Hot Rods Dare to be different - 63 Scout

You are racing man...that's all that counts. The asshole that called you out is probably just another keyboard jihadist that has never even been to track.

I look forward to your next update because you are doing it. Keep them coming....

 

Trust me folks... I am not sweating this little episode - at all. I am very secure and confident with the Scout and what I do with it. (maybe a little misguided at times...) My only regret is I don't do it more or at least more often ... I know it's cool (very cool) and I know it's built well. I am one of the lucky few to own his dream car. I am blessed that I now own the vehicle that pushed me down the path of hot rodding. For every one of these guys - there have been a 1000 others telling my how much fun it is to watch the Scout do stupid things... It's never been about how many magazines or how many likes I get on Facebook or here on the HAMB - it's always been about the smiles and the look on the kids faces when they sit in the Scout or watch it rumble by.

Thanks for the support guys (as always) but my ego is not bruised nor my feelings hurt.

Cheers

 

I love the scout, and you have done a outstanding job of building and racing this beast. My coupe runs low 10s, and most people love it. But it has been called a piece of junk, but not by anyone that has raced me, or thinks they may want to! HAAAHAA!

 

I had a local hot rod kid with a lifted and built F-150 almost accept a call out to race me for $1000 (at the track of course). He runs this thing hard through the neighborhood all the time and was claiming it ran 10's with a built 460 on nozzz (God I hate that word). He almost accepted because he thought I meant my Dodge 1500 (Yes it has a Hemi). He back pedaled hard when he realized it was the Scout.

 

But I thought it run 10's lmao


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

As they say FRIG that clown guy the Scout is AWESOME.

 

Got the crank hub installed but then found the blower pulley that was bolted to it is also cracked. We bolted it on up top so we could get it running long enough to set the timing and get some heat in it to run the valves. Once we tried to fire it up it ran like crap... we had pushed the intake gaskets out in 3 places. I had spares and we had some time so we pulled the rad (again) and tore down the top of the engine. We turned it all around and had it fired up in just over an hour... more important we had it fired 5 minutes before the 9 pm noise curfew... It ran a ton better but the timing was way off and the idle too high. We'll get back at it on Tuesday and I'll be ordering 30 and 32 tooth pulleys (1 to 1 and 5% over/under).

Just as we were closing the trailer and garage doors 2 of my neighbors - drawn over by the sound of horsepower - wandered in with beer in hand... My wife joined the 4 of us on the deck for the next hour and we told stories until the mosquitoes ended our evening.

 

Don't let the dickheads get to you. I took up drag racing when I was 54 y.o. and am now 59. I run in the HAMBster bracket here in Australia with a whole 138 cu.in. of ground pounding motor. Best I've done is 14.2 @95.5 mph and still can't get the grin off my face. My wife sits in the 'stands and occasionally hears some numbnut make a comment like "why would you bother running that piece of shit?" She taps them on the shoulder and asks "where's your car mate?" This usually shuts them up.

 

Scout is fixed. Timing set and valves adjusted. We did confirm that I set them too tight at Meltdown. Issue reversed.

Found another minor issue. The filters in the pan evac system were destroyed. I found one of the filters half out of the assembly (being pulled down the hose) and the other was missing completely... likely blown out the header with extreme prejudice. Cheap easy fix to replace the units. May be time for some AN fittings and a puke tank.

Point to ponder:
When the Scout ran the 9.78 / 136 it had stalled in the burnout and had difficulty starting. Combined the fact it ran 2 mph slower than the previous monster wheel stand pass we are coming to the conclusion that the intake gaskets were on the way out on that pass... so ... let's do the math... no burnout + blown intake gaskets + soft launch = 9.78 (kind of scary - huh ?)

 

get a puke tank and some zoomies.

 

We were looking how to route zoomies yesterday... could be a fun exercise building them.
Puke tank is definitely on the list of upgrades

 

Zoomies ?? !!
The Scout currently uses out of the box 68 - 74 corvette Hooker competition headers that fit perfectly. I had a quick look at the Hooker / Holley site and they make side pipe headers for the same application that sure look like they could be modified into zoomies


Just thinking out loud !!

