In my attempt to not leave well enough alone, I've made quite a few changes to my car over the past six months. I thought I'd share a few of my ideas, for the edification of the general body of the Kirkham faithful.
1. I heard Tom Barnard of Tom's Motorsports speak at the Kirkham Summit, and I was very impressed with his expertise. The Kirkhams also spoke highly of him, so I trailered my car to Las Vegas and had him do an alignment for me. I cannot overstate how much of a difference this made to the way my car handles. FANTASTIC, and worth every penny. If you have the chance to do this, you should. Tom is a super nice guy, very honest, and easy to work with.
2. While my car was at Tom's, I had him put in a set of CV joints/axles in the rear end. He spoke about this at the Summit, and the whole "sticktion" issue of the vintage rear stub axles seemed like a major barrier to effective rear suspension control. Once again, Tom did a great job, very clean installation, and for those of you who might be considering this, it's pretty much a bolt on.
3. I rolled up my sleeves and replaced the Fel Pro intake manifold gaskets with Victor Reinz (sp?) Nitroseals. It seems that Fel Pros just aren't up to the task -- this is the second set of Fel Pros that have "migrated" into the intake port openings, creating
oil burn. Thanks to my engine builder, Mike Lefevers, who talked me through the procedure after I told him that I wanted to try it myself. A gasket change on the FE is a royal pain in the fanny, btw. But you already knew that.
4. I took my windshield off, and replaced it with a cut down windshield that weighs a little less than a potato chip. More aerodynamic, too. I love it, although I took a grasshopper in the forhead the other day. Now I have a true "open car." Like a four wheel Harley, wind in the face. Great!
5. I went down to the local auto graphics shop and had them produce some stripes and numbers for a vintage look. I dig it, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When I put my straight pipes on and rumble around in my pseudo 60's race car, wearing my goggles and leather helmet, I confirm to my long suffering wife that I am, indeed, in the dark depths of a mid life crisis.
6. Finally came to my senses regarding the size of my carb -- got rid of the 1000 cfm and replaced it with a 750 4150 Ultra (Holley). Much more crisp throttle response, no less power, and now I get 11 mpg instead of 10.
Hope this is of some interest!
Recent Improvements to my Kirkham
Threaded Mode
