Why this, why now?

My mother-in-law is dying.  Lung cancer.  She feels sick, and won't eat.  It's been this way, off and on, all year. Chemo and radiation, and the subsequent pneumonia, almost killed her. She's lost almost 80 pounds.  My wife, an only child, lost her dad 32 years ago... the week before we were married.  She's hurting right now, struggling to understand what it means to be a good daughter.  I had a similar struggle as my mom was dying a decade ago.  Rough stuff.

My dad isn't too healthy either, actually.  His esophageal cancer seems to be stable, not growing.  Dad's doing heavy anti-oxidant therapy, no chemo or radiation (yet).  He's able to live by himself unemcumbered, as if he was fine.  I'm not worried about him.  I'm worried about my wife.

The t-bird is a diversion from this pain, something "to take my mind off the problem".  But it's more than that.  It's a reminder of God's grace to me.  A reminder that the pain of my past can be redeemed, that I have something very good to look forward to.  And, that it may take a while to get there in fullness.

I'm learning to accept and treasure the little graces I receive every day.  A call from my son, reconciling with a friend, dinner with my wife.  I don't want to take anything for granted.

The block and heads are at the machine shop, being refurbished the way I want them.  I just received the '57 manifold & carb I bought off eBay.  The transmission is being restored to it's full capability.  I, for the time being, have the resources to make this happen.   I can spend time scraping, scaling, sanding and painting the undercarriage.  When I get the block and heads back, I'll have the joy of deburring the castings, priming and painting them.  Then comes the joy of reassembly.  Little steps toward a little future glory. 

Even though I sometimes get frustrated, obsessed, and overwhelmed with this t-bird project, I find comfort in it.  The car was neglected for 40 years.  I was neglected too.  Things are happening to the car to change it, restore it, to redeem it from it's current decrepit state.

My spirit feels decrepit.  I need restoration and redemption.  Along that path, with a positive outlook, I may, in some way, be a blessing to those I love, to contribute to their own restoration.  May God make it so.

Color me Blue

Color is important.  It establishes something about the character of the car.  It also says something about the owner.  The restoration says something about the restorer.  What exactly do I want this car to say about me?

I keep trying to put off the color decision, or to pretend it's not important, but the time is coming when I need to buy paint.  Why?  I want to paint the engine compartment before I put the motor back in.  That may be a ways off... probably months, maybe seasons, but it does frame what has to happen next.  Oh, and did I tell you that I'm obsessive!

Here's the color that grandma's t-bird was originally:

 As my wife says, this is the color that comes to mind when most folks remember a  '55 t-bird.  It is a very "'50's" color, and I can respect that.  It doesn't mean I have to like it.  I personally feel that turquoise is an appropriate color for stones on a cowboy's belt buckle or bolo tie, but a little goes a long way.  To me, painting a car this color is an overdose of turquoise.  There are shades of purple that I find attractive, but I wouldn't paint a car that color.  At least now, as 50-something "adult".  Flames, maybe... but not turquoise.  By the way, I also drive a yellow car... I didn't think that was a very good color either, but it was what I could afford, and it has grown on me.  I'm not sure I want to give turquoise a chance.  If I'm paying to have the car painted, it had better be a color I want.

I'm really not bound by the color choice the Ford factory made 57 years ago.  I generally like bright colors, especially blue... just not this one.  One thing that does limit my choice of color is the interior.  The car doesn't have an interior now, and that opens up possibilities.  As a practical matter, however, custom interiors are very expensive... and reasonably priced pre-packaged kits are available in stock colors.

This brings up another point.... the seat.  Uncle "Packard" and others who have driven this car when it was new(er) have complained about the seat... it has a back bolster that hits the driver just below the shoulder blades.

55 seat. The bolster is in red.

Here is a shot of a red 55 and a blue 56 to illustrate the problem.  I sat in a 55 today, at a t-bird club meeting.  It seems OK at first, but I suspect that after 30 minutes or so, it could become a problem... at least for me, or my family.

