Good thing it was YOU that found this rare gem... Another may have done just...anything..., in the ignorance of better thinking. Glad you're in Thousand Oaks, lots of 'High Performance Industry' thereabouts. Kudos on a rebirth of a rapid Chevy... (Please keep us posted on possible cement in water jackets? Shiver...)
True...but what came to mind to me when you said this was a group of friends I street raced with about 30 years ago laughing at one of our friends since his dad made him wear a helmet when he raced. His car did have a cage, but so did lots of the other cars. Anyway, totally irrelevant to this conversation, but did make me lol when I pictured folks riding to the local cars and coffee in this 55 with helmets on.
I often heard that. My thought is if the cage cannot make contact with you while properly strapped in, it should be fine. Obviously these big cages that have a lot of tubes around the driver and his head are dangerous, but I would think an 8 or ten point that is built close to the roof should be fine. I have a Mustang setup for road racing and the roll bar is now where near my head. I'll install 5 point harnesses. Thoughts?
That would obviously give you a different perspective for sure. And, my comments were in no way arguing the safety aspect. Just reminded me of a time in my life that I didn't consider safety much.
Great question indeed would need some bulletproofing and a guy with experience to set it up like one question leads to a hundred more starting at the yoke . Dad told me they were convenient to drive to the track - swap gears - race - swap gears back and go home and I have seen a few sandwiched between a pair of full size Racemasters but ya how doable depends on parts and setup and maintenance and how you treat your machine . There are great launches and scattered launches alot is up to your drive style .
Cool piece of history! Quick change should be fine (they use them in dirt track stuff alot) Great DAY.......it's gonna be a cruise-in/car & coffee piece not a full blown B/Gasser fellas!! I doubt there will be too many stab & steer sections on the way! Especially with the kids in the car! It's a piece of local history brought back to life with...snotty idle.....whistling blower....open headers... vibrate-the-ground when he wheels in...smell of racing fuel running through a rich running FI system....tick..tick...tick sound of a hot gasser engine cooling down...with electric fan(s) cooling everything off. All the stuff old guys like to see and can appreciate! Wish I could be there the first time ya show up!! Man!!!........you Cali guys with old hot rods hidden away in every old falling down garage....JeeZ!! 6sally6
That is a 101 or 201 Halibrand quick change. I wouldn't run it on the strip. It's not beefy enough for the shock at launch. They were designed to be run on dirt and not launched full bore. If you really want a QC, move up to a 301 or big Franklin.
I did some quick searching and compared it this crappy photo I have and it looks to be a 201. I'll keep that in mind if I ever decide to run it on the track. For now I just want to get it running.
If that glide doesn't have a brake, I bet it's Fine! I'm Sure the previous owner was Smart enough, To know what work's.. It's not broke
Made a little progress today. Unfortunately I have to store it at my parents property until I finish my current project so don't mind the mess. Pulled the water pump and I can't see any signs of block fill. Also cleaned the inside out, and pulled the blower and ignition
The blower is a potvin??? And appears to be aluminum. Can you guys tell me anything about these? I did a quick search and seems like they used to be commonly mounted in front of the motor. The bearings seem to have some play so I'll need to find a shop in socal to go through it.
Potvin engineered the front mounted supercharger drive. I would guess they also made conventional top mounted drives. The nozzles in the injectors up by scoop appear to be a priming circuit. If the owner street raced this beast he didn't commute to work with it. I had a great idea to use Hilborn Injection on a street car. The most cantankerous SOB ever created. That setup lasted about a week. If you carbs on top of the supercharger you will have idle circuits and chokes. Will be a fun car for sure. Joe
I'm actually purchasing another 671 this week which comes with a pair of 650s. If I can't live with the injection I'll make the swap. The plan is to install a mechanical fuel pump that delivers fuel from the fuel cell in the back to a surge tank in front which then supplies the Hilborn pump. So the swap to carbs would actually be very easy.
That is a Potvin end plate with the fuel pump drive. When you install a Potvin front mounted blower you can’t use the conventional timing cover/cam driven pump drive. Nor can you run a belt driven pump, your only options are the front of the blower or a distributor drive. The blower itself is probably a reworked GM 6-71 and the drive looks like Delta Machine stuff. All classic race parts. That Potvin end plate is very rare and worth a bunch to someone who is trying to piece together a front mounted blower setup. Same goes for the blower drive setup. Was the block filled?
I pulled the water pump and couldn't find any signs of concrete, so I'm going to run it. I'd love to see the parts go to someone that needs it. Are there any good spots to advertise it?
Right here in the HAMB classifieds is a good start but you may reach a wider market and may get more on eBay in the auction format. It’s hard to put a price on those parts these days, for a while it seemed like there were dozens of old race cars being restored all over the country each year but things seem to have changed. In SoCal, Jeff Gaynor (Mooneyham blowers) and Robert Rheel deal in used drag race parts. Up north, I think Brendan Murry still buys and sells old race parts. My info may be outdated, I’ve been out here in the boondocks for a while. Lol
Not too many updates. I just wrapped up another car project I had been working on and now I am in the planning and saving stages. I did pick up a radiator, and another blower, intake and carbs (I'll probably get it running and driving with carbs and then install hilborn). I really want to install a 4 speed and I may sell the quick change in favor of a Ford 9". I want to have a clear vision and some parts before I bring the car to my garage and start tearing into it.
The Jalopy Journal
