Projects The bucket of ugly! A de-uglifying thread...

I've seen the same pictures Jeem, and they always give me a laugh! I have always laughed that Phoenix decided to be a mid sized L.A. on May 26, 1983. That's the day that theoretically it just changed from a cowboy town to a metropolis in my mind. It was like night and day just one day somewhere right around that time. Another example you might get and a couple other guys our age might get is the way music changed over night in 1980... I went to bed on December 31st, 1979, with Led Zeppelin rattling in my head, and woke up on Jan, 1st, 1980 to Devo. Boom, different.

The reason I bring both of these up, is that a good friend of mine and I had this discussion not too long ago about the sixties. He basically said he went to sleep on December 31, 1964 and it was about surf music and hot rods, and awoke on January 1st to the Beatles, shaggy longish hair, guitars and VW busses... Further culture shock came later when he returned from his military hitch that took him to Japan in late Jan. of '65, and brought him back in May of '67.

 

Both of these magazines came out in '57. The one on the left April and the other one in August. Giving the publishers a few months grace Grabowski probably finished the transformation to the "Kookie Kar" version maybe late '56 and Ivo shortly there after. Another reason I think Norm finished his first is Tom told me he wanted to flame his T but Norm beat him to it.

 

Now, some news! I took a break from "Endlessearth's" truck an hour ago, to take one last stab at the Edelbrock on the "T".... I think I might have success! I pulled the booster out on the drivers side, along with the idle screw on that side, too. I grabbed a can of brake clean and my blower nozzle with the compressor at about 120 PSI and cleaned the idle passages and idle well mercilessly. I tiny bit of crunge ejected itself out the idle screw hole when I blew between the idle well and the screw hole. Not sure how I might have missed that, but okay. Took a couple of stiff bristles from a cleaning brush around here, and poked through every hole in the booster and idle emulsion tubes, air bleeds, etc. I put it all together, and just for extra psych out points grabbed my freshly rebuilt Holley 4160 and walked out to the car with it, and literally "showed" the Edelbrock it's possible replacement, if it didn't settle down and work correctly.

Results? I now have a reaction out of both idle screws, and I was able to get a much better idle at a much leaner mixture. It also raised the curb idle quite a bit, so that I could drop it down a bunch at the curb idle screw. Throttle response seems much better too! All very positive... Now I have to head out and drive this thing a bit on a parts run. I'm telling ya, my last ditch "show the part it's possible replacement" dodge works every damn time!

 

Thanks for that. I appreciate it.

 

That's great news! Nice job and way to stick with it!

 

HAAAAAAA!!!!! So that's what it's supposed to feel like!!! ABSO-FREAKIN-LOOTLY-FABULOSO!!!!! No giant "hole" off idle, no constant backfire, no stench of ultra wet exhaust!!!!! Power too!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!! What it did not know is, I would win...

 

Bloody Marvelous Chip and that is one answer I will put in my memory bank, if all else fails threaten misbehaving part with a showing of replaced part, it should work everytime. Nice one now back to the truck.

 

Congrats! A well deserved win!

My '27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t= 734383

 

Isn't it a matter of record that Ivo snuck over to Norms and copied the dimensions? Or was that the "Lightnin' Bug" version that got copied?

 

I'm sure that it was the "Lightnin Bug" version that Ivo copied. Ivo's car (he said) has a 101" w.b. and the rear spring mounted on top of the rear axle as Norm's first version has, and they sit about the same. I think while Ivo was building his T (and again he told me it took about a year) Norm was changing his into the Kookie Kar version which because he changed to a later banjo differential with the spring behind the axle it has a 96" w.b.

 

Thanks, Rebel.

 

Not even Phoenix traffic can wipe the perma-grin off my face!!! My God, what a difference. Ya know how you just deal with something that you know to be wrong for "X" amount of time? I almost forgot what it's like to have a car that runs well!!!! Now it's time to look more seriously for that dual carb manifold and a second 1404 to make my life insane again... Hey, where's that insurance companies check for the Falcon, anyway?

 

Very cool.

 

Louvers, WE are so glad you got that worked out. After driving with my new engine all his week, I know the feeling you're going through. It's like the hot rod gods dropped an extra 150 HP in your lap.

 

Hey, Chip;

Glad for ya, buddy! Smoke a bit for me, w/a loud yah-hoo! .

Oh yea, I forgot: tell me how much I enjoyed it, too. .

Marcus...

 

You enjoyed it a bunch, Marcus! On my way to the So-Cal monthly get together right now...

 

All-right! I thought I was feeling better for some reason... .

Enjoy the drive. At least the weather should be nicer than here.

Marcus...

 

Man, is that ever true. 1980 started my Punk years, and that music style and attitude dominated the best years of my life. People tend to bash the '80s, but man, I had a great time. I was in the Air Force, and it was like the world opened up and it was time for me to go and explore it. And I had some killer cars back then, too. Early Camaros, mid-60s GTOs, Rivieras, V-Dubs, and others.

