Are you ready for this???? New project. Code name: The Bridgestone Project.
1965 Bridgestone Dual Twin.
Take a look:
Let’s get ready for some specs!!
The Bridgestone Project..your mission should you decide to accept to restore this mess!!
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Posted: May 13, 2012 in Uncategorized
So I spent Friday night dismantling the control valve, in order to soak it all overnight for a Saturday morning rebuild. It all came apart relatively easy. After having it all soak all night in some super clean, I cleaned it all up an then soaked all the internals and housing in some power steering fluid. I rebuilt the valve with a rebuild kit and a new ball stud kit as well. Then I coated the spool valve spring and nut with some white lithium grease and installed the end cap.
I then painted it in some chassis black semi-gloss and installed the stud boot and retainer. All done!
Thanks for reading.
Tim
When I first got the car, it had to warm up forever or it would stall. At stop lights, I had to be careful to feather the gas pedal to keep it from quitting on me. I enjoy an occasional adrenaline rush, but not at every intersection!Fins and Wagons w/2 or 4 doors, pretty much sums up the style for Dodge in 1957. With wheelbases ranging from 112 to 124.4 inches and curb weights of over 4000 lbs what the heck did they power them with?
Dodges were available in three flavors, Coronet, Royal and Station Wagon series with the Coronet and Royal coming in 2 and 4 door configurations and each had a convertible available and the wagon had 2 and 4 door versions.
57 Coronet 2-Door Coupe….Tell me you don’t like the fins!?!?!??!?
Here is the Custom Royal Lancer Convertible
The smallest engine available was Dodges in-line L-Head 6 cylinder. This was an iron block that displaced 230 cubic inches and had a bore and stroke of 3.25 X 4.8525 inches. It sported solid lifters and four main bearings. This managed to produce a compression ratio of 8.0:1 and topped off with a Stromberg one barrel carb (WW3-159) it made 138 hp.
The popular V8 was the Red Ram. This too was an iron block with overhead valves, displacing 325 cubic inches. The bore and stroke was 3.69 x 3.80 and compression was 8.5:1. Five main bearings, hydraulic lifters. In the Coronet and Royal series it made 245hp. In the Custom Royal it produced 260 hp. Why the difference? It might have been the carbs. The lower hp cars had the Stromberg Two barrel (WW3-149) and the 260hp cars had the two barrel Webber (WCFB-2532S)
325 Red Ram engine for the 57 Dodges
So that a nice couple of engines. But Dodge had a D-500 series which really wasn’t a separate series, just a set of high performance engines. Those are coming up next.
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Meet Jon, one of our engineers here at Prestolite Performance. He is the focus of our first installment of What We Drive, our series of stories about the cars of Prestolite Performance employees. Jon got into cars when he was about 13 years old. His first car was a 1986 Ford Tempo that he worked on, but never got it to the road. His college car was a 1989 Chevy S10, which he beefed up by replacing the original 4 cylinder with a V8.
Jon had been looking for a ’91 Camaro for some time, finding it difficult to locate one that wasn’t a rust bucket. In 2000, his search paid off and he purchased a nearly bone stock ’91 Camaro with only about 57,000 miles. The only performance upgrade on the car was a Flowmaster exhaust. Originally, the car made about 230 hp and 300 ft. lbs of torque.
The LB9 305 small block Chevy engine that was stock in Jon’s Camaro was removed to make way for a 355 small block. He hand ported aluminum Corvette heads and installed a Holley Stealth Ram intake with Mr. Gasket Ultra-Seal intake gaskets. Jon also made sure his engine was sealed for higher horsepower with Multi-Layered Steel head gaskets from Mr. Gasket. He made the engine even tougher with a forged ZZ4 crank, SRP forged pistons and a Comp camshaft.
Beefing up the drivetrain was also a priority so Jon installed a 4L80E transmission (built to handle 1000hp), Transgo shift kit, Lakewood transmission mount, SPOHN driveshaft, Detroit locker and Lakewood U-joints.
With twin 60mm Garret Turbos and his ACCEL 1000cfm throttle body and ACCEL Gen7 engine management system, Jon needed a hefty fuel delivery. His 5160FI fuel pump (now under Mallory) along with Mallory filters and high performance regulator provides the elite system needed for such a setup. For ignition, Jon used an ACCEL 300+ box with an ACCEL ultra coil and Extreme 9000 ceramic boot wires.
Now that Jon’s Camaro had been beefed up, he needed to harness the power with Lakewood 90/10 drag struts, panhard bar and control arms. He also needed better braking, so he installed 2002 SS Camaro brakes on all 4 corners.
All said and done, Jon’s beefed up ’91 Camaro now makes 700 hp and 800 ft. lbs of torque. That’s quite the improvement from stock.
