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.

Last edited by tom jennings; 08/05/17 06:14 PM.