Chief - holy chit GNRS

Last Wednesday got a letter in the mail that change the course of the rest of this month.
In a good way.
I had sent an application for the Suede Palace in early December,
and I'll admit my pictures were less than flattering,
so when I didn't hear back it was understandable.

When I saw the envelope...oh shit...
So now the thrash is on.
What was I thinking lollygallying for the past months!
Holy Chit, the grand national roadster show!

I'm a deadline type worker so this will be a good way to get back on the road.

chief - holy chit

There's alot to get done so I made a 2 week plan.

First week - finish fabbing stuff up that is missing
Second week - rush to do the important stuff that makes it run.

Good plan, huh!

buttoned up

You guys didn't know this but all that stuff was never bolted down.
Now it is at least, amazing how much time the tedious takes.
Please don't look at "slot orientation" of the fasteners, not that picky, kinda.

Hi or lo - lo

I ran this with the original low intake,
although the tall thickstun was cool,
it had bad juju for this car.
Also I don't have to modify any linkages or hood.

belly pan

I am now trying to finish up the bellypan.
Its just a simple flat bellypan,
that's all it had before and all it needs.
I think every performance car should have a bellypan,
not that this is a high-performance car!
I've tested it both ways, and its a world of difference,
just feels more slippery.

Anyway,
got to get chit done.
I'll try to update little by little.

Thanks Axle and Celeste for getting me in there!

And if any of you go up there say hi,
at least to chief!

TP

scooped

A while back I posted about my inflatable boat addiction over the summer.

During that little jaunt,

there were some issues with the the outboard that was on the keeper,

an 80's 2-stroke 15 hp johnson.

On the way back to the launch ramp,

it started bogging down at high speeds.

It was getting late and we had no lights,

so instead of popping the top off we just putted back.

The next day I did the freshwater hose cleaning trick and the engine acted the same way-

idled fine but didn't accelerate at all.

When I took off the top, the engine ran fine,

I'd close the lid back, and the engine would bog down.

Well, obviously it was an air issue, right?

There are 2 little holes hidden in the rear that allow air into the lid,

so the plan was to make a couple more holes in the cowl.

A month+ later and the lid was still at the shop,

the engine sitting outside in the past rains with just an old raincoat to cover it.

Nice.

Finally a couple nights ago I decided to have fun with a short project during the sweet spot hours.

holey

The first plan was to strategically place the new holes to not mess up the graphics.

Here you can see the 2 original air holes in the handle area too.

scoop templates

Next is making some templates for some scoops.

I like making 2 versions.

The smaller one is the actual footprint of the scoop, a guide to match during forming.

The larger one is the actual sheet metal size needed before hammering the curves in.

hammered scoops

After about an hour I had some decent scoops made out some thick 16 gauge stainless.

This isn't a yacht so its not a big deal if they're not perfect.

It took more time to fit them to the curve of the cowl than it did to hammer them out.

scooped

I used some silicone to seal the joint,

just so water won't drip in there, mainly during storage really.

15 hp johnson 2-stroke outboard

Here you can see the little air cleaner.

It's a really tight design compared to other outboards.

The 15 hp Johnson/Evinrudes are really small and light for their horsepower rating.

The cabrea/suzuki 9.9 hp is way heavier and taller in comparison.

And the Nissan/Tohatsu 9.9 hp had a huge block compared to the Johnson

and weighed a ton.

It did sound more solid, so maybe better for long hauls.

I definitely liked to carry the Johnson back to the van after a day of buzzing around!

Ok where was I.

buttoned up

So back home, I started the engine up without the cap,

and let it warm up a little.

Went to put on the lid, and wow it still ran, 

no change and revved nice and high.

Than out of curiosity,

I taped the inside of the scoop holes.

What!?

No change, kinda, revved similar but didn't bog at all.

So took the tape off, and really just a slight difference.

great little motor

I'm thinking that in my rush to believe it was air starvation,

and just cause I like hammering out scoops,

I overlooked the fact that it's just a simple 2-stroke engine.

You know the mechanic's rule-

check if there's gas in the tank before you rebuild the carburetor...

