellow who called about the supercharged Tbird
motor has not called back. Bottom line: still got it all.
3/18/03
Matt claims he sent the money several days ago. Will check mail in
a moment. Had another guy call about the V-6 engine, but didn’t
sound too serious. It is SUCH a good buy!! Yeoww! It woud be a great
little street rod motor. In sad news, Mil-Spec Rob Anderson’s
mom died yesterday. And my sister’s husband’s mom died
last Friday. As George Burns was quoted, “I pick up the paper
every day and the first thing I read is the obituaries. If I don’t
see my name, it’s a good day.” This has been a rough season
for losing parents. I’m SO blessed to still have mom here now
over 89 years!!
Today is a gloriously beautiful day, windy, clear beyond recollection,
mild temps. Too windy for a FC ride, but encouraging. In Condor exhaust
news, I’m having Randy run the headers back to Rewarder to have
the upper portion of the flanges welded in to provide more meat for
the gaskets, and a smoother transition from the exhaust port. Also,
found a neat little 74 Plymouth Scamp in tremendous shape. It was
Ivan’s mother’s car, and the interior is perfect, the
exterior just sun-baked but almost perfect. Slant six. Just ripe for
a nice BBC or Mopar crate motor along with a drop-in rear end change.
Gonna do some checking right now.
3/21/03
Have the keys on my ring, but Ivan’s brother is now blocking
the giveaway of the car. So much for that, at least for now. The Marine
from Miramar has still not gotten the dough here, so I took the gremlin
to bob’s Big Boy tonight to re-expose it. There is good, bad,
good, and good news about that. The good news is Randy and Saul went
with me IN the Gremlin. The bad news is, a young fellow named John
frantically gesticulated at me, telling e my car was on FIRE. It appears
a trans cooler line broke while I was cruising around the block looking
for a place to park, and the car caught fire from the oil spraying
on the exhaust pipes. Not just a little fire: flames coming through
the opening in the hood!! Bad news: a girl ran up with a fire extinguisher
that was empty. Good news: Good Samaritan John ran into the shop on
the corner and they had a good extinguisher. More good news: it appears
to have done very little damage, perhaps just a few wires on the firewall
and a tiny bit of paint peeled around the carb box opening in the
hood. I was frantically beating it down with my sweatshirt, trying
to keep the heat off the wires and hood. Great lesson: ALWAYS have
an extinguisher on board!!! Whew!! I rewarded each with $20 (had to
force it on them both) for saving the car.
The Mercedes is ready again. I picked it up and the AC didn’t
work, just hot defroster air. Took it back and suggested Victor look
for a vacuum leak. He found it.
3/27/03-VEHICLE UPDATE, but not the FC
MB
Took the MB to Aram, the other guy in Burbank, after getting it back
from Victor. A vacuum line was off in the cowl area. Aram is fixing
the power steering box and pump leaks, and a few other items. I have
offered the car back to the original owner for what I paid him, He’s
considering it. I will up it a grand after this last go of repairs.
GREMLIN
The Gremlin is back to new, with new plugs wires, rewired firewall
loom, more Colflex wrap (that stuff works well to insulate the wires).
If the Marine from Miramar is serious, then I’m actually glad
it happened to me and not him. It appears just a small rubber hose
connection in the trans cooler line was at fault. We also adjusted
the vacuum modulator up so it now shifts 2-3 at 4800 RPM in drive.
Of course, the large fire extinguisher is now in the trunk. I will
not remove the blower at this point, as I now realize it is a better
deal for me to sell the blower on the car. It is also a killer deal
for whomever buys it that way.
DUALLY
The dually continues to drive beautifully. Replacing the wind wing
did solve a nasty wind leak. The Marine has just informed me the checks
he sent were returned for a wrong address, and now does not have the
dough to go. I’ve asked him to check in when he does get the
money (which he claims might be the first week of April).
CONDOR
On the Condor front, progress has been made. The gas tank is back
in. The radiator is now final mounted. I pieced together a radiator
hose with some tubing to make the odd swing to the thermostat housing.
