Leon just posted on the Bullet that they would not allow him to run in Elvis' class because of his floor, but let Elvis in.

All the Gebhart cars are in it appears, all in the registration gallery, truck and 71 charger included.

Id be drilling some holes in the Gremlins lexan side windows for ventilation.

Home at last! Mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially drained. Off to work to recharge! First pic is at the gas station in Flagstaff. 140 miles into the trip, and the back straps on the Belvedere are already hanging loose from the trailer...a sign of things to come!

180 miles after re-strapping the car down, we were on the side of the road, using up our only trailer spare. If you look at the top of the picture, you will notice tire tread caught by the Satellite's rear bumper!

I blew one trailer tire on the way down... I stopped
at a Discount Tire and replaced that one so I had
another spare... uneventful after that

We rolled into Albequerque in the afternoon, and tried in vain to buy a replacement trailer tire...just nothing available on Labor Day Monday. As the sun began to set, we ambled up to Moriarty, and went off in search of "Amarillo by Morning".
We actually stopped just short of there at a little truck stop, and bailed into the camper shell for a "small nap" that turned into 5 hours. Left there before dawn, with Mr. Hooker telling me about change. " One of these days
Things gonna change...You'll try not baby
Afterwhile gonna be mine, gonna be mine
One of these days I'm old and lonely baby
Cry Cry Crying. Wont be long long Things gonna change,

You're singing to the choir John Lee! Help him out Carlos. If you remember the old MTV video, he was wearing the same outfits, and riding in an outdated Limo.


Sometime, in the middle of the night
And you're so long, and so long and so long
Things gonna change, things gonna change
Change change change
Things gonna change,
Further on up the road baby, things gonna change
Change change change
Change baby
You'll try not to leave
But after while Gonna be mine
My time my time baby
Things gonna change
Change change change

All the Gebhart boys are well into their 40's and climbing relentlessly towards 50. When we were in our teens, and staying up all night to finish a car, people used to ask, "When will you guys learn?" They don't ask anymore...

"Dad, you've been listening to the same 15 song compilation CD since we left Phoenix!" Rachael rolled her eyes.

We rolled into Casa de los Owasso, at 2pm Tuesday 9/3. We had just shut the truck off when Boone announced that his headers were ready to be picked up at the coaters, 140 miles away, and my truck was the only suitable transportation. Dad volunteered to make the trip, and turned to me, "You want to ride along, Son?"
"I'd love to spend time with you dad, but I just spent 26 hours in that thing, and I'm not about to get back in it right now". I helped him disconnect the trailer, and off he went towards Joplin. "One of these days", I thought to myself, "Things are gonna change!"

Great meeting all you guys and gal. Cool people for sure.

Heh heh, "Casa de los Owasso", very funny.

Glad to hear you made it home OK!

So, I'm guessing "Chill Out" was one of the songs on the CD. To get the full "build(up)" experience I must ask what the total contents of the compilation CD is, so I can play it in the background (over and over) while reading the posts.

Scott

I walked into the shop for a quick assessment, because when Darryl rolled through two weeks ago, he had told me he doubted if either the Truck or Gremlin would make it. First look didn't instill any confidence in me, either. The Truck was ready to go from the tailgate to the back of the cab, but the cab was virtually empty. The front of the truck looked fairly complete, even without the headers, but the more I looked the more concerned I became. The master cylinder was dry, and nothing was attached to it on the outside. No lines, no line lock, no proportioning valve. There wasn't any throttle linkage. Boone was in the cab laying down hushmat on the bare floorboard.
"Boone, you gonna use the manual linkage, or cable for the throttle?" I held up the two examples lying on the fender.
He never even looked up, "Don't know yet, that's a decision to be made later."
"Later?", I lifted one hand and counted my fingers, "Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday... not many laters left!"

Mom walked out to the shop about that time, and gave Rachael and I a hug. "Boone, what did you want me to take to the UPS Store?"
He came out of the truck like a shot, "Oh Yeah! We've got to get Dale's balancer shipped out!"
Dale's initial test drive of the Gremlin a week earlier ended in a wrrr, Kunk-klunk sound each time he shut off the engine, and a vibration while it was running. He had tracked it down to his 440 Source fluid style dampener, which was year old, but had never been run before. Subsequent conversations with 440 Source had led to the solution that they would ship him a new one, as soon as he could give them a tracking number for the one being returned.
I walked over and looked at the Gremlin, with it's front clip thrown upside down on a table, the radiator sitting on wooden blocks, and half of the front of the engine torn off. The shiny new headers have no exhaust attached to them, the interior has only one seat, no seat belts, and a river of wire in the floorboard. The overwhelming thought in my head..."Get in your truck and head to Bowling Green, NOW!"

