THE BEGINNING OF A GREAT ADVENTURE-- PARTS DROP

Well, I'm now just a few days away from heading down to Austin to deliver my drivetrain and suspension to Mercury Charlie's shop. It's basically the complete drivetrain my '29 roadster came with, which is a 1966 Buick Riviera 425/Turbo 400 combo backed by a 12-bolt I plucked out of a '67 Riviera from John's Auto Salvage in Seguin, TX. Given the size of the barge the rear came out of, it's a safe beat we're looking at rear end gears in the neighborhood of 2.75 to 3.0.  

 The front end is a vintage "Dago" dropped axle.  Not sure what the steering box came from,  as it was in the car when I got it from Ian Loska. The roadster as I got it from Ian is pictured below:

The next time I'm in Austin will be to take delivery of a roller. A Mercury Charlie double Z'ed frame with suicide front end and traverse sprung rear. The drivetrain will consist of my 425 Nailhead, Turbo 400 and 12-bolt. All suspension will be in place. Charlie should have the chassis ready for me in February. We've got a long way to go, but we'll at least I'll be a giant step closer.

Well, here's the body patiently waiting for its close up in my garage.
It sat in the corner of a restorers garage in AZ since the early eighties.

A fella's allowed to dream, right? Soon my dream will be a giant step closer to reality.

The wheels and tires will be robbed from my 29 roadster.

Here's the engine and pipes. A massaged 425 with a Schneider cam.

Here's the parts list for Charlie:

425 Nailhead

Turbo 400

12-bolt

Driveshaft

Steering box

Front drop axle front end with spring

Radiator

Grill Shell

Wheels and tires

VRRRRRROOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!

There was a time when I had no idea what a Buick Nailhead was. That all changed a dozen years ago when I bought a 1965 Buick Riviera. The initial appeal for me was the beautiful lines of the car but the more I drove it,  the more deeply I came to appreciate its 401 nailhead motor.  Its low throaty purr. The gobs of torque it produced with nary a hiccup. Before long, I was under the hood of that Riviera loving on that Nailhead like my own dear sweet mama had berthed it. And while I no longer own my Riviera, I now harbor a deep appreciation for the motors that the General put into the mid 50's to 60's era Buicks. So imagine my delight when while shopping for a model A or T hot rod, I came across a 1929 Ford Model A roadster with a 66 425 Nailhead. I subsequently purchased the car from Ian Loska in California and had it shipped out to Austin. Then disaster struck. On my tenth day of owning it, a car pulled out and front of me a freeze like a deer in my headlights. I'll skip the gory details, other that to say the car was totaled, leaving in a one-man battle with Liberty Mutual Insurance for six months. I fought tooth and nail to get a fair settlement, which is ironic their customer admitted full fault. What a pain in my ass. But I digress. The small bit of good news was that the 425/Turbo400 drivetrain survived except for a bent rear end. I ultimately purchased what remained of the roadster with my settlement and set out to find a new home for the 425 engine and its accompanying Turbo 400 transmission.

Hubba hubba.