Don and Peter's Hot Rod Corner

Started by MountainDon, February 13, 2007, 12:55:02 AM

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glenn-k

That was a great unbelievable video too, Don.

Some of these guys must have huevos the size of grapefruit. :o

glenn-k

183 cu inches - I can relate to that.

That road looks very much like the road to work on my project in Coulterville that took out my factory torque converter except most of it has no guard rails.  A county worker went over the side 600 feet down to his death last year.


MountainDon

#27
QuoteThat was a great unbelievable video too, Don.

Some of these guys must have huevos the size of grapefruit. :o
Absolutely!
On another front, here's a very fast little racer on youtube as well. Well equipped driver too I imagine

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Wgzi7A02kSY

It's a 1350 lb road racer with a BMW 3.0 litre engine. Ooops, sorry there Glenn, I went metric for a moment. That's 183 cu. inches or a little over 3/4 of a gallon.   :)  [/img]

glenn-k

I don't know what happened there but somehow my reply came up before your posting -- administrative powers getting the best of me I guess. :-/

MountainDon

Quoteno guard rails.
There are a number of mountain roads around NM, CO UT with no guardrails. On some of them I've told it's because in winter they need to be able to plow the snow over the side. True?? Dunno, but I've seen the trucks pushing the snow over... no rotary plow throwing the stuff.


glenn-k

That's cool - I thought I lost it there for a minute----

I have in the past accidentally hit the modify button on a members post, did my reply then returned to find the post gone.  I may be omnipotent. :-/

glenn-k

Could be true - speaking of which - we got snow today.

In our case there would be about 6 miles of guardrail necessary on just that one stretch and the rest of the road while not that bad would need it too - probably around 20 miles -- so forget it.  In fact the whole road could use it.  Not a place to drink and drive. :)

benevolance

hehe

My drag car has a glass front clip on it as well ::)...Gotta shave the weight where you can...

Next one I build after this one will be a newer car so that I can have glass doors and better weight transfer....Through the wheelbase...

I would entertain an offer to sell the current project and to get a 67-69 valiant...Because the 70-72 duster front clip is the same thing and they are making cheap glass front ends and doors and bumpers...

I should be able to shave off several hundred pounds just replacing the clip doors bumpers...And then maybe another hundred pounds swapping out the glass with lexan

Still those cars are a little heavier than the 65 and 66 valiants...I can get more of the weight off the front of the car through the glass parts and I should get a better weight transfer because of it.

Well this is what my mind is telling me anyways

I keep a autocad drawing of the aluminum slant oval port head hanging over my computer... After the house is finished I will start looking back at it...

Just because people say I cannot do it I guess.... We will just not tell the wife about it.... I will have to start pouring beer on my clothes and in my eyes after working hours in the shop and coming into the house at 3 am....So that she thinks I am just a drunk....Not a fool ;)

MountainDon

Quotehehe
My drag car has a glass front clip on it as well ::)...Gotta shave the weight where you can...
;)

Ah!!  8-)  f-glass parts... definitely a serious car Peter.  Isn't it a wonder all the special stuff you can find!  :)


benevolance

Don

Trying to get a slant 6 race car to run 12.99 without turbo or nitrous...You have to make sure you shave off as much weight as possible...

I like to drive the car on the street some...Take it out on Saturday nights to the cruise in or local rod runs... So it has to be functional

Fiberglass is expensive... very much so...But it is worth it...I can always bolt the original panels back on later if needed and it looks good... They have come a long way and panels today actually fit! :o If you can shave a few hundred pounds off the front of the car and have it functional and looking original... I wonder why everyone does not do it?

The fiberglass is the difference between 13.5 and hopefully 12.99 for me

glenn-k

The slant six was one of the best engines ever made.  Chrysler - Dodge or whoever slanted the cyls to prevent excess wear and less friction.  It was a great idea and is now being done in many small engines.

MountainDon

Quote(the repair stuff was in British!)
   But I'm not sure there ever was--or will be--a more comfortable car.
Thank goodness Volvo didn't use British Lucas electrical parts!!  

