Starting 2021 with hopefully some sort of MII Hub to Hub Kit


Decided to tear the 54 front suspension out and build a more modern front stub. Since we are slamming the car down and bagging it, I decided why not upgraded the spindles, Move into Upper and lower tubular arms, crossmember, etc. Will leave this post with some updated photos of where we are as of Dec 2020. The plan is to cut the front suspension out in January of 2021.

Let the mods begin


Now that the drivetrain is gone its time to come up with a plan for the Merc. The decisions were to install a Windsor and stroke it out to 427 cubes. Slam and bag the car and add a 4-link to the rear. Let the mods begin…..

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The Windsor needed to have different motor mounts made to sit in the Merc. I think if we would of built an FE, I could of used the same location as the Y-block set up. Made up some new motor mounts for the frame and the motor.

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AirRide Setup – ASCO SC8238T402 – 12V DC 3/8″ Brass electric valves QTY 8 @ 230psi


NEW – ASCO SC8238T402 – 12V DC 3/8″ Brass electric valves QTY 8 @ 230psi

You can use these NEW valves to build a nice less expensive air ride set up for your car.

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$225.00 Contact me if interested

Auto Math 101


 

CUBIC INCH DISPLACEMENT

BORE X BORE X STROKE X .7854 X # CYLINDERS

4.030 x 4.030 x 3.750 x .7854 x 8 = 382.6 ( 383 Chevy )

PISTON TO DECK CLEARANCE VOLUME

BORE X BORE X 12.87 X PISTON TO DECK CLEARANCE [ PLUS OR MINUS ]

EXAMPLE:   4.030 X 4.030 X 12.87 X .009 = 1.88cc

COMPRESSED GASKET VOLUME

BORE X BORE X 12.87 X COMPRESSED GASKET THICKNESS

EXAMPLE: 4.030 X 4.030 X 12.87 X .030 = 6.27cc

NET COMBUSTION – CHAMBER VOLUME

1. DOME PISTON EQUATION

NET COMBUSTION CHAMBER VOLUME = COMBUSTION CHAMBER VOLUME–PISTON DOME  VOLUME + [PISTON DECK CLEARANCE + COMPRESSED GASKET THICKNESS]

EXAMPLE:    64cc HEADS, 12cc DOME PISTON, 1.88cc OF PISTON TO DECK CLEARANCE AND 6.27cc OF COMPRESSED GASKET VOLUME

64-12=52

1.88+6.27=8.15

52+8.15=60.15cc

NOTE: ALL CALCULATIONS MUST BE IN cc’s

2.  DISHED OR FLAT TOP PISTON EQUATION NET COMBUSTION CHAMBER VOLUME = COMBUSTION CHAMBER  VOLUME + PISTON DISH OR VALVE POCKET VOLUME + PISTON DECK CLEARANCE + COMPRESSED GASKET THICKNESS

EXAMPLE: 64cc HEADS, A-12cc PISTON DISH OR VALVE POCKET, 1.88cc  OF PISTON TO DECK CLEARANCE AND 6.27cc  OF COMPRESSED GASKET VOLUME

