Now, I keep saying I’m an average guy with an average skill set and frankly there’s no one I know that will argue the point. That being the current situation, it doesn’t mean that I don’t try to pick up new skills, I do.
So since I also have an average guy’s budget (selling cans back to the recycler for car parts…ok…just kidding there) I don’t have what I’d really like to have for “training purposes”. If I did however, I have two of each car (in this case a 84 Vette with a Crossfire engine –has to be exact there and a second Mustang with a V8) and I’d experiment with parts cars until I get it right and then I’d work on its twin. Of course that’s not affordable, so I next like to have a spare Crossfire engine to mess with and a Ford V8 do to the same. Now that might be possible, budget wise (I know a couple of guys that will let me pick up a an old engine for free) but I have an average garage, with my cabinets and work bench, I can only get one car in there–nope no 3 bay garage for me.
My garage with the Vette in it.
(Was I kidding???? NOPE!!!) Errrk…..And don’t think I haven’t approached the subject…but the misses doesn’t see the need to move to a larger house just so I can have a place in the garage to play. So having two engines on stands won’t work out too well. So how do I get around this……I purchase a part to “study”. Back in the day you’d have to go to the junk yard and pick your part and you can pretty much do that today as well. There are drawbacks to that, though… here in a AZ during the summer time…taking the parts off the a hot car is a killer…not stolen…but a car that’s been sitting in the sun when it’s 110 degrees out. Those metal part will be a bit warm…trust me. But the Internet is a great thing and I’d like to take a minute and personally thank former Vice President Al Gore for inventing it…nicely done sir!!! I’ve found most of my training parts online. But don’t over look the local car clubs either, you can get help and I can assure there’s one or two guys there that have or know a guy that knows a guy that has the part you are looking for.
When I first got my Mustang, it had a 1 barrel Weber carb, so I purchased an old one online to take it apart and look it over. Then I order the kit and rebuilt the usable one. I’ve done the same thing for my C4. I needed a rebuild of the fuel injector towers, so I went online and found a set for $20 plus shipping and took them apart and back together and used them as a model for when I did the real set. Worked perfectly.
Here is my next piece:
84 Vette Crossfire Intake Manifold
Which is seen here on the Vette:
Corvette Crossfire Engine
The manifold is unique enough that I wanted to learn more about it before messing with it. Now if you’ve been reading my blog since the beginning or are new and went back through my older posts, you’ll know about my psychological issue with breaking it myself. So the test part makes it even odds…ok..fine 40 – 60 that I won’t screw it up. (That’s a 60% chance that I’ll eventually have to take to someone and have it fixed when I’m done fixing it myself.) Now I’ve mentioned that an up and coming mod will be to put on a newly designed manifold for the Vette, but I need to keep the original and will eventually rebuild it myself…or attempt too. Look this picture over and you’ll see why I love working on my C4:
Hood up.
Yeah..no fenders to lean over!!!! It’s great. Easy access to the engine. Just toss an old blanket (STOP..NOT THE ONE ON THE BED..NO NO..BAD….) over the wheel and you are home free.
Thanks for reading. Always up for a comment or two.
This is a new thread that I’ll post from time to time, similar to the Auto Factoid. Wrench’in Tips will some help hint, short cuts and even some alternative ways to help finish the job.
The key here is that these are coming from a guy with average skills and knowledge so to you ‘hardend’ professional they may seem lame or you’ll have a ‘well….duh, OMG, like everyone knows that!!!’ In which case…KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!!!! <GRIN> Kidding of course, always let me know what you think.
So here is the first one.
I hate electricity, not the benefits of being able to use it, it’s super when it stays where it’s suppose to and goes where it’s suppose too. What I hate is when it stops being or doing what is should. I absolutely hate working on electrical problem anywhere, homes, appliances and cars.
I can say that I once had a bad experience and that would be true, but the other problem I have (besides the physics of it all) is that I’m color blind. Anyone who has looked at a wiring harness in a car will know what I’m talking about. The are all kinds of colors, but unless they are only black and white – like the extension cord and light I made back in 4-H, 1.5 billion years ago, I’m stuck.
Now older cars like my ’70 Mustang aren’t too bad, they pretty much conform to black, white and one or two other color, but the ’84 C4 it has wires everywhere….hey…I’m not kidding EVERY WHERE!!! There are no less that 10 pairs of wires you have to remove just to take the door panel off. In the 84 Vette, the adjustable windshield wipers are on the drives door and if I remember correctly it has at least 6 wires. Then the are the wires for the door lock 4 there and there are the wires for the electric window that might be 4 more. Add to that the wires for the door courtesy light and the speaker and amp wires (the awesome BOSE stereo system had 5 speakers with individual amps). errrk….here’s a factoid the 1984 Corvette and Cadillac were the first cars to have a custom BOSE stereo system. The story goes that GM asked if they would put BOSE radios (back then just AM/FM and Cassette) in the cars and label them Delco. BOSE wasn’t crazy about the idea so instead offered to design a system for the cars….end of errkk.
So one of the first problems I had with the Corvette was the electric window stopped working on the driver’s side. So I assumed that I would have to replace the motor. So I get home early from work one day and I decided that I’d knock this out real quick. I began by taking the panel off and found all the pairs of wires and I sure I used a four-letter word didn’t start with a D or S. I noticed that a couple of the wires were a bit worse for wear and need some attention, I also noticed that the wires were short and you had to balance the door panel on something to be able to disconnect a couple components. Being the genius that I am, I figure that if I made the wires a bit longer I would haven’t to disconnect the components every time I need to remove the panel, I’d only remove the screws and the door panel would rest on a towel or something on the floor.
NOTE: Don’t worry, not every one of my tips will be attached to a long story….umm…I don’t think.
Of course the wires I needed to repair and additionally make longer weren’t your basic black and white, I’m not sure but I think one was sea-foam green and one was burnt sienna (I don’t really know…but I remember that burnt sienna was a crayon color when I was a kid- before Microsoft Paint.
Oh…so here is what I did.
I took about 1/2″ strips of white duck tape and a marker and folded one each side of the wire that I was going to splice to repair and lengthen. I labeled the first wire A and A and the second B and B (pretty sure you could have figured out the pattern). Then I cut and spliced them with wire connectors.
It worked out great and I left them labeled when put the door back together.
Oh..just so you can have some closure, I did all that work and the problem wasn’t with electric window motor, was really just the switch on the middle console…4 screws and pop in the new $15.00 switch. It’s that the way it always goes? Seems like it.
Being an average guy …say it with me…..”with an average budget and average tools”…I travel light to the drag strip.
I don’t have a trailer and I don’t have spare tires, or worry have about NOS (Nitrous Oxide System). I don’t carry a timing light (but that might be handy) or dwell/tach. What I do carry with me is a small toolbox with open-end and box-end wrenches, socket set and screw drivers. I also bring along a lawn chair, a cooler (No Alcohol) and Fire Extinguishers. Now it helps that the strip is less than 10 miles way and I have a very nice GM towing/travel package (AAA like coverage – under 10 miles the tow bill is free) so I don’t really need a trailer and the works.
The tools I carry are just enough to make carb adjustments and plug adjustments. (I have replaced the points and condenser with the Pertronix electronic ignition parts in the Mustang…(very smart idea by the way) and there really aren’t any adjustments I can make to the Corvette as it is currently configured – the computer which is crude 1980’s technology – just returns the car to original operation specs (fuel to air ratio) or close to it anyway.
So I look really small compared to the guys with the covered trailers and the double axle pick-up trucks. But there are a lot of average guys there, taking up no space in the parking lot.
At the drags Pic 1
At the Drags Pic 2
As you can see by these pics there isn’t a giant tool box there and no pit crew. BTW these photos are from my first time at the track, right after the new engine:
New engine just before installation.
And before the new paint.
I have a ton of fun at these events. I’ve attended to two charity events, Race for the Cure, in support of cancer research and a several weekly test-n-tunes. Generally at the test-n-tunes you see a lot of kids (relative depending on your age) with their imports. You can tell there isn’t much of a budget there and that I think is what makes it fun.
In most of these events you aren’t running against the other guy (not really), you are running against your own skill as a driver and a mechanic – your own tune-up work and your last run’s time. The kids with the tuners (a slang term for modified imports) generally have a Nitrous Oxide Systems (NOS) and a lap top to adjust the computer that controls nearly everything to do with the way the engine runs. I know some old school guys that really frown on that but I think it pretty cool.
Do you have a racing experience? Drop it in comment.
Coming up next (if I can find it) is an article I wrote that covers the finer point of bracket racing and some tech tips.
I plan on getting back to the pieces on drag racing, as I have a couple more parts to post. However, I have two projects coming that I thought give you all a heads up on.
The first is a new dash for the Mustang. Dashboards were never made to last, even back in the 70’s. They sure as ‘heck’ don’t last here in the Arizona sun. It doesn’t matter what that the dash is made up of, the heat will eventually mar it or destroy it all together. Painted metal with fade, at the least, if not peel off. Plastic will crack and the vinyl composite like the original dash in my Mustang will crack and curl up.
Take a look:
This the Dash with the custom cover.
