Green Elephant funny car by jct - FINISHED - 1/24

[CDW]

34 minutes ago, jct said:

Thanks much...I could not agree more, CD, I had one myself always said it looked like a mini Camero, and the motor was a pos

My dad was a real hard-nosed sort who wanted me always to do the right things...When the Vegas first came out, I went to the Chevrolet dealer and put in my custom order. Picked out all the options I wanted, the colors, etc., then gave them my down payment and waited for it to be built.

In the meantime, I came home and told my dad about it. He said, "let me see that contract". He summarily marched my happy butt back to the dealer (he knew the owner well) and demanded I get my deposit back and canceled my order. Said I had no clue what I was doing and had been shafted. He then took me new car shopping and showed me how it's really done. He gave me my first lesson in new car buying negotiations 101. 😎

My dad was the real deal, for sure.

[jct]

They were aluminum but no cylinder liners...that and pistons as hard as chrome molly lead to very different expansions rates once things started to heat...they would just beat themselves to death

[popeye the sailor]

wow J!    the Vega came out great!    the two look awesome together.   you had your problems.......but ya managed to pull 'em through the worm hole     fine look'in models indeed! 

 

well....OK....I'm wait'in for the gasser.........when?

[jct]

Thx Denis...not sure at this point... gotta get some time in on the Hanna before I forget where I was 😀

[Tom E]

Great build J!

Those are handsome. That Vega is blowing my mind!

I'm really liking the "non-ship" build section. Some great models being built as is evident by your build. 

The first car I owned was a Vega! Its the only car I knew of that the fuel pump was inside the gas tank!

Took an entire day to drop the tank. 

At 17, you think you can fix anything....what a mess!

 

Tom E 

 

[mtaylor]

Right, they were aluminum and there were problems with casting early on.  The model (a station wagon) that I had came with steel cylinder sleeves though and was the only Vega model with a posi-rear end.    I think that was the reason I got that many miles out of it.   But, putting a small block 400 in it (with the 327 metal labels on the side of the front fenders) was a eyeopener even in stock mode (no engine mods).   

[lmagna]

Like CDW said, Great looking mini Camaro body but the aluminum engine combined with the cylinders, that were also aluminum with steel rings! Most aluminum engines used iron or steel sleeves but not the Vega. I suspect you got about twice the milage most people did from the average Vega Mark. Some of them used oil from the day they left the showroom.

[jct]

10 hours ago, Tom E said:

Great build J!

Those are handsome. That Vega is blowing my mind!

I'm really liking the "non-ship" build section. Some great models being built as is evident by your build. 

The first car I owned was a Vega! Its the only car I knew of that the fuel pump was inside the gas tank!

Took an entire day to drop the tank. 

At 17, you think you can fix anything....what a mess!

 

Tom E 

 

Thx Tom, ...seems we all have some memories dealing with Vegas😋 albeit some better then others

[jct]

4 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Right, they were aluminum and there were problems with casting early on.  The model (a station wagon) that I had came with steel cylinder sleeves though and was the only Vega model with a posi-rear end.    I think that was the reason I got that many miles out of it.   But, putting a small block 400 in it (with the 327 metal labels on the side of the front fenders) was a eyeopener even in stock mode (no engine mods).   

Sounds like a barn burner,  

[CDW]

7 hours ago, mtaylor said:

But, putting a small block 400 in it (with the 327 metal labels on the side of the front fenders) was a eyeopener even in stock mode (no engine mods).  

The 400 was my all-time favorite small block Chevy to build as a street rod mill. I used to harvest the 400 blocks from junk cars and keep them in my garage for engine building. While many sought out the 4 bolt main bearing blocks, I preferred the 2 bolt mains and would have the bolts added at the machine shop for the 4 bolt setup. It turned out a beefier, stronger, main bearing cap setup IMHO. 

You just can't beat the torque performance of a 400 small block in a street machine. Loved it. Great bore-stroke ratio.

 

[jct]

All you seem to see anymore are LS build ups...its a nice setup but I kinda like to see some old school stuff every once and a while too

 

Hey Denis...here's a teaser specially for you...

Gasser parts in the strip tank

 

also manage to pick this up, close as I could get to the kleer y'all were talking about

 

 

[lmagna]

4 hours ago, jct said:

At 17, you think you can fix anything

At 17 I HAD to fix everything. I couldn't afford to pay someone else to fix it and most of the vehicles I could afford to buy needed fixing now and then!

 

I think that is the current version of the right stuff jct.  They change the label so often it is hard to be absolutely certain. What you might do is spray or brush a undercoat, it makes little difference as it smooths out pretty well on its own. When it dries place an old decal from your spares and apply a topcoat. Another pretty nice test is to take a clear piece like a cockpit or window while still attached to the sprue and dip it in the floor gloss and without brushing off the excess, let it hang and drip dry. If you have a dust issue you may want to cover it as well. When it drys you should have about the clearest window you have ever seen.

[jct]

👍

[CDW]

Is that a Henry J in the strip tank?

[jct]

Yep

[CDW]

58 minutes ago, jct said:

All you seem to see anymore are LS build ups...its a nice setup but I kinda like to see some old school stuff every once and a while too

I knew guys who destroked the 400's as well. A 327 crank and I forget which rods they used. I think it came out to around 350 cubic inches, + or -. Big bore, short stroke. Hand grenades. 😁

[jct]

Torque monsters!!

[mtaylor]

13 hours ago, jct said:

Sounds like a barn burner,  

With stock tires...not really.  It ran in the 13's - 15's depending on the temp, humidty, etc.  Beefed up rearend with a nice set of slicks... it could hit the 10's at night.  Note that the was a stock motor with a QuadraJunke.

 

10 hours ago, CDW said:

The 400 was my all-time favorite small block Chevy to build as a street rod mill. I used to harvest the 400 blocks from junk cars and keep them in my garage for engine building. While many sought out the 4 bolt main bearing blocks, I preferred the 2 bolt mains and would have the bolts added at the machine shop for the 4 bolt setup. It turned out a beefier, stronger, main bearing cap setup IMHO. 

You just can't beat the torque performance of a 400 small block in a street machine. Loved it. Great bore-stroke ratio.

 

The factory 4 bolt had issues with the outer bolt placement.   Taking a 2 bolt and having the shop rework it was the way to go.

 

7 hours ago, CDW said:

I knew guys who destroked the 400's as well. A 327 crank and I forget which rods they used. I think it came out to around 350 cubic inches, + or -. Big bore, short stroke. Hand grenades. 😁

From a website:
283 crank; (4.125/2)^2 * 3.14 * 3 * 8 = 320.6
327 crank; (4.125/2)^2 * 3.14 * 3.25 * 8 = 347.3

 

Big grenade.  Use the aftermarket aluminum pistons, raise the compression a fair amount and they screamed.  Usuallly aftermarket as the stock rods were NOT forged and prone to coming apart if you exeeded about 6000 rpm.  Forged.. could run to around 8000 rpm.

 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

what type of stripper is that you have the parts soaking in?  another scratch build eh?   looks like some interesting possibilities there     where's the engine?

[jct]

That is Purple Power...an automotive degreaser, some scratch but mostly bashing from the spares box. the engine is in the process of being built up...a 426 hemi from AMT's 68 Roadrunner kit, was left over from a commission build...client wanted a stock Belvedere with a 340, left me with a really nice Hemi in the spares box, will have to scratch an intake manifold for the blower though...kit has a stock staggered duel carb setup.   Pics later...I may have to start a new log...

 

 

Link to the gasser build

Henry J gasser

Edited February 27, 2019 by jct