The '57 seat has a different seat bolster arrangement.  I sat in one of these today, too.  There is no top bolster beneath my shoulder blades.  While the seat is still very firm, I think I could sit in it much longer and still be comfortable.  I'll admit that I don't think it looks as nice as the '55 seat above, but I think it would be more livable for me.  This won't be a show-winning car anyway, and rebuilding the seat in '57 style wouldn't be seriously altering the character of the car.

So, pre-packaged, '57 style interiors.  Compatible with blue.  What do we have?  Well, Porthole Authority is a good reference.  Here's what's available that might possibly work: white on white, black on white (see above), and blue on blue...  Dresden Blue over Skymist Blue.

Looks good on a white car... would it look good on a blue one?
Well, here's an example in Skymist Blue.
No early t-birds came from the factory in Dresden Blue.  I wonder why.  I could certainly do that, but I don't have a good example.


The closest factory color on a t-bird was 1956 Peacock blue, like the seat above, or these 56's.











 And this '55 which has been repainted Peacock Blue.  Lovely color! 

This is close to what I want.  But will it work with '57 seats?  Would it end up "too blue"?  Here are some color stripes, to try to figure this out.  The two stripes on the left are the '57 seat colors.  The middle stripe is '56 Peacock.  The righmost is '55 Thunderbird Blue, and the second from the right is the current color of my dash vinyl, which could be used as is or dyed /replaced to match the left colors.  Note that 55/56 dashboards are different than 57's, and 55/56's dash coverings aren't available in Dresden blue.  I think I'll keep my dash the dark green color, even if I have to replace the vinyl.  Click the stripes to see the color palette in Kuler.

My preferred body color is the middle stripe.  '57 blue interior on the left, original '55 interior on the right.  I'm thinking that either one will work.

Why am I agonizing about this?  Well, probably because I'm worried that I will make the wrong decision, commit a lot of time and money, and end up with something that I don't really like.

I keep thinking that I can reason this out, that I can control it.  I want to think that I can "win" by finding the "right" answer, the "best" answer.  I have a constrained budget, so I can't have it just anyway I want... I have to come up with an answer within my constraints.  Why does that chafe me?  Why do I always try to find imperfections?  What the hell is wrong with turquoise in the first place?  Does the shape of the seat really matter anyway?

I think I need to get out of myself a little.  To accept my own limitations, and recognize the wisdom of other people.  There are lots of people with a much more artistic eye than me, who might be willing to talk about color.

My Dad has offered to help me on the car, by financing the paint job.  This is a huge blessing to me, to have my Dad's personal interest and support!  It gives me a new avenue to relate to him, and I cherish that.  Perhaps I should just let him choose the color, and let it go at that.

By the way, he doesn't like turquoise either.  He prefers Peacock Blue.

Quench & Concours

Tech Alert:  This is a pretty techy post.  If you aren't a gear-head, you may want to skip it.
So, I spent some money on engine parts from John Mummert.  He's another great guy (this hobby is full of them).  I now understand why I have such a hard time reaching him on the phone... he really likes talking to people, and just doesn't hear the phone ringing when he's talking!  I've got to respect that.  He's got a small shop with no front door... he doesn't usually get walk-ins like me.  He and his small staff do engine work on ATV motors and y-blocks.  That's about it.  John sends y-block parts all over the world, but he rarely sends stuff locally.  Most local folks tend to rip the y-blocks out of their '50's Fords, and put in something newer, bigger.  But in Europe, the American Midwest, and Australia, they treasure their y-blocks!  funny...

Anyway, I  got a mild street cam, gaskets, stainless valves, springs, keepers, retainers, plugs/keys, pushrods, oil pump shaft... I think that's about it.  It doesn't make sense to me to scrimp on engine parts, especially the ones that go deep inside.  I'm still shooting for an honest 9:1 compression ratio, but Mr. Mechanic has measured the deck height at .025" (distance the pistons are "in the hole" at TDC).  Mr. Mummert says .065" is too much to shave off 113 heads, so I should zero deck the block (mill the block to make the pistons even with the top of the block) and only take .040 off the heads.  Zero decking the block is a good idea anyway with "quench head" engines like the y-block.  Mr. Mechanic and I are taking the block and heads to the machine shop tomorrow.

