CrazyDavey

First I want to thank Rob for taking the initiative to contact me. I haven't been on any broads very much for a while now and it really got serious last May when they discovered my previous cancer had developed into a very rare form and moved into my left kidney. I'm going on 18 months of dealing with this and it just wears you down. On June first I went into a very heavy duty chemo series that had a lot of awful side effects and that alone put me in the hospital for 13 days. I finally recovered from that and then did a second round of chemo with a different mix and I tolerated that a little better. The type of cancer I have is very high risk only presenting in 5% of all cases so that's why my oncologist did the chemo before the surgery,, to try and kill any cells that might have gotten out into the lymph nodes system because that's how it kills. As Mike noted in the other "where are they now" thread I'm going in to have the kidney and all surrounding nodes pulled out and then we'll have a better understanding of where I am. To be be completely honest I am scared and worried but at this point I have to trust my doctors and surgeon and let them try to fix me up. Thanks you all for you kind words, thoughts and prayers, I really appreciate it and it means a lot to me. Mike Herno is a very good man and he tries to check up on my when he can so he usually knows the latest on what's going on, I also appreciated his friendship and concern. I do try to pop over here and checkout what's going on so the club is still important to me and I hope to continue. If I can make it through Thursday and my surgical recovery then I'll know more about my prognosis and will keep you updated.....anyway thanks again everyone....Dave

Hey David....yeah freshening the motor, I figured after 400 passes it was about time. Still ran good and I did a compression test just before I pulled it....250 lbs on each cylinder so the top end was still good but i was worried about the bottom end. Probably won't change much, maybe a little more cam and turn it a bit more, that's about it. I'm feeling okay, have had a couple of set backs but still kicking. Don't know if Mark can get it done before the season starts, that's why I may need to borrow a car just to stay in the points......yeah the Big Tex is sweet....I'm on my third trailer now....geez....

nice job David......I'm starting to get antsy about getting back out there but it's going to be a while I think unless I can find a car to borrow. Mine is apart and Mark Jones has the motor....that's a Big Tex trailer isn't it? That was the first one I had, nice piece....

you need to let me build you a 9"....

lol..Mike's right....they say 00 green is a bad job of going red...lol...great job Mike..the car is flying...

thanks everyone...to be truthful I'm really proud of how simple that car is and how easy it is to drive..no drama...it just does it's job pass after pass...any one of you could make a pass in this car...might have to slow it down some for the licensing thing but still ... it's really easy... David the new gear sets probably have slowed it down just a bit but the way they have calmed down the launches makes it a much better race car. It has never been this dead consistent with the 60 foot....I'm up to 11 passes in a row now between 1.33 and 1.34...it's never done that before...takes one more thing out of the equation...

shot some different views of a run last Sunday. The one inside the car was a 9.64 pass...not much going on but you get the idea what the car is like...second one was attached to the ARB in the back..9.67 pass.....hope you enjoy them...I don't have the source vids so this the the TNT Motorsports FB page...they have been helping my with the car....just scroll down a bit... https://www.facebook.com/TNTmotorsports.net/timeline

if you are sure it's not valve cover gaskets then it could be coming up through one of the two center intake bolts. Remove them one at a time...coat them with a thread sealer and re-install....

Alan what I do is use an old plug...coat the old plug on the tip and porcelain with the grease and then stick it the plug boot and click the end terminal in place and then remove it...put's a nice coat inside the boot...

there's power in lash settings..just sayin'...

that sure is a pretty car....geez.....

thanks guys... David it's the TH400....Dal built it up last year with all the trick stuff...billet this...hardened that...with a 2.10 gear set...my launch ratio before was 9.64...going to the 2.10 plus a 4.11 changed it to 8.63...so it doesn't hit the tires so hard... Tony I don't know about being an inspiration to anyone...I'm just a regular guy trying to keep things as normal as possible. Now if it all turns to crap I will be more messed up like most people would....right now I'm' still very hopeful...

we had a double header points race this weekend, got to run Saturday but got rained out on Sunday. First time out this year without any oil pan or oil pump issues, it was good to have the car running good again. I had to miss a race so this was important to try and make up points to be on the Division 6 team at the end of August. I have really calmed the car down using a different gear set in the trans so it's not doing the crazy wheelies hitting the tires too hard but now launching very consistently. For 7 passes my 60' only varied .01 from 1.33 to 1.34...like a race car should... Went through 5 rounds into the semi's...on the last pass the car had been picking up so I was concerned about breaking out, I tapped the brakes at the end but ended up giving back too much stripe. I lost by 12 ten thousands of a second...bummer...still made up a lot of points and took home a few $$. I sure am out of shape though, I was one tired warrior at the end of the day.... here's a link to a FB vid...had a plan to push the other car out and I did..9.60.. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202153791789387

sounds good Terry....if you can get the contact info for that rep I would contact him....sometimes dealing with a polite and meaningful end customer works better than through a intermediary...I do know they like to try and repair them which is stupid because in the long run it would have been cheaper to just send a motor...

Terry this is where you have to take off the nice guy hat and switch to one like McEnroe would wear...having worked for a manufacturer my whole career it is the squeaky wheel that get's greased. Don't mean you have to get nasty (that doesn't work btw...threats don't either) but you need to let them know you are not uneducated in the ways of motors. The 2000 mi thing is complete BS...the rings seat in the first 15 minutes after start up....they are not going to cure themselves with additional miles. Just stay persistent, contact them often and let them know that paperwork stalls will not fix the problem....you are a dedicated GM devotee who just wants the right thing done..that kind of approach...also you are a person with 40+ years of restoring and preserving GM cars not a kid hot rodder... if you can find out who the local GM Zone rep it for parts and service getting someting started with him would help a bunch...just my experience.....

I have one of these...works great and is simple...probably made off shore though...if you have a multi spark ignition make sure whatever you get is compatible with that... http://proshop.summitracing.com/parts/ino-3568/overview/

congrats...

Boots good info from both Sam and Mike..they know their stuff...personally if you are looking for a torque monster then going the 496 route would be more ideal for that. If everything is suppose to be new then the price difference shouldn't be all that much. My advice would be with the cam. While the 1/4" stroker does help add some torque the real key is the cam. There is a lot that goes into cam profiles and how well they can produce and hold a torque curve. If you really are after max torque then spend some money on the right cam. If you're having head work be sure and get them flowed so you have those numbers. Then contact someone like Chris Straub at Straub Technologies and he can design a cam that will produce what you want. My 509 with 11 to 1 has a very small hyd roller from Chris and it produces over 730 ft lbs....

you guys and your show cars....