 

Please do not let the words of a few spoil your fun !!!
We all missed you at Saskatoon 50th but hope to see you there one of these days soon !! I do not know if you heard but was one heck of a show that week the place was packed !!
Ran into Rich Bedford he said you really wanted to come but as you said couldn't but his old 56 chevy made it out see Richard for all the stories from the 50th he can fill you in he was there for the weekend it was great to see him again and many other old racers !!
As for the person who runs his 4 cylinder from Australia my daughter made her first pass down the track on the SIR street legals on Wednesday and ran a best of 17.13 et and was so happy I ran her Chrysler 300 3.5 L auto and ran a best of 16.59 et car is completely stock her daily driver and we both had a blast since it has been at least 20 years since I myself raced !!! That was back when Richard Bedford had raced his street rod ford !! So it is not how fast you always go but how much fun you have doing it especially at our ages !!! I believe my daughter would like to do it again so it is a win win !!

 

This is 1 cool ride. I never even thought of hot rodding a Scout until I seen this thread. It's amazing how far you've come on this project. and you ought to be very proud. Maybe some of those people would like it better if you put some 22's on it, nozzzzzzzz!, and a big set of thumper speakers.

 

We had the Scout out at Interlake Dragway this past weekend to try it out with the repaired gaskets and crank hub. I had ordered in new pulleys but of course they came with the wrong register size (too small). Now I know they have 2 sizes and won't make that mistake again. Just to get me out there I used a borrowed 35 tooth on top and my 32 on the bottom. That made it 7.5% under-driven (vs. 5 % overdrive at Meltdown). I was ok with that as running a 9 at Interlake would not be good (no license)

The day was crazy windy so they limited us to 1/8 mile passes. First pass was very tentative but successful. No monster wheel stand, pulled hard, went straight... all good. The next pass was going to be more aggressive - but as I pulled it out of the staging lanes I felt a pop and a shudder and the idle went up. I shut it down and confirmed we had pushed the intake gaskets out of it - again.

This was totally my fault as we used a basic silicone on the ends of the intake and that's what failed. The stuff we used was "ok" for daily driver applications but not something with higher than normal crank case pressure and boost. I pulled it all apart and sure enough... the gaskets are perfect but the end rails goop was toast. I now have "The Right Stuff" and will re-assemble it using this stuff.

Sept 24 is the next possible race date. I should have my pulleys (with the correct register) by then and if everything holds I should get to test out the new wheelie bars. I wouldn't mind getting in a couple of passes as I and looking to join the MDA folks for a club run at Rock Falls Raceway in Eau Claire Wisconsin, October 1 and 2.

Making a few decent passes there and hanging out with the MDA guys - when they are not too busy running the program - would be an awesome way to end the season. I"ll likely attend even if the Scout isn't running. My brother Paul (with the Prefect), our wives and a couple of friends with "modern race cars" (ugh) are signing on as well.

 

Oh oh...
Found some chunky metal bits attached to the magnetic drain plug. They look like a broken roll pin. I cut open the filter expecting carnage but found nothing. Might have been the cleanest least ominous filter inspection I've ever done. I'll be dropping the pan to see what lurks within.

I'm hoping it's nothing catastrophic as I would love to make a pass or 3 at the MDA Club run - Fall Fall-Out - Oct 1, 2 at Rock Falls raceway in Eau Claire Wisconsin. Only 8 hrs to get there. Almost next door

 

Chunky bits turned out to be the roll pin from the Magneto drive gear coming apart. Nothing in the pan, nothing in the filter. I'm going to replace the roll pin and let'r rip.

Calling it "fortunate" that I decided to change the oil when I did otherwise that mag and gear would have come apart at a bad time.

Sorry for the fuzzy pics

 

Man I was racking my brain on what it could be.
Good job.
Bet that Face Book shit head couldn't of found that.

 

I'm starting to think I should have sat out this year.

The Scout is fixed and we rocked our little peaceful neighborhood while we were setting the timing. Even had a small gathering of neighbors at the end of the drive. Got a small ovation when we shut it off... Sounds pretty good huh? Should be good to go for racing this weekend - right ?? Well... no... My Dodge 2500 lost it's ABS and a front wheel bearing. It won't be fixed until Tuesday.

Oh yah... did I mention my fuel shut off valve is leaking ??? Not just a little seepage or a wet spot but actually spraying a stream of fuel about a foot while under pressure... Now I need a $15 rebuild kit to fix the problem...

Thank you Alkydigger for adding 2 of them to my shipment. Of course I'm a little bummed I just spent $15 US for 2 o-rings and a seal. (times 2)

Still good to go for Oct 1, 2 at Rock falls... I hope

 

Well you know what they say it never rains it pours !! I know when I raced it seemed that nothing went wrong for awhile ,then for awhile everything would be breaking !! hehehe That's the racing game for you !!
I hope you good luck after this season and the last race in Oct. I also hope you can maybe make it out to SIR next season let us all know if you do make it to Saskatchewan next season so myself and family can come out to watch you run maybe on the yearly track feature event !! Then lots of people here can watch you run should be very entertaining !!! GOOD LUCK TO YOU !!!

 

Went out to the shop to start loading and clean up the trailer before we head down to Rock Falls. With the last few weeks being more than a little frustrating I sort of expected to find a puddle of fluids under the Scout... but to my relief ... everything is dry and good to go. Truck is fixed and it's ready. Trailer is ready. The only glitch so far is that I won't have the rebuild kit in time to fix the shut off valve before we head south. I'm hoping this won't be a problem and we can fix it in transit or on site.

I am really looking forward to the Rock Falls event. Especially since I haven't run the Scout in anger since Meltdown. I'm hoping to make at least a couple of decent passes. Paul Zielsdorff and the Hairy Hauler have called me out for a match race. That will be very cool.

 

Beware of the hairy hauler I was called out too and it resulted in a destroyed transmission lmao good luck wish I could make it but I'm lacking 2 important things time and money


Chrome don't get ya home

 

don't forget to load the beer. I will see you there.

 

The Beer... Is already on the trailer... might be better strapped down than the Scout will be.

 

The Scout has become a petulant child...
I don't care if it doesn't want to go - it's going !! Even if it just sits there !! So it better come to terms with that concept really freak'n soon !!!

I went to do some basic maintenance before the weekend. As I was taking the outlet line and filter off the fuel tank it felt weird... like something broke... ?? Once off I looked inside the fitting and sure enough... all the threads had broken off of the tank outlet. The -12 AN fitting is fine... it just has nothing to attach too. So... not to be defeated... out comes the shiny new 4.5 gallon fuel tank that I know is big enough and back in goes my 3.7 gallon fuel that I know isn't big enough.

That hour of wasted time now means I'm scrambling tomorrow to load and be ready if we decide to leave Thursday. That's if the winch doesn't calve... or the trailer break in half... or a hurricane - tornado - act of God...

Note to self - WD-40 on the fittings

 

The unruly little bastard is in the trailer and tied down. It's going if it likes it or not. Of course, just so the trailer didn't feel left out it decided to act up by telling the winch to piss me off and stop working. I fixed the issue in 5 minutes and finished the load.

I am totally ignoring the voice in my head that is telling me I should listen to the metal beasts and what they are trying to tell me... If caution and common sense had a place in my life right now I might actually listen, but after the summer-without-enough-racing !!... I'm bound and determined to show up. Besides - isn't that what CAA and Blue Cross travel insurance is for ??

Leaving tonight at 6. Overnight in Fergus Falls. Into Eau Claire early Friday afternoon. The Canadian invasion will be headquartered at the Eau Claire Super 8

 

The Fall Fall Out was a blast !!

My brother Paul, our wives and our friend James Cooke with his daughter Kiiya made the 9 hr trip down Rock Falls raceway just outside of Eau Claire Wisconsin. I had the Scout, Paul with the Prefect and James with his 80 Mustang. 100+ Meltdown cars showed up at this neat, old school track in the middle of a field. Apparently the event set attendance and car count records. Even Gasser Wars Magazine were in attendance.

