Limo Service

     Yesterday was Sat, Oct 13, 2012.  That date is nothing special in my family but it will always be a special day for a young couple who were married yesterday.  Emily and Matt tied the knot at a Methodist Church in Alto, Mi, on a rainy Sat afternoon.  I'd like to think my wife, Cathie, and I had a small part in helping to make their day something special.
     Earlier in the week I received a phone call from a fellow car friend who is the president of the Grand Rapids Street Racers Association.  Dan informed me that he had received a message on his phone from a guy looking for someone with a 40's era car that was willing to do a photo shoot on Saturday, Oct 13.  The guy left his first name and phone number and that's all that Dan knew.  The 41 was still all together so I figured I'd give the guy a call and see what this was all about.  The fella's name was Bob and when we talked, he informed me his daughter, Emily, was getting married on Saturday and she and her fiance, Matt, were big into 40's era style and had chosen to do a 40's themed wedding and reception.  Bob wanted to surprise them by providing a 40's era car to drive them from the church to a nearby pub and be available for some pictures.  Emily and Matt are both from the Lowell and Alto area but met in Los Angeles.  They both work in Hollywood in the music/movie industry.  Bob and I discussed compensation for my gas but he insisted on paying much more for my time.  I asked if it would be ok if my wife came along and he approved without hesitation.
     Cathie was quite excited when I told her we had a "Limo Gig" lined up for Saturday afternoon and we would both be dressing up in 40's style duds.  What the heck!  We wanted to fit in too!  A car show was scheduled on Saturday morning so we planned to attend the show until 2, grab some lunch, change clothes and head to the wedding.  Bob had asked us to arrive around 4:15 because the ceremony was scheduled for 4:00 and he didn't want Emily and Matt to see the car until after folks had been through the receiving line.  I shared our plan with several Road Rodz club members but we all were concerned about the weather forecast for Sat.  All the local tv stations and weather.com were calling for day long rain.  Club member Ken takes most of the pictures for our club as well as maintaining the club blog and Facebook page.  He was quite excited when I told him of the Limo Gig and said he would try to make it to the church and take some pics for the club pages.
     The weather forecasters were right on the money with their rainy prediction and the morning car show was a rain out.  I was a bit concerned about driving in heavy rain since I knew the windshield had leaked last year when we had been caught in a heavy shower.   I took a couple large towels to put on the floor in the back seat to protect the carpet from muddy feet and grabbed a couple hand towels just in case the water started coming in around the windshield again.  Good thing we brought the had towels because Cathie and I stayed busy during the drive to the church soaking up water that came in the corners and center area of the windshield and ran down the dashboard.
     We arrived at the church right on schedule while everyone was inside.  As soon as the ceremony was completed, a couple of young men came out with a Just Married sign and several tin cans tied together with fly fishing line.  I gave them a little help in affixing the sign and cans to the back of the 41. 

     Emily's maternal grandfather came outside just prior to the bride and groom making their exit.  He informed Cathie and I that his first car was a 1941 Chevy 2 door sedan just like ours.  He was smiling ear to ear as he checked out the 41.  That's him on the far left of the next picture.  This is Emily and Matt just as they came through the door and saw the car waiting for them.

    Despite the rain, the happy couple was all smiles.

     I managed to grab another pic from behind the car as Emily and Matt sneaked in another kiss!

     Kenny made it to grab the club pics and added these to Facebook.

Ken also got a nice shot of Cathie and I in our best attempt at 40's clothing.

     Cathie came up with an idea that capped off the 40's era atmosphere.  Once the 41 was running, I turned on the radio with the usb drive connected.  The first song up was Glenn Miller's band playing "In the Mood".  Emily and Matt loved it!
     Bob invited Cathie and I to join the the wedding party for a quick beer at the Alto Bar before they all headed off to the wedding reception on the party bus.  The rain quit while we were in the bar making the trip home less of a water catching contest than the ride there.  We followed the party bus to the expressway and honked the ooga horn as we buzzed by at 75 mph!  What a great event and we both felt privileged to have added a small part to the theme of their special day.
     The 41 is back in the garage ready for the winter changes to begin.  The new speedometer/odometer that was installed last winter now shows 2965 miles.  The car spent quite a bit of time on the road this year and other than the rear main seal leak, it has been trouble free all year.  The new windshield glass panels and rubber frame have been sitting in the garage all summer but Saturday's rain experience just confirmed the importance of giving a high priority to getting those parts installed.  I should add, the heater/defroster worked flawlessly yesterday keeping both of us quite warm and the windshield clear of fog.  

