North Florida 289 Build, #10306

[Chainsaw]

Finally got the brake bias adjuster installed and operational. The instructions were a bit lacking, but Wilwood answered my questions quickly and got me squared away.
Bias adjuster knob.jpg

[ehansen007]

Man Jack I'm so sorry to hear you've had all these problems. I wish I were closer to help out. Hope your achilles is okay.

[Chainsaw]

Thanks, Eric. Achilles is coming along fine. Done with formal PT now. I am getting some time to work on the car some, but not as much as I'd like. Jeff Bell (Jeff's First FFR on this forum) lives 10 minutes away and has been invaluable with his help. I've been working a lot which is good for the bank account, but less so for finding time to work on the car.

The car is getting there. It seems to be running fine, but haven't had time to drive it any distance to get things hot to see if the problem returns. I've got some filler to add to the cockpit edges to clean up some rough spots on the body, spray a little gel coat, and I'll be putting it on.

[Chainsaw]

I will add that building this car is as much about the journey as it is the destination. I get frustrated often, but it's just part of the journey. Up until this project, I've just been a parts-changing dabbler and car maintenance performer. I've learned a ton and I have a great sense of satisfaction when I get things correctly done even if it takes me 3x to do it right.

[ehansen007]

You're absolutely right. You'll notice that after you're done there is a sense of accomplishment and you'll love showing it off and driving it, but for me, and you might find this, I was ready to build again. I miss it.

[Chainsaw]

While I might miss the build, I'm sure my wife will not. Right now, I'm just ready to drive the thing for real, not just around the neighborhood.

[Chainsaw]

Drove the car yesterday down the street and back. I had to move things around to get my Z in the garage in prep for the potential mess from the approaching hurricane. 289 is back under the body/buck in bay #3. Now looks like Helene won't affect us too much in this area.
The car seems to be running okay and didn't die after letting it idle for 5+ minutes after I got it back in the garage. Ran it about 15 minutes total. Someday I might trust it.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qa3sSMR2Ao4

I also got my Heidts valve mounted, but need to buy/build the new flex hoses.
Heidts.jpg

Now that the body is up in the air, I can see the spots in the undercoating that I need to touch up with Herculiner.

[Chainsaw]

So Helene and Milton both missed us, but got more wind and rain from Milton. Fortunately, my friends and workplace back on the Space Coast didn't get much damage as the storm moved very quickly through the area. Friends on the west coast of FL got messed up, but dodged big damage. My heart goes out to those with big damage and flooding.

Been working too much to get any time on the car. I have to go in the garage and get my head around it. I've got a bunch of braided teflon hose that needs to be made useful with some Breeze fittings for connecting the Heidts valve and touch up some spots with Herculiner on the underside of the body. I bought a nice little thermal camera that attaches to my iPhone to look for hotspots behind the dash if the car is still dying when I can get to drive it again. The work I'm doing is eating up a lot of what used to be time I could work on the car. I've really got to do better at retirement.

[Chainsaw]

Got some time in the garage, so I touched up some of the undercoating where I could see light shining through. Then I made my 4 hoses for the power steering rerouting to the Heidts valve.

Hoses.jpg

I hope to get those installed this week while I'm home and not working too much.

[Chainsaw]

Installed the hoses for the Heidts valve. No leaks! I'll have to adjust it once I start driving it again.

Heidts Install.jpg

I love those fittings from Breeze. Thanks, Mark!

[Chainsaw]

Soooo, I think I'm really fully retired now as of 12/20/2024. Trying to get my head turned around and start working on the car again. To that end, i just ordered the Edelbrock ProFlo 4 EFI from Mike Forte. I've always wanted that system, so I went for it. i was never happy with the Sniper that originally came with the engine and the carb set up, while fully functional, just isn't how I wanted to go. Plus, installing the PF4 will be a little easier, from the wiring standpoint at least, before the body goes on. Body on is the next big event.

[Chainsaw]

Committed to finishing the driver's side footbox.
DS Footbox.jpg
I also glued on the carpet to the front-facing wall of the cubby. I'll attempt to make some sort of lockable door for the cubby while I wait for the PF4 to arrive (allegedly this Thursday.)

[mburger]

Hey Jack,
Henry is building my 289 in Port Charlotte with a little help from me.
Just browsing your build thread and it's looking great!

[ehansen007]

Glad to hear you're back and fully retired! Looking forward to hearing more.

[Chainsaw]

THE NEW PHONE BOOK'S HERE! THE NEW PHONE BOOK'S HERE! I'm somebody now. (IYKYK). But really the ProFlo 4 arrived today.
PF4 unboxed.jpg
Started taking things apart in the engine bay to make the swap over.

[Chainsaw]

Glad to hear you're back and fully retired! Looking forward to hearing more.

I'm actually ready for it this time, but I would have liked to be with my old team at Blue Origin for this upcoming launch. Hopefully it happens early Thursday.