The GDS Skunkworks, 4 FN 27's Shop Projects

[4 FN 27]

Gents Maintenance and Customer Service are thankless positions.

One thing to ease the pain of persistent whining is something may Dad said for many...many years and has always stuck with me...

"A bitching Sailor is a happy Sailor. So keep'em bitching."



Wow what a week. Coming off 2 days of vacation and had to play catch up. The change of the weather with snow actually hitting the ground was motivation to put the Motor Coach away for the winter. Not to mention my buddy who dropped his off so we can do a little work to it over the winter if I have some down time waiting for parts on projects.

So we rearranged the "Cold Storage" area today. Also loaded up the Plasma Cutter so I can deliver it to it's new home on Tuesday. What a process to deliver a donation...how do they get anything done in the public schools? I suspect had I donated a petting zoo for a Pet Away Worry and Stress (PAWS) program it would have taken 10 minutes...LOL...

Tomorrow I am vacuuming the yard. I have more leafs in my yard than there are dollars in the Powerball deal...been really windy the last couple of days.

The Plasma loaded and a rearranged Garage:

View media item 87609
My helpers taking a break in the Sunshine...they brought Beer so who am I not to have 1 after all the work is done...1 happened to be a 24 ouncer. Glad these guys helped or it would have been a longer day.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Is it bad that I look at your pics and I'm most envious of the Hamms? That brings back memories of my youth in my grandfather's shop. We don't get it here in AZ anymore.

 

[4 FN 27]

Is it bad that I look at your pics and I'm most envious of the Hamms? That brings back memories of my youth in my grandfather's shop. We don't get it here in AZ anymore.

No it is not bad!!!! Hamm's is pretty much the only Beer I drink...my neighbor, when I was a kid worked at the Hamm's Brewery in St Paul. He use to get the whole neighborhood beer at $0.05 a can. My Dad had stacks of Cases in the Garage. I think every night in the summer the neighbors drank a dollars worth...do the math...LOL...I still remember touring the Brewery. Seeing these guy on the Floor walking in Beer.

If I ever get down that way I'll drag a couple of cases with me...


Today I dropped off the Plasma Cutter at it's new home. The Teacher was very happy with the Machine. Only 1 problem. It does not fit through the door. He said this is not the first time this has happened. He said he will take it a part, get it in and then rebuild it. So they moved it into the Automotive Bay.

I stayed for 2 class sessions. Pretty cool Lab he has built. They have 3 CNC Mills, at least 8 Haas Training Stations, 2 bigger 3D Printers, 2 small 3d Printers, 3 Lathes, a Bridgeport, a Laser for doing Wood and Plastic, TIG and MIG welders and 15 Seats of Solidworks, MasterCam and Creo. This man is a 1 man army. I saw our company name up on the wall along with many others as contributors to their program of getting Industrial Arts back in the school.

The kids were really into their projects. A few of them introduced themselves to me and asked what we make. I told them and helped with a few of the projects they had going on. I think I may have found a new venture when I retire... I got my start in Metal in that Lab 40 years ago. Brought back a lot of memories. Nice to see things coming back.

Today while I was playing hooky from the day job I managed to get the rest of the Hydraulic Lines and Fittings for the Plow assembly. Finished up this evening Water jetting a Clamp to hold the lines in place. Tomorrow on my way to work I'll have them crimp the final ends. I hope to have it assembled...if I have time.

I am invited to see a friend get his 1 year Sobriety Medallion. He has put in the effort to help himself and I have watched his highs and lows over the last 3-4 years. Never been to an AA meeting. Should be interesting...but I do know the program. Every week I help guys rebuild their lives once they get sober. One of the most rewarding things I have done.

The Clamp

 

[jjeffries]

Good for you and thanks. We all benefit when we support vo-tech schools. John in CT.

 

[4 FN 27]

Good for you and thanks. We all benefit when we support vo-tech schools. John in CT.

Thank you John. I know when I was a student there I appreciated everything they had to offer. It shaped my future...that I do know!!!


Yesterday I wrapped up the Plow Assembly adding the Hydraulic Lines...and it works awesome...might need to put some restrictor Plugs in the fittings to slow the flow down...just a little touchy. Or I need to read the manual there might be a possibility I can change the responsiveness on the Thumb Button...