End of summer update

     I see it's been quite a while since I updated any info on the blog.  The late summer shows were somewhat repetitive with the exception of two large events - the 28th Street Metro Cruise and the NSRA Nationals North.  The Road Rodz car club has reserved spots in the Rogers Plaza lot for Metro Cruise for many years.  That is the heart of the action on Friday night and all day Saturday.  An additional venue was added this year on Thursday evening to extend the weekend activities.  Pal's Diner on the east end of 28th Street hosted a Cruise In with a live band as well as a DJ, good food and a guest appearance by Paul LeMat who played John Milner in the movie American Graffitti.  200+ cars filled the parking lot at Pal's and overflowed into the surrounding businesses. 

     At one point, we had 16 Road Rodz cars in the lot at Pal's.  Friday and Saturday of Metro Cruise were exciting watching all the cars driving along 28th street as well as viewing all the cars parked in Rogers Plaza.  The Road Rodz occupied 15 reserved spots with an additional 4 cars parking nearby in the open parking area.  There are no awards or recognition at this event; just a weekend for car lovers to gather to share their common interest.
     On Friday afternoon, before the Metro Cruise activities, I attended a reunion of old street racers and drag racers who used to hang out at Big Boy's restaurant in downtown Grand Rapids.  Bob Garvey hosted this annual event and it was great fun seeing some of the guys from the "old days" of cruising the circuit in GR.
     On Aug 18th another reunion took place that came together in a strange way.  Some of us were chatting on the Martin US131 Dragway Facebook page and I suggested Aug 18th as an open date in the car show action.   Once I asked who would be "up for a racer's reunion", the idea caught fire and we all got on the phones to contact former competitors and track workers from the 60's, 70's and 80's.  Gary Hunt was a racer of that era who now works as the track announcer at 131 and he put me in touch with track management and helped coordinate the entire day's activities.  The idea was originally put out on July 31 and in 17 days we pulled together over 115 former racers and 30+ cars.  the cars were a mix of former race cars, current race cars, as well as hot rods and restored vehicles.  Everyone had a great time reminiscing about the "old days" and spending the day with old friends.  Here's a picture of four of us who raced against each other back in the 70's.  We all had 1969 Z28 Camaros back then and all ran in F/S class.  From left to right:  Dan Bowers, me, John Lambregtse, and Jim Zaskowski.

