Pel, you sure are staying busy! You're giving your ladies a very nice gift too. Congrats. The room with shelves sounds like a great idea. You need a good place to store all your stuff so why not? :LOL:
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Pel, you sure are staying busy! You're giving your ladies a very nice gift too. Congrats. The room with shelves sounds like a great idea. You need a good place to store all your stuff so why not? :LOL:
Pel I too am into music and have a diverse albeit much smaller collection than you, maybe 200lp's, 400 cassettes, 300 cd's and a ton of vintage stereo equiptment. I rebuild and repair old 70's stereo equipment like Marantz receivers, Epicure and Warfdale speakers, old turntables, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by pel
More presents have arrived at MGB HQ ;)
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...pstqsiu7u0.jpg
Like xmas in july!
Quick upate!!
The Dart Block has been trial built. Some metal has been removed to make room for my bigger rods with the ARP bolt upgrade and it rotates with no clearance issues now. The block has been stripped and decked by 30 thou to get the piston to deck height correct. The block has been re built again now and all the rotating stuff goes round and round ok ! I sold my stock roller lifter set and am now waiting for my months overtime pay to come in so I can buy the new 300thou taller lifters from Comp Cams which suit the Dart Block. Things are moving on a little now :) I must remeber to take some pics and post them up !!
YES! You must!!! You know how we get on this side of the pond if updates do not include pics.... :rolleyes::rolleyes::p:LOL::LOL::LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by pel
A quick update on Pels life, Engine and Family stuff :)
I cant believe how much (sort of progress) has been made yet the engine is still not together?
The strange looking lifters from Comp Cams have arrived and been taken to Mikes workshop. He hasnt done much on my engine as he was waiting for lifters. While I was there he was getting ready to drop the new 434 Dart motor in my friend Daves Landrover :) So I hung aorund for 3 hours and helped him get it fitted. This means he can start on my motor very soon now as all the parts we need to get the block assembled are here :)
We have been having many discussions about the paint finish on the block. I dont want Orange as all my Chevy mates insist that the engine should be Orange !! I did have a mad idea about painting the block bright Pink. But then i gave up on that. Then one of my friends suggested British Racing Green! WHAT! That is the worst colour ever IMO. I'm not a fan of Green unless its Bright Candy Pearl etc.. Mike rang me last week to ask what colour as he wanted to move on with the engine. I just said lets go with a simple clearcoat shall we, as I quite like the look of a bare dry block that is spotlessly clean. He then said that he had an idea that should fit with my requirments. I just told him to get on with whatever he wanted to do. When I dropped in last Monday I saw my empty block on the stand and under a cover. I asked what he had done and he said to me "hold onto your hat mate, I've done what I think is a nice interpretation of a clean dry cast iron block" ?? Damn I wish I had my camera with me right then ?? He pulled off the cover so I could see my Dart block. I had to stare at it for several minutes to absorb what I was seeing? I could not really comprehend what I was seeing to be honest. It looked like he had wire brushed the block until it was clean as could be. Yet the metal was still a dark grey colour with a nice shiny finish ? . It had lots of sparkles in the finish. It looked like a sample of Iron Pyrites ?? In fact its hard to describe the actual finish apart from I love it !! Eventually I had to ask what the hell he had done. He said he gave it a 1st coat of clear laquer and then applied a coat of very small metal flake and then hit it with a 2nd coat of clear. The result is stunning as far as I'm concerned. The fact that the block was still empty paled into insignificance once I had seen this. I'm crewing at the UK Mopar nationals tomorrow at Santapod but after that I'm going to Mikes with my camera to see if I can get some pics to show just how simple but elegant the paint finish is on my new block!