64cc + 1.88 + 6.27 =84.15cc

NOTE: ALL  CALCULATIONS MUST BE IN cc’s

COMPRESSION RATIO

{ CUBIC INCH DISPLACEMENT} ÷ {# CYLINDERS} x {16.39} ÷ {NET COMBUSTION CHAMBER VOLUME}+ 1

EXAMPLE: DIVIDE 355 BY 8 = 44.375

MULTIPLY 44.375 BY 16.39 = 727.306

DIVIDE  727.306 BY YOUR NET COMBUSTION  CHAMBER VOLUME, LETS SAY IT’S 60.15 = 12.09 add 1

YOUR COMPRESSION RATIO WOULD BE 1309-1

BORE /STROKE RATIO

BORE ÷ STROKE

EXAMPLE: 4.030 ÷ 3.48 = 1.158

ROD RATIO

CONNECTING ROD LENGTH ÷ CRANKSHAFT STROKE

EXAMPLE: 5.700 ÷ 3.489 = 1.637

PISTON SPEED

STROKE  IN INCHES X RPM ÷ 6

RESULTS MEASURED IN FEET PER MINUTE

EXAMPLE: 3.48 X 6000 ÷ 6 = 3480 FPM

CARBURETOR CFM

BIGGER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER

WE MUST KNOW THE THEORETICAL AIR CAPACITY TO DETERMINE THE VOLUMETRIC EFFICIENCY

THEORETICAL  CFM = RPM X DISPLACEMENT ÷ 3456

VOLUMETRIC EFFICIENCY = ACTUAL CFM ÷ THEORETICAL CFM X 100

STREET CARB. CFM = RPM X DISPLACEMENT ÷ 3456 X .85

RACING CARB. CFM = RPM X DISPLACEMENT ÷ 3456 X 1.10

CAM LIFT vs. GROSS VALVE LIFT

CAM LIFT  OR LOBE LIFT X ROCKER RATIO = GROSS VALVE LIFT

THIS LEADS ME TO THE NEXT  FORMULA TO DETERMINE MY GROSS VALVE LIFT IF I CHANGE MY ROCKER RATIO SUCH AS , INSTALLING 1.6 SBC ROCKERS WITH A COMP. CAMS XTREME ENERGY # XE 268H CAMSHAFT. CURRENT LISTING STATES .477/.480 LIFT w/1.5 ROCKERS

VALVE LIFT ÷ ROCKER RATIO = LOBE LIFT [ CAM LIFT ]

LOBE LIFT X ROCKER RATIO = GROSS VALVE LIFT

EXAMPLE: .477 ÷ 1.5 = .318 [ LOBE LIFT ]

.318 X 1.6 = .5088 [ GROSS VALVE LIFT ]

NOTE: IF THE CAM HAS A DIFFERENT LIFT FOR THE EXHAUST, USE THE SAME FORMULA FOR THE EXHAUST. ALL OTHER SPEC’S  FOR THE CAMSHAFT REMAIN THE SAME.

THEREFORE THE COMP.  CAMS #XE 268H USING 1.6 ROCKER RATIO PRODUCES .508/ .512 LIFT.

Quick Reference – “Bore Spacing”

Bore spacing is the distance from the center line of one cylinder bore to that of the adjacent cylinder. Assuming the bores are perfectly round, this distance can be determined by measuring the distance from one cylinder wall edge to the far cylinder wall of the adjacent cylinder. To save all of our Greaseralley readers the trouble, here’s the bore spacing (in inches) on common American V8’s:

  • AMC: 4.75
  • BUICK 350: 4.24
  • BUICK 400-430,455: 4.75
  • CADILLAC 472, 500: 5.00
  • CHEVY SMALL BLOCK: 4.40
  • CHEVY BIG BLOCK: 4.84
  • MOPAR SMALL BLOCK: 4.46
  • MOPAR BIG BLOCK: 4.80
  • FORD SMALL BLOCK: 4.38
  • FORD FE: 4.63
  • OLDSMOBILE: 4.625
  • PONTIAC: 4.62

WWW.STROKERKITS.COM

Forever Fin-tastic: Cadillac Ranch Still Standing Tall At 40


            In 1974, three artists from San Francisco found themselves in Potter County, Texas, burying ten Cadillacs nose first into a Texas wheat field alongside Interstate 40, an art installation that would eventually come to be known as Cadillac Ranch. This is an eventful week for the Cadillac Ranch, one of the most celebrated roadside landmarks in the country: on Saturday, the site celebrates its fortieth anniversary, and on Tuesday, Stanley Marsh 3, the art installation’s eccentric millionaire benefactor, died. Marsh’s legacy was tainted in his final years after a string of teenage boys  alleged he had sexually abused them.  (Read Skip Hollandsworth’s obituary of Marsh  here.) In the wake of those revelations, Amarilloans weren’t sure what to think of the Cadillac Ranch anymore (one even suggested  bulldozing it), but this unease largely lifted after a settlement to a lawsuit revealed that Marsh no longer owned the property. And so “the hood ornament of Route 66,” lives on, constantly changing as passing graffiti artists leave their stamp on it.

Amarillo native and longtime  Texas Monthly  photographer Wyatt McSpadden, who went to work for Marsh when he was nineteen years old, has been documenting the evolution of the art installation since before the first car went into the ground. “The Cadillacs were buried when I was 22 and just getting started as a photographer. Those pictures still have a life,” he said. In 1978,  Texas Monthly ‘s associate art director Nancy McMillen called up McSpadden and gave him his first assignment for the magazine: to photograph Marsh, whom he dubs “Amarillo’s Mad Hatter.” “All of this has been a huge thread in my life. I hate that he went out with such an awful stain but I have the option to remember the good things, and that’s what I’m doing.” McSpadden’s photos and captions of the Cadillac Ranch over the years follow below.


