Carlisle Celebrity Award

Its almost two weeks until the All-Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, PA and I Can't Wait! I took the last two years off from going to the show and I am looking forward to meeting up with some old friends and meeting a few new ones.

The club tent is all set and my car is registered, all done well in advance of the event, so when I got an email from Carlisle Productions last week from a person I don't usually have contact with I had to wonder what was going on.

I have been invited to attend the Celebrity Luncheon on Saturday during the event. What does this mean? Other than getting a free lunch I was chosen to judge a "Celebrity Pick" for the event this year. I'm stunned, surprised and ecstatic to have been chosen for this. This is going to make the show really special for me this year.

So. I have to set some criteria for my pick. It goes without saying that for the purposes of fairness I won't be choosing an early Valiant or Barracuda. I don't want to play favorites.

So I guess it gets philosophical. What do I believe a car should be? What are some of the trials and tribulations we as early Valiant and Barracuda owners have we had to endure during the restoration or resto-mod process of getting our cars back to driveable status?  I have a very "Do It Yourself" attitude about this hobby so any car chosen must have a hands on approach by its owner and family.

The chosen car must exhibit some resourcefulness to overcome some the adversity of finding available parts, or the lack of parts. We all know how hard it is to locate that one trim piece or match the seat covers for some models. We can't just open a catalog and order everything needed for a repair and that will factor into my choice.

Does it need to be painted? No. Does it need to be driven? Yes. Does it need to be a complete restoration? Probably not as I have a soft spot for "rolling restoration" projects.  It will most likely be a 1966 or older Mopar but I'll leave a caveat for that one because you never know what will show up at Carlisle.

Will it be a modern Mopar? NO! No PT Cruisers or 2012 Challengers. Will it be a cheesy 4x4 Duster painted orange with a "01" painted on the side? Don't hold your breath! Will it be an E body? Doubtful.

This is going to be very hard and very fun at the same time. Picking a car that represents the Club's attitude of "Just Fix It, Drive It and Enjoy It" will keep me on the show field more and in the swap meet area less.

But that's OK. Because this year, I'm a Celebrity Judge representing The Early Valiant and Barracuda Club at the biggest all-Mopar show on the east coast! Its going to be a good weekend!

Rat Rod Engines



The thing I like seeing in a T Bucket, coupe or early rod is a unique engine with odd intakes and carburetors. Here are a few from last nights cruise in Colchester, CT.

 

 

 

Check the Dual Back Draft Carbs on this Buick Engine.

 

 

A modern small block but Love the carbs. Check the vacuum "Horn" mounted to the intake!

 

 

 

And one Wicked cool radiator cap replacement!



Mile Markers

You know you are a "Car Guy" when you see highway mile markers as engine sizes.

Spring Is In The Air

I've been putting a few miles on my car this past week logging data to get the new fuel injection system dialed in and its been fun doing it, but as I drove through the center of my town, I saw it.

The Community Bulletin Board Sign. The one that lists all the upcoming events. There it was. "Cruise To The Green, This Wednesday".

I thought "It's that time already? The snow just melted" and at the same time, " My car is dirty as hell!"

I have plans this weekend so I have no time to get the 'Cuda ready for a show, even if its the first one of the season. Plus I'll still be driving it next week tweaking the programming of the injection.

Since the Car Show/Cruise Season is upon us, what have you done to get your car ready?

Stock vs. Modified - Factory vs. Aftermarket

If you have been following along then you know I'm currently in the process of installing throttle body fuel injection on my 1966 Barracuda. Its not being done from a kit and there is a lot to alter to marry the wiring needed to power and control all the various components to the existing stock harness.

I also had to modify a distributor for the system. Here's where I find the "Great Divide". I already made the mods and went searching through various forums for more info on others who have done similar mods or upgrades to their Mopars. Many have and there are quite a few people using GM ignitors to fire their ignitions, either a full on HEI distributor setup or just an ignition module bolted to a stock Mopar electronic distributor.

