Hot Rods Dare to be different - 63 Scout

LOL....

keep at it, the days till MD#5 are ticking away

 

It's official...Winnipeg has wacky weather. This is the 2nd time this winter the temperature has gone from -48 (with wind chill) to -3 in 2 days. Won't last... tomorrow they are calling for -38 wind chill

Let's not talk about yet more snow on the way. The drifts by my drive are almost taller than I am already. (Yah I know... I'm not tall... but it's a Sh*t load of snow dammit)

Makes me wish I worked on the Scout and our Prefect out of my garage. Driving across town in this crap takes a serious effort.

On a better note... my Brother and 17 yo Niece just passed the Hawley Drag Racing School. My niece is a 3 time track champ in Jr. Dragster with 2 Iron man wins. (IHRA equivalent to a Wally). One of the local racing teams has offered her a ride in a 7 second Super Comp dragster with the intent on getting her into a 6 second 811 ci Top Dragster (with 4 stages of Nitrous that they haven't tried yet)

 

Sounds like you guys are really thrashing up north, and in some ugly cold weather too! Better set up a cot in the shop and save the snow driving!

 

Where's this 'global warming' when we need it??? LOL...

 

The weather man shows us in the blue and you in the purple YEOUCH
It sucks for us but relly sucks for all of you.
Nuff is a nuff.......its been a cold ass winter to say the least
Hang in there Dave.......

 

I'm tell'n you... if I had ponied up for that insulated garage and some decent equipment, this weather would have me locked up in there for every free minute my wife would let me get away with. I'd have 3 cars ready to go...

Of course way back when I built it I kept telling myself, "Why spend the extra money when my brother has an awesome workshop and a totally bitch'n set of tools? Put the money onto the cars" Good idea at the time huh ?

You folks in Michigan and Wisconsin have been getting frozen out as well...

How many days to July ??

 

173 days until the Meltdown (Drag race that is.. not the snow)

 

Yeah I had over three foot of snow at the end of my drive way today. I can't wait for the meltdown, both of them lol

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

AMEN brother!

 

The Scout has been sitting in pieces in the corner for the last 3 months while we bang on the "Ugly Beast" Prefect project. Well today the motor went back to Brazier Race and Machine to have the new intake port matched and installed. While it was there George gave it a physical. We cut open the filter as well as analyzed the oil. He pulled the rod caps and the mains and meticulously checked all the bearings. He even ran the valves...

I'm happy to report the 406 is in perfect health without a single problem found. It's all buttoned back up along with the intake. Just waiting on the supercharger to be finished. In the meantime I can start to put the little beast back together.

Considering some of the abuse I put this thing through as part of the learning curve I'm pretty impressed how little damage there was ...read that as NONE ! That says a lot to the talent of the engine builder (George Brazier) and the parts selected. It really gives me the confidence to wail on the little beast... hard ! Hopefully the rest of the truck and this old body is up to it.

 

Supercharger is done ... Rear bearings are now sealed and the gaskets have all been replaced. This should stop the blower from pumping 90w into the engine. I just need USPS to hurry up and deliver the gaskets I need so I can bolt it all together.

The amount we found wrong with the unit was staggering.

The last guy to go through it came highly recommended except... he put the seals in backwards which likely meant the end plate was being pressurized and pushing oil into the engine. 2 bolts on the front drive were cross threaded...One of the bolts was not even the correct thread... fixed. One bolt on the pulley also cross threaded. I needed a 3 foot breaker bar to get it out... also fixed. The balance tubes for the oil transfer were loose and letting oil into the engine. Those are now gone with the bearing change.

Motor goes in tomorrow !!

 

Sometimes it seems like if you want something done right it's better to do it yourself. There may be a learning curve and it may take longer, (usually not), but you'll get it done they way you want and know how it was done when you get through with it.

 

[.

The guiding principles of the build were:
> Build it right the first time
> Stay within my defined budget - Changes to be approved (They were)
> Build it so I'm surprised it breaks rather than surprised it didn't

Rules to live by!

Good luck racing in 2014!

 

Glad the Scout engine got a clean bill of health! One less thing to worry about, especially this late, and with all you've got going on!

 

I made the poster !!

Well... actually this is post card size hand out... but I made the media !!
I'm pretty honored that the MDA and Judd's Custom Photos have found my little farm truck worthy
.

I guess now I have to show up.

