Don Kanka's
1956 FORD F100
Special thanks to Vince Ordini for your continued help.
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WEDNESDAY - DECEMBER 11, 2019
Included this picture to the left. Mostly everyone who knows anything about engines will know what it is. Yep, that is a brand new Comp Cam that had 2 each 660' squirts on the car and an overall run time of about 20 minutes.Two seperate lifters, #7 and #8 cylinders both went bad (they were needle bearing roller lifters). So, I had to get the lifter bores redone, bronzed bushed lifter bores with new .904 bronzed bushed lifters. By the way, both of these lifters broke. Looks like the #7 was locked up for quiet sometime as indicated by the condition of the lobe itself included this picture to the left. Mostly everyone who knows anything about engines will know what it is. Yep, that is a brand new Comp Cam that had 2 each 660' squirts on the car and an overall run time of about 20 minutes. Two seperate lifters, #7 and #8 cylinders both went bad (they were needle bearing roller lifters). So, I had to get the lifter bores redone, bronzed bushed lifter bores with new .904 bronzed bushed lifters. By the way, both of these lifters broke. Looks like the #7 was locked up for quiet sometime as indicated by the condition of the lobe itself.
So, during this time, early May of this year, I thought I was going to get the engine back together and maybe get a few runs back on the car before the end of the year. Haha, that's pretty funny. No such luck. I didn't hear from the machine shop for almost 4 weeks. Though something was strange. Sure was. Owner had a stroke that put him out of contention for a while, with my stuff about half way done.
So I got everything back. But its was way to late in the season to get everything assembled. Yep, ran into a few issues reassembling the engine. Starter went bad (new MSD model), I accidentally laid a wrench across an active 16 volt battery post to ground, with the master switch on and burned up a bunch of wires (which caused me several hours of rewiring the harness and shorting out the 7AL3).
Yep the hits just keep on coming. So. Everything is almost complete. I just need to bolt the flexplate to the convertor, install the oil filter and put two of the remaining dry-sump lines on the pump from the pan.
Now it's just getting ready for next year.
MONDAY - DECEMBER 31, 2018 - It has been an long time since I have been on the web-site. Things have not been going so good with the race car since I last posted. We tried to make a few runs on the car but the engine constantly overheated and was spitting the coolant all over the ground, as it overflowed the puke tank. It took a while, speaking to the AFCO rep and the Meziere water pump rep to finally get the problem corrected. There were a few modification that had to be made to the radiator and cooling system plumbing. Now, we got to the race track and had a whole lot of trouble getting the car to start and run. It just seemed lazy with little or no throttle response and it smoked out of the #6 and #8 cylinders. I pulled the plugs and took a compression test. Everything was good, but the #6 and #8 plugs were dark and oily. So, I took off the valve cover on the even side of the engine. Low and behold did I get a big surprise. The TD rocker shaft rack on the intake side pulled the threads out of the mounting bosses and bent the crap out of the stainless steel rack. It also ruined two of the shaft rockers. If you look closely you can see that the #6 intake pushrod is missing. #6 was laying in the valley and the #8 was stuck in the head standing straight up. So, off came the heads to check everyone of the mounting bosses. Got the head repaired and received the correct size mounting bolts and the replacement parts from TD. Just got finished reassembling the engine and fired it up. It ran perfect for about 6 or 7 minutes until the Jesel Cam Drive belt decided to shred and caused the cam to retard and shut the engine off. So, I am going to stop by JESEL's on Wednesday (I work about 3 miles from there plant) with the shredded belt to see what happened. I also need to tear apart the top end to check compression to make sure there are no bent valves as a result of the cam retarding and the engine still spinning over after it decided to shut down. Ahhhh. The fun still continues...………...I must say that when we fire up the engine and it ran on all 8 cylinders, it ran really good. Crisp throttle response, no more smoke from 6 and 8 and engine was firing on all 8 cylinders. Idled good and no over heating. Engine ran at 150 degrees, then it started to stumble for about 10 seconds and a very loud bang from the headers and the engine stopped abruptly.
Not Good...………………………..
MONDAY - OCTOBER 16, 2017: Finally and I do mean finally, after many months (almost 36) of delays and untold holdups, for which many have no excuse, the new car is finally completed. Just in time for the end of the season and to be stored for the winter. So, I will try and get the car certified this week by NHRA so I can at least get a few test and tune sessions before the snow comes and sets me back another 5 or 6 months. I will be taking some more photos and posting on this site to more frequently to try and keep everything up to date (sorry for the last delay) and so everyone can keep pace as to what has been going on. The car came out beautiful, but if fought me every which way during the build process. It seemed that everything from assembling the car to assembling the motor turned out to be some sort of major project. Every little thing that could go wrong did. But I overcame the adversities and pushed on and finally got it completed. I hope to be making some laps on it in the next few weeks to see how it handles.
FRIDAY - OCTOBER 21, 2016: The engine short block is finally together. I must say, it looks so pretty I don't even want to put it in the car. Yea, right! I just received the Fel-Pro, 1 - Piece Oil Pan gasket yesterday from the mountain company and dropped it off at the engine assembly shop last evening. So the pan will be fitted with the one-piece gasket, sealed and tighten down and I can start on the dry-sump lines and fittings. The heads and intake will be installed over the weekend and I can finally contact Manton for the pushrods. That's the only major item I have left to purchase and then the engine will be complete and ready for installation. I did make arrangements to take all the body panels and the body back to the body shop next week and get the paint redone. Like I said before, there is nothing wrong with the excellent work that has been done on these parts so far. I am just not happy with the combination of colors I picked for the final paint job on the entire car. So, I made the decision, along with a little help from some of my friends to repaint the car to match the same paint scheme as the FED Nostalgia Dragster was. The Black over Red Chicago Fire Truck style paint scheme, with the gold leaf strips dividing the colors. So the chances of getting the car out this year would be slim-to-none. But I will be ready next year at the beginning of the season for a full year of racing.
Thursday - October 20, 2016: I finally pickup the rest of the body from DJ's and the work is flawless. The guys in the shop did a great job finishing the fiberglass body and completing the metal work on the front body panels. Matt Barnett did a fantastic job applying the colors to the body panels and body parts. Using the BASF water-born paint made the job look as smooth as glass. However, after I picked everything up I wasn't happy with the results. Nothing wrong or incorrect with the flawless work, I just don't seem to care for the color combination of the car. MY fault totally. So it is back to the body shop next week to get the balance of the body painted black. Dave was working on the short block this past Sunday. When I left his garage, he was ready to install the pistons after getting the rings all set up and ready to shove the slugs in place. So hopefully when I stop by this weekend, the slugs and rods will be installed and it will be time to work on mounting and sealing the Moroso Dry Sump pan. Check out the pictures I posted of the car, fully painted because it will be changed to full black in the next three to four weeks. So much for making it out the season. Well, at least I will be ready for next year.
WEDNESDAY - SEPTEMBER 21, 2016: I have been working on the car more and more lately, trying to get it ready to install the engine. I did get the body panels back and they are mounted on the car. I finally got the correct Dzus Fasteners that I have been looking for. The Full-Bore Company is no longer in business, but the Header-Teather Company has somewhat picked up the Full-Bore replacement line. They offer some real nice hex-head buttons that look really good on the car. I had to buy 3 different samples before I got the correct ones that fit. So, once I get the brakes bled and the front wheel bearings packed and installed for the final time, I am headed over to the body shop with the car in the trailer to pick up the car body. Its done and really looks good. I just about finished the wiring last evening, as I do not have much left to do (about three hours). The new chute is on the way and that will be mounted sometime next week on the body. So, the only major item left is the engine. Dave ordered another set of center rings as the first set were two big (end gap over sized). So they are suppose to be in this week. As soon as they arrive, they will be fitted and put on the pistons and the slugs will go into the cylinders where they belong. Button up the Moroso Dry-Sump Pan, install the heads and fit the new TD Shaft rockers on the heads. The last item I really need to buy are the pushrods. But I can't until the heads and rockers are in place. When that's done, a call to Manton for the push-rods and away we go.
TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 20, Today I stopped by the body shop and picked up the body panels and nose piece. The black paint is flawless and they came out great. So, I had to roll the car out of the trailer and put the body pieces on the chassis to see how it looks. The main body is completed all I have to do is stop by with the trailer and bring the chassis with me to place the body on the chassis. The paint also came out perfect on the body. I hope to have some pictures next week to post. So, progress on the chassis and body. Wiring is almost completed so all I need is the engine to be completed. Dave had to re-order the ring set for the engine. The ones I first got had to much ring gap and the rings did not meet the minimum gap size. So, another week or so and the pistons and heads will be on the engine and it should be ready to install into the chassis. Next stop is Rick AGIN's sign shop in North Brunswick to have the car lettered. Then the engine goes in and we should be starting to make some noise.
SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 4, 2016: WOW. Five (5) Months. It has been five months since I posted on this site. What a slouch. Really. I have been so busy doing other things that I really lost time as to where I was going and what I have been doing. I really am working on the new car. REALLY I MEAN IT. Its just that I have been saddled with so many other things I got involved in that, I have really lost control as to what I am really doing. Lets talk about the new car. Yep I still have it. The rolling chassis is all complete. Plumbing, electric, brakes, wheels/tires, wheelie bar, battery, throttle cable/pedal and BM Shifter and all that stuff. All that is left on the body is the paint. The body is at Danny's - DJ'S Restoration, getting painted and I stopped by there last week and everything is primer and is ready for color. Hopefully the color will be done in the next 2 weeks. The engine. Well that's still another project. the short block is about 63.2% complete and hopefully the entire engine will also be completed in the next two (2) weeks. Everything except the pushrods are there, just waiting on Dave at the engine shop to assemble the rest of everything. So, the rat-rod is also coming along and I also spent a bundle of time helping my good friend build his 2017 Dodge 4500 cab/chassis conversion into his mobile welding shop. Oh, I almost forgot. How could I. Sorry little buddy. My grandson, Miles. I have been spending a lot of time with him. He just turned 1 the other day and he is worth every second I spend with him. Everything else now comes secondary.