The fan motor (one of four) was warranty replaced by PermaCool (thanks!!).
I put the fan pack wiring in Colflex to clean it up dramatically,
adjusted the mounting, and spent some time pondering the 3 or 4 relays
which control the fans and the abundant wiring associated with that
system. I think I’ve pretty much got it, and will make the rewire
connections sometime tomorrow. I need to run another battery positive
line back to the trunk for the rear battery (dedicated for the fans
and using an isolator to charge it). Jim at Rewarder headers did NOT
fill in the headers as asked, but instead gave me a larger gasket
which he says will do the trick. Randy brought them back for me today
(thank you!!!!), and hung out for a while as I mounted the fan motor
and fan pack to the radiator. Mark spent part of today grinding down
the adapter flanges to clear the spark plugs, and will do the same
for several hours tomorrow, and on the headers themselves as well.
These GT-40 heads have a different plug angle, and it plays havoc
with the headers. The plates and headers are a REAL bear to install.
We need a dipstick for the trans, and some odds and ends for the engine
compartment. But we are REAL close to lighting it up.
FC
The FC sits ready to go, just gotta find the time and help to do it.
The weather has been super windy, no good for making passes.
Yeoww!! Just got hit with a VERY strong single bang (earthquake).
Whew!!! Hmm, I seem to remember windy weather is earthquake weather……
WEBSITE
Derek was here today and did some updates to the website. We are still
struggling with the lousy connections between the PC and Macs. Makes
transferring files silly and hard. Luckily, the PC can SEE the Mac,
so that is the important path.
3/31/03
CONDOR
Mark got the headers installed, and predictably the Y-pipe is nowhere
close to fitting now that we altered the position of the collectors
with the spacers. The right side header is RIGHT against the shock
tower sheet metal, not a good thing. I’ll pull the wheel off
and see if there is anything I can do to make a little room there.
Given that it is behind the strut (shock and spring), it is doubtful,
at least without pulling the motor. I’m waiting on one spare
amplifier for the Condor hifi (I bought two so far, and use three,
one of which is in place and working).
MB
I will be returning the MB to Victor for hopefully the last go-round
on the heads, etc. The lifters are noisy, are not properly shimmed,
and therefore are causing some loss of cylinder pressure on two holes.
The car is admittedly in fine shape now, but no matter, it’s
GOTTA go, just too much iron around the house, to quote Saul.
I showed another contractor around the place today, and it hit me
just how messy the place is versus my expectation and standard of
“places for things.” I did some garage sorting today,
and am going to read the riot act to the boys tomorrow for the mess
they keep leaving me. I DO need to do my part in tossing the extra
stuff, but their disregard for the organization of the tools and the
cleanliness of the shop is appalling.
Good guys, good workers, lousy housekeepers.
4/6/03
So, given the above, I have launched a MASSIVE cleanup/toss out campaign
(for you long term readers: have you heard this before???). New worker
Ron has done a wonderful job (lotsa initiative) moving stuff into
position to be repaired, sold, given away, or junked. So it’s
up to me now. Speaking of sold, the Mercedes was purchased today by
an Austrian gentleman named Tony Schnedl. He came over and just started
raving about how nice it was, asked me to drive him around the block,
got out, and said “I’m not even going to discuss price.
This car is way nicer than I thought.” So he gave me a deposit
and will return in a couple of days with cash. Whew! So I can live
through next week without spending another thou on the car!! Randy
and Saul and I went to Vegas for the NHRA races there, and had a scare
on the way up. On the Baker grade it started smoking intermittently.
We pulled off at the top, saw it dripping some oil, checked the dipstick
(full), checked the trans (full), saw it had full oil pressure and
wasn’t running particularly hot, and figured Victor had put
a little too much oil in it. No problem after that.
The races were good the facility grand, the prices utterly stupid.
A hot chocolate is $5, a sandwich $7, and they did a NEW thing and
cloed the main grandstand off the general admission. They had all
of acout 150 people in the mainy thousand epmty seats. We upgraded
and sat there, but what a STUIPID move on the management’s part.
