Technical What are you working on?

I’m working on banging my head against a wall. Everything I touch this week turns to crap.
The front bearing in my generator has started squealing so I got it out and apart to replace it and promptly dropped the commutator, buggering the insulation.


So I bit the bullet and ordered a refurbed one, which arrived with a damaged terminal so I thought I’d try and fix it and promptly sheared the case bolt.

 

Just needed some motivation to finish up this 283.

plan to gently fly cut the gasket surface then start cleaning all this up. Polish the valve covers. Possibly the intake
Plans are to paint the engine red
Wife says to leave the inside fins in the covers natural. I kinda agree

 

These are nos cal custom air cleaner tops, breather and oil cap. I’ve got both was wondering which to run. I kinda like the breather better.

Might find some finned air cleaners. Who knows.
These cleaned up ok but aren’t perfect. Been in a shelf for 50 years or so.
I guess the old road draft tube cleared the intake back in the day

will have to clearance it if I use this but the valve covers have a PCV spot so this will probably get a plug


the 55/56 distributor clears the intake unlike the later version did.
I almost hate to open this up

Only spot to hook up the PCV

too small?

 

Took my long time friend and classmate from 76 to the Car and Truck Shop. He’s currently post op and can’t drive. He caught me researching. Turns out I found him an original floor shift steering column (65 El Camino) over a crappy Ididit unit. For less money as well! Not a lost trip since all he really went for was weather stripping related stuff.

 

I wish we still had shops like this around here.

 

Looks like you've lost a pound or 3 Johnny

 

205 to 158

 

working on making skirts .Mt brake is 32 in.s
I need 36in.brake. so I clamped some stock top and bottom. And rolled the edge over with one of my wooden mallet. Came out nice. Then put the pattern on and scribe it.
Roll the edge tomorrow.

 

Worked on fuel lines today.

 

I spent entirely to long with hand tools trying to recess my wood plank for the wheel tub lip to sit down into.
Tomorrow I think I'm going to try the hole saw in the drill press mill hack again, because a sander, wood chisel, sand paper on a puddy knife, angle grinder with flap wheel, then with grinding disc, then with a cutoff wheel, a file, just didn't cut it.

 

Look up router guide bushings.

 

i don't know if you've checked it out or not but when i put studs in the intake and set the rochesters on, the front bolts were too narrow and the throttle bores didn't line up. You may hafta do more adjustments to the carb bases and intake. I don't know if those are factory carb mount holes but they look the same as yours.
I paid up for the true tri-power carbs i have and i don't really want to grind away on the original secondary bases.
I have another intake drilled for the rochesters only and am going to use that. Unfortunately i just figured the dual bolt pattern on my first intake was gonna take the rochesters just fine and went ahead and drilled and made a baffle underneath for a pcv and cleaned and painted the whole thing .

 

I’ll check mine. I’ve just set them on
If it’s off I guess I could enlarge rhe intake bolt holes and weld em up. Then re-drill
Probable take the bases off, use the best one for the center and determine if I’ll modify mine or buy new end bases

 

these covers fit a lot better. The cal custom ones wobble. The inside needs clearanced. Might use these but polished up

 

Installed SFI new harnesses today , the lap and crotch belts that bolt to the floor cross members. Working on the seat frames and seats next. My buddy Vic came over to help, he owns a bad ass 64 Fairlane thunderbolt type car with a large big block. I had a nice day in my shop, and I really needed that after the week I had at work.

 

Are your new belts the double crotch strap type? The only performance shop near me was still selling the 5 belt setup but I thought NHRA was going to be requiring the 6 belt systems. What ETs are you running?

 

Worked on the trans tunnel on the Tempest and then we pulled Bob's stalled project out of the storage Shed to get a fresh start on it. Then we cooked up some carne asada for lunch

 

Mmm, meat.

 

Oh yeah, much easier but still tedious

 

A 40 Willys and grilled beef... My heart bleeds for 'ya. LOL!!!
Some guys got ALL the luck!

 

It was also 70 degrees and the sun was shining.

 

I don't recall getting that email, no, not the work party, the BBQ party.

Sure, rub our noses in it!

 

Finally unloaded my FED a few days ago from the final race of the '24 season. Today with the help of the driver we pulled the engine and transmission to replace the 3rd member/rear end housing gasket that has always had a pesky, very small drip. Funny how you have to disassemble what seems like half of the car to replace a single gasket, but with a coupler, not a driveshaft, that's what has to happen. Got the engine and tranny back in place in the chassis and pulled the heads to replace pesky oil-seeping head gaskets. Neither oil seeping area was causing any problem with racing, but it just made enough mess on the car to have to constantly be wiping it off every week.

It's good to be working on the dragster again rather than the less-fun things I have in progress.

Lynn

 

I would totally host a BBQ for you derelicts

 

I got relates in La Mesa, at least I think they are still alive so you won't need to put me up but if you send a train ticket that would be great!

 

I’ll bring my home grown steak

 

It isn't fancy dining for sure

 

Working on dragging out parts for a swap meet in a couple weeks in between helping my son and his buddy work on a Bronco today. Hoping to get rid of some stuff to collect money for my y-block rebuild. I still have probably 3 or four times this amount to get drug out and loaded up.

 

Is that Chimichurri or Guacamole?

 

Welcome to the food network.