Man and I frustrated and fried. The to do list just gets longer the more I do. Work and family do come first and have been demanding a lot of my time. Spending the remaining time thrashing and not being quite happy but moving on to meet the deadline is not what I want for this girl. That said I'm giving up all deadlines (ie.. HAMB drags, DOTD's) and am going to take my time and start to enjoy it again. There's still a chance I can pull it together but I'm taking the pressure off. Odds are I'll have the coupe there again this year. The rear axle and brakes were finished Saturday. With the narrower Hurst pie crusts and the rotors spacing the wheels out it seems obvious to me that I made the rear axle to wide. Not changing it now.
Looks great. I really like the idea of no deadlines, it's what keeps us in the right frame of mind I think.
Looks like by the time you get some sheetmetal on it, it will look fine to me. Start to enjoy again. Enjoyment of what you do and progress helps my attitude greatly.
I've got sheet metal! Not perfect at all but I like it. What, you're gonna be a no show Tman? You'll be missed.
Hey Kerry old buddy would you like the version of my updated list ?? I told my dad I gave up on my deadlines and he called me a quitter >>>>.
Personally, I like it even with your self proclaimed axel flaw.... That said if your gonna beat yourself up over it....I'd go with a different backspaced rim and call it good..... Personally....I'd just call it good as it sits. Great job...when I tore my truck apart I set the no deadlines rule....I'm about a year into it now and about half done....but it's commin out SWEET Deadlines*****....do it right, enjoy the journey.
It's damn hard to keep the 'fun flame'(if you will) lit, aint it? That is a bad-ass looking digger BTW. Can't wait to see it done.
Man that is looking nice Kerry. I think your rear axle is fine, I've seen wider in old pics for sure, and how many times do you look at a car directly from the front or rear. The three quarter shots look perfect. It's easy to loose track of the overall goal in a thrash situation. I think you made the right call. Of course still hoping to see it in a couple weeks.lol
Yep. This is my***** on the line. It isn't like dinking with my son's go cart. She can kill me in a heartbeat if I do something stupid.
Deadlines created stress and pressure...some people thrive on it and do their best work. Others do better without the added stress, when they can just relax and take it easy... Do what works best to make that*****er EXACTLY how you want it....no "shortcuts" to make a deadline.... If I were in KS I'd be offerin' to help ya....that looks like a blast to work on!
Wow those are the biggest domed dished blower pistons I have ever seen! What compression ratio are ya'll after? boost?
Man, I hear you. I took my truck down to do a quick swap over a week off of work...that was two weeks ago and I'm hoping that I get running in time for the drags... r
That's good medicine Bruce, thanks! Yep, things that seem so simple in our minds take a lot longer when we get our hands on them. Tudor, the pistons should make 10.25:1 and I plan on 11% overdrive on alcohol.
A quick search found these pics to give you a little perspective. Looks about like what you have now.
Sure does! You'll have some room for some real 15" slicks when you get ready to have them. Some M&H or big ol ET's! You're going to need them with all that boost and compression. Nice work man. It is awesome.
Good on ya for giving up a deadline if it's gonna beat you to death. Axle width looks ok from here, pretty much like they were in the good ol daze. Dunno your wheel size or backspace, but I've been running into a lot of mags that are 10" with 4" backspace lately. Maybe it's a common size, but the 10" mags I have are 3" backspace. Not for sale, I was glad I had em when Sweetie backed into the roadster a few weeks back. Seeing quite a few 8" wide with 4" backspace as well as I have a couple of 7" wide with 4" backspace wheels. Translated, means if you're running 3" backspace wheels a pair with 4" backspace may get you a little narrower fit, but if'n it were mine I'd leave it as is. You have the wheels, they look ok and fit right into your theme. Not sweatin' deadlines is one reason the 31 roadster is taking so long, but it's a hobby and I treat it so. Did get the Chevy aluminum pulleys adapted to the 455 Buick engine though. One more small adjustment on the alternator - comes back 1/8" - and that part will be all done and I can start on the aluminum radiator mount. Basically I want to get all the upper stuff down so when I pull the body for wiring, plumbing etc. I can fling the body back on, fire it and drive off....
I appreciate the old digger pics. I did get the dimension , flange to flange, from a buddy who had a real dragmaster. The newer (late sixties) diggers look sort of skewed my view of the width. I hope your dear wifey is ok Jay. How bad was the damage? Those little things are little victories unless the deadline makes you forget that. Very good plan on the smaller stuff. That's part of what's killing me.
Well, if you do end up wussing out on the digger, at least your coupe will have another shot at the 11's.... Either way, I'll spot you a carlength. Good luck, -Abone.
No damage as it turned out. I parked the roadster just outside the garage door, she was backing up the pickup and backed around the corner of the garage so she could have it aimed at the gate. She hit the right rear roadster tire at an angle with the pickup bumper, nothing else was touched on either vehicle. Basics were, the roadster slid sideways on the gravel and I figured at the least I had a bent wheel - which made me thankful to have a similar wheel on hand. Jacked up the roadster, stuck a dial indicator on each wheel. .025 side to side runout on one and .035 runout on the other. Probably due to the axle and not a bent wheel. I'll shoot the axle flange with the dial indicator just for curiosity's sake next time the rear wheels are off. Runs down the road as smooth as ever. She promised to look moh bettah when backing and I decided that parking the roadster in a blind spot ain't so brilliant....
Good choice Kerry. Take your time. No sence in rushing this. And regretting it later. See you in Joplin.
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