- 2 weeks ago
Hot Rod Garage - Season 12 Episode 11 -
PEAK Performance
PEAK Performance
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Pete gives us their wagon.
00:01And a generous budget.
00:03Big, big mistake.
00:30Welcome back to Hot Rod Garage.
00:32I'm Alex Taylor, and this is Lucky Costa.
00:34Hello.
00:35We have quite the project this week.
00:37We're actually going to be talking about the two extremes of hot rodding.
00:41There's the one extreme where you build everything.
00:44Like I'm talking down to you could have bought it cheaper, but you build it because you say you did it.
00:48Yeah, you go to the hardware store, you go to the metal shop, you get scraps, you put it together, you figure it out, you make it work.
00:53That's the only way I've ever done it.
00:55And the modern version of that is you can basically buy a car out of a catalog and bolt it together.
01:01Right, no geometry involved.
01:03With that said, we decided we'd try something totally new here at Hot Rod Garage, which is the buy a car out of a catalog basically and bolt it together.
01:11However, we do not have the budget or the deep pockets it takes to do that.
01:16We absolutely do not.
01:17We do not.
01:18So we called up our friends at Peak, who just so happened to have a 63 Bel Air wagon that needs all of the pieces that we would like to explore and play around with.
01:27Tune for it.
01:28That's dated.
01:29And it's not that this is necessarily bad.
01:31Yeah, it's just time for an upgrade.
01:33That's all.
01:33Yeah.
01:33This looks better than half of the stuff we work on lately.
01:36It's good.
01:37Definitely good from far.
01:38I mean, it's a Corvette independent rear suspension, which if you think about it, that's neat.
01:42Yeah.
01:42I think this could be one of those stories that it worked great on paper.
01:46But other than the fact that it doesn't necessarily ride the best, it doesn't look the best, and one other big problem is this is supposed to be a reliable, road-trippable car.
01:57Right.
01:57Do you call this work reliable and road-trippable?
01:59Absolutely not.
01:59And independent rear suspension has all those U-joints and half-shafts.
02:03It's all serviceable components.
02:04It's a lot of maintenance involved in just having one of these.
02:06So.
02:07Yeah.
02:08Out.
02:08Now, while we could cut stuff up and put it together and make it where that's a reliable car that can tow things and it's great, we decided that we have a better solution.
02:17And that solution is for Peak to use their power and their budget and get a nice, brand-new chassis from Roadster Stop pre-assembled with brakes and suspension and everything.
02:28We have a Crate Engine 383 from Blueprint, Sniper EFI already on it.
02:33We just got to wire it up.
02:34And what about transmission?
02:35Oh, of course.
02:35We got that right out of the box, ready to go.
02:37We have a Gearstar 4L60 ready to bolt up behind it.
02:40But that is a Gearstar 4L60.
02:42Oh, yeah.
02:42Very different than any other 4L60 out there.
02:45And we have a car that needs all the parts.
02:47And we have a lift and some tools.
02:49We do.
02:49Now, this does feel a little weird because it's one of those where we're saying we're going to take it apart and just basically bolt it together.
02:54I fully anticipate that something along the way will require a little bit more than just a bolt-in.
03:00Yeah.
03:00They say you can't build a car in five days.
03:02Yeah, we'll see.
03:03So, Peaks Wagon, they dub the roadside assistance vehicle because they go around on events like Power Tour and they offer support.
03:11For others that may be broke down on the side of the road, that includes antifreeze and coolant.
03:16Right.
03:16That makes perfect sense there.
03:17Yeah.
03:18You know, the one thing that would not look good is if that vehicle is on the back of a tow truck or getting towed down the road.
03:23Yeah.
03:23So, we've decided that to test this and put it through all of the courses, it only makes sense to take it out to the desert in the heat,
03:31Peaks antifreeze and coolant, test out its system, and make sure that Peaks has a reliable wagon that they can provide roadside assistance for others
03:39and not need the roadside assistance.
03:42We got this.
03:43We got this.
03:43All right.
03:44Let's build a car out of a box.
03:46I'm going to get the Sawzall.
03:46You probably should.
03:47We got a lot of unboxers.
03:48You grab a hammer.
03:48I will do that.
03:49All right.
03:52Pull the pin on the grenade.
03:54Yeah.
