Plastic Fantastic tew

[SuperBuickGuy]

Them's some chubby suckers!

Dan

I've heard that loss of traction can be a cause of crashing

[SuperBuickGuy]

onto new stuff.
poly bushings

this arm is what keeps the tire going straight and is what you adjust for rear toe

a stamped steel, rubber bushed piece of....

this one is twisted

the other bent

anyone want to guess why the rear tires are moving around? smh

remove bushings




tomorrow the fix is cap them with 1/16" steel and put the bushings in place. I'm really tempted to make one end an aluminum bushing...

to answer the obvious question - are there updated arms? yep. $369.00 a pair.... they're also a pretty orange....

[SuperBuickGuy]

and it's tomorrow... and there's CAD

now in metal

then some loving with a grinder

some fitting

then welding

now welded


tomorrow a bit of grinding and some paint

[SuperBuickGuy]

good news, the arms installed just fine

nothing to see here, just stock arms
those bushings? yep, just rubber or something

bad words

turns out 3 of 4 rims are bent, one so badly that I doubt it can be fixed.... good news is is the seller is sort of standing behind his sale....

still not sure on the grey.... maybe? I'm either going with what was on it or something new.... that said, ordering wheels right now is not a fast process

I don't like them because they're the same as everyone else's

[SuperBuickGuy]

fixing another soft point

short welds, plus a weakened point so it collapses there in an accident

so a decision point.... they have a poly bushing for this mount.... the mount is thin rubber around a steel sleeve. The kit doesn't change the upper and lower arms - just this one.... which means that if there is stress, this is the one that would take the most stress.... so I'm not changing it - it's a pain to change, but I think having one pivot that cannot twist but 2 others which can is a bad idea...

even got my bushing remover out before I decided no

back to the arm.... first clean the joint

then straighten the collapse joints then weld the seam completely


this clearly isn't the strongest it could be - however, removing the collapse point, putting a poly bushing on the inside pivot, then welding the length should make this greatly improved....

[SuperBuickGuy]

ready for an evening cruise


that ends on a tow truck...
glad I put panels in place....

all of this because a ground fell off



ah well, glad it's happening now...

[silver_bullet]

Glad it was an easy fix anyway

[DanStokes]

Bummer. But that's what shake down runs are for.

Dan

[SuperBuickGuy]

Bummer. But that's what shake down runs are for.

Dan

Bummer would be going to California and having to drop the tank... I appreciate the sympathy, but part of my reasons for blogging is to disavow the notion that you can build a car in a month then race it. I've met so many people with unreal expectations that this is my way of pushing back and reassuring them that it takes a lot of time and resources to build a competitive car. I started truly building this in 2018... that's 3 years from its start (when the plan basics were laid) and still not quite finished.... but from here out is mostly maintenance.

In that vein, I ordered a new high volume and high pressure oil pump. 20 psi at idle is okay - but I'm not okay with it... thankfully the guy who built the car made it very easy to pull the oil pan.... smart guy, that guy.

[DanStokes]

Bummer would be going to California and having to drop the tank... I appreciate the sympathy, but part of my reasons for blogging is to disavow the notion that you can build a car in a month then race it. I've met so many people with unreal expectations that this is my way of pushing back and reassuring them that it takes a lot of time and resources to build a competitive car. I started truly building this in 2018... that's 3 years from its start (when the plan basics were laid) and still not quite finished.... but from here out is mostly maintenance.

In that vein, I ordered a new high volume and high pressure oil pump. 20 psi at idle is okay - but I'm not okay with it... thankfully the guy who built the car made it very easy to pull the oil pan.... smart guy, that guy.

You know I fully agree. One of my many pet peeves is the mag cars that claim to have been "built in a week" when what has really happened is that the final reassembly was done in a week. The engine is done ahead of time, the body was painted (or they settled on "patina" which is another pet peeve), the suspension was pre-sorted, etc, etc. What they do is bolt the whole deal together in a week which is still a significant achievement but not at all the same thing as building a car. I have massive respect for your projects and that your build logs are real, back steps and all. Carry On!

BTW - I'm with you on the oil pressure thing. I know higher oil pressure costs some HP but to me engine life trumps that small HP loss.

Dan

[SuperBuickGuy]

5600 rpm, valve floats enough to move off the pushrod... how to fix? to remind, solid roller cam, .16 lash
450# at 1" valve spring....

[cstmwgn]

5600 rpm, valve floats enough to move off the pushrod... how to fix? to remind, solid roller cam, .16 lash
450# at 1" valve spring....

What does your cam card suggest for spring. I have forgotten what your cam specs are but I checked an old card I had on an XR292R and it called for 483lbs per inch.
How old are the springs?
Do you have a spring tester - you might have a soft one.

[SuperBuickGuy]

What does your cam card suggest for spring. I have forgotten what your cam specs are but I checked an old card I had on an XR292R and it called for 483lbs per inch.
How old are the springs?
Do you have a spring tester - you might have a soft one.

I talked this through with the guy who did the machine work last night.... the tl;dr answer is I probably need a stud girdle.... which may be interesting with the chinese heads.... to be continued....

and

I bought too short exhaust pushrods (though, so far, it's only been intake that's been coming apart).
Also, I should have bought .135 wall thickness pushrods, not .080... 7/16 won't fit... so that's not an option (now - though next motor, that will be an option).

[cstmwgn]

I talked this through with the guy who did the machine work last night.... the tl;dr answer is I probably need a stud girdle.... which may be interesting with the chinese heads.... to be continued....

and

I bought too short exhaust pushrods (though, so far, it's only been intake that's been coming apart).
Also, I should have bought .135 wall thickness pushrods, not .080... 7/16 won't fit... so that's not an option (now - though next motor, that will be an option).

Stud girdle isn't a bad idea - I have been running one for a long time. I not sure your really need .135 wall - I have been running .080 wall 3/8" pushrods with springs between 550 / 625 lbs per inch and haven't had any issues. Of course I don't run it above 6,000 very often and when I do it isn't there long.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Stud girdle isn't a bad idea - I have been running one for a long time. I not sure your really need .135 wall - I have been running .080 wall 3/8" pushrods with springs between 550 / 625 lbs per inch and haven't had any issues. Of course I don't run it above 6,000 very often and when I do it isn't there long.

I'll find out soon enough - it really is acting like it's lost control of the valve train, that said this meant to live to 8000 rpm so it has a ways to go before I'm satisfied.

also - to remind folks - this is a BBC, SBC everything is linear, not so for the BBC