2010 Turkey Run - Great show with the exception of...

After years of parking in the parking lot of the speedway for this huge show, this was the year that I had entered the elky in the show...I was going to drive on the infield!

So there we were, idling, stop and slow, cruising in on the road past the car corral where folks were watching all the iron coming into the show. Arms out the window, nice day when all of a sudden a fitting on the radiator blows out!!!:eek::eek:

Cant see a thing, staff lady yelling to get me off the pavement, and a lot of wide open faces looking at my work of art:o:o

If you saw it and took pictures, please let me know I would love to see them!

Found the one open piece of grass that was available, let the 350 cool down, took the water that I usually use to wash my feet after a surf session and was able to make it back to the display area.

Spent the most of the day finding parts and fixing the car. Seemed like an ordinary day, except that there were over 4,000 cars around me with a million car folks. Finally found some time to sit and relax with a cold one and some nice rodders. Before leaving we took a small walk around the display area right next to us and here are some of the results.

The first two are of my surf runner...

Enjoy!

Some more of the show...at least those close to our parking spot!

Including the el camino at the end of these photos, love that interior!

and a couple more to finish it out. This rat had modified zoomies with a turbine on each!!!:eek:

Anyone else take some photos to toss up here?

Dont feel bad! you were not the only casualty of the slow lines and heat! when we sat in line on friday we bout last the coolant too! I saw plenty of guys pushing cars in around us..

Yup, this was Friday morning, about 9 or so...sorry to hear that others shared in my misery, but makes me feel a bit less alone out there.

Special shout out to the Merc truck, Ford truck and the 442 folks for all the advice and jokes during our adventure!:3dSMILE:

This was a VERY strange year for mechanical issues. I blew a water pump the Monday before Turkey Run, had one air freighted in, installed it, and left on Thursday. Drove all the way to Daytona (250 miles one way) no problems. Went to go to dinner Thursday evening and as I pulled out of the RV resort I kicked it a little and got a facefull of antifreeze, like buckets of it! :eek: Pulled off the road, coolant pouring out of the new water pump.

Had AAA pick us up and take me back to the campsite. Next morning I had Enterprise Rent a car pick me up and I spent the morning finding parts to repair the pump. Of course no one stocks a Ford Racing short pump, so I used gasket paper and lots of permatex and got it to hold. It worked fine Friday night and all day Saturday.

Sunday we are heading home and 5 miles from Daytona, as I am following Don and Dan towing Dons T behind the motorhome, I start hearing rattling from my engine. It gets louder, so I signal them to pull over, and by now it is really noisy. So we pull Don's T off the trailer, put mine on it, and we drive to the nearest U Haul dealer (about 25 miles) where I rented a truck and trailer to haul my 27 home. I am not sure what happened, but I suspect something in the valvetrain, like a roller rocker or pushrod.

Bill (Gastrick on here) got part way to Daytona and the hemi in his 32 lost fire. He had to flatbed it back home and come in his daily driver. On the way he passed his Brother Rod, whose Vette also lost a fuel pump, and it went back home too. WHAT A YEAR!!!!!!! :(

I also learned my 27 is not the fun long distance cruiser it was when it had a mild 302 and 3:70 gears. The 331 stroker with 4:30 gears is cranking 3000 rpms at only 60 mph. This setup would be much happier in the quarter mile than going down the interstate. I spent more money on this engine than any other one I have owned, and it is turning out to be a little too radical to be practical on the street. Live and learn. :(

Lots of people were boiling over going into Turkey Run on Friday. It took Dan and Don over 2 hours of creeping to get inside. They said the people running it really had it screwed up, and the plywood that had been laid across the track to keep oil off from the cars entering really slowed things up.

Don

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Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

This was a VERY strange year for mechanical issues. I blew a water pump the Monday before Turkey Run.....
Don

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Don,
Did your water pump blow the gasket between the pump and the back cover? Reason I ask, mine did that, blowing out the gasket mid-way between the two thin head bolts at the bottom in the long span between pump to engine mounts. I bought new pump to plate and pump to engine gaskets to fix mine. Just wondering if there is some assembly problem at the factory??

Ouch Don...sorry to hear about that. I had hoped to spend some time and try to hunt folks down at the show this year, but...