03:55So, the idea here, I've thought this out thoroughly.
04:00I've scienced the heck out of this.
04:01I figure we lifted this just above the box, center it, ratchet straps from this.
04:06We'll get some $4 ratchet straps and we'll lift this $30,000 frame up on the lift.
04:12And then we'll set it back down on the roll-around dollies and then pick the frame up actually with the lift correctly.
04:17Huh.
04:18What color of sketch is this one?
04:20This is a sketch level silver.
04:26Oh.
04:27Level?
04:28Balance?
04:29Nice.
04:32There is a picture of this with a circle and a line through it somewhere.
04:35So, now that we have the frame all unboxed, it's super nice.
04:40We might as well continue the trend of nice parts coming out of a crate.
04:45So, this is a Blueprint 383 crate engine.
04:48This is really awesome because it came fully assembled.
04:50It has all of the accessory drive, all of the belts, all of the pulleys.
04:53You don't have to mix and match and everything like that.
04:55It's all ready-done and engineered.
04:57This is 436 horsepower, 10 to 1 compression.
05:00It's got hyper-eutectic pistons.
05:02So, this is never going to be like a boosted, crazy motor or anything like that.
05:06However, it is going to be so great for this wagon because it's going to be reliable.
05:11It's got enough power to get it around and get from stop to stop or victim to victim really quickly.
05:17And it's going to be easy to pull into any gas station and just have a really nice cruiser.
05:22Sniper EFI, Holley here, this is going to be pretty easy to hook up.
05:25But the best part about this, I have to say, is that pretty much everything comes with it.
05:30The only thing you're missing is headers because that's vehicle-specific and a flex plate because it's transmission-specific.
05:35So, it's a great option for if you just want something nice that bolts in to whatever you're working on.
05:41You are, however, looking at a little bit of a hefty price tag, around $10,000 shipped with taxes and everything.
05:47But if you account for it, you're not having to build it, you're not having to get all of the little things that add up, like pulleys and stuff like that, it's a pretty good deal.
05:54So, this should, in theory, bolt directly into our chassis.
05:57Look at that combination.
05:59It is a good-looking apparatus.
06:02That's going to look good in that frame.
06:05So, this is Gearstar 4L60 transmission.
06:07Now, Lucky pointed out earlier, 4L60s don't always have the best reputation.
06:124L60s, they're a pretty stout transmission up to a certain amount of horsepower.
06:17Lucky for us, Gearstar knows how to build them right.
06:20This is a stage 3 transmission from Gearstar that they go through and change out any of the stuff that may be a problem.
06:26It's got overdrive.
06:27This is what they recommended for this power level for what we're trying to do with this car.
06:30So, if you have a project, call them up.
06:32They can recommend something for you.
06:33I actually called Gearstar and had them build a 4L60 for my C10, and then I am a super conservative driver.
06:40It lasted about three years, and then it stopped working.
06:43And then I called them up and said, hey, I don't have a second and a third gear, and I don't really drive it.
06:48He's like, Lucky, we follow you on social media, and we'll warranty it, but we know what you did, and we're surprised it lasted that long.
06:55And then I am twice as abusive with it, and it's doing just fine.
06:59Now, going along with prices, this is around $4,000, but that comes with a converter that is specced for our engine.
07:07We do, however, need a controller for this, because with a Sniper EFI, it's not able to control those transmissions, so we're going to have to have a standalone controller.
07:15Not a big deal, but something we do have to account for.
07:17Let's adjust that cross mirror real quick.
07:34Now I'm just going to go forward just a little.
07:37Okay.
07:38Down just a little more.
07:40Okay.
07:41Well.
07:41Just fell in.
07:44Okay.
07:45Went in?
07:46Wow.
07:47That was it?
07:48Okay, so that may be the simplest engine install we've ever done.
07:51It honestly fell into place.
07:53Like, I actually just dropped in, and it was in the right location.
07:56The hardest part was moving the very adjustable cross member one notch forward.
08:01Weird is we're going to actually put this, put the car on.
08:05How are we doing this?
08:06Yeah, so instead of, like, dropping anything in the car, we're going to drop the car on this.
08:11On the engine, yeah.
08:12Yeah, so it's kind of weird, because we're, look like, I mean, we have a ton of progress, and we haven't done a lot of work.
