Although the realization might come a little late, I usually figure out when it's time to hire professional help.
The first time the coupe went to a local shop called "Gasoline Alley", it was running way too rich. The car was built at sea level and the carburetor jetting was way off for operation at 5280 feet. The owner of the shop knew AFBs inside out. When he finished with the carburetors, he claimed that they would pass Colorado emissions testing. They didn't have to because the car is too old, but the man knew how to brag. I will say the coupe ran 100% better.
Early in 2002, the clutch started to go out of adjustment. Each time I adjusted the master cylinder actuating rod, it improved for a few drives, then got worse. Eventually I ran out of adjustment. In four attempts, I spent a total of ten hours trying to vacuum bleed the clutch mechanism with no success.
I had the car towed to Gasoline Alley. They examined the clutch hydraulic system and found it was contaminated with thousands of rubber chunks.
We had used a hose on the remote fill reservoir which wasn't compatible with brake fluid. The brake fluid attacked the inside of the hose and eventually caused it to disintegrate.
Gasoline Alley had to remove the driveshaft, transmission and bellhousing and replace the hydraulic throwout bearing, master cylinder and the connecting hoses. Since we replaced all of the expensive parts, we replaced the reservoir too. This time we used brake hose from the reservoir to the master cylinder.
The second time we drove the car to "Hot Times, Kool Cars" (the annual firefighters car show to benefit Children's Hospital Burn Unit), the bearing in the Corvette left wheel support banjo seized. As much fun as it is to drive the hot rod, it's extremely embarrassing to the leave a car show with your car on the back of a roll back tow truck. There wasn't enough room in the cab to duck down so no one could see us. We took the '39 directly to Gasoline Alley, then rode home in the roll back.
Gasoline Alley didn't have a tool to disassemble the banjo and didn't want to use my homemade one. They sent the part to a Corvette specialist for repair. Shortly after I got the car back, an intermittent clunking sound started coming from the right rear. When they realigned the rear, they didn't get the pivot bolt tight enough. The bolt worked loose allowing the pivot end of the banjo to bang against the mounting bracket.
I fixed this at home, but I learned that it pays to check the work of every shop, even those with a sterling reputation.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Saturday, June 5, 2010
11 Time Travel
The second time I drove the coupe to work, the shifter hung up in second gear. Suddenly, it was 1960. After several bouts with the shifter, I pulled out my 40 year old Hurst instruction sheet and determined that the 1-2 arm and the 3-4 arm were interchanged. The two arms look identical, but they aren't. I swapped the two shifter arms and lined up the neutral gate using an Allen wrench. The shifter has not hung up since.
'39 Deluxe grilles consist of twenty-five separate chrome pieces mounted on a formed and welded sheet metal backing. I banged up the sheet metal piece when I hit a wheel stop in a parking lot. I removed all of the chrome pieces and took the sheet metal part to Masterpiece Rodding and Restoration in Denver. They called me two days later and said the grille was repaired. The bill was $135.00 for three hours work. When I pulled out my debit card, the owner said "I don't take credit cards." I had only $80 with me. He said "Take the grille with you and mail me a check." Another time warp.
When Rustic built the car, they insisted on installing both a puller fan and a pusher fan to make sure the car wouldn't overheat. In practice, I never used the pusher fan. The car never boiled over. Since all the pusher fan was doing was blocking air, I removed it and put it in the spare parts pile. I installed an overflow tank and filled the system with Evans NPG+ coolant. This stuff boils at 369°F without a pressure cap. 50/50 ethylene glycol and water boils at 224° F without a pressure cap. Evans NPG+ does not freeze. At -70° F it contracts slightly and becomes a viscous slurry. It is used full strength, not mixed with water.
With the cooling system changes, I had no overheating problems. However, the temp gauge often indicated 260°. I called United Speedometer who had built the LED stack temperature gauge and determined that the temperature sender on the engine was not the Stewart Warner unit that had been supplied with the gauges. A little more research located a Stewart Warner dealer where I was able to order a sender with the proper thread for the Buick head. When I installed it, the indicated temperature was nearly 30° lower than before. When all else fails read the instructions, even if you're a guy.
One other cooling related issue. At my insistence, the puller fan was wired to a battery feed so that the cooling would continue after the engine was shut off. After several dead battery incidents, I changed the fan power to an accessory lead.
