Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium

[mybigwarwagon]

Are you worried your wife will take them for her toolbox?

You laugh, but I have a wife and an 8 year old that appreciate my tools.

 

[Guster]

Thanks for the lead on the Grip-ons Bob. I do enjoy a good rabbit hole.

They sell them here and aren't too pricey. Don't have the L-shaped ones in stock. I'm sure if I ask nicely and buy some of the other useful ones they have I should be able to get one of those too.

 

[xtremek]

Looks like you're moving along at a decent clip on the Vette.

 

[cbacres]

Hi Bob, enjoying the posts as usual. I can relate to improvising to keep things going, you just seem to get them faster.

Guess I’ll be placing my Amazon order soon, thanks I think.

I don’t think my wife has made the correlation to me ordering tools to my reading on GJ. I think I have her believing it’s Shortys fault, cause she seen the stuff in the back of my truck that I picked up for shorty. What about the stuff in the box? Oh, I picked it up while I was there........

It’d be neat to see how much the sales went up On the pliers after you posted that Link.!

 

[Bob Heine]

Porting job definitely opened things up Bob.


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Stewart, I'm going to test the un-ported intake first. If there are no obvious problems, I'll swap the ported on in.

With it just sitting in a drawer hard to understand why I purchased it, she thinks it is just another screwdriver(waste). I need her around when I use it. Now I need to get a band-saw!

John, I decided in 2011 that I needed a bandsaw. I couldn't bring myself to spend $299 on a Milwaukee Portaband saw because I wasn't sure how useful it would be. Ended up buying a used one for $140 and immediately spent another $73 on a Sag tabletop. Rather than pay Swag for their legs I just mounted the table in a vise. I use the saw so often I decided to free up the vise and buy a new table with legs. First time I bought a V1.0 and this time I spent $130 for the V3.0.

The tables fit a lot of portable band saws besides the Milwaukee models. The Bauer brand bandsaw from Harbor Freight fits V3.0 Swag table as well. At $135, the Bauer its a couple of bucks cheaper than my used Milwaukee.

You laugh, but I have a wife and an 8 year old that appreciate my tools.

Uncle Willie, only tools my wife snatches are the HF dead-blow hammers. I think she likes the Dead part.

Thanks for the lead on the Grip-ons Bob. I do enjoy a good rabbit hole.

They sell them here and aren't too pricey. Don't have the L-shaped ones in stock. I'm sure if I ask nicely and buy some of the other useful ones they have I should be able to get one of those too.

Eugene, Mike is the master rabbit hole exposer. I not only didn't know those pliers existed, I didn't know I needed them. I have at least refrained from buying the complete set.

Looks like you're moving along at a decent clip on the Vette.

Kirk, I have to move fast when working on the '87 Corvette. The '72 Corvette needs a lot more work and I am reminded quite regularly that I've owned it for more than 40 years and only drove it for 8.

Hi Bob, enjoying the posts as usual. I can relate to improvising to keep things going, you just seem to get them faster.

Guess I’ll be placing my Amazon order soon, thanks I think.

I don’t think my wife has made the correlation to me ordering tools to my reading on GJ. I think I have her believing it’s Shortys fault, cause she seen the stuff in the back of my truck that I picked up for shorty. What about the stuff in the box? Oh, I picked it up while I was there........

It’d be neat to see how much the sales went up On the pliers after you posted that Link.!

Craig, I think we're all in that boat. It isn't just that the GJ makes you buy more tools, it makes you buy better tools. I thought my $2 snap ring pliers with the 18 interchangeable jaws was fine until I discovered the set of Knipex pliers that do what they were designed to do.

It's not just me. I see a cool tool and do a search and they are often "out of stock".

 

[cbacres]

Thanks Bob. You did it again!

I forgot about the Knipex snap ring pliers.

The one good thing about me slowly clearing stuff out by listing on eBay it gives me guilt free slush fund to buy the nicer ( pricey) stuff.

Might in the area, were doing a job in Boyton and I need to get out of the office.

 

[Bob Heine]

Thanks Bob. You did it again!

I forgot about the Knipex snap ring pliers.

The one good thing about me slowly clearing stuff out by listing on eBay it gives me guilt free slush fund to buy the nicer ( pricey) stuff.

Might in the area, were doing a job in Boyton and I need to get out of the office.

Craig, I'm going to be good and not re-post the whole Knipex bolt cutter thing.