08:17So that is one of the positives to this extreme side of hot rodding that we're talking about, where you can buy stuff out of a catalog.
08:24Um, however, we do have more actual work coming up, because we need to go check out our peak rescue wagon, 63 Bel Air.
08:33It's, it's got some good, it's got some bad, it's got some ugly.
08:36Got some fair.
08:37Some fair to Midland.
08:39That's an Arkansas thing, right?
08:40It's not.
08:41Fair to Midland?
08:42Not.
08:42So I think our days of clean hands are over.
08:44I think you're correct.
08:53So Alex Taylor, please don't get spoiled by the amount of comfortable, clean, working environment we had on the other side of the shop a minute ago.
09:00That is correct.
09:01We're actually trying the extreme of hot rodding, where you order parts and piece them all together, and then you end up with a hot rod.
09:08So we have a full Roadster Shop chassis that was pre-assembled, powder-coated, all the good stuff.
09:13And we put a 383 Blueprint crate engine in with a Gear Star transmission behind it.
09:18Now, if you were to do all of that, it wouldn't be bolted together in just a couple hours.
09:24And it wouldn't look like this when you were done.
09:25Like, that is a big process.
09:27One, we don't have the time.
09:28And two, we wanted to make sure we had a really nicely engineered, ready-to-go assembly to pair with this beast right here.
09:36All the homework's done.
09:37So this is the Peak 63 Bel Air wagon that is going to receive all of that goodness that we were just talking about.
09:43And this is actually a really nice example of a vintage station wagon.
09:46It's got very nice paint on it.
09:49It's got the vintage sort of survivor look.
09:52The rear suspension is a C4 independent rear suspension.
09:55It already is as high as setting, and it's way too low.
09:58They're going to have a lot of coolant in the back of that, so they can take it on power tour and offer it to those that may need it.
10:04So we need to make sure that this is a comfortable cruiser and good with the load in the back of it, because this is a nice shell.
10:11It's got nice parts and pieces once we take all of the stuff underneath out.
10:15So where do you want to start from?
10:17Front, back, bottom, top, under the hood?
10:20Perfect.
10:20Under the hood.
10:21It's down.
10:21It's right here.
10:22Might as well look at it.
10:26Work.
10:27Yeah.
10:29Yeah.
10:30Yeah.
10:33I'm good on the frame.
10:34Are you?
10:35Yeah.
10:35Oh, please.
10:37And unplugged.
10:38Grab my foot and just pull me over there where we can put it away.
10:41All right.
10:41Here we go.
10:42All right.
10:42I'll just turn it right over here.
10:44All right.
10:44That's great.
10:45Next time, I'll just do it myself.
10:47I think I'll have less bruises.
10:51Okay.
10:51So we set the car down on four jack stands on the frame horns in the front and in the rear, basically where the bumpers were.
10:57We've relocated the arms of the jack in a position that are lifting on the body of the car and not the frame.
11:0450-50, we got everything.
11:06So, but at least we can lift the body off the frame enough to see if we missed any bolts.
11:10It should lift pretty easily.
11:15I know.
11:16Who went through the mufflers?
11:19Stop.
11:20Go back down just a little bit.
11:22Stop.
11:22Yeah, this is on sketch level I don't know what.
11:27Okay, the transmission dips, no?
11:30Here we go.
11:31We got some zip ties back here.
11:33They just randomly adelled the fuel line to the frame right here.
11:37Let's see if the body's on here somewhat secure.
11:41Okay, I feel good about it.
11:46Go on, stop.
11:48I just wanted to say that.
11:49It's actually fine.
11:50Out with the old, in with the new.
11:55Lucky, we need the path.
11:57I need muscle.
11:59Are you doing much?
11:59I don't think you're doing much.
12:01I am.
12:02I built this thing from scratch.
12:04That's not a good thing.
12:06Hold on.
12:07I'm sideways.
12:08I'm going to crash.
12:09I'm helping like you're helping.
12:11Not much at all.
12:17You're still not helping.
12:20Second accident.
12:22Did you just crash?
12:23A second accident.
12:24Alex Taylor just got into her first accident.
12:25Car doesn't even run yet.
12:27I think we're going to get to the, probably the most complex part of this build coming up real soon.
12:31And it will be a bunch of people involved.
12:34The most important one will be Bob.