Now bring on the snow!!!

View media item 87696
Next project: Getting the 69 Chevelle 300 Deluxe ("Project Parts Runner") off the hoist and running. Lots to do on this one...

View media item 87697
This car sat from 1986 until 2013. Body is rough, has a fresh 396 in it as well as a rebuilt M-21 Muncie. the 12 Bolt that was added was narrowed 1 1/2 inches on each end. Who ever did the job hacked it together. The welds look fine but the ends are misaligned and I had to beat the Axels out with a Deadblow Hammer.

I am looking to make a driver out of this thing. Not a restoration. Something I can park anywhere and not worry about it...

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice job on the plow Pat, it turned out freaking awesme. Parker makes a manually adjustable flow control valve that I've used in the past that works well to control speed, just a thought.

As for the Hamm's, that is what I usually shared with my Dad as well on the farm. I remember the Hamm's beer in the keg like cans. He sometimes purchased Miller in the cans as well but those are the only two that I remember, Hamm's in particular.

 

[XJSuperman]

Don't know what your plans are for the rear end, but if you aren't going to do the work yourself, Quick Performance Inc is in Ames, IA and they are a one-stop-shop for all rear end work. Their specialty is Ford 9" axles (for every application), but they also do a lot of GM builds. They stock parts for all of it as well. Call in and tell them Donovan sent you.

 

[4 FN 27]

Nice job on the plow Pat, it turned out freaking awesme. Parker makes a manually adjustable flow control valve that I've used in the past that works well to control speed, just a thought.

As for the Hamm's, that is what I usually shared with my Dad as well on the farm. I remember the Hamm's beer in the keg like cans. He sometimes purchased Miller in the cans as well but those are the only two that I remember, Hamm's in particular.

Thank you Mike.

I am leaning towards machining a couple of restrictors only because I have the Flow Control Valves on my Snowblower on the John Deere for the drop speed. It is really hard to find the sweet spot depending on the temperature. The Viscosity of the Hydraulic Fluid becomes a real issue. You can set it to drop the way you want when it is sitting in the shop at 60° but then when you get outside and the Hose Temp drops to 10° it takes forever to drop. And there is not enough fluid moving to keep it warm enough. Set for the 10° temp and it drops like a lead balloon at 60°. But that is also when it is in "Float" mode. So I need to do some thinking on this one...maybe a Flow Control Valve on both Cylinders limiting the inbound fluid and it can bypass on the out-bound...

If you have any insight I am all ears...

Don't know what your plans are for the rear end, but if you aren't going to do the work yourself, Quick Performance Inc is in Ames, IA and they are a one-stop-shop for all rear end work. Their specialty is Ford 9" axles (for every application), but they also do a lot of GM builds. They stock parts for all of it as well. Call in and tell them Donovan sent you.

XJ I appreciate the shout out for the boys and girls at Quick...but I have designed and built about 25 rear end assemblies over the years. I just need to figure out who barrowed my Alignment Jig????

This is the last one I worked on. Ford Nine Inch Drop-in for Ness Pro-Stock Cobalt. Once assemble and in the car without the driveshaft hooked up you could grab a tire and spin it and it would continue top spin for 2-3 more revolutions...zero drag...

 

[zmotorsports]

Bad *** center section Pat. Love the workmanship and welds on it.

As for your flow control, I didn't think about the viscosity being an issue because once you got outside the temps would be relatively flat. We did have some issues on some applications where we used them but it was a quick and simple minor adjustment between summer months and winter months. You're right, shop temps then single digits to teens outside would net a bigger gap in performance.

 

[XJSuperman]

That certainly is a badass housing, Pat. Top and bottom braces too. I assume you used Strange parts for the center chunk? I worked for QP through college so you can't fault me for a quick shout-out. They build axles for some of the top guys in that Oklahoma based TV show. Even FarmTruck has a 9" in it. I had my hands on most of those housings, parts, and shipped one at one point in time.

 

[4 FN 27]

Bad *** center section Pat. Love the workmanship and welds on it.

Mike I cannot take credit for the welding. I did the design and the Fabrication but the master himself Don Ness did the Welding and final machining.