I bought four 15" wheels from Wheel Vintiques and had them powder coated orange. I mounted the tires and put them on the car. The rims hit the Corvette calipers on both the front and rear wheels. The stock Chevrolet wheels I had been using didn't hit. I tried 5/16" thick wheel spacers from JC Whitney to space the wheels out enough to clear the calipers. This caused the tires to rub the fenders on turns. I spoke to Pete Van Iderstine at Early Wheel to find out if their wheels would clear. Pete told me that all of the aftermarket wheel suppliers used the same centers and rims. He suggested grinding the Corvette calipers to clear the wheels. I ground and refit the wheels again and again until they seemed to clear, then went for a test ride. They still hit. So I ground and test drove several times until I didn't hear them squeaking. It was necessary to grind the bleeder on the back calipers so much that it was not possible to bleed the rear brakes. The rear tires still rubbed until I had the Corvette rear adjustment corrected. One of the rear wheels I had been using was an AG code 7" wide rally wheel. These were only used on Corvettes, and only in 1968. I finally found another one, had the two of them powder coated and installed them. I replaced the rear calipers at the same time. I used aftermarket rally wheels on the front. These have the same clearance problem as the solid wheels, so I am still looking for a pair of 15" x 6" GM rally wheels for the front.
'39 Deluxe grilles consist of twenty-five separate chrome pieces mounted on a formed and welded sheet metal backing. I banged up the sheet metal piece when I hit a wheel stop in a parking lot. I removed all of the chrome pieces and took the sheet metal part to Masterpiece Rodding and Restoration in Denver. They called me two days later and said the grille was repaired. The bill was $135.00 for three hours work. When I pulled out my debit card, the owner said "I don't take credit cards." I had only $80 with me. He said "Take the grille with you and mail me a check." Another time warp.
When Rustic built the car, they insisted on installing both a puller fan and a pusher fan to make sure the car wouldn't overheat. In practice, I never used the pusher fan. The car never boiled over. Since all the pusher fan was doing was blocking air, I removed it and put it in the spare parts pile. I installed an overflow tank and filled the system with Evans NPG+ coolant. This stuff boils at 369°F without a pressure cap. 50/50 ethylene glycol and water boils at 224° F without a pressure cap. Evans NPG+ does not freeze. At -70° F it contracts slightly and becomes a viscous slurry. It is used full strength, not mixed with water.
With the cooling system changes, I had no overheating problems. However, the temp gauge often indicated 260°. I called United Speedometer who had built the LED stack temperature gauge and determined that the temperature sender on the engine was not the Stewart Warner unit that had been supplied with the gauges. A little more research located a Stewart Warner dealer where I was able to order a sender with the proper thread for the Buick head. When I installed it, the indicated temperature was nearly 30° lower than before. When all else fails read the instructions, even if you're a guy.
One other cooling related issue. At my insistence, the puller fan was wired to a battery feed so that the cooling would continue after the engine was shut off. After several dead battery incidents, I changed the fan power to an accessory lead.
I bought four 15" wheels from Wheel Vintiques and had them powder coated orange. I mounted the tires and put them on the car. The rims hit the Corvette calipers on both the front and rear wheels. The stock Chevrolet wheels I had been using didn't hit. I tried 5/16" thick wheel spacers from JC Whitney to space the wheels out enough to clear the calipers. This caused the tires to rub the fenders on turns. I spoke to Pete Van Iderstine at Early Wheel to find out if their wheels would clear. Pete told me that all of the aftermarket wheel suppliers used the same centers and rims. He suggested grinding the Corvette calipers to clear the wheels. I ground and refit the wheels again and again until they seemed to clear, then went for a test ride. They still hit. So I ground and test drove several times until I didn't hear them squeaking. It was necessary to grind the bleeder on the back calipers so much that it was not possible to bleed the rear brakes. The rear tires still rubbed until I had the Corvette rear adjustment corrected. One of the rear wheels I had been using was an AG code 7" wide rally wheel. These were only used on Corvettes, and only in 1968. I finally found another one, had the two of them powder coated and installed them. I replaced the rear calipers at the same time. I used aftermarket rally wheels on the front. These have the same clearance problem as the solid wheels, so I am still looking for a pair of 15" x 6" GM rally wheels for the front.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Bronco Colors?
As soon as I got the coupe back to Denver, I started to talk to body shops and painters. I spoke to John May, one of the best, if not the best, street rod painters in the Denver area. I told him the car was to not going to be shown. I did not want a perfect paint job, or even perfect body work under the paint. I was looking for a car that I could drive to work and park in the mall, one that a friend calls a 50-50 car - it looks good at 50 yards or 50 miles per hour. I didn't want to worry about road scars. John seemed to get excited as I described the car. He said that the body and paint work would take ten to twelve months. I thought "John, you're not listening." When he mentioned a ten thousand dollar price tag, I said "You are really not listening to me, John.
I heard that a local collector with twenty or more cars had all of his cars painted at a Maaco shop in Aurora. I spoke to them and they estimated $1,700.00. Some body work and painting inside the trunk was added. The final cost was just over two thousand dollars, a cool eight thousand less than the next lowest estimate.
Minor modifications were made to the body. The lower chrome spear on the side of the hood was removed, along with the "cat whiskers" and Ford Deluxe logo above the grille. As mentioned before, 124 louvers were punched in the hood. The holes for the extremely ugly '39 trunk handle were filled and the Ford emblem between the handle and licence plate bracket was removed. A '40 Ford trunk handle / licence plate light from Bob Drake was used. This handle is still no masterpiece, but it's way better than the earlier piece. Bob Drake reproduction '40 Ford bumpers were used front and rear. The rear bumper has a Ford script cutout which acts as a third brake light. Wescott front and rear fiberglass fenders were used due to the poor condition of the original steel fenders.
From the day I got the Dartmouth Green stocker, I envisioned the future hot rod as black with flames fading from orange to yellow. When I looked at the color samples at Maaco, I fell in love with a 1996-7 Saturn color called purple poly or purple metallic depending on the year. Suzanne pointed out that if I didn't get the flames painted right away, I would probably be happier with purple than black. I didn't and I am. When we picked up the car, Suzanne looked at me and said "I've only seen that look on your face once before."
I had 15" station wagon wheels on the front and Corvette AG wheels on the back. They were painted Chevrolet engine orange. This color combination led some folks in the area to believe I had painted the car in Denver Bronco colors. But it's purple and orange, not blue and orange. Besides, I'm a Giants fan.
I heard that a local collector with twenty or more cars had all of his cars painted at a Maaco shop in Aurora. I spoke to them and they estimated $1,700.00. Some body work and painting inside the trunk was added. The final cost was just over two thousand dollars, a cool eight thousand less than the next lowest estimate.
Minor modifications were made to the body. The lower chrome spear on the side of the hood was removed, along with the "cat whiskers" and Ford Deluxe logo above the grille. As mentioned before, 124 louvers were punched in the hood. The holes for the extremely ugly '39 trunk handle were filled and the Ford emblem between the handle and licence plate bracket was removed. A '40 Ford trunk handle / licence plate light from Bob Drake was used. This handle is still no masterpiece, but it's way better than the earlier piece. Bob Drake reproduction '40 Ford bumpers were used front and rear. The rear bumper has a Ford script cutout which acts as a third brake light. Wescott front and rear fiberglass fenders were used due to the poor condition of the original steel fenders.
From the day I got the Dartmouth Green stocker, I envisioned the future hot rod as black with flames fading from orange to yellow. When I looked at the color samples at Maaco, I fell in love with a 1996-7 Saturn color called purple poly or purple metallic depending on the year. Suzanne pointed out that if I didn't get the flames painted right away, I would probably be happier with purple than black. I didn't and I am. When we picked up the car, Suzanne looked at me and said "I've only seen that look on your face once before."
I had 15" station wagon wheels on the front and Corvette AG wheels on the back. They were painted Chevrolet engine orange. This color combination led some folks in the area to believe I had painted the car in Denver Bronco colors. But it's purple and orange, not blue and orange. Besides, I'm a Giants fan.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Interference
When the engine was running, a ticking noise could be heard coming from under the valve covers. When the covers were removed, it became obvious that the rocker arms were hitting the top of the valve spring assembly. This was due to a combination of a unique (weird?) engine design and modifications which we made to the valve train to increase performance.
Unlike any other popular overhead valve engine, the ’53 to ’64 Buick engines had a rocker arrangement where the rockers met the pushrods on the outboard side of the head and the valves on the inboard side. Viewed from the side, the valve stem crossed the pushrod. This had several advantages: The valve placement was near the center of the head (like a Hemi), the engine was narrow for its displacement, and the engine had a lot of torque. Buick was so proud of the torque numbers that they used them to identify the engine instead of horsepower or displacement. The 340 horsepower 425 was called a Wildcat 465. The 360 horsepower two four barrel version was dubbed Super Wildcat 465.
