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www.benchrace.com

Would y'all like to look it over early? As far as I'm aware, the official announcement to subscribers ain't even gone out yet.

www.benchrace.com

RR

BENCHRACE #8 is up!



www.benchrace.com

Neat prizes, folks ya know, etc.

Catch yas in a week or so -- gotta work on cars now...

RR

Just a quick pitstop -- BENCHRACE Lucky Seven is now available for consumption.

Granted the giveaways ain't why ya go there, but I've been asked to let yawl know that one lucky subscriber will win somethin' or other -- you'll see when ya git there. If you're already on the list, you're already eligible, etc.  

www.benchrace.com

Good luck!

The official announcement to the subscribin' masses ain't even gone out yet, but for those of yas here who'd like to git a head start, it's available now at a monitor near you!

www.benchrace.com

Whut do ya want for nuthin'?

BENCHRACE Numero Cinco es aqui... www.benchrace.com

Hello Kniggits!

Just a quickie to let yawl know that BENCHRACE No. Four is now available for consumption. Hope ya like it, and hey; if there's ever anythin' we aughtta know about (stories that should be told), let us know, okay?

www.benchrace.com

Thanks...

RR

[Okay, more specifically, a grille guru?]

Okay, more specifically, a grille guru?



Can anyone here tell me from a single pitcher if I have a passenger car or a truck grille? Based upon the amount of rasslin' that's been goin' on, I have a sneakin' suspicion, but a knowledgeable second opinion would be helpful.

Thanks...

RR

High Yawl!

Ordinarily we likes to let DRD handle the announcements, but his confuser has been broke down for a few daze.

HERE'S THE NEWS: A third helpin' of BENCHRACE Speed E-zine is now available for consumption. We've stuffed some extra pages in there for yawl at no extra charge.

www.benchrace.com

Thanks, and lettuce know how we're doin' for yas...

RR

Does NSRA still offer 'Fellow Pages?' I could use some assistance in trackin' down a fellow in the high desert of Californa. I know he used to be on the list. If anyone has a copy, maybe we could talk ya out of a fone number in private. This is a good thing.

Thanks

RR

Oh great, stumped again.  Got the glass all cut for the coupe, now if I could just figger out how to git it in the hole.  



Okay, the regulator is out and both vertical felts are in.  With glass in hands, who knows the approach?  From the bottom?  From the top?  On one side or the other?  The glass just don't wanna go in the hole.

Thanks!

RR

I need to pick the brain of someone who's been there 'N' done that.  I'm screwin' together a Deuce 5-Windo with a roll-up/down back glass and I suspect that I'm missin' a hunk of metal or wood which would secure the regulator.  Here's what I do have:



The body now has all new wood installed, but the old stuff'll work for visual purposes.  What bolts or screws in between the verticals to hold the regulator? Is it metal or is it wood?  Eye've looked at some exposed 3-windos, (they're wood) but it's an entirely different animal.  Does anybody have access to an exposed 5-Windo?  If I could get a pitcher or a measurement or two, it might save me some trial and error.

Here's one more question: This car came to me in pieces.  I have one (right door) window regulator and two (left door) window regulators, so at first I was assuming that the back glass uses the extra left.  However, that would put the handle on the driver's side of the car which wouldn't make sense.  It seems like it'd be in easier reach of the driver if it were on the passenger side.  Who knows this stuff for sure?  

Thanks, Rotten

1982: "Rodney, you can't be doin' #### like that!" said Dave, my older/wiser rodding consultant.  I'd just fabbed up my first column-drop for my first real hot rod.  My gas-welded engineering marvel was not only strong enough to suspend the average bridge, it put the controls right where they should be without the correctional aid of 'tilt-a-whirl' technology, and it bolted directly to the existing 'A' drop, but -- it was UGLY!

Twenty-five years later:



Here's the column-drop we're bringing into existence today.



The adjustable-drop concept is not all that original.  I borrowed this one from some unloved old junk car, and it spit-shined right up.  



Above: Razor-sharp teeth enable this adjustable drop to bite the bracket as the bracket's "wobblegated" hole allows ample column movement to custom-fit most any driver.  



Encompassing the mast-jacket at it's 1 1/2" diameter mounting-point is a leather cushion which sits in a channel, (much like an insert bearing) to provide some degree of forgiveness, as we expect it may actually absorb a small amount of road-shock.



Above: In it's stock formation, the receiver-bracket is close enough in shape to work well on this Deuce, but just imagine the extra versatility a mid-point hinge (coming soon) would add...

The parts used here are rare, and I hadn't intended to repeat the procedure, but upon sharing some early development photos with friends on a lesser-traveled table, I found myself with orders to fill.  I'm going to need some help with this...

