Got it running. WOOOhooooo! Engine smokes pretty bad. We hit the target of a running/driving car, TODAY. Sadly, it was all for not. The drags got rained out. Although this will give us time to iron out some issues. Car had a Bad speed shimmy. We had 1/8" of toe in, took it out, now at 0 degrees, it's better. Steering box needs a rebuild, again, and more thorough. One ball joint has 1/8" of slot in it, that needs to get replaced. Radiator has a leak, needs repaired. Carb needs rebuilt, engine idles, but nearly dies when you stab it. Tires actually hook up WAY better than we thought they would. VIDEO of startup. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOfZtZQO8Xg VIDEO of brake testing and tuning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpoIZLFo6QU
Some "testing".... Once we get the carb fixed it'll be fine. Sorry for the wind noise on the camera, it was... windy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgeK8DTn2jM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeeFkIEXMQw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6ilwSRsFR4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GngZfxJn_PQ
We are mostly done. *whew* been a long few weeks. More to come as we change and update. Trans works and shifts great. We already don't like the smoke coming from the engine so it needs to be rebuilt.. If you're gonna overhaul it, we might as well push it up to say 10:1 compression and put a bumpy stick in it. Needs a place to write your dial in, other than on the body. Gonna re-do the the front end, take out some slop and new ball joints, etc.
looks like you're having fun, job well done. Fix that engine so you're not spraying oil everywhere, and then hit that track...job well done....plus, being red, it should go fast.... Congrats, Drewfus P.S. now go and get that blue pick-em-up roadworthy, looks like a great tow car...
Thanks guys. Pickup is roadworthy, 55 chevy w/235 in it. Originally bought it to pull the 235 for a dragster. Then was gonna put a small block in it and sell it off. If we make a push or tow rig, I've got it my minds eye that it needs to be a late 50's or early 60's station wagon. Like these links below. No chrome, no mods, no hot roddy parts. Kind of a stock family car "look" but with the ONLY addition being a push bumper. http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-1960-1969/1960-Chevrolet-Station-Wagon-white-le.jpg http://imcdb.org/images/042/443.jpg http://assets.speedtv.com/images/easy_gallery/925131/70839_front_3-4_m.jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bSRmC5GGYuI/Sb-kqfU7suI/AAAAAAAARFQ/4U1TmWPL9pg/s1600-h/Station+Wagon.jpg http://www.rocknrollride.com/images/1953-Chevrolet-Station-Wagon-g-sy-1152x864.jpg http://www.remarkablecars.com/main/dodge/1953-dodge-005.jpg Gonna drag the car around today and show it off to those that helped out in other ways. Then get it back over to my buddies shop, their gonna work on the engine and carb. Fix the massive radiator leak, and finish up little projects. We got rained out from racing yesterday. But we now have 3 weeks to make little fixes. Car runs as it is. Now we just need to repair some stuff. I think we need to stuff some kind of "miracle cure" in the oil to make it smoke "less" and make one weekend of it as is. It isn't leaking on the track, just a lot of smoke out the tail pipe during deceleration or when you let off from a hard pull. If any of you has any quick fix ideas or wives tail remedies to limit smoke for a short period of time, drop me a note. The REAL question, is can we build another one in 2 weeks? *ugh* Might put that off for a while.
We used to use Castrol "R" on occasion as it's smoke was much "clearer" (less obvious) than most oils. Haven't seen it in awhile though and don't know if the formulation'd still be the same anyway. I believe it was claimed to be a bean oil. Was told back then that Steen (sp?) was good that way as well. No first hand experience on that one.
Hell.......aren't they are supposed to smoke? Try running straight 50 weight oil with a couple of cans of STP as a congealing agent. Worked in an old '50 Chevy coupe I had that was a bit on the loose side. That and don't lift off in gear. The trick is stick it in neutral when ya go through the lights and just use brakes to stop as slowing down in gear just sucks more oil past the rings. Another old trick is to run it on straight ATF (or kerosene if the bottom end is tight) for an hour or so to clean all of the sludge and gunk out of it and then put in fresh 40 or 50 weight in to run it. Another possible is run a synthetic oil, they are supposed to burn cleaner.