12:35Multiple Bobs?
12:36I don't think we have the budget for multiple Bobs.
12:38We get one plumb bob.
12:40That's plumb crazy.
12:42So the idea of a plumb bob, it's just a weight that's centered, has a point on the end.
12:46String attached to it.
12:47For example, if something is up here, we want it to line up perfectly with something down there.
12:51I can just hang the string up here, center it in the hole on the core support, and see exactly where that's going to line up.
12:59But if only Alex had a sharper eye, we wouldn't have to go through this.
13:05But since she does not, could you bring it forward?
13:07No.
13:08I'm not helping your insults.
13:09You're not.
13:10No, you're helping the insults.
13:12Just not the application.
13:14So we know based on the roadster shop scans, because they scan the car and then show their chassis, this chassis mounted to it.
13:21We can already see that we're going to have to make a couple incisions in the back.
13:23But we're going to see how many incisions we actually have to make, or how much reshaping that we can do.
13:29Yeah.
13:29I think this is plumb.
13:31It looks plumb.
13:32Bob.
13:34B.
13:35Wow.
13:35On that note, the question becomes, how plug and play is it going to be, and how much work do we have to do?
13:53Today, we had a meeting with the bobs.
13:59Technically, you could do this whole thing with one plumb bob.
14:02We had one plumb bob, but this is a perfect opportunity to get four more for no reason whatsoever.
14:08We now have four plumb bobs and the unnamed fifth.
14:12Would that be new bobs on the block?
14:14Is that new kids on the bob?
14:16Not in sync?
14:17Whatever the kids are saying now.
14:18Either way, we've hung the bobs from all four points.
14:22Just honestly, just because it's fun to do.
14:24With little magnets, so that they're actually holding them directly over the hole.
14:27We know that the frame, the complete chassis, is all lined up with the body.
14:32We're able to do, with this fifth bob, walk around and check spots that could be potential interference issues.
14:38First thing I'm going to look at before going back is the firewall.
14:43Whenever you put a V8 in anything, there's always an issue with the distributor hitting the firewall.
14:48So I'm going to drop this from the firewall right here.
14:52And look at that.
14:52I have four inches of space between the firewall and the back of the distributor.
14:56So plenty of room there.
14:58I'm going to move over here where the reinforcement is behind the dipstick.
15:04Look at that.
15:05That's not even going to hit.
15:07That's good.
15:08Plenty of room.
15:09Now, height-wise, I see a frame mount here, frame mount here.
15:17Above that frame mount, as we go back, we have the other frame mount here.
15:22However, all of this is in the way.
15:26How far in do we have to cut?
15:28Oh, all the way to there.
15:29So it looks like the floor is going to have interference issues with the frame.
15:35Roadster Shop has taken all that into consideration and made these floor inserts, basically.
15:41We're going to pull the carpet out, take the seat out, and set this on the floor.
15:44Move it left or right until it's lined up exactly.
15:47You can see where they've actually cut everything just the way it's going to fit right onto the floor.
15:52That's where we're going to mark it and cut it.
15:54But there is also potential interference at the rear shock mount and behind the trunk.
16:01Actually, it's not potential.
16:02It's guaranteed.
16:04Guaranteed.
16:04Guaranteed.
16:05That's Cajun, by the way.
16:06Yeah.
16:07But I think for right now, we could probably lower it down as long as the bobs stay aligned
16:12and get an idea as to where to be cutting here.
16:16Look at that picture.
16:17I wasn't thinking, but I think we're going to have to cut the tunnel out for the driveshaft.
16:20Oh.
16:22Uh-huh.
16:22Okay.
16:23Ready?
16:24Yeah.
16:25We should probably just pull the whole interior out.
16:31Please, now.
16:31Yeah.
16:32It's quite a bit of cutting.
16:34Keep it kind of spinning up.
16:36Whoa!
16:36Whoa!
16:36See, like that, follow that in.
16:54That line runs in line with this.
16:56So, yeah, we do have artist rendering here that clearly shows about where they're supposed,
17:00well, it shows exactly where they're supposed to be.
17:02And we also know that this is exactly where it needs to be above, like the body is right
17:08above the frame.
17:09It's in position.
17:10Lined up perfectly.
17:11We took a silver marking pen and we just marked on either side of the frame.
