Project 302 update

[57 Ford Kustom]

Rob,
   Happy New years to you and your family also, I pay extra for my weather here too in #2 fuel oil.
Thanks,
Tim

[RICH MUISE]

Yeah, but just think how much gas money you save getting to  good skiing...heck if those socal guys wanted to go (snow)skiing it would take them 4 tanks of gas.
LOL...I should talk..here in Texas we got the snow, but this is one place you just don't see cars going down the road with loaded ski racks.

[robhaerr]

Rich...

Just to clarify...I can be skiing in 45 minutes in one direction (Mountain High, Snow Summit) or surfing in 45 minutes the other at Newport or Huntington Beach. Could do both in the same day. We are very fortunate in SoCal with 4 other climates within a hour of this San Gabriel Valley/Inland Empire area...the mountains, the high desert (towards Las Vegas), low desert (Palm Springs), coastline. And we can drive our cars all year.

I did love things about living in Texas, too. There are things that suck about California...but home is home.

Couldn't resist adding me 2 cents...

Rob

photo from the mid-80s in your backyard...

[57 Ford Kustom]

I guess the only perfect place to live is close to your family, my Mom, Brothers, my children, and grand kids are no more than a 30 min drive. I do live in paradise!!!
Tim

[robhaerr]

Great day in Southern California for some work on the 'wagon. Grab a beverage and hang for about 13 minutes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYCmPCcb6hQ

Cheers...

Rob

[RICH MUISE]

Tom...no where in the world priettier than New England in the fall. Most of my side of the family is still up there.
Rob...LOL...com'on Dude...let's get with the program here..I lived in socal for 18 years...you cannot talk about all the great things about Socal without including the WOMEN in that discusion.
I actually got to work on my '57 for a few hours yesterday...been too cold here for over a week. I really need a new heater and insulation for my garage, but my wife and I are saving as much $ as posible for an upcoming car auction, so the heater will have to wait....so I envy your "good day to work in the garage."

[RICH MUISE]

Rob...enjoyed the video as usual. You ended the video with going for a test drive, but with no report on how it went....just in too big of a hurry to get to the brew I guess!! What shocks were you using, and how did you like them? Did the new speedo cable work out? Are you still working on the overly sensitive steering issue?

[robhaerr]

HA! Rich....

I was hoping there would be questions from watching the video. I ran out of memory on the camera, and I have been trying to keep these videos under 15 minutes.

-the shocks are KYB...just basic stuff ($25 each online) and they work well with the Aerostar springs that lower the car 3 inches on stock spindles...together with the bigger front sway bar.

-the new speedo cable worked great, but the speedometer needs servicing. It worked OK up to about 50mph, but the needle was bouncy. At freeway speeds...it went nuts, pegged over to the right, and squealed like a pig. Need to get it to a speedo shop, and hoping they can fix the fuel gauge, too. There is a shop in Riverside I am going to contact.

-I did get a kit from Borgeson that has shims to reduce the pressure in the power steering pump, but haven't tried it yet. I sent ST Fabrications an email, but no reply yet. I will resend the email.

-Of course...getting to the brew is always a good thing. I was going to film us at In-n-Out Burger, but was using alot of memory. Keeping these videos short keeps a variety of my friends watching whether they like cars or not. The more I think about it...I should have filmed at In-n-Out since other cool cars were driving in, too.

Oh man...been married 26 years...forgot about the women in California. (I actually see the beautiful half of the species all over the country!)

I urge all you guys to get the bigger front sway bar and add the rear sway bar! This 'wagon is handling like a slot car. really fun to drive!

Pay attention to this video at 10:58 into the clip...I could have gone thru those curves much faster...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYCmPCcb6hQ

Floor it!
Rob

[57 Ford Kustom]

Rich,
   You are right, you can't beat New England in the fall. The older I get though, the more I like the warmer weather ! Rob, great video, I like the shocks , I'm going to have a set. Where did you get the rear sway bar?
Thanks,
Tim

[robhaerr]

Tim...

I bought the front and rear sway bar kit for the Station wagon/Ranchero here...

http://www.concoursparts.com/

-Go to Online catalogs link
-Go to the catalog for "1949 to 59 Big Cars"
-click on the "Sway Bar" link down the left side

Pick the one you need...there aren't any photos of them.

Then Walden Speed Shop installed them while they were also installing the rack and pinion, and 302. They said the install was easy.

Different car!

Rob

[57 Ford Kustom]

Rob,
   Thanks for the info!
Tim

[RICH MUISE]

Tim...

Ha...I figured I would a reply like that! We pay extra for the weather out here...hot rod season is all year!

Happy New Year...
Rob

Yesterday I read about the weather you guys are having out there...did you forget to send your payment in?
Rich

[57 Ford Kustom]

LOL, Rich.
Tim

[robhaerr]

A couple of days of rain and temps in the 40s are just for making sure our jackets and sweatshirts still fit.

Rob

[57 Ford Kustom]

All those Adult beverages ta :unitedstates:ke a toll on the fit of those sweaters, and jackets! LOL
Tim