Neither Christmas music by the truckload, nor New Year’s snacks, nor a cold that could level a bull moose on it’s best day will keep me down. It’s 2019, a brand new year, and as many are inclined to do, it’s a time to reflect on the previous year’s accomplishments and actions and a time to make a plan for the next twelve months. Some start paying for a gym membership that’ll be dropped by April Fool’s Day. Others give up the drink, and others still just resign themselves to the fact that they aren’t going to change one bit. Do I have personal resolutions? Of course. But you don’t care about those. You are more interested in the work that will be going on in my shop, for sure. And some of you might be looking for a reason or three into goading me into more wrenching time and “learning experiences”. So let’s reflect on what happened in 2018 and where I intend to be one year from today:
Angry Grandpa – 2006 Chrysler 300C
Angry Grandpa more-or-less had an “off” year last year. After a few good solid years of straight beatings, the 300C had started to show small signs of the abuse and since the Chrysler is also one of our two main vehicles (my wife’s truck is the other one) and is more often than not our road-trip car of choice, having the Chrysler down for issues is a bad thing. In 2018, AG got new upper control arms, new shocks and struts, new tie-rod ends (again…), and another set of rear tires. The car made a couple of dragstrip passes, namely during the NMCA Dodge/Mopar Hemi Shootout at Beech Bend Raceway and did a couple of touring laps at NCM Motorsports Park. Currently the Chrysler needs a TPMS sensor replaced in one wheel and needs attention regarding the oil pressure sensor again. The oil pressure sensor self-destructed at the very end of 2017 and was replaced, but shortly after the fix it became apparent that the system, while functional, doesn’t come to life fast enough to make the computer happy, so I have Constant Check Engine Light Syndrome…which is irritating as all hell. The car also needs brakes…the EBC rotors that we put on back in 2014 are pushing 70,000 miles old and have seen some things that few other Chrysler 300Cs have yet to see. Will there be more AG content? You tell us…do you miss seeing this big brick out and about?
Great Pumpkin – 1980 Ford Mustang Ghia
We’ve been pretty quiet about our in-house Fox body as well, but mostly because there really hasn’t been anything to report. We’ve been busy stockpiling up parts and pieces for Haley’s Mustang for a minute now, which included the purchase of a 1994 Ford Mustang for parts. That SN-95 is donating a full five-lug swap setup, the entire brake system, and has offered up a drop-in-ready engine and trans combination that is better suited to the older Fox body right now…don’t worry, we’re still keeping the GT-40 headed 5.0L and overdrive automatic we pulled from the rolled-over Explorer for something down the road, unless we get a good offer on the combination. Visually…well, until we find a shop that is willing to take on the vinyl roof, there won’t be much happening except cleanup and maintenance, and we’ll have to bite the bullet and go wheel and tire shopping once the swap is complete. We’re close to finishing up the parts harvest of the 1994 car, and when it’s gone we will determine when you will see the Pumpkin next. But 2019 is going to be a big year for the little Ford.
Raven – 1983 Imperial
The Imperial has come a long, long way since this time last year. The silver brick starts, runs and drives around. The 367ci mill fires right off and drives beautifully. We still have a few minor details to sort out with the Imperial’s engine, like what we are doing for exhaust, but the engine is no longer the main worry. In fact, the engine is the greatest part of the car right now. The problem now is the transmission. During shakedown testing around BangShift Mid-West, the A-999 automatic’s third gear refused to engage. We yanked out the valvebody and had it inspected and cleaned up by Mike at KingSpeed Race and Repair, where it got a clean bill of health. We stuck the valvebody back in, filled the case up with fluid once more, and …no third gear, still. Given a lack of tools within my garage that are suited for a full transmission tear-down, the next course of action will be to drop the transmission and send it to a shop for a rebuild. The A-999 is worth saving (it’s a beefed up A-904 with a deeper first gear and a longer third gear that was used in 1980s cop cars) and it would only make the fresh engine shine that much brighter. We also have to sort out a radiator with a leaking petcock (that’s why the cut-open antifreeze jug is on the floor) and we still need to put the rest of the car back together. We still fully intend to be driving this car near-daily in short order…we just had a minor setback, is all.
What else is there?
This was the last I saw of the Cadillac Limo, in the entrance to the local scrapyard. Don’t weep too hard for the big car…shortly after this picture was taken, that big forklift you see stuck it’s prongs underneath the car to lift it so I could get the wheels and tires off. Once the weight of the car was centered on the forklift, the Cadillac’s spine pretty much broke…the rot was worse than I had imagined, and I have a vivid imagination regarding how bad this car truly was. It died with it’s boots on in one final burst of life, and parts have gone to people who asked for them. So, what’s next? As of writing, there will be no King of the Heap car for the January race, which will go down in a couple of days. But there is a car being targeted for February…actually, two of them. All I will say for now is that both are Ford products and that the only thing they share in common is that they both sport two doors. Will either one show up? Well…we’re hopeful, since KOTH is fun, and it would be nice to have another knock-around beater for a year. Cross your fingers!
Love reading good stuff about Angry G’pa. For me, I replaced the Comp cam’d but otherwise stock 360 in my Arrow pickup with an Eddy headed, 360 that ran in the 10’s in an A body. Should be interesting. We also ditched the Total Crap Incorporated 904 in favor of a locally-built 904, so the biggest cause of the Arrow not being drivable has been cured as well. We also went from the 2:76 LSD rear (which I put in for my twice monthly trips to Berea) to a more fun 3:23 LSD, which should be more than enough for a vehicle that weighs 2700 LBS with my fat behind in it! I want to switch the spindles around, left to right, so I can put a rack and pinion in it, (then I can fit REAL headers on it, instead of the block huggers it currently uses) and it needs ball joints, the only suspension components I haven’t upgraded since I pulled it out of a salvage yard. Here’s to the new year!