GreaserAlley

Making A Deadline

Putting in some serious hours trying to get this car done ASAP as there are some shows coming up I want to take this car to. These last few nights have been nothing but welding and filling in holes. Coming up with a look for the hood has taken some serious beer and hard thought decisions. I feel we have accomplished a pretty cool look when it’s said and done and is blended in it should rawk! I also went out and got all of the interior out of our other Merc for this one. It needs to be re-done but for now at least I have the frame work for it all. The other night I took out the rear side window and installed the new glass. That was a fun job if you have never done that consider yourself lucky! Here are some photos of the progress.

St. Paul Rod & Custom

I want to give a HUGE Thank you to the guys out at St. Paul Rod and Custom for giving me a place to store my car during this build and the knowledge and tools to even be able to complete this project. If you are in the Midwest area and are looking for a custom hot rod shop this is your place. They do chassis work, body work, electrical, Turn-Key cars, and of course custom fabrication. For Information call

John Coates @ 636.253.6162
Tim Buescher @ 314.707.4524

Another Night Of Sanding

Hit the car again tonight spent most of the evening getting the rest of the paint off. Still waiting on the rear quarter panel to come in so, I can get that going. I did luck out and have Ronnie stop by tonight and he just jumped straight in and started doing body work on the right fender. I will be back on Saturday hoping to put in a good 10 – 12 hours on the car. I have a few new ideas for the car and a new look, but you are going to have to come back and see what they are. Going to leave you guys tonight with a few pictures of tonight work.

Nostalgia Drags

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May 29, 30 and 31, 2009 Stop by and see me at the Bessel Motorsports Booth in the Midway

	Nitro Funny Cars
	See the smoke, feel the thunder and relive the flopper wars of days gone by.

	“Big Daddy” Don Garlits
	Headlining the: Legends of Speed Reunion Pits TM with Swamp Rat and signing autographs

	Geezer Gassers
	*Will be making exhibition passes with side by side action

	Roland Leong
	Legendary nitro tuner Roland Leong and his 1970 Winter nationals-winning driver Larry Reyes will join with Kathy Mosley’s beautifully restored ‘70 Hawaiian Dodge Charger Funny Car

	Nostalgia Pro Comp Association
	Including: Front Engine Dragsters,Funny Cars, Altereds and Gassers

Bessel Blocks

What are Bessel Blocks?

For years, the aftermarket has relied on “main support” systems to strengthen stock (and after-market) engine blocks, as a way to stop the main caps from moving around under pressure. Here at Bessel Motorsports we have taken that idea a step further, by actually creating a system that works by machining a register into the main saddle of your block and then producing our own high-quality Billet main caps to work in tandem with the machining process. When you start creating horsepower in your blocks regardless if they are a 2 bolt or 4 bolt block’s the only thing holding your main caps or splayed caps in place is the register of the block and your hardware. When your motor is running, especially under highly loaded conditions, the crankshaft is being twisted and is trying to move the main caps. In other word the crankshaft is trying to kick itself out of the block. With enough horsepower the crankshaft will move the caps inward causing “cap chatter” . Once this occurs your main caps are no longer register into your block and your caps have become egg shaped. If this goes unattended for a period of time you can crack the main webbing or even worse split the block down the cam journals.

For Intrest in Blocks contact: Bessel Motorsports or strokerkits.com

Bombs away Bash 2009

The 2009 “Bombs away Bash” will held on Saturday Sept. 5th – Gates open 4pm & close at 2am Location: Bullwinkle’s Bar & Grill 2702 W. Farmington Rd West Peoria, IL 61604 Performances by the Afterdarks & The Boneyard Brawlers. Mark you calander now, This will be one hell of a kick ass Car Show & Party!!

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Shaved

Last night we did quiet a bit of welding and filling in holes. I decided I’m going to shave the door handles, trunk, and other holes that otherwise would of had chrome there or car badge’s. I had to order a new rear quarter patch panel from Mac’s and I also order some other stuff from speedway. The hood was in bad shape but the new hood look should be tight! Stay tune………………

It takes patience to make it flat

As you can see, the car has already been sprayed with high build primer roughly 15 – 20 years ago. So our first step was either having the car blasted or getting the DA’s out and getting to work. Since money is an issue, I choose to go with manual labor. We went to work with the DA sander’s and 80 grit paper the DA’s not meant to make the panel flat, but it will show high and low spots on the body and once we get this done we will know where we need to do our body work at. We will spray the entire car down with Rust-mort and hit the car again with the DA’s. We did find a few spots on the body we need to cut out and replace. We have allot of sanding still to do, but once all of that is done we will be ready to start playing with the filler! It was nice having my old man over and my buddy John helping me work on the car.

What is a Rat Rod?

Rat rodz (răt rŏdz): rat rod – ratrod – rat rodz – old school – kustom kulture – hot rod stripped down – lean and mean – what you see is what you get . A style of hot rod or custom car that, in most cases, imitates (or exaggerates) the early hot rods of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. It is not to be confused with the somewhat closely related “traditional” hot rod, which is an accurate re-creation or period-correct restoration of a hot rod from the same era.

Most rat rods appear “unfinished” (whether they actually are or are not), with just the bare essentials to be driven.

The rat rod is the visualization of the idea of function over form. Rat rods are meant to be driven, not shown off. Sometimes the customization will include using spare parts, or parts from another car altogether.