There is always next year!:toocool:

sorry to hear of all your troubles guys. better luck next year maybe..:whacked:

Hot Rod Surfer- do you by any chance have more pictures of that red wagon? Odd request, I know, but I am curious why it is a ford/chevy. It looks like a Taurus wagon maybe with a 350?

More pics from Turkey Run . . .

Pic of the wagon prior to paint (taken at the Gatornats show, put on by Gainesville Street Rods), plus more of the Run.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 35fordcoupe

Hot Rod Surfer- do you by any chance have more pictures of that red wagon? Odd request, I know, but I am curious why it is a ford/chevy. It looks like a Taurus wagon maybe with a 350?

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I have several pics of it from several years ago when it was under construction, I'll gladly post them tonight if you want to see them.

Mike

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 35fordcoupe

sorry to hear of all your troubles guys. better luck next year maybe..:whacked:

Hot Rod Surfer- do you by any chance have more pictures of that red wagon? Odd request, I know, but I am curious why it is a ford/chevy. It looks like a Taurus wagon maybe with a 350?

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I think that I do have one or two...am traveling but will check when I get back on Friday!

Mike52 - Do you have any details on the two cars that were used to build this beauty? I really liked the paint job and its overall appearance!

I would bet money that back half is a Taurus wagon. I thought it was a Taurus hot rod when I first saw it and laughed because my parents had one and my dad and I joke occasionally about them being classics now and we should make a two door sometime. With the additional pictures it appears a bit more radical than I first thought :LOL:
:cool:
http://www.ford-taurus.org/taurusinf...sWagonRear.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rspears

Don,
Did your water pump blow the gasket between the pump and the back cover? Reason I ask, mine did that, blowing out the gasket mid-way between the two thin head bolts at the bottom in the long span between pump to engine mounts. I bought new pump to plate and pump to engine gaskets to fix mine. Just wondering if there is some assembly problem at the factory??

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Roger, that is exactly where mine blew. There are bolts all around the perimeter of the pump, holding it firmly to the timing cover, EXCEPT at the bottom. They depend on those two small thin-headed bolts that go in from the backside of the plate to hold that area. When I took the brand new pump off that had failed, I found those bolts were not torqued down. I should have checked them when I put the pump on, but didn't.

No one carries that football shaped gasket so I made one from gasket paper and glued the heck out of it, then torqued those two bolts down, as well as all the other bolts. It seems to be holding ok now, but then the other, more serious problem surfaced. Sometimes I REALLY hate cars. :(

We also saw a 59-ish Chevy sitting at a red light that a young girl had run into the back of. They were waiting for the cops. Bet $ 10 she was texting or on the phone.:mad:

There seemed to be less cars cruising around at night, but there were some real idiots out there. Two S-10 Chevys lined up at a red light on A1A and squared off. We were going the other way in the left lane and the one almost went sideways into us. He had to slam on the brakes and get into the center turning lane to avoid traffic stopped in front of him. There were lots of similar things going on, and I bet it ruins it for those of us who don't act like squirrels. The cops there were very forgiving this year, but if that keeps up they won't be that way in the future. All it takes is for one person to get hurt or killed.

Don

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

We also saw a 59-ish Chevy sitting at a red light that a young girl had run into the back of. They were waiting for the cops. Bet $ 10 she was texting or on the phone.:mad:

There seemed to be less cars cruising around at night, but there were some real idiots out there. Two S-10 Chevys lined up at a red light on A1A and squared off. We were going the other way in the left lane and the one almost went sideways into us. He had to slam on the brakes and get into the center turning lane to avoid traffic stopped in front of him. There were lots of similar things going on, and I bet it ruins it for those of us who don't act like squirrels. The cops there were very forgiving this year, but if that keeps up they won't be that way in the future. All it takes is for one person to get hurt or killed.

Don

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I really think that they should have a gps in all phones and if it is moving faster than 5 mph, it won't work!!!

As for the street racers, well said!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 35fordcoupe

Hot Rod Surfer- do you by any chance have more pictures of that red wagon? Odd request, I know, but I am curious why it is a ford/chevy. It looks like a Taurus wagon maybe with a 350?

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Here are the pics I have from 2008.

