Son of Godzilla update - 5/15/07

Just in case you didn't know: I'm rebuilding my old beater (AKA "Son of Godzilla"), to prep it for a drive to Bonneville this September, where I'm entered in the USFRAs 130/150MPH Clubs. Meanwhile, we're selling t-shirts to try and raise some gas money for the trip (see "Help support the Bonneville dream" thread).

Okay, I know you guys all think I've been sitting at poolside, lighting cigars with hundred dollar bills that I've been collecting from t-shirt sales. Truth is, I've been working overtime, then coming home to the shop and thrashing 'till I drop. And not selling many shirts, either...

Been spending most of this month replacing rusty sheetmetal. Most of that is under the car - an unpleasant task, since my "Johnny Jackstand"s only extend 12". Hard to photograph under there, too - plus it's not very sexy stuff to look at, so no pix. Meanwhile, I've been juggling a few other projects, like rebuilding all the suspension and brakes, cutting out old brackets, gussets, etc and replacing them with new (better) ones - man, that's satisfying work! I've also been outsourcing some projects, like machine work on the block, freshening the converter, etc...

In addition to shirt sales, we've been working on some other fund raisers: In June, we'll have a hot rod garage sale here at my place. And in July, I'm playing a concert where I'll debut my hot rod tunes (been working on these for five years). Those should both be fun. In between, I'll be selling shirts out at the strip and here on the HAMB. Donating blood seemed like a noble idea, but in fact, takes up a lot of time for little money (comparatively). We're open to other ideas here...

There's been an amazing grassroots effort from friends old and new to help make this happen. Here's an example: Nate (AKA FlatBlackIndustries) is a HAMBer (never met him in person) who stepped up to make the t-shirts happen, when I couldn't get it together. He's agreed to help post pix for this update, since I lack the skills. We'll let him post some here and I'll whip up a clever narration. Here goes nuttin' honey...This'll be great, if it works...Okay, cross my fingers, hold the key just right in the ignition...and...RRRrrrrRRRrrr...
Uh oh. No spark...Wait! Just got an e-mail from Nate, saying he'll post pix soon. Hopefully, I'll be awake to narrate (I'm getting sleepy - I'm getting sleepy...)...I'd be happy to answer any questions and/or listen to advice, criticism, or praise, while we're waiting...(is this any way to post a thread?)

 

Here she is in all her glory.
#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7


Jangle can explain each image

More to come!

 

Keep us posted Scotty........................

 

Here is a few more!

#8

#9

#10

 

Wasn't Godzooky the son of Godzilla?

nice work!

 

I've always loved that car. Wider rear axle with Bonneville skinnies and deep-dish Moons would rule.

 

Very cool. What are the holes above the decklid for?

 

Okay, allow me to comment on the pix (Thanks Nate!):

1. The carcass, as it sits today.

2. Fresh tin in the trunk - a big step up from the "beater attitude" style I originally did, 22 years ago.

3. The new front sheetmetal mounts (same as above).

4. Fuzzy close-up of same.

5. More new tin on the back half (shot this while doing brake job).

6. Just so I can remember what it looks like (if I ever get around to putting it back together).

7. Brand new rear suspension - when I tore the old one down, I found a main leaf broken in half!!! Yikes! Next up is my homemade anti-roll bar.

8. A peek at the hopelessly obsolete Opel GT front suspension (remember when these were the hot set-up?).

9. Yesterday afternoons work - filling in parklight holes and adding 2" of steel to the bottom edge, where a nightmare of patches used to cover the rust holes.

10. My homemade headers, after 'blasting - can't decide if I want to run 'em bare (with WD40), or have 'em coated - whatta ya think?

Scotty

 

That's what came OUT of the Son of Godzilla, when his old man breathed fire at him! Similar to my experience and that's why Lil Zilla is my alter-ego...

 

I agree(!) - but I can't afford to do that, just for this one shot at the salt. Besides, the point of this is to show that you can take your car there and run, without any special prep. I'm trying to stick to that (for the most part)...