 

[Bob Heine]

The posts about my most recent progress have gone to GJ Heaven so I'll try to recreate them. I used some Dremel-size carbide burrs on the second port. I found double-cut burrs first and then the single-cut burrs for aluminum and other soft materials. They worked real well hogging out the majority of the aluminum and I was able to dial in the speed of the Dremel better than my pneumatic die grinder. These are the burrs I used:

Double-Cut: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXURLTG/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Single-Cut: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073CHWZX8/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The double-cut burrs did a little better job of smoothing the surfaces but I plan to do a little more with some abrasive rolls. Because the Dremel did such a good job with the burrs, I ordered a couple of Dremel-size mandrels.

Dremel Mandrel: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PH23T2F/?tag=atomicindus08-20

When I got rid of the wall at the mouth of the intake ports it exposed two holes that lead to the EGR system.

I wasn't sure if the holes needed to be protected so I did a little searching. Turns out the porting gave some pretty decent gains in torque and horsepower and the article that described the results included a photo of their ported manifold. Looks a lot like mine.

Old TPI Performance Article: http://xtremecarzone.com.au/STORAGE/ARTICLES/GM/TPI/ComparisonOfTPIintakeOptions.pdf


Because I polished the manifold that's in my Corvette, I decided to polish this one as well. Started out with some real coarse grits on the belt sander and used a file to make sure the top was flat. Switched to PSA 120-grit paper on a sanding block and took out most of the deep scratches. There are a couple of low spots so I'll keep working the surfaces down until they are gone. I wanted to try out the Benchmark Adhesives Felt Flap Wheel. It really works well.

I used my Chicago Electric (Harbor Freight) angle grinder and realized I need to grease the gearbox -- it heated up real fast. I don't know if anyone else sells these buffing wheels for angle grinders but I found these on the Benchmark Abrasives site and they work great. A little Mothers Aluminum compound and you are good to go. I'll use some white compound next, after I go through a few steps with wet/dry paper on a random orbit sander.

Felt Flap Disk: https://benchmarkabrasives.com/coll...products/4-1-2-x-7-8-felt-polishing-flap-disc

 

[Bob Heine]

I remember Stewart (shortykorte) and Philip (drifpin) posted but I have no way to recover those posts. From my failing memory, I believe the essence of their posts was:

Stewart asked about the burrs so I think I answered that one in the last post.

Philip commented about porting and polishing. My porting and polishing is limited to port matching using gaskets as a guide. I don't try for a mirror finish and I don't polish the entire runner because as Philip pointed out, the cast surface helps to mix the incoming fuel and air. Because this is a port injection setup, the only place that would matter is right at the valve port, where the injector adds the fuel. I am somewhat interested in the extrude honing process but suspect it is very expensive with limited results. Right off the bat, the runners from the upper to lower intakes are way too thin to attempt to enlarge them. It was risky enough just to polish them.

 

[Bob Heine]

On the bright side, I contacted the Cadillac dealer to find out what happened to my reimbursement check. No response Friday or the weekend but a woman called to tell me the check was ready. Asked her to mail it to me but she said I had to pick it up in person. Turns out they want their Notary to verify my signature. I was expecting a check for $321 ($300 for core charges plus 7% sales tax) but it was for $417.03. I believe that's for the items they charged me for more than retail. Service Manager didn't return my call because he apparently forgot all about the check. The stub has "GOODWILL: REIMBURSE FOR CORE CHARGES" so I guess they are looking forward to my future visits. NOT!

 

[Bob Heine]

One of the side-effects of living in South Florida is the ability to grow mold and mildew on everything at alarming rates. This is especially true for things that don't move. On a regular basis we have to pressure wash driveways, sidewalks, patios and roofs. And gutters as well (more for the trees that start growing in them rather than mildew). I normally take care of the stuff on the ground but SWMBO has a silly rule that I not be on the slimy and slippery roof. For that reason, our roof has gotten darker and darker. It doesn't look as horrible when it's dry but when it rains the roof looks awful. We replaced (and repaired) the original cedar shake roof with a shake-look cement tile roof. I signed up Magic Bubbles to do an annual cleaning of the roof and twice a year cleaning of the rest of the surfaces around the house (including the stucco siding). I took a few before/after photos and pasted them together.