Now it’s going to get ugly. Beware, send the children from the room and hide pets. Disclaimer: I’m not responsible for malfunctions of pacemakers, prosthetic limbs or dental work fall out of your head when you gasps at the next few pictures. Don’t view if you are in your lasts trimester or if you spouse in her last trimester. Side effects are severe headaches, nose bleeds, loss of voice and black-outs have been report but rarely occur. (Law school – money well spent!!)
Split dash on speaker cover.
Grand Canyon
Son of Grand Canyon
Tough to see here but the corners are curled up.
HAD ENOUGH?!?!?!!? Yeah…I thought so.
So I order a dash sometime ago and I’m ready to get it put on. …..eeeerrrrkkk….don’t get a cap (dash cap), they are the worst!!! They almost never fit right and they are normal waving and the glue doesn’t hold…especially here in the big AZ. I tried one on my ’74 Torino (I loved that car…I’ll tell that story another time…someone remind me!!!!) and it did all of those things plus it looked cheap. If you can buy the orignal equipment, NOS (New Old Stock) do it. Of course you can for Mustang’s and other popular cars and keep mind some fit other models of the same make. If you can’t get NOS then look for the advertisements where they are using the original tooling (molds etc.). Those are the best…. end of eeerrkkkk… While I’ve got the dash apart I’ll redo any wiring necessary and place all the bulbs. I might even replace the original speak which isn’t hooked up to the new stereo. And I’ll do some cleaning as well.
All this I will film with digital pics and digital movie clips and post them up. Every one can follow along. And if you are in area you can swing by and see the progress.
The second project I’ll be doing with a few professionals at Dynamic Crossfire Solutions. Met these guys through the Arizona Corvette Enthusiasts club (ACE). …eeerrrrk…..For an average guy with average skills, car clubs are a great resources…end of errrkkk… These guys, Tom and Jim have developed a new intake manifold for the lowly crossfire engines. I’ll talk more about that in the another post, but for a fair price, I having the newly developed (first of its kind) intake manifold for my 84. The Corvette will get a new fuel pump and the injectors will be modified to allow manual adjustments and a fuel pressure gauge will be added to help refine the flow. Why???…more HPs car peeps, up to 50 more for, what is really, just a bolt. Tom and Jim are going to let me turn the wrenches and I’ll be filming that was well and will share it here.
I have a new contest coming up (looking at $50.00 gift card) and some tips that might help with the project you are working on.
So we’ve established that street tires are ok to run at the strip, but not as effective as the true – soft, no tread drag racing slicks. So if I wanted to take it a step further I’d be looking for something in the middle.
The previous post I mentioned the fun I had with the my Mustang’s first couple of runs and I have wide tires on the back – P265/50/R15 (and off brand Mud and Snow) and that of course didn’t help much, pulls the fact that the back-end of the Mustang is pretty light.
To get something in the middle of the road, I can compare the performance of the tires I have on my 84 Vette. This car has 255/50/ZR16 on the rear end and they performed fairly well at the drag strip, but still suffered the take off spin, (I didn’t get those wet or warmed up.) errrkkk…Here’s another mental hurdle…..I been in a car when a tire blows. At a mere 50 miles an hour, I watched as the rubber destroyed the left front end of the mini-van I was driving….even as I slowed down, it still took out the fender, wheel well lining, headlight assembly and scuffed up the driver’s door (yes I drove a mini-van..it was the Miss’ van….yeah…that’s right it belonged to the wife…). Anyway after that experience I have mental images of a tire blowing on my Vette during a warm up and the rear fender turned into dust (being fiber class and all). So I didn’t warm them up. They held a lot better than the mud and snow tires on the Mustang, but I still got a lot of spin out of them.
Quick story: On my second run ever with the Corvette I lined up with a 1960 Corvette with huge blower on his engine. I looked over at him and mouthed..”y’er goin’ down!” and he laughed so hard I almost beat him off the line…ok fine…maybe I just heard my engine first, because you couldn’t hear anything after he hit the throttle!!! So Mustang was awful with the Mud and Snow tires and the Vette was better on the B.F.G.
Since, I have an average budget, I’d be hard pressed to go buy some Mickey Thompson slicks and wheels. And since I drive my cars all the time, swapping wheels out isn’t possible every time I go to the track, I only have average guy tools, which means there’s no tire changer in my garage, nor a balance machine.
So what’s a good option???? You can thank the street racer (Fast and Furious types) subculture for this really cool option..Street Drag Radials. Yes, they are legal a street tires but are soft and have little tread. See the pics:
These happen to be Mickey Thompson’s ET Radials. (No I’m not endorsing them, I’ve never used them, I don’t have any monetary connection to Mickey Thompson’s tire company, in fact I’m pretty sure I’ve never known anyone named Mickey.)
