bubbarules1958

I picked up a 75 Gremlin from a buddy. Thought I would throw up a thread on the resurrection of a retired dragster.

Cons.

No interior left. Has a seat and a dash.
couple of dents and a few small rusts holes.
Needs driveshaft and exhaust.
Needs fuel cell and all the plumbing.
They cut the guts out of the driver door.
O.E parts are expensive.
Doesn't have the original gas cap.
Needs replacement grill.

Pros.

Has pink and is on non op.
Built 383 with 20 passes.
8.8 LS.
350 turbo
Centerline wheels.
A bucket seat.
B&M shifter.
Lots of useless parts that will go to E Bay.
Its a Gremlin.

Plans.
Get it back on the track.
Put a decent interior in it. Front seats only.
Register it.

chipmaker

Sweet! Subbed, now get some work done!

bubbarules1958

I'm a week behind in posting progress. The day I drug him home I split off and whored my truck and myself out for parts to fellow racers. I got some mufflers from "Mustang Bob". Then I called up Jesse. Gold mine... At that moment he was putting a new engine in his Camero. Needed help. Gave me several parts. Helped him install the engine and did a dump run for him. He needed that run. Everything you see on my work bench other than the mufflers and brake pads came from Jesse. Good people. Got a lot of other posts to make but for suspense I'm firing the engine tomorrow.

chipmaker

Hells yeah!

bubbarules1958

After I got it up on the jack stands the first thing I did was get the brakes working. For some reason the passenger side front pads were in the trunk. Hitting the brakes getting it off the trailer caused the piston to push out of the caliper. Well most of the way out. Compressed air did the rest. Put it back in and brakes were solid. Ordered a bunch of parts for it. Starter, fuel pump/regulator, valve cover bolts and a phenolic spacer. Got the FSM in the mail today. The wiring under the dash is all hacked up. Got to clean that up. Coil failed the OHM test. Gave an employee a half day off to run to the city and pick one up. For shirts and giggles I hit the fender with some wax. It polished up very well. Not show car well but it shines.

Mr. Pink

Hell ya. you going to be able to use the existing blue/yellow plate when you get it registered? it's been 16yrs since i have dealt with CA bull**** so i cant remember if like here in MI the plate has to match the year of vehicle.

bubbarules1958

New plates came with the pink. I will probably get custom plates later on.

bubbarules1958

Put the new starter in and filled both of the float bowls. Fired right off. Thought I checked everything. I didn't. The oil filter was not seated properly. Oil everywhere. Trashed it and got a Napa gold. Thanks Cruiser. Fired again for about 30 seconds. Didn't want to lean it out. Idled like a built SBC should. Thumping and guzzling $3 a gallon gas. I love it. Going to spec the valves and install the girdles this weekend.

Mr. Pink

Awesome! and when you said 383, i thought you meant Chrysler 383 lol. What are the specs on the 383 that is in it do you know?

bubbarules1958

I don't. I do know it has dart iron eagle heads and an 8 quart oil pan. As soon as I order up the headers I'm yanking the motor and checking out the bottom end. Will have some more knowledge then.

Mr. Pink

nice, yea i still need to figure out if i want to run a SBC based motor or a BBC in my 47 ****** pickup. or do something completely off the wall. it's getting converted from 4wd to a 2wd rat rod, using Model T steering/axle and it will get a slightly narrowed 9" with a spool and 4.11 gears.

bubbarules1958

Nice. I'd go with a small block.

bubbarules1958

UPS showed up today. Banging it all out tomorrow. Then Jeep day on Sunday. Going to be a great weekend.

NewKindOfClown

Subscribed

XJwonders

Fun build project, for sure!