Beautiful Car!
Now that’s some plumbing!!!
http://mustangiidiaries.blogspot.com/
Restoring my old Mustang–just keeping it running–hasn’t been easy. For a girl who never even
changed oil before, I had a LOT to learn. Progress is slow and I’m not quite ready to rebuild an engine, but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished so far.
A Girl Gets In Over Her Head Restoring a 1977 Mustang II
Pretty soon after getting my car, I decided to switch out the spoke-y hubcaps for some cooler looking wheels. Looking through an old Mustang II brochure, I saw a white with red stripe Cobra II with white lacy wheels and liked the look. Matching wheels to paint is not a look that appeals to everyone, but I thought that white wheels would be unique and add some personality to my otherwise ho-hum coupe.
tripe painting by hand is a dying art. But I did eventually find a guy who owned a sign business (Shane’s Signs) in Manassas, VA who could do it. When I saw the final product I knew I had made the right decision about the wheels.
As it turned out 1977 was one of the lower sales years. The average since 1974 was around 180k or more. For 1977 the sales number fell a bit short @ only 150K. (Believe it or not that was more than Mustang sales for the 1971, 1972 and 1973 models!!).
There was some excitement for the 1977 Mustang. For one thing the Cobra II could be had in white with red stripes and if that doesn’t stop your heart the options chrome luggage rack for the ’77 hard top coupe will.
You might be thinking, “Hey wait a minute!!! Did he say ‘hard top’? ‘Hard top’ as in there was something else? Like a CONVERTIBLE? THE CONVERTIBLE IS BACK?” Well YES, if you spell it ‘T-TOP‘.
That’s not a bad-looking car!!! Agree?
The huge option for 1977 was the T-Top. Frankly, I like T-Tops. I had a Camaro with a T-Top and loved it.
Engine line up was the same as the previous years with the V8 302 (in the Cobra II package) producing 139 hp.
The Cobra package also include honeycomb wheels (or I think they were referred to as ‘lacy’).
Yeah..I guess they are more ‘lacy’ than ‘honeycomb’.
Thanks for reading and check out this blog. The owner overs some of her issues when restoring a 1977 Mustang.
http://mustangiidiaries.blogspot.com/search/label/engine
Tim
Could I be desensitized to speed?
I was told it would happen when I upgraded my Mustang from a 6 cylinder to a V8. I was told it would happen when I got my first Corvette (1984 C4 with 205 hp). I was told it would happen when I got my second Corvette (07 C6).
And I was sort of told that numerous years ago by an Air Force pilot. I didn’t believe it each time.
No one can fault me, except some “car purists”, for taking the 250 straight 6 motor from my Mustang and replaced it with a V8 302 bored .030 nor when I attempted to increase the HP in my C4 Corvette from 205 to 245 with a new fangled intake (never actually took place). Those were pretty understandable upgrades considering the 250 in the Mustang had no get up and go (more like lay down and won’t) when the AC was on. For that matter why would ever limit a Corvette to 205 hp?
Now the C4 is gone but the Mustang puts out about 300 hp and the C6 is at about 420. I remember saying, “400 hp? That’s plenty for me!!!” when I bought the C6. And it should be. I’m certain that this SHOULD be ‘true’. But why then, do I have a set of 351 Cleveland Cobra Jet heads sitting in the garage for the Mustang. And why am I pricing superchargers for the Corvette?
I started thinking about this driving the C6 on my way to work today, recalling back when the Mustang was 195 hp and the 84 Vette was just 10 more than the Stang and wishing I had more. As I stepped on the throttle entering the Interstate, I thought to myself, I which I had a bit more power now. That’s just plan crazy talk!!! Just a year ago I was happy with the C6’s power and now its like… yeah its powerful, most powerful in the HOA I bet (why didn’t I just say “neighborhood”?). What happened?
What has happened is that I drive the Vette daily and it as become common place to have that power at a bend of my right ankle. I am sure that if I drove a Toyota Corolla every day and took the Vette out on the weekends, I would still be in awe of the power. I’ve just come so accustom (not complacent, mind you) to driving the car that it doesn’t seem extra ordinary (although intellectually I know that 400 plus hp is no joke).
That doesn’t explain the desire to upgrade the Mustang though, does it? So what does? I think that rational here is more rooted in my own attachment to what the last 60’s and 70’s muscles cars should be. But still when I’m driving it I wish for more power. You understand that don’t you? When you look at a 1969 Mustang and it has its original 6 cylinder in it, you say…”That’s nice. Its all original.” However when you see a 1970 Mustang Mach I with its massive engine…you say…’WOW!!! F-ing A that’s what I’m talking about!!!!” So it’s some of that for sure.