Having someone else do the pressure cleaning freed me up to replace the timer on the pool pump. The timer worked but would fail to shut the pump off two or three times a week. A 240v pump running 24/4 does not help the electric bill stay in the $240 range where I can live with it. Once the new timer was up and running, I changed it from an 8-hour cycle to a 6-hour cycle. I'll change it back if I see signs of a Creature from the Black Lagoon.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Gee, she won't let you on the roof? Imagine that. I mean, what is the worst that could happen????

 

[shortykorte]

Bob’s got money, drinks on him!!!! Nothing better than a car dealership with integrity.


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[cbacres]

Bob, the damage is done, I seen the Knipex posts before they disappeared.

I have the bolt cutters.


I used to cut over 600’ of field fence out of Brazilian pepper trees along the property-line. The engineering on those is super. The field fence has a hardened top and bottom wire and it cuts right through. Really saves on the hands.

I’m still trying not to think too much on the snap ring set.




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[mybigwarwagon]

On the bright side, I contacted the Cadillac dealer to find out what happened to my reimbursement check. No response Friday or the weekend but a woman called to tell me the check was ready. Asked her to mail it to me but she said I had to pick it up in person. Turns out they want their Notary to verify my signature. I was expecting a check for $321 ($300 for core charges plus 7% sales tax) but it was for $417.03. I believe that's for the items they charged me for more than retail. Service Manager didn't return my call because he apparently forgot all about the check. The stub has "GOODWILL: REIMBURSE FOR CORE CHARGES" so I guess they are looking forward to my future visits. NOT!

I missed this on my first hasty pass through the emporium. Awesome news. Although you next visit may have poor results

 

[rixtrix1]

With it just sitting in a drawer hard to understand why I purchased it, she thinks it is just another screwdriver(waste). I need her around when I use it. Now I need to get a band-saw!

Don't get the HF Bauer bandsaw! Very noisy (extremely loud) and run very hot. SWAG has a video with an older(6 amp) Milwaukee, Grizzly(?) and the Bauer. Watched it the day after I bought the Bauer, which I only turned on once. Took that 12 amp noise maker back and got a used 6 amp MW that only needed blade guide bearings-total $145. A little cleanup and paint and it works great. I did get the SWAG 3.0 last year to replace the garage made wood one I made a couple years earlier. I use the saw virtually every weekend with no problems!

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

 

[Bob Heine]

Gee, she won't let you on the roof? Imagine that. I mean, what is the worst that could happen????

Uncle Willie, it really hurts that she doesn't trust me. Probably hurt more to fall off the roof. The real hurt is the never-ending "I told you so's," which would continue long after the casts come off.

Bob’s got money, drinks on him!!!! Nothing better than a car dealership with integrity.


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Stewart, Bob no longer has money. He has a clean roof. Do you know of a dealership with integrity? I think, based on the need to notarize my signature, my dealership was worried about a class action suit because I'm certain they do the same number on every old person whose car they service. And by service, I mean the animal husbandry kind.

Bob, the damage is done, I seen the Knipex posts before they disappeared.

I have the bolt cutters.


I used to cut over 600’ of field fence out of Brazilian pepper trees along the property-line. The engineering on those is super. The field fence has a hardened top and bottom wire and it cuts right through. Really saves on the hands.

I’m still trying not to think too much on the snap ring set.




Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

Craig, now that I see the spring return on your bolt cutter I am going to have to re-visit my decision. Have you seen those Knipex adjustable wrench pliers?

I missed this on my first hasty pass through the emporium. Awesome news. Although you next visit may have poor results

Uncle Willie, I'm thinking this is my dealership divorce settlement so I never have to see them again and I retain custody of the Cadillac.

Don't get the HF Bauer bandsaw! Very noisy (extremely loud) and run very hot. SWAG has a video with an older(6 amp) Milwaukee, Grizzly(?) and the Bauer. Watched it the day after I bought the Bauer, which I only turned on once. Took that 12 amp noise maker back and got a used 6 amp MW that only needed blade guide bearings-total $145. A little cleanup and paint and it works great. I did get the SWAG 3.0 last year to replace the garage made wood one I made a couple years earlier. I use the saw virtually every weekend with no problems!

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

Bless you Ric! I should have known the Bauer would be noisy. Pretty sure HF thinks noisy electric motors are a feature (my 4.5-inch Chicago Electric angle grinder is my second noisiest grinder - beaten only by their Drill Master model). Like you, I bought a used MW Portaband and replaced the guide bearings and tires. I zip-tied the trigger to a real low speed and use a foot switch mounted on a bench leg to turn it on and off with my knee. I figured it would be good to be able to shut the saw off with something besides my ****** hand.