HRS, I don't know any details of it's origins, I simply thought it was a cool 'in progress car' and took a few pics of it. Notice the Ford/Bow Tie emblem next to the driver's door already on the car in the first pic.

Mike

After coming down for about 10 years I finally drove a old car and entered it in the show,I drove my 55 sunliner the 900 and some miles each way and found out my suspicion that the guy that built the motor put in the wrong cam was right but will have that fixed for next year if I attend. The 17 hours it takes to drive the distance is getting harder to do myself each year,I seen a GTO getting loaded up on a rollback after a rear control arm came loose from the frame and pulled the driveshaft out of the trans. It did seem like less people were cruising around then in past years and it was not as crazy on A1A at the Bell Aire plaza.

Sorry I missed you guys this year. Friday I was on a motorcycle run and we stopped at the Bel Aire plaza to look at the cars.:cool: Saturday I was involved in painting a car for one of my son's friends and it took longer than expected. By the time I was done and cleaned up it was almost 8:00 PM and getting chilly. I decided to just stay home and relax. From hearing all the mechanical problems you guys had, I'm glad I didn't try to come up. Sounds like this year was jinxed...:eek:

Bill and I were saying we hadn't seen you, Jim. Sorry we missed you. Yep, this was kind of a strange year mechanically. Even the swap meet was different because neither my Sons nor me really needed much for our cars. Odd to come home with money in our pockets. :LOL:

We'll see you there next time, maybe in your track T?

Don

Hopefully!:rolleyes: I have my garage finished, so I should be back to work on the roadster soon.:HMMM:

Hey, how about the T-bucket Nationals in June? We could caravan up there; you, Dan, Don Jr, and me all in our roadsters. It could be a real adventure...:cool::3dSMILE:

Where is it? I think I am going to buy a second rear end center section with some 3:70 gears in it. The 4:30's were cranking 3000 rpms at 60 mph on I 75.:eek: I kept wanting to upshift into one more gear. I may also build a milder engine to put in the 27.......while I love the power of the 331 I never had any issues when I ran a mild 302 for years.

For the first time in my life I am thinking about getting a car trailer. I used to love the long drives to faraway events, but this last one did me in. I should have listened to Dan and Don and used Dan's pickup to tow mine. Old age is finally catching up with me. :o

Don

Hello All,
Yes a strange year indeed, many mechanical problems with pops car for no apparent reason. We were talking that we have had cars with well used engines and drivetrain, duct tape hold it together with little to no problems, BUT spend a fortune on the best parts money can buy and wammo! problems. My T had not one issue on this trip thankfully.:D

I feel dads issues were caused in part with the same issue that plagued me back in 2007 when I completed Mr. Blue just in time for the Turkey Run......Lack of break in time. I swallowed a valve that year on the way up and have trailered ever since. We will get pops car sorted out, that thing is mean and sounds great. (makes my T sound stock) I had to uncap the headers Saturday night to try and sound like pops :3dSMILE: Dads 27 is a totally different car than his black 23. Basically a drag car on the street.

I have to say that I am hooked on the motor home thing. This year we rented a 31 foot class C with a pop out in the living room that made a big area even bigger. More than enough room for the three of us and provided a tow vehicle for my T. So comforting having my car a few feet away while I slept and we grilled steaks, etc which was so relaxing. The awning provided shelter when we got the rains. We got about 7-8 MPG there and back (the motor home had the Triton v10 engine, sounded cool when it downshifted) :cool:

I used $215 in fuel there and back. Not bad. The whole deal including the RV resort for the 4 days cost us a tad over $1100. Considering we spend $600 usually for the hotel stay in Daytona $1100 is not bad AND the piece of mind with my car being so close is priceless.

Spending time with my two buds Dan and Pops was worth three times as much! Awesome time! Don Jr. :3dSMILE:

Next year I'm going alone. I think you guys are a jinx. :D:D:D

Don

I want to briing my 37 chevy p/u next year but there is no way I would drive 900 plus miles in that small cab,my truck that I will tow with is apart for paint and hope to have it done in the spring and will buy a trailer. It has a rebuilt 460 that will take the hills alot better then that miss matched 351 thats in the 55 so I will probably tow the 55 down there the next time and will be looking for a slide in camper too so I can stay at a campground if its any cheaper,I spent less then 300 for the motel so I cant complain. .

