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Posted by Tom in Indiana [166.188.70.156] on Thursday, September 08, 2011 at 03:56:35 :
While waiting for my Blue Point extractor set to get here, I figured I might as well head down to the salvage yard to see what Mike had to help me parts-wise toward getting the 360 into the '50. I needed to pick up an electronic slant six distributor, two-barrel carb, and partial wiring harness anyway. Come to find out, he's got about ten short-output np435's there, with both the 10- and 23-spline input versions. Price, from flywheel to output yoke: $350. So I can get that handily when needed. I went ahead and bought the bellhousing for $25. Anyway, I got what I came for and left.
When I got to work last night, I figured I'd go ahead and make the electronic flathead distributor. I disassembled the slant six distributor, turned down the housing on the lathe, cleaned it all up, then went to grab my 1990 smallblock shaft. The housing had been shattered when I got the 360, so it seemed like the perfect donor. Uh-oh. Totally different shaft. S*%t. It's two in the morning, and I need a smallblock distributor. Now.
I'm most certainly not known for thinking on my feet. Or in any other position, come to think of it. The only person I know who'd be up at that hour is Wes, Mister Big Blocks Only. It was worth a shot. A phone call and ten minutes later, we're neck-deep in more Mopar stuff than I've seen in one place in years. We finally find one. He has no idea how it got there. No charge. Great for me. I'm happy.
On the way out the door, I just off-handedly ask him if he's ever tried to get out broken head bolts before. He looks at me like I've just sprouted a flamingo from my nose. "What do you think I did at Jasper Engines for 18 years?", he asks. Instant "duh" moment- he's removed thousands of them. So this weekend, he's gonna tackle them for me. Sweet!
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