17:15We're going to give it about an inch of safety and just do an incision.
17:19That will give us an exact estimate before we do any serious cutting.
17:24Then we'll be able to open up that cut and then it should all fit perfectly.
17:29All right, so we've made our final marks.
17:40We're happy with the placement.
17:42So it is time to get cutting.
17:45I am absolutely surgical with this thing.
17:48What did you say?
17:49That I'm absolutely surgical with this thing.
17:52You may be surgical with that, but I'm telling you right now, I am surgical with this thing
17:57right here.
17:57Well, we both have our tools of choice.
18:00Oh, really?
18:00You want some of this?
18:02I'm a professional incisionist.
18:04Nerd.
18:05Here we go.
18:16So we have done a fair share of chopping on this, have we not, Alex Taylor?
18:20Yeah, so we're swapping all of this out because the chassis that was under here before with
18:24the frame, it was an X frame, it had some questionable work done to it as it had some Corvette suspension
18:30patched onto it.
18:31Which was great back in the, I don't know, whenever it was done.
18:34I'm sure it was great.
18:35And we got this new roaster shop chassis with a blueprint crate engine and a transmission.
18:39Usually what takes most of our time is installing transmission and engine, not putting a body
18:45on the chassis.
18:46Yeah, this was all a piece of cake.
18:48We had to go and get a little surgical, some floor and some rear floor and some upper floor
18:54and some side floor.
18:54And remember, we are doing this whole thing to find the extreme of plug and play, basically
19:01ordering a car from the catalog instead of the other extreme of building it all.
19:07So the question comes, how plug and play is it?
19:10And will this fit on that?
19:12Oh yeah, drop it.
19:24All right, the time has finally come for us to lower our 63 Bel Air four-door wagon body
19:32onto its brand new roaster shop chassis.
19:34I need to get hosed off.
19:37You look disgusting.
19:39Thank you, thank you.
19:40We have been cutting up the floor and getting this thing all ready to go.
19:44We're trying this extreme of hot rod building where we buy stuff out of a catalog and attempt
19:49to bolt it on.
19:50With that plug and play or bolt on, there are some incisions that we've had to surgically
19:54make in our floor and in our trunk back there, so that way the body will actually fit onto
19:59the new chassis.
20:00Inside of this, we also have a blueprint crate engine, a gear star transmission, and it's
20:05all ready assembled and ready to go.
20:07We're at the point of dropping it and seeing if it fits.
20:09Drop it like it's hot.
20:11Rod.
20:12Garage.
20:13Ba-ba-ba!
20:17How's it looking?
20:20So far, it looks pretty good.
20:24Hold it.
20:25Wait.
20:26Psych.
20:27Go ahead.
20:27Take her down.
20:28Take her down.
20:30Whoa!
20:31I thought you were watching.
20:33Hey, I'm watching from back here.
20:35Yeah, go down.
20:38This is kind of exciting.
20:41I love the energy.
20:42There you go.
20:43So basically, we're just going to go through, lift it up, check everything out, see how
20:47many more cuts we need to make, and then we're going to transfer the arms back to the
20:51location they're currently at so we can lift the body up again and then start making patch
20:55panels.
20:55Okay, so we're walking from the front to the back, and we see there's a little bit of
20:58an air gap between the body mounts and the floor.
21:00Yes.
21:00You remember a few days ago when we had a bolt that wouldn't come out of the back?
21:04We cut it off and we left about three inches out?
21:06Uh-huh.
21:07There's about three inches back here where the bolt did not quite line up with the bushing,
21:12and it's holding up the entire body off the frame.
21:16You want to stick your hand in there?
21:17No.
21:18I don't either.
21:18So we're going to get some safety things over here, lift it.
21:21Those are called jacks.
21:22Oh, yeah.
21:23You know what?
21:23The Samuel jack stand?
21:24And Willie Nell stand.
21:25Yeah, we're using Willie Nell stand today.
21:27Because it needs to be really high up.
21:28Yeah, yeah, yeah. He is super fun to work with, but takes a lot of breaks.
21:34Yeah.
21:35Okay, so Willie Nell stand is doing his job.
21:38He looked at everything.
21:39We've got plenty of room now on this, but we saw there's a little bit more interference
21:43right underneath here.