However, the valve arrangement also had disadvantages. One of them is that the valve placement necessitated very small valves for the engine displacement, giving rise to the derisive term “Nailhead” to describe the engine. The rocker arms also have an angular configuration in two dimensions; viewed from the side and from above. There is very little clearance between the rocker arm and the valve spring assembly. In addition, the exhaust passages are long and tortuous, making these engines harder to cool than most.
Kenne-Bell used to be the go-to company for performance Buick parts. (They have since switched to Mustangs because very few performance Buicks are being built nowadays.)
Kenne-Bell valve springs for Buicks are larger in outside diameter than original Buick springs. This extra diameter exacerbates the rocker to spring clearance problem. The rocker arms must be hand filed to provide at least .030 clearance.
After the rocker arms were filed, the engine noise disappeared.
On March 16, 2001 the car was loaded on Passport Transport and shipped to Denver where I lived at that time. The car had spent four years and one day at Rustic.
Unlike any other popular overhead valve engine, the ’53 to ’64 Buick engines had a rocker arrangement where the rockers met the pushrods on the outboard side of the head and the valves on the inboard side. Viewed from the side, the valve stem crossed the pushrod. This had several advantages: The valve placement was near the center of the head (like a Hemi), the engine was narrow for its displacement, and the engine had a lot of torque. Buick was so proud of the torque numbers that they used them to identify the engine instead of horsepower or displacement. The 340 horsepower 425 was called a Wildcat 465. The 360 horsepower two four barrel version was dubbed Super Wildcat 465.
However, the valve arrangement also had disadvantages. One of them is that the valve placement necessitated very small valves for the engine displacement, giving rise to the derisive term “Nailhead” to describe the engine. The rocker arms also have an angular configuration in two dimensions; viewed from the side and from above. There is very little clearance between the rocker arm and the valve spring assembly. In addition, the exhaust passages are long and tortuous, making these engines harder to cool than most.
Kenne-Bell used to be the go-to company for performance Buick parts. (They have since switched to Mustangs because very few performance Buicks are being built nowadays.)
Kenne-Bell valve springs for Buicks are larger in outside diameter than original Buick springs. This extra diameter exacerbates the rocker to spring clearance problem. The rocker arms must be hand filed to provide at least .030 clearance.
After the rocker arms were filed, the engine noise disappeared.
On March 16, 2001 the car was loaded on Passport Transport and shipped to Denver where I lived at that time. The car had spent four years and one day at Rustic.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Disengagement (Part 1)
Except for temporary transportation units, I have never owned a vehicle with an automatic transmission. I was determined not to build one.
I talked to Darrell Shepher at 4 Speeds by Darrell about building an M-22. Because new gears, especially second gear, were getting rare, the cost would be $2,475 (In 1997!). I could save $1000 by using Italian gears. I asked what the difference was and Darrell said the Italian gears were not as strong. What is the sense of a rock crusher with weak gears? You might as well use a Super T-10. I ordered the transmission with GM gears. Darrell said he had a Doug Nash cast iron case for an M-22. The purists didn’t want it because it wasn’t original. He would use the cast iron case for the same price. Sold!
We used TCI under floor pedals with a ¾” bore clutch master cylinder and a remote reservoir for the clutch master. Quartermaster supplied a hydraulic throwout bearing. The clutch is a Centerforce Dual Friction unit for a 427 Corvette.
It took a long time to bleed the clutch the first time. The master cylinder began to leak after a few cycles.
A new ¾” master cylinder was ordered from TCI and installed. It also leaked.
A 1” master cylinder was ordered from TCI and installed. It bled much faster than the ¾” cylinders. Due to the lack of a pedal stop, the increased fluid flow blew out the seals in the throwout bearing.
The engine and transmission were removed from the car and separated. The throwout bearing was rebuilt with new seals and reinstalled. The engine and transmission were put back in the car. We went back to a ¾” master cylinder. The throwout bearing still leaked.
The engine and trans were removed again. The throwout bearing was disassembled. The O-rings looked good and there was no apparent damage to the metal parts. The Quartermaster distributor supplied a new throwout bearing which was bench tested and worked OK.
The engine and trans were reinstalled. The clutch system bled well but started to leak after a couple of cycles. The engine and transmission were removed for the third time. The outer O-ring was broken clear through at the top. The throwout bearing was rebuilt with new seals and reinstalled. After engine installation, the system was bled and cycled. No leaks appeared. An adjustable pedal stop was installed.