I have 3 jobs to complete on Monday and then I'm off to Fuerteventura for 2 weeks to bask in the warm sea and have fun with my Grand Daughter who is now just 6 weeks away from her 3rd Birthday? Where the Hell did those 3 years just go? OH! I will also be with Faiths Mum and my wife Gill :)
Faith just did her first Horse riding Gymkana for toddlers. She entered 5 of 10 events and came home with three 1st place rosettes + a 3rd and a 4th place rosette :)
I was hoping to have my daugther and Faith moved into there new house nearby by this weekend but work has been manic and the cost of setting them up with all the white goods etc has hit the engine budget hard !! So I'm taking the both away for a nice summer holiday first. Then I can ge tthem moved in when we come back from the Canary Islands. To be honest... The longer it takes me to move them in means I get more time with my girls still living with me ;)
I have also been helping a friend who has decided that his super cool Cobra replica is nice. But he also became a Grandad just over a year ago so he has sold the Cobra and has now become a Tri Chevy owner with a car that has a roof + a large trunk and plenty of space to take his Grand Daughter out with his wife for trips here and there. The Belair is a stunning restored car. It has a 454 bbc in there as well.
Pics of my new block to follow. But in the meantime ??
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...psipnii1ab.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps7fdkylaz.jpg
Gotta love Faith on the pony! You GO Girl!!
Great update Pel. The tri5 chevy looks cool, and the picture of Faith on the pony is priceless! Really intrigued to see the block after reading your description. A summer vacation sounds about what I need right now. Been plugging away since last year February when my wife wanted a divorce. after six months getting my old house cleaned up for sale, then moving twice once out of my home of 20 years, into an apt. and then a few months ago into my new house, I haven't had time or money for anything but basics necessities like painting new place, new roof badly needed, along with a heating and cooling system. I'm hopeful the contractors will be done in next few weeks with the last of the indoor stuff(drywall patching of out heating ducts, and pumping in wall and attic insulation, solar panels too!
I love reading this thread as it reinforces what is important in life, family time, and some fun in the hobby department. Keep on posting!
I hope that the contractors get done soon mate. Then maybe you can get your life back on track eh? The Chevy is a thing to behold I must say. It ticks all the boxes for me :) The steering was a little vauge and after a quick check I found that the bottom bush in the steering column was actually not there? We emded up fitting a whole new unit from the guys at "IDIDIT" who have an agent in the UK that happens to be one of my suppliers where I have a discount card so 10% off that for him ;) The whole job only took 5 easy hours with the fiddly bit being making sure the bottom end shafts and UJ's were fitted correctly and making sure that when I cut the shaft to size is was the correct length. Then I did some tweaks on his Quick fuel 4 barrel carb to get a better idle, then I spotted the kickdown cable was way out of adjustment and got that fixed. We then took it for a spin around my town and a couple of local villages where we stopped so friends I had called could come out and see the car. The quick test drive took over 2 hours ;) When we got out of his village onto a bit of decent road I asked him to creep up to about 45 in D and then floor it to see if the kickdown was working. The look on his face when the 454 dropped a gear was so funny. It actually took him by surprise and he backed straight off. I said that by his reaction I guessed the kickdown wasnt working before. He said "Erm You culd say that Pel, that was awsome" :)
I've been at the Mopar Nationals today crewing for the quick Capri while my mate did his observed licensing runs. Burnout and stage, Burnout + stage and launch on a sportsman tree to 60 foot + Same again + launch and run to 1/8th mile with parachute deployment then finally a full pass with chute.
All went well and after each pass the race director who was doing starting duties gave me a thumbs up. After the last licensing run he gave me both thumbs and said that he was happy with what he had seen. Half an hour later he signed the paperwork and my mate had his race license :) Job Done!!
The track was in great condition today as we had pro mods running as well. The video of the last run shows me in the white shirt doing startline duties for Austin in the capri. Jeez! I've put on a good belly since I stopped racing the MGB 22 months ago eek! You can see when i pull the safety pin on the chute it looks like I'm stumbling, but it was my trainer sticking hard to the track :) The fire marshall doing final checks around the car next to me is my Son Jason. He started coming to the track with (Pappy) as he calls me, back in 2001 when he was 14 years old. .............I've just realised I'm rambling again guys. Sorry!!