In between the rainstorms this December,

I did clean it up a little bit,

wiggled the spark plug wires and stuff which could have been rubbing the cowl?

Ahh I don't know, at least it works.

Oh well.

Was it a waste of time?

Nah

TP

weslake/godden speedway bike - cow to the slaughter

Sunday was a melancholy day.
Sadly I gave up on a potential project... the widowmaker.

80's Godden/Weslake Speedway motorcycle

A while back I had acquired this beast.
It is an amazing piece of early 80's machinery.

This clip isn't really the best race,
but it has some good closeups of pretty much the same bike,
doing the crazy chit it was designed to do.





I had gotten it not to circle track race it,
 the dream was to make  a 1/4  mile drag bike out of it.

Rake out the front end, drag bars, slick rear tire, rear disc brake...
It would have been baaad aasssss.

steep rake

Besides being overwhelmed with other projects,
the biggest problem was the bike was in original ex-racing condition.
There was some dinks and light repairs,
but it was obviously cared for as a race machine.
Bill Whiteside was the original rider, up in nor-cal somewhere.

The frame, built by GODDEN is an oil-filled, nickel plated work of purpose-built art.
I love to chop and hot rod stuff, but this one was tough to mess with.

Weslake 500cc methanol thumper

The engine is a WESLAKE 500cc with a rare 34 dellorto carburetor running methanol.
Has a 4-valve pushrod head, all race.
A perfect drag engine! Friggin 68+ hp METHANOL bike!

oil loss system

The frame is filled with oil,
it goes through that brownish hose with the filter to the oil pump,
lubes the engine, than basically dumps on the track.
In (I think) the early 80's they started requiring an oil sump to collect the used oil,
so behind that motormount plate there's a small aluminum tank.
It holds barely a race worth until it dumps out the top.

quiet muffler

You'll see the earlier bikes are basically straight piped,
but the tracks sound restrictions required quieter mufflers.
No brakes!

gearing

I had a stack of these rear gears, needed as it's a one speed.
The hub has a large quick release nut to swap them out.
Huge 5 disc clutch on that thing too.
Love that nickel frame...

jaxon racing

At least I got these shots, it really makes it a good memory for me.
A couple years older and he probably wouldn't have let me get rid of it!

someday...

So what happened.

Well this thing had been kicking around for a while now.
It had found a dark corner of the shop, by the drill presses and belt sanders.
One thing I can't stand is watching something go to shit cause I'm too preoccupied.
I'm not really a good caretaker of things I don't use,
so that's why I flip alot of stuff.
Let someone else have the responsibility.

I had put it on good old craigslist a number of times, kinda high priced.
Had some interest but usually from the UK or Australia, or local trades for surfboards and junk.
Well I posted it up again, and wouldn't you know it someone local called.

The now new owner, Mark W. knew exactly what he was looking at.
He lived near where the frames (and engine?) were now built,
by Antig near Gloucester, UK.
The best part was he has a couple motorcycles with the similar engine,
so this kinda completes his collection, or makes it worse...
He turned grey when I told him my Drag Bike idea!

adios widowmaker

Well there's got to be more to this story right?
Yeah.
I also realized I'm head high in projects, and they all cost.
My new years resolution, or more realization, was the need to streamline a bit.

The main personal project is that pickup (chief) behind the widowmaker bike,
it doesn't need much, just a little bit. Brake and fuel lines.

And I haven't even shown you guys this thing yet...
short term hibernation this one is.

tres huevos 40 coupe

However,
if you are a longtime reader you might remember this piece of shit.

bmw 2002 roach

This has been on the chopping block at various times.
I like it, than hate it, than like it, repeat...
it has kicked the green 40 out on the street,
and this is taking up the garage space. Temporary permanent style.
The main issue is the transmission has bad synchros.
I can drive it as I drove a stock model A transmission for years,
but anyone that looked to buy it was a hack, so it really hurt any potential sale.
I've been studying 2002's and the best upgrade is a 4spd to 5spd overdrive swap.
So here was my first acquisition with the extra duckets.

getrag 245 - 320i bmw donor transmission

A junkyard tranny from a 320i is where it all starts.
Still a handful of parts needed but these are tough to find.
Hey everyone needs a rally car!

