Well… six months ago the 2014 Power Tour was written into the history books. Those reading this are already aware of my Power Tour no-show. I will attempt herein to piece together the time line of my ill-fated quest to make the 2014 Power Tour. Needless to say, I bit off a bit more than I could chew. Inexperience, a large learning curve, and a series of unfortunate delays ultimately lead to the realization it was not to be. In the long run, I am actually pleased things didn’t quite work out. Had I hastily slammed together my ride, I would have half-assed the results. At present, I am still hammering away, building a street beast which will be impressive and reliable. It has always been about PROJECT BEDLAM, not an event. So… The following sheds light on what has happened the past several months.
Post #9 chronicled the arrival and stockpiling of a bunch of parts, PROJECT BEDLAM taking a different – and more potent course than originally planned, and my delusions of unleashing a high performance beast on short deadline. The timeline below will provide an update on all the work which lead to the sobering reality I was to be a no-show…
In March, I removed all the AC stuff from the engine bay, with the initial intent of later replacing said antiquated set-up with a Vintage Air climate control system.*
* Initial intent ultimately gave way to other plans, which shall be revealed at a later date…
My April trip to visit Danny proved to be the last drive in the Cutlass prior to pulling out the tired, ol’ 350. Not too long thereafter, I Made the decision to replace the 42 year old fuel tank and failed (fuel gauge stopped functioning) sending unit. The fuel lines were mapped out and disconnected. Fuel was siphoned out of the tank and slated for use in lawn mowers and also as weed killer… One needs to put this stuff to good use!
May 1: The fuel tank was dropped. This endeavor unearthed the birth certificate for my car… A very cool find, illustrated below as an automotive archaeology discovery…
42 years of road dirt…
Removed from the fuel tank with care…
Dirt gently brushed away…
Just a little bit at a time…
Revealing the majority of the original build sheet. Cool stuff.
A legible scan of the build sheet… I felt like Indiana fuckin’ Jones!
May 14: I picked up the completed engine from Danny, as documented in Post #10.
May 15: I began the process of prepping the engine for removal. Myriad electrical components, vacuum lines, transmission and fuel lines, and the like were disconnected and labelled…
Stripping her down and labeling stuff, to satisfy my OCD…
Likewise, coolant, transmission fluid and oil was drained… radiator, power steering pump, brackets and all… removed and set aside, all the while being documented on a legal pad, to facilitate an orderly reconnecting at a later date.
Preparation continues…
Dis-assembly chronicled on a legal pad. Parts labeled and put in zip-loc bags. I’ll be glad I did this…
The drive shaft was pulled, revealing a most unsettling reality; for 20+ years, one of the u-joint straps had been only partially fastened… This discovery left me feeling as if I had dodged a bullet.
Twisted and only one fastener attached… This is scary shit, man.
The time-worn 2 1/2″ exhaust and turbo mufflers were hacked out with a Sawz-All, to be replaced later with the previously referenced FLOWMASTER set-up.
Chopped out and neatly stacked, the old exhaust awaits waste disposal pick-up…
The aforementioned prep work and a good bit more was completed over a 5-6 day run… It was time to pull the engine.
May 22: Engine / transmission pull. This was cool, made more so by the fact my 18 year-old son, Vaughn visited for a couple days to assist me with the task. Vaughn is a serious gear head, his specialty being Mercedes Benz diesels… Vaughn would prove to be an integral and invaluable asset to this process, as he was on board for a bunch of the prep work prior to our pulling the engine. The half dozen images below illustrate “The Pull”…
Vaughn and me… Ready to rock n’ roll…
A final look-see, just to be sure she’s free and clear to lift…
The lifting has begun. So far, so good…
Up and over! Close to victory…
She’s outta there! Hell, Yeah!
Finished. The ol’ 350 set on the dolly Vaughn and I built specifically for this purpose. That freaking starter was a champ… from the time I bought the car, it never failed me.
The 350 was out. This was my first time pulling an engine and the experience was a rather painless process. Old school, shade tree stuff, as documented in the photos. Not quite ready to drop in the big block… time for some food and a good night’s sleep… Tomorrow I’ll clean the engine bay and forge ahead… I have an engine to install!
May 23-25: Engine bay cleaned and detailed, in preparation to accommodate the new power plant… 42 years of grease and dirt were scraped and scrubbed. The cross member and frame were readied for the fresh, re-built power plant.
Scraping away 42 years of dirt and grease accumulation…
Frame perches / motor mounts removed. Scrubbed and de-greased. Lookin’ good.
Radiator core support, cross member, and frame rails… blasted with paint and detailed…
New engine perches installed and a clean shop floor. Gettin’ ready to drop in my engine!
Cleaning stuff and preparing the engine bay. Growing my hair like Jim’s… This makes me cool!
May 27: Brake lines and junction block moved / re-located… Research led me to the conclusion the headers would need elbow room. Lots of good, old fashioned, gear head ass-busting. a HUGE PAIN IN THE ASS. Love it.
In the midst of relocating the metering block, re-bending brake lines and making room for headers.
May 29: It was time to do it… Get the re-built 468 mated to the transmission and drop her in! My pal and neighbor Kari, a most able gear head, assisted me with the task of assembling transmission, torque converter and engine / flex plate… First step: Attaching flex plate to the crank…
Flex plate… Bolted up, torqued to spec. Ready to go.
Now it was time to check fitment between torque converter / transmission, etc.
Kari and me attempting to put all this together…
At this juncture a discovery was made… The torque converter Gordy provided me with the transmission didn’t mate to the crank / output shaft… In simple terms: Wrong torque converter. FUCK.
Kari and me, staring at the ill-fated set-up, as if this might change things… Note the defeated posture. Damn.
Immediately, phone calls were made to local auto parts folks… Austin, Texas is not really a speed shop kind of town… The realization that shops here don’t inventory higher stall converters soon hit me square in the face. Time to order one from SUMMIT… It would be a few days before I could expect the replacement.
…It was at this time, just a week shy of my intended departure date, I realized Power Tour was to be scratched from my calendar. Though disappointed, I was simultaneously relieved of a great deal of mounting stress… I shared my decision with Bill and Jim. Neither wanted to hear such news… both encouraging me to stay the course, complete the project, and depart at the 11th hour. I now experienced yet another emotion: Shame. I truly appreciated the encouragement from my pals, but the dog wasn’t gonna hunt…
So… There you have it. Defeated for the moment. I would live to see another day.
