After all these months, I suppose it’s time for an update. Boy, have things changed.
First, I couldn’t have been more pleased with the delivery of the car last fall. RCR’s Fran Hall and more than a few forum members strongly suggested using Rich’s Classic Transport for the hauling. Several conversations and some weeks later, Rich delivered the car and even helped me get it up the driveway and into the garage as shown in the previous pics. A number of other transport companies I’d contacted were unwilling to commit to delivering to the street in front of our home, let alone be of any more help - Rich and Doug of RCT, on the other hand, were more than helpful getting the car to its new home (they’re definite car-guys, too). I’d highly recommend RCT to anyone needing a car transport.
Donna, wanting a project of her own, dove right into a home renovation which consumed last fall, winter, and every moment I wasn’t at work (with the RCR in the garage, I couldn’t muster the nerve to tell her no…). As time allowed I continued searching for and locating a lot of original-ish parts… while I intend to finish the 40 in road car trim, there are a bunch of little details which, for me, make the difference. Things like door locks, interior mirror, badges, lights, latches, gauges, eyeball vents, demister grille and so forth. I know, I know - this is a replica… but as I only intend to do this once (before retirement, at least), my wish is for the finished car to incorporate as many of those little bits as possible.
Then along comes spring - and a small change in my professional life. This new opportunity is wonderfully challenging but leaves me with not much energy at the end of the day. My choices now are (1) take years to finish the build with fewer hours and typically less energy at the end of the week or (2) finding some truly qualified help to assist with the build, allowing me to drive the car before I retire. This was an easy call - I opted for door number 2. So, pack up the car one more time and move it to the where the skilled hands are. We’ll get more into that later.
Maybe six weeks ago I shipped off the carbs and an oil pan from Armando’s to Keith Craft Racing Engines. I’d heard nothing but good things about them, the quality of the engines and how they stand behind their work. Well, three weeks ahead of schedule and just last Friday, I received a call from Tony at KC announcing that my new 331 is finished, dyno’d and is ready to be shipped. Although I was a little disappointed in the 435 horsepower figure, I was very pleased with the 450 ft-lbs torque which is, by the way, nearly equal to the 427-equipped Corvette I had some years back – and destined for a car weighing at least 1000# less!
More soon,
T.