One of the few images that remain of Cadillac Ranch in its original condition, taken in 1976. Once the graffiti mobs got started there was no stopping them.


The last car purchased was the first car buried. Here Doug Michels of Ant Farm, the group of California artists that created the project, seals the deal on the 1949 model in an alley in northeast Amarillo.


The Cadillacs were buried in sequence from the oldest, 1949, to the newest, 1964. There are 10, each car representing the latest version of the famous Cadillac tail fin.


Members of Ant Farm moved to Amarillo for several months to plan, survey the property, purchase and bury the cars. This fellow is a neon artist from England, Roger Dainton, who happened to be in Amarillo on an assignment and became an honorary member of Ant Farm by helping to bury the cars.


There was giant party to mark the completion of the Cadillac Ranch in late June. Everyone was invited from the bluebloods of Amarillo, the hippies, and here a ranch foremen from a nearby cattle operation and his wife.


Cadillac Ranch 1990. The caddies were painted several times in a variety of colors and shades of grey. The pink period was one of the most popular. No paint job stayed unmarked for long.


Another version of the chameleon Cadillac Ranch. Probably taken in the early nineties.


Cadillac Ranch has been located in active wheat pastures in both locations. In the winter and early spring the rancher would have steers out grazing. Cattle out to pasture can be squirrely but this steer was very patient in posing for me. Perhaps it was his third leg that made him so agreeable.


Ant Farm artist Chip Lord returned to check on his herd a couple of years after they were buried.


Cadillac Ranch was moved in 1997 from its original site along Interstate 40 to a new spot two miles west along the interstate. The move was necessary because Amarillo’s growth was westward and the property where the caddies were buried was becoming increasingly valuable.


A Cadillac dangles from a crane during the 1997 move two miles westward along Interstate 40.


My younger son Stuart in 1989. He and his brother, Trevor, would join me on my picture making excursions to the ranch. I was using a special panoramic camera for a project and thought it would be a good format for the caddies.

THE UNLOCKING OF AMERICA’S CEMENT PLAYGROUND | DOGTOWN & Z-BOYS


Picture 6zephyr team dogtown west los angeles skateboard

ca. 1975, the original Zephyr (Z-Boys) skateboard team at the Del Mar Nationals, the first US national skateboarding competition — Shogo Kubo, Bob Biniak, Nathan Pratt, Stacy Peralta, Jim Muir, Allen Sarlo, Chris Cahill, Tony Alva, Paul Constantineau, Jay Adams, Peggy Oki, Wentzle Ruml – Image by Craig Stecyk.  While the Z-Boys non-conformist style and brash behavior did not sweep the winners podium, every major skateboard company took notice and came after their stars with lucrative offers and endorsement deals. Jeff Ho and Skip could not compete with the big brand’s deep pockets– within 6 months, the Zephyr team we be no more.

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Born out of the gritty Venice Beach surf slumtown called Dogtown– where you had better have eyes in the back of your head– the infamous Z-Boys were the motley badass boys of skateboarding assembled by the co-founders of Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions–Craig Stecyk, Jeff Ho, and Skip Engblom. This scrappy group of street kids, who gave skateboarding  teeth, were loyal disciples of their radical father figures who put Dogtown style on the map. These kids would carry the torch and create a skateboarding cultural revolution that started as an extension of their surfing, and grew into a distinctive Z-Boys style that forever changed the skating world.

Heavily influenced by Dogtown’s mean streets, Jeff Ho’s surfboard design and attitude was a direct reflection of the neighborhood’s tough low rider and graffiti lifestyle. Ho and crew thumbed their noses (or more accurately “flipped the bird”) at the mainstream squeaky-clean surf culture, and the Zephyr surf team fiercely guarded their turf against any invading non-locals who wanted to ride their waves. And if the locals didn’t get you by hurling chunks of concrete and glass as you surfed, the insanely dangerous conditions of the decaying Pacific Ocean Park would. The mangled and jutting pier pylons were there waiting for a screw-up so they could impale you, or snap your precious board to pieces.

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Dogtown’s legendary Zephyr surf team with c0-founder and designer Jeff Ho far right.

The Zephyr surf team was the mafia of the waves, and that same toughness and independent spirit was manifested in their talent and angst on the pavement. Jeff and Skip nurtured and forged this young gaggle of waifs and strays, many from broken homes or no place to go, into the world’s best skaters. The kids all found their role at Jeff Ho’s shop– whether it was sweeping the floors or rolling joints for Jeff– everyone found a unique way, on their boards and in the shop, to contribute, complement, and propel the Z-boys forward and keep the team as a whole at the top of their game. It was a wild environment for a kid to grow-up in– legend has it there was plenty of pretty crazy shit going on back then behind closed doors that no one on the outside needed to  know about.