And we let them know about it! Dixon set a new speed record of 332
and backed it up with a 330 pass. Kalitta did the same 332/330, but
he was about a 1/4-mile-per-hour slower, so didn’t get the record.
The Gremlin remains living here, and no word on the mullah from the
Miramar Marine. Did get another call from a fellow in Pomona, but
playing phone tag at present. Man, that thing runs SO strong now!!
Funny how a little adjustment here and there can reveal some shortcomings.
And in a fairly insane moment, I purchased a 1950 Rover London taxicab
(right hand drive). Friend Dan Feldstein was at an antique auction
and called me, as he felt it was a good buy. He has a particularly
good eye for resale, so I went with his thought, sight unseen. Here’s
hoping it doesn’t become another Gremlin deal. Gonna drive it
to Bob’s and Flames and try to off it immediately.
Looked at the FC in the trailer and am now anxious to get it to the
track. I think I will tow it to Bakersfield, to insure that I get
a representative pass without feeling like I’m on the slick
track at Speedzone, as I did the last few times at Palmdale. Bakersfield
is now a FULL concrete strip!!!
4/14/03
Rain has dampened the outside possibilities. Work takes care of the
rest. As I continue to be operating a Pro Bono Construction enterprise,
I have little left to use for racing. The Condor is in need of some
exhaust work, and needs to be towed to Huth for that. I have not gotten
the ABS loom. I will, at some point, switch the carb from the Gremlin,
when I remove the blower, and put it on the Condor. The Gremlin runs
great, best ever actually. I still need to get it down to AAA to register
it in California. Have all the docs needed now. Rob Anderson has assured
me he will come down soon (supposedly last week-NOT) to pick up the
woofer box from the Condor and mount the new amps and do some rewiring.
4/16/03
No Rob as yet. Did go to see the MB heads off, and Aram (the sharp
MB mechanic fromBurbank) came over with his straight edge and demonstrated
to Victor what the problem was. Fairly simple, actually. The heads
and block are aluminum, and both can distort. When Victor surfaced
the heads, they no longer matched the twisted block, so bingo, head
gasket leak. The center web between the two middle cylinders on each
bank is low, enough to see light under the straight edge. MB sells
a stone to plane the block down to flat for this very purpose. It
is an accepted procedure for those who know these engines to do this
step. Victor did not. His bad, and he will personally take an hour
or two each day to massage the block to flat, then put it all back
together. Hopefully, Mr. Schnedl will hang in for the repair (he said
he will, and was very grateful for my integrity on the matter). The
other fellow from San Diego never called back to come see the car,
just as well. On the Gremlin front a nice chap, Ken Bennett, from
North Hollywood came buy and essentially agreed to buy the car. I
do not have phone for him, did not get a deposit, so I am just waiting
on him to reconnect, with the cash. Interesting that I am getting
a thousand more for the Gremlin than the Mercedes.
4/19/03
Got a very nice note from a reader of the web site, entreating me
for more! Thanks, Bill! Also got a MUCH needed bond refund check (after
only 4 years) which will allow SOME trailer work, MORE Condor work,
and some general house completion (mouldings and stone veneer). It
won’t do all of the above, but will get it started. Still no
word from Kidney Ken. Had a nice surprise last night at Bob’s
(and again at Flames): Chris Titus brought out his “driving
a house” mega-dollar Chip Foose 55 Chevy convertible that is
beyond awesome. He jokes he just took it in for upholstery, and his
two-door hardtop (owned since he was 18), because a sleeked out convertible.
