OH NO YOU DIDN"T !!!!
Man, y'all just found my "weakness"
Okay, a little background here: I was a mechanic at one point, trained at great Plains Area Vo-Tech, in Lawton, Oklahoma (My old Home Town) during high school. The first engine I ever rebuilt was the one My Dad, George Emir (The machinist -and dad's drinkin buddy) - and myself at 14 yrs old, put into the baddest truck Lawton ever tried to ban from the streets. A 1967 Shortbed Fleetside. (Only 2500 of em ever made)
Don't ever tell me that you cant get 550 HP from a 350 chevy and make it look completely stock!
The first engine I ever rebuilt completely by myself was a bone stock 289 in a '68 Mustang as an in-class project at Vo-Tech... (and it fired first kick and they drove it out without making a single adjustment.)
That said, I have rebuilt over 100 engines since those days and do all the work on this entire family's cars... I can tell you the torque specs, timing, and plug gaps on just about every chevy block made from 1955 to 1985, so, before you go bashing Chevy's, go easy on my sense of experteise please.
I "AM" the proverbial "MACHINE HEAD"... pleased to meet you!
Now, currently, I have a Hotrod sittin out front I built for my firstborn Son about 6 years ago. He is six yrs old now, so, that ought to tell you, I dont need much excuse to pick up a wrench HAHHAHA... It's an '85 Olds Cutlass with the 350 Rocket from a '77 "S" series corporate NASCAR prototype. The block DOES have the rocket emblem stamped on it (That's all you need to know if you know what I'm talkin bout)... for all you laymen out there... it turns a healthy 6ooHP and will yank the wheels.
..and NO...he aint gettin it until he shows me he can handle it, but, it's something to leave behind that will tell him his old man was a freak too.... his first word was "car". What can I say.
..The other baby boy gets my guns...LOL (Guess what "his" first word was...)
Anyway.. Heres a pic of the Cutlass.. Looks pretty generic, but, I didn't have any pictures uploaded of the engine work, so, you'll have to wait on that.
...there's about $3500 bucks in new parts on this car before we even get to talkin about the engine..so, by the time he's 16, it ought to be in pretty decent shape.... My next project with it will be to install the HURST lightening shifter and the cowl induction hood, then, right before I hand him the keys, we'll slap a coat of HURST colors on it for him... (makes for a cool skirt chaser eh?) ..a poor mans HURST! right on?
...so, my dad says to me... "boy, if you want wheels, get a job and buy it yourself"..right? ...so I ended up my first ride being a '65 Ford Galaxie I bought from a buddy for $300 bucks. That car coulda got me killed. ...Nuthin personal Dad, but, if my boy has 16 years to look at this ride...help with the work, and drool all over the engine, I think he'll take care of it pretty well.
..and most important...it wont drop a control arm on the railroad tracks at 65mph...
SO, right now, I got a stock car over at my Father-In-Laws Garage... We are getting it ready for the local tracks around here next year. It's street stock. '81 Impala, solid frame, and I cant say too much about the motor... the local competition is FIERCE around here and (we got rules)
The closest track is here:
www.mtlawn.com/...and where we would like to get to is here:
www.winchesterspeedway.com/ Winchester is a NASCAR sanctioned track and alot of the guys in the cup series cut their teeth on this track. Tony Stewart for one. ..and some of the Busch series drivers race there still.
OUR car is still being assembled. Here's a picture of it the day we brought it to the garage:
...and I am a serious NASCAR fan...I collect Dale Sr and Dale Jr. stuff too, have been to the Brickyard, and frequent the tracks all year, so.. SUNDAY is RACE DAY in this house. If I'm not watchin it, I'm doin it.
Word!