Here it gets weird because there seems to be those who feel that anything but components from Ma Mopar are the ONLY suitable part to go on the car. The other side of the argument are the people who are looking for more performance or better fuel mileage from their cars. To the first group, the only ignition upgrade from points ignition that YOU SHOULD EVER DO is to install the Mopar electronic ignition. BECAUSE IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE FACTORY, WHY DO YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE!

Sorry for the yelling, but that's how some of those forum posts get. Below is an exchange between two people from a Mopar forum to show the divide.

Rally 'Cuda Front End

I'm very picky about the look of my car and take my time with any custom changes I do to it to make sure they keep true to the era and don't come off looking cheesy or "bolted on". I Want it to look smooth and refined almost like the factory could have done it.

Over the years its evolved into what I'm calling a 1966 Rallye 'Cuda. The Hood started the look, the rims continued it as well as the side stripes and Formula S badges on the lower front fenders.

Now, I'm thinking about continuing the look with adding dual exhaust dumping out in front of the rear tires. I'm also considering another front end change. I like the 1966 grill so I wont mess with that, but what about swapping the bumper for a 1965 Barracuda bumper and the lower valance like a 72, 73 'Cuda? That might be taking it too far and lose too much of the 1966 look.

I would make a custom valance from fiberglass and could incorporate brake cooling ducts or round driving lights instead of the rectangle ones.

I (badly) Photo shopped my car to get an idea of what it might look like. I'd like to hear your thoughts or if you have any suggestions please leave a comment below.

BEFORE

AFTER

My Garage

 So, I'm in my garage working on my car and along comes the friendly neighborhood OSHA inspector. He walks right in and immediately trips on his own feet but claimed it was because of the pile of parts blocking access to my tools.

"Be Careful!" I tell him. But he says nothing for a minute or two as he looks around and writes some things down on a little note pad. "This place is a mess." he finally says. "Your work bench is cluttered, You can't get to your tools, your window is half blocked and you have a pile of crap in the middle of your work space."

"Can I see some I.D. Please." I ask the guy. He continues, "You have too many hardware bins with multiple items that need sorting, Your vise is in the wrong spot on the bench and for heavens sake put the bench grinder on a pedestal stand and gain some area on the bench."

"Who are you?", I ask.  "I'm afraid I need to fine you a 6 pack for all these infractions. You're lucky I'm willing to overlook your blatant misuse of pegboard. Simply awful."

So the guy rips off a page from his note pad, hands me a list of the infractions, picks up some beer and promptly leaves muttering something about being back for a re-inspection or more beer. I'm stunned, speechless really. I would have tried to stop him from leaving if I didn't know he was right. My garage work space was a mess. Well I did something about it! Check the photos below for the transformation.

What Makes You A Car Guy?

What makes you a car guy? Or car girl for that matter? Why do you like cars? What makes you pause when a Hemi Roadrunner drives down the road? Why do you stop at tag sales when there's car parts laying on the lawn?

Driving to work today I was asking myself these questions and I can't really pinpoint a specific answer. I don't know if its a lifestyle or a sub-culture, but I like being known as a car guy.

This past year while experiencing my "Automotive Burnout", I still knew I was a car guy because I would see an older car on the highway, or drive past a cruise night and I felt that spark inside me light up for a moment. I can still tell most makes and models by the headlights or the tail lights. I still liked to see the cars even if I didn't want to stop and look around.

I finally snapped out of it and have a new upgrade to focus on at the moment. The questions still linger. What is it about these older cars that I like? Well, I like making something worn out work again. I like making something old, new and usable. I like being seen in my car when I drive around and taking time to talk to people in parking lots about cars.

I like upgrading old technology with new components to improve its function. I like putting my personal spin and custom touches on a stock design and making it my own.

Fuel Injection for your Mopar

Many of you know me and my approach to fixing, upgrading or simply making your car unique as being a "Built it, not Bought it" kind of style.

