Hot Rods Dare to be different - 63 Scout

What a cool project, those Scouts were tough little trucks.

 

Alluminum in the bed is in, fuel cell is mounted and the first of the braided lines run for the primary fuel and return lines. Battery box is in and I've run the battery and ground cables.

Since the plan is to run a carb for the first little while I bit the bullet and picked up a Brodix intake to match the heads. It was a bit pricey ($350) but will be a huge improvement over the Victor Jr. I was going to use for the interim. The port matching was all wrong and it would have cost me power and a nightmare to try and tune. I also went with 1.6 rockers. The Comp Cams gold rockers are like jewlery and the ratio and long duration on the solid cam should fool the engine into thinking the cam is a lot more radical than it is.

Dyno time booked for July 27. Once the engine is broken then I'm dropping in the running gear, cooling system and fans and I'll wire the beast up.

 

Off topic, but seriously cool, and I simply have to brag about it

I just got back from the Canadian Special Olympics in London Ontario Canada were my younger brother won a gold medal in 5 pin bowling. The whole event was awesome. What a thrill for all these athletes. The opening ceremonies were fabulous and the facilities were top notch. The event was well run and the city of London welcomed them and treated them with huge respect.

I simply could not be prouder of my Brother. This "kid" is disabled from brain damage he sustained from an illness (Reye's Syndrome) when he was 11 and he has had to deal with adversity and disrespect all his life. My older brother and I are both accomplished athletes but we are in total agreement that if Marc had not been struck down, he would have been the best of us all. Today, with his disabilities, a Gold medal at the age of 47 for his category is a huge achievement.

After 3 days, 7 games and winning 5 of the 7 head to head matches vs. others with similar abilities, I was moved to tears to see him make a long slow walk up to the podium with the biggest grin I have ever seen on his face. For a guy who has no idea what day of the week it is, he was certainly aware he had done something special.

Now for the "real" special part. (get a tissue folks) One of the players from Ontario didn't win a medal and was visibly upset. Marc walked over to him and offered him his gold medal. These awards mean something to these people... it's significance is not lost on Marc. It that time and place in his universe... that Gold medal was Marc's greatest possession. To offer it to another person was a huge act of kindness and respect.

The Ontario guy stood there stunned for minute. Marc put the medal over the guy's head and told him it looked great. The guy simply beamed. He gave Marc a big hug, said "Thank you" - and then GAVE IT BACK !!?? - Then the guy walked Marc around for 10 minutes showing off his new friend's gold medal to anyone who would listen. (Wow)

If you ever have an opportunity to attend a Special Olympic event I highly recommend you do so. These athletes are not body conscious, do not care about social differences and simply want to be accepted. They love and care unconditionally and are a joy to be around. There is no other sporting event you will ever attend where you will see the athletes hugging the officials and high fiving their opposition.

It's the thrill of victory, shared by all, with little or no agony of defeat.

Sorry for the redirect
I simply had to share it.

Thanks

 

im glad you did share it.. i needed some good news today.. your a good brother. thanks

 

Spent some more time in the back of the truck.

I've got some simple tin work in the back to give it the old school racer look. I would like to think I've intentionally made it look old time and a bit like I measured with a piece of string and hacked it out with a hacksaw but that's pretty much my talent level showing through. I'm a long way from the likes of most of you fabricating artists out there but I make up for it by being old short and fat... Actually it all comes together pretty well.

I mounted and plumbed the fuel cell. This is a good thing since actually installing some of the $500 worth of fittings feels a lot better than when I paid for them. I also mounted the battery box and made up some cables.

The sub frame I built down the middle of the bed to mount everything is working out far better than I expected. (it's hidden under the tin work) I've used the subframe rails to mount the battery cables which cleans up the underside very well. I also mounted the power switch to the back corner of the box and routed the cables through the bulkhead.

Since I'm a huge sucker for engine porn... I've included a shot of the Brodix head / intake and carb setup I will be using to sort out the chassis. I think it looks great and the performance should be as much as I'll ever need or want (est 500 hp) but the hilborn's are still the long term goal. I wish I had taken a better shot of the 1.6 rocker arms. My shaky Blackberry picture does not do them justice. They are pure art.

A little at a time... it's coming together

 

I have been subscribed from the git-go and look forward to seeing the progress every time I receive a heads up email.

Luv the project and thanks' again for posting for us IH fanatics...

 

John Deere Greene

 

sorry to hear about the missing hemi. IMHO you should put a 289 hypo in it and get it back to looking more stock.

 

You have a great brother there. You should be very proud of him! Thanks for the story.

 

man i remember that car....i hounded my neighbor for years for his scout....never got it...........friggin kool

 

I have an appointment with the Dyno room on tuesday so the weekend was spent getting the motor ready. I have limited engine experience (To go along with my limited tin work and limited welding experience) so the past few days have been a lot of fun learning and doing. I like to think my lack of experience in many areas is better described as "More enthusiasm than talent"

Friday evening I struggled for 2 hours to remove the inner valve springs for the break in. 2 hours ?? Yup !! The cheap Princess Auto valve spring tool I was using was useless at best and far more effort than it was worth. After all was said and done a guy from the shop drops off a home made leverage bar that worked like a charm and didn't need 2 people to complete the job. (Hey, the shop is a tranny and diff shop, not an engine shop) Didn't help me much as I was already done. But at least I know for next time.

Lesson learned: Use the right tool for the job.

Saturday was my day for bad threads. No not my clothing (Although I could use some help there too) I mean threads as in anything threaded. As I was putting the valve train together I found one of the Comp Cam adjustable keeper nuts wasn't completely threaded. I walked it over to the machine shop next door and it was ready in an hour. In the mean time I went to my local speed shop (Softy's) and picked up a valve cover stud kit and a carb stud kit and some extra oil filters and gaskets for the dyno runs. I got back only to find one of the valve cover studs had no threads at all and was too small to repair. I also found they were too short. Problem solved with some threaded rod. I highly recommend poutting in valve cover studs. makes life much easier. Later in the day, as I was putting on the carb... you guessed it, the threads on one of the carb studs was incomplete. I fixed that with a tap and dye set.

Sunday saw me setting the valves and adding oil. One of the local "experts" tried to help me to set the valves. Correction, tried to enlighten me with his wisdom but wasn't ready to help at all. In the end he was wrong as hell about setting the valves on a cold engine with alluminum heads. Once I was done I was ready to add oil and spin up the pump to prelube the engine. The same guy told me he had spun up the oil pump to prelube the motor. When I asked jhim about he said it only took a few seconds. But I also knew he never pulled the valve covers. Later in the day a friend of mine (Larry) came in to work on his race car and he gave me some of his time to help me with the pre-lube. When we gave it a try it took almost 2 full minutes for the rockers to prelube properly. Even then I found one rocker would not lube up. I pulled it and blew out the pushrod and lifter and found an obstruction in the pushrod. Worked like a charm after that. We damn near killed Larry's electric drill / driver in the exercise. But if we hadn't taken the time to double check, the motor probably would have self destructed on the dyno.

Lesson Learned: When it comes to the important stuff, don't trust the local "experts" and double check everything.

Pearl of wisom: Shoot the local "experts". Maybe shoot them before you shoot all the lawyers. We'll be better off in the end.

With the engine ready for the dyno I have a mix of elation, excitement and trepidation. I'm sort of expecting the best... and worst, all at the same time. I have visions of the motor disintegrating on the dyno or pulling dismal numbers. The reason for my fears is too many people have had their hands in the motor and I'm not sure if the quality of the build is where it should be. My only confidence is in the short block which was assembled by a reputable builder. Ultimately I'm hoping for a 500+ number but I would be happy with something close to that. 500 sounds so much better than 450 when you talk to your friends doesn't it?? To be honest I would be happy just to get a healthy properly broken in engine coming back for the weekend. If the beast holds together we'll be running a few different carb and spacer combinations so I'm hoping for some solid recommendations.