 

[Toolfool]

I've been on SWAG's email list for years. I keep talking myself out of a table for my Porter Cable bandsaw. Maybe next special offer.

 

[Bob Heine]

I've been on SWAG's email list for years. I keep talking myself out of a table for my Porter Cable bandsaw. Maybe next special offer.

John, I normally have four vises in the workshop but the termite infested bench I took out had the one I used for the SWAG 1.0 table. Not having the Portaband ready to use has been frustrating enough to make me break down and buy the 3.0 table.

 

[Bob Heine]

I haven't been real productive lately but I do spend a couple of hours each day on the manifold. I haven't finished the porting because I was waiting on a couple of mandrels but I did attack the outside. The rough porting is done, with some touch-ups of the wavy areas still to go.

I forget who mentioned LA's Totally Awesome Cleaner but I found it at our local Dollar store. The inside of the manifold was covered with oily black deposits that sorta loosened up with carb/choke cleaner. It dissolved the deposits but evaporated very fast and left a thinner brown residue. Two applications of the LA's Totally Awesome Cleaner removed 90% of the deposits.

The only issue with this stuff is that it does etch the aluminum. The etching was most visible on the polished surfaces. A little Mother's Aluminum polish and elbow grease fixed the etching marks.

To get to this point with the outside I started with an 80-grit belt on the Skill belt sander. Switched to sanding blocks with 120-, 240- and 400-grit sessions. I then tried the angle grinder with the felt pads but there were still a lot of visible scratches. Remembering Don Long's method, I ordered an assortment of wet or dry 5" film disks for the electric random orbital sander. Went though 600-, 800-, 1500- and 2000-grit hook&loop disks. The key was letting the disks do the work, changing disks often.

To do the sides I had to use a wide variety of Dremel bits, including the burrs, some small stones, flap wheels and buffs. For the larger side surfaces I used the sanding blocks and Scotchbrite belts on my wimpy 6" Harbor Freight buffer. Final step was white buffing compound on the buff side of the buffer. It still needs some additional work but it's getting close.

 

[shopnut]

That's looking great Bob!

 

[casmurbax]

rixtrix1, I never even thought of considering a HF model, but thank you for reminding me not to buy one from them.

Bob, house and roof came out great.

Knipex cutters with the spring caught my eye as well.

Well at least you got your check from the dealer, that really stinks. Do you ever enjoy your pool? I enjoy making sure ours is clean, pool water is clear and chemical balance is correct. Just like my father, never in it. but always seem to be around it.

Running a filter 24/7 is not usually good on the electrical bill.

Is yours saltwater or fresh?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Bob, the plenum is coming along great, good work!

 

[JCQuick]

I'm ashamed to say i had to go back a few pages to catch up. Bob I hate dealerships I'm lucky that I have been in the auto biz for 45 years and know several good independent shops. When i can i direct people to them. Dude 5 hours to lay a pallet of sod I'm impressed I need to throw some down but the thought of doing it keeps me from ordering it lol. Very nice work on the intake manifold I've done my fair share of port work and I need 2 hands to do it

 

[Bob Heine]

That's looking great Bob!

Thank you Mark, I'm really enjoying your return and especially the manlift rejuvenation.

rixtrix1, I never even thought of considering a HF model, but thank you for reminding me not to buy one from them.

Bob, house and roof came out great.

Knipex cutters with the spring caught my eye as well.

Well at least you got your check from the dealer, that really stinks. Do you ever enjoy your pool? I enjoy making sure ours is clean, pool water is clear and chemical balance is correct. Just like my father, never in it. but always seem to be around it.

Running a filter 24/7 is not usually good on the electrical bill.

Is yours saltwater or fresh?

John, I think Ric did a great public service for us all. I forget how noisy the HF electric stuff is until I use another brand on the same project. I was cutting some steel with the angle grinder and it hurt my ears even through the ear muffs.

I've gotten over the power-assist bolt cutters but I fell for their mid-size wrench'pliers.

I am getting hints from SWMBO to sell the Cadillac. They only made 2000 that year so I'm going to hold on a while longer.