Jeff, the RV resort we stayed at was really nice, only two miles from the Speedway, and cost only $ 25.00 per night. We will definitelly stay there again next year. However, we kind of were the neighbors from hell.......coming in late at night with open headers, and cooking on the grille at midnight. Of course, there were 100 other people there for Turkey Run too, but I do pity the non-Turkey Run people who were there for just a quiet Thanksgiving getaway. :LOL::LOL:

Don

T-bucket nationals is June 23-25 in Dayton, Ohio. Here's a link:
http://nationaltbucketalliance.com/e...2011/Index.asp

Don, I had 3.55 (posi) gears in my old C-Cab. The engine was a very mild Chevy 327 (stock with a mild cam) from a 64 Impala. I had a stock Turbo 350 trans with 2400 rpm stall converter and a 600 Holley on a cast iron intake. The car weighed 2210 pounds. It went 13.60 in the quarter and still got 20 mpg on the road, about 15 mpg in town.:cool:

That's pretty good, Jim. I was surprised that I averaged 20 mpg on the way up. Considering I was turning 3 grand the whole time that was pretty good. I got 9 mpg on the way home (U Haul truck and trailer) :LOL::LOL: From now on I'm not venturing on any distance longer than 50 miles. More than that it will be trailer time. :o Never thought I would utter those words. :o

Don

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Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

That's pretty good, Jim. I was surprised that I averaged 20 mpg on the way up. Considering I was turning 3 grand the whole time that was pretty good. I got 9 mpg on the way home (U Haul truck and trailer) :LOL::LOL: From now on I'm not venturing on any distance longer than 50 miles. More than that it will be trailer time. :o Never thought I would utter those words. :o

Don

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Don,
What tranny are you running? OD ratio?? I'm running 4.11's, and with a 0.64 OD top gear I turn 1995rpm at 70mph, but in the lower gears it accelerates like a banshee. I built a little spreadsheet to plug in my 1,2,3,4 & 5 ratios, and when I plug in the rpm shift point it gives me MPH for each gear. That's what helped me choose 4.11's which seemed way to tall at first blush. PM me your e-mail if you want the Excel file...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rspears

Don,
What tranny are you running? OD ratio?? I'm running 4.11's, and with a 0.64 OD top gear I turn 1995rpm at 70mph, but in the lower gears it accelerates like a banshee. I built a little spreadsheet to plug in my 1,2,3,4 & 5 ratios, and when I plug in the rpm shift point it gives me MPH for each gear. That's what helped me choose 4.11's which seemed way to tall at first blush. PM me your e-mail if you want the Excel file...

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Roger, I'm running a Ford top loader 3 speed with 1:1 in 3rd. I considered going to one of the 4 speeds that they build with an OD 4th, or even a 5 speed, but this is the same transmission that has been in the car for 20 years and I kept it for old times sake. I think the ultimate cure is to keep the 27 for my around town and nearby cruises, and to build the rpu I have for longer rides. I like the 27 as it is and don't want to disturb it too much.

Don

It looks like the trip was hard on the junkyard C-4 trans thats in my 55,started it up today for the first time since getting back and heard a noise coming fron under the car. It went away after the pressure built up so it looks like the pump is on the way out but was wanting to drive it untill I get the 292 Y block and FMX rebuilt but will have to make a decision on what I want to do,I dont want to waste money rebuilding the C-4 since I have nothing to put it in after its pulled from the 55 so I might have to look for another used trans to get my by for awhile but I am glad it did not go out on the road.

Ouch. C-4's are funny that way, they give you little or no notice before they lose a gear or all of them. You drive home ok, park it, and the next day it won't go into reverse or worse. I've had that exact thing happen to me. :(

Don

I did not see if it would move but will take it around the block tonight to see if it goes into all gears,I should of had it gone through but it looked like it was a fresh rebuild. It always shifted funny into third at light throttle so if it was rebuilt someone did not do a good job,I paid 65 dollars for it and I got my moneys worth out of it but since I am going back to a Y block I dont want to waste the money to rebuild it so I will probably throw another used trans in it for the time being.

Wow cool pics from the Turkey run. Sounds like a good time was had, except for the breakdowns! Hope the troubles are minor Don!