TBucket Engine Project (Dart SHP)

One of the perks of living in the central US, just not as many people. I like it!!!

We have legal street races in Hinton Oklahoma every 1st Saturday of the month in the summer. Never
been yet, but would like to go sometime.
 
You live in the perfect place to own such a hot rod. With that T-Bucket you should definitely go. Even if you didn't race. Surely every racer there would love a chance to admire such a well crafted machine.
 
Well thanks AutoWiz, I greatly appreciate the comment!

I've raced in El Reno Oklahoma which is always done on Route 66, but it does make me nervous
with no roll bar. I refuse to race in the inside lane with all the concrete barriers so close. It's closer
to a 1/8 mile than a 1/4 mile, but it doesn't take long to obtain speeds that are going to hurt if
something goes wrong.


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Lol. We now understand better the seriousness in his comments about the real purpose of having ditches on either side. Some just talk. This man means what he says.

Nah ..... the ditches are for straightening out the car so you don't have to lift ! That's why they put
ditches on both sides ! hehehe!!!

You need to strap a GoPro to your Tbucket when you go down these roads like that. For us.
 
When building your dream engine, don't forget to protect those (VERY) expensive aluminum
heads. I have two anodes in my cooling system, one in the back of the aluminum intake manifold
and one in the bottom tank of the radiator. Seems I replaced the anode in the intake a few years
ago and now it's time to replace the one in the radiator.

In the beginning I wondered if you needed two anodes, but now I'm sure that two are a good idea. It
gives you more chances to pull an anode and check to see if they need replacement.

First is a new anode, and then the 2nd graphic is mine today.

Anode.jpg
https://www.amazon.com/Flex-lite-32...=1&keywords=zinc+anode&qid=1584825575&sr=8-40

FP01_ZincAnodeInRadiator_01987.jpg

My 2nd zinc anode is in the Edelbrock RPM Air Gap 7501 intake manifold.

FP01_AnodePosition_00504.jpg
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yeah, a great many guys ignore that little fact and eventually wish they had not done so
 
Tail Light Upgrade

In 2015 when everything was coming together at the same time (Engine & Trans)
money was a little more scarce, but now it's time to go back and upgrade certain
aspects of the car.

I've always been concerned about people seeing me from behind, especially
during the day when my small tail lights just didn't show up very well.

I think the car will be seen now. The lights are dual faced and at first I didn't
want the second side, but figured I could black-out the amber side. Now I'm
thinking it might be a good thing, it should light up the back of car for better
visibility at night. Looks like I might need to move the license plate over some.

FP01_NewTailLightCompare_02716.jpg


The old lights cost $30 for the pair, the new lights were $100 for the pair.
Both are LED. You get what you pay for obviously in this case !

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Lights/Optronics/STL52ARB.html

FP01_NewTailLightCompare_02723.jpg
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Those lights are a great upgrade Rick. I can see where your concerns with the old lights would not be quickly seen in the daylight hours.
They are small enough to be overlooked ...when most people will be looking at the entire car because it is different, and really not paying attention to the small tail lights. I have noticed that the newer LED lights seem brighter than the ones that first came out. As far as seeing the car lit up at night...NAH...They are only suppose to see the tail lights anyway! ;)

What size Mickey's are on the back... Those look exactly like the same ones we are going to stuff under the chevelle. No doubt yours are around 31"...we think we are going with 27"-28"
 
Just one more photo ..... kinda ?

Decided to use a Deutsch DTM 3 pin connector this time. Last time the lights were hard wired.

FP03_NewTailLightCompare_02730.jpg


I bought these kits in both Deutsch DT and DTM sizes. DTM is the miniature connectors, so
can only handle 7.5 amps. Enough for tail lights and my dash wiring. But Deutsch has other series connectors.

upload_2021-4-23_20-58-35.png

I bought my own crimper, therefore the kits below are w/o a crimper.

Deutsch DTM
DTM Gray Installer Kit - WireCare.com

Deutsch DT
DT, Installer Kit w/o Crimper, Gray - WireCare.com

Deutsch is considered to be better than Weatherpack. Just my opinion based on the
research I did.

https://www.deutschconnector.com/technical/deutsch_connector_selection_guide/
 
That is clean looking. I just noticed the amber lens on the back of your tail light. Now I understand what you meant by the amber lens lighting up the back of you car.
 
I had a fuel pump failure yesterday. I was on my way to Advanced Auto where I did work to recycle
some oil.

First I tested by connecting power directly to the pump, all I got was sparks when I made the
connection. Pump did not turn over.

I pulled it apart to see what went wrong. The armature was locked up, I could barely turn it by hand
with the rotor and vanes removed. It also appeared to have some water on the motor side.

Does Holley make a pump that does NOT have brushes ???

FP01_FuelPumpInternals_02924.jpg
FP01_FuelPumpInternals_02926.jpg
FP01_FuelPumpInternals_02931.jpg
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I thought it was just ME that had bad luck with HOLLEY externally mounted fuel line electrical fuel pumps
 
I have a Holley Red Pump that is over 30 years old and it still works. The sleeve bearing is steel (Magnetic)
when I was expecting a Oil-Embedded Sleeve Bearing. Maybe I should buy a new pump and install
Oil-Embedded Sleeve Bearing from McMaster-Carr. I'm also considering removing the brass cup plug and
threading the hole so I can seal it. Then drilling the sleeve bearing so I can lube the bearing periodically. It
would appear that the little sponge washer does not have the capacity to keep the steel sleeve bearing
lubricated. Or I could pull the pump every winter and add some lube to the sponge washer with the shaft
out, then assemble the pump again.

But this does nothing for the brushes. I did find that Quick Fuel sells the end cap with brushes for $26, looks
like it would fit the Holley pump that I have.

https://www.holley.com/products/fue...service/fuel_pump_repair_kits/parts/30-126QFT

upload_2021-8-15_17-29-45.png

FP02_FuelPumpInternals_02935.jpg
FP02_FuelPumpInternals_02937.jpg
 
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