last901

Don Mock just finished the second video dealing with our project of restoring Bill Muncey's last ride. It's well done and is only 7 minutes in length.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuZV6s1jE3U

I'm the fat guy in the black baseball cap. Should it make any difference...

BTW, I often feel a bit self-serving by posting all this Hydroplane stuff. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you would prefer me to stop doing so. After all it really isn't a Corvette topic.

Thanks...

Kmcoldcars

I find the info about the hydros very interesting. My position is "Keep posting it". Keith

narlee

The "OLD" hydros are cool.

George's_Vette

Having grown up in Seattle during the hay days of unlimited hydro racing during Seafair each year I enjoy following your posts on the subject. Some day I'll make it by the museum for a look see of the operation. Keep us updated on the rebuilds and any news about the grand old boats.

George
Twisp, WA

DidntSettle

I enjoy them too. Now Phil, if you could only fabricate those parts corrrectly. File to fit, paint to match.

last901

Have you been looking over my shoulder Keith? It's really amazing - and often frustrating - to look at the loftings Jim Lucero and his team presumably used when building the boat originally only to find they must have done some last-minute improvising without updating the plans. We discovered at one point we were building (restoring) the boat about 4" shorter than it was originally built. At least we caught it in time to correct it.

Now we're finding very small issues with fitting some of the new parts we've made, probably owing to some distortion caused by the crash in Acapulco. Some of the components damaged in the crash were obvious once we removed the deck. For example the jagged cracks and separations when the boat broke in half were quite easy to see and then repair or the parts replaced. Of course removing the deck and then coming in the following morning to find the front half of the hull sagging toward the shop floor as it separated from the aft part of the hull is a good indication that we needed to do some serious structural work, while retaining as many original components as we could.

Now we're finding as we try to install new components like the flanges that are used to provide an interface for adhesive and fasteners to the frames (the "ribs" of the structure) don't always fit because the frame is every so slightly distorted or bent. Something we'd never noticed until now.

And then there's the matter of finding materials like those used to build the boat back in 1974 or so. We did find some sheets of honeycomb aluminum of approx the same thickness of the original (the modern boats are made mostly of composites, like carbon fibre). I also wonder,as I grind away old adhesives and paint, what was in that old glue or paint. Nobody seems to know, so we just wear as much protective equipment as we can. Like dust masks and ear plugs.

Hmmm, well I guess I can forget about the appeal I was going to make on this post about inviting you to come down and help Don and I and our team to work on this project..... It's really getting fun now. Wait until we turn her over to work on the bottom.

So far, so good though.... (cough cough,hack, sneeze, cough...)

kawils2

I love the roar of those old thunderboats with their Allison & Rolls Royce airplane engines. Nothing else sounds like those boats roaring around Lake Washington in August. Turbines just aren't the same.

Thanks for all the work you do to keep those old classics going.

nelliestar

Keep up with the posts, Phil. They bring back great memories of the hydros of the 50's.
My most memorable events were watching the 1949 Gold Cup race in Detroit on black and white TV and Slo-Mo's flip.
Steve

884fun

Thanks for posting that video. I enjoy looking them and reading your posts.

I have a question... looking at the age of the people that were working on the boat, who is going to take over once they are gone? It's the same where I work. If they don't start to bring in some young blood, there isn't going to be many that can run the plants that us old farts are running now.

DidntSettle

Where the hydro's are concerned, I think when our generation is gone the boats will go the same way as we have...Our generation has an emotional attatchment to these boats and unless that attachment is there, little interest in saving them will remain from the younger generations. Question for Phil: How hard would it be for a 20-40 year old to break in to the clique?

last901

Mark and Keith... You ask some really good questions. I appreciate the interest in our activities..

From the video and and the photos, it does look like a hobby shop in an assisted living facility, doesn't it? That's because, like the other guys in the pictures, I am retired and so spend most of my time as part of a core-group working on the 'Blaster during the day. Most of the people who spend time volunteering at the museum do so on Tuesday and Thursday evenings after they leave their regular jobs. The museum is a real beehive of activity those evenings.

I too wonder what the museum will look like in 20 or 30 years. Will anyone with no emotional connection even care about the old boats? For that matter will there be any of old round-nose boats left to restore? I have no good answers.

In the meantime, speaking of engaging younger people in the sport and the care of these boats, the Museum has a program where fathers (or mothers, brothers..) spend several weeks together with their kids on Saturdays building J-stock outboard hydros in the same shop where we restore the big boats. These are constructed from wood and each "team" is provided with the pieces and jigs to construct their own boat. And some experienced people to help those who need help. The Museum then loans them an engine for the season and they all go racing together. It's been a very popular program. I think it will also provide a pool of new restoration talent.

But, you don't have to build a boat with your kids to become engaged in the museum's projects. You just show up and jump in. I did just that a few years ago and helped build Miss Wahoo. Since I had spent most of my career as an office dweller, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I assumed I'd be sweeping floors, and I did some of that for a short time. And still do, like everyone else.

Over the next few weeks the experienced guys started showing me how to do things like sanding, painting, using epoxy, drilling holes properly, making small parts and how to avoid gluing my fingers together.