 

After pulling the front end apart for routine maintenance I had a hard look at the last piece that remains from the original build in the early 70's and the old drop axle looked back at me and said "I'm tired"

The original axle has been chromed, de-chromed, powder coated, painted, bent, straightened, modified and has had some truly horrible welding done on it. (My bad). We never actually got it fully repaired from the Moon-shot landing at Meltdown 2012. So... with a heavy heart I've decided to retire the old guy and I pulled the trigger on a new 4" drop axle and disc brake setup. Parts are at the border as we speak.

So in the next couple of weekends I'll be installing the new set up and re-doing the brakes to accomodate a disc / drum setup. The chances of us making opening day May 17 - 19 is slim especially considering we need to get the Prefect running. The chances of being at Meltdown ready and running hard are still very good.

 

Hopefully the new axle wont see another hard landing!

 

Here is where I get to cross off another item on my bucket list.

Always wanted one of my projects as a t-shirt. Rat Fink style of course.
I would love to say they are for sale (they are) but I really don't want to get into the mail order business. I'll have some at the Meltdown Drags - $20 each - while my limited supply lasts.

Thanks to Ryan Hartman for having far more artistic talent than I will ever have

 

Scout is buttoned up and ready to rumble - and they are calling for rain all weekend (Crap)
The new front end is in and set up. This is a 4" drop axle with Speedway disc brakes etc etc. I need to get this little beast to the track to dial in the suspension set up / toe in. I also need to see what the new torq convertor is going to do. If it is reducing the slippage from the 20+ % I was experiencing to far less (like 6 or 8%) then its going to be significantly faster at the top end and hopefully... quicker ET. Last thing I want is to find out it's a mess at the Meltdown event. If we don't run this weekend (not looking good) then I have 1 more race date prior to Meltdown 5. Keeping my fingers crossed

 

Meltdown can't be that bad a place to dial it in, if it comes down to that!

 

Can't keep this contained otherwise I'll blow up...

The Great Lakers Gassers have asked me to run with them at Meltdown 5

Thank you Jon Tomkins, Joel Huhtala and Tim Timoszyk for considering me worthy. In my opinion they are desperate and scraping the bottom of the barrel but that's just me.

I have to relate a couple of stories here regarding the Great Lakes Gassers... (Be patient with me)
The first time we went to the Meltdown event, (Meltdown 3), the first cars we went to go have a look at were Greg Grubel's Olds powered 51 Chevy and John Denski's Rotten Orange. (Both GLG veterans) We were blown away by the quality of the builds and the warm response we got from these guys.

Saturday morning we stood in the middle of the pits in total awe as vintage race car after race came through the gate. It was nirvana and overload at the same time. But that was nothing compared to me standing beside my junk in the staging lanes and watching the Great Lakes Gassers and the Nostalgia Gasser groups parade into their lanes - shaking the earth and filling the air with that wonderful aroma of race fuel. It was like watching the circus go by and wanting desperately to be part of something like that.

The first run I made at my first Meltdown had Greg's 51 in the other lane. Directly in front of me was Mike Bilina (another GLG alumni) doing what he does best.

Last year Mike's group and guys I came down with swapped stories , broke bread and shared a few adult beverages Saturday night. That really made last years event for me. It helped that I broke the ice with a case of Canadian beer.

To say that I am honored and ecstatic (and more than a little nervous) to be part of the group that gave me so many firsts and first memories for the Meltdown event would be an understatement.

In the words of Alan Shepard:
Dear Lord; Please don't let me F*ck up !!

 

Great news and well deserved.

 

Cool truck and a great story. Any chance of bringing it to Terrace Bay dragfest. It's only 540 miles down the road in Ontario. First weekend of August,,,no rain, only slight chance of snow.
http://www.superiorclassics.ca/

 

We dodged the rain long enough to get one slow and safe pass in before Armageddon rained down on us. But that one pass had no death wobble and the brakes worked great. (Big sigh of relief !!) The burnout was a lot more violent than usual and smoked in the starting line. This tells me the new convertor is going to make a big difference. We put the wheelie bars on and were prepping for a banzai pass when the forecasted heavy thunderstorm hit. We'll be back out 13 July to dial it in before the trip to Meltdown

Terrace Bay ... may have to consider that one.

 

Meltdown 5 2014 is in the books and it was epic !!

Saturday set a new standard for the event with 6000+ fans in the stands, amazing cars, 200+ in the car show and some awesome balls out racing in the Gasser Shootout, the North / South shootout and the AA/Gas shootout.

