Thanks, Kevin.

Ross,
That is a fair question. I think the Road Runner keeps you young and you have good years still in front of you, but as slow as I have been writing lately, it makes me wonder if even I would see it through to completion!



Dale often spends 50-60 hours a week at work, and he was also tasked with building all the motors they would take on Drag Week 2016. The 512 for the Duster was the first to get his attention. Then he had to assemble Darren's 512 for the Charger, and finally try to find time for the Gremlin engine.

Part of the difficulty has always been getting parts in a timely manner, especially with this many projects in the pipeline. Dale makes twice as much money as the rest of us, but steadfastly refuses the use of any credit cards, having learned everything he needed to know about such temptations in his early twenties. So, occasionally the flow of needed parts is stymied by the flow of income into his account. He's a patient, disciplined man who plans accordingly, but his brothers do not possess any of those three qualities, sometimes this leads to problems.

"I need a CSR shield, so we can install the engine and trans in the Duster, and start getting all the other stuff fabbed up", Boone complained on the phone.
"I thought Dale was buying everything for the car?"
"That's the plan, but he has a pretty large list of stuff to order already, and he says the shield is two weeks out. I can't wait that long, and I know you have one that you bought used six months ago with a fresh cert. Just mail it to me."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen. New ones are available now, just order it!
He talked me into ordering it on my card, even though I explained to him that I felt I had paid the Barnyard Viper off in full. It was probably good that I did, as the process of getting the low deck, raised Indy exhaust port 512 with the 2" Hookers and an AndyF engine plate did not go as smooth as they felt it would.
Dale took great pride in the fact that he had installed his old 440 without cutting the "shelf area" on his Duster's inner fender wells, but that wasn't the case with the new combo. Another problem area was the radiator. They wanted to run the big 55GPM Mezziere electric pump. The thick engine plate combined with the long water pump, and a thick aluminum radiator featuring a huge shroud containing two electric fans meant it was impossible for the radiator to fit in the stock location. The time constraints for completion dictated that alternate plans would not be explored, it was time for the family to "get their hack on"!