I'm umpiring the Canadian Slo-Pitch Nationals this weekend (Thursday to Monday). I'll give a dyno report when that is all done.

Cheers

 

Ok kids... here's the initial dyno results.

But first a little refesher. The motor is a 377 sbc .30 over 400 block with a 350 crank. Forged 11-1 pistons swinging on H beam rods and a nitrated steel crank. Rings are stainless steel. The cam is a mild .530 lift .308 duration solid lifter model with chrome moly push rods. The heads are older Brodix Track 1x with 2.06 intake and 1.60 exhaust and 1.6 crane rockers. Brodix intake with an out of the box Holley 850 rounds out the top. The bottom end is like fort knox as i was initially building a nitrous motor for my previous Vega. The top end sort of just fell into my lap 1 piece at a time. Future plans call for .650+ lift roller cam but for now I'm happy with a more manageable set up until I get the truck dialed in.

After a break in session Thursday they put the inner valve springs back in, set the valves and changed the oil to a very heavy 20w50. Already I was getting giddy. During the break in the engine started immediately idled and held oil pressure and water temp.

Friday was possibly the worst day we could have picked to look for horsepower. The humidity was 100% with a heavy thunderstorm and the temps in the 30 celcius range (85 F). Don't forget we still had the 20/50 oil in it as well. We wailed on the beast anyway. That's what it was built for. With my 850 Holley completely untouched out of the box the motor shook the pictures on the dyno wall for 5 pulls. The best was 497.9 hp @ 6400 rpm with peak torque of 472.6 @ 4900 rpm. The water temp never went above 160 and oil pressure was perfect. To say I was happy would be an understatement. The motor made 400+ torque starting at 3100 rpm and over 400 hp from 4600 all the way to the red line we set it at for the dyno (6600). The torque and hp curves are stupid flat and absolutely perfect for my 5200 stall converter and 4.56 gears. (Can you say 4ft wheel stands off a trans brake??)

Based on a simple online ET calculator that factors in 17% parasitic loss and by my estimated 2800 pound vehicle weight with my fat ass in it, the little truck should see the top end of the 10's with the motor the way it sits. (giggle...)

Next step is to try to find that 2.1 hp for a legitimate 500 hp. We'll try a 1" spacer and some carb tuning. Hopefully the humidity will drop to something less than a monsoon season. We'll also try a run later in the evening for the cooler air. (Remember, I'm still running the mud like oil)

Stay tuned for Dyno session - Part II - The quest for 500

 

Just found this thread. Your truck is beyond cool! Dare to be different is the only way to go in my book. Looking forward to your first runs at the strip.

 

Very Cool,

I learned to drive in a '67 Scout 800, I never once thought about taking it down the strip, so this is awesome.

Subscribed, Keep us Posted!!!

 

Dyno session - Part II - The Quest for 500 is Complete !!

With better air and the timing set at a conservative 34 degrees we wailed on it once again. With the simple addition of a 1" spacer the motor pumped out 506 hp @ 6400 and the torgue never fell off. I expected a bit more from the spacer, especially in the better air but it's a pretty good indication of how good the Brodix intake really is.

The Dyno told us to back off the jets 2 sizes and the motor responded with 510.9 hp and the torque jumped a couple of points. At this point I ran out of time and left the dyno guys to make a few more jet changes. I'll report back if there is anything to report but I'm thinking the changes will be small. I can't wait to change the oil to something a lot thinner. They experts tell me it's good for a few more horses.

Like I said... Telling your friends you have 500 hp is sooo much better than telling them 497

Ultimately I've hit my goal with the phase 1 engine. It's going to be more than enough to dial in the chassis and ultimately it might be fast enough to simply leave as is and have a ton of fun. I have no intention of putting this motor on the ragged edge.

Once the motor is back we're putting it in and the push for a race debut this year will be for real. There are 2 race dates at the end of the season that might be do-able.