OK! Where was I ? Oh yes! Jason was 14 when he started as pit crew. Fast forward several years and he was building his own RWYB car out of scrap parts. By the time he was 21 he had a little Escort that he had pulled apart and converted to rear wheel drive powered by whatever spare parts he could find in my garage. Including my spare TH350 box and a junker 4.6 litre / 280 ci Rover V8 which I was going to throw out. But he bought all the parts to refresh the motor and nicked most of my spare nitrous stuff to fit a 150hp kit. The car was quite unstable but he got it down into the mid 11's for possibly only £600 in build costs. By this time he was meeting my friends at the track as well as talking to the race director and assistant race director and making contacts. Eventually I was asked if Jason might like to become a marshall. So I took him to sign on and he got a part time weekend job. He was thrilled as could be. But the marshall job meant he didnt have much time to race. Fast forward another several years to today when he is 29 and he is well and truly part of the Santapod family. I got him in touch with Richard who is the fire chief and he got Jason into training and now he is a fire marshall. He was on the startline today but he can also be at the big end collecting cars that have overshot and gone into the sand trap or he can be on the rescue quad as first responder to crashes and fires and all places in between. He is also now developing a new fire helmet and comms system for the fire marshalls to use. He has obviously had to deal with some quite serious incidents in the last several years including cutting racers out of cars etc. But he takes it in his stride and gets on with it. I'm very proud of my little boy :)
During the week he panel beats and paints cars. He has aksed his boss if he can repaint the MGB and his boss has told him to get my car to work so we can do it in spare time evenings and weekends over a couple of months for just the price of the materials if I will advertise his company on my side rear windows. I'm happy with that. I told Jason that i wanted to keep the car Black but I wanted the Black to be different. Without me knowing he took a spare fibre glass tail gate from the garage and did a test coat of this lovley Black with a subtle dark gold pearl metallic in there. From one angle it looks Black, from another anlge it looks very slightly deep red ish? Then the light hits it at another angle and the deep gold pearl makes some nice colours as it reflects the sun. I'm very proud of my Boy to say ther least. As he has not got much time to race his own car we have stripped it and I have taken my parts back. Apart from the weekend track duties he has a partner yada yada!! But his partner likes the race scene so all is cool! I have told him that he will come back to what we used to do back in the day and he will race my car again as my team partner. I never took his Driver name off the car when he started running his own car because I knew he would eventually come back into the team. He's already run the MGB into the 9's so he's ok with the car and he knows it going to become more of a beast on track next year.
I really need to stop rambling now eh?
Here is a vid of Austin doing his final license pass + a pic of my new block with its new paint finish :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FalG...ature=youtu.be
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...pszf6alftr.jpg
Pel, really awesome to see Faith riding so early, let alone competing and winning! Congrats for her and you proud papa! That is one fine tri five too! I bet you sure are proud of your son. I bet the MG is going to look awesome! Speaking of unfortunate racing incidents, the other day, one of, if not the fastest diesel rails in the USA went off a track, through a sand trap and in to a creek due to its shoots not opening. The driver was ok and was really lucky. I'm not sure how it didn't roll or bend in half with the ride it took.
Thanks for the kind words Ryan.
But did I hear DIESEL RAIL??
Diesel?? Plese do tell me more and hopefully send some pictures !! :)
This sounds very interesting indeed ;)
Pel
Pel, yes sir. This particular rail has had the diesel records for a while. I think the Hypermax rail may have beat their record once and then Scheid got it back. There are probably 5-10 running her in the states, maybe more. It's rare to see more than 4 at a major diesel event though. Here is a pic of the crash and an explanation I got off FB.
For those who haven't heard, the Scheid dragster had a bad crash this weekend at the Rocky Top Diesel Shootout in Crossville, TN. In the final round, the dragster started bouncing in the shut down area, and with only one parachute out, it went through the end of the track, and into the sand. "When we got to the end of the track and there was no dragster, that's when we got worried about the driver," said owner Dan Scheid. The dragster had enough speed to make it past the sand, and landed in a creek about 10 feet down. Driver Jared Jones was OK, and surveying the damage when the medical and fire teams arrived. Jared estimated he was still travelling at about 80 mph when he hit, but other than "feeling like I got into a fight," was otherwise alright. Scheid and team would like to thank Spitzer for making a great chassis, and minimizing the damage in what could have been a lot worse of a wreck. The word is still out on whether the front of the chassis can be repaired, or it is a total loss. In the end, we're just thankful that everyone is safe and in good health. Safety first!
Here's a link to their page.
Scheid Diesel Motorsports Dragster :: Scheid Diesel
Wow lucky driver!
I'm so glad that he wasnt injured!