21:45And the instructions clearly say there will be a little bit of interference on the trunk
21:51tub and the frame.
21:54All right, so is that fun time in the build when you put headers on?
21:58It's not fun.
21:59If you caught my sarcasm, it's always wrong.
22:01Now, this is a special case because it's not like it's a stock this with that.
22:06It is a different combination.
22:08So you can't just order it off the shelf.
22:10So we called Roadster Shop and asked them for their suggestion.
22:13So we kind of just selected a nice assortment of headers.
22:16And it's actually cool because for the first time in a long time, the long tube headers
22:20are the closest to fitting.
22:22So these are actually Nova headers.
22:24So right here, I've got one bolt in the front.
22:26You can see I can't get it all the way up right here, but there's just a very, very, very
22:31minor interference in the back.
22:34It's too long, so it's hitting part of the chassis.
22:38But luckily, we have enough room that I'm going to be able to cut the back.
22:43On the driver's side, it's a lot closer to fitting, actually.
22:45And it clears the steering rack, which that's one of the biggest parts.
22:49So take them back off, cut them up, weld them up.
22:53Have a feeling we have a lot of welding in our future between this and our patch panels.
22:57So moving on to different parts here, we are looking at the fuel system now.
23:04So we're going to upgrade pump, but we're going to keep stock style tank.
23:08But we're going to put a new one in.
23:09So Lucky and I looked at the potential of possibly putting gas tank back here in the trunk area.
23:15But for time, convenience, space purposes, and actually just keeping a little bit more stock,
23:22which is what Pete preferred, we're going to go ahead and put it in its stock location.
23:26So I'm just going to drop it down, put the new one up, and then we'll start plumbing our new fuel system.
23:30So it should be pretty simple.
23:37Whoa!
23:42All right, this thing was rusty, crusty, and stucky.
23:45So I called him Lucky.
23:47What'd you call me?
23:48Well, I called him Lucky because it was Stucky.
23:51Hit it!
23:52Wow, that was holding on to the last minute.
23:58Here, bend that strap all the way back and out of the way.
24:01So this is the original tank.
24:03There's no doubt this is not a replacement.
24:05This is the original.
24:06They actually just put a gas cap on the can.
24:10They did.
24:11It's pretty neat.
24:12And this is the strap.
24:13This is all this is.
24:14So it hooks into the quarter, and then you just bend it up.
24:18Seems super safe.
24:19Super simple.
24:19And overall, it tastes pretty good.
24:22This was, it also looks very original, the actual sending unit and pickup.
24:27So this little wire right here sends a ground signal, 0 to 90 ohm, to the gas gauge, tells
24:32you where the float is in reference to the amount of gas in the car.
24:37It's a station wagon.
24:38We're keeping it station wagon.
24:40Therefore, we've got one of these pickups slash semi-units modified with a fuel injection
24:46pump built into it.
24:48So basically what it is, is the way this is currently set up, it's all the fuel that
24:52gets sent forward stays up there till it's used.
24:54So it can't return it.
24:56So in a, you call it, we call it a deadhead system, because it's deadheading, it comes
25:00to a stop.
25:01But if you have a system that returns, it's constantly circulating the fuel.
25:04So that way it's not sitting up there.
25:06It doesn't get as hot, serves different purposes.
25:08But because of the system that we have, we got to see if we can run it as a deadhead system
25:12or if we have to modify this to have a return line.
25:18He might need my help, but I might let him finish it.
25:22I'll get him this nut, though.
25:24Safe.
25:25Do you have the nut?
25:26Put it on already.
25:27You did?
25:28I did.
25:29You didn't tell me.
25:30Oh, thanks for your help, Alex.
25:34So we've got a lot done.
25:35The car is once again lifted up collectively in one piece.
25:39It just needs a couple bolts.
25:41So Lucky has ran fuel lines.
25:42We've put the driveshaft in.
25:44We have transmission cooler lines looped because we don't have our cooler mounted just yet.
25:47But it will be.
25:48The hard part is done.
25:49And I have cut and modified the frame so that way our exhaust will be able to run that way.
25:55Now the O2 sensor was a really important part because on our Holley sniper system here, it's very simple.
26:01You need an O2 sensor.
26:02You need to connect four wires.
26:03You need to plug in one big giant connector and hook up the ECU.
26:07So that's all actually very simple.