Progress
SUNDAY - APRIL 14, 2016: Well I finally took possession of the new car. The project took a little longer than expected. because of several small modifications I wanted completed on the car, which in effect held the final project up a slight bit. But now its completed and it is now at my home where I have been working on the car for the past few weeks. I decided to keep the car at my house as the garage where I stored my trailer is full of other vehicles. If I want to work on it inside the shop I would have to take it out of the trailer and put it back every time I wanted to work on it. So, I decided to keep everything at home and try and finish the project there. As it gets closer to the end, it will find its way into my home garage for the final assembly. The engine should be assembled by next week and the transmission has been fully updated and modified (from a shorty to a long tail shaft model) by Joe D in Palmyra and I will be picking the trans up this week. So, I started the plumbing of the fuel system and I have to complete the installation of the brake system on the rear housing. The tedious job of completing the wiring is next. I just completed the wiring schematic for the project and I am starting to get the parts and pieces to complete that project. Also where to put every thing in a neat and proper place to make it easy to work on the car if needed.
Progress
SUNDAY - JANUARY 10, 2016: I was hoping to have the car home by next weekend so I can start the final assembly and get the body panels to the paint shop. However, the best laid plans of mice and men have once again gone astray. It seems I didn't plan ahead on the rear axles. The car's basic's are being assembled at SW (rear housing, suspension, steering and front axle) so it can roll into my trailer. I did provide temporary bolt-on rear hubs for this. But Strange re-designed the rear caliper mounts and now then must be installed on the rear axles prior to the rear bearings being installed, something I am not equiped to do at home. They are now one piece type mount, not slotted like the older mounts. So, after another discussion with Michael @ SW, I ordered a new set of 40 spline axles and he will assemble the caliper mounts I provided and install the axles in the housing. One good thing now is that the rear will be all buttoned up, filled with the Lucas gear lube and ready to go. Michael also completed the drive shaft for the roller bearing ATI Trans housing, and the Trans is getting the rear tailshaft converted from a shorty to a standard length, including a new roller bearing housing. So. this will set me back an additional 2 weeks. If this keeps up, I will have to start paying floor-plan space rent at SW. I have another project in the works at my good friends welding shop. I started building a 1956 FORD F-100 Rat-Rod. It is just in the basic stages now, but I will have photos later on the chassis and running gear.
SATURDAY JANUARY 2, 2016: Today is the second day of the new year. I have been reluctant to post anything on thI was hoping to have the car home by next weekend so I can start the final assembly and get the body panels to the paint shop. However, the best laid plans of mice and men have once again gone astray.
It seems I didn't plan ahead on the rear axles. The car's basic's are being assembled at SW (rear housing, suspension, steering and front axle) so it can roll into my trailer. I did provide temporary bolt-on rear hubs for this. But Strange re-designed the rear caliper mounts and now then must be installed on the rear axles prior to the rear bearings being installed, something I am not equiped to do at home. They are now one piece type mount, not slotted like the older mounts. So, after another discussion with Michael @ SW, I ordered a new set of 40 spline axles and he will assemble the caliper mounts I provided and install the axles in the housing. One good thing now is that the rear will be all buttoned up, filled with the Lucas gear lube and ready to go. Michael also completed the drive shaft for the roller bearing ATI Trans housing, and the Trans is getting the rear tailshaft converted from a shorty to a standard length, including a new roller bearing housing.
So. this will set me back an additional 2 weeks. If this keeps up, I will have to start paying floor-plan space rent at SW.
I have another project in the works at my good friends welding shop. I started building a 1956 FORD F-100 Rat-Rod. It is just in the basic stages now, but I will have photos later on the chassis and running gear. e site in the past 6 weeks because I was hoping to have the new car home by Christmas. It has been over a year in the making and I went a few weeks age to see and inspect the final results. I have included a picture of the completed roller. After the final inspection and a few modifications the chassis was sent off to the powder coaters for the chassis and related parts to be completed. I just finished working on the trailer today, moving and modifying the hold-downs to match the wheel base of the new Altered. It has been around 56 weeks since I started this new project and hopefully I will be picking the car up by the second week of January. All that is left to do is get the body and panels painted, get the car lettered and striped and install the new engine. The ATI Trans will be dropped off next week to have it converted from a shorty style to a roller bearing long shaft. And I will be getting the complete engine assembly completed for installation. Than, plumbing and electrical and it will be ready for NHRA Certification
WEDNESDAY - NOVEMBER 11, 2015: Today is Veterans Day. I would like to take this time to thank each and everyone of you who sacrificed something personal making this Country as great as it is today. I still feel no matter how bad everyone thinks the state of affairs our country is in right now, this is still the greatest country in the world and will never be beaten. I have been away for a while working and trying to get the new car completed. I visited SW Race Cars last week for some final adjustments for the overall finish of the car, and everything is going great. It looks like that target date for pickup is somewhere early to mid December. I snapped some pictures while I was there and will be posting them on the site today so everyone has a chance to view everything. Next step is to get the engine assembly completed and start working on the body work and paint job. I will hopefully have the car completed by mid-January.
WEDNESDAY - JUNE 24, 2015: It has been a while since I posted on the site. I have been really busy and I should be on here more to keep everyone updated. I went to S & W Race Cars today and finally got fitted in the chassis. They measured and fitted the upper roll cage, mounted the steering box, brake pedal and hand brake handle, throttle pedal, chute lever, fire bottle release, shifter and switch box. We discussed mounting the Dry-Sump Tank, fuel cell, external water pump and the position of the lay-down radiator. The rear was extended back another 3" to make sure it fit under that real neat Spitzer Body and the rear tires were centered in the wheel wells. So, I think we got everything covered and located so in the next three weeks I should almost see a completed car. The balance of the chassis needs to be completed behind the seat for the suspension mounts. I am also having side body panels and a top front body made and mounted. I can't wait until it is a roller. I have to make one more trip back to S & W after everything is completed for one last inspection and than it's off to powder coating. YES, were getting there. Hey, I did take some pictures but they came out very dark and look like crap so I couldn't post them. Be back in a few weeks.
SUNDAY - MAY 10, 2015 - HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all the Mom's out there in the racing community. I had a great weekend. Both my better half and I found out we were going to be grandparents. Our son and his better half are going to have a boy. So we had a very rewarding weekend. Brunch today with all the grandparents and one of the baby's aunt made a very nice day.The car is progressing along. I am waiting for Michael to call from SW Race Cars to go and see the progress on the chassis. This trip will also result in fitting my rather large frame into the new chassis. The upper roll bars will be put in place along with the steering, hand brake, foot brake, shifter and so on. You understand the drill. Everything is fitted and taylored to my seating style. So, as progess goes on, I will post more pictures of the progress.
TUESDAY - APRIL 28, 2015: Well things are progressing at a great pace. The chassis build is on moving along at a great pace. The body has been fitted and the nose is in place. The front end is on and the rear housing is in place. As soon as the lower seat deck is in place and the seat pan is made I will be going to SW to be fitted in the car. I will also be meeting with Michael Weney to discuss the placement of all the ancillary equipment, such as the dry-sump tank, shifter, switches and all that other important stuff. They have to fabricate the chassis side panels and the small section of body between the engine and the front nose. So, progress is being made and hopefully we might see the roller version in about 3 more weeks.
SUNDAY - APRIL 19, 2015: Things have really stepped up in the past week. I got a call telling me the body is ready to be picked up in Indiana. So, I used the A & E Television Show - USHIP and put the pick-up and delivery out to bid. Ted Scott, from SCOTT'S Transport won the final bid and picked up the body from Spitzers and dropped it off at S & W Race cars. Michael from S & W informed me that the body looks great and the chassis is on the jig and has been started. So, it is just a matter of time now before I make the trip out to S & W to get fitted for the roll cage, seat, steering wheel, pedals and hand controls. Dave at MULLERS is going to start completing the engine assembly. So that should be completed in the next three weeks. I have attached some pictures on the left and I will have more as the build progresses. Getting closer and I can't wait until the car is in my trailer on the way home.
SUNDAY - APRIL 12. 2015: A lot has happened since I last posted anything on the site. The chassis was ordered at SW. It will be a 135'" Chrome-Moly steel, double rail type chassis. The chassis will have a swing arm type rear suspension and a tri-pod type front end. The engine will pushed out an additional 5". The body will be a Spitzer 32 Bantam with a pointed nose (like a dragster). The body is now being fabricated at Spitzer Composites right now. As soon as the body is complete (in about two more weeks) it will be delivered to SW in Spring City, PA for fitting on the chassis. The engine? It is still on the stand at Dave's shop and everything is there, it just needs final assembly (the pistons need to be installed and also the heads). The engine will be assembled utilizing a single four barrel carb. So, Dave will soon be finishing the engine assembly with me trying to help him. I will keep the postings up to date as more time goes by. The big thing is getting the chassis complete. Then car will be painted to match the style and outline of the old dragster. I will keep everyone updated on the progress of the new car...........Thanks
SATURDAY - FEBRUARY 23, 2015: WOW It has been well past 5 months since I last posted on the site here. Sorry about that but it has been a very busy over the past several months and a lot has been going on. First off, the dragster chassis was sold over the past few months. Luke Zane of Rodchester NY bought the car. I am replacing the chassis and body with a brand new SW - 32 Bantam Body - 135" WB chassis. I am going to use the brand new 575 Dart-M engine and ATI Transmission along with the 12 Bolt Strange Rear in the 9" housing in this car. I did get new American Racing wheels and Goodyear Tires for the front, my Champion Beadlock wheels on the rear with the Goodyears. Almost of the items from the dragster were trabsfered and retrofitted to the altered. The chassis is on the jig at SW and Mike said it wil be finished in about 6 weeks. The chassis will be powder-coated black, have a swing arm ladder bar rear suspension, hand and foot brake, lay-down radiator for hot lapping and a pointed Spitzer Nose. The car will be painted to match the style and outline of the old dragster. I will keep everyone updated on the progress of the new car...........Thanks
SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 21, 2014: I have been working on catching up on some small items releated to the final assembly of the engine. I bought a brand new MOROSO 4 stage dry-sump pan (I had a STEFS 3 stage). I should have the short block with the heads in place and assembled by the time this post reaches the internet. The last items are the push-rods and picking up the JESEL Mohawk rockers. I work about 1 mile from the JESEL Plant so it just a matter of getting over to Lakewood to pick them up during my lunch hour one day. I will have some pictures on the next post showing the completed engine.
SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 7, 2014: Well I went to Dave's shop today and finally did some work on the engine. Woohoo! I checked the piston-to-valve clearance and everything was well within spec's. So now, starting next Saturday I will finish assembling the rest of the engine. Pretty soon I can put everything back into the car and get this baby fired up and maybe actually go to the track. The pictures show the Crane Gold rockers. I only used them (I had a few spares) to check the clearances. The final assembly will include the JESEL Black Mohawk shaft rockers.
SATURDAY - AUGUST 9, 2014: I attend the 50th Anniversity of the August 1st 200 MPH Don Garlits run this weekend at Island Dragway. "Big" was there along with his two grandsons. I got to speak to him during some down time and he was as sharp as ever. Got an autograph picture and a tee shirt.Now, the car. Not much has been done. I am looking to get caught up in the next few weeks after I speak to Dave. I want to get the engine finished and get it back in the car . Things are still moving slowly but surely.
FRIDAY - JULY 18, 2014 I returned to work a few weeks ago and things have really piled up, waiting for my return. I am going to start working on finishing assembling the engine, hopefully starting next weekend. I hope to have everything back in the car by mid-august and ready to fire it up. Things are moving, slowly but surely.
FRIDAY - JULY 11, 2014: I met up with Dave of MULLERCUSTOMS.COM to talk about the assembly of the balance of my engine. It looks like he will be able to start working on the finish assembly starting sometime in the next week to 10 days. After a lengthly discussion we both have determined that there should be enough piston-to-valve clearence and the new pistons have a very slight relief in the spark plug area of the dome for a minimal amount of clearence needed for the spark plug. So, the work should start progressing sometime in the next 10 days or so getting the balance of the engine long block back together. Once the long block is complete, Vince and I can tie the new transmission and motor plate assembly together and get this major portion of the engine-transmission assembly installed in the car.
I still have a few small modifications to make since I decided to relocate the fuel pump. I know this will cause another delay, however moving the pump down lower, below the middle of the tank level will allow the punp to prime right away and improve on starting the car without priming the injectors all the time.
So shall we say, progress and I will keep you updated.
TUESDAY - APRIL 22, 2014 - THE BACK SAGA CONTINUES: What a great day today. I hit a trifectia. Last friday I got my Hilborn Injector set-up back from SW Race Cars with the new mount plate for the SPITZER Ant-Eater Scoop. Yesterday I finally got my heads back from the head porter. They look so nice, I don't even want to install them on the engine and get them dirty. So, now I can have Dave start assembling the balance of the engine. The only major item left to check is the piston-to-valve clerance and hopefully that will all check out correct (if not this means the pistons need to take a trip back to the machine shop). So I hope to pass along some more information in the up and coming weeks and get the engine back in the car and start making some noise with it. I will keep you posted. Plus I will post some more photos of all the newest stuff.
TUESDAY - MARCH 12, 2014 - HEAD GAMES. Wasn't there a game show once called that? I know that is a phrase that is often used at the starting line when facing an opponent at the "tree". Well in my case that's not so. Just when I think I am ahead of this whole project, I get wholoped and real dose of reality whoops my butt. Heads. Yep, those things needed to make the engine run. To complete the engine assembly. Needed so you can plan your summer racing schedule. Yep those two things that are used to cover all of those 8 holes in the block where those shinny round aluminum doohickeys go up and down. By now, you get the drift. Aint gottem, as of this posting. It seems that the past cylinder head person I had work on them (I have only about 30 runs on them since they were completely re-done) last time around did a GOOD JOB, according to the new head guy. GOOD, if I was building a street rod type engine. However (here it comes) the work must have been done utilizing older style machine shop tooling and methods as the tolerances are way off than what he uses for today's racing demands. Newer 5 Axis CNC Machines, multi angle valve jobs, specific stem tolerances, spring and seat pressures and overall specific items used to rebuild my heads all needed to be replaced. So, new valves, springs, re-cut seats, guides, retainers and assembly will cure that problem (along with a small stack of Jackson's). But, they will be one of the best flowing set of heads around. I will know in a few weeks when I get them back.
MONDAY - FEBRUARY 3, 2014: Posted in the picture on the left is one of my all time hero's, Don "Big Daddy" Garlits and his faithful sidekick, wife Pat and of course, the Yorkies. Big, that's what everyone calls him was and still is the master of all times in the Drag Racing world. To his credit, he was listed at #1 on the NHRA greatest stars of the sport. I met him way back in 1964 at Cecil County Dragway and ever since than he has been my all time drag racing hero, a position he holds in a lot of peoples hearts still today. I am sad to report that Pat passed away late Sunday afternoon, February 2nd, at home with Big, daughters Donna, GayLyn, Pat Keppel (her sister), grand daughter Anna Capitano and the Yorkies by her side. Pat was 79 years young. I did meet Pat a few times and always made it a point to stop by and talk to her when I was in Florida on vacation. While at the Museum, I was always hoping to get a peak at Big in his nice shop and one time I got a chance to speak to both of them, at length. Rest in peace Pat, and don't worry in the near future you and Big will be reunited and be back together for eternity.
God Bless
SUNDAY JANUARY 19, 2014: The new year has come and passed. I just got a call this past Friday from the cylinder head guy and he finally started working on my heads. I will hopefully have them back after the 25th so I can finally start finishing the assembly of the engine. However other thing have been happening. I just got all the parts to complete both the NRC Dry Sump and Hilborn belt drives from the JONES BELT DRIVE Company. This is some nice stuff. The oil drive belt fits perfect and is in place. I am going to SW Race Cars tomorrow the 20th and pick up the new Hilborn pump mount and drop off the Injectors and scoop tray bas mount to get all of that married up so I can install the Spitzer "Ant Eater" type scoop on top of the Hilborn Injector manifold. As soon as the heads come back, I will finish installing the pistons and finish assembling the entire engine. Once that is done, I will bring the car into Dave's garage from the trailer and drop the motor and trans in it and start completing everything for the dry-sump installation and relocating the fuel pump. I have a new trans cooler to install and relocate the throttle, fuel shut-off and on-board extinguisher cables. Yep all three need to be moved. Stay tuned as there will be more to report.
SUNDAY - DECEMBER 29, 2013: OK. Christmas for 2013 in in the books and that day went by to fast. It seems that my better half spends weeks, almost months prepping for this day and it is all over to fast. She spends a lot of time making everything just right so everyone hopefully gets enough time to enjoy it. Enough about that. I will be waiting for the cylinder head guy to return my heads and I can finally start putting the engine back together. I have been working on everything. I had to have a custom mount made for the Dry-Sump Pump, the feed and return lines must all be made up and the last thing I will be modifying will be the Hilborn Fuel Pump mount. In the past, the pump was driven off the cam, but I want to make sure it is mounted low enough so the tank is constantly gravity feeding the pump inlet. This will make the car a lot easier to start since the pump will always be primed. I already noticed that the belly pan needs to be modified a little bit so I will be making a trip back to S & W Race Cars to get that completed. However the good news is that I will be ready for opening day this year. The golf cart engine conversion is done and I will be getting the trailer repainted white. So, I will be making a lot of N.E.T.O. and Back-Seat-Drivers Club Meets starting this spring of 2014.
SUNDAY - DECEMBER 13, 2013: Friday the 13th. What a great day. Getting ready for Saint Nick to show up in 12 days. He was at the shop in Hopewell last Monday looking over the car for next year and to give his approval. Nick also wanted to borrow the car for the eve of the 25th to make it to and from his appointed rounds a little faster. However, no radiator or headlights and that oh so small fuel tank would have caused Nick to have an Air Force KC-10 on full stand-by to complete those in flight refuelings.I told Nick that I could install a temporary radiator and headlights for the evening and he is still thinking about using the car for the end of the night last minute runs. What Saint Nick wants, he gets. We will see what happens.
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
SUNDAY - NOVEMBER 24, 2013: I finally started working on the assembling the new engine. I acquired almost all of the parts needed to start putting everything together. The final major piece of the puzzle is the cylinder heads. They are still at the head shop down south, but the good news is that they are finally being worked on. I am suppose to get the heads back sometime right around the Christmas Holidays. Ho-Ho-Ho, what a nice present. Of course I still have to pay for them. I have a bunch of pictures of the new stuff and I will begin posting them on the OTHER CARS tab of the site. I will also post a few pictures on the main page for everyone to view. The engine build process is slow and very tedious. I haven't done an assembly like this in many years, but thanks to my good friend Dave Muller, we will get the entire engine assembled. I will be taking the engine to the dyno sometime late January or early February to make sure everything is operation as it is suppose to and the performance is where it should be. Hopefully the engine should rip on the dyno and produce some real strong horsepower numbers.
FRIDAY - OCTOBER 25, 2013: I got the transmission back from Joey D of Palmyra, NJ yesterday and it looks brand new. He explained all of the updates and repairs and it is ready to go. I talked to the cylinder head shop and Mike started the heads. So, a few more weeks for the heads and I can start assembling the engine. I will be placing the crank and cam starting late next week sometime, so this will finally put me ahead of schedule.I just renewed my NHRA and IHRA Competition License for another two years. So, I have that task behind me. My next thing is to get the ETI updated for the next 2 years for the car so tech inspections will be a lot easier. I just received the "stage - two-step" lean out by-pass valve and I will begin installing that when the engine goes back into the car. I also will be moving the Hilborn Fuel Pump so it will be on the same level as the fuel tank and will stay primed all the time. This will make the car easier to start (hopefully no more priming the engine). One last item. The HANS device. I can not seem to find any information that positively states or is written that the HANS must be recertified every 5 years. It is not in the NHRA rule book anywhere. That's the next big item.
SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 29 2013: I have been moving along at a snails pace, but yes at least I have been doing something. I got my new camshaft from COMP CAMS and I waiting for the shim and seal kit from JESSEL so I can start installing the Cam using the JESSEL Belt Drive. Joey D called and the transmission is done and I will be picking that up this week. So, everything is coming together. I spoke to Mike, the cylinder head guy, last week and he will finally be getting to my heads within the next few weeks. Once I get the heads back, I can assemble the engine. Right now, I am going to start on the engine. I can put the crank and cam in it, install all the freeze plugs and oil plugs, and get all of the dry-sump lines made up and fitted on the engine. I need the heads so I can check the piston to valve clearance and see if the pistons need to be notched. So, working on getting the engine back together and making sure the car is ready for next season. If I keep moving, I will be ready for opening day, next year. I finally got the golf cart done and will be testing that out next week to make sure that is working the way it us suppose to.