 

Congrats on the 500 hp club!!!! sounds like a beast, and we need pics and video!!!!

 

I've reached that special time in any build when the engine and drive train goes in for real.

I had to modify the midplate to clear the headers. Our new plasma cutter is stupid simple to use and now I'm convinced every other way to cut metal is obsolete. The problem is that I committed to a set of headers and spent big $$ getting them coated before I knew if everything fit. The pass side header has 2 tubes that extend past the bellhousing which effectively wipes out one side of the mid plate. In hindsight I should have waited and either custom fabricated a set of tubes or gone with the old school vette headers. Obviously a set of fenderwell units would be very cool but the driver's foot box extends well past the second tube on the driver side. It would mean the header would have to be bent forward to clear the firewall. That's a little too complex for me.

The modified mid plate is butt ugly but it'll work. For now I'll leave it but I'm thinking I'll eventually ditch the current set up and go to outrigger mounts at the bellhousing.

Once that was done the install was pretty straight forward. Drop the converter in the trans, add a flex plate to the motor, bolt the whole assembly together and drop it in like it was planned.

Next steps will be to drop in the headers and starter to make sure it all fits and clears. It's getting a little tight on the passenger side by the frame rail. The I can bolt in the rad and fan assembly then dive into the electrical head first.

It's getting so close I can taste it

 

Congratulations on all the progress on the Scout! But my favorite part of the thread was the detour about your brother, I appreciate you sharing that. Take a video the first time you stand on it, I want to see the look on your face

 

This was one of those weekends where you take 2 steps forward and a real big step back.

I got a couple of days dedicated to the scout. In that time we managed to get the truck 90% wired. (Thanks Scott) The beast actually has a heartbeat and would start if I wanted it to. (Too soon my precious... ) We also fabricated up an alternator bracket and mounted the alternator lower driver side. A single groove pully will do just fine.

Let's talk perception for a bit. I have always seen this truck with a hemi in it so it never dawned on me there would be clearance issues. As I've worked on the truck it is obvious how little space there really is and have a new found respect for the original builders and how well they packaged the big elephant motor. So far it all seems to be dropping into place and everything is fitting pretty well in the tight confines. Case in point. I'm running a reverse valve body T-400 for the low 1st gear and the bullet proof strength. It's been lightend and beefed up internally but it is still a big unit compared to a powerglide. Saturday I installed the TCI trans plate and flywheel shield. The rules say I don't need it but I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it, especially with a trans brake. After pulling it all out of the package I was really concerned it wouldn't fit in the trans tunnel with the engine set back. An hour later the shields were in, the trans reinstalled and it all fits perfectly. You can even see the certification stickers on the shields. Too cool.

I was also concerned that the single 4 barrel small block would be lost in the engine bay. You know, image and intimidation is everything... right ?? Well I'm here to tell you that the engine sits up nice and proud and with the tall K&N oval filter I'm using it will actually poke out of the hood (if I run a hood) It's not a scoop but it will look cool none the less.

Now the big step back.
It turns out the headers I wanted to use and already had ceramic coated were perfect for the Edelbrock heads I was originally planning to use but with the change to far more aggressive Brodix heads they are are the wrong size for the exhaust ports. I suspected that would be the case but I didn't validate the suspicion until Saturday. So I'm going to wait and bring in a new set of 1 3/4 square port competition headers. It's another $600 but in the end it will be the correct thing to do. I'm going to use a set of Hooker headers for a 63 - 82 Corvette. They seem to be a better fit as they go straight down - street rod style - and make a nice tidy 90 degree towards the back. This should also solve the header to mid plate issues I was going to have with the other set of pipes. The problem of course is now I have to wait for the damn things to come in and they may not clear the widened oil pan I was going to use. Damn butterfly effect...

This week I plan to tackle my windows or more pecisely the lack there of and fabricate up some 3/8 rod window frames and then go shopping for some red tinted plexi or lexan. I will also need to fab up a patch and window assembly for my hacked up back of the cab. Should look pretty racy once I'm done.