I never owned a Volvo newer than the 123GT; well actually I had a 142 for a couple weeks during a car trading phase...  :-/  Anyhow they all had comfy seats. The lumbar tension adjustment was nice.

(altogether I owned over a dozen 122 series; buy cheap, sell higher... got a lot of friend's into them)

MountainDon

#37
Glenn, is there a story behind the '19 and/or '26 Dodge?   :-?  (sittin' here with a cold, watchin' the NASCAR boys go roundy round.)



benevolance

Funny Story about Lucas Electronics....We would say..

Powered by Lucas..Lord of the Darkness....Well because They never worked and because it was pure junk you were in the darl more than not

Don...Man I have oodles and oodles of pictures of cars....The last three years I have owned hundreds I can send you some of the neat ones... I bought 6 vehicles yesterday....Some of them are pure junk...I am always buying...
70 coronet 4 door 69,000 mile grandma car...Going to cut up for mint clip, am/fm radio, ps, pb, ac...Good dash pad etc
58 Chevy Apache...327, auto...Camaro Subframe (which I hate)
71 Plymouth scamp...360 4 speed, 8 3/4 .488 suregrip with a sharkstooth...Nice car needs paint
79 Ford pickup...302 auto...bought to junk for the motor, trans
73 Chevy pickup...Rusted out Ohio truck with low mileage 350 4 bolt main engine...Going to junk asap
76 ford granada..Bought for the 302 auto with disc brakes...parts going a 65 falcon

I wish that I could buy more old old cars...But I need to buy a couple later model cars per week to part out...So that I have  Disk Brakes power steering... motors and transmissions for some of the projects... I sell a lot of parts...I run free classified ads in the local classified papers and I can sell the heck out of any motor.... I drag cars home from people's yards...Get em running and let the buyer listen to it run....And then pull it then and there when they pay me... Good way to raise cash when I have half a dozen extra motors lying around....Every time I advertise running engines I sell them within days...I sell them reasonable and I let the customer hear it run....

Strip out the stuff I can use and haul everything else to the crusher...I do not have the land to let the cars sit....So I haul several a month to the crusher....After I pick what I can use.

I wish I had more land I hate to throw anything away....There are a lot of good parts on some of the cars I crush out.... Need to save up for some more land I guess.


benevolance

I cannot watch Nascar too much....First 25 laps and last 25 laps....Those 400 lap races get awfully boring for me

benevolance

I guess I sort of do with darts and dusters what you do with p122's I started buying them about 5 years ago and I was buying them for 1-200 bucks....Get em running and sell them for a small profit.... Started down here in SC three years ago with one car...2 years later I had 40 of the damned things...*LOL*

I tell my wife I want 365 running driving cars... one for every day of the year...She thinks I am kidding.... :)

glenn-k

#41
QuoteGlenn, is there a story behind the '19 and/or '26 Dodge?   :-?  (sittin' here with a cold, watchin' the NASCAR boys go roundy round.)



Matter of fact I probably can come up with a story about them. :)

As I mentioned I was a mechanic for Dodge - started there sweeping floors and doing lube jobs before I graduated from THS in Lincoln City, Oregon.  I simply got out the Dodge service manual on every problem there was there and read up then fixed the problem.  Assisting the head mechanic there I soon became second in line.  He quit and went to Chevrolet and that moved me to the front.  I was doing any type of job that came in including differential overhauls, auto trans OH and even a few engines.  Many tuneups and I did every detail I could find by the book, so did pretty good.  

I quit there in my second year and went to the diesel shop to learn diesel work and welding.

Over the years I tried Chevy and Ford trucks but at least for me the Dodge had a better dependability record so I came back.

My friend, Al and and another old timer got me interested in antique engines - the old one lungers around 1978, so I got a pretty good little collection of them going.  I commonly reviewed the classifieds in the paper and just casually watched for interesting deals.  

The combination of working for Dodge and collecting gas engines made it only natural that I would jump on a deal to get an old Dodge car.  I found the 1919 listed at a place in Fresno and had to at least take a look at it.  It wasn't too great - painted black after the rust had been sanded off with a grinder but it was unique, original for the most part and drivable under it's own power.  As I recall I got it for $5000.

