The East Coast Indoor Nationals had a few really interesting rods this year along with a few repeats from last year.

62 Impala convertible

There weren’t that many Impala’s this year. I saw a 62 convertible and a 61 Impala and that was it. There were the usual 69 Camaro’s and 70 Chevelle’s, like we haven’t seen enough of those. Don’t get me wrong, I still like those cars but there’s so many of them at every car show.

Lot’s of blowers and slicks underneath tubbed out wheel wells in all kinds of cars.

Not sure what this is

Some really noteworthy cars were the custom creations. I don’t mean the custom finished American cars, I mean the custom made rods. The one that looked the most interesting had no make/model name. It reminded me of a 30’s era pickup body with the front end from an old VW van. The owner said the engine was out of  big 61 GMC trunk. It had to have been a very big truck. I’d say dump truck or some other industrial beast cause this was no motor I’ve ever seen before. It was twice the length of a standard V8 and had 4 valve covers which meant 4 cylinder heads.

Custom truck with 61 GMC motor

Custom truck rear view

Another custom creation

There were loads of vendors too. There was a large neon sign display, the usual small tools vendors, and a company out of Cherry Hill NJ that was doing full color prints on t-shirts, sweatshirts and mugs. 2 of my faves were the “if it’s broke, call Dad” neon sign and Ricks automotive hardware. He had some hard to find clips like the ones that hold the rods inside car doors. His website was worth making note of cause he said we could download the online catalog. You can goto http ://www.automotive-hardware.com and check it out.

t

automotive neon signs

If it's broke, call Dad

A fasteners vendor

Well….not really. Here’s an email conversation I had with a gentleman a couple of days ago. He bought a 56 Chevy wagon and had to replace the Unilite distributor cause the module failed.

It’s not so much how he resolved his problem, but what he does with his spare time aside from working on classic cars and trucks that I thought was really cool.