This young crew of Dogtown skaters were driven ruthlessly to aggressive, competitive perfection by Jeff Ho and Skip Engblom. They reached the peak of fame, completely up-ending and innovating the the sport along the way– first with their unique surf-style skating, and then setting the world on fire with the epic pool sessions and radical vertical skating. Ironically through the deeply engrained drive of Jeff and Skip, and their own natural human desire for personal fame and riches, their star skaters would end up unraveling the group and ending the Zephyr organization as they knew it. Legends and brands rose like a phoenix from the former Zephyr team’s ashes– Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva, and the one whose talent and aggression most strongly epitomized the heart and soul of the entire Zephyr crew– Jay Boy Adams.

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1978 — Jay Adams, Marina Del Rey Skate Park — Image by David Scott

“In contests, Jay was simply the most exciting skater to watch. He never skated the same run the same way twice. His routines were wickedly random yet exceedingly tight and beautiful to watch: he even invented tricks during his runs. I’ve never seen any skater destroy convention and expectation better. Watching him skate was something new every second– he was “skate and destroy” personified.”  

–Stacy Peralta

Skateboarder Steve Cathey

“For me, skateboarding started in 1965, so by the time the Dogtown era came around I’d already been skatin’ for 10 years. When I started it was clay wheels and mostly home made decks. We were just trying to copy surfing. Everything about skateboarding had to do with surfing. It was all about fun and a way to surf when the waves were shitty.”

–Jay Adams

Jay Adams at the Dogbowl — Image by Glen E. Friedman. The mid 1970s in California were the scene of unprecedented drought conditions where residents were restricted from watering their lawns, and it wasn’t  long until hundreds of swimming pools across L.A fell prey and were drained to conserve precious water. The Z-Boys revolutionized skating by repurposing empty pools for vertical skating and in the act invented innovative moves like the frontside air (Tony Alva). The “Dogbowl” is the most legendary, named for the owner’s dogs that were seemingly always at the pools edge checking out the Z-Boys in action. It was the Z-Boy’s friend Dino’s home, and he was terminally ill. His parents allowed the pool to be drained so that his friends could come and hang out, skate and party. Glen Friedman took a ton of shots that are iconic to any skateboarding fan out there. Read more here…

“I went to the party at Dino’s house and saw the pool before we drained it the next day. It was kinda like a dream skatepark because there weren’t any rules. Only the boys got to ride.”

–Jay Adams

Jay Adams at the Dogbowl — Image by Glen E. Friedman

“I was a P.O.P. local from birth. The ORIGINAL MASCOT. My dad rented surfboards under the Northside of the pier. All the guards at the park used to let me in for free. FUCK Disneyland, I had P.O.P., surf and all. I surfed the cove with Mickey Dora before leashes were invented.”

–Jay Adams

craig stecyk skater quote z-boys

“Jay Adams was not the greatest pool skater, nor was he the greatest bank skater, or the greatest slalom skater or the greatest freestyler. The fact is, Jay Adams’ contribution to skateboarding defies description or category. Jay Adams is probably not the greatest skater of all time, but I can say without fear of being wrong that he is clearly the archetype of modern-day skateboarding. Archetype defined means an original pattern or model, a prototype. Prototype defined means the first thing or being of its kind. He’s the real thing, an original seed, the original virus that infected all of us. He was beyond comparison. To this day I haven’t witnessed any skater more vital, more dynamic, more fun to watch, more unpredictable, and more spontaneous in his approach than Jay. There are not enough superlatives to describe him.”

–Stacy Peralta

L.A.’s vastly paved architectural valleys, canyons, and reservoirs fenced-off and separated the varying neighborhoods, and would became a massive cement playground of unlimited potential seen through the eyes of young skaters years before skate parks were around or readily accessible. 

“He (Jay Adams) didn’t give a shit about money, and I don’t think that’s why he did it to begin with. He never was interested in any of the material rewards that came from skateboarding. I think that he just basically had a total Fuck You approach to the whole commercialism of skateboarding.”

–Tony Alva

Jay Adams — Image by Glen E. Friedman

“Once pool riding came in– that was like ALL we wanted to do.”