The degree of artistry (to keep it SO simple) and the fineness of
execution are staggering. About 2/3 of the sheet metal is hand-fabricated
new material, yet it retains the essence of the original design. This
is the car that was featured on the Learning Channel demonstrating
Foose and his exploits. Sorta like Monster Garage but just artistry
in design. Chris is an extremely personable guy, very humble and self-effacing,
and of course, funny. He thanked his wife in public for allowing him
to play with the toy. If you had seen his series, he had some episodes
where he used one of the CIFCA cars (Tony Rishton’s) for his
ultimately fiery exploits. Chris appreciated “that bad-ass Gremlin”,
but obviously doesn’t need it for is stable! So it appears I
will be going with Randy to the Irwindale Swap Meet on May 4 to give
it another try. I will take the Gremlin and the truck, and the supercharged
V-6 in the back in hopes of unloading all three. Randy has upgraded
his tow vehicle, a Ford F-350 turbo diesel to a Banks Stage 3 tune.
Awesome! About 350 HP now and 750 pounds of torque!!!! The best part
of the diesel is that it doesn’t generate a lot of heat, unlike
a gas motor. My plans have been to inject and Vortech the dually 454.
It makes 425 HP and 500# of torque, but not off idle like a diesel.
If I can land a good ebay deal on a Ford 350, I’ll just part
with the GMC and get into torque mode. Of course I just spent $10K
on the truck with new engine and paint, and am asking only $9200.
What else is new? The MB is still in the shop getting its block hand-lapped
to flat by Victor. Once accomplished, anxious Tony Schnedl will have
a very nice car to drive, and I’ll have some additional funding.
The weather is clearing up, and perhaps next week I’ll get the
FC out to Famoso or Palmdale and see if we’ve got our tune up.
The season opener is climbing up on us in May, and I want to make
it. Randy likely will not be racing this season, as he is ready to
commence on his own garage enlargement project, has tons of stuff
to toss or file, and significant items to complete on his car before
lighting up the tires.
Rob Anderson will take receipt of my Condor woofer box/electronics
mounting board today to wire in the 2 new amps I got on ebay. I actually
got three, just in case one fails later. He has done such military
spec work on it, and I want him to do the rewire to maintain his quality.
4/29/03
Rob has the goodies, and is working on them. The Condor has the exhaust
hooked up, and I have dialed the fans in, almost to perfection. I
rewired the loom from one side to the other, hid it up under the top
of the core support, and turned the rat’s nest of wiring on
the right side pocket into a thing of sweetness. Randy was here yesterday
and provided the motivation and impetus to get us moving on locating
the apparently eventual hood cutout. After painstakingly measuring
this way and that for about an hour, I then inadvertently closed the
hood, and doinked the rod for the air cleaner, dimpling the hood precisley
where we had done so much work to mark it. A double check on our quality
measurements, if you will. The FC has not moved from the trailer,
but I will bypass the kill switch in the next few days to see if that
is the problem. Our season opener on May 3 has snuck upon us, and
I won’t be driving to Tucson this weekend for it, nor will I
be going to LACR or Famoso, either. Perhaps next week. With the help
of Ron Odriozola, over the past month, ENORMOUS garage progress has
been accomplished. We are down to a few items, and it is looking WAY
better. The front side yard has been cleared, the east storage area
completely revamped, everything in the garage has been taken out and
placed back, swept out, clown out, and mightily cleaned up. We are
now working on a scheme to store the awning system under the trailer,
which involves welding up some belly trays using .063 aluminum panels
and steel ribs. We will soon set the thing up (FINALLY!!) and see
how it actually works. The intention is to put the dually under it
in the front side yard, keep the trailer INSIDE the garage, and the
Condor and Gremlin in there as well. The Mercedes is ALMOST outa here.
The head aluminum block has been hand-lapped into flatness, and the
heads are going on as I type this. The guy who is getting it will
probably NEVER put another dime into it, per my normal Murphy-like
luck. The Gremlin is still here, and I’m lining up more car
shows to display it and perhaps entice a buyer to have the fun. The
trailer is getting pinker and pinker as the red paint is chalking
mightily. I may end up re-shooting the darn thing if I can’t
get a polish going on it. The microwave mounting for the trailer is
ready at Hollingshead, which will allow the tool box to be moved in
and out without constantly lifting and resetting the microwave which
was perched atop it. And in an annoying, but of course typical fashion,
I’ve discovered the $2K Miller Econo-Tig (now worth about $600)
I bought years ago, and which has had essentially NO use at all, just
is not powerful enough for welding anything but very thin aluminum,
so not worth keeping. Another garage or ebay item. But hey, that opens
up another 24” space in the garage!! I’ll haul it up to
Hollingshead and see if he can make it function, but I think it’s
outa here.