Pictures as I take them
Updates as it happens

 

My cool new Corvette competition headers from Hooker are in but the header to oil pan clearance issues have been realized. The bargain circle track pan is only a bargain if the headers fit, which they don't so it isn't. I ordered in a new Milodon pan which will allow me to use the new tubes. It will also allow me to use a midplate once again so I brought a new one of those in as well. It will be a tidy and tight little package when it all goes in. Besides, the gold anodized deep sump pan looks cool and is dated enough to look period correct. Especially with the Milodon decals on the sides.

Header problem #2. Yet another fear realized, they don't clear my steering. Time to order in another u-joint and put a bend in it. There is plenty of space to do so and it should be an easy fix. Just hurts spending another $80 on a u-joint.

My original plan to use a Locar throttle pedal went sour as well. It installed very well but there isn't enough travel in it to open the butterflies fully. Besdies that, the cable stay bracket bends like crazy. I was not at all impressed with it so out it comes. After searching for an alternative that will work with the modified firewall and engine setback, I went with a fabricated bracket and pedal with a cable activation. Took a few hours to put together but it went well and works great.

Still looking to tackle my windows but the priority right now is to change the pan and re-install the midplate, install the headers w evac system and down tubes as well as make the required changes to the steering. The windows and roof work can wait as I can always run it without a roof for the shake down passes.

I'll report as S&*! happens
Pictures as I take them

Cheers

 

Pics!!!!:d

 

I like it!

 

Got to love it as a plan comes together. Got to spend a rare full day with the truck and it was one of those even rarer days where nothing went wrong, all the parts fit and I didn't set myself on fire or bash my head on a crossmember. Well, ok I did start a fire but it was a small fire and those don't count.

The truck now has fully functioning brakes. We finished the diff, installed the pinion yoke and driveshaft. We wired up the trans brake and added a a transmission line loop to close the fluid circuit. I wish the camera could pick up the bending in a picture as it is pure art. (you can see a bit of it in the underside shot) I'm going without a cooler but I've installed a temp gauge to keep tabs on it and if I find I need a cooler I can easily add one. At the same time I finished up the oil pressure gauge with a slick little autometer kit and -4 braided line.

The headers are in, the midplate mounts are welded up (which is where I lit myself on fire...again) and the mid plate and transmission have been installed for real. The whole package looks like it belongs together. Everything clears, and all the parts compliment each other. There is even enough room for long collectors. To finish the cooling system we've started the search for suitable rad hoses. If I have to I'll resort to the stainless universal stuff everyone here hates but if it gets me on the track this year I'll risk the chastisment from my fellow HAMB members.

I took a quick break towards the end of the evening and when I got back the guys at the shop had put the front sheetmetal on. Talk about being re-motivated. I can hardly wait to get back to the shop. I need to start adding the safety stuff like a window net and roll cage padding. It's all ordered, now it's up to UPS to keep things moving forward.

The to do list is quickly dwindling. I've prioritzed the list based on what it will take to get the truck to the track for one or both of the last race dates this year. If it's not absolutely essential it will have to wait.

It's close, very close

More as it happens
Pictures as I take them

 

I'd like to make a suggestion on your hoses if you don't mind. A trick I've used on diesel generator sets that have hoses with oddball curves, different pipe sizes etc is to use two short pieces of straight hose at either end and make a pattern with a coat hanger for a solid pipe to connect the two. A good muffler shop can make this and one with a bead roller can roll "lips" at the ends to help hold the clamps on. If a bracket is needed it can be welded on at the appropriate spot. I've used this trick many times and never had a problem. You can paint or chrome the pipe if you want. Just a thought.

 

Ok... at the risk of getting killed because I don't have any video, I have to tell y'all the truck was fired up for the first time since the dyno runs and I'm proud to say, it sounded seriously bad-ass !!!

Why no video? - Well, it wasn't for a lack of intent.