Meet Jake Krottje -- 'Master Caster' -- and Pride of Palomar College.



Above: At age twenty, Jake looks serious; (mug-shot serious) about his prototype cast-aluminum dash.  This one is designed to fit most Model 'A' Fords.

A year or two later: Jake is up to speed, and accepting challenges.  He ain't afraid of no column-drop.



First order of business: Jake needs mold-holders, so it's off to the Quickie-Mart for a pair of bucket-size beverage cups, and there's your "drop in the bucket."



Mad-Chemistry at work:



Above: Well, I'll be dipped...  Here jake mixes up his special concoction of silicone-goo.  Soon the silicone will be poured  into the mold-holder containing the original drop, and allowed sufficient coagulation-time.



Above: Once the silicone has cured, Jake will ever so surgically slice around the outside/center of the drop with a parting-knife.



Does Jake know how to make a "negative-impression" or what?

The time has now come for our 'Master Caster' to melt down his special mixture of waxy-goo, which will be carefully poured into the silicone mold.  The trick here (according to Jake) is to find that magic temperature, (just above the point of solidification) as not to overheat and distort the silicone mold.  Once poured, it will be "dunked" in a pail of water where the mold halves are then separated as the wax continues to cool.



Above: Here's your column-drop -- in living wax.



"Drat!  Foiled again!"  On special occasions, Jake has been known to don the "sexy silver space-suit" and sport about campus in a blatant attempt to promote 'foundry-program' awareness, and according to his last report: The chicks think he's out of this world.

"Some like it hot."



Above: Jake likes it right around thirteen-hundred degrees Fahrenheit.



Oh great, he's heating up his crucible...  Next thing ya know, he'll be pre-heating aluminum atop the furnace, and it's 'show-time' -- time to pour, then he'll return the crucible to the furnace for a controlled cool-down.

In part-two, we'll address cooling times, shrinkage prevention, ceramic mold-making procedures and materials, pits, inclusions, etc.  You'll see the pour, and you just might get a sneak-peek at a new product.

BTW: Jake did offer yours truly a partnership in his latest endeavor, but I've seen what can happen to well-meaning inventors, so I declined.  I'm reasonably sure I can score a column-drop or two out of the deal, however, and if by chance Jake finds himself rich and famous -- he'd better by me a beer.  RR

More about Jake: www.krottje.com

To be continued...

Hello Kniggitts!

Would this be an appropriate place for a little combo intro/show & tell?

My name is Rotten, and I'm an autoholic...



Above: That's me back in sixty-seven, rowin' the 39-box in my little ol' twenty-nine Tub.  Well, actually, it was my dad's car back then.



The Tub looks a little different now, but come to think of it, so do I.

Here's a few more:



Above: This twenty-six Tudor was my daily work commuter back in the early eighties.  I was late for work on this particular day, and the whole * town knew about it.

I was in my early twenties when I screwed up and 'restored' it.  After the Tub hit the road, the 'T' was relegated to a railroad storage container for nineteen years.  During that time, the container had sunken into the ground, to the point where the doors couldn't be opened.  My personal time-capsule was reopened recently, however.



One of the better things I've ever done, was: drain the gas.



We were lucky.  The 'T' stored very well...



Here she is, (just a few months ago) upon arrival to her new home; Gopher Grove.  Since then, the Rottenchester down-draught has been freshened up, there's a new battery installed, and a fresh case of fluids is waitin' to go in.  

I wonder what I would have done if the container hadn't sunk.  I now believe I'm ready to appreciate her Model 'T'ness.  The plan is to change the rollin' stock some.  The Bozo yellow will make way for a more sinister shade of dark red, and the whitewalls will be replaced by big and little blackwalls, and a ride-highth adjustment is in the works, but we're busy right now...



Meet my partner in crime: Mrs. Rotten.  She builds stuff too...



She ain't afraid of gittin' dirty...



MR (Mrs. Rotten) is a welder/fabricator by trade.  She helps me alot, and I'm real proud of her.



The forty-seven Studie M-5 receiving attention above is an ol' highschool Auto-Shop project that I never finished.  It's MR's truck now, and it's gittin' done.

What else can I show yawl??  Oh, I know...



We play with cars at work as well.  Pitcherd above is our little red shop-truck...



We use it for haulin', as well as haulin' stuff, like shop-supplies, etc.

Perhaps I aughtta stop here, before I use up all my space.  Thanks for puttin' up with all that.  Lookin' forward to gittin' aquainted with yawl.  RR

High Guys!  Can I play??  I may arready know some of yawl.  I'll attempt a proper intro if/when I git the pitchers figgered out.  Okay, here goes!  I'm gunna try sumpthin'...  RR



Oooh!  Oooooh!  I think it's workin'!  Does it look okay to yawl??