 

I thought you'd never ask! Just before my first attempt at this (in '96), I was hanging with Jack Chisenhall one day - this was just a few weeks after he drove his Stude to B-ville and ripped off a 220+ run, then drove it cross country on Power Tour (that's where we first met). Anyway, we're bench racin' Lil Zilla and he tells me that they discovered this trick while prepping the Stude (it supposedly never saw a wind tunnel, but...). The holes above the decklid let pressurized air escape from under the car and flow over the decklid, adding enough downforce to keep the rear from wagging at speed (on the Stude, anyway). Since cutting those holes, I've noticed it's a lot more stable at the big end of the 'strip. My fingers are crossed that it works on the salt, too...

 

A '56 Morris Minor was the first car I ever drove, many, many years ago. In fact I learned auto mechanics on that one, watching the old man fiddle with the carb and adjust the points, realizing the technical complexity and sheer mechanical genius of drum brakes, etc. etc. Good stuff.

Yours however seems slightly different, and I look forward to checking it out this year, I will be there for that meet.

Nothing like lots of horsepower and a short wheelbase.

See you on the salt.

 

Sounds like the Morris got under your skin - I guess it's true, we never forget our first (whatever). Yeah, mine IS slightly different than stock - good eye! So you're coming to World of Speed? From Oregon? Will you be running a car there, or what? Do tell: why are you going to B-ville - and why aren't the rest of you guys?! Seriously, why isn't everyone doing this? Seems like everyone talks about how cool it would be to run at B-ville, but when it comes down to it, very few do. I don't get it. I'm not trying to make this into some kind of challenge - really - I'm just curious about this phenomenon...

 

I go most every year, however my salt toy is two wheeled and not hamb-like. I do drag it down there behind a souped up model A though.

 

Hey, I have a great respect for those two wheeled hot rods - never raced against one and hopefully never will. At least yours gets towed in style, behind an A-bone. Maybe this year, you'll follow KiwiTinBasher in his 6-cyl powered A-bomb sedan? He drives down from Vanvouver, Washington.
You probably go a lot faster than me - must be one wild ride on two wheels!
Hope to see you there,
Scotty

 

Gotta call it a night - but will kick this up for one last lap. You guys can discuss amongst yourselves and I'll be back in the morning...
Scotty

 

Hey Janglefuzzy----Keep it up. You are making good progress there. And for anyone who`s listening--Scotty really is what this Board should be about. Granted-the Morris doesn`t look like a Model A Coupe with a Vintage Engine, but he has the Attitude,Determination and enough Smarts and Ability to do this... If there is anyone who deserves a few T Shirt Bucks for Gas Money, it`s the Jangleeer....

 

Impressive.

 

Thanks for the kind words House! I think what you said applies to yourself, for sure. But this quote above is what's been on my mind lately - although the Morris was built with kind of a traditional attitude, it's obviously far from it: I mean, an import, with IFS, low profile radials, etc, on the HAMB?! WTF?! That's why I just lurked on here for the first few years. Then I nervously dipped my toe in the water here and people said "Come on in" - I couldn't believe it! Then I started getting stoked to try the salt again and thought the USFRA World of Speed event would be perfect for HAMBers, so here I am, blabbing about it...
I think it's odd that not one traditional rodder has come onto this thread to flame me. But I sure am grateful for that. The acceptance I've been shown here is amazing (to me). Thanks guys.
Now buy some damn shirts! Ha!

 

I should've said: World of Speed seems like a natural for HAMBers, since there's the history of the salt, without the modern media circus that goes with Speedweek, plus you can run your own car if you get bored spectating. And if you do choose to run, it's way more affordable ($140 total) than the $500+ it costs to go Class racing AND you can get in plenty of runs, all at a laidback event where competition is almost nonexistant.

 

Very nice ride jangleguy.That's the look I'm going for with my "59" Morris.Now,where did I put my torch and welder?

