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Post by reeft1 on Aug 10, 2023 5:39:25 GMT -5
Fabulous anecdote. Your dad had a heavy right foot. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, it appears.
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Post by oldirish33 on Aug 10, 2023 9:36:50 GMT -5
Great stories! Sounds as if the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Biggest Chevy motor I had in a car was a 327 in a 63 Impala.
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Post by 105epaul on Aug 10, 2023 11:22:26 GMT -5
I recall the Chevy video a few years back where two brothers found the 65 Impala SS396 that their had bought new and gave it to him, soon as it fired up I knew it was a big block car.
I like my 348, from 1984-89 I had a 61 Impala bubbletop with the 250hp 348 and Turboglide, that was a nice car. Then I bought the 59 which has the 280hp tripower 348. It was stock until the fateful day in May when it dropped a valve which basically resulted in carnage. At the moment the car is at a workshop as it needs a complete rebuild, the parts bill alone was just under 10k in British pounds, W-motors are expensive! That does include nearly 3k for new Edelbrock aluminium heads, a new clutch, Melling HO oil pump, roller cam, eight new forged pistons (it's being bored 0.060 over), MSD distributor etc etc. Basically it will be a new motor with more power. Nowhere near as fast as your 65 but pretty respectable. It's also a four speed car. You can get a new aluminium blocked 409 (or bigger) these days if you have the dollars but sadly I do not. I think you can also make a 348 into a 409/427 by using a big block Chevy crank but that's beyond my cash flow too. I have no idea when my car will be ready but hope it will have a nice cammy lope to it when it is done. More money to be spent before then of course.
Love the story about your dad secretly racing your Impala and winning against the Trans Am. I do also love Pontiacs and think they are very underrated, I enjoyed the ones I owned.
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Post by alex on Aug 17, 2023 17:11:27 GMT -5
Great stories! Sounds as if the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Biggest Chevy motor I had in a car was a 327 in a 63 Impala. I had a 327 in a 1968 Camaro. Great engine.
I had a 350 in a 1969 Camaro RS and my mom drove a 350 Ventura that was built up pretty well. The Ventura did cost me a night in jail. It was dark green with a black vinyl top and didn't look very imposing (dad has a thing for "sleepers") but it was very quick.
I was 16 years old and my buddies Al and Earl and I were all on the speed team at Rainbow Roller Rink in Mechanicsburg, PA. If it has wheels it must be raced, after all. Dad let us take the Ventura to a meet in Taneytown, MD. We did pretty well (I won my division ) and we were felling good when we left the rink. Al was driving and he punched the Pontiac on the way out of the parking lot and gravel flew everywhere. Unfortunately "everywhere" included the hood of a Washington County Sheriff's patrol car. So, we get pulled over by a Sheriff that would remind you of Buford T. Justice.
Al was about 6'5" and thin as a rail. He was also a bit of a smart-ass. When the sheriff came to the window Al said "Hi. We'll have three cheeseburgers, three orders of fries, two Cokes and a chocolate milkshake". I probably don't need to tell you how this was received.
Anyway, off we went with sheriff Justice. He didn't put us behind bars but he did make us call our dads (we actually tried to call Geoff Fishel and get him to pretend to be my dad but he wasn't having any). Al was 18 so he spoke for himself, but Earl and I had to wait for our dad's to get there. Both of the old men were pretty cool and my dad talked us out of a fine. It's a Good Ol' Boy thing I guess.
I got a pass once with the '69 Camaro as well but that is a story for another day.
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Post by alex on Aug 17, 2023 17:27:51 GMT -5
I recall the Chevy video a few years back where two brothers found the 65 Impala SS396 that their had bought new and gave it to him, soon as it fired up I knew it was a big block car. I like my 348, from 1984-89 I had a 61 Impala bubbletop with the 250hp 348 and Turboglide, that was a nice car. Then I bought the 59 which has the 280hp tripower 348. It was stock until the fateful day in May when it dropped a valve which basically resulted in carnage. At the moment the car is at a workshop as it needs a complete rebuild, the parts bill alone was just under 10k in British pounds, W-motors are expensive! That does include nearly 3k for new Edelbrock aluminium heads, a new clutch, Melling HO oil pump, roller cam, eight new forged pistons (it's being bored 0.060 over), MSD distributor etc etc. Basically it will be a new motor with more power. Nowhere near as fast as your 65 but pretty respectable. It's also a four speed car. You can get a new aluminium blocked 409 (or bigger) these days if you have the dollars but sadly I do not. I think you can also make a 348 into a 409/427 by using a big block Chevy crank but that's beyond my cash flow too. I have no idea when my car will be ready but hope it will have a nice cammy lope to it when it is done. More money to be spent before then of course. Love the story about your dad secretly racing your Impala and winning against the Trans Am. I do also love Pontiacs and think they are very underrated, I enjoyed the ones I owned. I think I've seen that video. Great stuff.
You are going to have a damn nice engine when all is said and done. American iron from the era is the real deal. No "small Italian horses" or "dense British air". If anything those engines were underrated by the manufacturers, at least in terms of HP.
Not for nothing dude, but those 409 blocks and Edelbrock heads and intakes are made out of aluminum. If your drivin' a souped-up Impala you gotta immerse yourself in the culture. Not sayin', just sayin'.
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Post by oldirish33 on Aug 17, 2023 17:28:13 GMT -5
Another great story! It would be epic if hard time was involved.
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Post by alex on Aug 17, 2023 17:48:33 GMT -5
Another great story! It would be epic if hard time was involved. It was a very different time. I think the 3AD, 32nd AR tattoo on dad's forearm bought a lot of cred back then.
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Post by alex on Aug 17, 2023 17:57:57 GMT -5
I loved the TV show Rat Patrol. I found this on the auction site and I plan to do a bit of work to make it more like the Jeeps in the show.
It needs work, but it was cheap.
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Post by JSB33 on Aug 20, 2023 5:53:14 GMT -5
Loved Rat Patrol! Nice work.
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