Inliners International
maybe i sat back and waited too long.

well to make a long story short, i ran my 'hot rodded' rambler 195.6 ohv too hard, burned up conn bearings (avoided rods exiting block, which is *usually* what happens in this motor), pulled it, and this time, paid for real work.

a lot has changed since i posted last -- i think: current incarnation is here: http://sensitiveresearch.com/1961-Rambler-Roadster/index.html

to run a 2000 mile rally last august (24 Hpurs of LeMons 'Hell on Wheels '16') i stuck a T14 behind it, ditching the T96 that failed me, again, and drove the snot out of the car. ran great. cooling system was more than fine... what killed the bearings i thibk was bad clearancing when it was built, and in the end, crappy machine shop work. i'll post about my new all electronic cooling system separately.

late in the rally it developed a mild knock, after a change in oil pressure vs. rpm profile. when i got home, i stuck an oil temp sensor in the main gallery, and in highway driving in 80F weather the oil temp climbed to 240... wonder what it did in the death valley rally in august?

when i started knocking i pulled it immediately and found bad conn rod bearings, melted pockets. sent it off to engine builder Pete Fleming up in in the valley. got it back a week ago and assembling the car now.

the T14 is now a T5 with close ratios (2.95... .73) from Modern Drivelines, with the adapter i had a hand in having made, and a narrowed mustang 3.42:1 axle, in the 2250 lb roadster. should be driving in May.

i think at this point its basically a hot rod.
Wow, Tom is still alive...Amazing...This website has been limping along with no web master for years...That's why lots of folks just moved on...

Glad to hear you are enjoying a T5... I also upgraded a few years ago....And that included a very used 258... It's replacement is being balanced @ a shop in the Industrial Center.

The 258 and T5 are a nice increase in power and gear ratios.

I wanted to post the upgrades on the "Inliners Rides" but that part of this site is inoperative...And after 3 years I just gave up and quit...
Tom, Glad to hear from you. I was thinking of your build a while back. Glad you are still at it and driving it hard. We seem to have lost the non GM guys here. I'd like to read and see more pictures of what you have bee doing.
hi! Melon, and Beater. yeah, i stopped checking in too, a break in the intertia. i can't complain, i've run bulletin boards, it's hard work, and the culture in them is delicate and varies all over. if only the admins were getting rich off it! lol

... i got the engine back from Pete Fleming -- engine builders take longer and cost more! -- lol, no complaints, HOLEY KARAP it's amazing what good machinists and careful, attentive builders can do.

mainly my previous builds (so-called) suffered mainly from low quality machine work, as it turns out. i am reasonably competant, i have quality measurement tools but nothing that can check for bent cranks (.004" in the middle) lousy deck and head surfaces (previous machinist said he'd mill, not sand it, i paid for milling), re-surfaced lifters that had allt he ahrdness removed (now only NOS and i now know total height so i CAN CHECK). "its just an old rambler motor...".

Pete treated it like a real engine (umm, i had to pay for that). Forged Arias pistons, modern steel rings (NOT CHEAP!), correct and equal crank journals. there's nothing to be done for cams for this motor. all are regrinds, and the base circle is barely higher than the rough casting, but he had some magician that got some overlap in it. same lift, a paltry .38", but with all the other improvements the engine seems dimensionally more stable so i closed up the valve adjustments about half (was .012" in/.016" ex). computer cooling system and big-a88 oil cooler so the block and head don't grown in size.

about this forum, and others too:

i am about to post carb/tuning Q's, but in the High-Perf section, since it's about carbs, AFR meter, plug readings and not brand-specific. i have liked this forum for it's overall expertise and tenor of participant, even though little of it was "my brand".

the AMC forum is lively enough, but most folk there are concerned with keeping old betsy alive, or more traditional muscle car stuff, and restos, all of which are great, just not my thing. i like to do stupid, foolish wrong things.

i tried the HAMB/jalopy journal crowd, but was openly laughed at, rudely, "because rambler" (like we're still in high school?) shee-it, any idiot can make a 350 go. i had to make my own oil pump!

i hear fordsix.com has an "orphan" board that's friendly, haven't checked it out yet.

i'm hanging out with, locally, the "SoCal TT" crowd, all sorts of sports cars (and unsporty cars, and all sorts of stuff) with an emphasis on DRIVING THE @$%# THINGS. that's working out. they all just like old cars. one guy runs a bugeye sprite with a two-rotor wankel in it.

last year i drove the LeMons Rally, and i'm again, a week from monday. LeMons, and ROAD KILL, under all the joking and fooling around and silliness, is some serious car love. lots of newbies who think they're late 80's 'boat is "vintage", but they're no worse than we were when we were kids. and everyone stops to help each other out. and there are many interesting people doing novel and interesting things.

so my '61 roadster now is actually almost fast. i had the mustang axle geared 3.42:1, and with the close ratio T5 is a perfect match to chassis and engine. it'll do 80 - 90 for hours on desert highways and mountains, with headroom. at 90 the nose starts to get lifty. 90 is 3100 rpm. i'm seriously thinking of Silver State Classic Challenge, the 100 mph average slot (i'd stick a 2.73 axle in for that).

so we seem to have a shortage of places for oddballs and misfits to go. we're always in the margins. i don't mind that too much, but it would be nice if there was a place for those who did their own work and ideas. this place is that!

sorry for the long post.
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