Drove a BB A body yesterday....

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J

jeeper

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I thought I would share some thoughts. My students and I have built a 440 Dart Sport off and on for the past 3 years. It is a relative budget build.

It started fairly easy actually. It has some exhaust but no mufflers on it yet. We started it in the shop and then took it off the stands and moved it outside. I let it run for awhile, and then discovered that the thermostat was plugged. We got that taken care of etc.

It was pretty cool actually. So I drove it to the end of the parking lot and turned around. My boss (principal) was there. I was lined up perfectly with 300 feet of straight road, I cleaned it out in neutral and then floored it and left 200' of rubber........:love7:

Just kidding. I idled back and shut it off. I have a great boss and good students. One of them may be converting to Mopars now!

Just thought I would share. It is still a day or two away from really driving it. Then it will go home for the winter, and then in early March I am going to finish some stuff off and drive the thing for the summer etc.

It is a big relief let me tell you. Everything actually is pretty tight and it seemed to move stop and steer and shift pretty good. Kids were interested for sure. They haven't been exposed to this type of thing much these days....

ROB
 
Sounds GREAT! Nothing like inspireing the young!
 
It's funny because I came to the site as a newbie with lots of 318 questions etc. and now I am able to give help on some level.

I think the oil pan and tray came from you Rumble.

It has been an off and on project with other things taking priority.

It is my intention to actually drive the car some and provide some data etc. for those that are interested. I know I had difficulty finding that info myself when I started.

However, I am in the snow belt so it will be April before much of that happens.

ROB
 
did you run akron arlin mount or just reg motor mounts fender well header or inside frame we need to know.als
 
PICS PLEASE! i wish my high school had something like that...your kids are privelidged man! must have been a lot of fun
 
I should be able to get some pics tomorrow. Hoping for video as well.

It has been a balancing act between doing things right, and throwing money at it. I never have built a car where you just buy things "just because". We painted the valve covers instead of buying new ones for instance. I used a chrome "Summit" air cleaner that I had from my plow truck. A nice MP one would be cool, but this was free. I think you get the picture.

It is my car, and I have had to pay for everything myself without touching my paycheck. To do this, I have been selling mainly Jeep parts on the side for years. Some Mopar stuff, but most of it is 4x4. I don't make 1k a month or nearly that selling stuff so the projects have to be affordable.

I should note that Schumacher Creative services was supportive and helped some. I really appreciate that. Nice products too. I had zero issues with them.

I am surprised at how "tight" everything feels so far. The engine isn't that hard to work on either.

It is my intention to create a comprehensive list of the parts that I got, and where they came from as well as what I paid within reason. I am sure that I spent alot, but I probably don't have 4K in the entire car at this point.

But.......it is a driver with stock paint, and no carpet etc. Some scratches etc. It is the car that you could drive to Wal-mart and park a ways out, but you don't need security.

Let's put it this way. I park in the student parking lot at work, and I have students park door to door with me.

It helps my program if the kids get to see their work on the road.

We normally build big Jeeps and I haven't been driving last years so they are all asking where it is. I need to drive it this week.

More to come. I am off to town to get more pieces.

ROB
 
Have you thought about contacting some suppliers to see if they would be willing to donate? Being that you are doing that as a school build I would think they might have a 501C3 or sorts that if the program is non for profit. Companies use it as tax write off and good PR for them to show their support for such youth programs. Just idea that may help in the future for more projects.
 
I actually have with a few Jeep projects. A couple of 4x4 places were more than generous with me.

Where it gets sticky is that the cars and Jeeps are mine. And with the delicate nature of things as a teacher I don't want to do anything that could reflect negatively on me or my school. Plus, sometimes budgets, time and other duties take precedence. The kit I got for this car took 2.5 years to use. I feel bad, but I am it for shop teachers here and my boss had some other projects that took priority. He didn't tell me to stop, but I knew what needed to be done.

If it is something that I need I do ask sometimes. I make it real clear that the car is built by students at school. I also make it clear that it is my car and I will do what I need to with it when done.

One 4x4 company gives me free shipping and 20% off. They sell alot of parts and I think they are still doing fine at that. I appreciate their help and always tell them so.

For awhile, before the economy slowed, I was selling the cars at a slight loss after driving them for a year or two. Well, I now have 2 Jeeps that are basically done and I haven't been able to sell them.

My initial plan years ago was to build one and then basically sell it to build the next one. That has not happened.

As much as I like this car, I think I am going back to Jeeps. I love kids, but they are not as careful as I would like when dealing with 40 year old plastic etc. They do good, but it is a bit stressful sometimes.

A CJ with no guages or glass can be handled fairly rough without issue.

More to come.

ROB
 
A big THANKS to you Jeeper and all teachers like you who help our kids, you're making a difference in their lives. Maybe you can take a picture of your car and the class.:salute::cheers:
 
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