My Daddywagon

Welcome! You have arrived just in time! Up until late 2017 this car hadn’t moved under v8 power. Now I am upgrading to 351w v8 power!

 

I cut them out. Now I have to hammer so I can close the hood.

 

I actually cranked the engine. It would not start. I sprayed starting fluid and still no. I’m gonna have to check for spark. I will re-stab the distributor tomorrow and check for spark.

 

Haha! It started! I was drinking Johnny Black while I put it together after work but it started! Hahahaha! Lol! I may be a wee bit inebriated but oh well! I am pretty pleased with myself! Just a couple of odds and ends and I should have this thing back on the road soon... hopefully. If all goes extremely well I will deliver on a Daddywagon burnout video. Fingers crossed. I am honestly thrilled because I wasn’t sure about the Lightning motor. I have no motor health gauges yet so I still have work to do. Oil pressure and coolant temp are tops on my list.

 

Well, why didn't you just start with that in the first place!?!?

 

Once I get the Daddywagon to a happy spot where I can just run it to cruises and shows for a awhile without worry I have to shift my focus. My daughter would lije to do the Broad Street Run with me again this year. That is a 10 mile run! I trained pretty well my first year as a novice. My daughter joined me last year and I cramped BAD after mile 7. She went ahead and I limped home. So I have to get off this wagon like now and start training. If the 351 ends up as a great 235 hp daily driver then we are done for a while! Haha!

 

Haha! Lol! I am still drinking! There are tools outside that need to be picked up and it is dark out there!

 

I am so close. The water pump from the local auto parts store is leaking. The exhaust is leaking between the passenger side header and the h-pipe. I can hear the valve-train when the car is just idling.

 

Gotta get it going so you can pick us all up and take us to the skating rink, then take us all home afterwards, like a true Daddywagon.

 

Last weekend I tried to re-seal the water pump... it leaked right away. On saturday I tried to seal up the exhaust leak by cranking down on the bolts while having the driver's side loose hoping the passenger side would seal up... no change at all and the plate on the h-pipe that pulls it is all bent up. So... I ordered both from Summit. Waiting game again. I am really anxious to drive the Daddywagon again. I was having such a blast with the smoky worn out 302. I was having fun but the trail of smoke was bad, and with the cobra exhaust tips pointed straight back it just collected the oil cloud behind the rear bumper and coated the back hatch in oil. I cut off the old tips and welded on turn-downs.

 

still trying to master welding... I have a tig machine as well

 

Holy shit how have I missed this thread, keep up the good work my friend!

 

Thank you Baron! If I get this thing running again the your arrival is timed perfectly to witness all of the fun... hopefully. For a few months there I was driving with a smokey 302 as proof of concept to coworkers. Driving was awesome but the smoke was just too much. I am definitely gonna be in the market for an action video camera if all goes well.

 

Well, I had an exhaust leak and a coolant leak at the new water pump. I bought a new water pump... it leaked right away. It turns out I have a revised timing cover for reverse rotation water pumps. The gasket that was supplied did not match the timing cover. Three times I did this water pump over and watched it leak as I filled with coolant. I figured it out eventually and goop gasketed it. The exhaust leak was solved with a new off road h-pipe.

 

So after I picked up my son I decided to wrench in the cold with only maybe 1 1/2 hours of daylight left. I buttoned up the cooling system and tied up a couple of other loose ends and I actually got to drive it again! Yay!

 

Ok here is the lowdown. It is better than it was! The cloud of oil smoke is no more. The sound of the motor is more crisp than the 302 was. I feel a very slight stumble at partial throttle. I’m gonna drive it 32 miles to work tomorrow. I drove it for about an hour tonight.

 

Does it feel like it has more punch than the 302?