MGB Roadmaster

[BlownMGB-V8]

Steve sent me this artwork for this year's T-shirt. I picked the colors, but I don't know, looks pretty Christmasy. let us know what you think, the colors can still be changed.

JB

[Bill Young]

I see what you mean Jim. I tried some other background colors but nothing popped in my eye. I think what you have will work, might change the color of the "Project Roadmaster" text to black or the gold/brown in the Buick logo and it would be less like Christmas with the green shirt. I like the car in red. Definitely a color to consider when choosing the final paint color. Either way, Steve can put me down for a couple of XXLs again.

[Citron]

Remember the shirt is Forest Green.  Let me know what you want changed.
Bill's idea the change the writing to black is good.
Let here from you, I don't want shirts that will not sell.

Steve

[Doc Hopalongfoot]

I like it.  Need an XL.
Marc

[MGBV8]

One more XL, Steve.  

[Citron]

the order for Roadmaster t-shirts will go in on June 12.  If you want somthing larger than X-large, let me know before then.(send a PM)
If you want to reserve a shirt, went me a PM.
Shirts will be $15.

Steve

[Dan B]

XL for me too

[mowog1]

The Roadmaster will be in Indy for BritishV8 2010!

[BlownMGB-V8]

Yes, and that is good news but the news is not all good. Although we made tremendous progress on the car there are a few things still not finished which have to be done before it is: A) ready for everyone to drive and B) ready to send out for paint. So it's with regret that I must inform the membership that for the very first time in the history of our organization we did not meet our annual goals. The blame rests squarely on my shoulders I'm afraid, for I have not been able to finish the slam panel/top radiator support. I had hoped to get far enough along with my car which will use a near identical design, to allow me to complete the parts for the Roadmaster, bring them along to the meet and do the final fitting there, but I have run into snags on that project and won't even be able to work on that part until afterwards. There are a couple of other fairly minor details as well. We really do need a bracket where the (pull type) clutch slave cylinder attaches to the transmission case. Right now it is bolted to a small cast tab, which it will surely break eventually. I have seen at least two builders on this site who have made up brackets for this mount and that is what we need there. It would be fantastic if someone could step forward to deal with that problem.

The last issue are the rear fender flares. We have the steel and we have the English wheel to form it. What we don't have is the experience to finish the job. I left the wheel at Pete's but he has been so buried up that he hasn't had a chance to practice with it so I've asked if he can bring it to the meet so I can bring it back here. If anyone has used one before, that will be a great opportunity to put on a tech session at the meet, and finish up that detail at the same time.

So anyway, I'm sorry for letting everyone down. I really wanted to meet our goals and am as disappointed as the rest of you that we didn't make it. But we didn't miss it by much, and other than not getting to drive the car we are still pretty well on track. And who knows, if we can get that bracket maybe we can find an acceptable way to secure the top of the radiator and drive it anyway.

JB

[mowog1]

Don't beat yourself up, Jim.

I think we've made tremendous progress on the Roadmaster this year.

Time is a precious commodity to everyone.

We're doing fine.

[Bill Young]

Jim, I can only agree whole heartedly with Rick, you've done a great job, nothing to apologize for at all. Considering the very essence of the project that it would be the product of a team effort I think you and the rest have done a great job to this point. It took me 3 1/2 years to build my Midget and we're only a little over 3 years since you came up with the idea of a big block in a B let alone have a car to work on. Engineering something on that scale takes time as you know, your work on your 340 upgrade is proof of that. A lot of new ground to be broken. We've seen the video, the car runs and can move under it's own power, that's a lot to say for the team, especially you, in such a short time. I'm sure we can get some more build time on the Roadmaster this fall and winter when Pete's commitments slow down and have it a lot more finished by next years meet.

[BlownMGB-V8]

Don't worry guys, I'm not beating myself up, there really wasn't anything more I could have done. Regardless, I am a little disappointed. This was supposed to be the year we all got to drive it around the autocross course and I really did want to see that happen.

JB

[Citron]

Just picked up the Roadmaster shirts for this year.  Notice they are now called Roadmaster shirts and not Badass shirts.  Guess we are growing up some.
They do not look Christmassy.  The green is to dark for that.
They do look good though.
Remember to buy them at Indy.

steve

[BlownMGB-V8]

Time for an update on the project.

