Black Rat 55

[Motorhead]

Sorry to hear about the cam. I've never used a Speedpro cam, but they seem to be a reputible company. I bet this was flawed casting or something. I would try contacting the company first before spending the money on another cam.

Just out of curiousity, where was the cam made?

 

[DJ3100]

I was thinking about a Demon carb. Checked on Hotrodders.com and HAMB and a couple other sites. The comments were almost all negative. Changed my mind.

I'm running an Edelbrock on the '53 with a mostly stock 350 - it works great out of the box.

 

[jfg455]

Have you read about the new oils having a lack of mineral addatives in them like Zinc? If you are running a flat tappet cam you have to run an addative with them every oil change to keep them lubricated properly. Otherwise you will wipe out the cam in the first hour of running. You also have to clean the cam extensively before adding your cam lube. If it has any cosmoline on it the cam lube will not "stick" to the lobes. also the cosmoline will pack up and gall the lobe face. myself and my bodyshop managers (long time street rodder) both lost cams on initial start up due to this. Some cam manufacturers are now adding a lube recomendation sheet with their cams.

Funny about the demon carb issue. Once they are tuned demons run great but out of the box my road demon on my 396 had a part throttle lean condition. Had to jump up like 4 jet sizes on the primarys. Edelbrocks will get you better mileage as well.

 

[zzrodder]

Sorry to hear about the cam. I've never used a Speedpro cam, but they seem to be a reputible company. I bet this was flawed casting or something. I would try contacting the company first before spending the money on another cam.

Just out of curiousity, where was the cam made?

Well, I already bought a Comp cam and lifters, I'm not even going to bother chasing them down on it, I just want it on the road again. Iv'e never had this happen before, hate having to tear into a fresh engine to do it again tho... Dunno where it was manufactured, sure have to wonder if it is offshore origin.

I was thinking about a Demon carb. Checked on Hotrodders.com and HAMB and a couple other sites. The comments were almost all negative. Changed my mind.

I'm running an Edelbrock on the '53 with a mostly stock 350 - it works great out of the box.

Yeah, I saw some bad reviews too on the Demon and it got me thinking. I'm no carb genius but I can tell there's something not right here. Maybe it was impulsive but Lordco has a sale on so I bought a new 670 Holley today. I hate fiddling with crap and every Holley I've ever had worked fine out of the box and even better with tuning. Got the Demon cheap so maybe it will run better hanging on the wall.

Have you read about the new oils having a lack of mineral addatives in them like Zinc? If you are running a flat tappet cam you have to run an addative with them every oil change to keep them lubricated properly. Otherwise you will wipe out the cam in the first hour of running. You also have to clean the cam extensively before adding your cam lube. If it has any cosmoline on it the cam lube will not "stick" to the lobes. also the cosmoline will pack up and gall the lobe face. myself and my bodyshop managers (long time street rodder) both lost cams on initial start up due to this. Some cam manufacturers are now adding a lube recomendation sheet with their cams.

Funny about the demon carb issue. Once they are tuned demons run great but out of the box my road demon on my 396 had a part throttle lean condition. Had to jump up like 4 jet sizes on the primarys. Edelbrocks will get you better mileage as well.

Yes, Ive heard about the Zinc thing, but that's nothing new, I've used the new oils on other builds, no trouble at all. By 'cosmoline' do you mean that grease sometimes on engine parts? The Speedpro cam was clean tho and had the usual dull black finish on the lobes. One thing bugs me though and that is the 'red' cam lube that I used, it seems common these days. I always used to use GM molydisulfide grease on cams and lifters and NEVER had wear issues with it - it's black and looks like liquid graphite - it really sticks. I still have a bit left from 25 years ago and I'm going back to that this time, it really goes a long way.

 

[zzrodder]

Got the new Comp cam and lifters in and sprung for a new 670 Holley Street Avenger carb. As soon as the gas got to the carb, it fired up and ran great, went right into the 20 min. @ 2000 rpm cam break in period, no problems. Now it has the missing bottom end power, no stumbling, part throttle sputtering, no more running rich. Definitely the Demon carb was haywire from the start - here's something weird too - during disassembly, when I took off the vacuum advance hose and the hose to the vacuum switch for the 700R4 they were full of gas !![S I've NEVER seen a carb do that !! Lesson learned - By contrast, the Holley works great right off the bat .
While I had it apart, I also fabbed up a partial fan shroud since the fan sits kinda low on the rad, and added a coolant overflow bottle to control those embarrasing drips when you shut it off (only happens when someone is watching).
Now it's time for some proper cruising.