–Jay Adams

1976, Jay Adams — Image by Glen E. Friedman

“People just wanted to have what he (Jay Adams) had, you know? They just wanted a piece of him. “

–Jeff Ho

This low-slung, surf-influenced, fluid style was the hallmark of early Dogtwon Z-Boys skating– which was all about style. If you didn’t have great style, and looked good while you skated– you weren’t anything– you were stinking the place up. “(Surfer) Larry Bertelman was the fundamental impact on the Z-Boys thing– the Z-Boys thing was Larry Bertelman on concrete. That’s what we were all trying to do, because Larry Bertelman just blew the doors off everybody.” –Nathan Pratt. And then the Z-Boys set the bar again with vertical skating, and the world has never looked back…

“Jay Adams may not have been the world’s best skater, but he was the man, the real deal, the original, the first. He is the archetype of our shared heritage.”

–Stacy Peralta

1976, Jay Adams — Image by Glen E. Friedman

“I missed a lot of good times, doing things that I shouldn’t have been doing. There are certain mistakes I’d like to change, but I’m not going to trip on it to hard.”

–Jay Adams 

Jay Adams, King of the “Bert-slide” — Image by Craig Stecyk. The Dogtown Z-Boys skating style was heavily influenced early-on by Hawaiian surfing badass Larry Bertelman. “I remember being in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and watching Hal Jepsen’s surf film ‘Super Session’ and a young Hawaiian surfer named Larry Bertelman came on the screen…” –Stacy Peralta. “He, like, put his hands on the wave– he was one of the first guys that I remember doing that. So we started copying that on the ground.” –Jay Adams. 

“I believe this photo of Jay (above) is the most stunning and strikingly clear representation, of any photo ever taken, of modern skateboarding. It contains all the elements that make up what modern-day skateboarding has become: awesome aggression and style, power and fury, wild abandon, destruction of all fear, untamed individualism, and a free-spirited determination to tear, shred, and rip relentlessly. Jay should’ve had it all, and it makes me so sad that he didn’t.” 

–Stacy Peralta 

1978 — Jay Adams at Marina Del Rey Skatepark — Image by David Scott

“Some kids are born and raised on like, graham crackers and milk– Jay was born and raised on surfing and skateboarding, you know.”

–Tony Alva

jay adams bowl

dogtown z-boys craig stecyk quote

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Z-Flex skate team, back to front, left to right– Marty Grimes, Jimmy Davies, Eric Andersen (Froggy), Solo Scott, Jimmy Plummer, George Wilson, Shogo Kubo, and Dennis Agnew (Polar Bear). — Image via Venicepix

Credit: The Selvedgeyard

Jamey Jordan from Hand Made Seat Co


Jamey is a good friend to us here at greaseralley and we want you guys all to meet the guy behind his killer work. Jamey is  from Meridian, MS, and has had a love of creativity all his life. He is a very skilled, talented craftsman who is the creative force behind HandmMade Seat Co. LLC, HandMade Media LLC, Jamey Jordan Signature Series LLC, and HandMade Art LLC.

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Jamey graduated from Meridian High School in 1997 with an emphasis in Drafting Technology and from Meridian Community College in 2001 with a degree in Drafting Technology. He furthered his education in the automotive field by completing the Collision Refinishing/Street Rod Body Fabrication program in December 2002 at the Laramie, WY, campus of WyoTech. In the fall of 2003 he completed a nine-month program at Tulsa Welding School, Jacksonville, FL

After graduating from WyoTech and Tulsa Welding School, Jamey worked in several body shops in Mississippi and Louisiana, using the skills learned at Wyo. It didn’t take long before he realized that there was so much more that he could do.

In 2007 a friend asked him to build a set of seats in a bomber style. After that Jamey was hooked, realizing the creativity that he could put into developing his own style. Using a Mittler bead roller and dies that were available, he started HandMade. In the summer of 2012 Mike Mittler and Jamey joined together to create the JJ Signature Series product line of bead rollers and dies. The product line is now at over 60 items.

Last year Jamey had the opportunity to go to Blairsville, PA campus of WyoTech to work with students in different programs, teaching them the uses of the Bead Roller and the new Dies that he has developed.

His work has appeared on West Coast Customs, Powerblock, Search and Restore, Muscle Car, Stacey DavidGearz Speed Channel and Hot Rod Garage. You can also find him demonstrating his art at SEMA in Las Vegas, Goodguy shows and Art Galleries.

You guys get a chance check him out:

http://instagram.com/jameyjordan

http://www.handmadeseatco.com/

 

 

 

 

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