I've work to do out in the garage, so I think I'll grab a bunch of my Clash CDs and get busy.

 

Geez oh man! Another good day for parts procurement!!!

 

Is their a swap meet every Saturday there?

 

At So-Cal, 'its a trunk swap meet' Second Saturday of the month...

Frank provides donuts and coffee, guys/gals provide the Bul. s..t

 

Hey, Chip;

You're killin' me here. Neat looking parts. Our swap meets went away a few weeks ago, winter's here(only ~7 months to go 'till nice weather), I gotta go back to work from the work-cation. Although I am glad *one* of us is having a good time. .

Keep rockin'.

Marcus...

 

Yup! Winter IS here! Only seven more months until shitty weather again... I always laugh in about April, 'cause it never fails. I am having a conversation with some one back east or up north and the old "so what are you up to?" question comes up. Their answer - taking the roadster and bike out of storage, "how about you?" My answer - putting the roadster and bike IN storage for the summer!

 

Yup, pretty much! We just came back on season after all of us were sitting inside in the A/C all summer. It's finally time to open the windows, jump in the roadster or on the bike and have fun until the specter of summer raises it's ugly head again next May. We didn't have a big swap this week like the last two, but we did have our monthly So-Cal shoebox swap today, as Bob said. That's about 100-200 cars every second Saturday, and if it fits in your trunk, you can swap it! Next week is Good Guys, the following week is the Phoenix Fairgrounds swap, the following week is our monthly Glendale swap, the following week is So-Cal again, then a break for Christmas...

Then Auction season!!! In the mean time, you can go to any one of about 10-15 cruise nights though out the valley on any given weekend night. THE SEASON IS ON!!!

As for my valve covers, I didn't actually get them at a swap... We had our once yearly Valley Speed Shop Reunion today after So-Cal. I should say, Keith Striblings Valley Speed shop Reunion! See, right up the street from me in the sixties at 7th and Indian School Road was Valley Speed Shop. It was the place that the quick guys bought at, tuned at, were sponsored by, and hung out at. Keith was an impressionable kid who road his bicycle the six or seven miles on the weekends to hang out and watch the older guys work. They eventually handed him a broom and put him to work too.

Well, Valley Speed Shop closed it's doors in the early seventies, but lots of these guys never forgot. Keith especially. He has collected parts and signs for the last thirty years to "re-create" the fabled shop on a smaller scale in his own back yard. Once a year, by invite he throws open the doors and has a party! today was that day. Two fuelers cackling in a suburban back yard at intervals, about 60-80 cars on the street out front, and damn near every walking legend left in town wandering around!

The day a semi-young gun like myself gets his invite to the party is officially the day that you leave the kiddie table at the Phoenix hot rod feast and join the big peoples table!!! I got my first invite about 5 years ago at 43, so I'm now all-growns-up! I have got to admit, that when Keith ran out of his booth at the Glendale swap three weeks ago and damn near tackled me to give me my invite, I did get a bit more swagger in my step the rest of the day! Judy was quite impressed too, so it works on the opposite sex as well. Meanwhile, in my brain I was Charlie singing "I've got a golden ticket..."! You get the picture.

And pictures you shall see!

 

But wait, there's more! Somewhere in these pictures on a shelf is a pile of Corvette valve covers... Two of them went home with me today, for a "for you" price! Thank you Keith!!!

 

Is it wrong that I desire that "Lemon Peeler" bicycle?

 

No... Not at all! I covet my neighbor's "Orange Krate"... I just have to settle for my '78 red men's Sting Ray, and Judy's newly acquired '84 "Slick Chick" girl's Sting Ray. 'Course there's Judy's N.O.S. '73 Schwinn Collegiate, my '48 Schwinn Black Panther, Judy's '37 Silver King woman's bike, or my '35 Silver king men's bike, too. Guess I don't have room for the Orange Krate after all...

 

Dang, I need to be Keith's friend too!

Until then, anyone know of a pair of Corvette "staggered hole" valve covers available for adoption?

My '27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t= 734383

 

For my money, its sorta broken up by events, and that doesnt happen in convenient 5-10 year chunks. Pre-overhead, post-war dry lakes era'46-50ish, early overhead pre-SBC from around 1950-55, chanelled cars really coming on, moving from the dry-lakes to the street, sbc comes, thats '55-'62, chanelled, full wheelcovers and 15" wheels are the rule now, next earth shaker, mag wheels for the street, in conjunction with a much more drag-strip influenced vibe big rubber rakes around '63-about '66, wrinkle-wall tires re-define the period from '67-'69, then tunnel-rams and psycho paint era picks up around '69-'73, then resto-rods really take over, late seventies, Pro-Street, and so on. And the borders are kinda blurry on a lot of these...

 

X2, it was the "bug" for sure.