'46 Chevy Shorty

[Redbear]

Most of those factory four-on-the floor's would make it across the intersection before the light changed

Baloney!

The Valiants had low enough gearing. We had the small (170 cid vs 225 cid) slant 6 with the economy (non-synchro first) transmission. I was once stopped at a light lined up alongside a Chevelle SS 396, orange with two wide black stripes across the hood and trunk (and maybe the roof), jacked up in back with wide tires. I just sat there playing it cool in the stock econobox wagon.

When the light turned green, we both popped our clutches and floored it. He had no idea I was going to try to race him. He was apparently just intending to show off, but he was definitely trying. By the time I ran out of revs in first gear, about 30 mph if I recall, we were both well clear the intersection, and there was a measurable bit of daylight between my back bumper and his front bumper.

I shifted to second, and the Valiant changed from "accelerating" mode to "gathering speed" mode. He shifted to second right after me, laid about 40 feet of his back tires out on the pavement, and all I saw were taillights. He must have had highway gears . . . .

But those small engines could not push the econobox through the air very well. I think the top speed due to wind resistance was about 88 mph. (Those were the pre 55 days, when the turnpike troopers wouldn't even look at 88 in a 75 because they were only concerned with speeders.) And I could not keep up speed on the long climb up "Dead Horse Hill" without dropping into second.

By the way, later after I had left home, my kid brother had a Valiant with a factory Hurst. I can't remember for sure, but I think it was a 3-speed, not 4. I only drove it once when we were all on vacation.

I later had an early '70s Dodge Dart hardtop with the "big" slant six and an automatic. By reconnecting the vacuum tube from the distributor to constant vacuum instead of the new emission control cut off at idle, and then resetting the timing (advance it until it just started to knock climbing hills, and then back off a hair), I had the performance of a small V8, according to my friends who noticed and commented on it when they rode with me.

 

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango, that was fun. Guess I lit a fire under Redbear though. Good times. Jack

 

[opus-SKO]

Its a good thing we dont have any red lights in this county. Punching it from a red light in my Brat would be an embarrassment!

 

[Redbear]

Hey Tango, that was fun. Guess I lit a fire under Redbear though. Good times. Jack

Not a fire, not a fire, just a once-in-a-lifetime story to serve as a mild rebuttal.
It's hard to get my tone of voice across on a keyboard.
Several posts this past week have made me "wax nostalgic." (I guess that's easier than waxing a bus.)

 

[ol trunt]

Its all good Redbear, I had a lot of fun with the 'ol slant 6. Jack

 

[orangepeel91-SKO]

Tango,

Sorry for going completely off topic with this but I have a question about the roof raise you did on your Bird. How much were replacement ribs from Bluebird and how long ago was that?

 

[Tango-SKO]

Wow...have to consult Mr. Peabody and his wayback machine on this one --- 20+ years for sure. And no recollection of the rib price. I do recall them being pretty reasonable at the time though. I cut 19" pieces out of the straight sections and got maybe 6 out of each rib. I do remember that Blue Bird had more regional parts & service locations than I expected. Mine came out of a facility near Dallas I think. I can remember the construction details much better than the sourcing & pricing though. Sorry I couldn't help more.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Been shopping rear ends --- I have (finally) concluded that the Dana 80HD is probably the best candidate to replace my aged and granny geared rear axle. It appears to be the right width (within a half inch)...is rated higher than my original by about a thousand pounds...has near perfect gear ratio options...is built to the same as my '46 10 lug on 7.25 specs...comes with disk brakes...and has a great reputation. It was available in GMC & Chevy 1-ton trucks (3500 series) from 'about 91 thru '02. I'm headed to a local axle rebuilder on Monday to get more precise measurements since there is a lot of confusing data regarding these units. If everything works out, I should be able to end up with a newer axle geared 4.63, (which will be just about perfect), and get the massive rear disk brakes in the bargain. The only trick will involve machining out the center holes on the rims by a quarter inch on the radius to get the right fit.

But wish me luck anyway.

Onward!

 

[opus-SKO]

The only trick will involve machining out the center holes on the rims by a quarter inch on the radius to get the right fit.

But wish me luck anyway.

Onward!

Wanna borrow my Dremel tool?

 

[Tango-SKO]

The only trick will involve machining out the center holes on the rims by a quarter inch on the radius to get the right fit.

But wish me luck anyway.

Onward!

Wanna borrow my Dremel tool?

Thanks Opus, but I have a rat-tail file that ought'a do it. Eventually.

 

[opus-SKO]

http://greatfalls.craigslist.org/cto/4351833994.html

 

[Tango-SKO]

What a Sweetheart Opus! --- And in much better shape than mine was. Still have the issue of gearing for anything more than 45 mph, but it sure looks to me like a great starter platform.

