I just want to thank you again for taking time with my son. I really appreciate it. He is telling me he has to do even better now. My wife went online and checked his grades when we got home and nothing less than a 96. I posted pics on my thread from this past weekend.
Bryan, thanks for the info. What is hammess? Where is that, maybe I can go? I didn't make it to Rock Falls. I found more issues with the car and didn't get it fixed in time. Now I'm more motivated to get back to work on the coupe than the GTX. I think I'll be bringing a knife to a gunfight with the naturally aspirated 392 against 426, 454, and 460 based engines. So the car needs to go on a diet.
hammess is the name of a bar is racine. there is a group of local car guys that have been meeting there for years. there can be anywhere from 5-20 guys on a Saturday. some have known each other since they were kids. most have known each other for 20 plus years. these guys all build their own cars. they know what they are looking at and how it looks when its right. its a very diverse group of guys with most having a unique talent to offer. the conversations can go from wiring a house to painting a car. what ever current problems are going on in the world or with some ones car they are all solved within the hour. Its amazing how much can be learned over a bowl of popcorn and a burger.
Kieron here with some videos, and a couple cool facts. Chrysler World Head Quarters is the second largest building in the United States by floor space. Only the Pentagon is larger. Amenities include: several food courts, pharmacy, walk-in clinic, 2 hair salons, gyms and forested hiking trails. There have been several cases where employees have opted to live at CTC by eating at the food courts and showering at the gym. Currently there are 15,000 employees at this location. In addition to the wind tunnel, there are close to 100 dynos, climatic test cells (-20F to +120F) both static and with dynos, a Noise/Vibration/Harshness lab, Electromagnetic Compatibility lab, Wind Tunnels and vehicle shakers. Only automotive facility where we can go from a napkin sketch to prototype to advertising video shoot. The 5.4 million total square feet include a pilot plant which is essentially a mini factory where we can build prototypes and test****embly line layout/tooling in house. This helps with cost and ensure confidentiality. Most of the power generated comes from the dynos. There have been several instances where the power has gone out in surrounding area, but Chrysler continues to operate. In an emergency, we can reroute power from our dynos to the local Auburn Hills Fire/Rescue. Viper in a Wind Tunnel This is one of the largest wind tunnels in the world. Jeep Cherokee in a Climatic Dyno. These allow for testing in all conditions from a desert to an Arctic Storm, allowing us to see how things like air intakes or radiator grills handle various conditions. Camouflaged Jeep Compass on "The Shaker". Every car we sell gets abused. The shaker allows us to simulate 10 years of typical wear and tear in a matter of months. For example the new Pacifica was driven for 3.4 million miles before we built the first one. More photos can be found here: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0X5qXGF1u7wPy A recent HotRod Article about CTC: http://www.hotrod.com/articles/inside-home-of-the-hellcat/
bob im going to try. starting Friday im on emergency call for the cath lab for the next week. if I can find someone to cover my hours I will be there. boomer is in California at the reunion so I would run the car on gas for the license. it would be easier to make multiple passes in one day.
I had to pick up some things at the local parts store tonight. The last time i was there the owner told me he had something i could use. He pulled out a few sets of old side gap nitro plugs and the champion gapping tool. The tool can push the pin to close the gap. Putting the plug on the other side of the tool using the roll pin pushes it back out. I have never seen one of these tools it was richard hutchins from the chevy rebellion wheelstander.
and use it we will. it came along at just the right time. I was planning on switching over to a colder side gap plug now we have the tune up where we want it. its safe to use the colder plug now. it was starting to get expensive burning up all of those hot plugs.
Mission accomplished. I made the required passes to get my license. We did five hits in less than three hours. The tool bags were never opened. The only work we did was checking the tire pressure. The car ran a best on gas at 9.7 at 136mph. Thats not too bad for a engine with a nitro cam set at 112 degrees with a compression ratio of 7.8. Basically there is no bottom end due to no cylinder pressure. The 3.73 gears dont help either. Its all one big compromise because it works great on nitro. The toe adjustments have really worked out. The car goes down the track as it should. We will bring it out one more time weather permitting for a photo shoot on nitro. I will continue to street drive it until the snow flies. It was a fun day with several hamb members on the grounds. View attachment 3359167 View attachment 3359167
i have been getting a lot of street driving in lately. we did run into a issue the other day. while i was out doing some unsactioned acceleration trials the car suddenly started running bad. it would start ok and drive ok but when the gas was hit hard the engine would die. i went through everything from a leak down to the ignition etc. it turned out to be the hose running from the back of the manifold to the map sensor had blown off. the map is under the dash out of view. it never came off the barbed fitting before. its hose clamped on now. problem solved. while these things can be very frustrating to track down it does provide valuable trouble shooting lessons. I'm getting much more comfortable with the fast efi and tuning with the lap top. during the trouble shooting i had fast on the phone and we got the latest software down loaded into my ecu. the customer support from fast is great.
Bryan It was good watching the car today. Hopefully I'll be out there with you soon. I tried to upload the video but had no luck dm me your email and I'll send it to you.
put video on youtube, then copy the URL for the youtube page with the video, and paste it into your post here.
Sorry this took so long I wanted to get the spelling of your last name right for the video. Do magazines ask if the spelling is correct before they run an article? Good thing it's in big gold letters now above the door.
it was great to see you yesterday. Sorry we didn't have more time to visit. I had a lot going on with trying to get two new cars down the track. And then we had issues...
Hi racerx.Looking good.Finally figured out what S/FC means."Sweet*****ing car". Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
Bob I have a video of the tantrum too if you want it. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Brian, great to finally see you run & talk after all these years! The coupe is a thing of beauty, pictures just don't do it justice. Let us know when you come back out with "the can" also, if you see Neil, tell him I said HI ! Bugsy
im going to call neil to see if he wants to come out when we run it next. he has been busy with his mom after her stroke this spring. both neil and roger were involved with laying out the nitro plan. the weather is looking so so for next week but that can change. pete from the grove is a really good photographer. we will hook up in the next week to get some on street shots. we want to do a burnout pic with the trailer on the car. we will get it done somehow. it might make for a better pic if there is snow on the ground and we are wearing snow suits instead of fire suits. I remember as a kid trick or treating in the snow.
SNOW is a four letter word! Next weekend (so far) looks good, I'll probably be back out also. Keep us informed....
bugsy we will be there sunday. I just filled the nitro jugs. weather looks good with temps in the mid 50s. hope to see you there.
there has been a change of plans. its supposed to be a balmy 65 and sunny on saturday. with the extra heat in the track we are going out Saturday. gates open at 9am racing at 10. sunday will be cloudy and 55. dry both days. if we have time and if the rods aren't hanging out we might go back sunday. this is the last weekend they are open. so this weekend at the legendary union grove dragaway see jets; rockets; pro stocks; wheelstanders; funny cars and the kite cycle for two big days of action. just a burnout west on exit 337 union grove Wisconsin.
The Jalopy Journal
