Funny... there's nowhere near as many potato crops here as I'd have envisioned. Southwest Idaho, here. Kept running into this site while searching for parts and information for a few of my projects. Finally broke down and signed up - some of the discussions are quite interesting! Current non-running projects: '74 VW 1303S (European version of our Super Beetle) - In the process of building a new engine for it after the 40-hp 1200 (odd... since they were all 1500 or 1600cc after '71!) that was in it burned the #3 piston. Car was given to me in this condition. My belief that a prior owner swapped the internals around to produce a 1200cc engine in a late-style (dual-relief) 1600cc engine case. Or maybe something went wrong and he had the extra parts sitting around. '63 GMC C1000: - Bought in February for the whopping sum of... $350. Aside from the front fenders, totally rust-free and mostly straight. Original 305E is seized and getting replaced by a 401M I acquired a week after the truck. Has the original deluxe heater and optional 4-speed SM420. Spicer 44 out back with 3.08:1s. No need for overdrive! Running/long-term projects: '66 Olds F-85: - Cancer, paint, and interior needs done. Mechanically perfect. Runs a hot 250ci inline six (car wasn't optioned with a V8 when new) which I built myself (268hp/316lb-ft at the back tires!), Richmond ROD-6 6-speed manual, and the original BOP 8.2" rear stuffed with an Auburn posi and Richmond 3.90's. Also boasts Hotchkis and Currie suspension components, reproduction SS1 wheels, and a self-made 4-wheel disc brake setup. Ugly as sin, but it goes, stops, and handles like you wouldn't believe. Upper 20s mpg on the highway, to boot. Who says they can't run or get the same mileage like the new ones? '79 MG Midget MkIV: Recent transmission issue, but otherwise in great shape. Hopped the Triumph 1500 four-cylinder up a bit, after the original cam went flat. The Triumph drivetrain is getting swapped with a BMC A-series/Datsun 60A five-speed combo. Planning on modifying a used dash to get some real gauges in the thing and do a complete rewire using modern GM weatherpak connectors in place of the Lucas crap. I hate idiot lights! Also in the works; some recently-acquired centerlock wheel components from another Spridget. 'Cause lugnuts ain't cool enough! '59 Olds Dynamic 88: Repaint, interior, and a Tremec TKO swap. That's as far as it goes! Completely original and rust-free car I picked up years ago in SoCal. Paint's faded, interior's showing its age, but runs and drives well. Has just about every option under the sun in a four-door postless hardtop package (including a self-cleaning ashtray and pull-out transistor radio). I'm pretty sure I can fit the MG in the trunk! The '69 Triumph GT6 (restomod), Honda Civic (totally stock), and the two bikes (mild mods, some custom touches) are done or won't get touched. Also have aspirations for hot-rodding my riding mower, just for the heck of it. When I'm not busy turning a wrench, I'm searching for information I can use. Me in a nutshell!
Hey Alister. Welcome to the HAMB. There are a few of us HAMBsters in Idaho, and one group in Sand Hollow actually puts on a small car gathering every year. I dig all of your Olds projects. I am planning on rebuilding a 68 455ci V8 for my 57 Chev wagon one of these years. Let me know how the lawn mower project goes. Are you going to put a snow mobile engine in it?
The Jalopy Journal
