This car is complete. It is built in the image of the first Tudor I built in 1961. Virtually everything on the current car emulates what was on the original. The things that were changed were for safety and local law compliance. Differences include front disk brakes and pinion emergency. The original car had rack and pinion steering, coils at all four corners, Morris Minor seats similar to the current ones and the same gas tank. There is a different engine but period correct, the rear wheels are original Halibrands and I traded a set of 1963 dated American 12 spokes for the blower since I wanted to run proper front disk brakes. In 1960 I was just turning 16, I didn’t know **** about cars and in fact had never thought about cars as anything but transportation. As chance would have it, a friend of mine hung out at the Strokers Car Club (Galt, Ontario) and asked if I would be interested in dropping by. The moment I did, my life changed. I was always mechanically inclined and when I saw what these guys were building, the fever caught me. I was still going to school in Stratford when one day I saw a Model A Tudor sitting in a service station lot. The next weekend I was towing it home on a rope in January from Stratford to Galt with nothing but a clutch to slow it. Somehow we made it. Shortly after, a neighbour needing beer money on Saturday night sold me his 55 Chev for $25. And so it began. A year later a chopped chev powered tudor was prowling the street. Rough and in primer, but awesome. Several years later I wanted to go racing. The A was dismantled, new ch***is was built, the small block was replaced with a dual quad Corvette, paint was applied and we went racing. The C/AVillage Idiot was born. Just fresh back from the paint shop What I believe is the only surviving picture of the Village Idiot That’s all history now but about eight years ago I started toying with the idea of a ‘Village Idiot’ tribute car. In the early 90’s I reaquired the body from the Village Idiot but several years later I sold it again. Now I wanted it back. Through a network of friends, it was located outside of London but had been restored into a full fendered rod and so the Village Idiot was finally put to bed. Still I travelled all over New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ontario searching for the parts. I found a Tudor in Wilno ON and dragged it home. What was I thinking in Wilno This was worth the trip to Saskatchewan I initially acquired a rebuild L79 for the build but I always loved a Buick in a Hi-boy and since I had previous experience with the aluminium engine developed by Buick in 1961, I decided this was the engine of choice. The next decision was where to start. I went and talked to Neil Candy but since I was living near Cambridge, I decided to go with Hitman Hotrods. Very soon into the build it was obvious that the Tudor that I had just needed too much work and so I went with the Hitman built ch***is. I looked at several different bodies and finally found a perfect specimen in WakawSK. In February of 2011, I drove out to Saskatchewan and hauled it home. Now things began to take shape. Six months later the rolling ch***is with a respectable body rolled out. The Hitman frame starts to take shape Steering and shock details Unisteer rack and pinion Lucky 7 housing, Currie axles and a 3.70 9” posi Steel floors welded in A 49 Ford pickup tank is mounted behind the rear seat The first time the car saw sunlight as it rolled out of Hitman Hotrods Next it was off to the body shop. The top had been chopped 4.5” before I bought it but the seams needed serious work. Although it was a beautiful body with no rust, it had been in a building where a fire had occurred and some warpage was evident. The chop was finished, the body smoothed, an insert was put in the roof, a hidden gas door installed, the firewall was modified, and then it was onto the interior. I wanted everything on this car simple and unobtrusive and hopefully I executed well. I have nothing against chrome but I wanted this to reflect the simplicity of the cars we were building in the sixties. I made an aluminium panel on which to mount the steering and a single ’32 gauge panel with speedometer and 4 gauge set. A trim bar below contained 12 switches controlling all other functions. Two simple black buckets from Speedway were installed. A Speedway hotrod column with Grant wheel and Speedway components turn the Unisteer rack and pinion. A ’49 Ford pickup gas tank was installed in the rear seat. A frame was built over the tank to form a small seat and two 6V Optima batteries connected in series formed the arm rests. To have flow through ventilation a power rear window was fabricated. New tinted gl*** and window winders were installed all round. Wood kit is installed and sound deadener/ insulation is applied every where I ordered a roof insert from Howells of Texas, Cost tons and it was the worst mistake I made on the car. It was just a piece of 18 gauge that needed to be fitted but we finally got it right. I could have bought a sheet of steel here and installed it with less trouble and saved $500. A bead of adhesive is run between the metal and each oak roof rib keeping everything solid and quiet. When I saw this, I knew I was on the right path, note the Buick on the engine stand Ready to go home for the first time I took the car home for a while to work on various pieces like brakes, lighting, cooling etc and then it was back for painting. Dupont Lime Light has been applied by Randy Emond Beautiful rear fenders reworked by Gary Geady of Port Colbourne Wilwood cylinders are used to brake front and rear as well as clutch Wilwood pedal setup. Whoops, the clutch pedal didn’t quite clear. Note how the lower half of the firewall has been pulled back to facilitate the engine The aluminium dash has been kept clean with switches mounted below The Optima batteries are located under the armrests. Note the actuator on the rear window Really comfy seats from Speedway that fit both your **** and the car The painted car gets to it’s new home in PrinceEdwardCounty The end of chapter one. Wuga
Going to be nice. I love the color. I think over half of us here build cars that are "Reliving my youth".