QuoteThe U.S. Army employed Dodge trucks and cars extensively in World
War I, but even earlier, in 1916, Dodge had already received an unexpected
endorsement for its vehicles during the American Punitive Expedition against
Pancho Villa and his rebel forces in Mexico. There, using three Dodge cars,
Lieutenant George S. Patton, Jr., led a daring raid against a "bandit" stronghold
in what may have been the first mechanized charge in military history.
Afterward, Patton's commander, John H. "Black Jack" Pershing, was so taken
with the automobile's rugged reliability he notified the U.S. War Department
that in future he wanted only Dodges for the Mexican campaign. In all, the Army
bought 250 of the touring cars for service in the Mexican Badlands.

Copyright 1998-2004 DaimlerChrysler. All Rights Reserved.

More here   http://www.chryslerheritage.com/sec500_pdf/Chapter4.pdf


Internet research on the 1919 Dodge Roadster revealed an interesting story about Pancho Villa.

Quote"This day, Villa had picked up a consignment of gold with which to pay his Canutillo ranch staff and was driving through the city in his black 1919 Dodge roadster when a group..."

I could tell you the end but that would ruin it.  Here is the story.  I think I posted it elsewhere but let's make it easy. :)


In Pursuit of Pancho Villa 1916-1917

Actually found my other posting on Google.

http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1163568233/28


I found the 1926 at a tractor parts dealer and decided I needed it also.  It wasn't an extreme restoration but was a much better one than the 1919.  It also was completely original. It did have an electric fuel pump added for driveability.  Since they aren't making any more of them I figure they will always be worth something.  

I'm not hot on making antiques into street rods unless they are such a basket case that that is all that can be done to get them back on the road.

Note that the early Dodges were nearly all steel - similar to modern unibody construction on the chassis so over the years they stayed together much better that the other brands wood and steel construction.  Dodge was also a 12V electrical system until late 1926 when they went to 6V systems - a mistake in my opinion.  Starter/generator was chained directly to the crankshaft with a silent chain similar to a timing chain.  Mine are both 12V.

There's your story. :)

glenn-k

#42
Found Pancho's car.  Exactly like mine. (plus holes) :o



from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chihuahua,_Chihuahua

MountainDon

Thanks Glenn; great history lesson for the day. I knew you'd have something interesting to say.  ;)  And nice photo of Pancho's car.

I had an uncle with a small farm back home. Years after he died and his son sold off the farm I was asked if there was anything I wanted. I claimed an Automatic Combination Tool, the predecessor to the Hi-Lift jack, a Stevens single shot lever action falling block .22 with a slightly bent barrel (I learned to shoot on it and learned the curve the bullet took to the right and up a hair), an anvil, and a John Deere one lung engine. I still have all four items. The engine has a water chamber on top for cooling and was known as a hit and miss, IIRC. It's just about all cast iron right down to the four wheels it rides on.

glenn-k

I really get interested in history and try to study up on the things I acquire.  Some of it is exceptionally interesting like the old Dodge.

One lungers - yep, that's the animal.  The John Deere.  I have a bunch of other brands - mostly Fairbanks-Morse, but some others also.  Just got my big anvil back from the other place - my son didn't want me to take it but he decided to go to LA, so now I can collect my stuff as I get the shop improved here to have a place for it.

I knew of Pancho's car for several years.  This is the first time I was able to find a photo of it. :)


benevolance

Pretty awesome man

Whoever takes your photos is good at it.....

Nice stance on the Volvo...How many horsepower were you running... I love road racing....Never had a car for it though... In Canada  where I lived it was a no go...Small population base and not much interest...The road race track was mostly for motorcyle racing only...

Down here in Carolina there are a couple good road courses...I have no time to get into it...I barely touch the valiant drag project

I guess it is a pipe dream for me right now.... Nascar is boring... only left turns...Drag racing is only straight lines...

I have always thought road racing was more fun to watch....

The best drivers in the world are those rally car drivers.....Man they are amazing... 80 miles an hour with no safety barricades through the dirt in the woods...Lose control and you are in the trees and the race is over.....No getting the car fixed and getting back out there like Nascar

I watched a few youtube videos of road racing and It was hairy to even watch...*LOL*

Those guys can drive.