 
     The track management was so impressed with the event that they have expressed a desire to make this an annual event.  Plans are for me to meet with them during the late fall or early winter to provide some input as to how best to offer a reunion show next year. 
     The weekend of Sep 14-16 was this years 33rd annual NSRA Nationals North in Kalamazoo, Mi.  The Kalamazoo Fairgrounds is about a 60 mile drive so the 41 added over 360 miles to the odometer to close out the year. 
     I had been a bit apprehensive prior to Labor Day when I thought I was hearing an increase in valve/rocker arm noise coming from the 235.  I began to worry about the solid lifters on the hydraulic camshaft and that possibly one or more of the camshaft lobes may be wearing causing an increase in valve clearance.  I had cancelled a road trip to a show up north on Labor Day weekend to prevent promoting cam failure but it proved to be my imagination!  Once I pulled the valve cover and rechecked the clearances, all 12 rocker arms were lashed within .006-.008".
     The 41 performed flawlessly for the entire Nats North weekend.  This was my first time attending this event and I was amazed by the number of high quality cars on display.  Over 2400 pre 1982 vehicles packed the parking areas on Fri and Sat.  About 2/3 of that number made it back for Sunday's  awards presentations.   My gas mileage for the weekend averaged out to 19.4 mpg or about $25 per day; cheaper than a hotel room!   The NSRA offers a safety inspection of all cars attending the event with 23 points being the desired approval rating.  I knew the 41 would fail one item since I have not installed a parking brake yet.  Regardless, I had the inspection done and passed the other 22 points.  The 41 now has a 16 point inspection sticker on the windshield. (They only issue 16 or 23 stickers).  The leaking rear main seal was the only annoying issue of the entire weekend.
     Both the Metro Cruise and the Nats North offered picture taking opportunities by the score.  I probably have over 100 photos from each event!  With that many pics, it's hard to chose which to post here so I'll just leave that for another time.
     I contacted Jerry Hallberg on Monday to review getting the chips in the front end paint fixed during the "off season".  He's has the 41 on his schedule and suggested I pay a visit to Sherwin Williams paint store with the 41 so they can check the colors with their computer.  This will allow a good match to the existing paint.  I paid them a visit yesterday. 
     The wife and I are off on a short vacation the end of next week.  When we return, I'll begin tearing down the 41 for this year's improvements.  Plans call for fixing the leaking rear main seal, replacing the windshield, disassembling both doors to fix the vent mechanisms and driver's lock, installing a new ac/heater/defrost system, fixing the chips in the paint, replacing the rear wheels and axles, and adding a little more "bling" to the engine with some customizing of the valve cover and side cover.
     Sorry for the long delay between updates but, as they say, "Life got in the way!"

Somebody was smiling

     My wife went with me yesterday to a car show at Klackle's Orchards in Greenville, Mi.  As we were riding along, I told her how much I enjoyed driving the 41 and how much better it handles and stops than it did last year.  She agreed and said, "Somewhere up above, the old guy that owned this car is looking down and smiling because this car is being driven by someone that enjoys it."  "Yes," I added, "and other people get to see it too!"
     So, we get to the show and while we were sitting in the shade of our canopy, chatting with friends, Cathie went to the car to retrieve something from the glove box.  She was sitting in the passenger seat with the door propped open when two guys and a young boy walked up to the car.  One of the guys said to Cathie, "Did you buy this car from a guy on Leonard Street?"  "Yes, we did,"  she said.  Whereupon the guy said, "From Dennis K?"  "Yes, from Dennis," she responded.  "My father-in-law used to own this car!", was his response.  Cathie then called me to the car and I had a great chat with Tom and his brother Larry about how the transaction came about and how we ended up with the 41.  Tom then informed me that his wife, the daughter of the former owner, was coming to the show later in the day.  Tom & Larry both had cars entered in the show and she was coming to join them.
     Tom also confirmed my suspicions on the origins of my 41.  His father-in-law, Barry Tate, had bought the car in 1990 from the then manager of the Mr. Steak/Shelde's Restaurants in Grand Rapids.  That fella had purchased the car from a restored car dealer in Hudsonville, Mi in 1988 and drove it for a couple years.  The dealer had acquired the car through an auction in Missouri in 1988.  I believe the auction was in Branson, Mo.  Tom confirmed that Barry had always said this was a Missouri car. 

     When Tom's wife Bonnie arrived, we had a chance to learn more about the car and she sat in the driver's seat for a bit.  Both Bonnie and Tom agreed that Barry, her dad, would not have liked the improvements I have made because he was a "purist".  Barry liked his cars all original.  But they both added that they really liked the changes and thought the car looked great.  I took a picture of Bonnie and Tom in front of the 41.



    Bonnie used some of her inheritance money to buy Tom a car just like he had owned previously but had to sell in order to buy a house.  She surprised him for his 50th birthday with a 1969 Camaro SS.  That's the car Tom had at the show and he won a Top 60 award. 
     The 41 garnered enough votes for a Top 60 as did the other Road Rodz in attendance.