WEDNESDAY - SEPTEMBER 11, 2013: I just wanted to take this opportunity to express my never ending thanks and support for the members of the FDNY. Today it has been 12 years since our great nation was attacked. 343, the number I will never forget. 343 great firefighters who entered those buildings that morning knowing that this was serious and dangerous. They risked their lives for someone they never even knew and they paid the ultimate price, they paid with their life. As I watch the events unfold that morning in 2001, I had a real bad feeling inside of me knowing that these brave guys were going into that building and I somehow knew they might never come out again. As I retired after some 30 years as a career firefighter, I can't seem to shake the feeling that it was just another day in the station, the bells hit, and you are responding to your last call. It is a very scary and empty feeling. I will always be grateful for what they did. God Bless each and everyone of you and God Bless your families for supporting you each and everyday you served in a profession that still answers the call, no matter what the circumstance was.
God Bless all of you
343
WEDNESDAY - AUGUST 28, 2013: WOW its been almost two months since I updated the site. I thought I have been busy before, but lately its been crazy. I have been doing everything but working on the car.
However, I have not totally forgotten everything, I have been getting things on track. The transmission is ready, all the machine work was completed on the short block. I just ordered and will be receiving the new cam from Comp Cams next week. So, as soon as the cam comes in, I will assemble the short block, bolt the trans to it and install these items in the car. I just need to get the heads back and finish putting the complete engine back together. I need to set up the dry-sump system and pan, remount the Hilborn fuel pump and redo some of the plumbing on the car. I got the fuel tank back from being modified and powder coated so the pieces are coming together again. I hope to have the engine running after September when I get the heads back.
Well, some finish work on the golf cart to get that thing finally completed and somehow re-configure the way it was mounted in the trailer since I turned the car around and pull it in front first. I will post some pictures of the short-block being assembled soon.
MONDAY - JULY 2, 2013: Well it has been a while since I have been here. Sorry but I have been busier that a one-armed paper hanger for the past two months. I got word that the machine work is done on the long-block and that stuff is coming home today. The heads are still down south getting all the updates to them to make them flow better. However, I sent them down without an appointment so I have to wait while the are getting slipped in between other customers. The transmission is almost done, as it is apart and all the updated and new innerts are ready to go back in (I must say that I am disappointed in the other trans guy I have been using for the past 18 years). The trans will be bullet-proof for years to come. One less thing to worry about. So. I will get the long block done, attach the trans and get them both in the car. Just waiting for the heads to come back. I also needed to get the fuel tank repaired as I installed a bracket on the fuel tank mount and it wasn't in correctly and the counter-sunk screw heads almost wore two holes in the side of the tank. I had a new vent installed, so now I need to get the tank re-powder coated. I also moved the Hilborn Fuel Pump (yep the Injectors are going back on) so it will be belt driven, lower on the engine so it is always gravity feed from the tank. No more priming the engine and running a dry pump. This will make the car start right up all the time since the pump all always have fuel in it. I am also installing starting line enhancer to lean the engine when it is on the trans brake. This will improve the launch and clear up the load-up problem on the brake.
SUNDAY - MAY 19, 2013: The last time I was signed on the web site the engine and transmission were already pulled from the car to begin the tear-down to see what could be salvaged or not. Well, the block was toast but everything else was remarkably in great shape. So, I have enclosed some new pictures on the MORE STUFF page to show you where I am. The dry sump pump was refitted to the block and on the old Chevy block, the dry-sump piped into the side of the block just above the oil filter boss. The new block does not have this same provision and the only place you can put the main feed line is into the rear top of the block. The Dart Big-M Block oil input boss was a real tight fit between the engine plate and the block so I installed a Moroso Dry-Sump adapter plate and cut a notch in the filter boss, and now everything fits like it should. Check out the "More Stuff" tab as you will see the dry-sump, block, rods and pistons. So, Joe D has the transmission to rebuild, and the engine will be making its way to Scott in South Jersey to begin the machine work. I also decided to send the heads to get updated by the CNC port guy and they will flow the max. Car should make some updated horsepower.
WEDNESDAY - APRIL17, 2013: The engine and transmission was pulled from the car to begin the tear-down to see what could be salvaged or not. Everything was remarkably in great shape. Some of the stuff was excellent condition. Since I am going to install the dry-sump system I unloaded a ton of stuff on the auction site and picked up the new Dart Big-M Block. My current block is toast and can not be used. However, many of the internals will be rotated over to the new block. Check out the "More Stuff" tab as I will start posting some new pictures of the engine progress as I start to reassemble it. This will be a slow process as I am grounded for 6 months from stepping into the drivers seat because of my recient surgery. So, the build continues and I will post things as the progress. I also want to get the engine done because I will have someone drive the car before the end of this season. I want to make sure it is ready for at least next year.
THURSDAY - APRIL 11, 2013: I might even have Dave Muller make a few runs down the track to get everything squared away. I have the car stored at Dave's garage in Hopewell (mullercustoms.com). The engine and trans was pulled to begin there process of upgrading for this race season. Right off the bat I found out why the transmission was leaking all over the floor of the car. The rear seal was pulled from the rear housing and just rolling around on the coupler. However, the coupler was jamed into the rear housing and it burned the rear bushing and it had to be forced (using a big hammer and large punch) out of the trans. Dave compared it with another coupler and that one slipped right in and worked fine. So, now a trip to the transmission shop to find out what happend with that. Stuff never ends. So, I will keep everyone updated as to where I am headed with the project. The next thing to be done is to take the ngine apart to check everything and start getting everything rebuilt.
TUESDAY - APRIL 2, 2013: Well I am attempting to start working on the car for this season. This might be the first time that I will own and tune my own car with somebody driving it, if I want to go racing this year. So we will see what happens Thursday. Right now, I am preparing to get the engine removed by next weekend and get everything going so the entire race season is not wasted. I need to finally finish the cart conversion (the header and fuel cell) and get the transmission leak fixed in the car. So, I will keep everyone posted and I will post some pictures as everything progresses. I got everything in place for the dry-sump system and relocation of the distributor so it does not hit the dry-sump tank. The biggest item I left to do is replacing the block, but I am working on that. I am also getting the dry-sump pan modified with another suction installed. So, I will post some photos and some written info to keep everyone updated. Thanks for sticking around.
TUESDAY - MARCH 12, 2013: So, it looks like a slow start this year, but I do plan on working on the car about a month from now with the help of my buddy Vince and Dave (where the car is currently stored). I have to replace the block (currently the block has a very long horizontal crack, just over the starter, that runs between the #8 through to the #4 cylinder, about 2 inches down from the engine deck. So, now I have to replace the block. I will be spending the next two months getting that completed.
SUNDAY - JANUARY 27, 2013: I spent the whole day on Sunday finishing up the Kart for this racing season.I had to order a few small items and make a few custom items but I finally got everything done and it starts and runs. All I have left to do is finish the header and final mounting of the Fuel Cell, and that is it. The Big Block GX270 Honda engine runs good.Starts right up and the clutch and transmission all works. I installed an additional axle center bearing to support the center of the shaft from bending and that all worked out great. So, all I had left was to get the fuel cell mounting bracket from JAZ and finish the header. Then I caught the bug. No, not the thing running around on the floor. The stomach thing. Put me out for almost a week. Then out of no where I woke up on Saturdays the 2nd and I had no feeling in my left hand and a sore shoulder. Well, that didn't work out to good. After a trip to the Orthopedic, another to the MRI and then a CAT-Scan, I now have a crushed disc between C7 and T1 and this is causing a gigantic amount of pain and discomfort. I tried phyical therapy, went back to work a few days but it was painful and hard. I can't drive, sit for more than 20 minutes. So I have been mostly flat on my back since then taking a super amount of pain kilers. After several consultations, I will be going for emergency surgery Friday March 1st. This will put me off my feet for a minimum of another 4 weeks after the surgery.
So, it looks like a slow start this year.
SATURDAY - JANUARY 13, 2013: I spent the whole day on Sunday trying to get the golf kart finished and ready for this year. I finished mounting the Big Block GX270 Honda engine, extended the wiring harness for the key switch ignition box. Fabricated the battery hold down bracket and posts and got the battery cables hooked up. The engine cranked using the key. Everything is hooked up. The Bullet Model 40 Torque Convertor, Comet Transmission and the brake master cylinder and caliper is hooked up and the header is finished and installed. I have to finish the throttle cable and hook the shifter to the transmission cable. Then reinstall the body, install the gas tank and I am ready to go. Finally I hope to start the brand new engine this weekend and start moving the kart around under it own power. I have to tell you, removing the 8 batteries (@ 62 pounds each), the electric engine @ 66 pounds, all the assorted wiring and battery box frame and finally the electric engine rear differential, took almost 700 pounds out of the kart. Ad in the BB-Honda - 46 pounds, Bullet Convertor, Comet Trans and the small battery and re-worked frame and assorted items for the rear axle and disc brake, I only added around 100 pounds back on the kart. It is so light I can push this thing almost as fast as it will run.
I will have some pictures of the entire engine conversion next week. Should be a rocket.
SATURDAY - DECEMBER 22, 2012: Another one bites dust, almost. What a surprise ATCO Raceway was sold this past Thursday. There web site says it will be business as usual and Joe will be retained to manage the track for the next few years. So, we will see what happens. It looks like the family that bought the track has been involved in racing for many years, which is a good deal for the racers. A racer running a track for other racers. What a novel idea. So, we will see what happens in the next two months as hopefully things will not change. Maybe it might get even better? I am not sure because it was a great place as it was. I always thought the Sway Family did a great job managing and running the facility. It was always a nice place to go an race. I hopefully believe the new owners will keep it a family type operation. I just hope there is not an underlying motive to close the place and develope the property into a housing development or something like that.
FRIDAY - DECEMBER 14, 2012: Nobody likes this sort of news. The closing of a dragstrip is bad medicine, especially a historic 1/4-mile strip like New Jersey’s Island Dragway. (the picture on the left was me at the October N.E.T.O. Club race at the Pumkin Patch). Located in Great Meadows, NJ, Island Dragway is most famously known as the 1320 feet where Don Garlits proved the 200 mph barrier to be simply another number. On August 4, 1964 (pictured below) Garlits ran a 7.78 at 201.34, making the official NHRA-recognized first-ever pass over 200 mph. If you like a bit of controversy with your coffee, you can read about it in "challenger" to Garlits’ record.So, it looks like a small slice of history has just been eaten up and gone by the wayside. I am going to miss the place. Cathy and her family always made you feel at home while you were at the track. This was a very friendly place to race. We always made new friends everytime we raced here. As said already I am really going to miss the place.