 

[Motorhead]

Nice! What was the price difference between the Holley and the Demon?

 

[zzrodder]

Nice! What was the price difference between the Holley and the Demon?

Well, I got the 625 Road Demon on ebay from Calif. for $220, supposedly barely used and it came with a full box of Holley jets, guy had put it on his kids Camaro with a stock 305 and couldn't get it to run right - it looked fine, in fact like new,still in the box with the video, stickers etc.. By the time it got to Canada with shipping and the customs rip-off plus exchange to Canadian , it cost me almost $400 !! So much for the good deal. The new Holley was $480 including taxes so not much more especially considering it WORKS. I should have just gone that route in the first place...

 

[Motorhead]

Wow, that sucks! Some of these "bargains" end up being the more expensive route.

Thanks for sharing, though. I've been deciding whether I should rebuild my Quadrajet or buy an adapter plate and run a brand new 4 bbl carburetor. I'll stay away from Demon for sure.

 

[jfg455]

I didn't realize you had bought a used carb. No telling what the other guy did to it. My rule of thumb is not to pay more than $50 for a carb used. That way I see it as a core if it doesn't work! glad to hear it is up and running good again.

 

[zzrodder]

Got it out to it's first small meet for Canada Day, only about 160 vehicles, felt a bit odd with the only rod of this type there! Here's a pic of the only real rat truck there, a 46 Chev.

 

[DJ3100]

Your truck fits in everywhere. They'd probably even let you in the LA roadster show - well maybe not - no Ford parts.

 

[deerchooper]

whats in the window? what kind of price?


looks good

 

[ratdog]

Man that looks nice, and youre selling it allready? I couldn't do it after all the work you put into it,and created it basically out of nothing I would have to keep it.

 

[SugarRay8]

Well I just looked through all the pages of this build and all I can say is…DAMN!

Your talent is amazing! [dr

 

[zzrodder]

Yeah, it's for sale - only have room for one in the garage so it must go to make room for the next creation. I usually produce one a year and though the profit is not even near minimum wage, each one finances the next build plus a bit of beer money.
It's just a hobby but it allows me to buy parts and try out ideas I would never afford otherwise - the thrill is in the build (OK, driving them is a blast) and then I pass them on to someone else to enjoy.

Made some ordinance today - took a chunk of 2 1/2" aluminum bar and spent some quality on the lathe whittling it (see pic of bucket of shavings) into a grenade shift knob. 15 minutes whacking it with various hammers and some paint and it doesn't look so billet-like, made the trigger and top from sheet metal, it almost looks authentic.

 

[Motorhead]

Hitting a grenade with a hammer doesn't seem like a good idea!?!?! [S

Just kidding, it looks great. If you want to get the true look of a pineapple grenade, you might want to try media blasting the grenade with some rough media. The texture on them is a little finer than what you have.

 

[zzrodder]

Family members

Hitting a grenade with a hammer doesn't seem like a good idea!?!?! [S

Just kidding, it looks great. If you want to get the true look of a pineapple grenade, you might want to try media blasting the grenade with some rough media. The texture on them is a little finer than what you have.

Didn't want to make it too real or the cops might take it away!


Finally got time to get the Hennway out of it's shed today and put insurance on it for the summer, cleared the driveway off for some family photos before the 55 leaves town.

 

[deerchooper]

awsome looking rides you got.

i was just looking back to the first couple of posts you did with this build. i just thought it was funny that you held on to this truck for so long never knowing what it might transform into next to sell it.

your are a true craftsman!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Z.Z.Rat]

Thanks for the pics. Super job! Wish we could appreciate them in person.

 

[zzrodder]

awsome looking rides you got.

i was just looking back to the first couple of posts you did with this build. i just thought it was funny that you held on to this truck for so long never knowing what it might transform into next to sell it.

your are a true craftsman!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks ! I hear what you're saying about keeping something so long just to finally make something from it then sell it. I think for me it's more of a realization that you can't take it with you and as the years go by I'm thinking of how much time I have to build all the other rides I've been dreaming about.
With the 55 project I think of the fun I had with it in the 70's and how it sat rejected for so long, now I had more fun bringing it to life again - it's like an investment made long ago that is now paying off in more ways than one. That I can live with, plus it's the springboard to the next one.
There's lots more old tin out there that wants me to put it back on the road. Just doing my part to save the planet through recycling - one hot rod at a time !!

Here's a pic of a 34 Nash I've been trying to pry out of a guys hands for a couple years - I think I'm wearing him down.....