I go in the pool three or four times a year, usually after working up a good sweat doing something outside. The Great White Shark pool cleaner does most of the work but like you I make sure it's crystal clear and balanced. It's fresh water but I have considered adding one of those salt conversion chlorine generators. Throwing three tablets in the floating dispenser every two weeks is too easy for me to seriously consider the converter.

Bob, the plenum is coming along great, good work!

Marc, I really appreciate the compliment coming from you. The L98 intake system is a looker but I'd give it up for an LS like the one in your Z28 Camaro or the air cleaner on your great-grandfather's truck. When I was 10 it was my job to check the oil on our 1953 Olds 98 that had that oil bath air filter. Those filters worked OK most of the time but enough super-fine dust got though on the Alcan highway to ruin a set of high-tech hydraulic lifters on that Rocket 304. I thought that car was fast back then, especially when dad put the Hydramatic in S (Super) or floored it and forced a down-shift.

Its 0-60 in 14.3 seconds was good for back then -- Mickey Thompson's first slingshot fuel dragster didn't break 150mph in the quarter-mile until 1955.

I'm ashamed to say i had to go back a few pages to catch up. Bob I hate dealerships I'm lucky that I have been in the auto biz for 45 years and know several good independent shops. When i can i direct people to them. Dude 5 hours to lay a pallet of sod I'm impressed I need to throw some down but the thought of doing it keeps me from ordering it lol. Very nice work on the intake manifold I've done my fair share of port work and I need 2 hands to do it

JC, no shame at all. I have been slack about posting because so much of my time has been spent moving potted plants, digging holes for un-potted plants and fixing a dozen things I thought I already fixed.

A good friend of ours was a manager at a Lincoln dealership and he helped us get good deals. I knew it was a shady business when he mentioned that paying with cash was a huge help -- they could sell me a car off the books.

Every time I find a shop that treats me right they go out of business. One guy I trusted took the half0-shafts and my new U-joints with him when he took off. Dropped them off Tuesday night and went back to get them Wednesday morning and everything was gone. Even the three two-post lifts. A bouncer's bouncer was looking for him when I got there.

I managed to time the sod job before it was Africa-hot. I almost enjoy laying sod because I can think about other things while doing it. I mentally installed a hydraulic roller cam kit in the '72 Corvette's 454 at the same time.

If you look closely at my porting job, you'll see I need two hands to do it as well. Lucky no one is paying me to do this work.

 

[Bob Heine]

I'm calling the intake plenum done. The inside work to open up the holes to match the bigger throttle body is good enough. Here's a before and after. Since taking the 'after' photo I cleaned the inside a lot more. The few faint black stains aren't going to come loose so I'll leave them alone.

The exterior polish job is also good enough. It still has small pits from the original casting but it's shiny enough for me.

Now I just need to put the new-to-me plenum on the engine. I did take it out for a test drive and it feels peppier. Without port matching, the bigger throttle body has had a positive effect.

I managed to cut the drawer sides to length and rip them down to 3 inches high. I also dovetailed the four corners. Next step will be to route slots for the bottom panel. Hopefully I have a piece of scrap plywood that will work.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Glad you got that part done, Bob!

 

[scooterbum46]

Hey Bob - sometime, someplace, I think you mentioned a fantasy involving a Y-Block and a Latham blower... Got time for a story? Hint: Involves a prolific Hot Rod Mag writer from the 50's and 60's.......

 

[y'sguy]

Hey Bob - sometime, someplace, I think you mentioned a fantasy involving a Y-Block and a Latham blower... Got time for a story? Hint: Involves a prolific Hot Rod Mag writer from the 50's and 60's.......

Oh really!, I want to hear that one too.

Guess I missed it over the years. Did it have anything to do with Pat Ganal?

 

[Bob Heine]

Glad you got that part done, Bob!

Marc, thank you. I'm calling it done but I did order some new belts for the file sander.

Hey Bob - sometime, someplace, I think you mentioned a fantasy involving a Y-Block and a Latham blower... Got time for a story? Hint: Involves a prolific Hot Rod Mag writer from the 50's and 60's.......

Scooterbum46, I don't remember many of my fantasies but I do remember how cool those Latham blowers were. Some guys put 1953 Corvette side draft carburetors on them. I noticed a nice setup for sale on eBay for only $15,000. I'd love to hear the story -- I started reading Rodding and Restyling in 1956 because it was an East Coast magazine. I also read Car Craft and Rod&Custom because they were small enough (8"x5") to hide in a school book. Hot Rod was a full-size magazine back then and was harder to hide.