RIP - December 2012
SUNDAY - DECEMBER 2, 2012: The realisium sunk in today for sure. My good buddy Vince stopped by this morning to help me move the truck and trailer to Dave place up in Hopewell to get ready for the winter storage. Yep, everything is done until next spring. Sucks. I almost regret this weekend as I know that there will be no more racing until spring, even on all the TV and associated Cable programs. I still have the golf kart to finish up as most of that project is almost there. One thing about moving the stuff to Dave's garage is thst it is inside, it is warm and dry, and Dave has a bunch of neat equipment in his garage to work on all my stuff. So, the car is inside the big garage and the engine and trans will be coming out. The transmission is going back to ATI to get the leaks fixed in it. The engine will be removed and the new one will be installed for next year. Since I got the bugs out of it, the Hilborn Injectors will go back on and it will look and run like the Junior Fuel car it is suppose to be.Next week I will post some photos of the progress of the "big-block" Honda engine in the Kart..
MONDAY - NOVEMBER 12, 2012 : Well, it's been a few weeks since I have been here to keep the site up to date. Like everyone else, the family made it through the whole Sandy thing. Unfortunately I had to work through the entire 4 days of the storm, held over at work for three of those days. My wife held down the house and did a great job. The race season is done for the year, so I started the conversion on my Yamaha Golf cart from electric to gas. I installed a Big Block Honda GS270 9 horse engine, Comet gear box and converted the Spicer gear-box rear differental to a live axle with disc brakes The conversion is almost done. It was more involved then I thought it was going to be. I got the engine and transmission all mounted on the rear swing arm. I need to install a battery (yep I got an electric start type engine) install the KN Air Filter and make the header. I need to extend the wiring harness and mount Honda the key controller on the kart dash. I also need to complete the brake cable interface to the original Yamaha pedal and the throttle pedal to the original Yamaha gas pedal and make a shifter (yep it has a reverse). So, I will be back next week with some pictures.
SUNDAY - OCTOBER 14, 2012: The car has been ready to go for over a week now, but Mom wasn't' t cooperating (Mother Nature). The rain came in and washed the Tuesday night test session out I had planned for ATCO. So I was going to try for Englishtown on Wednesday night. Well, that didn't work out, so it was off to Island on Sunday for the last N.E.T.O. Club meet for the season. I will go, untested and untried, but I am still going. First run off the trailer and the car ran 8.000 @ 169.89 mph. Wow, car felt great and I was happy. Great lower numbers and it finally ran all the way through on that lap. Second qualifying lap, the driver goofed up. Went up on the rev limiter in low gear, peddled and ran it through. 8.009 @ 168.99. So, I did a little work on the car for the first round of eliminations. So, I selected the 8.00 index to run, and I thought that was a mistake, and I was right. Car ran a 7.921 @ 170.99 (should have selected the 7.90 index) so my day ended early. But it was a successful day. The car is still running a little fat and I have the timing set on the conservative side. So, the search will be on for one more nice weather weekend and I will make another attempt for another race weekend. ......and yes, as stated last week, my sponsor American Express continues to send me my monthly thanks you statements. Gotta love it.
TUESDAY - OCTOBER 16, 2012: Well after a full week and a half of ripping the entire wiring harness out of the car, and removing every piece of electrical equipment off the car and completely starting over, I got the car all back together with a brand new wiring harness and all new electrical equipment. What ever the problem was, finally has now been solved. A brand new MSD 7AL3 Controller, Crank Trigger Wheel and Pick-up, MSD 8.5mm Plug Wires, MSD 8201 Coil, a front drive Mike Dunn distributor, and a brand new Painless wiring harness. I static timed everything and phased the new distributor, phased the crank trigger wheel and pick-up. I had a real hard time starting the car. I re-read all of the MSD directions and decided to disconnect the start retard jumper and the car fired right up. I set the timing and re-checked the phasing of the distributor rotor with the cap. Everything seemed to be set up perfect. So, the real test was Sunday afternoon. Well the car ran excellent. On the first run, I got in the water box, did the burnout and staged. Went on the chip and let the Trans brake button go and a great wheels up launch. Excellent .112 - 60' and then the car veered to the left, off the throttle, back on, veered right, peddled again then shifted into high gear and legged it out and the car finally ran right through the 1/4 mile. The ET was down @ 8.27 but the MPH was over 170 mph. Man I had a smile from ear to ear. Just when we were ready to make another test lap, the sky's opened up and it started pouring. So we packed everything up and left. So I will be off to ATCO Tuesday night for a few more test laps. Yahoo - progress, finally.......yes. By the way, my sponsor American Express thanked me again for my never ending and latest acquisitions for the car.
MONDAY - OCTOBER 1, 2012: Well the Golf cart pooped out for the season. The batteries are shot and will not come back from the dead. So, I have been using the Saturn VUE as the tow rig. I moved the dragster starter batteries and the special fixture for the tow strap from the Golf cart and installed them in the back of the Saturn VUE. To fit everything in my trailer, I park the race car backwards in the trailer and park the golf cart in the rear next to the car. Well, I left the golf cart home and towed the trailer to Island. Whoa, what a pain in the ass. The trailer was way nose heavy and the truck bounced all the way to and from the track. It almost killed me. Well close, it almost broke my back. So Vince stopped by oight and we turned the car around and loaded it in the trailer, nose in. I bought an extra set of mounting ends for the MACS tie down straps abouttwo years ago and never used them. Vince and I drilled all the holes and bolted them to the floor. I strapped the car down and took the truck for a ride. Man, what a difference. The truck rode like a Caddy. I mean it rode so nice you almost didn't notice that there was a trailer behind you. This will make for a nice trip to ATCO tomorrow night.
WEDNESDAY - SEPTEMBER 26, 2012 : This stuff keeps getting better and better. It seems so unreal, almost like a fairy tale, that you might think it is almost made up. Yea, right, who can make this stuff up. So, every piece of advice I received did not make any difference in the way the car was running. If anything, it is getting worse. I finally cut the entire wiring harness out of the car and installed a brand new one. I soldered and used shrink tubing on every connection and every connector end. The only thing I did different was to tie all the grounds together. I noticed that I had the engine block grounded to the electronic plate which held all the equipment. I also had the electronics plate grounded to the welded stud on the upper-cross member (the one that supports the rear housing). But, as I was finishing the wiring, I noticed that there was no connection from the upper cross member to the chassis ground stud, on the cross member just below the rear pumpkin. Now, this lower ground is welded to the chassis and the threads were exposed and clean (no powder coating). The chassis also had another stud welded to the chassis at the front of the car, where the battery negative wire is attached. However, the upper cross-member was totally powder coated, even at the attachment points (the stud was clean). I did run an ohm-meter test to see how much resistance there was between the upper cross member and the actual stud on the lower chassis. To my surprise (just when I though I seen everything) there was a very high resistance between these two items. The upper cross member was fully powder coated inside and out, and I believe this might be insulating the rest of the electrical components form a good chassis ground. So, I ran an # 10 gauge wire from the electrical components mounting tray ground stud, to the chassis ground stud by the rear pumpkin. I tied the two #10 wires from each head, the #10 from the block, transmission housing and the #10 from the components rack all to the lower chassis stud. Measured the resistance between the very front mounting stud right at the battery, and the stud on the upper cross member. Shabam, no resistance. Maybe I stumbled onto something here??
SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 23, 2012: OK. I thought I had everything covered, you know tried everything and this was the cure right from the techs from MSD. So I did what the Magneto Tech told me to do, and yes I was still thinking that this was to good to be true. So, I went to ATCO on Sunday morning for a 5 hour test and tune session. There were a few clubs there racing, even the Back Seat Drivers, a Front-Engine-Dragster group from eastern PA. Well, the first thing that happened. The golf cart crapped out (I later discovered four of the six batteries were dry, stupid-stupid-stupid as my old friend Larry use to say). So, after removing the tow strap from the cart, and one of the 16 volt remote starter batteries for the car and mounting it on the Dodge dually, we were goin to doing this, "real old style nostalgia, using the tow vehicle to move the car around the pits. They started a little late, and I finally got up to the lanes to make a test run. The car ran the worst it has ever had. The car ran a 1.152 - 60 foot, a 5.011 - 660' at 139.83 and a 6.601 at the 1000' then shabam......thats where the anchor fell out the back of the car. You noticed I said a 5.011 @ 139.83 - 660', on this run the car topped of at 8.36 @ 122.35 @ the 1320. What a real surprise, the car fell off almost 40 mph from the 1/8. So, I checked everything over for the last time as was preparing to make another run (after tearing the car all apart) and I was so peepeed ooooffffed that I decided to quite before I broke the car. (it was popping anD sneezing all over the place, the car, not me). So, the final step before the battery powered DeWalt sawz-all gets a work out on modifying my new car into a piece of lawn art, I decided to try one more thing. Yep, invested the GOLD in a complete MSD ignition kit. 7AL3, Coil, Wires, crank-trigger, new MIKE DUNN Drive CCW-type distributor. So, back to a standard battery ignition, cut out all of the wiring, removed the 3-step module, the rpm module and the magneto/tach convertor.
I have a great sponser, the "American Express Gold Card" provides almost an unlimited monthly cash flow for my fix. Only one small problem, it needs to be refilled every month and you know where that source comes from. Nobody said this was easy. Next week it will be back to the track for the final phase.
TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 11, 2012: Well I finally got to the race track on Sunday. Vince and I drove up to Island Dragway, in god's country. Boy it was a nice drive up to the mountains.Got the car unloaded and went to tech. Now, I have been to several race tracks with this brand new car and it seems every time I go to ISLAND Dragway I seem to have trouble getting the car through the tech at this track. One time I went here, they would not even honor the NHRA ETI program even though all my paperwork was in order. When the inspector asked me "where is the transmission shield", I knew I was in trouble. I explained to him that I have an ATI aftermarket housing and the housing was already SFI Approved. He checked everything with a fine tooth comb, and I passed and was able to race. So, bought fuel, got everything ready and warmed the car up for the first round of qualifying. After sitting around until 1145 (we were suppose to start at 10:00 am) we finally got started. We towed to the staging lanes, I got in and fired the car and was ready to go. The car felt funny, not right. But, I did my burnout and staged the car. I was up on the rev limiter and let the trans-brake go. Car was off in a shot but it felt sluggish. Clicked of at the 1/8 mile (we were limited because water was seeping up from the track in the shutdown area). When I pulled off I noticed the #6 pipe was still clean (I just put a brand new set of headers on the car). I felt the #6 tube and it was ice cold. The plug looked good, checked the wire, good. Pulled the valve cover and there it was. The #6 intake valve posi-losk was sticking up out of the Crane stud girdle about a 1/2 an inch. Push rod was missing and the rocker was just flopping around. Loosened the stud girdle and the posi-lock slid right out. Yep, a broken rocker stud. So, the carnage was not to bad. rocker, pushrod, rocker stud and posi lock. Ordered the replace.
eWEDNESDAY - SEPTEMBER 5, 2012: Well it looks like the US National Rain Gods made there way east and really screwed my plans for this week. ATCO was rained out last night and unless I plan on taking the ARC to Englishtown tonight, it looks like that's out also. So, off to ISLAND this Sunday with no hot laps on the new combination. I hope that we will get at least 3 time shots in Sunday @ Island. I can't even get to the Saturday test and tune at Island because I will be out of town with the family at a wedding. We will be leaving early sunday morning so I can get home to get to the track by 11:00 am. So, in preperation I got out the faithful Panasonic CF74 Tuff-Book, fired it up and tried to interface the Altronics weather station with my Crew Chief Pro 6.0. Yep, still got the 6.0 version. I completly forgot how to make everything work, and you know it, could not find the directions. So, placed a call to Don Higgins @ Crew Chief Pro and ended up totally upgrading the software package. So, a scant 355.00 bucks later (included overnight shipping) I will have the computer and weather station ready for sunday. Now, I thought I would never say this, but I hope the NETO Meet gets rained out on Sunday and gets post-poned until next week, so I can at least get to ATCO on Tuesday for some hot laps on the new combo. We wll see what happens. I thought I would never wish for rain so I couldn't go racing. Life is funny some times.....
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2012 I finally got the engine apart and removed the Hilborn Fuel Injection set-up and have sent it back to the Hilborn plant to see what the problem is. They are going to flow test everything, including the pump and all my lines to make sure they are compatible and everything is working correctly. I got the Eldenbrock manifold and the Holley 1050 carb installed. Mounted the Aeromotive fuel pump and regulator, all new fuel lines. I did start the car two weeks ago and it fired right up with the carb. So I got the Spitzer Scoop all fitted, painted and installed. I will be finishing everything up tomorrow (finally a day off from work during the week) and I will travel to a local business developement near my house, unload the car and stuff and fire it up and run it for a while, The NETO Club has a few meets left this season and I am going to make every effort to get to them to get some runs in with the club. I plan on going to ATCO this tuesday night to put a couple of laps on the car to get ready for the club races next week towards the end of the year. I have included a few pictures of the Spitzer scoop mounted and painted.
SUNDAY JULY 15, 2012 Well, I finally got the truck back on Friday. $1300.00 later, it is done and ready to go. Joe and John Reither did a great job with replacement of all the brake lines and all the other stuff. OK, All loaded and off to ATCO. Great weather, even though it was 86 degrees. Car fire-up great and went to the line for the first test/tune at 10:00 am. What a ride. Perfect burnout, pefect launch, straight as an arrow. On the shift light, into high gear. Car really feels great. Watching the tach, and i get to 7400 and just passed the 1000' cone and whoops it was like I stepped off the throttle. The car nosed over and just about made it through the traps. I was happy when I got the time slip, even though it was only a 1000" run. 6.742 @ the cone but it only ran 8.312 at the 1320 (told you...i thought someone threw out the anchor). Got back to the pits, changed a few things and the car ran faster (even though the DA went up over 2977', and the temp was now 92 degrees.) Made the second pass, 1.08 @ 60' (this car 60's on the rear tires, since the front end is carried through the first 200'). 3.234 @ 330 and 5.07 - 136.91 @ 660'. At the 1000' cone, same thing. So, back into the trailer and home bound we went. I will be on the phone to Hilbourn tomorrow to see what the problem migh be. Everything looked good, plugs, valves, timing, fuel - who knows?
SUNDAY - JULY 8th 2012: Well this week was a total bust. Last week, all my stuff was in order to attend the big car show and to attend the test and tune at ATCO. Everything was set, the car and golf-cart, I also cleaned both the inside and outside of the trailer (whow, it really was white under all those black streaks) and washed and cleaned out the Dodge dually. I went to the gas station earlier in the week to fill the truck and parked the dually in front of the trailer. Saturday morning I went to back the dually under the trailer and low and behold, the brake pedal goes right to the floor. The brake light came on and I tried pumping the brake pedal, no luck. A quick check under the truck the brake line going to the right front wheel was rusted and split open, leaking brake fluid all over the place. The truck was towed to the shop and is now getting fixed.
I went to the shop this past friday afternoon and found all the brake lines we shot. So all the lines, front to back are being replaced, including the rubber lines. Also the front pads were rusted and the inner pad material on each pad fell off the pad-plates from the rust. I have never seen anything like this before. So, new lines and brake pads, plus some new rear shocks and I will be ready to go again next week, I hope....
SUNDAY June 24, 2012 Well I worked on the car yesterday and got everything ready. I just got the electric engine back from PLUM Crazy Performance two weeks ago and got it back in the golf cart. So, after charging the batteries and checking everything out the cart is ready to go. I cleaned the trailer inside and out and Vince and I will be headed to a rather large car show at Mercer County Park on Saturday June 30th. Then it is off to ATCO on sunday morning at 0800 to get some test and tune runs on the car. Hopefuly everything will work out during the testing. I will be making some runs to get ready for the Hot Rod Reunion at Englishtown on the 29th of July. I will try and get two full test sessions in place before the Englishtown Race to make sure the car is ready
SATURDAY May 12, 2012. I called Hilborn last week and talked to there technical department. After a lengthly and technical conversation with Don Enrique he came to the conclusion that the problem is from the current fuel curve set up that I am using. Don stated that the fuel curve is emulating what an alcohol car would do, causing a fuel overload at the top end of the run. He suggested that I install a high speed by-pass on the fuel pump. So, I purchased the by-pass, with a .187 spacer, high flow poppet, and spring adjusted to 50 lbs of seat pressure. After all the calculations, current nozzle size, pump size and rpm, main by-pass pill @ .150. This combination, alnog with the new high speed by-pass should cure the exssive nose-over at the top end. So, I bough the parts, By-Pass from Hilborn, fittings from Good Vibrations, Hose and Fittings from JEGS. Here are some shots of the installation.
SATURDAY: April 28, 2012. ATCO New Jersey. This was the first run on the car for this season. A test and tune session sponsered by SW RACE CARS, thanks to Scott Weney and the Family of Employees at SW Race Cars. The weather did not cooperate today. We arrived at the track at 7:30 am and the it was very clear and sunny but the temperature was only 49 degrees. A little to cold for any grip on the track. Vince and I got the car ready for the first round of time trials, but we had to wait almost 3 hours for the weather to change. We started hearing the street cars runing aroung 10:15 and a few Super Comp Dragsters were making runs around 10:30 am. We went to the staging lanes and made the first run. Well it didn't go very well. I had the injectors running to fat, backed up out of the grove and the wheelie bar was set wrong. Wheels up on the bar and straight to the right wall, corrected it and got out of the throttle and coasted the rest of the run. So, I changed the "pill" and made sure we hade the wheelie bar adjusted correctly. Fired the car and did the burn-out. Made sure I backed up in the correct grove and got ready to go. The engine was still a little bit fat (not near as bad as the first run) but the car launched straight as an arrow, very little wheel stand and came right up on the shift-light. I shifted into high gear and the car had a very smooth transition into high gear. The run felt very good so far. Right about the 1000' mark the engine started to puke up a bit. The car nose dived and started breaking up.I tried to stay in the throttle but it got worse. When I got the time ticket, I was happy with the results though. The car had a 1.131 60 foot, ran 145 in the 1/8th and at the 1000' it shot through at 6.39. So, I will be looking at the injectors and checking the mag box. Since this is the first run since I installed a brand new MSD Pro-Mag I can rule out the mag as being a problem (check out the other pictures of the new mag and mounting).
I also noticed some grey type material on the floor of the car, just under the splined drive shaft. There is not a regular tube type drive shaft in the car. It has a Strange 32 spline shaft and couplers. When I assembled the couplers and shafts, I used a grey type greese. I think the greese on the couplers just got heated up and splattered and dripped on the floor. At least that what it felt like in my fingers. I will be removing the shaft tunnel cover (easier said than done) today and will be checking everything. We also ran out of time, since it was now 12:20 pm and the pits were starting to get filled up for the regular saturday night program. We will be checking everythng out and see you next week.
SUNDAY : January 22, 2012. Well it is the new year. 2012. Where did the past year go? i took the car to the AARN - Motorsports 2012 on OAKS, PA. The show was good. Mostly dirt and asphault stock cars. But there was a lot of Drag Race Cars on display. I was parked in the RAACE Foundation display, with another SC Dragster and 2 Junior Dragsters. The car got a great reception. I wish I had a dollar everytime someone made a remark about sitting on the rear housing and someone saying "that would really hurt if the rear blew". I would have made about 5K this weekend. I finally printed up a nice sign for sunday and attached it to the seat by he rear housing stating: "No the rears do not blow up in these and yes they are safe to drive" . Everybody usually would ask me " these things really wreck good, don't they? I would say, I hope not cause I am driving it. For the most though, the car was received well. I had a great time and the weather heald out for a good weekend. So, its back to the garage and get ready for next year and do some work on the engine.