Just look through the tech articles and the various upgrades I have shared with you in the Tech Center on the Clubs website. I'm always looking for ways to upgrade my 1966 Barracuda and its 1966 automotive technology.

The changes I've made from stock are not too far off what was available in 1966. Front Disc brakes and anti sway bar to name a few. Electronic Ignition was a great upgrade toward modern technology, but what about Fuel Delivery? I mean we have mostly have had a single choice, Carburetors. But what if we could have Fuel Injection? What if we could have a tune able system with off the shelf components available at any parts store? What if we could do it ourselves without purchasing a mega dollar kit? Well, I'm here to tell you that we can!

Storm Sandy

Hey all. I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone affected by Storm Sandy well. I hope that you all came through it with little or no damage and that everyone stayed safe.

I myself am part of the Emergency Operations for the town I work for and I can tell you that although on the Eastern Connecticut shore we got hit bad, it is nothing compared to what was felt in Western CT, NY and NJ.  Add insult to injury by dumping 6 + inches of snow on top of it.

If you feel the need to help, find a good charity and give them some cash, or donate blood, or just go help a neighbor clean up their yard or bring them some bottled water. I'm sure they will appreciate the gesture as these storms will no doubt take an emotional toll on those effected the most and a little help will go a long way just to restore a persons sense of sanity right now.

Remember, we are all in this together, this thing called life.

The Club Turns 10.

A little more than ten years ago I was working as a auto technician, with a small family, one real income and a car. My 1966 Barracuda. There was no money to do anything to the car at the time, so with time on my hands and my newly acquired used piece of modern technology I logged onto the newest fad, the internet, and created a website.

In 1998, this was the cool thing to do. I logged on to AOL with my 14.4 baud modem and created my personal site of family pictures and my Barracuda. Slowly it morphed to a site of just early Barracuda related info, the 1964 to 1966 Barracuda Homepage. I quickly outgrew AOL, switched to a local internet provider and recreated the site as The Early Barracuda Homepage. I added features like a mailing list, a chat room and used a guest book as a simple "want ads" listing. Tech articles were written and archived for future reference for all.

Step into the Wayback Machine for view of The Early Barracuda Homepage in 1999.

As one of the first Mopar related websites and a early member of the Mopar Webring, as well as swapping links with many other sites, the traffic through my site increased. I featured a new "Readers Ride" each month and more and more links to new sites and parts suppliers.

I talked to the guy I asked to be my chat room moderator about an idea I had about taking things to the next level. Well, I paid him a chicken for his time (old joke) and in 2000 we decided to rename the site The Early Valiant and Barracuda Club.

Step into the Wayback Machine for view of The Early Valiant and Barracuda Club in 2000.

This was way before MySpace and Facebook or web 2.0 apps. Before forums, Flickr and blog sites like this one. In the early days of the internet, there was no social networking sites. We had our mailing list, weekly chat nights, a place for people to send pictures of their cars to be displayed for all to see. We helped each other fix their cars by offering advise, technical support and help finding parts.

Step into the Wayback Machine for view of The Early Valiant and Barracuda Club in 2002.

We created our own social network of Mopar automotive hobbyists. An online community that has made it 10 years. Many people offered to help with club operations over the years. Don Hill with our printed newsletter "The Early Connection", Erik Ievins with webmaster and programming duties, Stacey Wisniewski as treasurer and Jeff Kopp with the new mailing list. Many others helped with advise or stories and technical assistance for all our members.

Things are a little different than when we first started, but all-in-all the same sense of community remains and that has been our main goal all along.

This blog post may be a little self serving, but with all the people who have contributed in ways small and large, and all the effort put forth to provide a gathering place for our small section of the collector car hobby, I think it's ok to honk our horn once in a while.

From "Da Prez's" Garage

A few random observations to share.

Has this happened to you? You've been working in the garage all day any your significant other comes down to see how things are going. You get close to get a little kiss and you get this. " Eww, you smell like car." How do you respond to that? I mean, what can you say to that?