Wouldn't you know it, that junkyard was a couple blocks from the welding shop...

grease

You readers know how I need these things.
(Since I'm too much of a pussy to get knuckle tattoos...)

So that speedway bike was like taking a cow to the slaughter.
Trading it in for stuff that's needed on the farm.

Well not only needed, but also whats wanted.
Since i'm a craigslist junkie, I also picked this thing up for a steal...
damn droid phones...

kenwood kr-7600 & SAE 180 equalizer

Got this from the original owner.
This was a top of the line (totl) Kenwood  or a close 2nd back in 1978,
but that's another post...

Yeah, I'm an idiot.

Thank for reading.

And thanks Mark for being the widowmakers new caretaker...

TP

bike time V - dago workhorse - schwinn DX

Saturday night, wife's working, watching kids,
perfect time for the fifth installment of BIKE TIME...

postwar schwinn DX

This little hussy is a postwar Schwinn DX bastardized dago-style
 (see previous posts about that!)
It's one of those bikes that just loves to ride, go places and get back.
The DX frame was the lowest grade of the 26" schwinn line,
below the straight bar and cantilever frame styles.
I think they're one of the coolest designs,
although I wish this was a prewar version!

Of course I got this thing on good old craigslist, cheap.
It was pretty rough, housepainted blue over everything,
but the wheels and frame/fork were straight and that was all that really mattered.

facelift

After a month or so of riding around with bent cranks, bent pedals,  bent handlebars,
bent seat, shaky basket etc.
the bike proved itself worthy of being the new beater shop bike.

A long time ago I had made  fiberglass mold(s) for the DX tank,
and fortunately there was an unused one left over.
The tanks are basically the same from '39 to '50 something,
and its funny it had taken this long to actually find a DX frame to put it in.

(will probably insert pic of DX molds here...)

yup, there we go...

Schwinn DX tank molds circa '98

This frame has such bitchin patina on it,
it really deserved a (somewhat)  matching tank.

time

I love the look of cracked paint.

or rubbed?

One perk  of being a shitty painter is knowing how to do patina paint!

dx wing

The wing outline is actually from the original DX graphics,
which were accidentally embedded in the mold from the original tank.
There were some cool designs back then.

Gotta love the locking mechanism!
Someone drilled a hole through the headset for a bolt or lock.
When a bike has this much paint over it,
I'd suspect someone ripped it off long ago and tried to disguise it.
In SD they call it "murdered out", usually a bike thats spray painted black,
lots of them cruise the boardwalk.

badges,  we don't need no stinkin badges!

So the bars were swapped with the dago-style hi-rise bars - no apes here!
and I threw one of those BMX 3-piece bottom bracket kits with an aluminum crank, clunker - style.
It's a hipster fixie crank that I don't really like,  but its all I had.

If you have time check out this site...

Alan Bonds CLUNKERS

I love those clunkers, the original mountain bikes.

Around here it was popular to put BMX stuff on the cruiser frames.
I'll try to dig up a pic of my old one from high school.
I smashed my face pretty good when I broke the forks landing a jump!

drillium 

I took the campagnolo knock-off off another cruiser that was vying for the shop bike role,
(an aluminum monark silver king that twisted like a wet noodle, way sketchy)
so I might swap it out.
It's been on a couple long "critical mass" rides so not sure if its worth screwing with the gearing.
Maybe some more drillium on that ring will help it out.

slick

Anyway this thing had the baddest seat on it.

About as comfortable as it looks, good for a couple hours.

The shop bike gets the big ass Wald basket for hauling lunch and drinks and stuff.

Usually there's a flashlight taped to it but they're always getting whored out.

Originally this would probably have came with some truss rods,

not as cool looking as the Shelby versions but close.

business end

Lotsa Schwinn cruisers used a really beefy rim, called an S-2,
and fortunately this bike had a set with heavy duty spokes.
Not sure if you could see in that pre-upgrade picture,
but it was interesting as the fat tire was in front, and the skinny one in the back.
On a road bike I like having a fatter front tire as it doesn't get caught in the cracks as easily,
but on a cruiser it needs to be the other way,
like a hot rod, big and littles.