Please...somebody buy this! If I weren't so far into mine, Id be all over that dumplin'.

 

[Tango-SKO]

It has a brand new mechanical lift pump. I had a local outfit (Diesel Specialists) go through the whole motor to bring it up to specs. Wound up replacing the exhaust header, turbo & lift pump and put in all new injectors. Once this thing is installed, I don't want to be putzing with it for as long as possible. Compression was still dead on factory numbers. It had a Cummins ReCon tag that was less than 2 years old but the actual mileage was unknown. It is a 130 horse version out of a P-30 box van and came with an Allison 543 which I replaced with a 4th gen, double OD Allison 6 speed. Great thing about the newest trannies is that they are "smart" but do not require all the exotic electronics the previous series did. Needs nothing but a TPS (throttle position sensor) to talk to the motor.

I find it a bit ironic that you can buy "new improved" all electronic Cummins engines all day long for about half what the old school, two-wire motors sell for these days. Is there a message there?

What is your engine set up like?

 

[Tango-SKO]

The newest Allison's have an internal controller that "learns" from the TPS and driving patterns, so technically, there will be that one computer thingie on board (shudder).

And you are on target buying up every Cummins you can get your hands on. Beats playing the stock market for sure. A guy here in Houston did the same back in the '90's and ended up with a gigantic warehouse stacked full to the rafters with 4's and 6's that he got for a nickel on the dollar. Made a fortune just cleaning them up and selling them "as is" (he did confirm which were "runners"). Sold several boatloads to overseas buyers and retired at about 33 last I heard.

And I don't know what kind of gearing you are looking for on the tranny, but there are tons of old MT543's lying around to be had really cheap these days and they are still pretty darned hard to break. Course a ten-speed manual would give you more options.

And I like the rat rod idea. No doubt you've seen what some of the guys on "4BT Swaps" have done. The HP freaks are getting over 800 out of the fours and it seems I read recently about a six that was pulling something like 1200 running four turbos. NUTS...but very cool. And I can't even imagine what the torque must be like.

 

[texasrednek]

Wonderful job thus far Tango, I will say you have more determination and patience than I do. I bought a 75 scout II on craigslist when I was in Iraq. I came home on leave toyed with it a little sat in it with the kids and then went back to work for a few months. when I got home I realized in IH motor was locked up so I took the whole thing to the scrap yard.....wich turned out a blessing because it broke in half coming off the trailer :shock: I hadn't even noticed the "repaired" section on the frame. and If I had my shop finished and my K&T 3 mill I would machine those rims for you wouldn't take any time at all....dont let them gouge you at the machine shop I would imagine you should be looking at like 420 bucks for the set. that's roughly 70 an hour with an hour for each rim (it wont take that)

 

[Tango-SKO]

Thanks Tex --- I am waaaay behind on this old girl and really need to readjust my whole life so I can get back to her. Have a couple of buddies from The ArtCar Museum here in Houston lined up to help with installing the engine and tranny. They have built some genuinely amazing, weird and wonderful stuff and possess skills I only dream about, so I'm hoping to have it all in before Summer is over. Still have lots of body work to do, but "Hobby Welding" I can handle. Still on the hunt for that 10 lug Dana 80 duallie rear end with the right gearing but haven't given up yet. Gotta find it before the wheel deal is needed but really appreciate the heads up on the machine work. Thanks.

Sounds like you parted with the Scout at just the right time bud! Better then than over the road after putting a ton of money in it.

Funny how some things work out. BTW...what part of Texas are you in?

 

[ol trunt]

" buddies from The ArtCar Museum here in Houston"? What happened to the Swedish Bikini Team? I was just starting to pack up to come over and------help you---and now this?

 

[texasrednek]

Thanks Tex --- BTW...what part of Texas are you in?

I live in Gatesville wich is right by waco (45 min).

Sounds like you parted with the Scout at just the right time bud! Better then than over the road after putting a ton of money in it.

And that is exactly what I told my daughter when we saw it happen because she was pretty bummed we weren't going to get to paint it purple like she wanted lol. She was 5 at the time and I really was going to paint it purple for her.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Jack --- The Swedish Bikini Team will be here to cheer on the ArtCar guys and hand out cold beer, so come on down.

Tex --- Sounds like you not only saved several lives...but quite a few rattle cans of purple paint as well!

 

[M1031]

Tango,

I'm in Katy. I'll bring our conversation over here and continue. My '88 Ford is near Brookshire in storage. If you're interested I'm sure we can do some horse trading on hours and such. I'd LOVE to help with the install. Was an ASE certified Master diesel mechanic back in the late '90s. Looking to get it back over the summer for Katy ISD down the road. It would be a good learning experience for M1009, my son. Just getting over being sick the past two days....

M1031