     Was it coincidence that Cathie and I had earlier talked about the previous owner looking down and then his daughter shows up?  Maybe ol' Barry Tate was looking down and smiling after all.  He may have preferred to keep his cars in original condition but I think he let us know he approved of what we have accomplished with the 41.   Keep watching over us, Barry.  ;)

Lifter change

     Ever since I built this 235 engine for the 41, the valve train has been noisy.  I had chosen to use hydraulic lifters on the Comp Cams camshaft thinking they would be more trouble free and not require periodic adjustments.  However, I did some research AFTER the engine was in the car and discovered some comments  by some very knowledgeable people that the hydraulic lifters available today are inferior and allow the oil to "bleed out" when the engine sits for any length of time.  These same folks would only recommend or sell solid lifter camshafts. 
     Last week Tuesday was the last straw for me.  I left Fricano's Pizza and accelerated hard to merge with traffic.  When I got up to speed and backed off, the valve train was clattering like crazy!  It took quite a while for the lifters to refill with oil and quiet down.  So, my theory is this:  the lifters not only bleed down when the engine is off, they also can't maintain enough oil to offset the valve spring pressure when running at a higher rpm.  One article I read talked of air getting into the lifters and the need to grind a release slot in each lifter.  That type of modification is too inexact for my tastes.   Back in the late 70's I had built an engine out of used parts I had laying around and had decided to try running solid lifters on a used hydraulic cam.  That engine was a small block Chevy and I just set the valve lash to about .002" - .005".  Not only did it work, the car ran great!  Both the owner of the car and I managed a couple of bracket wins at the local drag strip. 
     A quick call to Comp Cams tech support confirmed the idea of running solid lifters on the hydraulic cam.  "Set the valve lash to .008"-.010" and you should be good" was the response.  So, this past Monday, I removed the clattering hydraulic lifters and replaced them with a set of new solid lifters.  I also had to change the push rods since the hydraulic lifters are shorter than the solids.  Luckily, the 1954 engine I have in storage was a solid lifter motor and had the push rods I needed. 
     The swap was very straight forward.  I removed the valve cover, side (lifter) cover, spark plugs, distributor, battery and vacuum advance line.  Next, the rocker assembly was removed taking care to not move the shims under the stands.  Out came the pushrods and lifters with the lifters kept in the order they were removed so they can be stored for reuse if necessary (NOT likely!).  I had rotated the engine by turning the cooling fan prior to removing the distributor in order to locate the timing mark at TDC for #1 cylinder on compression.  Once all the old lifters were removed and the old gasket material was removed from the side cover and valve cover areas, I poured some engine assembly lube/cam lube in each lifter hole to get some break-in lube on the cam.  Then I rotated the engine 180° and poured more lube down the lifter bores to coat the opposite side of the cam.  Another rotation brought the engine back to TDC for #1.  Each lifter was given a liberal coating of assembly lube just before it was inserted in the bore.  A small amount of assembly lube was then added to the cup on the top of each lifter to prevent galling the lifter or pushrod as they came together.  Assembly lube was also added to the top of each pushrod where the adjuster contacted the push rod.  The valves were adjusted to the recommended .008-.010" and everything was sealed up. 
     I finished the lifter swap on Monday but the weather was so hot and humid by the end of the day, I waited until Wednesday for better conditions before starting the engine and breaking in the new lifters on the old camshaft.  The car fired right up on Wednesday and I immediately adjusted the carb to keep the engine up around 2000 rpm.  Periodic varying of the engine speed was done by hand at the carb.  The oil pressure and water temps were good but I opted to only run like this for about 10 minutes.  I let the engine (and the garage) cool for a few hours before repeating the same procedure.  Once the engine was back up to temperature for a bit, I shut it down and quickly removed the valve cover and spark plugs to recheck the valve lash.  All was good and I brought all of the valves to a tight .008" clearance before putting all back together again. 
     I also discovered the cause of a small oil leak that had plagued the 235 since I'd originally put it together.  I kept seeing oil along the passenger side of the block just above the oil pan flange.  This oil would make its way back to the starter and make a mess of that side of the engine.  The cause was the lower screw that goes through the side of the block just below the road tube hole.  This screw is one of two used to retain a metal baffle in place under the road tube hole.  The screw is a coarse threaded metal screw and the oil followed the threads along the screw and outside the block.  Adding a little silicone to the screw once it was cleaned should stop the leak.
     I have a theory of how the hydraulic lifters may have adversely affected the hp on the dyno run but I'll save that for another day's babbling.
  