After fighting the Scout for 3 weeks I officially stated I would be happy with One Good Run....well... I got the One Good Run ... sort of... if you look at it sideways and with some optimism... and that was it. The 1st MDA call up saw a very tentative 10.05 / 133 pass with a 1.66 60 ft. At the top end I saw the passenger side evac canister blow off the valve cover and then the RPM went thru the roof as I pushed out the intake gaskets... again. The good news is the wheelie bars worked great. The launch wasn't hard but still sat on the bars and it went straight.

Back in the pits we tore it down and made the repair. I'm pretty sure the blower and injectors sitting on the table got more pictures than the Scout did. 30 minutes after we test fired the Scout the MDA got the call and the Scout promptly pushed the uncured goop out the back as I fired it to go to the lanes. I immediately started to tear it apart again only stopping to join my wife watching the MDA make passes and to enjoy the MDA sponsored BBQ dinner. AJ, Norb (Tickety Boo) and my brother Paul did as much as we could using flashlights but we stopped to do some socializing. Which was why we were there in the first place. Even Brian - Racer-X came by a few times to offer assistance. Or annoy us... or taunt us... or something. This time around we used the cork end gaskets that come with the kit but we bathed them in the "Right Stuff" for some insurance and let it all sit over night.

That night I had a revelation. Sunday morning I pulled the hoses off my pan evac system at the header end and sure enough... found the foam filters that are supposed to be in the valve cover canisters plugging both check valves at the headers. Doh !! No sucky sucky from the headers means too much crankcase pressure = lots of pushed out gaskets. An hour later and a lot of hassle resetting the mag, we got the Scout fired up but there was a worrisome timing wobble at low RPM. The good news is - no oil leaks. The bad news is - we were done. Not wanting to chance a timing issue at speed I grudgingly threw in the towel and watched the show. Mag goes out for a refresh this winter and to address a few fitment issues at the intake.

Here is my favorite story from the weekend: The tech official looking at the Scout asked me if I knew about the Hemi Scout in the 73 Hot Rod magazine. He was seriously skeptical when to find out this was the same vehicle... Then started laughing when I showed him the 1973 Magazine and the article and pointed to some things that had not changed on the Scout since that time. He unofficially awarded me the "Most Unique" award and the "Long Distance" award.

For the first MDA call up we used the Prefect as a tow vehicle for the Scout. The same tech guy wandered over laughing even more and added the "Coolest tow vehicle" award to his unofficial list.

Paul had the Prefect running with little drama and it turned it's best time to date with a 10.27... which upset his daughter... just a bit... as she had the best time up until then. Hmmm. wonder what time it would have been with Megan driving... 10.27 - 100 lbs = ??? 10...teen ... maybe

The MDA club run was being run along with a few "modern car" bracket categories. As much as I like vintage racing I also really appreciate unique modern stuff...and there was plenty of that. Kiiya went 2 rounds in the money event with the Mustang before a water pump gasket failed and barfed fluids on the starting line. My only compliant for the event were the numerous delays and oil downs. Combined with a big car count and a focus on the elimination events meant the MDA runs were pushed around a bit. But the track got the message about vintage racing and plenty of great feedback from the spectators.

The rumor is next year this will be a closed track for the MDA Fall Fall Out 2 event. I think this would be great but I also can't help but think that it may turn into a big complex event like Meltdown... which may mean more work for the MDA guys - who got to relax and run their own cars this weekend - and it may lose some if it's small event appeal.

Regardless... I plan to be there next year

Thank you to:

1. The dozen+ folks who offered to help fix the Scout
2. Rock Falls Race way for the cool little facility. Good traction, clean facilities and well organized program.
3. Gasser Wars Magazine for being there, and the cool blow up of the Magazine shot of the Scout and the Prefect from Meltdown
4. The MDA folks for being who you are, for doing what you do
5. Thanks to the MDA folks for the BBQ and the free beer.
6. AJ, Norb, Bryan, James and Paul for helping me with the Scout

But most important - A huge Thank you to my ever patient wife, Lori, for coming along and tolerating me leaving her to entertain herself while I worked on the Scout (aka - the other woman)

 

Pics from the Fall Fall Out

The Prefect lost a valve cover Gasket in the bottom pic... nothing serious, no oil on the track...fixed in 5 minutes

 

Fall fall Out video - some awesome stuff here.

