Wailing & gnashing of teeth...
- Thread starter Dr.Jass
- Start date
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
I really should take more pictures of what's out there. There's literally a 6' high bolt bin full of new small ancillary parts like ARP fasteners (every one on an engine), valve locks & retainers, ad nauseum. A couple of big cabinets hold new sets of valves, springs, a cam or two, etc., most of which is still in its plastic wrap. It's a monumental hoard, with the vast majority of the engine/transmission stuff being B/RB-related.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
It was all his Dad's. Dad passed away last year and it's all been sitting since. The son, Mike, is a gearhead but there's just so much stuff his pa hoarded over the years that he's getting rid of most of it. The two race cars are in a 30x60 pole barn with two other cars (my '71 Challenger and another, stock '66 Coronet) and tons of parts. There's a smaller garage that's got a lot of miscellany in it, including a couple of engines pulled over the years. That's where I'd found the complete 1974 360HP engine I bought, just tucked under a shelf.
Mike has a '70 Swinger drag car and a '72 Challenger Rallye. He doesn't want to get rid of anything he can potentially use on either one (I believe the Swinger has a 440). So there's stuff he won't sell like the '66 drag car, but the only way to know is to ask. The only thing he's refused to sell me so far is a pair of '67 915 440HP heads.
He was talking about selling the Duster drag car but he's not sure now. It's an Indy-headed stroker (we think a 505) and the car was professionally back-halved by a race chassis shop. It's never even been started. He's not even sure about the '66 Coronet racer. Everything about the status of the cars--engine specs, what was used, what needs yet to be done--died with his Dad.
Mike has a '70 Swinger drag car and a '72 Challenger Rallye. He doesn't want to get rid of anything he can potentially use on either one (I believe the Swinger has a 440). So there's stuff he won't sell like the '66 drag car, but the only way to know is to ask. The only thing he's refused to sell me so far is a pair of '67 915 440HP heads.
He was talking about selling the Duster drag car but he's not sure now. It's an Indy-headed stroker (we think a 505) and the car was professionally back-halved by a race chassis shop. It's never even been started. He's not even sure about the '66 Coronet racer. Everything about the status of the cars--engine specs, what was used, what needs yet to be done--died with his Dad.
v8440
Well-known member
Jeez, that kinda sucks. I sometimes think about what would happen with all my stuff if I croaked unexpectedly. Lots of it no one would really know the specs of. Is this a situation where it might be appropriate for an outsider (me) to try to buy some stuff, or would that be a no no?
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
We've done our level best to just keep it amongst Wang, Stretch and myself so far, simply because we knew Mike's Dad and were friends of his. Mike's Mom was actually a childhood friend of my Dad's, so that helps. Regardless, Mike trusts us and knows we're not trying to screw him around--I asked him multiple times whether $2,500 was enough for the '71 Challenger. He's letting us get our pick of the stuff, and one thing we've all avoided is buying things just to resell. It's not that he doesn't know about this stuff; he's just being generous to his Dad's friends while easing his own workload. Whatever's left that he doesn't want will end up in a trailer to the Nats or Indy, probably at blow-out pricing because he can't store the stuff at his place and he won't want to haul it back to his Mom's.
I don't think he's against an outsider buying anything, but it's a lot easier to deal with the situation face-to-face. There's stuff up there I still want, and he said "Just put it in a pile and we'll go over it next time I'm around." Mike's not local, but he'll be back here at Labor Day and again at Christmas.
When I get the chance, I'll get pictures. If someone sees something or things they want, I doubt Mike is going to say no unless he wants it for himself. None of this stuff is going anywhere until next spring at the soonest, and neither Wang, Stretch, nor myself are eager to get anyone else out there that might take advantage of Mike or his Mom.
Stretch
Hey! There’s no easy button for a body like this!
The rails that came with it a perfect. The rotisserie is junk. Its two engine stands that have angle iron bolted to them. No jacks. It doesn't rotate smoothly or easily. And it has spent enough time outdoors that the vertical tubes have fild with water, froze, and split.