ALL: I decided to take a little break when I started making too many stupid mistakes. Apologies for the delayed response. I really do appreciate the comments.
Bob - sorry about the distraction.... Me? - I'm jealous of the dovetail work! Gotta get back to building a router table (mostly Jessem stuff) right now..
Gerry
Gerry, quite the opposite, thanks for the distraction. I am trying to do projects that don't require a trip to Home Depot or Lowe's. Turns out I have a lot of old scrap lumber and a dovetail jig so drawer projects it is. I have looked at some Jessem stuff but a complete hydraulic roller cam kit (cam, lifters, springs, pushrods and timing set) is $999 so that will solve the wiped cam on startup problem I know is in my future.
That Y-block is gorgeous.
Kirk, I agree, especially because of its era. All that stuff is from the '50s and '60s and I'm pretty sure those headers are fabricated, not ordered.
Bob, those drawers are pieces of art!
When I started working for Lockwood Corporation after college, one of the newly hired engineers saw my Chevelle and asked if I wanted to see a "real hot rod". In his garage after work I saw his cherry 1957 Ford with a Bell front axle, cheater slicks and a 375HP Fuel injected Corvette smallblock under the hood. He's the one who informed me that Ford sold more '57's than Chevy! It was a beautiful car.
In 1959 my grandfather brought me a couple of "junkboxes" he got for a nickel at the auction. Inside were 20 copies of Car Craft and 10 Rod and Custom magazines, which started my automobile modification madness. Wish I had known enough at 7 years old to save them.
Ric, I am pleased with the drawers but it's all old soft pine so the machining is pretty rough inside the joints. I always admired those joints in old furniture so being able to get the look and strength is a great feeling.
Back in 1963 a friend of mine bought a 265ci Chevy small block that came out of a dragster and put it in his '55 Bel Air sedan along with a 4-speed. It had ported and polished Corvette heads and a dual 4-barrel intake. To keep it together it had a bottom-end girdle along with a Crower solid roller cam with the rev kit (springs on the lifters in addition to the valves) that Crower still sells:
https://www.crower.com/valve-train-...vy-262-400-offset-use-with-hi-seatroller.html
He took me out for a test drive one night and it was fast. He said the engine pulled to 9,000rpm and it sure sounded like it was going to keep going. The engine held up but he went through transmissions and rear ends almost every week. He never spent a nickel on the body or interior so he was a very successful street racer back then (when it didn't break).
I had a stupid large pile of magazines for decades. I had every issue of Corvette Fever but when I checked on the value of that kind of memorabilia, I decided shelf space was too valuable (I kept the first and last issues).
No Bob I don't, however the guy that does all my lettering and pin striping grew up and ran with all those early guys like George Barris and Von Dutch.
I did work some off road races with Mickey Thompson and his wife. My Tow trucks worked in the LA Colosseum when they ran the dirt cars and trucks in it.
Don, knowing a guy who knew those guys is close enough for me. Closest I ever got to Mickey Thompson was pictures in magazines, just like I've seen the LA Roadster Show.
When we visited the West Coast in 1955 I was fortunate not to swallow 10,000 bugs. Back East I would see a 5-year old car with the hood and trunk ornaments removed and the holes covered with tape a couple of times a year. In Southern California every other new car was nosed and decked and had Chrome Reverse Wheels. I lost track of all the Model T, A and 32 Ford hot rods. I spent most of a day sitting on a bench watching cars go by instead of going to the beach.
Hey Bob,
It saddens me to have to report that I've fallen behind on your thread. I really need to flip back a few pages and get caught up... and will do so!
Anyways, I didn't realize that you are a connoisseur of fine engines... such as the "Y" block. If I ever get my "honey do's" caught up, I have a car I can't wait to get started on... a 1927 Hupmobile and have a Y block that will reside under the hood. Now, I know of yet another resource when I'm looking for answers to my many, many questions... lol
...D
Fourbyford, my delay in responding was to give you a chance to catch up. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I like all brands of cars, but I am especially fond of shiny American metal. Chrome plating has gotten too expensive for me so I fake it with buffed aluminum. I especially like the touches of paint on engines.
I went to the Palm Beach Barrett Jackson auction many years ago and there was a '28 Hupmobile with a Cadillac drivetrain and beautiful cloth interior that sold for $20K and realized I should never go back to another auction. Went to the Mecum auction in Kissimmee to see Mark (IGOTOXS) try to sell his '63 Split Window Corvette.
I like to see the results of your work.
Thank you
Vladimir!
Ah speed. Will always be in style. My 2012 V6 Mustg. with less than fifteen thousand miles I took to the dealer a few years ago and the going price was 11k. Can't write what i told him. They are now going for an average of 19k but not for the rare color. Seems that the 310 hp 6cyl. engine was only used for three years and many are dissatisfied with the newer 4 cyl as it does not sound like a fast car. When the charger kicks in it sounds more like a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Some things just have to be the way we remember them.
Bobby, I have never owned a car that appreciated in value while I owned it. I just buy 'em, enjoy them for a couple of decades and then sell them for chump change.
Hey Bob, nice job on the dovetails, after reading your post on Mark's Monster Garage, I came here to see that you posted your handy work as well. I am going to give that jig a try, thanks.
John, I have only used the half-blind dovetail jig but that has been close to Bob-Heine[idiot]-proof. That doesn't mean I can't screw it up.
Dovetails, Y Blocks, Superchargers! Some favorite topics around here.
Learned a lot about using the Porter Cable Dovetail Jig. Think mine is “vintage” compared to the one you used, Bob.
The printed instructions told about the jig set up and placement of the boards but nothing about drawer box height. Turning to the VHS tape that came with the jig, the presenter talked about perfect spacing for the pin/tails at the end of each drawer box side. Turns out that the Porter Cable dove tails use 7/8” intervals so that 1/2 pin/tails will be at the top and bottom of the drawer boxes. Further, he said to plan on the overall sizing of the carcass should also be figured around the size of the drawers..... Course, my method was just the opposite and was rather a pain to make it all fit and where it didn’t fit, made it shiny.
My first exposure of the Y Block was in my Dad’s ‘57 Fairlane. The engine had Thunderbird valve covers on it and as a little boy of 5 years old, can tell you that little boy was pretty impressed.
My answer for the need of having the Y block with Thunderbird Valve Covers was to wrap that engine around a ‘57 Thunderbird and while we are at it, lets make it an E code car to boot.
Have a couple of friends that own F Code Thunderbirds (supercharged) and one of them also owns a ‘57 Fairlane 2 Door Wagon with factory installed supercharger. Believe this car to be pretty rare.
Always enjoy your thread and all of the interesting comments from your readers.
Ody, it's nice to see beautiful dovetails on beautiful pieces of wood. Also nice to see a Y-block so neatly wrapped. I especially like the A/C install that looks factory. You are absolutely right on the supercharged Fords. They are right up there with the factory fuel injected Chevies and Pontiacs. I own the Cadillac CTS-V just so I can make the supercharger whine. Old man driving around in steamy hot South Florida with the windows down is a sign something is wrong. I only do it when my family is not around.