Pelissier Brothers match up at the 10.50 mark

Look for Racer-X and his outrageous Pump gas / Nitro - Drag week - 31 Chrysler coupe making a pass (10 min mark). Hard to miss the neon green paint and big x large blown early hemi

 

So this is where I do a year end summary and sign off for the season.
Seems to be too soon but some parts on the Province are getting hammered by snow as we speak so maybe not.

Coming into this season I – once again – made big changes to the Scout. (no – stop – not Davey ??) Gone are the carbs that in my opinion have never performed as expected. Gone is the expensive fuel system that has about 15 passes on it. Gone is the MSD based ignition. In its place is a Hilborn 4 port injection system with a mechanical fuel pump and a Don Zig Super-mag 3 firing alcohol. During the re-build the experts and knowable folks suggested I would see a decent increase in torque and some extra horsepower. Little did I know I had created a monster and added almost 170 rear wheel hp.

The Great:
Meltdown 7 - Great event – best Meltdown ever !!
Meltdown 7 - The Scout ran a freak’n 9 !!! ... 9.78 / 136 ... Never in my wildest dreams...
Meltdown 7 - Running with the Great Lakes Gassers (again)
Meltdown 7 - FINALLY got the Prefect running decent times: 10.29 best
Meltdown 7 - Making Gasser Wars Magazine coverage by doing – well – stupid things.
Meltdown 7 - Tacos and apple pie at Mike Belina's trailer
Fall Fall Out - The Event - What started as an MDA Club run saw 100+ cars in attendance.
Fall Fall Out - The People – especially the MDA folks. I loved talking to these guys when not too busy running the event
Fall Fall Out - My wife came along !! This is really a big deal for me. (Thanks hon)
Fall Fall Out - The Prefect – new best time: 10.27
Praxair coming on as a sponsor – their donation of a welder was a big reason I made it to the Meltdown event.

The not so great:
Running myself over doing something stupid. I damaged myself, the Scout and 2 other vehicles. This could have been a lot worse. An expensive and embarrasing lesson to all.
Chasing after an intake gasket issue all summer – found the problem – but not until we were done for the season
Missed - A glorious opportunity to show off at the Fall Fall Out – see intake gasket issue
Missed - Terrace Bay - see intake gasket issue
Missed - The Saskatoon International Raceway 50th anniversary – this was a huge disappointment
Gremlins - really annoying little sh*t - Intake gaskets, Wheelie bars, Pan evac, Crank hub, Blower Pulley, Fuel shut off, Fuel tank, Roll pin on mag gear

Plans for the off season:
Sending out the Mag to get a once over and to address a timing wobble
Fixing my bigger fuel tank (bad threads on the outlet) – so I don’t need to be towed to the lanes
Looking at a port matched intake to replace the street unit – better gasket seal
Replacing the safety equipment that’s out of date
Fixing the front end damage – maybe even a full re-paint / wrap
New t-shirt art for the Scout
New t-shirts for the Prefect

That’s it – I promise – no major changes, no major thrash, no annual “Gee - I hope I’m ready for the Meltdown event”

Plans for next year:

• Meltdown 8 Byron Illinois July 14, 15, 16
• Interlake Dragway July and Sept long weekend
• Fall Fall Out Rock Falls Raceway - October ?

Might attend:

• Neepawa Airport Drags
• Altona Airport Drags
• Terrace Bay Airport Drags - August
• Baseline Raceway – Rivers Manitoba

Thank you:
To my sponsors:

• Pro-Gear Performance Drivetrains
• Softy’s Speed Shop
• Brazier Race and Machine
• Praxair

To the MDA for putting on wildly successful events

To the MDA members for being who you are and helping me in my times of need (Art, Tom, Jeff, Eric, Paul, Steve, Smokey Joe... Etc etc etc)

To Scott Brown, Larry Arnold and James Cooke for turning wrenches

To the Great Lakes Gassers and Jon Tompkins for letting be part of your little group

A huge thank you to my wife for being the most patient woman in the world. As much as try to tell you, you will never know how proud I was watching you work on the Scout at the Fall Fall Out.