And the long-awaited bond refund money got swallowed up by the business
in less than a week. So there went the new truck plans, finishing
the front of the house, and the Condor paint money. I WILL, however,
keep the Mercedes sale funds separate for the Condor paint, and if
anything is left, for some house stuff. You heard it here, I intend
to report I kept my promise to myself. And, should the Gremlin go
bye-bye, then some more funds will be there to complete the above.
5/4/03
Ziola at Hollingshead showed the welder to work just fine for 1/4”
aluminum plate. It has only a 20% duty cycle, meaning I can’t
weld for any extended period (more than a minute or two) without protracted
waiting time for cool-down. The fact is, as good as the unit is, I
have never really used it, so may still just off it.
Took the Gremlin and FC to the Boystown Show, got a 3rd place finish
with the Gremlin, and LOT of attention for the FC. I attempted to
start it up, and the starter just is not responding. The solenoid
works, but the armature does not respond.
The dually delaminated the LF tire tread in a massive way. I’ll
get two new tires tomorrow morning, putting the E-rated RF tire as
the spare on the new rim I purchased on Friday.
The fun never stops. And Saul and Ashok and I spent about an hour
trying to locate the mysterious squeak and wheeze in the dually which
sound incredibly like a slipping belt, air or vacuum leak, or SOMETHING,
and which appears to be emanating from the converter. Randy and I
similarly were unable to pinpoint it.
5/12/03
Took the dually to Marv at A-1, thinking maybe it was a front pump
anomaly or something. After staring at it and listening for about
10 minutes with his sons, he casually asked if the motor had a PC
valve? Yes, two, I noted. One kid pulled one out of the right rocker
cover and BINGO, no more wheeze. Turned out to be WAY too much vacuum,
and Randy suggested blocking one and restricting the other, which
we did. No problemo. Utterly amazing sound, and NOT where you would
think!!!
We got the race car out of the trailer a few days ago, lit it up several
times, did some adjusting on the barrel valve to richer as it was
two flats lean on the idle setting-I had not noticed the ZERO marked
on it. It improved it, until the police arrived. My neighbor just
WON’T allow any noise, no matter when. The cops were WAY cool,
feigning interest in the nose, and gaping at the garage sound system,
car, etc. I gave them a tour of cabinets and features, and offered
to build one of them some cabinets at cost. The car sounds altogether
ready for a test pass again. Of course we nuked ANOTHER brand new
starter, blowing the gear off it. I bypassed the kill switch for the
24 volt line, put the newest 2 HP “doughnut” starter,
and it just hauls when I hit the button. Looks like we MAY have solved
the problem. I think the “pinching” of the current through
the kill switch was causing an over-amp and arcing situation on the
starter contacts, eating the innards quickly. I’m clueless as
to why the gear and wire blew off the other unit. I’ll ship
it to Monty at IMI and let him figure it out. I still have a 3rd unit,
now a spare.
I’ll attempt to lay out the headers from the kit (about a year
old already) bought from Jim Maher, and take it over along with the
old headers to master welder Joe Ziola. Once completed, I can run
the car, as the other headers were literally about to fall apart.
I’m shooting for the weekend of May 24th at Palmdale or Famoso,
unless Drag City in Banning (near San Bernardino) is open by then.
Drag City would be a WAY easier tow, essentially flat, although a
bit farther than Palmdale and half the distance of Famoso, and also
brand new. Randy and I laughed about actually putting a muffled system
on the car, and I’m going to convert the old zoomies and suburban
mufflers (and abandon the flexible tubes) and make a muffler rig for
the muffled events. This would allow for MUCH more track time, and
hassle-free starting at home. It was by NO means quiet, but within
range of legality. Business is killing now, having had to settle several
bad customers out to just move on. I HATE that, but I have taken a
new turn in my contracting life and just am tired of being dead right.