The Diesel Rail is a thing to behold though. All i know about Diesel is that my truck starts every day and the engine never lets me down :)
UPDATE ON THE MGB'S NEW SBC / DART ENGINE !!
Guys!
I was lucky today with 2 callouts for work in London that I got wrapped up in double quick time :) Both jobs took about 1 hour each to resolve. So I ended up finished at work by 11am this morning. After some calls to the office to get my guys routed to a few other jobs I decided to head home to do some reports and quotes. As I was on the motorway to home I realised that I could drop over to Mikes place to pay him for my new push rods for the block and I had my camera with me :)
So I got into Mikes Barn and took a few pics of the new MGB engine. The last time I saw the engine it was just a bare block with some paint on it!
As I entered the Barn Mike was busy working on the Rail engine as he is in competition in 2 weeks time. Then I saw an engine on one of the stands with a sheet over it. The profile of the sheet looked similar to my old Blown Rover V8 with a sheet over it? This HAD to be my new engine. As I approached the engine stand I have to admit to feeling a little like a teenage boy again with butterflies in my tummy as I walked towards my new girlfriend outside the cinema for our first date back in 1971. I was only 12 back then !! And this hot Girl from school was 13 years old back then. I guess some of you may know what this feels like? By the way... That Girl from 1971 is sitting in my lounge downstairs with our 4 children + 3 partners and my Grand Daughter Faith :) OH MY!! I've gone all misty eyed now and well off topic :)
So!
Here is what i saw when i pulled the sheet off that engine :)
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...psv3l7zidr.jpg
Hooray!!
The new engine is now resting in another mates workshop near my house :)
The carbs are on my dining table awaiting overhaul and a dip in the ultrasonic cleaning bath.
Tomorrow morning I will tuyrn up a coupple of small items I need on the lathe so I can get the MSD trigger wheel fitted as i want.
I was going to spend this evening at the workshop looking over the engine so I could make a shopping list. I still havent got a thermostat housing or enough bolts to mount the engine cradle, starter motor + other things. Then at 5pm I got a call from my Daughter Vicki's phone. I answered with my usual Hi Vix! But the voice coming back to me was Grand Daughter Faith to say "Hi Gandad, can I come to my old house to see you and Nanny please" With that all thoughts of engines fizzled out :) I've just popped usptairs to catch up with a few work and car club emails while Faith is downstairs enjoying a Pear which she insisted that Gandad peeled and sliced for her :) I've told her that she can have a sleep over tonight which she was happy about. But there is an ulterior motive here?? That is that Gandad gets to wake up in the morning and have Faith jump in our bed so we can have cereal and watch childrens TV together :) Then I will take her to the workshop with me to say hello to the guys and let her play with alll the cars. She loves to sit in cars and go for pretend drives. Gandad can then do a little engine works while she plays ;)
We just tested my mates new ultrasonic cleaner on a 1950's carb and it worked really well. The old Austin A40 Devon was suffering from lack of fuel as it would only run with 50% choke. After 2 hours of soaking and blowing out with the air gun we rebuilt the carb and dropped it back on the car. It works fine now. Just as well really a its going back out on a film shoot next week for a TV series in the UK called Grantchester.
My mate supplies lot of cars to film and TV companies but he's quite young. So he's lucky to have his Dad and Me + a few of our other Drace race buddies to help out with tinkering duties to keep his old cars running?
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...psvwuvbbjx.jpg
Crikey!
I've got a mate just down the road a wee has an A40 Devon. They're as rare as rocking horse poo over here now.
I'm going to have to take that picture off and show it to Rod. He'll enjoy seeing that.
Pel, the new engine looks awesome! That's great to hear little Faith likes being around cars. I used to let my kids set in my 72 truck when before I had it road worthy. I learned that letting them play in it was a bad idea. My boys grab the shift lever and yank it down. We were at a car show last weekend and my wife was ready to go. She throws the youngest in on the driver's side and shuts the door. I was behind the truck putting stuff in the bed. The truck was down hill a bit. Next thing I know I hear a pop and the truck is rolling back wards. Luckily I was upright with the tail gate shut. I pushed on it and slowly let it come back to the curb. I was like what in the H***? my wife was astounded. I reminded her not to put that little rascal in the truck by him self. He has it all figured out at 3. Haha They are limited to their pedal cars until I have a vehicle with a column lock they can mess with. Anyhow, I hope all is well over there. Are you getting ready for summer season now?