That certainly is a badass housing, Pat. Top and bottom braces too. I assume you used Strange parts for the center chunk? I worked for QP through college so you can't fault me for a quick shout-out. They build axles for some of the top guys in that Oklahoma based TV show. Even FarmTruck has a 9" in it. I had my hands on most of those housings, parts, and shipped one at one point in time.

We used all Mark Williams stuff. We were on their exchange program. Every so often we would hand them the old Center Section and they would hand us a brand new one...oh and plus $1000.00. The initial investment was what hurt when we had 6-9 of these in rotation in the trailer.





With the weather changing and rain in the forecast for the next few days I decided last night to wash up the summer cars and put them into hibernation for the winter in the lower garage. Arranged them so I can still pull my Plow Truck in and give it a rinse once and a while over the winter.

Tonight they will get covered and the Battery Maintainers hooked up.

View media item 87729
Then I headed down to the shop and did a little pondering on the best method to fix the Rearend of the Chevelle. Think I am going to pull the housing, cut it and add C'Clip Eliminator Ends and order new Axels. After closer inspection I can see whoever put this thing together had to pound the Axel in. You can see where the Needles in the Bearing gouged the Axel on the way in and then again on the way out.

Based on this forensic evidence I'll be rebuilding the Ring and Pinion too...

Goals for the weekend:

Order the parts for the rearend.

Pull the Transmission (can't use the word "******" anymore...LOL...) and set up my old Shifter from my first Chevelle I bought in 1980. Mr Gasket Vertigate...going to redo all the linkage just like we had on our Jericos when I was rowing one of those.

 

[zmotorsports]

Damn Pat. I am just in awe of your place, vehicles, tools and talent every time I open this thread.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Pat, how many passes did you typically get on a 3rd member before it needed serviced?

 

[4 FN 27]

Damn Pat. I am just in awe of your place, vehicles, tools and talent every time I open this thread.

Mutual respect Mike!!! Thank you...you are a role model and inspiration to continue the quest for the never ending pursuit of tinkering in the Garage!!!

Pat, how many passes did you typically get on a 3rd member before it needed serviced?

It depended on the Ratio typically but there was no defined "gotta change it now parameter". We kept an eye on the Gears for cracking or buckling of the Teeth and outer edge wear on the Ring. Since the Gears were made from The 9310 alloy and heat treated to absorb high impact shock loads they would wear faster than a "Street" or "Oval Track" gear. The outer edge of the Ring would develop a ever so slight ridge pushing tooth face material to the edge like a burr. Then it was time to change.

The exchange 3rd Members were about $4K a piece. We would add a few options to experiment like REM Finishing the Gears and using Oil retention or Oil sheading coatings. My Engine builder dabbled in all this. He used a lot of these "finds" in his Transmissions he build for NASCAR and NHRA.

Typical ratios for us were 5.14, 5.17, 5.20, 5.25 and 5.29 keeping the Motor at about 10,400 RPM at the finish line. We would "stack" the gears in the Transmission so we would be in 5th about mid track maximizing the acceleration rate of the motor. Typically I was in 1st Gear for about .7 seconds if I remember right. I would have to fire up the old Laptop to look at the Racepack numbers to be sure.

3rd members and Transmissions...writing about this gives me the itch to run something again. Time to call my Drag Racing Anonymous Sponsor.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Great thread Pat! You have an awesome place and rides. Well everything.. I've been in shops with those cnc punches before. One working was ridiculously noisy. Having 7 of them must be like being first row in Vietnam.
Looking forwards to seeing more!

 

[slodat]

I enjoy your thread, too, Pat!

And my friends think I’m crazy having a laser and cnc router

 

[4 FN 27]

Great thread Pat! You have an awesome place and rides. Well everything.. I've been in shops with those cnc punches before. One working was ridiculously noisy. Having 7 of them must be like being first row in Vietnam.
Looking forwards to seeing more!

Thanks Nasty!!! The Turret room was designed with 12 inch Concrete on a 18 inch sand cushion. Added Sound absorbing material on the ceiling and is pretty much isolated from the rest of the shop. It actually is not that bad anywhere else in the plant. But when they are punch 1/4 inch HRP&O I can feel it...and I love that feel.