Check it out:

~~~

>   Quoting Rob Butler

> I am reading your article on installing a small block Chevy
>   > Distributor.  I did an R&R today.  Took a Mallory Unilite
>   > Distributor out, put a Points Dist  in.  I figured the key would
>   > line up the same, so it would be simple.    I can’t get it to run.
>   > Do you know if the unilite has a different line up like the HEI???
>   > Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!!!
>   > Rob

>   Hi Rob,
>
>   I’m not familiar with the Unilite’s oil pump drive key alignment. It
>   may not be the same, but it really doesn’t matter where the key is
>   aligned as long as the #1 firing position is where you want it.
>
>   You can keep going around using the method I show, in the event your
>   key alignment has gone past the ideal position for the distributor to
>   drop in at #1. You can keep going around as many times as you like til
>   you get it right.
>
>   Truthfully, the number one position can be wired anywhere on the cap
>   as long as the firing order is in the correct sequence around the
>   distributor cap starting from that position and the timing mark is at
>   TDC when the rotor is at that same #1.
>
>   The #1 position on the clock face is just semantics.
>
>   We only want it to be where GM placed it for the sake of the next
>   person who works on the car (it keeps things tidy). If it’s where he
>   expects it to be, he won’t get confused or stumped by the orientation
>   of the spark plug wires on the cap.
>
>   It’ll run no matter where you place the #1 wire if you’re getting
>   spark on #1 at TDC. If you’re not getting spark at all, maybe the
>   distributor is not the problem. Maybe the positive and negative coil
>   wires are incorrect, or the points and condenser are the issue(?).
>
>   If the car’s wiring has been modified to fit the Unilite, it may not
>   be correct for the breaker point distributor.
>
>   –
>   Carl King

Quoting Rob Butler
> You make some excellent points, no pun intended.  I will recheck the
>  firing order tomorrow, just to make sure.  The Unilite body is
> exactly the same as the Points Dist I have.  It just has an
> electronic module and related parts.  (there is little room for the
> distributor so this was an application made for such cars that an
> HEI wouldn’t fit on.)  I figured it would be a piece of cake.  I
> looked up your article just to make sure I had it right and it seems
>  that I did.
>
> I bought the 56 Chevy in July.  Once home it took me 45 Minutes to
> get her running.  It has a 60 283, Muncie 4 Speed and 3:55 Posi.  I
> removed the GTO carb it had, and replaced it with an Edelbrock.
> Through all this, it ran fine and even better with the Edelbrock.  I
>  needed to hook up a manual choke, and after I did, it started
> running rough.  A few days later, it wouldn’t run at all.
> I checked the Mallory site and followed the steps to check the
> module.  It was bad.  I just thought I would swap it for a Points
> dist. And here I am.  Maybe the coil??
>
> The only thing that has me confused and it may be the problem.  When
>  I started to remove the Unilite, the rotor was pointing to 7
> o’clock, without turning the motor over I dropped the new one in.
> When the oil pump key aligned the rotor pointed to 8 o’clock.  It
> made me think it could be a tooth off, but I didn’t want to start
> screwing with things until I talked with someone.
>
> The Unilite uses the same wiring and firewall resistor as the points
>  dist according to the Mallory site.
>
> I will mess with it in the morning and see what I can come up with.
>
> Thank you for your response.  I really appreciate it.
> Rob
> I spent too much time drawing cars in the last decade and not enough
>  time under the hood!!!!
>
>

My 56

Bad Pontiac

>

Glad I can help Rob.

Since the 56 wasn’t running when you bought it, I’ll bet you got a
smokin deal on it.

55’s and 56’s have always been my favorite and it makes me wish I’d
have kept the ones I had when I was younger. I went through them like
chewing gum. People were unloading these cars left and right. When I
was a teenager I could buy the 50’s and 60’s cars for $50-$100, pop
the motor out for a quick rebuild, clean up and paint the engine
compartment, and then sell them for a nice markup. Who would have
known at the time these cars were going to become the next big thing.

Nice drawing! Got any 64 Impala drawings?

Hey, Do you mind if I blog this email thread? Your photos would be a
nice touch.

–
Carl King

OK here is the fun for today.  I put a spark plug in the Coil wire and cranked it.  I got a spark.  I pulled the distributor, turned the oil pump, (I had a hard time finding it) as mentioned in your article, And dropped it back in.  Whereas the Unilite was at 8, I moved it to 7oclock.  I turned the key and got a sputter…Yes Actual fire!!  Not running, but fire!!!  I figured I may be a tooth off so I repeated the process.  Nothing.  I then put the plug in the #1 wire and it sparked while cranking.  I have to think I just have the distributor in the wrong spot. Tomorrow I will just find TDC and start from scratch.  It appears all of my components work,   I just have a faulty mechanic!!!  I will keep you apprised.
Rob

I really appreciate the input!!!

Quoting Rob Butler

Bliss hot Rod Grill

—– Original Message —–
From: Carl King

Subject: Re: Bliss Hot Rod Grill

That’s really cool. We just need more of them….in every town.

–
Carl King

>Quoting Rob Butler

>I agree!!

>Quoting Rob Butler

Carl
Today I found TDC, pulled all the plug wires, Found the tower the rotor was pointing to, and re wired.  It  sputtered.  I turned the distributor, advancing a little and she started!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Ran good at first but started running rough.  Wouldn’t idle.  I pulled the Plugs.  The Were Black, wet and smelled a lot like gas.  For the heck of it, I pulled them all, hit them on a Wire wheel to clean them up, and reinstalled.  Again, ran good at first, then got rough.  I figure the plugs are fouled, so I plan on getting a new set Monday. Couldn’t keep it running good enough to set dwell or timing, but at least it ran!!!!!  Not exactly by the book, but it worked.
Thanks for the advice!!!  I really appreciate it!!!
Rob
PS here is the link to my Hub Garage if you want to check out more of my stuff.  Do you have a photo of your Impala??

http://www.hubgarage.com/mygarage/LoneSpar <— Really cool Muscle car art here!!!

Over the last couple of years I’ve toyed with a few ideas on which Chevy small block I’d put in my 64 Impala.

At first I was stuck on keeping it original so I found a 283 with a 1964 casting date code. That motor still sits in the engine compartment. After that there was the LT1 conversion. The LT1 wound up in my truck. After all the work it took to mess with that I decided I didn’t want to get into that again.

Now I’m convinced I want to build a 302. Both because the combination of bore and stroke make for a “screamer” as the 302 has become to be known, and it’s a small block that you can afford to drive. I likely won’t need to establish a budget to go for a cruise in the car or for taking it to a regional car show.

So, I set out about 6 months ago to find a 327 that I could put my 283 steel crank in. I have to admit, it was no small task. I’m convinced that 327 chevy small blocks  in usable condition don’t really exist here on the east coast. There was a human factor hidden in this dilemma I didn’t consider though, and once it dawned on me, I stumbled over exactly what I was looking for.

It was right in my neighborhood. I just needed to open my eyes.

I’ve spent a lot of time on Craigslist looking for a 327 chevy small block, mostly because Craigslist is “the place to look”. In the spring there were lots of listings for327 chevy small blocks, but mostly at least a days drive away and more than you can shake a stick at if you want to have it shipped from the east coast.

I almost went for it but couldn’t wrap my brain around paying $700-800 after shipping for the ultimate in 327’s known to be the one’s to look for if casting numbers are the authority.

Let’s face it. There are few 4 bolt 327’s and I’m not likely to find one 40 years after the fact.

So how did I find it?

Simple. I decided to call some local machine shops. I called about a half dozen. Most of them said they’d have to check their stockpiles but you knew by the sound of their voice they didn’t think it was worth their time.

I knew the law of averages was on my side. If I spoke to enough of them, one of them would love to get rid of an ancient 327 Chevy small block  sitting in the pile of blocks in the corner.

I was right. The funny part was I got a call back a few days later from the one guy I spoke to who sounded the least hopeful. The issue was that the 327’s he did own were not in his possession. The guy who had them owed him for the machine work he did on them…but was dying of Cancer. It was definitely a sensitive issue. It would have been really tacky to go looking for money from a dying man.

Well…He knew the friend of the guy who had the blocks (yes there were 2) and asked him if he could bring it up with the guy.

So now I have a 327, but considering the deal I got, I’ll be building a real 327 chevy small block instead.

The block was a 1965-1966 350 HP version with a forged steel crank, rods and pistons. But check this. The crank was a 1962-1967 4577 with standard small journals and was almost good enough to just polish and use. The bore was only .030 over and had only a few racing runs on it, the line bore was perfect.

327 chevy small block

327 chevy small block steel crank

327 chevy small block rod and piston

The bore and pistons were good enough that I could put it back together if I wanted to. I’ll most likely get it refreshed however, being as anal as I am about these details.

All for $250.