The Meltdown / MDA crew are the best. When they present awards they do it as a group with the most sincere appreciation for the effort you have shown to attend their event. These guys and gals work for 12 months to prepare for each event, they do it without pay and they do it simply for the love of the sport. We need so much more of this kind of thing in today's world...

There were at least 13 people and 4 cars there from Winnipeg this year. The Scout, Rose and Mark's 23 T, a very cool 33 Willys street rod (Gary) and the Prefect. We had some smart folks help us with the tune on the Prefect's injectors and we found a valve train problem (thanks to Larry Arnold for fixing it for us) We ran into a transmission problem so we only made one pass with it. The little rough body was a huge hit with the racers and fans. Gasser Wars Magazine were a sponsor for the event and they loved the Prefect so much so they shot a photo series for a potential upcoming issue.

We have been chasing the blower combination and trying to figure out why we have almost 150 more hp but not running faster. We did keep the wheel stands low and safe but since it's all about the show we did hard cross the line burnouts. The 100 foot carries are pretty cool as well. The Scout ran a personal best 60ft of 1.46 tripping the lights with the rear wheels. This year we were asked to run with the Great Lakes Gassers in the Gasser shootout with the Nostalgia Gasser association. I had an absolute blast. Put on a show, had 2 close races (lost both) and made some fantastic new friends from both groups. I guess I did ok as they want me back for 2015

This event is beyond description. the rules for racing are very strict and enforced. But there is something for everyone. Car doesn't meet the criteria??? - go be part of the 200+ car show. Cruise to Sam's Drive in Friday and Saturday, or just show up. Sam's is a rush... the local cops let you drive your race car on the street to participate. It's common for 9 second race cars to show up.

2015 will be epic... be there

 

Some Scout related media from the Meltdown 5 event.
If you are into vintage racing or anything pre-66 you must attend this event !!

 

Dave, I enjoyed visiting with you and your brother at the Meltdown. It was fun racing with the gasser clubs, wasn't it? The Great Lakes Gassers were kind enough to let me race with their group, which put the icing on the cake for a fantastic weekend. See you there next year!

 

Had some fun on the long weekend. I always attend these and try to put on a show for the kids and kids at heart. The Scout ran a couple of 10.60's including a 10.60 @ 124. Making small changes and creeping up on the potential.

Lost 1st round in eliminations. Ran a 10.72 on a 10.70 dial. Only problem was the .496 light. (Foul). Had the guy covered by a ton. Not a good sight when you come down from the wheel stand and see the win light glowing in the opponents lane. (Crap)

 

Hey...If you don't pick a cherry every now and then you aren't trying hard enough. Truck looks great!

 

2014 has come to a close for the Scout. It's been a good season, all the rain and bad weather not withstanding. Meltdown was awesome...again ... and running with the Great Lakes Gassers was a big bold check mark on my bucket list (Thanks Guys)... The best part of the summer (besides Meltdown) were the smiles and happy faces from the kids and the spectators who got to sit in the Scout. And the t-shirts - yes I printed t-shirts for the Scout. Now if I can just stop giving them away and accept money for them I might be farther ahead.

We are still chasing fuel pressure demons so this off season will se me tear out the current fuel system and throw in something big enough to take over the world. (-10 from tank to regulator). Anyone with a Aeromotive A1000 or Magnafuel Quickstar 300 they care to donate to the cause ??

The last race day we flipped the pulleys to see what would happen. This changes the set up from 5% underdrive and 6 lbs of boost to 5% overdrive and at least 10 lbs boost. Effectively adding about 100hp to the combination. To say the Scout is an entirely different animal with this set up would be an understatement. I set the launch rpm to something barely over idle and the Scout immediately hammered the tires - and headed hard right - it was moving HARD !! I got out of it and tried to recover but by then I was out of the groove so I bailed out and coasted down the track. Still got a lot of big smiles from the photographers. I'm pretty sure I'm over 700 hp with this set up and likely capable of a high 9 sec pass. Just not so sure I want to go high 9's in the Scout - but it was fun none the less. Time to find a pulley that will give me 1 to 1 ratio and work my way up with the suspension set up.

The winter will see a bigger radiator to address the overheating issues. The previously mentioned upgrade to the fuel delivery system and maybe a water/meth injection set up. I really want to stop spending money on the Scout and start spending money on the new 53 Willys wagon project...

Thanks all for the great summer
Cheers