Put them in nibble mode and it is like I am sitting behind my M1919 Browning.

I enjoy your thread, too, Pat!

And my friends think I’m crazy having a laser and cnc router

Thank you.

Crazy is sitting around not enjoying the Garage Life!!!




Today the Nephew and I made do with what we had...McMaster did not come through with my order??? Never had that happen before. I left work early yesterday and UPS had stopped already and no parts. Shipping Manager told me sometime it comes Speedy or Priority...so at about 5 pm last night I ventured back to find nothing again. Need to track the order and see what happened.

So we lit up the burn pit and started piling it on. Had a tree go down a few weeks back and I hauled that out of the backyard behind the house...thank God for my TLB...got the job done in 2 trips. We wrapped up the bushing project around 5 pm. Just in time for me to clean up and head to dinner with my Wife and my roommate from College and his Wife. Had an awesome night out.

Just got back down here to the shop and put the last of the wood on the fire in the rain. Good thing the Burn Pit has Doors. I have them 75% closed right now to see if it can stay going all night so I don't have to relight it in the morning.

So the Transmission assembly will have to wait until Wednesday evening and so will the Nephews Snowmobile repair. Hard top do anything without materials to work with.

The slightly overloaded Hoe...

 

[bdbecker]

...But when they are punch 1/4 inch HRP&O I can feel it...and I love that feel...

At my last job, we could only run our big stamping press between the hours of 7am and 7pm due to complaints from our residential neighbors that were over a 1/2 mile away from our facility. Apparently they could hear/feel it running when they were in their basements. I wish I could remember the specs on it, but it was a monster.

I always liked the feeling too... kind of like the heartbeat of a factory.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mutual respect Mike!!! Thank you...you are a role model and inspiration to continue the quest for the never ending pursuit of tinkering in the Garage!!!



It depended on the Ratio typically but there was no defined "gotta change it now parameter". We kept an eye on the Gears for cracking or buckling of the Teeth and outer edge wear on the Ring. Since the Gears were made from The 9310 alloy and heat treated to absorb high impact shock loads they would wear faster than a "Street" or "Oval Track" gear. The outer edge of the Ring would develop a ever so slight ridge pushing tooth face material to the edge like a burr. Then it was time to change.

The exchange 3rd Members were about $4K a piece. We would add a few options to experiment like REM Finishing the Gears and using Oil retention or Oil sheading coatings. My Engine builder dabbled in all this. He used a lot of these "finds" in his Transmissions he build for NASCAR and NHRA.

Typical ratios for us were 5.14, 5.17, 5.20, 5.25 and 5.29 keeping the Motor at about 10,400 RPM at the finish line. We would "stack" the gears in the Transmission so we would be in 5th about mid track maximizing the acceleration rate of the motor. Typically I was in 1st Gear for about .7 seconds if I remember right. I would have to fire up the old Laptop to look at the Racepack numbers to be sure.

3rd members and Transmissions...writing about this gives me the itch to run something again. Time to call my Drag Racing Anonymous Sponsor.

Awesome explanation and information Pat. That is much higher up the racing classes than I was in so very interesting.

I was still in the lower sportsman brackets that were more street/strip cars. We were running gearing in the 4.56 to maybe 5.13 range and normally exasperated engines. Sometimes in the 3.90 to 4.10 range. Occasionally with a shot of NOS or 2 -3 BAR boost but that's about it. I did a lot of gearing swaps and setups for friends and competitors but never got into the higher stress or RPM applications like you mentioned with getting burrs on the teeth. On rare occasions I would have someone need two different gear sets on the ready but most were setup in their cars and they would stay that way until a major modification was done to their car dictating a gear change.

I always aspired to be at the level you are at and to be able to have several gear sets in the trailer ready for whatever track or altitude we were running but gave up before ever getting to that level. Too much $$$ for this guy but I would have loved to have been at that level.

Now I just play with the Jeeps and playing off-road which is a whole different set of stresses in play.

 

[Mario428]

Thank you Mike.

XJ I appreciate the shout out for the boys and girls at Quick...but I have designed and built about 25 rear end assemblies over the years. I just need to figure out who barrowed my Alignment Jig????