We banged on the truck all day and managed to fabricate some front frame braces as well as finish the fuel system. The frame braces are simply bolted in and really are not structural (yet) but they look great and solve my fuel block mounting issue. Once we finished mounting the fuel block and fabricating the braided lines, we flushed the system and pressure tested the whole shibang. It was fun to watch 3 guys ducking and diving under the hoist tightening fittings, but in about 30 seconds we had all the drips stopped and the fuel pressure set at 8 lbs. Same fire drill for the transmission and cooling system. However, to get the transmission filled properly, you have to have it running... right ??

Knowing we had to fire it up we put the rear up on jack stands and gave a 30 minute warning to anyone who wanted to be there for the historic event. To our surpise we ended up with 8 guys watching and no less than 3 camera phones and a 1 video camera waiting to capture the moment for posterity. As much as I would love to say it fire first pull... it didn't. (DOH !!!) It turned over great but never fired. Nothing, Nada, Zip, Ziltch. After 30 minutes of troubleshooting we lost our audience and everyone went home. With them went the video camera.

Another 30 minutes, a coil swap, a spark test, MSD test and a few other assorted tests later, we found a broken connection to the distributor strategically hidden in the darkness behind the engine. After a quick fix we tried again and it fired almost immediately.

My god it sounded good!!! It was down right violent. We winged the throttle a couple of times and it sounded crisp and anxious to scream a lot louder. Makes me wonder what it would be like with a serious motor in it. (When was I planning to put in that roller cam ???)

But... we had no-one to hold a recording device, so you guys will have to wait until after the long weekend. Hopefully by then I'll have the steering mods finished and I can actually drive the beast a bit and do some initial testing of the transmission and brakes. Possibly even an ill advised traction test in the parking lot. (Wink wink nudge nudge... )

Until then, you'll just have to make do with a couple of random shots of the fuel system. (Yah I know... sucks)

Until then, have great long weekend kids !! Play safe !!

More as it happens
Pictures as I take them

 

Here's the steering modification we had to do to clear the headers. I know it doen't look like much, especially to some of you fabrication Gods out there, but I'm pretty happy with it.

In an odd sort of way the new set up is actually better than the straight one piece design it is replacing. The u-joints at the top and bottom are much straighter and the Moroso unit I put in the middle has a good range of motion. It's actually smoother and provides more room beside the engine.

Until UPS shows up with the safty equipment I've been tackling the little stuff and cleaning up the jobs I'm not entirely happy with. That will include the loose wire along the frame in the picture.

More as it happens
Pictures as I take them

 

You get a thumbs up!

 

Arrrgggghh

I hate relying on others to get stuff done
I hate not having the skills to do everything myself

I’m on the short path to having a functioning, albeit, still ugly race car, and the list of things to do is tantalizingly short. And yet so long… oh the irony

My safety stuff came in and we spent a few hours installing the belts, modifying the seat and reinforcing the mounting points. We also tackled the crankcase evac system and fix a few loose ends that have been bugging me. Overall it’s been a productive week. Unfortunately what’s left to do require TIG welding skills and if you’ve read this thread you would know that my welding skills suck.

I can stick 2 pieces of metal together but when it comes to stuff that may save my short fat middle aged ass I let the experts handle the welding rod. So to make sure it was done right I asked a certified welder friend to weld up my steering, finish putting in my window net mounts and weld in my side bar for the roll cage. Since I do that work thing during the day and have some form of a non automotive life outside of this project, I haven’t had time to be at the shop as often as I would like, so I haven’t had the chance to push the request. As a result, it’s still not done ! Now he’s telling me he won’t have time to do it this week. That pretty much puts a nail in the coffin for any chance to get the Scout out to the track this weekend (That really sucks)

It’s not a total loss as there is still one race date left for the year (Oct 2/3) and I am determined to have the Scout make an appearance and make a few shake down runs before I put it back in it’s corner for the long cold Winnipeg winter. There is no valid reason to set or even meet this deadline other than the satisfaction of seeing it run and sense of accomplishment. It would have been nice to identify the bugs in the parking lot this week and sort it out at the track this weekend then wail on it big time at the season ender. I’m guessing the bumper scraping wheel stand will have to wait until 2011

Sorry for the rant
I feel better now

I’ll have pictures from the track and hopefully video of the first serious burnout. Maybe if the Gasser Gods smile on me I’ll make a full pass



Update and bit of crow to be consumed.