Hers is getting ready for the new dragster for next season. I ran an ad in one of the largest race publications and received over 18,000.00 replies. I was hoping for former World Top Fuel Champ Larry Dixon (since he has left the Ali-Anabi Team) but I could't meet his salary requirements. So, Vince and I narrowed it down to two (2) final applications. Both guys have been around for a while. Ron has been involved in all types of racing from Nascar to soap-box derby cars and Nick, well he's just been around. Although Ron has not been behind the wheel of a front engine dragster, he has great appeal with everyone. But Nick, he has been handling that front deer-power sleigh for many years and he has a handle on that thing. I was worried about Nicks girth, but Scott at SW Race Cars built this car special for me, the FM21 Car (Fat Man 21" wide car). Now since my girth is as wide as Nicks, it looks like he will fit without any trouble. It's just the beard we are worried about. Now, Ron, he has spunk but he has the biggest feet I have ever seen and I think we will have trouble getting those IMPACT A15 Type shoes for his feet. I am checking into this with Impact. Nick also has a great support staff (all those Elfs) who are great workers. But Ron has an inside contact for those french fries. So both Ron and Nick are both great candidates for the job and picking the overall winner is going to be hard. Hopefully I will have this selection completed before the end of January. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
WEDESDAY: November 16, 2011. Well it has been a while. To long since I have been back. The car has been parked, along with the trailer and Dodge dually because I suffered a serious of kidney stone attacks. Several of them. After a CAT-Scan it was discovered that I had three (3), yep that's 3 of them, active. Now, I know that I have always had one laying dormet in my left kidney, but it seems that one has grown into an unpassable size stone. The doctor started talk "nano" size stone (it was actually almost 3/4" X 1/2" in size). So, I passed 1 small stone in the hospital, and had a lithotrispy on the small one, #2, in the right kidney. I still have another lithotrispy left on nano #3 to try and blast the last stone smaller so I can pass the small pieces. So, the stones got the best of me and I am out of the car until I can get the last stone blasted.
By the way, I still do not know why the car nosed over on the last run. Everything check and looked good, so the car will go to Dave Mullers garage for the winter and the trailer will be parked at his very large piece of property. That 6.991 - 1000' time slip keeps me primed for next year.
TUESDAY: September 27, 2011. Well after a few weeks of some small things that needed to be completed and some family committments we finally got back to the track. Another tuesday night Test and Tune at ATCO. I wanted to get at least three runs in tonight but we had a much larger crowd tonight than a few weeks ago. After warming up the car and getting everything ready I made another time run. I wanted to put a 1000' run on it and than a couple of full runs. The first run: started the engine and did my usual burn-out. While I was backing up, the water circulating system fitting on the right side of the chassis (a brand new Jiffy-Tite) started pissing water out the side of the chassis. The starter started yelling and I was forced to shut the car down. Towed back to the pits to fix the problem. So I got ready for the next run. It was now about 9:00 pm and it was getting really misty and wet. Fired the motor and did my usual burn-out. I did lower the wheelie bar for this run and was ready to go. Staged, brought the engine up on the trans-brake and let her fly. Out on the wheelie bar, straight and narrow, shifted at 8600 and got to the 1000' and the engine fell flat on her face. Just like someone shut the fuel off. A quick check at everything and I didn't hit anything or shut anything off. So, nutural it was and coasted to the end of the track. I don't know what happened and was out of the car at the end of the track to check everything over. Everything looked ok so we towed back to the trailer. I was really surprised when we picked up the time slip and there it was. A 6.991 at the 1000' and coasted through at a 7.63. Man was I happy. The 6.991 was great. The weather was getting worse. The gambler cars were starting to slip and slide around so we made the decession to pack it up for the night and return on Sunday during the day to try and lay down at least 5 to 6 runs.
TUESDAY: September 13, 2011. Loaded up and ready to race. A trip to ATCO for the Tuesday Night T and T session to put the first run on the car. Left work at noon, meet up with Vince my racing partner and 3:00 pm we were off and driving to Atco. Wghat a perfect night, nice day and mid 70's that evening. Got the car tech'd and everything passed. did some pre-run work, got my new 1800 A15 suit on and off to the staging lanes we go. Well it took a short period getting into the car for the first time, getting everything adjusted but than the time came. Vince plugged in the starter, primed the injectors and I hit the starter button. The engine fired and idled right up. A hit of the throttle and the engine sounded sharp, real crispt. rolled through the water box and did a high gear burn-out. Man, it stood up on the tires and smoked them real good. Chattered them right out of the burnout. It was neat sitting right next to the tires. So I staged the car, 5500 on the trans brake and let her fly. Pritty crappy light .226 but out of the hole like a rocket, right on the wheelie bar and the shift light came on and went to shift the car to high gear and buuuurrrbbbbb. Something caused the engine to fall flat on its face and te car slowed down. So I put it in netural and coasted through the lights. Well I discovered that I accidentially hit the master cut-off switch (I have an extended rod that is right next to the shifter and I pushed it with my fat hand when I went to shift the car). So some re-forming the shut off handle a bit, I made two more short squirts, a 330 and 660 and the smile on my face was so big it almost looked fake. I was getting late so we packed up for home and to stop and get some dinner on the way home.
SUNDAY: September 11, 2011. Ok I know it's 9/11 today. 10 years later. Yep I said it, 10 years later. It still sucks and bothers me a lot today. I spent 30 years in the Public Safety business , the last 27 as a career member of the City of Trenton Fire Department. I like many was working the day the attacks were forced against the innocent people of the greatest country in the World. I left for work that morning, saying goodbye to the wife as I do every morning. My son just started his freshman year at Penn State and he was somewhere in western Penna. As the events unfolded that morning and I watched the members of the FDNY scramble to respond and get into those two burning buildings I have a very sickly feeling in my stomach. Some how I knew, deep down in my heart when I was watching the members of the Engine - Ladder and Special Service response units from FDNY forge their way into those towers, it was going to be the last thing they were going to do. I just remembering saying good bye to my wife that morning like nothing special was going on, and here I was sitting in my directors office with him viewing this whole event unfolding right before us. I remember distinctively telling the Director that there will be a lot of firemen would would never recover from this. This scenario had death written all over it. I will admit, that sitting their watching this unfold in front of me, live on CNN, I started to weep a bit because I knew a lot of brother fireman were knowingly marching right into the valley of death that morning.
Those "343" brothers, and many others, including the Police Officers, EMS responders and civilians who participated in the massive rescue efforts paid the ultimate price for someone else that day and for the freedom of our country. 343 guys who went to work that morning to serve in a profession that you had to love to do, which I did, and never came home that night. I called my wife at work right away to see if she was ok and to remind her how much I loved her. I also contacted my son at Penn State to make sure he was safe. So, with out dragging this on much longer and trying to make this sound like I am trying to make a political statement, I just wanted to thank the "343". Those "343" and their families reinforce what this country stands for. And I will always be proud to say that I did have an exciting career in a profession that is so much taken for granted by the general public. And I am really proud to say that these 343 would always be remembered in my heart forever for what they did that day in September - 9-11-2001. As the saying goes, they died with there boots on, serving those who will never know them.
God Bless the 343 for ever.
SATURDAY : September 3, 2011. OK, OK and OK again. Got everything ready for the road and took a ride to Island Dragway saturday morning for a Test and Tune session. 56 miles one way 112 miles round trip - 14 gallons of gas for the dually/trailer - spent 50.00 for gas and when we pulled into the track, something happened. Something really strange. Almost funny. A sick type of funny, but laughable. Their was no one at the race track and the gates were locked. A quick look using the I phone at the track schedule showed the track did indeed have a scheduled Test/Tune Session scheduled that day, but no one was here. The exit gate was open so we pulled into the track to make the large swing to turn the truck and trailer around and we ran into the track manager. They were in the process of cleaning up from IRENE. Everything looked good but he said the had water over the guard rails of the track. I did notice that there was about 10 trailers parked about the race track and everyone had a water mark at least 4 feet off the ground up the side of at least 6 of the trailers, and they all had the cars in them. So, tuesday night - ATCO. Maybe we can get some Test and Tune runs on the car tuesday night.
SUNDAY: August 28, 2011 - ARE YOU KIDDING ME. IRENE - IRENE - IRENE. Boy does this car have a giantic HEX on it. I said the earth would stop because I finally got the car ready to go. Well this was close enough. The world didn't stop, but this storm was close enough. I was ready to go to Home Depot to get enough wood to start that ARCH. Now, how did that go, cut some wood 40 cubics by 40 cubics, etc. etc.......thank goodness for the 5K generator in the trailer. Keep the homestead from flooding and the ice-box from turning warm.
SUNDAY : August 21, 2011. OK,OK and OK. Finally everything is done, new starter was installed and got the engine running great and idle was setup, timing was set and my IMPACT Driving Suit finally came on Friday (after months of waiting). Now I know I am big, but they ran out of materials to finish my order. That would make anyone feel bad, no matter what size you are.
Vince and I will be going to ISLAND DRAGWAY - in Great Meadows next sunday the 28th to put the first laps on the car and we'll see what happens. The last thing i need to do is install the wheelie-bar on the car. It has been sitting on the wall of may garage for over a year. I will be glad to get it on the car and make a few laps. Who says everything goes as planned.
It has been a long haul and next sunday can not come fast enough. My luck, it will rain all weekend and everything will be post poned.
I did take the dragster to a local car show last saturday. There were a bunch of pre-1985 cars there and some really sharp pieces. I ran in to a lot of old friends who could not believe I still have a race car and still do this stuff. Told everyone of them, see I got older but still haven't learned my lesson yet. Funny thing, there were several people who came by and asked "whay kind of car is this?" - that question really kinda of threw me. But the best ones were about the golf cart (I have a matching golf cart to tow the car) and several people asked me why do you race a glof cart, and where do you race them. Told them, all over the golf courses, but the sand traps are a real bitch. They didn't understand and just walked away with stupid look in there face.
Yep, takes all kinds.
FRIDAY: July 22, 2011. Well, everything that was suppose to be going along according to schedule has, well, flopped. The engine would not start, check the timing, mag install and everything else. No FUEL. We primed the engine and it wants to start, but no FUEL. Well, the pump that was installed was set-up to run on a belt drive, not off the cam. So, I fixed that by moving the "pin" and rotating the front cover and doing all the things to make sure the pump turns without binding and all that crap. Ok, big moment. Turned that baby over and got a few pops but it still would not start. Checked the spark, was there, checked the compression, yep it was there. Guess what?, no FUEL - again. It sems the pump would not prime or would pump. No fuel no run. So, I removed the pump and sent it to Hilborn. It turns out that the pump needed to be rebuilt at a cost of $388.96. A new Model 01 Pump from Hiborn was 595.00, and they gave me a 100.00 trade-in credit, so 495.00 later a new Model 01 pump was on the way. So, got the pump last night and the inlet was a #12 and the old pump was a #10, and the car was set up for #10 line (from the 1.5" main fuel line off the tank). So, I had to remove a #12 FM to #10 male adapter, and a trip to the yellow/black store for 2 #12 45 degree fittings and some #12 line. So 75.00 later I have the correct fuel line stuff on the way. Everything else did work however, fuel shut-off and return line, so that helped.
