Gray Man, Inc.

[DRIVEN]

Tow dolly is next on the block and got a restoration. Pressure washed, repacked wheel bearings, new straps, lights, reflector tape, grip tape, cleaned up wiring. New tire on order. Buh bye.

[DRIVEN]

1012 mile impulse buy. I'm an idiot.

[Taterhead]

Ok, so I know it’s a flathead V8, but what is the reason for your hand in the picture. Is it to show size or something like that?
Not saying your hand is ruining the pic or anything, I just don’t know much about those engines and was wondering.

[DRIVEN]

V8-60, which was Ford's downsized economy offering from 1937-1940. It's 136ci, 60hp, and has6:1 compression. My hand covers more than half the cylinder head. Hilariously dinky.
The famous old quote was that they didn't have enough power to pull the skin off a bowl of pudding. Bolt-on parts can make them cool and they were a go-to for midgets and hydroplanes in the 40s and 50s. There were supercharger kits, multiple carb intakes, high compression heads, and Ardun conversions.

[Taterhead]

Thanks for explaining that for me.

[DRIVEN]

Tow dolly sold in 3 days for full price.



My old man has been chipping away at his pickup. New fenders, fuel tank, rockers, radiator arrangement, gauges and dash paint.












He's planning a dark metallic green over black fenders. I bought him a set of old school wheels but the offset was wrong so we're still hunting.



The '98 GMC developed a rod knock so we're considering a 383 upgrade.

Vibe keeps truckin' and gets a timing set replacement when it hits 300k in a month or two.

I'm still collecting parts for the 225 6spd swap from my TW.






Mostly, it's been fence posts and irrigation.

[DRIVEN]

[Laecaon]

That is pretty. I used to have lots of pretty sunsets at my old house.

[BLUE]

Killer view

[DRIVEN]

No filters, just my phone camera from the deck. I get a lot of good sunrises but yesterday was exceptionally vivid. Sunsets are on the other side of the hill so I don't get to see them from home.

[DRIVEN]

Performed the autopsy today...






Spun #6. Crank and rod ruined. DAMMIT!

If you're familiar with 90's GM cam/crank re-learn procedure, you can probably do the math.

[DRIVEN]

Cold, foggy, late-season ride yesterday. I rode about 8 miles from my house to the rendezvous point and my goggles and jacket were iced up. Luckily, we only had to ride for about 15 minutes to get up above the soup and into the sun.










Still not dead yet.

[DRIVEN]

Did some riding when my brother was in town.

Didn't break anything. Steel toes save real toes.




My dad has been steadily working on his '37. He did some trading with a guy to install new rockers, patch the lower door corners, bodywork the front fenders, and put the repairs in black E-prime. Didn't like the fit of the E-Ts so he bought some chrome baby moons.



He also painted the interior and dash and installed new gauges. He just gutted all the scary wiring and will be installing a Painless harness.

Work has stayed busy for the last couple months so I've been space truckin' like a motherfucker. Hit 300k on the Supervibe (currently just under 303k). I've got a timing set and gaskets sitting in a box. Just need to be home long enough to install.





I finally hauled my work table from my basement down to the shop. We went back and forth (analysis paralysis) on what to do for the GMC. Crate motor, used drop-in machine shop rebuild, and stroker were all considered. In the end, an inexpensive viable core was located. I did rings, bearings, timing set, and reused the original cam, lifters, and heads. Everything mic'd out on the big side of acceptable. Basically, we're hoping to be back where it started, just shinier. I finally got a chance this weekend to do the work. I'm this close...







Hoping I get a work break for a couple days. Might have a runner by next weekend.

[BLUE]

Damn , cheapest set of steel toe boots one could purchase any cost after seeing that picture. Here’s to having all the toes !

Amazing , I literally perk up a just a touch more , every time I hear how high of mileage your vibe is getting with zero issues.

Yeah , hard to know what engine options to go with these days. I’ll admit , these days I tend to lean a touch more towards what’s reliable (within reason of course) more than anything.

Well done , keep up the good work

[DRIVEN]

I really wanted to talk him into a 383 build. Not my money though. He doesn't really drive it enough miles to worry about MPGs. The primary reason he bought it was for those long trips towing projects home. Doesn't matter, really. It tows fine with the 350. I've told him I want first right of refusal if he decides to sell. Then, all bets are off.

[BLUE]

10-4. Makes complete sense , 383 is a decent step up.

That’s how we do it in my family to , 1st right of refusal , feels like we don’t ever really sell vehicles just pimp out the cool stuff worth having to each other.

[DRIVEN]

I built a torque-specific 400 for the Smell Camino years ago. It was nothing short of incredible for towing. IIRC it had 440lbs from 2200-4500RPMs on my Dyno2000. Peak horsepower is fun in hotrods but torque matters when it's time to do work.

[DRIVEN]

It's a runner. No bad noises, smoke, or obvious leaks. It does have a miss though. I'll sort that out tomorrow and clean up the shop a bit.

[BLUE]

[DRIVEN]

Sometimes it's nice to deal with a boring, old SBC. I have to admit though, I've lost flat rate edge. I would have lost my ass on this job.