Carlisle Stud - made in USA

These are some old tires but they were too cool to replace,
lotsa tread left just a little cracking, no problem.
This one is a 1.75  Carlisle Stud. Not many of these around in any condition.

Uniroyal Nobby

The back one's (I think) a 2.10 Uniroyal Nobby.
Not really a good tire to skid with but man these things ride so smooth.

beef

That heavy duty wheel doesn't really match that chintzy rack,
but its rarely used anyway.
I think the hub is a Bendix red band hub but there is no paint, just a groove.
It might be an earlier version as I thought the hub came out in the 60's...
pgbikes
Just found this info.
It could be earlier as its not a smooth hub,
 there are some lighter grooves around the center deep groove.
Maybe a previous owner bought a wheel set after trashing the rest of the bike?
Could be, as the forged cranks were actually bent, which is pretty tough to do.

dago cruiser

Here it is in all its glory!
This thing loves bombin' down hills.
Let's roll..



Definitely a perfect bike for that Santa Barbara fiesta cruiser ride.

Chow.

TP

little pages

Just wanted to say a quick thanks to Jesse for the box of goodies.
Always good to have new reading room material,
and hammers!

xmas in january

He's always searching for trippy car stuff.

Just a Car Guy

Thanks Jesse!

TP

enter the dragon

I have 2 boys - Jaxon 10 and Jakob 9.
They've finally reached the age where they can watch, understand and remember movies.
so for the past almost year or so we've been using Netflix and rehashing movie memories of my childhood.
Not too many too fast, don't want to burn them out. (or get them too hooked on the oldies!)
It make it easier that we don't have cable TV,
so the time in front of the tube at home is really limited.

We started with James Bond #1 and we got up to #13 so far -
I forgot how corny some of them were,
but they've got some good stunts, crazy gadgets and its good for the boys to like boobies!




I'm not going to repost youtube clips of every movie we've watched,
but this boat chase scene has got to make you want a crazy 70's ski boat!
 (find part 2 after, its ridiculous)

***
So the reason I'm writing about  this -
I just got to say that tonight was like a milestone night with the kids,
actually with the whole family.
Everyone was in a, well a bitchy mood for some reason, just a long day for everyone I guess.
Instead of doing a short work night at the shop and being burnt all day,
it was the perfect time to watch one of my probably top 10 movies - Enter the Dragon.

They were a little skeptical for the first 10 minutes...
but the story was strong enough to grab them and not let them go,
and they loved the fight scenes...




A couple years ago up in Ventura, they both had taken Aikido classes.
Its not much for fighting at 6 and 7 years old, but good for discipline, strength and control.



Wish Jaxon's videos had turned out but by then the battery had died.
Sorry Jax!

We all had a great time,
and after we must have replayed the fight scenes at least a couple times each.
The sounds are so crazy, and Bruce Lee is just plain bad-ass.



They loved this part!

Now, please don't have this backfire and get in fights at school...

TP

chief and old grand-dad - double whammy sweet spot

Sometimes I have to trick myself into getting stuff done,
and this past Sunday night really paid off.

I had gone to the shop earlier, but with the kids going to school the next day,
figured it would be good to go back home to eat dinner with them and return for a short work night.
You know how it is once you get the comfort of home though, its tough to leave,
especially at 9pm!
My oldest son Jaxon helped me out,
 telling me his school project was on the flashdrive I use to transfer music to the shop computer...

So now its about 9:45pm.
I'm at the cold shop, wondering if I should try to reclaim my earlier momentum,
or just drive home and be bummed in the morning that I didn't get anything more done.

This is where Old Grand-Dad came into play...

Old Grand-Dad 86 proof whiskey

I had found this bottle at our new local BevMo for $10!
The idea was to have a cheap shop bottle,
something that if Luke-Pigpen drank up I wouldn't be too upset at the replacement cost!
For a bottom shelf bottle, it's  pretty good stuff if you like whiskey straight,
way better than Jack Daniels and other mid or even top shelf bourbons.
Supposedly the 100 proof is even better - but you do the math -
2 bottles for $20 or 1 bottle for $20...