Now, on the 'Blaster, I've been grinding, making larger parts and sub-assemblies, riveting and fastening parts to the hull.

So, while it's by no means a clique, the more active team members help each other and over time a strong bond develops and you become - whether you like it or not - a member of the crew. That often means if the boat goes to Seafair, The Tri-cities, Couer dAlene, you go along with it. You might even get to be in the Torchlight Parade. It's not mandatory, but after spending a year or so with the same people on the project, you will probably want to go anyway.

Perhaps the best event comes the first weekend in October. That's when we take a few boats - 6 this year - over to Lake Chelan and have a lot of fun. If you have put in 200 hours as a volunteer, you actually get to ride in one.

Oh, by the way, the elderly gentleman in several of the more recent photos is Bob Burd. He's 90 years young and has crewed on or helped build just about any old front-engined hydro you could name. And many of the newer boats as well. He is so knowledgable about the history of the sport I would cal him an historian. Indeed he has authored at least one book on the subject. Sometimes I don't get enough work done on the project as I had planned because I'd rather listen to Bob's stories.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but I wanted to respond to both posts with as much information as possible.

DidntSettle

The "clique" comment was not meant as criticizing or derogatory. But I know at 65 years (soon to roll 66), even I, have eased in to the old boys club way of thinking. Not a good thing, but it's just the way it is. I have grey hair and earned every one of them. I know in my younger years working as a model maker at Boeing, it was very hard to be accepted by the more senior members of the shop, in spite of the fact that I had the skills to do the work. It was kind of intimidating. We did all kinds of work and without a doubt all of what I learned over the years applies to the rebuilding you guys are doing. Unfortunately I have a lot of other projects and I live just under a light year away from Kent, so I am not a good candidate to help out. I sure hope that you guys can recruit some younger guys and gals to take over as we all fade away. There is a lot about what you do to rebuild the boats that will become a lost art if that can't be done.

last901

I certainly didn't take the term as criticism Keith. I knew how it was intended and simply wanted to assure anyone thinking about becoming a volunteer or member of the museum, that they will be greatly welcomed. It's more like a "Gang" actually

DidntSettle

Boat bangers.

Die2Win

I vote you keep the Hydro updates comin. Now how can I get one of those 12 bangers into my C6?

buzltyr

I will miss seeing the hydro's. No water here in Colorado.

last901

Well, first you'll need a pretty good hoist with a capacity of, oh, 3500 lbs just to be safe.

Next, You'll probably need to remove the fenders and the hood from the C6. You should probably replace the entire front suspension and look into some really heavy duty shocks. Not sure if the transmission will handle the torque but if you want to simply run a straight to a differential I'd suggest you find out what those Tractor-Pull guys are using.

Now, assuming you can squeeze the big lump into the chassis, buy yourself a good aluminum wrench set for all the An and mil spec fittings.

I would also suggest you have someone fabricate some flash pans to install just below the headers. Sometimes these old engines are prone to catch fire if not turned properly. In fact the chances of a fire are more likely to happen while you're trying to tune it since the flame color and length coming from the exhaust are often used to find the right mixture.

Oh, either get a couple good fire extinguishers and some friends who aren't afraid to use them or move next to a fire station. Hopefully not one staffed by on-call voluteers..

Pick up one of those suggestion cards the next time you're at Costco and encourage them to stock vintage aircraft spark plugs. Depending on how often you use the car you may need 24 of them about every third or fourth time you start the engine. Especially if the engine won't start.

Start visiting assisted living homes and try to find someone who once worked as a mechanic on P-40 's P-38's or P-61 Black Widow night fighters during WW2. Add an extra room on to your house - at least put a cot in the garage - because this fellow will need to be there at a moment's notice if you're about to leave on a date and the engine won't start. I hate it when that happens and you're trying to impress your date with a pre-party 150 mph ride in an old boat.

Install some very long spacers in at least the driver's seat so you can see over the top of the manifolds. That reminds me, you may want to install a couple of manifold pressure gages close to eye level. Forget about ever putting the top up. In fact, toss it away or, if a convertible, use it for a drip cloth under the engine.

Remove the audio system. Buy lots of earplugs.

Learn to swear and violently throw tools and shop rags to the floor. Try to avoid doing so to those expensive aluminum wrenches though.

Check with your Chevron or Shell credit card provider to make sure you can use the card at airports. When's the last time your were pumping gas at the local station and seeing a poster advertising something like, "Lockheed" uses Techron in every P-38 that leaves the factory?"

Make as many friends as you can. You'll need a crew of 4 or 5 people. By now your neighbors will be so PO'd at you they can't be expected to help. Watch for letters in your mailbox from the Neighborhood Association. Be aware there are no off-the-shelf mufflers for an Allison or a Rolls Merlin.

I think if you at least take these things into consideration, you won't have any real issues. Of course your C6 will now weigh close to 7500 lbs (with fuel and oil of course) and probably reward you with near 22 second ET's at the drag strip.

But it sounds like a fun project. Call me if you need help.

Mufflerbearing

Don't think Phil is kidding you because it can be done although the Vette will be a bit out of proportion when finished.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIj2GVfua84