Billy do you have a pic of yourself so I can see what
you look like... also WHICH of the 47 cars/trucks that
you brought were you driving... I thought you were driving
the white truck but I guess that was your brother...
I THINK... sure did want to meet you but didnt

Im sure the local Post Office has Pics of all the brothers.LOL.I saw Billy the first day and that was about it.My concern was asphyxiation for those in the Gremlin.Talked in the staging lanes and help them figure out side window removal.

Boone and I were off work for the rest of the week, but Dale still had to work through Thursday, and Darren was scheduled to work through Friday.
"How's the Charger coming, Boone?" I questioned.
"Don't know, Darren keeps calling us for advice, and help. We tell him to bring it over here to work on, so we can just walk over and tell him what to do, but he keeps refusing!" Boone shook his head slowly, "We've got too much on our plates to be driving over there to see what he's doing!"

Dale showed up about an hour later, and to be blunt, looked terrible. Sleep deprivation was already kicking his butt, and there was no relief in sight if he was to finish either of these vehicles.
"Hey, Dave! How was the trip?"
"Not too bad, actually."
"Where we at Boone?"
"Wiring, brake lines...Do you want to attempt the windshield again?"
"Too tired for the windshield, and we need more hands for that!" he concluded.
I interjected, "What's left wiring wise, that would allow us to get the dash in this thing?"
"That's a good question." he shrugged, and walked to the back of the shop, and settled into one of the chairs.
"Bring me the dash". He motioned, as his head rolled around on his shoulders, seemingly looking for the nearest pillow.
Boone handed him the dash, then grabbed a notebook, and started reading off wire colors, and the corresponding accessories each went to. I walked over and looked into the truck. They had attached a 1/8 inch piece of aluminum from the firewall to the dash bar of the roll cage. The igniton was mounted to the top, and would be accessible through the glove box door. On the bottom was a ten pin connector on each end, and a Painless wiring fuse box in the middle. A Painless wiring switch panel would have made this infinitely easier, but Boone had decided everything had to be on individual toggle switches for the gasser vibe. In addition there were a group of wires routed under the hushmat to between the seats for more toggles on a "yet to be built" console. All the wiring throughout the truck had been completed, and wired to each of the connectors on the dash bar plate, now it was a matter of hooking the toggles on the dash and console, to the fuse box, and the other side of said connectors. Did I mention the relays, the infinite myriad of relays also mounted to the plate? Relays for every toggle, relays running relays, relay groups taped together for the turn signals. Now I understand why the printed circuit board was the greatest achievement of the 20th century, or at least that's how I felt, looking inside the truck!

Dad finally arrived back with the headers, talked with us for a while, then called it a night. Dale finished up the backside of the dash, and we chased him off to bed as well, or carried him, I'm not sure, the details are a little fuzzy now.
There is that time in every thrash day where you weigh the benefits of working late into the night/am without distractions, against how slow you start to move without sleep. At this point Boone and I were just enjoying the fact that everyone else had turned in, and we could concentrate on the task at hand. We bolted on the passenger side header, but held off on the driver's side in deference to getting the brake lines routed over there. Then we tackled mounting the dash. Getting the dash in the truck was not difficult or time consuming, but it certainly looked like a huge accomplishment! We turned out the lights and called it a night, and after a shower, my head hit the pillow just after midnight.

Scott,
Rachael is prone to exaggeration! I had 3 cds with me, I just played one about 80% of the time. "Chill out" with John Lee Hooker, and Carlos Santana is actually on a blues infused cd I put together with stuff like a "Gloria" version with John Lee and Van Morrison, and a "Thrill is gone" version with Willie Nelson helping out B.B. King that I pop in for change of pace. The MotherStation Brand New Bag cd also made the trip, and got more than one circulation.

When I want to chew up miles though, The cd "Dad's Rock Anthems" goes in, and doesn't come out for far longer than a poor 24 year old girl can stand! Good thing she had her smart phone and ear phones!

Sweet Home Alabama- Lynyrd Skynyrd
Carry on My Wayward Son- Kansas
Boys are Back in Town- Thin Lizzy
You Shook Me all Night Long- AC/DC
Turn Me Loose- Loverboy
Renegade- Styx
Born to Be Wild- Steppenwolf
Bad Company- Bad Company
Hold on Loosely- 38 Special
Slow Ride- Foghat
Sweet Child o' Mine- Guns and Roses
Panama- Van Halen
Back in Black- AC/DC
Fat Bottom Girls- Queen
Hot Booded- Foreigner
Flirtin' With Disater- Molly Hatchet
Ridin the Storm out- REO Speedwagon

The ole' 93 CTD 1 ton dually extended cab has two 10" subs and 3 boxes from Rockford Fosgate and MTX where the jump seats are supposed to be. I'm not a car audiophile, but apparently the previous owner was, I just play that cd over and over again until my ears start bleeding, then I back the volume off, and plug in one of the others!