Oh really!, I want to hear that one too.

Guess I missed it over the years. Did it have anything to do with Pat Ganal?

Y'sguy, at least two of us would like to hear the story.

 

[bolensboneyard]

Bob nice looking dovetails. How did you cut them; by hand?

 

[drivesitfar]

Bob: you've been busy that is for certain. i to want to hear more about your dovetails and watch more of your woodworking in between your engine rebuilds and normal busy repair and rebuilds.

good to hear you are feeling better too.

 

[scooterbum46]

Bob - it was a comment you made on someone else's thread probably 4 or 5 years ago..
Once upon a time... wait, wait I'll start over

I lived in Grand Ledge Michigan, my dad was a master mechanic, worked in the Ford garage, which by the way was owned by Bob Bryant (Clara Bryant Ford's nephew). Dad was a pretty darn good mechanic, doing among other things all the front end alignments.

In the same shop there was a fairly young guy - Richard Sherman ( his nickname was "Dickie" but I don't think he liked that). **** had a '49 or '50 shoebox ford - a business coupe IIRC. The Y-Blocks were a couple of years old (this was '56 or '57) and he got to thinking this would be a great swap; my dad got involved when the tie rod interfered with the 312's pan. I can't remember the engine setup, but do remember that a customer with a hot 312 had to replace a 3 deuce setup after an engine fire and it wasn't hurt too bad (may be a clue to another little story).

Roger Huntington, a technical writer for a lot of rod magazines at the time, lived in East Lansing. He had a large following of local car guys, and due to his disability - he was confined to a wheel chair after a swimming accident when he was 15 - they were his helpers on his projects, including product testing. At some point, he acquired or was loaned a Latham blower setup - he published an article in a 1957 Sports Car Graphic on it's use on a SBC. This little Latham got around, because it appeared around the same time in the same 50's time frame on the shoebox ford with a Y-Block. My dad helped in the setup and tuning, said it was "pretty quick".

Dickie wasn't married, may not have been dating, and asked if he could take my sister to the Ionia Free Fair, which was about 40 miles away. I think my sister got a demonstration of what a "pretty quick" shoebox ford was, because she was scared poopless when they got home - and I might add - it was the car, not Richard, as he was quite the gentleman (He passed a way a couple of years ago, may he RIP).

What happened to the blower? It wasn't on ****'s car very long, but he and his family lived in the same location for many years, and the poor little coupe sat alongside his garage - I can still remember seeing it there in the '90's.

The three deuce link? A close friend built a beautiful chopped '49 Merc in the '90's - had a full house flatty with three deuces all polished on top. He had a three carb fuel block on the firewall that he'd got someplace at a parts meet. On the bottom of it was stamped "Richard Sherman".

Ran across a picture on BangShift of a very crude cast manifold for a Y-Block/Latham - one of the comments was that it might have been carved from stone . I don't know if there is a connection to the above, but I do know that Roger Huntington and his guys did get involved in castings - HRM featured a radical roadster they built that included cast wheels I can't remember if they were magnesium or aluminum, but the guys were casting stuff at the time.

 

[don long]

That is some great history Scooter.

Bob
My wife just told me she got your wife's doll and wants me to thank you for the generosity.

Don

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I looked at that picture of the intake for far too long, wondering what you had done to turn it green, before I realized it was a reflection of leaves.

 

[scooterbum46]

That is some great history Scooter.
Don

I wish I had more details, there's quite a bit of Huntington's writing on the 'net. I liked this one because it's in the same era as my tale, but with a Latham on a SBC. The picture of the 'vette engine compartment with the Latham; it looks like the top housing of the blower is clear, as you can see the vanes.

Gotta run, need to ask Thomas (BB767) if he knew a Honda dealer and Craig Vetter there in the center of the known universe..

Gerry

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob nice looking dovetails. How did you cut them; by hand?

Bobby, I tried to do dovetails by hand years ago and got so confused I gave up. I tried using a Craftsman plastic dovetail jig a few years later and after cutting into the template a couple of times gave up again. I finally broke down and bought a 4216 Deluxe Dovetail Jig Combination Kit that lets you make through dovetail, box joint, half-blind, half-blind with a lipped front, sliding dovetails, miniature through dovetails, miniature half-blind dovetails and miniature box joints.