Frank

 

Hey thanks, MM! It's not even close to "nice", but it is fun. As for the look, that's one good thing about a short wheelbase (mine's stock 86") - with only one inch of ground clearance (at the lowest point), it rarely scrapes!

Good luck with yours. Have you checked out the "Eh Rocky, still got your Morris thread"? Go there and get inspired...

 

Is there anything better than a REALLY REALLY big engine in a REALLY REALLY small car? We don't think so. Here is the money shot!


and here is the cool shirt Jangle will be wearing the whole trip. He has vowed not to take it off untill he breaks a record. Remeber you can wear the same shirt too! http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=175512

 

Yeow! Thanks Nate! This is so cool - just take a break and when I come back - presto! Instant pix! Thanks to Flat Black Industries (go check out their website (flatblackind.com) - lotsa shirts!)...
So yeah, the engine: pictured is the 406 that I just pulled out - it was pretty tired, after 10 years of non-stop torture. Meanwhile, I've been collecting some nice parts to build a 377" for my race car, but had to sell the racer to finance this trip. But I kept the engine parts! Was gonna put 'em in this block, but it had spun a couple of main bearings and was a crappy block anyway, so was no good. After shopping for a new 400 block and finding nothing but sticker shock, an old friend fixed me up with a good one for the buddy price (thanks, P-Dub at Paul Warner Race Engines!). He'd been saving it for a personal project, but sacrificed it for the sake of this salt quest (do you notice a theme here? Every time I turn around! And how can I ever thank all these people?!). Anyway, the block checks out good with my machinist (who's letting me do some of the work there myself, plus is giving me a deal on parts - here we go again - thanks Jerry Peckham at Peckham Precision Engines!), so it's on: a 10-1 377" street/strip/salt motor: Eagle 3.48" moly crank, w/ 6" Eagle moly H-beam rods, Keith Black forged flat tops, premium GM block (3 freeze plugs per side) w/ nodular iron 4-bolt mains (using ARP studs), Dart Pro 1 aluminum 215 heads, Isky solid flat tappet custom grind cam and kit, plus all the same external stuff you see in the photo. Should make good pump gas power from 1500 - 8400RPM - like a Z-28 302 on steroids! I'm stoked!
As for the shirt deal - yeah, I'll wear the same one until I get that 150 Club slip, but it's gonna be ultra-mega skunky by then. Maybe we'll use it for a HAMB auction item?

 

Thanks for posting this thread, I've really enjoyed reading about this project. Nice to see alternative rods on this site, especially with this level of craftmanship. Saw a vintage Volvo at last years Turkey Rod run, kinda rusty, but I thought it could be a bitchin lil' Hot Rod. Looks like a miniature '46 Ford.
Keep us posted on the progress. Hope you get some cool pics of this Rod coated with salt!
JT

 

Hey Jake - Thanks for following this madness! Hope it's been entertaining, if nothing else. And maybe you've learned a few things NOT to do...
You can bet we'll get some pix of salty rooster tails and the resultant "dry snow" cover - I just hope the car is right-side-up for those shots!
Thanks again, man...
Scotty

 

One more time, for the Thursday night crazies. As for me - I need some beauty sleep (ask anyone)...

 

Just a thought - there's been times over the years when I couldn't make it to the salt, so I'd have a friend take a keepsake for a ride in their car. Once it was a hot wheels, another time a guy took my favorite combination wrench - you know...Well, I'd like to carry on the tradition by hauling something of yours across the salt - whatta ya got? I have a small aluminum tool box (about 10"X10"X8") that could hold a few small items...Or maybe something that would symbolize the HAMB - maybe my old HAMB Drags plaque would do? I dunno - you tell me.....

 

What? Nobody needs a body moved, or an underage girl transported across state lines? This is your big chance...

 

I could wrap a turd and send it, but they take too long to dry...... but seriously.. a Video with Sound posted on here afterwards would be the ticket....