Anyway where was I.
Ok so now its 10pm and its cold.
The only way to not puss out and drive home was to make it wrong to drive,
and all I needed was a little taste,
by 12 or 1am my breath would be clean and I could go home...

***
back-story

chief's floor template

In the middle of december I had made a template for the new floor.
The original aluminum road-sign floor was basically unuseable with the new subrail.

It sat like this for over a week.

new old road sign floor

I had been looking for some old donor road signs,
which don't have that brushed surface that the new ones have.
I had priced out new aluminum but it still had that brushed surface,
which made it easy to accept the use of the road signs lying around the shop.
Way overthinking it as usual.

shiny floor

After not even an hour of cutting, wow,  a shiny new floor.
It sat like this for, dang, almost 2 weeks!

***
Each piece needed to be fit and cleaned up,
very tedious - in and out, back and forth with a grinder and files.
this is what I had done earlier that Sunday.

All I had planned to do now was make some holes,
tap the frame holes, and shave and hammer that center hump piece.
2 hours tops.

fitted floor

Fortunately I had also finish welded those seat hinge pieces and painted it black,
so after a quick install, the interior was really buttoned up.

But what the heck,
now its only about 12:30am, the "sweet spot" is comin up and I'm on a roll.

How about another hour working on another lingering project?
Good Old Grand Dad...

Good Old Grand Dad

Not much, just a taste.

***

Another back-story

old steering arm

Chief has cowl steer, so the steering arm is really steep for the angles to be right.
This was supposed to be temporary but it lasted for years.
I can't believe it didn't rip out, that's why the cross!
Originally there was no center gusset, man that thing was a flimsy piece of shit.

template + SS scrap

At one of the real Paso shows ('04 or '05) I had seen a really cool steering arm,
it was a flat plate one and it was chromed out, never saw it again.
I really like the use of grade 8 bolts holding it on too, instead of the threaded rod.

One thing about boat work is working with stainless steel -
no need to paint or chrome, although way tougher on the tools and time.
We had some 1/2" thick scrap which seemed perfect for the piece.

holy chit

This thing took forever to cut out and grind.
And the 1/2"SS, way too thick probably,
even the spindles backing plate is barely 1/4" thick.

This was done  the first week of December,
and it sat until, holy chit, almost the last day of the year.

hammered

By then Chief was covered in the dust of other projects.
It was time to figure out how to bend this thing.
I didn't think of using the press until this section of course.
The first bends were made with heat,
and beating the shit out of it with a hammer in a vice.
There were marks all over it, really crude.
The section pictured above would not budge with a hammer and torch,
and than it dawned on me that we had a press,
and with a little heat it was like taffy.
Unfortunately there were even deeper marks from the sharp metal blocks.

roughed

So it sat like this for almost a week.

***

The main problem was there needed to be a 7 degree tapered hole for the tie rod end.
The price at speedway was over $80, and a snap-on version was $50.
With the stainless I could imagine it lasting for just that one hole.

Now that its 1am, I decided to at least start hand filing the hole...

magic grinder

3 hours later and I'd gotten lost in the grinding and filing.
I don't know if it was old grand-dad,
or the crispy sounds coming out of that Realistic Amp!

stainless, cardboard, chit

It was tricky to get all the hammer and press marks out,
but I have to say it was really satisfying watching it clean up.
I'm still thinking of putting that hole in the middle like the template,
but it could end up whistling in the wind !

Since the bolt tabs are flat, the steering arm starts its angle above the bolt holes,

so its not as angular looking as the old version.

lucky

boiiing

That tapered hole didn't come out too bad.
I'm on the fence about getting the reamer to finish it off,
I had used red Dykem and a tie rod end as a guide for the high and low points,
so it's not wobbly at all.
The concern is not being able to remove the tie rod end later.

angles

Most importantly the angles of the radius rod and drag link seem correct.
The goal was to have them parallel or at least closer in the rear.
The arm isn't bolted down so the front will raise up a little bit more.

So much more to do!

Next time...

TP