Tony,
It was great to finally meet you! Too bad you and Darryl, and KSJ, and Mike, and Ray, were all on the first shift, while we worked the second shift all week long.

Mike,
Gayle (JnkGal, Moparts) got some good shots of me on the first day that she posted on the "Dragweek" thread. The one below was taken by Randal (silverbuick, BangShift) I was in the "Worn" yella 66 Satellite.

Here's a shot of Billy(right), Darryl(left), and Dale(middle) in Memphis. Can you tell it was hot?

I woke Wednesday morning, and realized Rachael hadn't came back to Dale's last night. She had went partying with 2 of her male cousins on her Mom's side of the family, and my feeling was, she had probably drank them under the table.

When I walked out to the kitchen, everyone was sitting around having breakfast, so I felt as though I hadn't slept very long after all.
"We waited for you as long as we could, son", Dad commented. "I've already been up for 3 hours."
I looked at my phone, "10AM! How did that happen?"

When Boone arrived, I conned him and Dad into looking over the transmission in the Belvedere. Boone re-adjusted the shifter, they added 3 quarts of fluid, then test drove it and declared it good. I had brought an extra RMVB with me, because earlier they thought it may have a valve body issue, but they assured me it was good to go. Since that hurdle was over, I installed the trans cooler on the Belvedere, something I had been procrastinating on for 6 months and changed the oil on it.
Rachael arrived about the time I buttoned it up.
"Where have you been?"
"Had to wait for one of those losers to wake up so they could bring me back over here!"
"Show those lightweights up, did ya?"
"Sure did, when the jagerbombers got flowing, they couldn't hang!"
That's my girl, sheesh! I sent her on an errand run, wash and vacuum out the Belvedere, fill it up with 91, pick up some ice for our coolers, and a small list for the parts store.

I made my way over to the garage to check on Boone's progress. I helped him with the driver's side header, and noticed Dale had installed the hardline for the rear brakes, up to where he installed the proportioning valve, then had stopped on that job. He must've done it last night, because it wasn't on there when I arrived yesterday...wow, I missing stuff already! Since I need to re-do the hard brake lines on the Valiant, and need some practice, I thought "hmm, why not screw up someone else's lines before I tackle mine!"

I was well into that project when Dale finally rolled in from work, dragging a two wheel trailer, which looked far too big for it's intended purpose. He had given the builder very specific instructions, but this guy decided to expound on those instructions, and build it his own way! It'll make a good trailer for pulling around behind a truck, but is a bit overwhelming for the Gremlin it was intended for!

If you look real close at the attachment in the above post, you will notice the carpet roll on top of the Gremlin...that was scheduled for use in the Truck. If you look at the cab of the truck you will see 4 pieces of tape holding in the new windshield gasket. It still had a large droop in the middle.
"I had to cut a piece out of the back gasket", Boone commented, "It was just too big...I may have to do that to the front one."
That just didn't sound right to me, and I was concerned these guys were going to end up breaking the windshield. So I made a phone call to my glass guy in Phoenix.
"Do not let them cut that gasket!" he implored. "Just work it into the corners really good. When they lay the glass in at the bottom, make sure they work the sides in evenly before they start at the top. Most windshields get broken because they have the bottom and one side completely in and are pushing hard to get the other side in place as they work across the top!"
Adam really gets into his glasswork, especially on older classics, it took me another 15 minutes to get him off the phone so I could relay the info to Boone.

Rachael returned from her trip to the parts store with 2 cans of Charcoal grey metallic paint, and I went behind Dale's shop and grabbed a set of white police wheels with dry rotted slicks on them. I gave dad the task of repainting them. Boone had promised me a set way back in 2011, and now I wanted them to mount the 235/70 street tires currently on the back of the Satellite on. The plan was to put the new set of 255/60 MT Drag Radials on the Convo Pros for Drag Week, despite Dale's warnings that "They'll Rub!" and his constant statement that "Those street tires have been 12.40's, they'll hook just fine!". I knew I had to make an aggressive move to get my hands on 2 of the police wheels, because between my 3 little brothers, they have about 10 of them, but if you ask, each one will claim that HE owns all 10!
Another item I had Rachael pick up on her trip was seat covers for the Satellite. The seats had been recovered in an inferior grade vinyl 12 years ago, and the driver's seat was in pretty bad shape. She had called me from the store to tell me the options. I chose the grey sheepskin, and she told me it was 55 bucks, for the pair.
"For 2", I asked, thinking that was way too cheap. what could the quality be like.
I put her on the task of installing them when she returned, and she came over after a while and said, "Dad, there was only 1 in that box!"
I chuckled to myself, "That's fine dear, did you put in on the drivers side?"
"Yeah, do you want me to go back and get another one?" she asked.
"Nope, that will work." I love that child, but she constantly reminds me that the red hair is a dye job.

Thats a nice looking trailer but it is LARGE... dont
tell me you filled it up with parts and tools.. LOL