We reused the Hurst shifter which was on the old transmission. Shifting without the engine running, the linkage felt “crunchy” in first and second gear and “rubbery” in third and fourth.
With the engine running, the transmission would only shift into fourth gear. Several tries at adjustment finally resulted in the ability to shift into all gears, but it was well short of shifting well. The car moved under its own power on June 29, 1999.
Rustic replaced the shift tower with another that they had. There was a slight improvement, but the shifter was still tight. Did I want to buy a new shifter? No, I wanted them to try the old one again. It worked and seemed to shift OK.
I talked to Darrell Shepher at 4 Speeds by Darrell about building an M-22. Because new gears, especially second gear, were getting rare, the cost would be $2,475 (In 1997!). I could save $1000 by using Italian gears. I asked what the difference was and Darrell said the Italian gears were not as strong. What is the sense of a rock crusher with weak gears? You might as well use a Super T-10. I ordered the transmission with GM gears. Darrell said he had a Doug Nash cast iron case for an M-22. The purists didn’t want it because it wasn’t original. He would use the cast iron case for the same price. Sold!
We used TCI under floor pedals with a ¾” bore clutch master cylinder and a remote reservoir for the clutch master. Quartermaster supplied a hydraulic throwout bearing. The clutch is a Centerforce Dual Friction unit for a 427 Corvette.
It took a long time to bleed the clutch the first time. The master cylinder began to leak after a few cycles.
A new ¾” master cylinder was ordered from TCI and installed. It also leaked.
A 1” master cylinder was ordered from TCI and installed. It bled much faster than the ¾” cylinders. Due to the lack of a pedal stop, the increased fluid flow blew out the seals in the throwout bearing.
The engine and transmission were removed from the car and separated. The throwout bearing was rebuilt with new seals and reinstalled. The engine and transmission were put back in the car. We went back to a ¾” master cylinder. The throwout bearing still leaked.
The engine and trans were removed again. The throwout bearing was disassembled. The O-rings looked good and there was no apparent damage to the metal parts. The Quartermaster distributor supplied a new throwout bearing which was bench tested and worked OK.
The engine and trans were reinstalled. The clutch system bled well but started to leak after a couple of cycles. The engine and transmission were removed for the third time. The outer O-ring was broken clear through at the top. The throwout bearing was rebuilt with new seals and reinstalled. After engine installation, the system was bled and cycled. No leaks appeared. An adjustable pedal stop was installed.
We reused the Hurst shifter which was on the old transmission. Shifting without the engine running, the linkage felt “crunchy” in first and second gear and “rubbery” in third and fourth.
With the engine running, the transmission would only shift into fourth gear. Several tries at adjustment finally resulted in the ability to shift into all gears, but it was well short of shifting well. The car moved under its own power on June 29, 1999.
Rustic replaced the shift tower with another that they had. There was a slight improvement, but the shifter was still tight. Did I want to buy a new shifter? No, I wanted them to try the old one again. It worked and seemed to shift OK.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Decisions and Mistakes
Rustic Street Rods started to work on the car on February 4, 1997.
The first decision I had to make was whether to continue to use the existing modified ‘39 Ford frame or switch to a new aftermarket unit. Because the existing frame had independent suspension front and rear, Corvette disc brakes and engine mounts for the Buick, I decided to use it. I’m not sure that choice saved me any money or time. If I had it to do over, I would probably use a Fat Man frame.
Rustic modified the timing cover for a rubber crankshaft seal to replace the rope type and repaired a broken mounting tab on the water inlet manifold. They also removed rear sump oil pan from the engine in the car. The three pieces were sent to Jet-Hot coatings. The timing cover and water manifold received a high luster silver coating to reduce electrolysis between the aluminum casting and the cast iron block and improve appearance. The pan was coated with a black thermal dissipation coating applied to aid oil cooling.
I wanted to louver the hood for cooling also, but I wanted it to look like it was done in the ‘60s. Rustic found Nostalgia Motors in Boonton, NJ, who had a louver die made in 1951. Rustic had Nostalgia Motors punch 102 louvers in six rows. They also filled the holes for the lower hood spears and Ford Deluxe script. When the hood came back, I hated it.
Rather than remove the rear hood brace to start the rows closer to the cowl, they started each row forward of the brace. Worse yet, the rearmost louvers were straight across the hood so the shortcut was obvious.