I used the full-size template to make some half-blind dovetails for the drawers in the table saw and router table cabinets last year and used the miniature template to make the small half-blind dovetails on this drawer. The kit isn't idiot-proof but it makes dovetails possible for me.

Bob: you've been busy that is for certain. i to want to hear more about your dovetails and watch more of your woodworking in between your engine rebuilds and normal busy repair and rebuilds.

good to hear you are feeling better too.

Hi Drives, I've been following your Stairway to Heaven and Great Wall projects. I look forward to the fence and backyard projects.

My arithmetic skills mean a fair amount of guesswork doing dovetail joints. When I made drawers with pocket screws or plain old glue and nail joints the measurements were pretty straightforward. The inside length of the drawer was the length of the side boards. The inside width of the drawer was the length of the front and rear boards minus the thickness of the side boards. With dovetail joints the dimensions depend on which way the dovetails fit and whether they are to show from the front or the sides.



I build the drawers a little oversize and hope the things I want to fit inside actually fit. It has worked so far but this time it may be a re-purposed drawer. If it comes out right it will be the template for more drawers.

Bob - it was a comment you made on someone else's thread probably 4 or 5 years ago..
Once upon a time... wait, wait I'll start over

I lived in Grand Ledge Michigan, my dad was a master mechanic, worked in the Ford garage, which by the way was owned by Bob Bryant (Clara Bryant Ford's nephew). Dad was a pretty darn good mechanic, doing among other things all the front end alignments.

In the same shop there was a fairly young guy - Richard Sherman ( his nickname was "Dickie" but I don't think he liked that). **** had a '49 or '50 shoebox ford - a business coupe IIRC. The Y-Blocks were a couple of years old (this was '56 or '57) and he got to thinking this would be a great swap; my dad got involved when the tie rod interfered with the 312's pan. I can't remember the engine setup, but do remember that a customer with a hot 312 had to replace a 3 deuce setup after an engine fire and it wasn't hurt too bad (may be a clue to another little story).

Roger Huntington, a technical writer for a lot of rod magazines at the time, lived in East Lansing. He had a large following of local car guys, and due to his disability - he was confined to a wheel chair after a swimming accident when he was 15 - they were his helpers on his projects, including product testing. At some point, he acquired or was loaned a Latham blower setup - he published an article in a 1957 Sports Car Graphic on it's use on a SBC. This little Latham got around, because it appeared around the same time in the same 50's time frame on the shoebox ford with a Y-Block. My dad helped in the setup and tuning, said it was "pretty quick".

Dickie wasn't married, may not have been dating, and asked if he could take my sister to the Ionia Free Fair, which was about 40 miles away. I think my sister got a demonstration of what a "pretty quick" shoebox ford was, because she was scared poopless when they got home - and I might add - it was the car, not Richard, as he was quite the gentleman (He passed a way a couple of years ago, may he RIP).

What happened to the blower? It wasn't on ****'s car very long, but he and his family lived in the same location for many years, and the poor little coupe sat alongside his garage - I can still remember seeing it there in the '90's.

The three deuce link? A close friend built a beautiful chopped '49 Merc in the '90's - had a full house flatty with three deuces all polished on top. He had a three carb fuel block on the firewall that he'd got someplace at a parts meet. On the bottom of it was stamped "Richard Sherman".

Ran across a picture on BangShift of a very crude cast manifold for a Y-Block/Latham - one of the comments was that it might have been carved from stone . I don't know if there is a connection to the above, but I do know that Roger Huntington and his guys did get involved in castings - HRM featured a radical roadster they built that included cast wheels I can't remember if they were magnesium or aluminum, but the guys were casting stuff at the time.

Scooterbum46, thanks so much for that. Those really were the days. Friends of mine a year out of high school bought brand new 1963 Chevy Super Sports with 409 4-speeds with no co-signing by their parents. They were making $2.50 an hour (double the minimum wage) To put that money in perspective, that hourly rate in 1963 is equivalent to $21.06 today.

I recently bought a copy of the first car magazine I ever bought (October 1956) and the cover stories indicate how hot rodding was not the megabuck business it is today. I was interested in the $4 bull-nose job but wasn't into Continental spare tires -- even at $15.

That is some great history Scooter.

Bob
My wife just told me she got your wife's doll and wants me to thank you for the generosity.

Don

Don, you live in the birthplace of the whole rod and custom culture so I bet you have a story or two to tell.

