Bockscar 2.0

[Stainless1]

Well, I'll be 83 Sunday.

I got shot at only once, and couldn't return fire as I had no weapon nor clothes on.

Well that puts you 9 years and 9 months older than me...  no clothes, OK maybe.... but are you sure you didn't have a weapon in your hand     

[Stainless1]

Well I'm wrong about this being the first time I've seen the drivers name on the trophy, just ran across a picture of the kid's 2021 Speedweek trophy and it says Bockscar and Driver J Steele... So I guess it is hit and miss for the drivers name... I might see if there's room to get Dave's name on his Speedweek trophy.

[Stan Back]

I was vigorously cleaning it at the time.

At 1st Division Headquarters, we had a cleared area that was surrounded by a berm. We'd obtained a steel container up on top and had a drop tank on top that was filled with water every day.  It would be warm by afternoon, so you just stood up there and had a nice shower.  I heard a couple of dings on the container, so I fled behind it.  Got my feet all muddy, decided he'd missed, ran around and got back up and cleaned my feet and put my flipflops back on and carried on.

My "enlistment" was fulfilled a month or two later and went home.  I was surprised that I felt bad leaving my friends.

I went back to work at the newspaper 3 days after I got home.  Of course I'd got my roadster back.  Still king of the streets and a fine car for 57 years.
 

[Stainless1]

I found some of our old team shirts in Johnboy's stash, this one was printed, sold and given away at Speedweek 1988.  It showed our 1980 I/GT, 1986 J/GL and 1987 J/FL records... during Speedweek 1988 we obsoleted it with a new J/FL record and the Vesco, Hassad-Tally team took the J/GL record from us as well.  I think that was when we figured out we shouldn't put record numbers on t-shirts...      at least without dates.  The '88 record was 148.647... in '89 we switched to 1 liter and when we went back to 3/4 liter, we worked our way up another 55.7 MPH by 1997 to where it stands now at 204.324... Johnboy driving.

[Stainless1]

We have a new trailer in work, since the car rebuild the old one has a little bit of a chore to load and unload... mostly due to the nose is a little longer and a little lower.  If anybody watched the monkey motion required it was entertaining... winching, board moving and some other boards added to the trailer to get the car to clear parts of the trailer...
The new trailer is going to be aluminum and a squatter.
I saw a trailer at World Finals that caught my eye.  The airbag suspension looked like it was factory made... because it was.  1973-1978 GMC motorhome, yep the one with the front drive Tornado engine had airbag rear suspension.  It used air bags to level it +/- 4 inches.... so it is a natural for a squatting trailer.... plus it just bolts on the frame.... So I went looking and found a couple of sets to play with.
First the spindles only fit GMC motorhome brake drums 8 bolts, 65-70 lbs of iron... and some later model 1 ton front disk brake hubs... also 8 bolt.  That was not going too work.
The outside bearing was smaller than any trailer spindle bearing, so I bored out the old slindles and welded in 3500# trailer parts.  I'm Putting brakes on the 2 forward wheels so those got brake plate mounts added

[Stainless1]

A little work and they were back on the pallet headed to Elizabeth, CO where Dave's shop is located. 
Dave was busy welding up the frame with Ross and me helping, Dave is a very proficient Aluminum weldor.   
Frame and tongue together
Time to test fit a Bogie

[Stainless1]

Add a couple of wheels and some more cross members
Install the other side, get started on the rails
Figure out where the rail mounts will go. Check the motion up and down
Then make and mount some fenders

[Stainless1]

Then we duct taped some lights on, and took the car for a road trip test... Pulls straight and easy
Took the car to Johnboy's service and celebration of life.
We noted a few issues, including a little droop and flex in the frame, so we added a truss to the side rails. 
The fun continues... you might have noticed the start of a toolbox a couple of pictures back... and then we will work on shade.

[sabat]

Very cool trailer and tribute. 

[tauruck]

That looks awesome.
A lot of hard graft in that one.
God Bless you and I wish you many miles of safe travels.

[floydjer]

Very nice Bob

[ronnieroadster]

That's some high end back yard Hot rodding very nice.

[Tman]

New trailer looks great!~

[Stainless1]

Is any project really ever complete?  I know race cars are never complete till you see it in a museum... and even then someone might work on it to restore it... think Goldenrod... with said, the new trailer is 95% complete for now.  We still need to complete the shade mesh that is being re-sewn from our original shade.  It will be in 6 sections, 2 center and 4 wings, held on by zip ties... mounted when we arrive and removed when we leave... at least that is the theory.  I say that because we haven't taken it to the salt to see is it is everything we think it can be. We will see in a couple of weeks. 

[Stainless1]

We're also changing motors this year, the 1 Liter is coming out and a 1.3L is going in to run in H/BGL.  It seems our 3/4L J/BFL record and both 1L, I/BGL and I/BFL records are faster than our H blown records. 
OK, i didn't start out building a 1.3L... thought I was building a 1.4, but the crank I thought was a 5mm stroke turned out to be stock stroke... and there's no time to change that now.  The motor is 90% complete... but I did find the +5 crank in another box so maybe that will be a future update to the motor.  I think we'll have time to run it on the dyno a little... will start by running it on gas with the 1L fuel program.  That one is tuned for E85... so I'm thinking E85 is 1.3 X the gas so if I 1.3 X the motor is should be about right for gas.     Hope to get it in the car later today... after I finish setting up the valve lash.
See all Y'all at Bonneville...