Nterests & Cars Restored by Club Member Dave
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NTERESTS & new door panels, armrests and carpeting. The car is painted in the factory original somewhat tough because, after 25 years horsepower stock and 510 ft lbs of CARS RESTORED color, with clear-coat. of everyday driving in Michigan, there torque in the 1970 Buick GSX. After BY CLUB MEMBER TELESCOPE BUILDING & ECLIPSE was obviously rust galore. It would be some luck in finding one (in Romeo, DAVE HARRINGTON CHASING an easier job to restore an Arizona car thanks to Tim), the engine was stripped, instead of a Michigan car, but what can cleaned, bored and converted to full race Dave was recruited to the club by his Just for general information, here is the you do? One major shock many of you with racing pistons, roller racing cam longtime co-worker at GM Research, backyard observatory and 16-inch telescope have probably experienced is when you with special supercharger grind, larger Steve Rohde. Dave has restored two that Dave built in 1976. It still sits there, peel back the carpet and find that there valves, 3 ½ inch exhaust and a blower. cars, and they are at opposite ends although the lights of Troy are much are no floorboards left, just a stiff carpet! The compression ratio was necessarily of the restoration spectrum. One is a brighter now than nearly 40 years ago. Above: Backyard observatory and The restoration took about six years, reduced from 11:0 down to 8.1 because 100% pure stock restoration on a 1966 16-inch telescope that Dave built Dave has been to 17 total solar eclipses and included a new, supercharged big- of the blower boost. The supercharger is a Chrysler New Yorker, and the other is a in 1976. in locations such as Bolivia, Turkey, block engine. The old stock engine was new 8.71 unit from Hampton blowers in full-race, modified 1984 Buick. He is an Below: Dave’s 1966 Chrysler New South Africa, Tibet, Greece, Columbia, a 307 cubic inch, low-power V-8 that Downey, California. On an 8-liter racing automotive engineer, and retired in 2002 Yorker that he restored. China (the Gobi Desert near Mongolia), was very tired after 200,000+ miles. It engine at 12 psi of boost, this should give from the GM Research Labs after 34 Senegal, Boswana, Zambia and Tanzania. is obvious that a complete new fibreglas about 720 horsepower and 740 ft lbs of years there. His other hobby is amateur Coming up later this year on November floorboard had to be constructed, torque according to Don Hampton. astronomy and telescope building (since 14 is Australia. Don’t be puzzled if you with steel reinforcing straps under the 1954), and he and his wife chase total have never seen a total eclipse of the sun, floorboard. It also needed new inner eclipses of the sun all over the world. with the sky turning to night and the fenders, dashboard, headliner, bumpers, In preparation for installing the engine, th The next one will be their 18 total total stars coming out, as there has not been fuel lines, brake lines and a new gas tank, the very grungy and greasy engine eclipse since 1963. one in North America since February of in addition to a new engine. All Park compartment and frame were completely The two cars are both one-owners, and are 1979. In general, total solar eclipses do Avenues came with vinyl tops, but Dave cleaned, reworked and clear-coated, both big, heavy road cars. The Chrysler is not come to you, you have to go chase had this removed also. As many of you as shown in the photo. 90% of the old 4312 lbs and the Buick is 3979 lbs. Dave them around the world. They only occur know, these restorations are money pits. wiring was not used, and it was rewired for the MSD-blower ignition control bought the Buick Electra Park Avenue in a very narrow path, and you have to It was decided to build a new 8.0 liter, system. This system is programmable, new in 1984, and Dave’s Dad bought the make a effort to get into that path. Even full-race, supercharged engine, with the and has a 3-bar MAP sensor. The two- Chrysler New Yorker new in 1966. When the last one here in February of 1979 block boring, decking and head rework battery setup shown in the photo (one his Dad died in 1984, the Chrysler sat in grazed the northern border of the USA being done by another close friend and left and one right) was installed to the garage for 21 years (without moving) and had to be observed in northern GM retiree, Tim Parkham, who has his accommodate the current draw of the until there was sufficient motivation to Manitoba. Dave was there, but it was 12 own engine rebuilding shop. Tim also performance electric fans, water pump start the restoration. This was done in below zero and his cameras froze! The completely rebuilt the 1966 Chrysler and transmission cooler fan. conjunction with Dave’s son (who is next total eclipse in North America will 440 engine in the other car. The race another automotive engineer). be on August 17 of 2017 (after nearly engine build took about 5 months, and All of the usual comfort items were CHRYSLER RESTORATION 40 years without one here), and it will the photo shows Dave on the happy day removed to have a cleaner install and be a spectacular event, crossing the USA engine compartment. Thus, there is no After 40+ years as a Michigan car, when the engine was done. It turns out from coast-to-coast in mid-summer. It heater, heater hoses, cruise control, AC and sitting motionless for 21 years, that is not easy to find race parts and a will be a much-hyped event, and many compressor, AC hoses, AC condenser, nothing worked or moved due to rust blower intake manifold for a Buick V-8. millions of Americans will see a total etc. Many people at car shows last and varnish coatings … brakes, wheel For a big-block or small-block Chevy, solar eclipse for their very first time. That summer asked Dave …“why did you cylinders, master cylinder, fuel lines, Mustang, etc, no problem. Even for a A tremendous amount of ef- will probably include many of you who put this engine in a big, heavy four-door transmission, engine, etc. Everything 455 Pontiac, but not for a Buick 455! fort went into transforming this are reading this article. You will never sedan?” He could only answer “because had to be replaced or rebuilt, even the The blower intake manifold had to be 1984 Buick rust bucket into the forget it when you see it. it was there”. floorboards. It took about 3 ½ years. It built to special order (ouch). Dave has machine it is today! took a while to track down some parts, BUICK RESTORATION his hand on it in the photo (so no one The car turns out to be a great and stock wheels and hubcaps also had The second restored car is a 1984 Buick will steal it). conversation starter at gas stations. Every to be found. (Dave’s Dad had got rid of Electra Park Avenue, which is the last The starting point was a block from time Dave stops for gas a crowd gathers them in 1968 for chrome-reverse wheels; of the heavy, big-boat, rear-wheel-drive the largest and most powerful engine to look at it. This is quite often, as it only remember those?) The interior required cars. Dave bought it new and hung on that Buick ever built … a 1970 Stage-1 gets about 4½ miles per gallon! a new floor, new headliner and cording, to it for that reason. This restoration was 455 V-8 (7.5 liter) that made 345 .