I have an update.
Last summer (2020) car went in the shop for a few months, where I had LOTS of work done, got it back 1st week of October, for Cruisin the Coast. The factory leaf springs were shot, worn badly, and the Calvert split mono leaf springs really give it a nice subtle rake. The rear Viking shocks are top level! Warrior XS (eXtreme Street) triple adjustable. Assassin traction bars. McLeod recommended the RXT dual disc clutch, not for the 1,000 horsepower rating (vs the RST dual disc) but for the ceramic metallic friction material. When I described the function of the HitMaster launch control, the McLeod tech said that any organic disc would have problems with the heat. The RXT clutch has been GREAT on the street, only the rare brief "chatter" if I'm going slow and slipping the clutch in 1st or 2nd, but even those rare occasions aren't bad. Chrome Moly steel everything, all Strange: slip yoke, driveshaft, pinion yoke, and 1350 solid U-joints. Calvert sliders.
What little driving I've had the time to do, no complaints. The odd new noise on rough spots on the road. I also have a complete new front suspension, all QA1 including the K-member, the one exception is SPC UCAs, because they are far more adjustable than most any others.
Now that the soul sucking money pit construction nightmare, aka the "beach house" is basically finished, the bank calls it 100% complete (thank you Mr. Bank Appraiser) and the construction loan with its dreaded deadlines and other horror-inducing parameters is being converted to a regular mortgage, all done to "make Cruisin the Coast more fun" and other weekend adventures that instead came to a complete HALT because of the demands of having to be contractors ourselves after gypsies, dope fiends, thieves and shitty work had to STOP happening to us....
Now I'm hoping to turn the page, no, throw away and burn that book and move on to a hopefully happier story.
The tale of a guy turning 60 and wanting to ENJOY life a little while I'm still sucking air.
That should mean I finally get to make some trips to the track and get to tuning, tweaking, and dialing in all that gear and get to running SOLID 12s. The Bill Mitchell aluminum block is paid for and waiting at the builder's shop for my budget to build up to the point where I can get ALL the parts to build that block into a kick *** 541.
In the meantime, I have plenty of new stuff to tweak and tune, and while the 541 will mean LOTS of new adjustments, including a MAJOR tire and wheel change out back to have any hope of hooking up, well, I have laid as thorough of a foundation for it as I possibly can, and lots to play with in the meantime until I can get it built.