Appreciate the good ideas. Just got back from the parts store, they recommended some kind of crap called engine restore, and some new seals up on the head. most of the old timers agreed it's kind of a "used car salesman" trick to lower the smoke thickness. If we can make it live for say five or ten 1/8 mile passes, then we can tear it apart this winter and make it smoke less.... Car left my shop today and headed home... I kinda miss it already. I'm surprised at how proud of the car I am. Turns out, it's not the same to toss a big engine in a Chevelle, or put a cage in a car or a 4-link or whatever. Building the whole bloody thing is a big difference. I'm glad for the experience. We showed it around the places we haunt a bit this afternoon. Brought out some big crowds. The newspaper swung by and shot some photos too. People seem to enjoy the car. Can't wait to get to the track. I'm still sticking to my guess of 74mph in the 1/8. Haven't driven it myself yet, so I have no "ass dyno" numbers to compare. That's the actual "Herminator" himself in the first pic.
One last burnout, and then on the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufQXhyegXFQ loading and parting thoughts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc0_iurmeX0
Few things we're doing to make it ABSOLUTELY "acceptable" to the NHRA. some of them we just missed. I could use a few opinions, on working with the rules not debating their value, or the NHRA, I'm stuck with 'em based on our location, so here we are. I think we're gonna put a foot brake on it. All we have now is a master cylinder and a hand brake. It seems to work just fine. However I noticed this. Rule 3:1 If a hand brake is used, brake handle must be inside car body or driver compartment and connected to foot brake. Any opinions on whether I read that wrong or it's superseded elsewhere? Econo-altered makes no mention of a foot brake at all. I dropped a note to the NHRA guy that cert'd a couple of our other cars. I haven't heard back from him yet. We're not connected to the foot brake. right or wrong, sounds like we're gonna have to re-work that area. Section 1:12, Need to add this, manual foot control to close throttle on altered linkage system. Didn't put one on. Just gonna nip that in the bud. Arm restraints, says 11.99 or quicker on open bodied cars. Listed under "driver, section 10". I'm of the opinion the rules say we don't need them. Have them anyway. Seat belt mounting plates, we made out of 3/16 (thicker than the belt stuff), but I see a rule that says 1/4"... gonna change them anyway. fuel systems 1:5, all fuel tanks must have a pressure cap and vented outside the body. our cap is the vent, but is not pressurized. Finicky I know. but I don't want to give the bastages ANY reason not to let us run. I'm thinking we could cut the neck and cap off of any junk yard gas tank, and weld it on in place of our existing cap/neck. Anybody with ideas on that? 7:7 windscreen minimum, 5x12. We don't have one. Gonna make one. 1:7 liquid overflow, says 1 pint on the catch can (500 milliliters). We are 375 milliliters. based on our tiny radiator... what are the odds this is gonna become an issue? You've seen our Yukon Jack bottle on the car. Anybody with a clever work around? It's possible we will leave it at 375 and intentionally "offer it up" as a problem, so the doubters can have a victory by finding something wrong. As long as we get to run, I'll let them have that one on purpose. I know how to "slough" a car through tech as well as the next guy. Been doing it for years (not proud of it, but it "is what it is" sometimes, piddly or not). This one is different though. We have doubters, skeptics, and assnuggets on a local level that are questioning our abilities as builders on this particular car, even though they've never seen it, but only heard about it. Apparently building the entire car from scratch scares some of these guys. Same guys that don't own a welder and struggle with things like crimp on wire ends... I don't want to give them ANY reason, at all, to puff up their chests and put us on the trailer. I want the tech crew to later be heard saying things like, "Man, that's about the most built by the book car we've ever seen". If they were all built this way, our jobs would be easier. I'm confident we could get the car through tech as it sits. I don't want to give them ANY reason. This is a sort of challenge unto itself. The challenge of the build has been done. The challenge of the NHRA tech, is next. And we aim to win that as well. With your guys help. (you already know I'm long winded, and love a good verbal debate) ...lol... Appreciate the comments. -Vector.