MountainDon

#46
Quote
Whoever takes your photos is good at it.....
It was a day job co-worker. Camera was a motor drive Nikon F2, probably either a Nikkor 80-200 or the 300mm tele lens. He did a fine job. Made a few dollars selling photos to the car owners.

Quote
Nice stance on the Volvo...How many horsepower were you running...
1 3/8" front anti-sway bar, 1" adjustable (from inside while moving) rear bar. Shorter stiffer springs. Also had an in-car proportioning valve for the front/rear brake balance.
Neither engine or car was ever on a dyno but I figure it had to be pulling 200+ from the 110 cu.in. at up to 7200 rpm's

QuoteNascar is boring... only left turns...Drag racing is only straight lines... I have always thought road racing was more fun to watch....
I agree. But NASCAR on road courses is a whole bunch of fun!

Quote
The best drivers in the world are those rally car drivers.....Man they are amazing...
Only thing I don't like about rallies is that they are usually not a very spectator friendly type of racing. You can hang out at a good spot and see all the cars go by, then that's usually it. Back in the 60's there was a works driver for SAAB, Eric "on the roof" Carlson who was amazing. He was my idol for a while. He had arms like hams... They ran a locked diff in the front wheel drive car. Making a locked front diff turn corners is quite a feat. (I know from slow speed running the 4X4... when the front is locked it doesn't like to turn)

MountainDon

QuoteDrag racing is only straight lines...
But drag racing is where a lot of us first wet out feet and succumbed to the speed bug. I never did much myself, unless you count the stupid street racing I fell for as a kid. My Dad had a "mid life" moment and ordered a 1962 Chevy Biscayne (bottom line 2 door sedan, cheap looking car) with a 396 cu. in V8 and a three on the tree tranny. A real sleeper. I removed the 396 emblems and cleaned darned near everyone's clock. There's no replacement for displacement!! Of course it had trouble turning corners and stopping like every other american iron of the era.

benevolance

200 horse is a lot in a 4 cylinder car that small and light...

I had a hotrod corvair once that was bored out .060 it had roller rockers and I balanced the crank and rods...It was stock 140 horse with 4 carbs... It was 210 horse when I was done with it and the car was so fast it was scary.....Handled like a dream would kill a porsche...I road raced (stupidly in my youth) and absolutely destroyed a couple 88 Mustang GT cars....I had enough to stay away from them on long straights...And I lost them in the corners...

I installed a sticky set of Yokohama tires on the car...Aluminum slot mags...Nothing fancy on the suspension...Heavy duty gas shocks all the way around and  oversize front and rear sway bars... 7 inch wide wheels

No seat belt in a turn meant you were steering the car from the passenger seat.... no way you could stay in seat...Almost wrecked it first test drive...

Learned quickly that a 5 point harness was needed to stay in the seat... I had quick ratio steering on the car with aftermarket steering arms...

Man I loved that car....I got rid of it because there was no place to race it...probably a good thing I did..I am still alive today :)

But I bet the Volvo was faster....200 horse in that little car...Lighter smaller with a perfect center of gravity and probably close to 50/50 weight distribution.

Just an awesome car man...

MountainDon

Wow, your mention of the Corvair brought back some memories.  :)

The Yenko Stinger for one. Don Yenko built and sold a number of them. They were fairly popular in SCCA racing for a time.  ;D

That in turn reminded me of a guy I went to high school with. He stuffed a turbo Corvair into a VW Carmen Ghia...  underbraked.

And thirdly, another guy who placed a small block chevy midships in an old VW bus... seriously underbraked and had cooling problems.

No seat belts and vinyl seats... bad combo especially with a bench seat.   :o .  I used a four point harness and a Recaro seat.

With the removal of steel parts and their replacement with fibreglass or aluminum, plus the ability to weld in heavy duty steel bracing in the rear (the rules did not allow bolting in or even welding in steel that was obviously just for weight, but nothing said you couldn't use 3/8" steel where something lighter would do.) the weight distribution came in around 55/45.