Brian...I don't want to derail Dan's thread...check out my car here.. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...st-bought-bell-auto-parts-connection.1294209/
Drove about 200 miles round trip to home on the Oklahoma Hot Rod Hundred reliability run today. Did well, the trans fluid “self leveled” through the vent for the first 30 miles and also fogged for mosquitoes. Had a valve train noise when I got home, #8 exhaust valve was loose. Have a list of things to address but in general I can hop in and go for a ride anytime. Also, got the exhaust done Wednesday, 1 3/4 straight pipes, really cackles.
I think you made a good choice on mods and the cam choice. I had a 38 back in the 70's. It was a 60's rod. 283 bored to 4", 4 speed, 57 chevy rear with posi and a blue and white pleated interior with chrome window moldings. Everytime I see a 38, I smile. Happy driving.
...when you park your car, just turn the front wheels a bit to one side or the other and no one will notice it being off. to my eye it looks just fine,...if you want to "fix" it, maybe just cut the rearpart of fender opeing a bit to make it "look" centered,...just an idea... beautiful car.
I learned with my 39 that if your straight pipes go out the back you really can’t hear the exhaust going down the road unless it’s bouncing off a concrete barrier. Everyone else behind me is annoyed while I’m riding in peace. Same is true with this one.
now that the car is out of the garage I hardly notice it, and sometimes it looks center. Eyes are playing tricks on me I guess
I had to joke with Dan that he got 12 mpg better than what I got yesterday driving in the same event.
I posted in a thread about aluminum heads running hot that I was having an issue with the heads reading much hotter than the intake. Like crazy hot and a fluctuating gauge. Turns out there was just air in the system. I moved the gauge sender (mechanical) to the intake from the head. Slowly filled the block through the T-stat hole with the car up on stands in the front. I drilled two small holes 180 from each other in the thermostat. Now it runs right on 180 with no fluctuations. When I temp gun the heads they are about 10 degrees hotter, so it was just trapped air. I got some Christmas money because nobody knows what to get a car guy for Christmas. I found a pair of 15X5 front chrome wheels in the Speedway Garage Sale section for about 40ish percent off of list. Pulled the trigger, they've got some small scuffs, no biggie. I need to bolt them on and spin them because new wheels these days tend to have a lot of runout. I pulled the trigger on a pair of 15x7's for the rear, but they are backordered. I also have 1" lowering blocks, rear seems a scootch high. Also, the front is a little stiff but livable, and the lower control arms run down hill a bit. So it could go lower in the front, that's a back burner item because it drives decent as is. The bummer of it all is the performance is marginally better, after the cam and heads, and I think I know the culprit. The cam moved the power band up in the range. The car has a TH400 with 3.08 gears, and stock convertor. I have a fresh 700r4 in stock and with that low first and some 3.42s or 3.73s, and the right convertor, I think it'll really wake it up. I will say it pulls a lot longer in RPM where the old cam (L69 HO305) would fall on it's face pretty quickly. I think the tall first of the 400 combined with the highway gears, and stock convertor are killing it. So, I'm scheming to make those changes, but honestly I just want to drive it awhile first. Also, we have moved to Oklahoma and all of us (wife and 5 kids) are staying with my mom! She has kindly let me park in the garage, but most of my stuff is in storage so I won't be tearing into the trans/rearend situation until we get our own house. The market is slow and our Texas house has not sold yet.
Dan,....was going thru some old magazines lsately,...in the 1984 Street Rod Quarterly (by Hot Rod Mag.) was this article on your (dad's) coupe,...thot you mite like to see it. good luck with the coupe.
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