The car will be at the British V8 meet at Indy this week. It is currently in Dave Kirkman's garage and we will move it to the motel once we get situated. Graham has made a slave cylinder bracket for it, and so except for the top radiator mount/slam panel we are very close to where we wanted to be at this point. We also still have rear fender flares to form and attach, a few small sheet metal details to square away at the front, and the bumper to attach, as well as figure out what sort of valence/air dam we can fit. But I do believe that we are far enough along to be able to secure the top of the radiator in some way (gorilla tape comes to mind), put coolant in it, and fire it up and drive it around the parking lot, and perhaps even the autocross course. I believe we can be optimistic about having a bit of fun with the car this year.

After the meet the car will not be going back to Sidney. I want to publicly thank each and every participant who contributed and assisted with the build during the past year and especially want to send a big thanks to Pete and Mantell Motorsports for hosting the project. You can believe me when I tell you that it is a big sacrifice and Pete is entitled to as much goodwill as we can send his way. Rick Ingram was involved also in a major way.

The plan after the meet is to transport the car back here to Blackwood Labs where we will finish up the details and then disassemble the car so that it can be transported to Souix Falls so that Terry Schulte can apply the paint. I'm pretty confident that by early September we can be at that point, and that will give Terry most of the winter to work his magic, leaving us the spring for reassembly in time for next summer's meet.

So overall the schedule looks good. There are a couple of things I'd like to do and I'm asking for your approval, and if possible, participation. First, we plan to have the English wheel and the sheet metal panels for the rear fender flares (and perhaps a smaller scrap or two) and if anyone at all has even a little experience with the wheel we would dearly love to put on a tech session and try our hand at forming the rear wheelwell flares. If anyone could do it, please step forward to help with this. Don't worry about messing it up, we can get more sheet metal. Spring Grove Sheet Metal in Cincinnati is one of our sponsors and even if we have to buy it they can give us a good price.

Next, we have a number of spare parts that we do not need for the build, several of which are valuable. With your permission, I would like B.A.D.A.S.S., NLC to donate these items to the British V8 Banquet Auction. This serves a number of purposes, all of them good. First, it eliminates a millstone around our neck in the form of bulky parts that we have to store. Considering that we will still have to store all of the parts from the car while it's being painted that's a big concern. Next, the British V8 Meet is the kind of recipient that our non-profit organization is fully justified in donating to, as it definitely fulfills our mission statement. In the past the British V8 meet has donated substantially to our cause and it's only fair that we do likewise, especially where it isn't costing us anything to do it. The parts presently under consideration include a new raised fiberglass hood like Kelly has on his car, a stock steel hood in good condition, an aluminum radiator with attached fan, the set of new APC seats that were donated by Bill Young and anything else that is worth bidding on and that we do not need to complete the build on the car. At present those items reside at Mantell Motorsports and will need to be transported to the meet so anyone who is coming from the west and who can divert their trip through Sidney, please offer your help if you can pick up anything, even if it is a small box of parts. There will also be items that we would not expect anyone to bid on but which we do not expect to use. I have suggested to Pete and to Rick that the rest of the spares can be discarded or disposed of as they see fit. I think we can trust their judgment on that but if anyone has concerns please voice them here. I think it is to our benefit to have any items belonging to B.A.D.A.S.S. in one location and to minimize the surplus. So contact Rick or Pete if you can help.

With that said, I invite you to voice your opinions. If none are expressed that is how we will proceed, but I hope some of you can help out in one small way or another. I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone who can make it to the meet, (and will miss the ones who can't) and we will have our annual meeting as usual where we will discuss the future of the project. Regards to all,

JB

[mowog1]

Sounds like a plan.

But....

I'm not sure about how to get the bulkier items to the meet; Pete and I are both leaving for Indy on Tuesday...and whoever buys these items would need to get them from the hotel to their final destination...sometimes a difficult task with small cars.  

Let's toss around how to sell these items at the auction.....if that does not work, perhaps we can offer them for sale here on BritishV8.org or E-Bay them.

[BlownMGB-V8]

Rick, do you know if Pete is planning to have another cookout this fall? That might be one answer. (But we lose the chance to auction the parts unless we can get them to the Banquet.)