Ryan!
That was a close call Dude!! Glad it didnt end up with you under the rear end ?
I have now ditched my old Holley 600DP carbs and am having a matched pair of race carbs made by AED performance to suit my exact build. The main reason for this is that John Dickey at AED was the only person to actually answer my email enquiry regarding my carb needs ?
The service I have had so far from AED is second to none I must say. 4 weeks and the new carbs will be here :)
Very nice Pel!
Times 2! Can't wait to see it come together.
Just in time for under the Christmas Tree! Nice!
She is at the paint shop this week. My Sons boss have given us the bodyshop for 4 days during their xmas shutdown. This will be a 2 week makeover in 4 days with race buddies helping out :)
The new doors, tailgate and Sebring arches are now in colour. The car body is 80% prepped and will be in paint before we go to bed tomorrow night. Then friday for mop and polish before she goes to dry storage for final assembly and lexan windows over the ext few weeks The colour is stunning as it looks plain black until you hit it with a daylight torch ??
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps9wguewrc.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...psjxuddted.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...psieb52npi.jpg
That's a really neat effect with the paint, and it looks like glass. Nicely done.
My Son is a good painter and he has done Pops Proud with his work.
Base coat now dry!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...psldycsw47.jpg
Then 2 coats of clear!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...pst2byvgkt.jpg
Very nice Pel, that looks amazing!
I have more to tell but my lptp keyboard is playing up d I've lost the will to live ow s I cant get my iormtio across to folks..... My boss just text to say a new laptop is on my desk in the office so I'll grab that after work tomorrow. See this thing is playing with me as its started working again while i type. You can guarantee that as soon as I need to write a proposal or work tht it will go elly up again... Its messig with me gi ow guys!
Hppy ew yer to you guys I will be bk whe I can mke some sese
God Bless
Hi Guys!!
I've lost track of where I was up to with the car now?
The Photobucket thing got all out of shape when it changed and most of my pics went off line?
I even had to re do my password to get back on here? I'm sure I managed to post up some updates a while back but they are not here now.
Anyway! I seem to be back on here now and I'm beginning to move on with the car again. I will attempt to add a picture and see what happens :)
HEY STRANGER! IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOUR HANDLEPOP BACK UP ON HERE!!!
Last I remember you were having fun with the grandkid. And that's the important part right?!?!
Likewise welcome back, hope your doing well?
Welcome back Pel! I thought about you a while back and hoped all was well. Last thing I thought I remember was you shelving the SBC and were moving into an LS? :LOL:
Just kidding. Haha
.
I was hoping he found another Rover! sigh....
Hi Folks!
I'm back again. I'm not writing 5 pages for a full catch up. I had a full weekend off work last week to figure out a few problems and get them solved. Then last Sunday the engine was back in with fully welded mounts etc etc. What I found quite amusing was, when the engine was finally fixed to the chassis rails, The old rear engine steady for the Rover bolted straight into the Brodix head? and the Front engine steady bolted into the same hole on the front of that head :)
Yesterday was starter motor and alternator. It actually took 8 hrs in total, but the two items are now settled in there. I had the battery on trickle charge for 7 hours but ended up fitting a jumper pack. After 3 years, the old battery was showing 7.4 volts. I had already primed the engine several times a few months back. But had also had it drained with the sump off for 2 days last week. The distributor was already in and timed, so I thought I would take a chance and see what happened. After 10 seconds of cranking with the plugs out, she made 45psi on the gauge which I was very happy with I must say. Today was supposed to be another workshop day, but we had Faith for a sleepover last night so Grandad and Faith were in the paddling pool most of today instead :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-m7...ature=youtu.be
Todays fun in the water with the Princess :)
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...pssl45e6sd.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps9utceuxb.jpg
Glad to see you back and posting Pel!
times 2, good to see your name pop up again.
Great shot of you with the grand-daughter.
Great to see you back and you've gotten the SBC in the car! Great pic of you and the princess in the pool. How warm does it get for you in your summer? Take care Pel!