I told Rustic that I wanted 24 more louvers punched; five in each outside row, then four in the next rows, and three in each inboard row. Nostalgia Motors said because of the punch design they couldn’t punch louvers behind a row. They suggested starting over on a different hood. The alternative would be to remove the brace, cut the hood at the rear louver line, punch the removed piece then weld the hood back together.
I knew that every time I drove or looked at the car, the louver design would piss me off, so I told Rustic to have Nostalgia Motors dissect the hood and add louvers. They did a nice job. It’s important to like your hood.
Rustic removed the much reworked firewall and replaced it with a Bitchin Products piece. They were able to use the small block model because the Nailhead Buick is quite narrow for a seven liter engine.
At my direction Rustic sent the speedometer and gauge cluster to United Speedometer for alteration. United was given the following parameters:
Speedometer – 140 mph
Battery – 16 volts
Oil pressure – 80 psi
Water temperature – 280 degrees
The alcohol thermometer tube in the temperature gauge was to be replaced with an LED stack which glowed green up to 240 degrees, then amber, then red.
When the instruments came back the speedometer was modified to 120 mph instead of 140.
Rustic sent it back.
It came back with a 140 mph face plate which didn’t match the instrument cluster.
Rustic sent the speedometer back again with the gauge cluster so United could match the two face plates. This time, it came back perfectly matched. United Speedometer was patient and responsive to our needs throughout this whole episode.
The first decision I had to make was whether to continue to use the existing modified ‘39 Ford frame or switch to a new aftermarket unit. Because the existing frame had independent suspension front and rear, Corvette disc brakes and engine mounts for the Buick, I decided to use it. I’m not sure that choice saved me any money or time. If I had it to do over, I would probably use a Fat Man frame.
Rustic modified the timing cover for a rubber crankshaft seal to replace the rope type and repaired a broken mounting tab on the water inlet manifold. They also removed rear sump oil pan from the engine in the car. The three pieces were sent to Jet-Hot coatings. The timing cover and water manifold received a high luster silver coating to reduce electrolysis between the aluminum casting and the cast iron block and improve appearance. The pan was coated with a black thermal dissipation coating applied to aid oil cooling.
I wanted to louver the hood for cooling also, but I wanted it to look like it was done in the ‘60s. Rustic found Nostalgia Motors in Boonton, NJ, who had a louver die made in 1951. Rustic had Nostalgia Motors punch 102 louvers in six rows. They also filled the holes for the lower hood spears and Ford Deluxe script. When the hood came back, I hated it.Rather than remove the rear hood brace to start the rows closer to the cowl, they started each row forward of the brace. Worse yet, the rearmost louvers were straight across the hood so the shortcut was obvious.
I told Rustic that I wanted 24 more louvers punched; five in each outside row, then four in the next rows, and three in each inboard row. Nostalgia Motors said because of the punch design they couldn’t punch louvers behind a row. They suggested starting over on a different hood. The alternative would be to remove the brace, cut the hood at the rear louver line, punch the removed piece then weld the hood back together.
I knew that every time I drove or looked at the car, the louver design would piss me off, so I told Rustic to have Nostalgia Motors dissect the hood and add louvers. They did a nice job. It’s important to like your hood.
Rustic removed the much reworked firewall and replaced it with a Bitchin Products piece. They were able to use the small block model because the Nailhead Buick is quite narrow for a seven liter engine.
At my direction Rustic sent the speedometer and gauge cluster to United Speedometer for alteration. United was given the following parameters:
Speedometer – 140 mph
Battery – 16 volts
Oil pressure – 80 psi
Water temperature – 280 degrees
The alcohol thermometer tube in the temperature gauge was to be replaced with an LED stack which glowed green up to 240 degrees, then amber, then red.
When the instruments came back the speedometer was modified to 120 mph instead of 140.
Rustic sent it back.
It came back with a 140 mph face plate which didn’t match the instrument cluster.
Rustic sent the speedometer back again with the gauge cluster so United could match the two face plates. This time, it came back perfectly matched. United Speedometer was patient and responsive to our needs throughout this whole episode.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
East is Neat
In my ninth year at Harris Graphics Systems, the company was taken over by AM Graphics. The new owners decided to reorganize the company. The Champlain operation was to be combined with Commercial Press and moved to their facility in Dayton, Ohio.
