I'm sure with the Lord behind you you'll do great in Kentucky!

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Barry

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Current: 1967 Dodge Dart 270/225

Previous: 1964 Dodge Dart, 1966 Plymouth Valiant Signet, '64 Valiant Convertible

I want Him in front of me, not behind me!

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

THAT is a fact!

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Barry

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Current: 1967 Dodge Dart 270/225

Previous: 1964 Dodge Dart, 1966 Plymouth Valiant Signet, '64 Valiant Convertible

Rob, great pics! Hats off to you bub!

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66 Lil' Red Piggie Valiant (Mater Crusher) - Thanks Zilla!!!!! 72 Demon (Number 1 Son's)

Rob I wish you the best of luck with that program and if ever anything I can do to help you with it please let me know. I wish I had the time to do something like that here. My life pretty well evolves around the children I already am invovled with though. I have 900 at work everyday to help and solve problems for then as you know 4 at home. Between the 2 that does a pretty good job at consuming my time.

Lukus
Matt 5:9

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Train like you fight anything less is a waste of time.

We're going to start slow and try not to get overwhelmed this time.

I got in a little over my head that first time by taking on too many varied projects and not establishing clear goals up front. I just jumped in with both feet and wallowed around.

The other key factor I discovered was that I MUST recruit other like-minded, experienced people to help me. I simply couldn't keep up with guiding and mentoring all those teenagers by myself and expect to make any real progress on things. Unfortunately, I allowed the main emphasis to shift from the MOST important thing to simply getting the cars ready to race.

Lots of lessons learned that I will do my best not to repeat this time around. Insert prayer request for guidance, discernment, strength, patience...

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

It's often easy to get sidetracked, but thankfully the Lord loves us in spite of ourselves.

_________________
Barry

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Current: 1967 Dodge Dart 270/225

Previous: 1964 Dodge Dart, 1966 Plymouth Valiant Signet, '64 Valiant Convertible

Rob,
It does take a lot of work and organization to run something like that. I have had a few groups before one was an explorer group with the fire depatment and then of course my job also. We have junior FBI agents here that is a lot of fun. we do that with the kids that are doing well academically.

You need experianced people to help you with that it's not a one person job by no means. As well as the people helping have to be tolerant to the kids. as I am sure you already know. We can definately help out with the prayer request. If I wasn't so far away I would offer a lot more help.

Lukus

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Train like you fight anything less is a waste of time.

You've helped a lot already Lukus! You taking on the roll bar and floorboard fixes got me back on track at a time when I really needed someone to step in.

Unfortunately, I haven't had time to make much progress on the Duster since I got it up here and put it up on jack stands. I've got a long list of things that need to be done, just no time to get to it.

Here's a partial list of things that need to be done:

1. [_] Replace brake line to rear of car
2. [_] Either swap in the 8 3/4 (3.91 Sure Grip) and driveshaft from Street Duster or fix the leaky axle seal on the Ford 8" (4.56 Mini Spool) and get another driveshaft
3. [_] Either swap in the disc brakes from Street Duster or continue to use the SBP drum brakes - Leaning toward the heavier, but safer discs
4. [_] Install fuel cell, lines, pump, etc.
5. [_] Install wiring and gauges (ignition, tach, water, oil...)
6. [_] Buy and install a carb / linkage / gas pedal
7. [_] Install radiator
8. [_] Buy and install trans cooler and lines
9. [_] Install seats and harnesses
10. [_] Polish and reinstall or buy new lexan for both windshields
11. [_] Cover a hole in the driver side floorboard
12. [_] Paint floors and roll bar
13. [_] Probably another dozen things I haven't thought of yet!

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

I spent the evening over at the garage last night.

I was mostly focused on other things, but I did mess with the brake line a little.

I was able to get the front section out without too much drama. Patience, vice grips and lots of WD-40 got the rounded off fitting out.

The rear section snapped off right at the fitting to the rubber line. Not enough sticking out for vice grips and my easy out set was at the house, so I soaked it and will get back to it the next time I'm over there.

I still haven't decided about which way to go with the rear end and the front brakes... I'm just procrastinating on digging into it I guess.

I also checked a couple rod bearings and a main bearing on the GodRods Duster I engine. They all looked good, so I got the block prepped to reinstall the oil pan and rear main seal.

My torque wrench and tap & die set were also at the house, so I'll take those with me the next time so I can re-torque everything and run all the bolt holes before reassembly.

I checked my "gooey stuff" supply and surprisingly, I have everything I need and all of the tubes are still squishy after sitting in storage for seven years. So, It's full steam ahead to put the motor back together. (my version of full steam is likely about half steam for most folks, but I'm moving in the right direction anyway )

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Funny how things come full circle sometimes... This was the original plan way back when I bought this car from Norm to be GodsRods Duster II.

I just got a little off track there for a little while. I'm better now! (Yeah, right...)

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

I snuck over to the garage a couple times over the long weekend in and around all the house projects.

Since the last update I've:

1. Re-torqued all the rods and mains.
2. Re-installed the rear main seal and oil pan. I learned that, "Just because the tube is squishy, doesn't mean the stuff is sticky!" The weatherstrip adhesive came out like one of those irritating boogers that sticks to your finger, but really isn't good for anything else.
3. Replaced the rear brake flex line. Luckily, I had a spare in my parts stash that would work. I need to get about 10 feet of hard line now.
4. Polished the front lexan windshield. The yellow grunge is gone and you can see through it, but I'm not sure yet if it will be too blurry to work well. I may hit it another couple times with the rubbing compound that came in the "headlight repair kit"...
5. Installed gas pedal.

So, I can't put an X in any of the boxes yet, but I'm whittling away at it.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Rob remind me when you come to pick up the challenger and I think I have a new piece of Lexan stashed in back of the shop that I will give you.

Awesome! Thanks Norm! This deal just keeps gettin' sweeter and sweeter!

I'll give you a call shortly.

I stopped by the garage for about 30 minutes on the way home last night.

1. Rotated the engine right side up.
2. Prepped block surface to re-install head.
3. Cleaned all the head bolts. Replaced two that were rusty and one that had a strange "gouge" down its length. It was probably that way when we rebuilt the engine back in 2003/4.
4. Cleaned all the lifters and re-inspected them again. I may go ahead and try Josh Skinner's idea of 600 grit sandpaper on a piece of glass to be on the safe side before I re-install them. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but it will only take a few minutes (Ounce of Prevention / Pound of Cure).

A couple of the lifters from the first two cylinders (the ones that had the bent pushrod issues) have indications of some abnormal wear on the sides I didn't notice before. I was mainly focused on the face of the lifter for wear. Not sure if that side wear is from the possible coil bind or if those lifters were binding in their bores, or both. I distinctly remember checking that all the lifters slid and spun freely in their bores when we assembled the engine. I will check that again and if I see any potential issues at all I'll carefully run the brake cylinder hone through them again.

I had to pick up a few more pieces of tile on the way home to finish up the bathroom basement, so I took the opportunity to replace my bench grinder that was lost in storage. You should have seen me cleaning those head bolts by holding my drill with a wire wheel between my knees...

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser