7/21/09

I was thinking about revisiting the idea of putting the single side draft and header on Lil' Wiggly. I think the biggest drawback to the idea is taking the one and only running and driving Datsun off the road for any length of time. It shouldn't take too long to do the swap, hell I think I did it in a few hours on George in Kennedale, but mating the zorst to the header would be the issue. OK, I guess I'll ease up on the throttle a bit and look at other thing on that car first. The most important thing it needs right now are wheels and tires. OK, technically it only needs one tire, but I need for it to have different wheels. It also needs to be dropped a few inches. We could, theoretically, do that for free with a coil chop and leaf removal. As for more power, I guess I should start with the easy things first, lose the mechanical fuel pump and radiator fan. Yes George, I know “Hot Rod” magazine did a test and showed that those two things only made a few horsepower difference. I acknowledge that. But a few horsepower on an 80 hp four banger is a lot different than a few horsepower on a 400 hp V8. Of course the car still has some dieting to do. I'd like to ditch the back seat and replace the fronts with lighter, or at least more comfortable, units. I think there is still some weight to shave under the hood as well. I'm not sure about the air conditioning. John suggested we take the car to his brother and see if he can get it up to snuff. I ain't agin it. In fact, it would be nice to have A/C on there. On the gripping hand, there’s a bunch of weight that could be lost. Yarr, ‘tis a conundrum. I suppose one of the first orders of business really should be closing up the holes in the floor of the boot. I think after an hour of driving I was beginning to feel the effects of carbon monoxide ingress. I guess we need to look at laying in a mat of fiberglass and dumping a bunch of resin on it. It worked in the Chickenhawk. Sure, it isn't the “right” way to fix the floor, but it’s a thirty year old B-210 for crying out loud! Who really cares? As for the rest of the cosmetics, if it were up to me I'd lower it and call it done. I know John is still looking for Japanese style bumpers for it, but I really couldn't care less. I'm not going to turn them down if he finds some and they install easily, of course. We shall see. Oh, I guess I would install another left front fender if one came along. There is that big “whiskey dent” in front of the driver’s door. I suppose a set of flares wouldn't be objectionable if the wheels and tires dictate the need for them. I don't know, we’ll see. Well, I'm beginning to get bored talking to y'all. I think I'm going to call it a rant for the day.