I'm plugging buttons and taking measurements mindlessly, waiting for lunch time to roll around (Thank fuck it's a Friday - 12:30pm knockoff) so I can head to the pub with the boys for a few then catch the Roma home-a, it'll be K.O. & Z before I hit the couch face down.
Yeah, good fucking night last night. Still wearing the same clothes I was yesterday afternoon, unshaved bleary eyed and still got kind of a ping starting to wear off at the moment from the most recent line I did this morning to motivate myself to work.
Timewarp back to yesterday smoko break, mate tipped me off with a text "oi cunt, there's a fucking cheap big block up for sale, cunt wants $2600". I grab the details and give the bloke a ring, he sounds alright, and the engine sounds even better - warm 383 big block with edelbrock performer manifold and a Holley 750cfm he tells me. Runs strong. It's a good price for a Big Block around here regardless..
..catch is, the cunt lives 820km away. That's what, a 8-9 hour drive?
So I give the old girl a ring and she's easy, we're on - I'm counting down every last fuckin' second until 3:00pm.
The missus swings around in her 4by and collects me from work, we split for home to change and grab the money, water, some Biltong to chew on and we're off (Yeah, she's a good type) like a frog in a sock. Clap your hands together whilst moving one towards your chest and one away from it very quickly to emphasise. Yeah, like greyhounds after a rabbit, I'm in the seat within 15 minutes because we've got a 9 hour drive ahead of us and she doesn't want to risk her points (believe it or not I've got all my points back now). We're up there in just under 6.
By this time it's bearing on 10pm, but the seller doesn't mind, considering we've got the cold hard stuff. Wisps of red dust billow out and around us as we sweep into his long dirt driveway and park it up near the back shed, where he said he'd be. I spy with my little eye, a tuff tomato lookin’ red '69 Roadrunner, original looking wheels & tyre combo, but a nice stance on that thing, and the bonnet's up. Skeet Skeet Skeet.
The bloke, Gav, says it ain’t half as nice as the elephant he’s dropping into it – an EFI 522 crate engine he’s got on order. “Faaarrk, I like it.” He gives it a kick and I'm sold. Sounds clean, and smooth - well as smooth as a big block with a very large cam can be! This thing sounds like it goes harder than a paedo in a playground. I'm sold, I tell him two-one and he tells me to shove it, I says "Yeah mate it was a long ass drive, but it sounds tuff, I'll give ya $2350 but I can't give you two-six". We settle on $2,450.
So what's under the bonnet? Well, from what I see there’s been a bit of money put into quality parts for this donk, half of why I'm confident. Holley 750cfm 4 bbl, MSD system from ignition to dizzy, and some nice extractors to start with - though they'll have to go. I'm going to need custom fabbed block huggers to squeeze THIS wide lump of iron into the engine bay of my secret project. And I don't
really wanna go the fenderwall route. I don't think I can drive it on the street like that - fuck this state - even tubs are illegal here.
Well shit, we made good time and we get the engine out in better time, no problems large than the leetle tiny fuckin pebble that found its way into the path of his engine hoists wheel, which was slightly annoying when you’re swinging a 650 lb wrecking ball between an immaculate collectable muscle car and your old chook’s tailgate. Decent 522 shaped hole left over, and evidently my growing grumpier by the second missus’ stomach has just as large a hole – I admit so does mine. We shoulda stopped for a fuckin’ steak, but we’re too fucked to drive back straight away so we hit up the sole takewawy joint – this is a two pub town – then head to the RSL for a beer or two.
You know it’s a goodfucking purchase when you consider it from all angles and you’re STILL wearing a shit eating grin, despite being tired as fuck from the drive, the work and a few hops under the skin.
Shit yeah. So what does this ‘kinda alright’ big block have anyway?
Three hundred and eighty three cubes of Ma Mopar’s face punching displacement is one thing, but when it’s got an edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold, new billet Holley 750cfm double pumper, clean as fuck Mopar performance rocker covers (to match the black wrinkle finish Aluminium Mopar Performance air cleaner – Which I’ll replace with a combo of plain cleaner and oldschool Mickey Thompson rocker covers if they fit) hiding Jesel gear apparently, MSD Pro ignition, thick MSD leads, billet MSD distributor, hi torque BB mini starter, and as mentioned earlier a cam on the lumpier side of sanity.
Might throw in a cam worth a little less in the intake overlap/duration and get this dwon to the dyno for a proper tune. I'm fingers crossed for 450hp at the fly. Your guess is as good as mine, but I'd say 400 - 470hp (tops). Should hopefully give me high 300's maybe 380+ at the wheels through a reverse pattern 727. Then it's going to have a drip fed bottle of nitrous hidden in the spare wheel well
.
Now you know why I’ve got hard on.
Thank God I Have Short Fridays
Re: Thank God I Have Short Fridays