So here is where I am with my cars and thinking about it took me back to one of my military supervisor. He was a LT Col and was one of the few that flew the SR-71 for a living. He shared a story with me about flying a mission and on the return trip received a warning light on the instrument panel. This required him to have to slow the aircraft down bit. He said to me, “…and I thought GREAT it’ll take forever to get home at only Mach 2. I realized how relative speed it was.”
Thanks for reading and keep it under Mach 1. (Yes I’m sure that’s enough power…perhaps.)
Tim
Technology has come a long way in the car world. Early on getting 100 hp from an eight cylinder was tough, much less from a six cylinder. Now days you can get a V6 Mustang with a base horse power for up to 305. Add a super charger and you can squeeze out 427 hp from the same engine. Yes technology as come a long way. Really?That’s what I would have thought. Super charging has been around in the hot rod, drag racing world, for some time, but in a production, oh that’s fairly new (last 10 years or so). But reading an article from Hemmings Motor New dispelled this notion I had.
So you’re thinking how far back was super charging something for sale to the general public, 60’s maybe…70’s maybe? How about 1937?
Yes. A car company by the name of Graham produced a 6 cylinder coupe.
1937 Graham Coupe
Supercharger badging
That’s a nice looking coupe. Here is a shot of the super charged straight 6 and one of the charger it’s self.
The supercharger. This was Graham own design of a centrifugal super charger which they manufactured themselves.
They used this first on their straight eight engines then on the straight six. They preformed so well that they nearly equaled the power of the eight-cylinder. The car was lighter with the smaller engine and that helped it hit 60 mph in just 14.5 seconds by producing 112 hp. The car came into chassis lengths 116 inches which had 106hp, 199.1 cid straight six and 120 inches which had 116hp 217.8 cid straight six. What about gas mileage? How’s 23.95 MPG grab ya.
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Posted By John Katz, June 25, 2012 in E-News, Engine & Drivetrain
Part 1 http://wp.me/pKHNM-1cL
Part 2 http://wp.me/pKHNM-1cL
From www.hotrodandrestoration.com
Switch Shifters 
With manual transmissions in demand, it isn’t surprising to find that a fair number of vehicles—particularly muscle-era vehicles—that left the factory with an automatic transmission are being rebuilt with a manual. Frederick estimated that about 60 percent of American Powertrain’s classic muscle car customers are replacing an automatic transmission with a manual.
“[The conversion] is time-consuming, but not terribly complicated,” Frederick said. “Most of the parts bolt in.”
“It isn’t for the faint-of-heart or for anyone short on patience, but it’s do-able,” Hill added. “It’s just a matter of working through the process.”
Obviously you’ll need a pedal assembly; fortunately, according to Hill, there are a lot of aftermarket units that work quite well.
“That also gives you the option of using a hydraulic release bearing instead of a mechanical clutch linkage, which, depending on the application, can have some advantages,” Hill said. “It’s going to take a longer or shorter drive shaft. It’s going to take a different yoke on that driveshaft. The power bushing in the motor for the transmission input shaft may have to be changed. The starter could be affected by the diameter of the flywheel you put into the vehicle.
“You start at the back of the crankshaft and start matching componentry as well as possible—and if you can’t match it, then you have to compensate for it,” Hill continued. “I don’t think we’ve ever run into something we couldn’t convert, as long as we’re talking about American muscle.”
Many of the same issues crop up even when swapping one manual for another—for example, the customer who has a 454 and a Muncie and wants to put a modern six-speed in it.
Like many other projects, it’s significantly easier with older (i.e., pre-computer) hardware. If either the engine or the transmission came with computer controls, it gets a little more involved. And keep in mind that even some modern manuals now have computer controls—the GM transmission that comes with the LS engine, for example, with its skip-shift function.
Of course, some customers will want to go the other way and replace a factory manual with a new, high-tech automatic.
“It’s most important to make sure you have all the correct components—and that you make the finished job look appealing to the customer,” said Poff of TCI. “It’s the mounting that’s most likely to give you trouble.”
According to the experts, you’ll need to ensure that you have the right crossmembers and that there’s enough room inside the tunnel.
“There is no one-size-fits-all solution; every application is unique,” added Poff. “But once the physical installation is accomplished, it’s pretty straightforward to make everything operational.”
Either way, Nichols suggested finding out from the customer how critical it is to keep the car looking original, versus the cost to locate and install all of the correct original components.
As with so much else in hot rodding, the best results generally come from purchasing and installing complete systems.
“That goes for any product from any company in this business,” Frederick said. “We say, ‘Look, we have a turnkey kit. We figured it all out, and all you to do it plug and play.’ Buy it all from one source and you know all the parts are going to work together.”
Thanks for reading.
Tim