Minor tech diversion - I find this to be pretty cool!  A "quench" or "wedge" head, unlike a hemi head,  has a flat spot right above where the piston sits at top dead center, and has a "D" or heart shaped scooped-out combustion chamber off to one side of the cylinder.  Like this:

"Quench" happens when the piston gets very close to the flat surface of the head, say within .045, or the thickness of a composition head gasket (hence the reason for zero decking the block).  When the piston gets that close at the top of it's stroke, two remarkable things happen:
1. the fuel-air mixture in the cylinder gets squished under very tight "flat" space, and squirts out at very high velocity into the "scooped out" combustion chamber, causing really good mixing and making for a more thorough combustion... and more power (grunt, grunt, grunt).
2. the piston surface, being so close to the water-cooled head surface, has a brief chance to "quench", or transfer some heat and cool off during the short time while it is at top dead center... but it happens many, many times a second!

I'm not really ready to discuss the spiritual significance of quench heads yet... but I'm sure there is something significant there.

Another really interesting thing that happened this weekend was taking my son to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.  This is the premier car show in the USA, and probably the world... there is nothing else like it, only the best of the best cars get invited... and if they are competing, they only get invited once.  I was overwhelmed by the number of really beautiful cars there, but I was also feeling blessed to be able to spend the day with my son!  On the advice of "Uncle Packard", who has shown cars there many times, we arrived at 6:30 AM and watched these cars drive on to the field, one at a time.  For a car guy, the sights, sounds and even smells of this event are heavenly!  I took way too many pictures to post much here, but I will share one outstanding car that we saw (and heard): the Blitzen Benz!

The sound of this car taking the field was enormous, as you would expect from an engine with cylinders the size of small block chevys.  21.5 liters is a BIG motor in anybody's book.  It's hard to tell from this pic, but this motor is the size of a medium refrigerator. 

200 hp and 200 kph... pretty good for 100 year old technology, huh?  I guess going to extremes is really nothing new.

My son and I had an excellent day.  It has been a sublime joy to share our love of cars, to talk and dialog about something we both found facinating, and to both reflect each others enthusiasm.

I tend to think that my heavenly Father likes to spend time with me, in much the same way.  He enjoys my love of life, and my enthusiasm, and wants to share his with me!

Cars are created things, and each created thing says something about its creator... what they thought was important, their sense of style and balance.  When it comes down to it, cars aren't really meant to be possessed.  They are meant to bring people into relationship, to inspire awe and appreciation.  Spanning a century, the Blitzen has offered me a relationship, however brief, with it's designer (Julian Ganss).  What a remarkable person he must have been!

8/29 Update: The Blitzen at Pebble Beach is featured on Jay Leno's Garage.

Camshafts and Intentionality...

"Uncle Packard" recommended a friend, a retired mechanic (who also owns a Packard V12), to go through the t-bird's engine and let me know what's up with it.  Mr. Mechanic picked up the motor several days ago.  I saw him last night at Cruise Night, and we discussed the t-bird motor.  He has disassembled it, and has given it a quick inspection.  The bearings all look new, as they should.  The pistons are marked "40", meaning that they are .040" overbore.  The displacement of my 292 y-block actually 299 cubic inches.  Let's call it "300"... that sounds more macho!

My new mechanic friend is a delightful person, full of enthusiasm for cars and brimming over with experience and interesting stories.  Of course, they are only interesting if you also like cars.  He clearly has a good heart, a helpful and gentle spirit, and has followed his calling as a mechanic.  One of those rare individuals who clearly knows his place in the world, and is immensely satisfied to do what he is doing.  Peaceful.  Serene.  Fun to be around.