" Well, Hell Yeah I do!" "It's my new cologne, ode de car guy." "Huh, I don't smell anything except the burritos I had for lunch."

Space heaters are not overated. I got a good sized kerosene heater to warm the garage so I can get some work done on the car this winter and I have made some good progress. "Heat, it's not just for Summer."

Air Compressor. Don't forget to turn it off when your done or it will leak pressure slowly to the point where the low pressure switch trips and the compressor turns on to refill the tank. This is only a problem if your garage is directly below your bedroom at it kicks on at 3 AM.

When using a can of brake cleaner to clean a transmission valve body, wear a face shield. That stuff burns.

To wrap things up, don't lie upside down to take pictures under your dash with a head cold. The pressure is too much and your pictures look bad.

Twas the night before Carlisle

Twas the night before Carlisle and all through the shop,
Not a Mopar was stirring, not even a Dart.

The car keys were hung on their peg hooks with care,
In hopes Clif Winters soon would be there.

The tools were packed all snug in their chest,
After going non-stop for a month, they needed a rest.

And momma in her nightgown and I in my cap,
were watching re-runs of “Pinks”, to restless to nap.

When out in the road there were tires a squealin’,
I sprang from my bed to see what was peelin’.

Away to the garage door I flew like a flash,
Pulling open the door and knocking over the trash.

The full moon shone bright on the dew covered lawn,
and glinting off chrome, early before dawn.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear?
But an early A body with a resonator and 8 cylinders.

With a little race driver that was so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be Veep Clif!

More rapid than chevys his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name.

Now Polara and Coronet, now Valiant and ‘Cuda,
On Charger, On Challenger, On Demon and Daytona!

Watch the top of the race tree, Pre-stage lights so tall.
Now race away! Race away! Race away all!

I ran back behind my Barracuda and hid,
as Veep Clif stopped in the driveway with a skid.

He was dressed all in denim from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were covered with brake fluid and dirt.

A bundle of parts he had flung on his back,
And he looked like vendor from a swap meet at that.

Into my garage he came, a right jolly old tech,
He popped open my hood to give things a check.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
He tuned her up good, and then turned with a jerk.

And laying a key in the ignition he did,
It fired right up and idled, then closed the engine bay lid.

He sprang to his ride, to the throttle gave a kick,
And down the road he blasted, rowing his Hurst 4 speed stick.

But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,
Happy Carlisle to all, and to all a happy cruise night!

Classic Cars and Winter Driving

Some of you don’t know how good you really have it. I am envious of those who live in the warmer states where if you chose could drive your “special ride” year round. I’m sure there are those of you who are envious of us in the northeast where we can drive our cars at least 6 to 8 months of the year. (I’m looking at our Canadian friends).

It’s February in Connecticut and I have been driving my car on the nice weekends just to diagnose various issues. Recently I had replaced the stock 25 year old coil and went for a drive testing the improved performance and trying to figure out where a vibration was that I have. I had just balanced the wheels and pulled out on the road when it started to snow a little. I figured it was just passing flurries as the weather guy wasn’t calling for anything.

As I pulled on the highway for a 1 exit blast, the flurries turned to snow showers. I’m thinking “This Sucks!” as I get the car up to 75, 80 MPH and feel the vibration I was looking for. I get to the off ramp ready for the return trip and the snow got worse.

At this point I have to turn on the wipers and what is the one thing I did not replace yet? Yup, the wiper blades! I took the return trip back at the safer 65 MPH, the snow blowing over the car as I drove. I get the car home safely and as I was pulling into the garage the snow turned to rain.

Right now I’m in “Carlisle” mode. I’m doing whatever I can do to get my car ready to drive to the All-Chrysler Nationals for the first time and good ol’ Mother Nature is playing the spoiler.
So yeah, I’m envious of you who have better weather year round. Enjoy it, relish it and feel for us in the cooler climes that can only look out the window and wait for Spring or even Summer to take the Hot Rod for a weekend blast.