So just eating the big wienie on several bad folks and moving along
to the future, if at enormous cost. I may get this business down pat
soon, or get out. Pro Bono construction just sucks. Still have the
Gremlin, notwithstanding Kidney Ken’s ardor. Got the Mercedes
back after three weeks, and running hot right off the bat. Having
the near-new aluminum Behr radiator (original equipt stuff) eing opened
and checked. If good, I’ll have the water pump replaced. Still
waiting to hear back from the deposited buyer to contact me
to pick it up. I lost his phone, went to his address, couldn’t
find anyone who
knows him in the complex, left my card at the mailbox, and sent him
a letter. By the time he reaches me, it should be REALLY ready for
him. Mercedes: the gift that keeps on giving!!
Remarkable Ron keeps on clearing and organizing stuff, and it shows.
I have to off some stuff, and we should be able to get the trailer
back inside, set up the 10 x 30 x 12 awning in the front yard, and
put the freshly paint-repaired dually under it. Scheduled to get the
dually back from Nick at the paint shop in the morning for the right
rear repair of the “new” paint job (now a year old).
The Condor is inches from running.
5/20/03
Got the dually all right, and promptly scraped it on the trailer door
pulling under the new tent. No huge thing, but silly nonetheless.
The tent works perfectly, and makes a fine tunnel through which to
drive the Gremlin in and out of the garage. The trailer is still outside,
as the “stuff” is not yet gone. Have you heard this before?
Had some mild overheating in the Gremlin last week, about 210 or so,
which is high for it, and found the following morning under a pressure
test that the lower radiator hose was leaking at its connection to
the water pump. Easy fix: tighten the clamp. That cured the water
loss and heating condition. The Mercedes needed a NEW radiator, as
the purportedly new radiator in it was shot, flowing essentially no
water in the center third of the core, and with two obvious patches
on the tubes. The MB now runs a cool 80 centigrade, about 176 Fahrenheit.
Now that it is ALL better, the buyer has vanished. I am still waiting
on my M-Power phone bill to arrive with all the 323 area # I called
in the last two months, to see if I can find Schnedl’s phone
again. Had a few more calls on the Benz, no one serious yet.
On the FC actual progress!!!!! Randy and I got the beast running,
and apparently tuned close. Took the headers to Joe Viola at Hollingshead
Welding this morning, got the sleeves shortened today at Muffler Connection
thanks to Brad (the owner) in RECORD time, and got back to the welder
later in the day to lay out the headers. They are tacked, and Joe
will get to TIG welding them Thursday. So we’re shooting to
set the headers back on Thursday, fill up the fuel jugs and the tank,
and give it a go. Should we be able to make it (and get the dough
together to make the entry fee), this will be the first competitive
outing in almost 7 years!!!! Yikes! Am I nervous and excited? Oh yes!
The fiscal shortfall in the first half of this year, not due to a
lack of business, but a woeful lack of profit, is yet another bead
on the “sorrowful mystery” Rosary I’ve been praying
on for the last 7 years, trying to get the racing operation revamped
and back out on the track. But if we don’t get to Palmdale this
weekend, we’ll get out the next week, test and tune, and shoot
for Vegas. I already have a room booked with my Aunt Mimi, so we’re
really committed for that. Here’s an analogy of commitment:
bacon and eggs. The chicken was involved, the pig was committed.
On the Condor, I have mocked up a beauty kit panel system using white
poster board to cover essentially the whole engine compartment, except
the engine itself, in aluminum or stainless. I may cut up some aluminum
as a test run, just to get a feel for what is required on a finish
run of material (stainless or aluminum). I certainly do NOT feel qualified
at this point to fabricate something that looks extraordinary and
of the caliber I want. But who knows? Maybe I can surprise myself.
Saw an interesting segment of Monster Garage last night where the
boys had the very same trouble with their Ford ignition system, with
the distributor wires cut. I may call Jesse James and find out who
had the answer to our distributor mystery there.
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