Thursday’s Thoughts

I had a very productive day yesterday.  I was able to remove the starter from Ruby and take it to the Starter Shop for an analysis. The starter was completely destroyed from the heat of the exhaust manifolds and finally let go this week.  The technician explained the mini starters and the need for shields on SBC’s.  No matter how much you pay for a starter they will not live with extreme heat for very many miles.  I have become an expert on these starters and now know how to protect the one on Lucy.  I am going to shield the starter and wrap the header pipes with heat shield fabric.  The mini-starters are a derivative of the Nissan starter made by Hitachi and are used on numerous OEM automobiles.  Like most products there are various offerings of these starters from $99 to $350 but basically are all the same with different capacities.  The inexpensive unit is good for low h.p. units provided they are protected from the heat.  Heat within 1/2 inch can fry a starter in less than 100 miles if not shielded.  They may continue to function but may drag when hot and eventually will fail.  It might be a good idea to buy two and carry a spare if you are a long distance driver.

The evening hours were spent helping Bob install the coupe body on his sedan chassis.  The second swap went very smoothly and the car is now back together awaiting  a new owner.  He has had several lookers but no serious players at this time.  I think most interested parties are looking at the cost of finishing the project and become concerned about the high cost of restorations today. You need to have a reserve of  $30 – $40k or more set aside to complete a project like this one.  On the other hand, you could just drive it like it is and work on the car as you enjoy the daily trips to the “Office”.  Remember your high school ride with primer spots?

I am still focused on the starter replacement and should have it done by tomorrow.

Stay Tooned!

Lynn

Tonight was the coupe’s turn on the hoist.  We simply rolled out the hot rod chassis and rolled in a super clean stock running 40 chassis.  Bob even installed the correct rubber body mounts.

The body swap completed we now had to install the front fenders and stock 5 window seat.

Bob slid under the car and tightened the body bolts so the car can be towed on a trailer without moving.

I have seen some really nice phone booth pickup’s lately.  Red oxide is plenty acceptable at the Outriders’ Picnic.

If you are like me and like the windows to roll up then a 36 cabriolet works just fine.

If the wife likes to shop for antiques on the road trip the sedan deliveries are the way to go.  I plan to take a nap in mine and let the wife drive.  She must have A/C or she won’t go.  I spoiled her early on.

The 49-51 Mercury’s make wonderful cruisers and they don’t have to been chopped.  These cars are very pricey today but also very nice to add to your collection.  Bob O would chop it immediately.

Dave loves chopped tops and took this photo after leaving Toppers on Tuesday.  Note the 40 dash in his Deuce roadster.  Dave and Bob O drive their cars daily and across country when the need arises.

Jerry has the Optima batteries in his trunk for the extra power required for the race car.  The Starter Shop indicated that the Optima style battery was very hard on alternators as they charge constantly rather than when required.  I will find out more when I pick up my starter.

Today’s Boyd Deuce….dreaming!

Boyd built a lot of red 3 windows in his days.  This was an early build in the 80’s.  The car featured a full Boyd chassis and a sun roof … Lil’John style.  The owner also had a roadster to match.