This is how these're interpreted out here in the "land o' lawyers". Ask me how I know. 3:1 - Refers to an overlay system. Any hand brake must be added to the existing foot brake system if that is still in use. If the hand brake is the primary system it's a moot point. 1:12 - Toe strap'll do it for mech linkage. They prefer mech linkage but don't beef cable or hydro yet. They do like to see a manual throttle shut-down of some sort for cable and hydro set-ups. There's no rule requiring it but some folks have one anyway. Arm restraints - If your arms can exit the cockpit they want to see'em, period. Rules or no rules. 1:5 - Vented cap is OK for tanks outside bodyworks but must have some form of roll-over valve to prevent fuel dispersal when doing aerobatics. Typically a multi-looped tube in the cap is acceptable. 7:7 - Purpose is to deflect wind and foreign matter above helmet at speeds. Especially important when sitting behind the engine, fuel tank, etc (thus, we don't get gigged on our slightly undersized one). 1:7 - Two Yukon Jacks? There's nothing outlawing double piss cans.
Appreciate the note. Wouldn't a multi-loop cap still leak if upside down? Fluids seek their own level, as I loosely recall from science class. (when I wasn't sleeping.) I just want to make sure we're as armed and ready as possible to explain everything that's going on. I emailed pics of the build tonight to our track manager. They're having a track meeting tonight. No surprises, keeps people at ease. Better to be expected and accepted, than surprised and rejected. <---now a poet too.
Sure, soon as you endo it more times than you have loops. Actually the loops prevent air regurgitation (sort of a self contained snorkle) and keep the fuel in via atmospheric pressure. remember, the tank's only vented through the loops. They could conceivably have a concern if it were far enough out in the open to certainly get knocked off in a roll-over I guess, but so far that point hasn't been made to us.
I'm gonna have to make one and play with it. I'm of the opinion that regardless of loops, if the tank is upside down and the end of the final loop is below the tank fluid level, fluid will flow, as it seeks it's own level. Especially if the tank has been pressurized by being shaken up. Can it completely empty over time? Dunno. We've all had poorly vented gas cans and watched as the fluid comes out and the gas can gets skinny as the fluid gets pulled out and the fluid slows and stops, burps, and flows again. Multi loop cap would only work, as I understand the science, if it comes out through the top of the cap, does a few loops and the tube continues on and goes straight down past the bottom of the tank, and hangs down below it. And the tube should be positioned between the tank and the rear end of the car if it's on the nose. that way, in theory, upside down, it couldn't leak. Car would come to rest, upside down, with fuel halfway up the final down tube. Could potentially leak on it's side if the tank was over half full. Or leak if stuck in a straight up and down position. Is that what your seeing? (notice pitiful artwork below) More of a curiosity for me now. I'm willing to do whatever gets us through tech.
I'm only set up for one roll over. The vent is 3/16" dia. tube to minimize the rate of leakage and extends below the bottom of the tank. The vent tube would probably get badly molested in a roll over however.
I think that should work. You get the advantage of a "vent", without splashing fuel through a hole in the cap. With limited spilling in an "incident".
Make that gas can neck 3/16" I.D. by 12" long and the can's walls as stiff as your tank's and you have a closer approximation of the situation. Then add the loops and try to get the "burp" around'em. A couple other things, We mounted the pump directly on the tank so the ball checks seal the tank feed against pressure intake in the event the fuel line is seperated. We also replaced the original tank pick-up tube with an even lower one so the pump could only suck air in an inverted position. Another small item, we chose copper for our loops as it's soft enough to bend considerably before breaking off when thrashed. A small point but considered none the less. ps. On the hand/foot brake, we use both. The hand lever for staging as the feet are otherwise occupied then, and the foot for stopping as it's stronger & and better trained for it and that leaves the hands free for steering and down shifting.