This is the last one I worked on. Ford Nine Inch Drop-in for Ness Pro-Stock Cobalt. Once assemble and in the car without the driveshaft hooked up you could grab a tire and spin it and it would continue top spin for 2-3 more revolutions...zero drag...

Very nice work and great design.
Have 3 housings out there that i designed and built. One is under my T-Bird.
Yours are a couple generations up as far as design goes.

 

[Muttly]

Thank you John. I know when I was a student there I appreciated everything they had to offer. It shaped my future...that I do know!!!


Yesterday I wrapped up the Plow Assembly adding the Hydraulic Lines...and it works awesome...might need to put some restrictor Plugs in the fittings to slow the flow down...just a little touchy. Or I need to read the manual there might be a possibility I can change the responsiveness on the Thumb Button...

Now bring on the snow!!!

View media item 87696
Next project: Getting the 69 Chevelle 300 Deluxe ("Project Parts Runner") off the hoist and running. Lots to do on this one...

View media item 87697
This car sat from 1986 until 2013. Body is rough, has a fresh 396 in it as well as a rebuilt M-21 Muncie. the 12 Bolt that was added was narrowed 1 1/2 inches on each end. Who ever did the job hacked it together. The welds look fine but the ends are misaligned and I had to beat the Axels out with a Deadblow Hammer.

I am looking to make a driver out of this thing. Not a restoration. Something I can park anywhere and not worry about it...

Nice plow, looks a lot better than the one I fabbed on my bobcat. I ended up adding a crossover relief valve because when you catch a curb and the blade swings the hoses are the weak link. This is similar to the one I used:

https://www.surpluscenter.com/Hydraulics/Hydraulic-Valves/Relief-Cushion-Valves/1-2-NPT-30-GPM-1500-3000-PSI-Hydraulic-Cushion-Valve-9-4019-50-H.axd

 

[4 FN 27]

At my last job, we could only run our big stamping press between the hours of 7am and 7pm due to complaints from our residential neighbors that were over a 1/2 mile away from our facility. Apparently they could hear/feel it running when they were in their basements. I wish I could remember the specs on it, but it was a monster.

I always liked the feeling too... kind of like the heartbeat of a factory.

Back in the day at my Dad's shop they has a 600 Ton Bliss Press blanking .120 Stainless about a 36 x 4 wide strip with a bunch of cutouts. It was a full 600 ton hit. I had my Car shop about 600 feet away. In that build was a basement. You could hear and feel the press live and loud right there. Any pics on the walls of that building would move. You could see the ripples in every Toilet. Until one day the court order appeared. The ol'Man had done battle with the Township for about 10 years. People would stand in line to watch the ol'man go nuts on the Town Board...eventually they won out.

He moved the Stamping Presses about 30 miles away into Wisconsin. End of the problems with the neighbors.

Here out neighbors have never said a word. We invite them all to every open house we have and I ask how we are doing as neighbors. Feedback is always positive.

Awesome explanation and information Pat. That is much higher up the racing classes than I was in so very interesting.

I was still in the lower sportsman brackets that were more street/strip cars. We were running gearing in the 4.56 to maybe 5.13 range and normally exasperated engines. Sometimes in the 3.90 to 4.10 range. Occasionally with a shot of NOS or 2 -3 BAR boost but that's about it. I did a lot of gearing swaps and setups for friends and competitors but never got into the higher stress or RPM applications like you mentioned with getting burrs on the teeth. On rare occasions I would have someone need two different gear sets on the ready but most were setup in their cars and they would stay that way until a major modification was done to their car dictating a gear change.

I always aspired to be at the level you are at and to be able to have several gear sets in the trailer ready for whatever track or altitude we were running but gave up before ever getting to that level. Too much $$$ for this guy but I would have loved to have been at that level.

Now I just play with the Jeeps and playing off-road which is a whole different set of stresses in play.

Thank you Mike. Stay away from Pro Classes...when it says Pro on the window you don't go back to work on Monday, you go back to work on the Car.

Fortunately for me the spares in the trailer were from all my dedicated sponsors. for which I am grateful and would have never been able to do what I did with out them.