I ran the Technical Publications Department at Bindery Systems and my position was duplicated in Dayton. The company decided to retain my Dayton counterpart and try to find another position for me. They asked if I had any questions. Since I already had another job lined up, I said “How long do I have to stay to get severance pay?” I never saw anyone in such a hurry to break for lunch. When they resumed the meeting a half hour later, I was told I could leave the company in one month with a severance package. It wasn’t enough time for me to coordinate the Dayton move, but I agreed. The company was annoyed with me when I overstayed the deadline.
The new job was selling printing machinery rigging and installation. The office was in Moonachie, NJ. For several months I commuted 300 miles to New Jersey every Sunday night and 300 miles back to Sciota every Friday after work. When we started looking for a house, we realized that we could no longer afford to live in North Jersey. We looked at a lot of houses in Eastern Pennsylvania.
We finally found a ranch house in Tannersville, PA. It had an attached two car garage on the West end of the house. On the East side, the land dropped away about ten feet and there was a rollup single garage door to the basement. Two cars could be pulled in single file. Since we could garage four cars, we immediately bought a fifth so one could be parked outside. The only progress I made on the coupe in the two years we lived in Pennsylvania was the purchase and installation of Stainless steel sleeved Corvette calipers front and rear.
My next job was as a product manager on Long Island. We told the real estate agent that we had to have a two car garage. After we bought a house in a rural area of Eastern Suffolk County we found out that the agent did not show several homes with three or four garage spaces because we had to have a two car garage. Of course, the coupe occupied one half of the garage.
Now the problem with working on the car was not lack of time, it was lack of money due to the size of the mortgage payments. Another two years without progress.
Then I got downsized. The economic downturn included a concurrent fall in Long Island real estate prices. It took us a year to sell the house, and we lost about 40 grand.
My wife Nancy and I bought a general store and gas station in the Nevada desert. We formed Way Out West, Inc. and operated the store for two years without having a clue how to run a business. We then sold the store back to the guy we bought it from and had to sue him to make him pay for the inventory.
We moved to Sparks, NV where I drove for Auto Parts Club, a members only operation similar to Sam’s Club and Costco. Nancy died of diabetic complications in 1994. I felt far older than my age. A woman I worked with introduced me to her mother, Suzanne Bond. Suzanne made me feel young again. We dated for six months then married in a civil ceremony at John Asquaga’s Nugget Casino in Sparks. She saved my life.
I mailed a resume to Machine Design Service in Denver, CO. Seven months later they called and asked me to come to Denver for an interview. They described two jobs to me and asked which one I wanted. I chose, and was told the Project Manager position paid more money, so I changed my mind and took it.
The project was a $2 million installation at The New York Times new satellite plant in Queens, NY. I would have to live in Queens, but the company would pay my rent plus a per diem. There would be a bonus for bringing the job in on time. I wouldn’t have time to work on the car, but I should have enough money.
I called my old friend, Rich Schulz to find out how to contact Ralph Truppi about building an engine for the car. Rich told me that he had a shop called Rustic Street Rods and that there was an engine builder in the building complex that he owned. I agreed to have the work done there.
Rich observed that maybe I didn’t want the car too nice. He hit the Nailhead, so to speak. I’ve never seen any sense to show cars. To me, fun with cars involves driving, not vanity. I wanted a decent looking driver, one that a friend calls a 50-50 car. (One that looks good at 50 yards or 50 miles an hour.)
Rustic’s first task was to pick up a ’64 Buick Riviera in Stratford, CT. I looked at seven Buicks that the owner thought (or said) had 425 Nailheads, but that in fact had 401s. In one issue of The New York Times Sunday classified ads, there were two Rivieras. One in Shelton and the other in Stratford. I called about the Stratford car. The ad in the paper said it was a 430, but the owner said it was really a 425. I asked him if it ran (it did) and to get me the engine number (7K1082768) and code (KW31). Bingo. The K meant 1964, the W stood for 425 cubic inches. During a visit to hear it run, I negotiated the price down from $500 to $400 due to the fact that the bottom foot of the doors and body was rusted away.
The engine’s new life started with a two week bath at the bottom of a 55 gallon drum of diesel fuel to loosen up the gunk inside of it. Then it was bored .030”. The build generally followed the ten part article in Street Rodder magazine which ran from January to November, 1997, including the use of a Kenne-Bell MK-C-118 cam and a J&C double roller timing chain. (More on this later).