Anyway, Mr. Mechanic says the camshaft in my engine is new, but completely unmarked.  He can't make sense of what it is.  This is a problem because the camshaft sets the valve timing for the motor... in a way it is the heart of the motor, just like the motor is the heart of the car.  It's one of those key things that, when selected properly, pulls everything else together... and when not selected properly, will make everything miserable.

Do you ever experience things like that?

The camshaft controls the intake and exhaust valve timing.  This determines how the intake, exhaust, heads/valvetrain, and carburetor will work together.  Each of these things can be optimized on their own, but only the camshaft grind will pull them into an integrated whole.  All of my goals and intentions for the performance of this engine center on the camshaft.  But which camshaft to pick?

Here is a simple primer on valve timing.  The key parameters are the lift, duration and overlap (lobe center - smaller number means more overlap).  There is a LOT of info available online about different cam grinds for the y-block, and I'm taking my own crash course in valve timing.  A "big" (racing) cam can give my little bird a lot of power (with big carbs and headers), but it won't idle well and the engine needs to rev way up before it makes that power.  A "recreational vehicle" cam will give lots of torque on the "bottom" (right off idle), and probably be more pleasant for most people to drive, but won't make big power on top.  Mr. Mechanic says that hot-rodders tend to err on the side of using too "big" of a cam, enticed by the promise of big horsepower, but giving up torque and driveability where it counts (on the bottom end).  This in fact makes the car slower overall, as well as less fun to drive.

Mr. Mechanic recommends that I buy a new camshaft from a y-block expert (like John Mummert), along with a set of new lifters.  I need the lifters no matter what, and I doubt that it's worth the effort for him to analyze the cam... they aren't all that expensive.  The engine will remain in pieces until I decide what cam I want.  But, as you can tell from the above discussion, that cam decision will directly impact every other decision I need to make about this motor... what exhaust, what intake, what I do to the heads, etc..  It also determines how much peak power I can expect out of the motor, how "mean" it will sound,  how "lumpy" it will idle, and how much low end torque it will have... which is important for driving around town.

I intend to use the 113 "big valve" heads, milled to provide a 9:1 compression ratio.  I also intend to use a '57 intake manifold, with an easy-to-tune modern Holley 7150 style carburetor.  This indicates a  more aggressive intake duration and lift than the stock cam.  I also need to decide now if I ever want headers, because the exhaust scavenging they provide really requires a cam with a narrower lobe center (more overlap).  Headers look cool and add a few more horsepower to the upper midrange, but they tend to complicate maintenance, burn plug wires and blow exhaust gaskets.  I will probably avoid them.

So, you can see that the decisions that I need to make are highly interrelated.  My intentions for this car need to be clear, and as the restoration proceeds, I need to be faithful to that intention.  I mean for this car to be shared with my friends and family.  It can have a "hot rod" sound, but it needs to be "easy to drive", and especially easy to maintain.  My time is valuable, after all.  It will never be an impressively fast car... rather, it should evoke positive feelings in those who experience it.  It can be assertive, but never obnoxious.  Much like my Grandma.

That intention statement provides me with a lot of clarity!  Here's what I want for the motor...
An engine that makes the car pleasant to drive, using the stock Ford-o-matic transmission, with adequate torque for snappy passing on the freeway.  I'd like it to be a little more responsive than a stock motor, especially in the midrange (around 2000-3500 rpm), where the motor will spend most of it's time.   It doesn't have to rev much higher than 5000 rpm, but it doesn't have to idle perfectly smoothly either.  I will build the engine consistent with that intention, and select a camshaft accordingly.

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I know that God has a plan for my life.  I think that, just like the car, he is asking me to think through and articulate an intention for my life.  He is also asking me to make decisions consistent with that intention.  I'm feeling the weight of those decisions, because they are all highly interrelated.  I easily get confused, emphasizing one decision over another, and getting out of balance... "making things miserable, instead of pulling everything together".   When I am in this state, I definitely don't "evoke positive feelings in those who experience me".  I'm not like Grandma.


I feel the need to meditate on this question:  What is my intention for my life, and how will I rely on it to direct my decisions?  The answer will determine my own sense of integrity.