I also completed the 30 gallon water re-circulator tank for the engine. I will have some pictures next week (the tank was built by BOYD Welding in Florida and is fantastic). I hook up the water re-circulator pump and got all of that working last night. Brand new water pump right out of the box, hooked it up and guess what? It leaks, drips when it is off and drips faster when it is pumping. Story of my life. So, it's anther problem I have to correct with the pump sales people. I will be working on that today.
One last thing. Finally got the golf cart back and I included a few pictures to the left of this page. It came out fantastic and I can't wait to get everything at the Race Track for some testing. By the way, I have to buy a brand new driving suit. I now have to get a SEMA A/15 type 5 layer suit and this will set me back about $1400.00 ($799.00 for the jacket and $585.00 for the pants). They even have an expiration date of 36 months after you buy them. So, another trip to the yellow/black store (JEGS) for hopefully my final big purchase before I can finally get this thing on the track (yep I already have the $1,000.00 HANS device, $400.00 for the boots, gloves and head sock. And lets not forget the $300.00 for the helmet).
Nice.
Keep you up to date next week with more pictures.
Saturday July 2, 2011. I finally got everything ready to start. Adjusted the valves, set the mag, removed the oilpan and took out the extra bolt (little bastard) and assembled the whole water system. Tightened the convert bolts, filled the trans (really burns my ass because I only have a quart of ATI Fluid in it and it leaks all over the belly pan of the car, and everything is brand new). The only thing left is to gap and index the plugs, put some VP - C16 in the tank and fire that dog up. So, a trip to ATCO on Tuesday night, with the Corvette for some street racing, and I will come home with 4 gallons of C-16. I did turn the engine over and the mag is sparking and the oil pressure came up and everything seems ready to go. So, come this time next week, the engine should be running and everything will be ready for the frst track visit.
SUNDAY June 26, 2011. Well so much for trying to start the engine last weekend. I had trouble with the intake manifold bolts (to long). They were stainless ARP models and because the Hilbourn manifold is thinner than a standard manifold, the bolts were bottoming out in he heads before they were tighting up. So, to JEGS we go and I bought a complete set (i had some extra's but not enough for the whole assembly) 12 point stainless exhaust header bolts. They worked great, so the manifold has been completly installed along with the new nozzles in the manifold. Somehow, the 3/8" stainless steel throttle shaft got bent. It's a good thing I had an extra piece from Hilbourn. So after the intake install and valley pan (I also had to drill and tap the valley pan rails of the block in the front and rear to install the hold down bolts for the Hilbourn valley plate). The manifold is a 3 piece design and the center plate gets installed last. (what a pain in the ass to do, RTV and all that stuff to seal the end plates - a real challange). So, I got the 16 Volt AGM battery and charger, with the new bolts from JEGS and 440.00 bucks later I got the battery charged, jumper plug cable installed and had the engine whizzing over. Man that thing really spins with the new 12 Volt MSD gear reduction starter and the 16 Volt Battery (the MSD Mag needs something like 180 rpm to produce a hot enough spark so the engine will start). So, the last thing I need to really do is remove the oil pan, yep remove the pan (I dropped a 3/8" bolt in the valley and it fell right through the distributor hole all the way "clunk" to the pan floor. So, its time to remove the STEFS pan and screw up the brand new gasket, take out the bolt and reinstall the pan (and a new gasket). Add the Castrol oil and Fram filter, prime the engine, phase the MSD Mag, set-up the barel valve on the Hilbourn injector distribution block using the leak-down gauge, gap and index the plugs and hopefully start this thing. I still can' t find out where the brand new ATI transmission is leaking. I checked every bolt and everything is nice and tight. I also found this red googy stuff all over the ignition and relay electronics tray up in the foot box of the car. Brand new STRANGE Steering box, leaking the greese out of the end plate, ozzing all over the electronics. So now I have to remove the steering box to find out whats leaking there. Don't you just love it. Brand new stuff and you gotta fart with it because it leaks. Keep you updated after next week.
MONDAY ..... June 20, 2011. What can I say. It has been nothing but problems since I last wrote in this column on April 3rd. I was trying to finish up on the car to get it ready for the first outing and low and behold, somehow, somewhere I injured my back. Now, something like this happens all the time with me as I have had 3 major surgery's on my back in the past 15 years. Blown discs, laminectomy's and a titanium plate (with some super glue - no I am not kidding) holding me together. So, usually it takes a week of bed rest and about 28 Vicondins and I am all set and ready to go. But no, this on really kicked my ass and knocked me off my feet for weeks on end. Pinched nerve causing un-bearable pain in the right leg all the way to my ankle was more that I bargained for. On top of that I had a 7 year old - 4 mm X 1 mm kidney stone, laying dormant in my left kidney decided to break in half an it decided to go for a ride through the most pain full parts of my left body all the way to my bladder. A - MIR, Cat-Scan and KUB (lower body x-ray) later indicates not only a big ass kidney stone that broke in half but some great pictures on my caved in spinal cord and vertebrae at L5/S1, the last vertebrae in the back. So after a long extended and painful bed rest period and plenty of Vocodin 7.5's, don't forget the Delauded and the metho steroid Pak the back finally is back in shape. So I started to assemble the balance of he engine (rockers, adjust valves and install the intake manifold (hilbourn injectors) I should be ready to start this baby this weekend. Brand new Transmission, aftermarket aluminum case and bellhousing and all the bells and whistles and the dam things leaks all over the car's and floor of the car and trailer floor. So, a slight setback but I am finally making a come back. See you soon.
SUNDAY .. APRIL 3, 2011. WELL it has been a while since I have updated the web-site. The new job at Princeton keeps me busy 9 hours a day, along with the after hours situtations. But that's coming along great (so much for retirement). Finally we are getting a break in the weather and this past weekend turned out to be great. The car and trailer are still stored inside in Hopewell at Super Comp-Top Dragster Dave Mullers new very nice and large garage. I plan on picking it up within the next two weeks and start getting ready for this year. I have a few things to finish on the engine to get it fired up (I have to pull the pan because I dropped a 3/8" X 2" bolt all the way through then engine and heard it hit the pan bottom) and install the rocker arms and fire the engine. I will be going to SW Race Cars on the 12th of April to attend the Scotty Richardson driving school (I need all the help I can get), and talk to Scott Weney about a prospective younger driver for the car this year. Yes, as much as I want to keep driving, my skills are not what they use to be and I am giving up plus 125 lbs over a younger lighter driver. So theres a good chance that might happen. But, just in case, I wanted to at least try and sharpen what little skills I have left. Well that's it for now but in the next two weeks I will have some more photos (got the matching golf cart and all that stuff and I plan on taking the car to a few car shows) of everything ready to go.
SUNDAY JANUARY 09, 2011. HAPPY NEW YEAR. Well I made it through the holidays and as it is every year things were great. The Thanksgiving get together with all the family was great as always and the family get together for Christmas was just as good. Thanks to my friend Dave Muller, Top Dragster racer, who just had a brand new 40' X 80' garage built on his Hopewell property, he let me store my car and trailer in there for the winter months. After a few nasty snow falls we had already, I am waiting for the warmer weather to get here so I can fire up the car and get to the races. I want to send out a big time thanks to Scott Weney of SW Race Cars for using the likeness of my car on the cover of the 2011 SW Race Cars Catalog. Scott also used an actual picture, the one above, on page 82 to promote the retail sales of there Nostalgia Dragsters. I am very proud that he selected my car for his catalog. I will be posting more info come the next three or four weeks. Stop back and see.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 10, 2010. Delivered the almost finished car back to SW Race Cars to get some final small items completed on it before the engine is fully assembled and fired up. Just a few items to get updated and a couple of small mounts made and the car will be ready to go. I am real happy the way it turned out and I will be very proud to show it off. It is a first class piece of equipment that anyone would be proud to own and race. I will have more pictures next week.
MONDAY October 4, 2010. A big 10-4 today as I finally got the engine and transmission mounted in the car over the weekend. Thanks for all the help from Big Vince we were able to make this thing start looking like a race car. Just a few custom things left to do, jack-shaft cover, install the jackshaft, hook up the shift linkage cable, install the Hilborn Injectors and the front drive fuel pump, hook up the vacuum pump and finish plumbing the car and it will be ready to start. The engine/transmission transplant went fairly easy. Now as we get closer to finishing I am slowly running out of daylight, and the colder weather is right around the corner. So hopefully I can make at least one or two test and tune sessions before we are covered in snow for the year. I just sent some more items out to be powdercoated to finish up the installation process and keeping the car looking just right. Getting there and I hope you enjoy the pictures of the almost completed car.
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We shall never forget what they did for someone they never knew.
GOD Bless the members of the FDNY who sacrificed their lives and GOD Bless each one of their families who live with this everyday.
THURSDAY - MAY 18, 2023
Yep I am still around. It has been a very very long time since I have been here on the Web Site. I finally got some time to spare and thought I should get back on here to keep everyone up to date.
So, all of the race cars have been sold. I still have the 1956 FORD F100 which I started building into a RAT-ROD. But, that didn't work out as I still really going to the races. I have been traveling and visiting several Outlaw NPK Races and seeing race track that I always wanted to travel to but never had the time. I have three (3) separate NPK Races I am going to attend this year. I wanted to got to 4, but the Maple Grove race SOLD-OUT within the first 24 hours and I missed out on the suite passes for the two days.
So I decided to convert the RAT-ROD into an bobber type Nostalgic Bracket Race Truck. I removed the Muncie 4 speed and replaced it with a Power-Glide (yep it is a built one) and I also removed the open 8" rear and replaced the entire assemble with a CURRIE 9" with a spool and 35 spline axles. So, I should have the truck ready by mid-summer and start making a few Club Races and start bracket racing the old F100. It should be a 11.80 vehicle. We will see.
I will begin to post some pictures in the next few weeks.
Keep you posted.
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