Street/Drag Radials helps you avoid the average guy’s dilemma of extra rims and mounting issues and grip at the track. Of course these Mickey Thompson’s are about $175.00 each and that might be right on the edge of the average guy’s budget, and if you put a lot of miles on your cars, then it might be costly to replace. It’s a good bet that since you’ll be smoking them a little they aren’t going to last near as long.
Got a tire idea? Drop a comment here!!!
Next up..What do I take to the strip and some discussion on what to do while you are there.
This is a tough one. Strictly from a budget point of view…nope. I run my Mustang and Vette with the street tires.
What not to do: (Read and heed)
At most tracks they have the water area where most cars with drag rubber will run through. It helps to get the tires spinning. Avoid that!!! On my very first run, I thought I’d be cool and do it like the big boys. Got the tires wet…..oh..they’ll spin alright..no problem…but hey aren’t soft enough to grip and well…lets just say it gets a little hairy and all I wanted was to just trying to get them to smoke a little..would have been fun. Well..what did happen was the Mustang started going sideways toward the concrete divider, mind you, I’m not even to the line yet, (and I’m think..”Hey honey..can you move your car so the tow truck and back in to the driveway).
So not only did they not smoke, they didn’t even get hot, just wet. Now take wet street tires and place them on 1/8 inch of rubber sticking to strip and…ta dah…you have a Mustang on ice…great!!! I recovered from that and got to the line. This was a charity race and I looked a cross concrete divider at this front wheel drive Ford Focus and I smiled…..but only for a second. The tree started and I popped the clutch and heard my bored out 302 engine rev and felt it go…. nowhere….the tires just spun…I see the Focus take off and I let up on the gas the Mustang took off, fishtailing…..I think I did two miles on the 1/4 mile strip, during that run. I did manage to get her up to 86 miles an hour that time but..I was at the end of the run and Focus has already turned off.
What to do:
Avoid the wetting down area. Your street tires will spin….trust me…on all that rubber the other cars have left for you. Warm you tires up only a little.
Now as an average guy..I only have a street car…just like it came off the show room floor, no trans-brake…nope… just a clutch and a gas pedal. So with a manual shift..and street tries you have to be careful taking off. I have out treed a few cars but you have to be light on the clutch. The tires will spin a little and you can limit that a bit with the clutch. A few feet out you will find more grip and 2nd and 3rd will be fine…um….I don’t have a 4th in the Mustang…so that’s pretty much it for me.
My next few passes went much better with my best being 93.43 mph with a 15.391 time. Now that’s pretty good with street tires and only 3 speeds. (Considering the first pass..documented above had a time of 17.54 at 78.98 mph.)
In a previous post I talked about psychological hurdles that an average guy, with average skill, average tools and an average budget has to deal with when he owns a classic car (ok…doesn’t have to be a classic…just “loved”). One of those was the fear of something breaking, either while you driving it or working on it. Can I fix it? Do I have the right tool? What if I can’t? Do I know anyone that can? For free? Can I afford to get it fixed? Even worse – long will I be deprived of driving it?
These are my concerns–always.
So with these worries..what in H….E. double L (does everyone get the H..E double L??) am I doing drag racing!?!?!?! Where’s my head at?!??!?!?!!
I hope you aren’t sitting there waiting for an answer!!!! ‘Cause I don’t know. I just do it.
But dude….you are so average….especially in the budget….heck..in all the areas listed above…oh and BTW….how about SWMBO (she who must be obeyed)…how’s that going to go…..”Hey honey guess what? I was at the tree and the light turned green and I got a huge jump on the V.W. next to me and the darndest thing happend…little pieces of my u-joint flew everywhere. Would you mind moving your car so the tow truck back into the driveway…thanks snookems!!!”….Um…sure…… good luck with that!!!
So over the next few post, I’m going to give some average guy tips for handling a little test and tune drag racing.
Next up…do I need different tires?????
Thanks for reading.
My Coupe taking of from the line. Before the new paint!!!
Just about every auto blog, has a place where the reader can upload their cars. I think that’s great but I’d like to take it a bit further. If you have a project car, no matter the condition or state of restoration it’s in….erk….even if it’s just sitting out in the backyard and you’re thinking about restoring…let me know. I want to feature it on the front page this blog. There is a following for the Average Guy’s Car Restoration, Mods and Racing blog, (over 60 view in one day) and it’s followed on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
So become part of the Average Car Guy’s Nation. Drop me a comment and we’ll get your car featured. If we can muster up a good flow of cars, we’ll have a car of the month contest with a gift card give away.