Glad to hear the doll arrived. I tried to pack it so the Post Office wouldn't destroy it but the tracking information indicated it was lost in LA for more than a week. I expected to hear that a box of dust arrived at your place.

I looked at that picture of the intake for far too long, wondering what you had done to turn it green, before I realized it was a reflection of leaves.

Uncle Willie, I am unable to take a decent photo with a camera. It isn't the camera because I take terrible pictures with a phone, a compact camera or a DSLR. Every time I am tempted to buy a more expensive camera I look at the collection on here.

 

[Craptain]

Gotta run, need to ask Thomas (BB767) if he knew a Honda dealer and Craig Vetter there in the center of the known universe..



Gerry

Give Tom my regards.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Uncle Willie, I am unable to take a decent photo with a camera. It isn't the camera because I take terrible pictures with a phone, a compact camera or a DSLR. Every time I am tempted to buy a more expensive camera I look at the collection on here.

Less your photography skills than my bad eyes.

 

[y'sguy]

Bob - it was a comment you made on someone else's thread probably 4 or 5 years ago..
Once upon a time... wait, wait I'll start over

I lived in Grand Ledge Michigan, my dad was a master mechanic, worked in the Ford garage, which by the way was owned by Bob Bryant (Clara Bryant Ford's nephew). Dad was a pretty darn good mechanic, doing among other things all the front end alignments.

In the same shop there was a fairly young guy - Richard Sherman ( his nickname was "Dickie" but I don't think he liked that). **** had a '49 or '50 shoebox ford - a business coupe IIRC. The Y-Blocks were a couple of years old (this was '56 or '57) and he got to thinking this would be a great swap; my dad got involved when the tie rod interfered with the 312's pan. I can't remember the engine setup, but do remember that a customer with a hot 312 had to replace a 3 deuce setup after an engine fire and it wasn't hurt too bad (may be a clue to another little story).

Roger Huntington, a technical writer for a lot of rod magazines at the time, lived in East Lansing. He had a large following of local car guys, and due to his disability - he was confined to a wheel chair after a swimming accident when he was 15 - they were his helpers on his projects, including product testing. At some point, he acquired or was loaned a Latham blower setup - he published an article in a 1957 Sports Car Graphic on it's use on a SBC. This little Latham got around, because it appeared around the same time in the same 50's time frame on the shoebox ford with a Y-Block. My dad helped in the setup and tuning, said it was "pretty quick".

Dickie wasn't married, may not have been dating, and asked if he could take my sister to the Ionia Free Fair, which was about 40 miles away. I think my sister got a demonstration of what a "pretty quick" shoebox ford was, because she was scared poopless when they got home - and I might add - it was the car, not Richard, as he was quite the gentleman (He passed a way a couple of years ago, may he RIP).

What happened to the blower? It wasn't on ****'s car very long, but he and his family lived in the same location for many years, and the poor little coupe sat alongside his garage - I can still remember seeing it there in the '90's.

The three deuce link? A close friend built a beautiful chopped '49 Merc in the '90's - had a full house flatty with three deuces all polished on top. He had a three carb fuel block on the firewall that he'd got someplace at a parts meet. On the bottom of it was stamped "Richard Sherman".

Ran across a picture on BangShift of a very crude cast manifold for a Y-Block/Latham - one of the comments was that it might have been carved from stone . I don't know if there is a connection to the above, but I do know that Roger Huntington and his guys did get involved in castings - HRM featured a radical roadster they built that included cast wheels I can't remember if they were magnesium or aluminum, but the guys were casting stuff at the time.

First of all my apologies to Bob Heine for clomping all over his well organized and informative thread!

Thanks Gerry, for posting your story. I am an avid yblock lover and enjoy all stories about them as I had and still have several of the engines. Especially enjoy the one about the blown and multi-carb engine options. I've not yet had a supercharged yblock but would still like to give it a go if I could affordably (nearly impossible) gather enough parts together.
I missed my chance years ago when a close friend had a complete hilborn setup that he offered to me for sale. At the time $2,500 seemed too far out of reach for me. But mistakes happen and I let that one get away.
So regretting that decision, I'm still on the lookout for something unique that might come up.
Let me know if you hear of something.
Although the hand-casted piece I saw in the photo would not be it! I know those guys did there best back in the day, so that's not a knock on them. I appreciate them giving there all.