On to the drive train; As I stated before, I wanted to go with the aluminium engine, but in it’s original configuration it was just not up to the job. When GM gave up on that engine they sold it to Rover who over the years increased the size from 3.5 L to 4.6 L, the last with 4 bolt mains. This block will be the basis of the engine with a Buick 300 crank and 300 aluminium heads. I built a set of headers since no one makes anything for this engine. When it came time for induction, I initially was going to go for Hilborn look injection but finally decided to use a blower. Unfortunately I had already painted the firewall and installed the master cylinders, therefore a 71 series blower would not fit. After much measuring and searching, I fount that the 6-53 GMC blower cleared everything. The drawback on this unit is that it requires bearing lubrication from the engine oiling system. This was definitely a no-no. Fortunately, I discovered JoeBlo in Australia. He makes end plates for the 6-53 with sealed bearings. The plates were shipped to Rick Dean Blowers in Washington state who rebuilt a 6-53 for the street. This still left the problem of mounting the blower on the engine since there was no manifold available to do the job. It was finally decided that a Rover injection intake could be used. Bottom half of the Rover injection intake Taking the lower half of a Rover injection manifold, The Machining Center in Belleville machined two adaptors, one between the manifold and the blower and the other between the blower and the carburetors. Three Stromberg 97’s were mounted atop. I have tried both bologna stacks and a finned aluminium cover that matches the valve covers. The adaptor as seen from the blower side The JoeBlo end plates 6-53 top side 6-53 as seen from the bottom The upper adaptor from the bottom side The upper adaptor as seen from the top Intake manifold for 3 Strombergs Triple Stromberg setup Headers I built with inserts in each tube There is also a baffle in the tip that can be tuned Induction complete with the bologna stacks That is basically the motor build. Wuga
Cool - congrats on getting back to your younger days- bet you would have liked this ride even more with all of the new updates when you were a youngster
The car was then taken to Candy’s Hot Rod Shop. While it was there, Neil wired the car using the fuse panel I had installed. It is so neat and runs are so obscure, I couldn't have asked for any more. Pictures show behind the dash and working lights, tail, signal, four way, backup, dash and interior. I wanted to keep attachments to a minimum therefore the reason for the licence plate frame lights. Neil also ran all hydraulic lines, again clean and minimal. I installed a pinion parking brake from TSM. When the car left Candy's, it went to Nando at Shannonville upholstery. The buckets are from Speedway. Nando then matched the panels. The headliner was done in a black headliner material and the black carpeting covered the rear section over the gas tank. The series connected Optima 6V batteries are under the rear arm rests. I can't imagine anyone sitting in the rear seat, but in the event, a removable cushion rests between the batteries. The power rear window is also seen in the picture. I had the headlight pods and the rad insert powder coated Satin Black. Everything was ***embled and finished just in time for the 2015 Detroit Autorama. Artwork by Jeff Norwell Why is it called Dog Spit? Nothing too mysterious here. I had chosen the colour and in fact I think it had been painted, anyhow some of us were sitting around discussing the next step and of course enjoying the mandatory wobbly pop when (did I mention I have an Irish Wolf Hound who like to eat plants for her digestion) Molly, after having just consumed a reasonable portion of my wife's garden, suddenly spit it all out. Well the first comment that came out of anybody's mouth was that's the same colour as your car Warren. Well, I liked that and it had a nice irreverence to it. The plates were issued. Wuga
Nice work. Any more specifics on the stroker setup ? Did you use the Chevrolet small journal rods ? How about piston and cam choices ? 305 cubic inches ? Any balancing modifications ? - ie. internal versus external. Flywheel choice ? How do you like everything ? Currently ac***ulating parts for similar engine. 300 heads, crank, Rover block, 4-71 needing work with Cragar parts. Would not have thought to use the lower inj. manifold that you did. I have an Offy dual quad intake to cut, woulda' saved money your route. Not an easy/cheap engine to build. Of course, I realize that I'm slaughtering you with questions. Inquiring mind and all.
300 crank 300 heads ported and polished roller rokers 215 turbo rods internally balanced Cam designed by Don (Dolmetsch) and ground by Comp cams Low compression pistons 8:1 supplied by D&D www.aluminumv8.com Had a new 4.6 block which I didn't want to bore so 294 cu. in. Foolishly I had installed the master cylinders and they interfered with a 71 series blower. D&D has a 3:71 manifold and blower ***embly which can be had if you haven't already invested too much into the Offy. Machining for the Rover intake was not easy or inexpensive. Another reason for choosing this engine is that a carb version weighs only 305 lbs wet. Easy on the front suspension. Wuga
Wow ! 215 turbo rods ? !! Very cool. Those aren't easy to find. Seen and heard some good things about D & D, and have some of their articles to reference. Thank you so much for your list. I love the curb weight of these things as well. Surprised there aren't more out there. I remember M/T and his Indy car endeavor, as well as some pretty cool 60's hot rods with them. No I wasn't there ... dog eared some of my dad's magazines, and always thought they were great engines. Can't wait ! Thanks again. Have a blast with that thing ... will ya ? !!!!
Very interesting. I too have the blocks, cranks and heads for this setup. I like the idea of the Rover manifold. Neat to see it works. The 215 and the 300 flywheel flanges are different. What did you do in that area? What transmission? Really cool and well done rig. Norm
D&D sells flywheels for the 300 crank and they are drilled for a 10.625 clutch. The problem with 300 cranks is not the flywheel, but rather the pilot bearing hole. Since most every 300 Buick came with an automatic, the factory never bothered to machine the end of the crank as a standard operation but rather only if the specific vehicle was ordered with a standard transmission. GM will do anything to save a buck. I am running a Super T-10 so I had the pilot bearing hole machined for a Chev bearing. Wuga
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