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modelman1960 · 12-02-2020, 03:32 PM

These stories bring back so many memories of my youth, that I had to reply. My Dad and I started drag racing when I was 14 years old(1968).
We'd been racing his drive to work '66 chevelle, and he didn't want to risk a failure and have no work transportation. We bought a 1960 Impala w/ a 305 horse 348 "W" engine and a powerglide. We brought it home and the only place to pull the engine was in the back yard under the big Maple tree that was strong enough to hold the 1,1/2 ton chain fall and the engine/ transmission. We were able to maneuver the engine out of the car and down to the ground, but how to get the engine into the garage which was 125 feet away. My 1st attempt at brilliance(I've had many failures since) was to remove the tranny and mount the engine on the engine stand. Fine, but it won't roll across the grass. I got 2 4x8 Plywood boards and rolled the stand onto 1, move the board, roll again, move the board. You all get the idea. It's now in the garage and I'm learning how to build a Jr. stock eliminator engine. Cool? Well it was if I knew than that the pistons have to go in a certain order, because the cylinder is the combustion chamber and there are valve reliefs that are staggered to match the valve in the heads. I installed the pistons wrong, and although the engine fired up and ran, it bent a couple of intake valves when they hit the piston tops. So imagine the whole process of board moving, installing, running, and then repeating it to re-build the engine again. My father was none to pleased. I never did that again, even after pulling the engine each fall to "freshen" it. To quote the late Dan Fogelburg: "Lessons learned are like bridges burned, you only need to cross them but once".

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, and remember why we celebrate the day.
God Bless,
Walt

12-02-2020, 03:32 PM	#3
modelman1960 Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central N.Y. Posts: 230 Likes: 2 Liked 55 Times in 22 Posts	Re: Never Be Afraid These stories bring back so many memories of my youth, that I had to reply. My Dad and I started drag racing when I was 14 years old(1968). We'd been racing his drive to work '66 chevelle, and he didn't want to risk a failure and have no work transportation. We bought a 1960 Impala w/ a 305 horse 348 "W" engine and a powerglide. We brought it home and the only place to pull the engine was in the back yard under the big Maple tree that was strong enough to hold the 1,1/2 ton chain fall and the engine/ transmission. We were able to maneuver the engine out of the car and down to the ground, but how to get the engine into the garage which was 125 feet away. My 1st attempt at brilliance(I've had many failures since) was to remove the tranny and mount the engine on the engine stand. Fine, but it won't roll across the grass. I got 2 4x8 Plywood boards and rolled the stand onto 1, move the board, roll again, move the board. You all get the idea. It's now in the garage and I'm learning how to build a Jr. stock eliminator engine. Cool? Well it was if I knew than that the pistons have to go in a certain order, because the cylinder is the combustion chamber and there are valve reliefs that are staggered to match the valve in the heads. I installed the pistons wrong, and although the engine fired up and ran, it bent a couple of intake valves when they hit the piston tops. So imagine the whole process of board moving, installing, running, and then repeating it to re-build the engine again. My father was none to pleased. I never did that again, even after pulling the engine each fall to "freshen" it. To quote the late Dan Fogelburg: "Lessons learned are like bridges burned, you only need to cross them but once". I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, and remember why we celebrate the day. God Bless, Walt