Continue to play Mike...After I wrap up my Chevelle project the next one on the block is a 1967 Jeep M715 Cummins Conversion...I will be needing a lot of help on this front. Never played in the 4 Wheel'in world...

So my question to you will be: Money no object what would Mike do???

Based on the premise: I want this thing road worthy, Diesel Powered all around 4 x 4 mostly for use on the Prairies of the Dakota P-Dog hunting and maybe some very easy going trails.

Very nice work and great design.
Have 3 housings out there that i designed and built. One is under my T-Bird.
Yours are a couple generations up as far as design goes.

Thank you!!! Nothing can be more rewarding than practicing your craft and seeing it in action.

Need a full pic of the T-Bird!!!

Nice plow, looks a lot better than the one I fabbed on my bobcat. I ended up adding a crossover relief valve because when you catch a curb and the blade swings the hoses are the weak link. This is similar to the one I used:

https://www.surpluscenter.com/Hydraulics/Hydraulic-Valves/Relief-Cushion-Valves/1-2-NPT-30-GPM-1500-3000-PSI-Hydraulic-Cushion-Valve-9-4019-50-H.axd

Thanks Muttly...I'll have to dig into that...





Figured out what happened on my McMaster order. Went Speedy delivery and they did not deliver next day. They are about 50/50 on next day orders from McMaster...thus from now on I will check the UPS box. I lost some good time due to this.

Sunday I used the down time due to the lack of parts to shape up the yard for winter. Probably have 1 more weekend of vacuuming leafs left.

Last night I did a little Volunteer work and tonight my buddy/best friend other than my BIL is dropping off his 1961 Corvette for the winter at the old shop. Then he is taking me out for a Steak dinner...kind of an annual deal we have done for the past 10 or so years.

When I get home I may fire up the Jet. Have a little project for one of my Press Brake Operators. he needs new shoes for his Snowblower.

Tomorrow night the Nephew and I will pull the Transmission form the Chevelle and make the suspension repair to his Snowmobile. Then I can get on with the linkage project.

 

[Mario428]

Thank you!!! Nothing can be more rewarding than practicing your craft and seeing it in action.

Need a full pic of the T-Bird!!!

See attached pic of housing almost done and the car it gets bolted to
Built the whole deal in my home shop, had a small laser, machining center and press brake available to me at the time, unfortunately my business went bust. I miss that machining center

 

[4 FN 27]

See attached pic of housing almost done and the car it gets bolted to
Built the whole deal in my home shop, had a small laser, machining center and press brake available to me at the time, unfortunately my business went bust. I miss that machining center

Nice work Mario!!! Always nice building your own stuff...I ran a T-Bird like that down in Houston back in -05. Car was owned by Roy Hill. Pounded the snot of that car at his Racing School.




We here we are tonight. The Nephew had something come up so we are on for tomorrow night to do the Trans deal and Rearend. My Wife is a little off kilter since she made dinner for us...oh well leftovers for me...and dinner again tomorrow night.

My buddy made it in with his Vette. Survived another summer of daily driving.

Made the parts for one of my guys tonight. His snowblower should be happy.

Need to allocate a few hours to finding the parts solution for the Rearend. Today was a bust...6 hours in a Strategic Planning Meeting. Only 2 more to go until we lock down 2019 expectations.

I am off to the house...dentist apt at 6:00 am...I like a dentist who is up as early as I am...and like Cars and Guns too...

Oh almost forgot. Had a yearly visitor stop by...must be getting ready to hibernate.

 

[4 FN 27]

Pulled the Transmission out after we finished up the Nephews new part. His bushing came in today but he wasn't home to get it. Should have that project wrapped up this weekend if he doesn't go up north with his buddies.

The Trans came right out. Ran threw the gears...tell you the truth I am not going to pull the cover. Every time I pull something apart on this thing I find something else...LOL...as I always say God had them bolted together so we can fix them otherwise they would be welded.

The Shifter is from my old Chevelle I had in High School. Bought the Shifter in 1980. I am replacing the Linkage with a more up to date version and moving the Shifter up 1 inch and towards me 1/2 an inch. So I need to design the offset plate and cut it on the Water Jet.

