Let the Buying of Car Parts Begin...
Jan. 07th - Broke, bored and dieing to play out in the garage, ...bob and i road tripped down to El Monte to but some Wheel Studs from Service Center Auto Parts. We got back to Bobs house, pulled the rotors off, popped out the old studs and installed the new longer NHRA approved extended Wheel Studs fighting Black Widows along the way. Also took some shots of his fuel pump and filter mounted back by his fuel tank. Remember, the race car has sat for almost 4 years. Also included is a pic of the rear Strange 33 spline Axles, Caltrax link traction bars, Pro Chassis SFC's, Comp. Engineering 3-way adjustable shocks and Morosso Drag Springs. What you cant see is the Strange spool containing 4.56 gears, C clip eliminator, Summers Bros. billet main cap [left side only]. We also have a shot of his mid-70's Edelbrock Victor Sr. series intake manifold which is being retired and replaced with a Dart intake. It's a little taller, so the old 2" Cowl induction hood will also be on its way out the door. [thats his "slightly" used 800 cfm Holley Pro-Series carb sitting atop his new manifold.]
Jan. 14th - As much as we like football, ...we got motors to build! We went down to Bobs buddy Dale's place where Bobs next motor is currently residing. Upon arrival, Dale pulled back a car cover revealing his '68 Camaro. [click here to see Dale's '68]. After much "Ohhhing" and "Awwwing"...we pulled out Bobs 396 big block. Dale setup the ring grinder while i was swallowing Big Mac's. The block has been bored to .060 over. Bob proceeded to test fit the rings, check the gap, and grind them down to fit with proper clearence, then Dale assmebled the rings on the pistons, while Bobs son Robbie and i helped Bob insert them into the block and making an all around oily mess. If you look closely, you can see the valve reliefs IN THE BLOCK. Those pistons are TRW forged 12:1 with LS6 forged rods with ARP 7/16 rod bolts.
Feb. 3rd - Went down to Dales to install the freeze plugs and bring his motor home, at long last.
Feb. 9th - Bob went down to Speed-O-Motive and picked up his Moroso Oil pan, Pioneer stud kit, pump, pick-up and intermediate shaft. Pics to follow sometime this week.
Feb. 16th - Bobs block is pre-70's and is supposed to use a "canister" type oil filter, he got the adapter for a "spin-on" type, but the part has a spring loaded bypass hole should the filter become so clogged it cant transmit oil. Not wanting "un-filtered" oil to pass through this bypass, he tapped it and inserted a small pipe-plug. We did mine also. Since we will both be changing our oil at/or before 3,000 miles [Bobs much, much sooner]...there really isnt any need for that bypass. - Also, while Bob was putting on his Melling HV oil pump, it was barely touching the ARP rear main cap stud. Bob loves to file. 10 minutes later it fit.
March 10th - Well, a couple weeks ago we went ahead and finished Bobs shortblock. We silly-coned on the timing chain cover and oil pan.
April 7th - Bob is gonna be going to a 950cfm Holley carb and we are replacing the 3/8's fuel line with 1/2". We dropped the fuel tank and pulled out the pick-up. After pullingout the smaller line, we drilled it out to 1/2". He picked up a Mallory fuel regulator, but we are having some difficulty trying to figure how and where we are going to mount it. It has to be as close to the carbuerator as possible. If you have the same or similar regulator and have a good solution, email Bob or me.
April 14th - What a beautiful day! Bobs brother-in-law brought over his cherry-picker and we installed the shortblock in the race car after pulling off the front clip. This makes things so much easier. We stood the front end up against the rear wall in the garage wall since we still have alot more to do. no real complications, with the use of studs in the motor-side bell housing, lining up the two was a snap! Then we hooked up the electrical connections to the starter [this would have been a real bear if the headers were on]. Worrying he might have to spend another 400$ on a new hood with a 4" cowl, we put the intake/carb on the block and it looks like we are good to go with the 2" hood he already has.