The boys went to tighten the valves yesterday and found a head gasket problem. Cylinders look good. SOOOooooo, while the head is off, we're gonna cc it and then shave .06 off of it. pop in some 1.94/1.60sbc chevy valves and put it all back together. Pic of a scrap 292 donor block in the event the head turns up bad. For fun, we were dinking around and popped a 292 crank in a 250 block... see video. Droppin in the 250 crank, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppPZsI7Xy30 Checking the deck height. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APCl012FXhs
If you're going to be building 250 or 292 Chevy 6's, get Leo Santucci's book. Frequently listed on eBay. Lots of valuable information.
Lets see, with that crank and the right rod I can push the cyl. wall out the side of the block. I think it might just work. Oops forgot to fill the block. Oh well, I can check the ring wear without taking it a part.
Yep. I'm not an engine guy. Our machine shop dudes are having a good time with the idea. and have something in mind. For now, the Herminator gets head work. The other engine is just a fun project for those v8 geeks at the machine shop to laugh at and poke around on.
292 head, now all worked over for the big valves. Stock valves shown on top, big valves in the hole below it. They're getting it put back together as we speak. Our next shot at being on the track is 6 days away.
Heads been re-assembled and back on the car. they took .08 off the head as well, estimating compression now at around 9:1 The boys took a look at the lifters while they had it apart. of the 12 lifters, nine of them were stuck. There was a decent amount of brass in the lifters, but figure this engine was in a truck for it's last 62,000 miles....should be fine for few passes. First passes on the track coming in under a week. While they had it apart, sent a few more things over to the paint shop to help spice it up. Little 2-5/8" tach died. Put the big one on it. Personally, I liked the smaller tach. But, we had this other one free and clear, so on it went. Can't wait to see how it runs now with a good headgasket, fresh head with big valves, a shade more compression and 9 more lifters helping out. Gotta be an improvement. Oh yea, we got new front tires that did a better job of matching the look of the rears. Ain't even hit the track yet and it's all apart again. *sigh*.
Well, here it is, finally all done. New rear brakes on and done. New engine parts on and done. All the painted engine stuff and body work, on. New, longer rear brake lever for a bit more leverage, done. New cap and vent for fuel. New seat belts to match the color. Lights wired for low oil pressure. Oil pressure gauge installed on the block. Finished up the windshield, it's 6x16, NHRA minimum is 5x 12, got it covered. I think a silver windshield would have looked more correct on the car, BUT, it's the spot where we're gonna write our dial in... so, had to be a color that worked with white shoe polish. They gave it the old WOT test on the road this afternoon. No drama, just goes straight at 3500 rpm in 3rd which I figure to be 84-85mph. This is more of an 1/8 mile car, we don't get to the 1/4 mile all that often. Our NHRA tech guy has cert'd 3 of our other cars. Well, not all 2 one of them failed for 8.50... ...lol... He's only seen this car through pictures and what I've explained in various emails about how we meet the specific requirements. Here's his take on it. "...If your full time job goes bad you just might have a career as a race car fabricator, very nice job from what I can see. I think you have done a pretty good job of covering everything but without seeing it in person one cannot be 100% for sure. I think that if there are any issues they will be very minor and I would expect any tech person would give you some flexibility to fix any deficiency for the next event and let you race on that day. It's a cool piece and I will be interested in how it runs. Let me know anytime you have questions..." We took that as pretty high praise. We've been puffed up about it all week. On the track, Saturday at 9am sharp. We're all getting pretty excited. If you find something on the car that you get a chuckle out of... we saw it too...
If the engine in your pictures is the one you're running - Its a 292, not a 250. The tall pushrod covers tell me so. We know 292's Dad's "hired gun" driver almost flipped this tractor during a balls out pull, last month. The spectacle has led Pop to retire this baby, after the driver survived with tire black on both sides of his ass. I'm glad I didn't see the pull. My point being, 292's are AWESOME! Hud
The Jalopy Journal