JB

[mowog1]

Let me see what I can do.

[mowog1]

It was pretty darned cool watching the Roadmaster abusing the parking lot tonight!

[rficalora]

it didn't happen w/o video proof

[Dan B]

Here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO7p42hiXgI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy1O3LNHQJU

[rficalora]

[BlownMGB-V8]

Well, I'm just plumb wore out. I know I'd give a better report while it's fresh in my mind but I'll likely be a little slow on the keyboard for awhile. We all made it back safe and sound and the car is unloaded, though when I tried to fire it up the fuel pump refused to run so it's sitting under the awning. My car is on the lift awaiting engine mounts and steering rack mounts before it can be moved so not much will be done before that but the good news is that I've picked up a piece of 10 ga. stainless to make the engine mounts for my roadster out of and I have the patterns made already so that job should go rather quickly once I start cutting metal, and then I can put the rack back on and make way for the Roadmaster.

We need to discuss scheduling. The first priority is to schedule another Roadmaster weekend. Since we were able to actually fire the car up and  take turns playing with it in the parking lot, we did reach one of our goals for the year, but if you will recall we also wanted to have it ready to tear down for paint immediately after the meet. Since we had a bit of slippage and that didn't happen it means we are a little behind schedule and therefore have a bit more work to do in a short time period. I have told all interested persons that I think we can have the car ready to deliver sometime in September and I think we can do that. Here's what I see happening. We schedule a work weekend after school starts, say maybe the first weekend in September and those who can come make plans to do so. On that weekend we plan to remove the interior, engine, etc, finish up details and do what we can to prepare the car for paint and have it ready to transport.

Now obviously for that to work I will have to finish up the hood details in advance and also form and probably attach the rear flares, as well as sort out the issue we had with the tires rubbing on the last two runs. (If you recall, our final tire choice is to be at least one size smaller than the current rubber for clearance at the front and that will also help at the rear.) The brackets for the slam panel have to be made and attached, and the hood latch sorted out also. Details of grill mounting, bumper, and air dam attachment could wait if necessary but it'd be better to have the bumper mounts in place before paint if there is time, at least any internal spacers that will be needed. I could use help with the welding and fiberglass work if anyone with those skills could come either for the work weekend or before hand. I feel we should remove the front flares, grind and bond them in place, form a lip at the wheel openings and then if possible do the rough fill work, and also finish the cut edges of the hood opening and form up a pan to go between the carb neck and the underside of the hood for aesthetics and water drainage. Those are rather specialized tasks but if anyone with the needed skills can help we will get done much quicker and with better results. If I have to do it myself we may not be entirely thrilled with the results. Bill Young has made certain that I will have a full set of dies for the English wheel which should make the job easier, and I will look into the possibility of getting a pneumatic planishing hammer for the metal work but my 'glass working tools, skills and supplies are minimal.

Guys, the hard part is over. We've built the car. It has amazed everyone who has looked at it and we've all been greatly impressed with how it drives and performs. Now is the time to polish the apple. There is obviously some tuning we can do to improve it in many ways but it is clear to anyone who cared to look that we have done a fantastic job of pulling this one off. I would love to see some comments here from those who drove or rode in the car, giving us your impressions of the experience and I really think we owe that to the community at large. It's not enough for me to report on the spectacle, obviously I'm the project's No.1 cheerleader and my perspective, no matter how terse or concise will be weighted by that fact. So let us know how you felt, what you experienced, your overall reaction to the car, anything that you think might be of interest. We are all hungry for the details.

JB

[HealeyRick]

"Holy Mackerel !!!"  Boy, ain't that the truth.  Sounds awesome.  As Mark Donohue said: "If you can make black marks on a straight from the time you turn out of a corner until the braking point of the next turn, then you have enough horsepower."

[BlownMGB-V8]

I'm expecting to start work again on the car by the end of the week. If anyone wants to help, you know where I live.

Next Roadmaster weekend will be the weekend after Labor Day if nobody objects. The plan is to pull the engine & tranny, remove trim, glass and interior, and get the car ready to trailer out to Souix Falls.

Comments?

JB

[Dan B]

Are you planning a birthday party or something?