Need to make the Shifter Fingers too. They'll have to have offsets in them. Waiting for the Geometry to come from my Engine Builder who use to own Jerico Performance. He has all the Models of this stuff. Just have to get him to email me the files.

The Transmission and my old Shifter which is warn to the shape of my hand.

View media item 87898
Old Linkage vs the new.

View media item 87899
This thing is not going to be a show car. 2 reasons. I want something I can drive and not worry about where I park it and I am going to see if I can actually put something together without going over the top.

 

[nutjob]

You will not have to worry about where you park it, no one could steal it because they would never figure out that shifter! My brother had the Hurst model in one of his cars in the early/mid 80's or so. Takes getting used to when downshifting but a blast rowing up thought the gears!

Also I remember that you had to cut a bit hole in the tunnel since the shifter is inline with the tabs, uses the straight linage like what you show. Was the reverse lever on the left?

Kevin

 

[4 FN 27]

You will not have to worry about where you park it, no one could steal it because they would never figure out that shifter! My brother had the Hurst model in one of his cars in the early/mid 80's or so. Takes getting used to when downshifting but a blast rowing up thought the gears!

Also I remember that you had to cut a bit hole in the tunnel since the shifter is inline with the tabs, uses the straight linage like what you show. Was the reverse lever on the left?

Kevin

I can run this shifter in my sleep up or down, clutched or clutchless. But others...yes they struggle a bit on the downshifting.

Reverse is a separate lever slightly behind the Main Lever and to the right. You can only engage reverse if the other "Gates" are in the neutral position.

There were a number of different configurations for the Linkage depending on which Trans/Car combo you had. The generic version had the straight rods and most had to modify the Shifter position by adding holes to the mount plate or making a new mount plate. On all my Jerico 5 speeds we custom fit the location of the shifter just like the pedal positions and steering wheel position. If you are the original buyer of a Pro Stock car it is typically built around you. The next guy buying it used not so much.

Yes there will be a big hole. I know a guy in sheet metal that can fix it.

Here is a video of one of the last pass we recorded in my 07 Ness Cobalt. Turn up the volume...500 inch Olds DRCEII at 10000 rpm shifts and 10400 trap rpms. Jerico Clutchless 5 speed. Watch as my right hand move from the shifter to the steering wheel I push the Parachute Button and you can see my head move forward as the Chutes open. About 3.5-3.75 G's. Miss the pop of the motor shutting down when I get off the throttle. Most people think that is the sound of the Chute opening. It is the motor going from wide open to zero in a split second.

Dang I miss that!!!

 

[vwracer]

Do you have any pictures of your pro stock car?

 

[4 FN 27]

Do you have any pictures of your pro stock car?

Here is the first time it hit the track...brand spank'in new...ran a 6 right out of the box.

Getting a few pointers from the Professor himself, WJ.

Launching at Indy.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

"She's a beaut Clark!"

 

[vwracer]

Awesome!! Thank You

 

[LXCam]

Damn Pat, you have got to miss the big show. I've had my fun with some sick street car stuff but that's the whole next level. It's probably a good thing I never had that kind of coin. I'd have never been home.

 

[4 FN 27]

"She's a beaut Clark!"

Thank you...some days I wish I still had it!!!

Damn Pat, you have got to miss the big show. I've had my fun with some sick street car stuff but that's the whole next level. It's probably a good thing I never had that kind of coin. I'd have never been home.

At time Cam I do miss it...mostly the time on the road and the pressure of the challenge. I miss my Crew the most.

I wasn't home for about 20 years. If I was I was sleeping...




Wow what a weekend...Friday I skipped out of work until about 1:30 pm. Had a meeting of the minds in the morning and caught up on some GDS Paperwork. The I got an email from a customer needed a design and prototype by Tuesday...really on the Minnesota Deere Opener weekend??? Aint no way that is going to happen but I figured if I went in I could have it knocked out before Monday am for the Production Scheduler to tell me when. So I drive into the office and about 10 minutes into it I get an email say hold...changes coming...oh well...back home.

Saturday I has about 10 guys over for Coffee...we talk smart and solve the worlds problems and create some more. One of the guys bought a car from Florida without a fornt plate so he asked me to install the Plate Holder after he butchered it...LOL...he was trying to install it up side down.

