HEARTBEAT OF AMERICA

Greetings!

Welcome to the blog that chronicles the Hot Rod Mods at Desert Classics LLC in sunny, central Washington State. Lately I've been almost sidelined by the fact that the engine block I'd set aside for Gary's '51 Chevy Sport Coupe was fatally cracked and had to be tossed. Just recently I located a suitable replacement in Grandview WA at Highway Auto Wrecking. Unfortunately, this means that I ended up having to buy an engine for the same project twice. You see, I'd promised Gary that I'd use a more modern "roller cam" 305 instead of a std block because they make more power, are smoother. and can get better mileage, especially if they're fuel injected - like Gary's is going to be. I have a few 305 engine blocks stored in my West Wing but they weren't cast for a roller cam.

Brian at K&U Machine Shop rushed my order so I could get back on track and I picked up the block on Saturday morning. Usually he sprays a lubricant on the engine block so it doesn't rust before the builder can get it assembled and painted. Knowing this, I asked him to skip the lubricant spray because it caused imperfections in the paint finish. He agreed, but cautioned me to get it painted ASAP. The rush was on. I wrapped it in plastic to get it home and mounted on the engine stand. I had a speaking assignment at the baptism of a friend in the afternoon so I couldn't start on it until after 5pm and I still had parts I needed to clean before I painted them. 

Gary and I have decided to use Throttle Body Injection (TBI) to power his coupe. It is efficient, makes more than adequate power and, because it sits on top of the intake manifold like an old time carburetor, it can be made to look more nostalgic. I found a dual snorkel air cleaner I plan to use to make the 60s hot rod look come to life under the hood.

I hurried out to the shop and cleaned and bead blasted parts for an hour or two before bolting the heads, oil pan and intake manifold to the freshly machined engine block for painting. I masked off the heads and timing area to keep paint off the new cam bearings. By the time I finished with the final coat of color and had cleaned my spray gun it was midnight - way past my bedtime. But I'd beat the clock and got paint on the engine before the rust monster took it.

The color I chose for the engine is a popular color with painters, it's called Guard's Red, or India Red and it's a Porsche color from the 80s. It's about a perfect center point between an orange tone red and a blue tone red. It's a very clean red with very little white in the formula. When I put all the chrome & polished aluminum parts on the engine and set it in the chassis ahead of that glossy black firewall, it's really going to grab your attention. Stay tuned on this because I'll be using an accessory setup from White Machine Service that has a clean, attractive style. Thanks for checking in,

Doug