Thread: For Don Shilady

Tweet

36 Sedan,

Thanks for the encouragement. Over and over I try to believe my hobby car is just like my daily commuter car and I can just put gas in and go anywhere but then some problem crops up, usually due to my own installation of the wiring. Maybe I will eventually get it all sorted out and now it is time to go back to my 42 mile test circuit up to Bowling Green on Route 2 and returning on Route 1. While my car was in Orlandi's shop (briefly because he is so efficient) there was another beautiful street rod in there, a '32 three window coupe kit car with a chopped top and 350 SBC including air conditioning and open hood sides. It is painted a beautiful metallic green with an orange pin stripe and appropriate round Pontiac tail lights including blue dots. The point is that even this top-of-the-line kit car build is in the shop for what might be brake rotors installed upside down. As good as many rodders are for many things it is difficult to build a complete kit car and get everything right yourself even with a lot of help from this Forum. I am glad I found Bruce Orlandi nearby as an efficient mechanic as well as nearby kit car builder John York who builds turnkey Cobra kits. Both have been helpful friends as well as knowledgeable mechanics in the expensive "car sickness conspiracy" called rodding.

Don Shillady

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

36 Sedan,
"car sickness conspiracy" called rodding.

LOL! Had the illness since I was young lad, never seem to get completely well..
Glad to see you have found nearby friends to help!

Well it is hard to believe that I was the one who spliced that wire when I removed a Gennie Shifter and replaced it with a Lokar unit. That required a longer wire relative to the hole through the floor. I now have much more respect for the effects of vibration, heat and corrosion on the wiring and I have already gone through a lot of the connections to add star washers on one side of threaded connectors with an added hex nut and another star washer on the back side. Even so I missed the spliced wire under the floor.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Just a minor update,

The new (Chinese) starter is advertised as able to handle up to 18:1 compression ratio engines so my 9:1 SBC now starts easily with a turn of the key! I took it for a short test drive and found the brakes were dragging. Then I found the brake pedal return spring had broken off one end hook. I checked the Internet for experience of others and one site suggested a set of assorted springs available at O'Riley's and at the same time I ordered the $5.05 spring kit from Bratton's Model A shop. Surprisingly my son helped me this time doing the under frame work. We tried two different springs and found the Model A spring from Bratton's to be better. Evidently with a power brake set up and no spring there is enough vacuum to partially apply the brakes upon decelerating! Another test run showed the problem is solved for now.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder