The New, Newer Project: Part Tres... - Page 19

**njsteve** · #**181** 11-04-2013, 08:29 PM

I spoke with Rick today and he is finalizing the novel-length biography of the car. He doesn't do computers so he is typing it up and will then notarize it and send it to me. What a guy!

He had no idea that the kick down switch was disconnected all these years. He never disconnected it and no one before me had ever pulled any of the lower ductwork out to access that area. So the only logical explanation given the lack of any installation marks on the brass terminals, is that it was never hooked up on the assembly line.

I asked Rick if he ever ran his car on his own chassis dyno. Rick said he did run it once but the car had so much power that it tried to climb off the dyno! Their chassis dynos back then had two rollers - a driven roller in front of the rear wheels and a free wheeling roller behind the rear wheels to hold the car in place. They ran a special tuning program on their dynos: the car would maintain a steady 2,500 RPM run and more resistance would be added to the dyno wheel as test went on. The driver then had to gradually add power to maintain the 2,500 RPM with the engine. The more powerful the car, the higher the propensity for it to climb the front roller. It was a very dangerous situation as the cars could then jump the wheel chocks and launch out of the building. Unfortunately, Rick didn't recall what the results were, probably because he was too worried about the car launching into orbit, off the dyno roller at the time. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

**Ryan1969Chevelle** · #**182** 11-04-2013, 08:49 PM

Hi Steve

Is Rick coming to MCACN?

Ryan

**njsteve** · #**183** 11-04-2013, 11:34 PM

I gave him the info about the show but I don't think he is planning on attending. It would be cool, though to reunite him with his car.

**Ryan1969Chevelle** · #**184** 11-05-2013, 12:31 AM

I wouldn't let him get too comfortable, like an old shoe. He might have a separation anxiety attack.

Sure would be nice to have him attend, maybe another call would help, without being pushy......My Beautiful, Chevelle Loving Wife says patience is not my strong suit.

Ryan

**njsteve** · #**185** 11-05-2013, 12:34 AM

My wife says that my favorite saying is: <span style="font-style: italic">"I want patience and I want it now!"</span> [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]

**Ryan1969Chevelle** · #**186** 11-05-2013, 12:54 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My wife says that my favorite saying is: <span style="font-style: italic">"I want patience and I want it now!"</span> [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img] </div></div>

Great catch phrase.

Ryan

**njsteve** · #**187** 11-10-2013, 09:37 PM

I found a vintage set of AC R44TS triple green striped insulator, spark plugs on ebay. I got them for $14 from someone selling estate stuff from an old garage. I installed them today, replacing the recent AC R44TS set that was put in there a couple years ago. The car runs noticeably smoother. (Probably because one or two of the plug wires were not fully seated on the plugs to begin with).

The plugs I pulled out all had nice tan insulators and appeared to be burning nicely. The one thing I noticed was that the vintage green stripe plugs have a 3/8" shorter insulator than the modern versions. Anyone have any idea why they made the modern ones longer?

**njsteve** · #**188** 11-13-2013, 11:59 PM

Rick Fedexed me his typewritten 16 page biography of the car today so I would have it for the show next week. He even signed, notarized and had it bound into a booklet for me.
What a guy! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

**Ryan1969Chevelle** · #**189** 11-14-2013, 12:20 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Rick Fedexed me his typewritten 16 page biography of the car today so I would have it for the show next week. He even signed, notarized and had it bound into a booklet for me.
What a guy! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img] </div></div>

Wow, that is awesome.

Did he include any vintage pictures of the car?

Ryan

**njsteve** · #**190** 11-14-2013, 12:36 AM

Rick is still looking. His wife is in charge of the photo archives.

Rick took some photos of the car in 1973 when he brought it to a BMW club event and irritated the heck out of his former BMW buddies. (He sold his BMW and bought the SD because the new fuel injected BMW he wanted was way too expensive and the dealer wouldn't budge on the price).

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