After that I thought well I'll knock this Transmission deal out. Just as I get rolling my BIL and friend show up so I can teach them how to clean their Rifles. I almost said no but I figure the BIL helps me anytime I need help and my buddy has access to some of the best Prairie Dog hunting property in SD...so I returned the favor.

They received Gun Cleaning 101. A Ruger Precision 308,Savage something 308 and couple of AR-15s.

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This morning I started back in on the Transmission. This was a head scratcher. I didn't have the Shifter Arms that go on the transmission...not sure where they went...I I pulled this Shifter from my old Chevelle back in 1984.

So I measured up the old Mounting Plate and cut a sample on the Jet. The Bolt Hole Pattern was correct so I went back to the CAD and moved the Shifter up 1 inch and to the left a 1/2 an inch. Wrote the files and took them out to the Jet and started cutting. Using all old saved drops from over the years.

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Next I had to sort out the Arm lengths and clearances. So I took a WAG (Wild *** Guess) at it and surprisingly was only off by .114 to long. Once I had an arm on there I was able to measure the angles and length of travel of the V-Gate Shifter and adjust.

Sat down at the computer and made revisions to the models and spit out the files and back to the Jet.

Loaded up a blank of 4130 1/4 inch and started cutting. The 3-4 arm needed a 5/8 inch offset to make things work out correctly. So I set up the press Brake and double hit it the old fashion way. Now that that is proven I'll make a set angle tool and form it so I don't create any stress risers where the punch and die hit the part. Not sure if I will heat treat the parts...once tooled I can make spares if needed.

I found some old Reverse Linkage in my "Clutch Stuff" box. Had to do a little unbending to get that to work. Back to the Press Brake and set up a Flattening Die and "squished" them to where they need to be.

The final assembly.

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Everything is a little tight.

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Had to machine a 16th off the heads of 3 out of the 4 Bolts on the Rods. Thank God for thin Nylocks!!!

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This week if the Nephew has time we'll get the Transmission back in and see how much of the floor needs to be cut out and replaced. And we will get that Rearend out.

 

[zmotorsports]

The pictures of your car are absolutely breathtaking Pat, as well as the tow rig. I would have loved to have been able to get to that level, and to be able to get pointers from Warren Johnson to boot.

 

[4 FN 27]

The pictures of your car are absolutely breathtaking Pat, as well as the tow rig. I would have loved to have been able to get to that level, and to be able to get pointers from Warren Johnson to boot.

Thanks Mike. As the ol'saying goes "Be careful of what you ask for, you might get it!!!" Was a dream of mine since I was a kid watching WJ at North Star Speedway.

Had the pleasure of working with WJ on a couple of projects over the years. He even let us dyno one of our motors at his shop back in 2005. Gave me the tour...I still keep in touch and every once and a while I build something for them like Oil Pans, Valve Covers and some Valvetrain items.




Was a bust this week for working in the shop...many meetings in the evenings and business is picking up. Gotta do what you gotta do...

Received my Norseman Drill Bit sets from the GJ Special Offer. Thanks PTDoc for putting this together!!!

The BIL and Nephew are on their way out so we will see what we get done today...snowmobile repair wrap up and fit the transmission in the Chevelle.

Tomorrow it is back to the office for the day...need to write a brief on a project. Goes against my plan but the customer comes first...have 101 guys to keep busy. All part of the game.

I did get a chance to try the plow out yesterday afternoon. Absolutely love it!!! The visibility is great and maneuvering is awesome. Takes a lot less time to get the driveway and parking area done.

Making the lower driveway push.

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Love how close I can get and see the plow.

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Can't wait to get a snowfall that will test the machines capability!!!

 

[Strouty]

I don’t like snow.

 

[larry4406]

I don’t like snow.

+1!!

 

[TimeWarpF100]

Not a fan of snow unless on a snowmobile.
Fantastic read though!


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[LXCam]

Great job on the blade pat and hats off to your finishers too. Looks like there is ver few low spots.

 

[zmotorsports]

Love how the snowplow turned out Pat. I would love to have something like that but nowhere to store it and it's one of those things I hope I wouldn't have to use very often.

Have I mentioned just how much I hate snow?