Some sadness

Not much has been happening on the car scene.  The weather the end of June and the first week of July made driving without a/c an impossibility.  We had several consecutive days of temps over 100° and the 41 stayed sheltered in the garage.  The wife and I did manage to attend a show on July 4th despite the high temps primarily because it was only 15 minutes from our house.  72 other car nuts made it out too.

Back in 2011 when I started this blog, I mentioned good friends, Butch and Jan.  They were the folks that persuaded my wife and I to attend the 28th St. Metro Cruise back in 2010.  Well, Butch had a stroke last Thursday morning and he passed away late Sunday night.  He was 63 and a great friend.  I'm gonna miss that guy. 

Four local shows in three days!

Had a busy weekend with car shows.  Friday evening was a show in Caledonia to cap off their Western Week celebration.  Saturday was the Dutton Days show and a quick trip to Dorr for a Veterans' Benefit show.  The Dorr show was nearing conclusion when we arrived but Road Rodz member Ken still managed to garner the Best in Show trophy.  Sunday's weather started out with a little sprinkle at the West Michigan Wheels show in Muskegon but Steve and I got through it and dried off the cars.  The sun came out and made for a great show of about 180 cars.  Steve's 34 Ford coupe won the Best in Show trophy and it is the biggest I've ever seen!  The trophy is taller than his car.  I had to bring it back to town in the back seat of the 41 because it wouldn't fit in the 34!  Here's a few pics from the various shows.

Caledonia Western Week.

Dutton Days.

Dorr Veterans' Benefit

Wheels of West Michigan, Betten Chevrolet-GMC-Cadillac, Muskegon.

Steve winning best in show.

Beautiful International wrecker.

1941 5 passenger coupe, Special Deluxe.  This is only the third other 41 Chevy I've seen in West Michigan since I've been showing mine.  Mel, the owner, is a really nice guy and we chatted for a bit.

Chopped 39 Chevy sedan.

Nice 55 Chevy hardtop.

     I talked with a local crank grinder last week about the condition of the seal surface on the crankshaft in my 235.  The old rope seal had left some residue and that surface isn't really in perfect condition to run a lip seal like I'm trying to do.  He suggested using a Speedy Sleeve (or comparable) repair kit to provide a new surface and trying the seal modification I'm currently running.  That may be a good option instead of machining the block and rear main cap for a one piece seal.  Either way, the engine will have to come out again in the fall. 

All I can say is WOW!

     After a very busy weekend with car shows, I'm still stunned by the results of the 31st annual Charlton Park Father's Day Show.  The Road Rodz had 5 members present with 6 cars; Jim Banfill had his brother drive one of his cars as Jim was looking to sell the car.  Of those 5 members, 4 of us were voted Top 25 plaques!  This is one of the year's largest shows annually and to received recognition from your peers as a Top car is pretty special.
     Besides the Charlton Park show on Sunday, I attended a gathering of local cars at an Assisted Living Center in Byron Center.  Several patients came out with walkers or assisted in wheel chairs to check out well over 100 cars that turned out.  We were packed in like sardines and the organizing group began turning away cars after 6pm as there was no more room!
     Saturday was another show north of Grand Rapids in Sparta.  The show was sponsored by the Sparta Moose Lodge and was held on the edge of their golf course.  With an all you can eat breakfast and pulled pork bbq for lunch, this was a very nice show.  About 125 cars entered the show and the voting was done on a class basis with plaques being awarded to the top two cars in each class.  The 41 was the only entry in the 41 and later Street Rod class so I got the 1st place plaque. 
     I took too many pictures at all three shows to put on this blog but here's some of the better cars.  First the Friday night show.

   Saturday at the Moose.

Picking up my 1st place plaque from the Budweiser Girl.

    And here are a few select pics from the Father's Day show.  First up, Road Rodz in a row.  Chip's Anglia, Mike 's roadster, the 41, Steve's 34 Ford, Jim's 36 Ford, Jim's 32 Roadster and Rick's 57 pickup.