I ran the Technical Publications Department at Bindery Systems and my position was duplicated in Dayton. The company decided to retain my Dayton counterpart and try to find another position for me. They asked if I had any questions. Since I already had another job lined up, I said “How long do I have to stay to get severance pay?” I never saw anyone in such a hurry to break for lunch. When they resumed the meeting a half hour later, I was told I could leave the company in one month with a severance package. It wasn’t enough time for me to coordinate the Dayton move, but I agreed. The company was annoyed with me when I overstayed the deadline.
The new job was selling printing machinery rigging and installation. The office was in Moonachie, NJ. For several months I commuted 300 miles to New Jersey every Sunday night and 300 miles back to Sciota every Friday after work. When we started looking for a house, we realized that we could no longer afford to live in North Jersey. We looked at a lot of houses in Eastern Pennsylvania.
We finally found a ranch house in Tannersville, PA. It had an attached two car garage on the West end of the house. On the East side, the land dropped away about ten feet and there was a rollup single garage door to the basement. Two cars could be pulled in single file. Since we could garage four cars, we immediately bought a fifth so one could be parked outside. The only progress I made on the coupe in the two years we lived in Pennsylvania was the purchase and installation of Stainless steel sleeved Corvette calipers front and rear.
My next job was as a product manager on Long Island. We told the real estate agent that we had to have a two car garage. After we bought a house in a rural area of Eastern Suffolk County we found out that the agent did not show several homes with three or four garage spaces because we had to have a two car garage. Of course, the coupe occupied one half of the garage.
Now the problem with working on the car was not lack of time, it was lack of money due to the size of the mortgage payments. Another two years without progress.
Then I got downsized. The economic downturn included a concurrent fall in Long Island real estate prices. It took us a year to sell the house, and we lost about 40 grand.
My wife Nancy and I bought a general store and gas station in the Nevada desert. We formed Way Out West, Inc. and operated the store for two years without having a clue how to run a business. We then sold the store back to the guy we bought it from and had to sue him to make him pay for the inventory.
We moved to Sparks, NV where I drove for Auto Parts Club, a members only operation similar to Sam’s Club and Costco. Nancy died of diabetic complications in 1994. I felt far older than my age. A woman I worked with introduced me to her mother, Suzanne Bond. Suzanne made me feel young again. We dated for six months then married in a civil ceremony at John Asquaga’s Nugget Casino in Sparks. She saved my life.
I mailed a resume to Machine Design Service in Denver, CO. Seven months later they called and asked me to come to Denver for an interview. They described two jobs to me and asked which one I wanted. I chose, and was told the Project Manager position paid more money, so I changed my mind and took it.
The project was a $2 million installation at The New York Times new satellite plant in Queens, NY. I would have to live in Queens, but the company would pay my rent plus a per diem. There would be a bonus for bringing the job in on time. I wouldn’t have time to work on the car, but I should have enough money.
I called my old friend, Rich Schulz to find out how to contact Ralph Truppi about building an engine for the car. Rich told me that he had a shop called Rustic Street Rods and that there was an engine builder in the building complex that he owned. I agreed to have the work done there.
Rich observed that maybe I didn’t want the car too nice. He hit the Nailhead, so to speak. I’ve never seen any sense to show cars. To me, fun with cars involves driving, not vanity. I wanted a decent looking driver, one that a friend calls a 50-50 car. (One that looks good at 50 yards or 50 miles an hour.)
Rustic’s first task was to pick up a ’64 Buick Riviera in Stratford, CT. I looked at seven Buicks that the owner thought (or said) had 425 Nailheads, but that in fact had 401s. In one issue of The New York Times Sunday classified ads, there were two Rivieras. One in Shelton and the other in Stratford. I called about the Stratford car. The ad in the paper said it was a 430, but the owner said it was really a 425. I asked him if it ran (it did) and to get me the engine number (7K1082768) and code (KW31). Bingo. The K meant 1964, the W stood for 425 cubic inches. During a visit to hear it run, I negotiated the price down from $500 to $400 due to the fact that the bottom foot of the doors and body was rusted away.
The engine’s new life started with a two week bath at the bottom of a 55 gallon drum of diesel fuel to loosen up the gunk inside of it. Then it was bored .030”. The build generally followed the ten part article in Street Rodder magazine which ran from January to November, 1997, including the use of a Kenne-Bell MK-C-118 cam and a J&C double roller timing chain. (More on this later).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)