My welding guy came through big time and gave me his undivided attention. (I'm guessing he reads this thread) It appears I owe him an apology... sort of. I was still hoping the jobs would have been done 3 days ago. But for now I'll accept the ol better late than never attitude.

The steering is done, window net set up and ready for final welding. If I made a big effort for the next 2 days I could probably get the truck to the track but to be honest I really don't have the time. (Stupid real job, Stupid real life...)

I'm just happy as hell the truck will actually go where it's being pointed. (I hope)

 

I had a friend of my brother come into the shop last night. He’s a welder / fabricator for Sandale fabrication: http://www.sandalefabrication.com/

This is a guy who is surrounded by big dollar race cars and $300,000 custom pro-touring and show cars. He was highly complimentary on the work and effort put into the Scout. Considering my self deprecating opinion of my skills I took it as a huge compliment. It made my poorly maintained ol heart beat just a little bit prouder. Then it coughed and sputtered from the strain

There is a thread out there talking about Walmart fixes and fabrications. Here is mine. If you recall, my brother and I banged a piece of aluminum into something that resembled a seat and had some mounts made up for it. Until now it has looked like exactly what it is, a beat up piece of aluminum.

Last night I wandered into Walmart and picked up a door edge kit in a contrasting black color ($15) and spent an hour manipulating the edging onto the seat. This made a huge difference. Not only did it give a great contrast and finished look, it covered up a few ugly spots. It shaped very well, even in some tight bends. The hard part was reverse bending it for the hole in the headrest where the belts come through. We’ll see if the self adhesive quality of the edging is strong enough to hold up under the abuse. But for now, it’s a cheap but effective fix. (Sorry no pictures… Dead Blackberry) I’ll update this over the weekend. I also spent some time fabricating an inner fender shield to protect the electrical from the hot rubber from the burnout. Nothing fancy but effective

 

Anyone out there ever see the documentary where a bunch of aircraft nuts spend 3 years and a barrel of money restoring a WWII B-29 only to watch it burn to the ground when they tried to taxi it for the first time?

I came oh-so close to doing the same thing tonight. It was not a pleasant experience.

I came into the shop to find a couple of my friends doing some body work filling in the gaping holes in the back of the cab and the holes I cut in the roof for the back bars. Lots going on. All was going well and a few other friends wandered in so towards the end of the evening we fired up the truck to show off a bit. About 15 seconds into the session the cab filled with smoke, then almost like an old gun powder fuse we saw the burn make it's way from the cab to the back. I immediately hit the kill switch and my brother jumped on the master switch at the back but the damage was done.

The culprit was an extra power wire that Scott (Who did the wiring) strung to the cab and then changed his plan for using it. This was not Scott's fault as the extra power wire was tucked safely under the switch panel and should never have been an issue. Sometime during my work in the cab and the body work today it was accidently pulled out and the protective cap came off. When we fired up the truck it arched against the floor boards. I'm one of those neat freaks that likes to bundle and wire-tie everything into nice little packages. So when the wire melted along it's entire length it took a bunch of wiring with it.

From the glass half full philosophy of though... No one got hurt, the shop is still standing, the damage can be repaired and it didn't happen in front of a couple of hundred folks at the track. I'll be digging into the wiring harness and checking for burn throughs. I'll pull and replace as much as I need to until I'm sure it's all safe.

One step back tonight but it's been three steps forward in the past week. I'm still moving in the right direction. Oct 2/3 is still in my sights for the truck's debut and shakedown passes