26:08But this is one of the key pieces.
26:10Now this piece will be replaced at another point once it goes to the exhaust shop.
26:14But this serves to show them where we want the piece.
26:16And it also allows us to fire it up.
26:18With all of that said, though, we have just a little bit of work left to do before we get to hear this 383 roaring come to life.
26:25And we get to hear the Peak Wagon's brand new heartbeat.
26:27All right, so we are really close to starting our Peak 63 four-door wagon.
26:40This is not just a regular wagon, though.
26:41This is a special wagon.
26:43It is.
26:43Roser stop chassis, blueprint motor, gear start transmission, the list goes on.
26:47Yeah, so when we started this project, we wanted to try the extreme of building a car, of basically buying stuff from a catalog, piecing it all together in the right order with the right parts, and seeing what we could do.
26:59Now, Peak wanted this to be something that was very reliable, very well engineered, because it's going to be a roadside rescue vehicle.
27:06And we also opted to do this because there was a lot to do here, and we didn't have that much time.
27:12Honestly, if the car was completely untampered, stock and original, maybe high mileage, maybe even low mileage, and you wanted to step it up a little bit, you would pull the body off the frame, have the frame sandblasted, powder-coated, bring it back and rebuild the whole thing.
27:25And what you would have then is a really clean, stock and all-original frame.
27:29We've got an aftermarket frame, completely powder-coated, corrected geometry, tubular control arms, rack and pinion, all the amenities of a nice new car.
27:39And both of them, I think, are about a four-day gig.
27:41About four days to modify what you have to modify to put it on a roadster shop chassis.
27:45I don't know how many catalogs you'd have to go through to buy every little nut and bolt just to put it back together stock.
27:50Another thing is we had nothing stock to start with, except for the stock original rusty bolts holding the body to the old rusty frame.
27:58We have a couple more patch panels left.
28:00We have a little bit more plumbing, some power steering, and steering in general.
28:04We need to deal with the fact that we have two AC compressors here.
28:09A couple of hoses.
28:10Pooler, all of that good stuff, radiator hoses.
28:12But regardless, that sounds like a lot.
28:13It's not as far away as it seems.
28:15And I think with just a little bit more work, we're out here at startup.
28:18There will be fire.
28:19Oh, wait, not fire.
28:20Fire up.
28:21There will be fire up.
28:21Fire up.
28:22Yeah.
28:22Fire bad.
28:24Yeah, fire bad.
28:24Fire up good.
28:25Correct.
28:26All right, to work we go.
28:28Okay, so they do make a lot of different vehicles with very similar body styles.
28:45This is a 63 Impala Bel Air, very similar.
28:49The things that are different are the packages.
28:51If this was just a four-door, it would stop about here.
28:54There would be a trunk.
28:54All those moldings would be one design, not this design, another design.
28:59If it was a two-door, it would be the same thing with a different design molding.
29:04Guess what they only make one of?
29:06That would be a station wagon molding.
29:08So this being a catalog build, we were able to go into a catalog, find a complete chassis,
29:13went into a catalog, found a complete motor catalog for a complete transmission, all the wiring,
29:18everything attainable through a catalog.
29:21You know what you can't get in a catalog?
29:22Just the rear section of a four-door station wagon for a 63 Bel Air.
29:28Have you got one?
29:29Do you know somebody who has one?
29:30Shout me a holla.
29:31All right, well, we are not at the point of firing up just yet.
29:39We have to be prepared for our desert adventure and having our peak wagon ready to go in all circumstances.
29:47So I am a longtime peak squad member, peak fam.
29:51So they have probably more stuff than you even realize that they have, including sealed beam headlights.
29:56Now I can actually attest to these, my 55 Chevy that I have at home, I went from the stock standard bulb headlight
30:03and it was just yellow and dark and I had to light a match basically to see if the headlights were on.
30:09Swapped over to these, they were great for drag week, which makes me fully confident that these are going to be great
30:14for the peak rescue wagon to cruise through any circumstances as it goes through power tour and drag week and things like that.
30:21Up next, wiper blades.
30:23Yeah, uh-huh.
30:24Wiper blades for all applications, the wagon is going to get them as well.
30:28I can also attest to these, have them on all of my vehicles at home.
30:31So we're going to put them on this because if you're going through somewhere, maybe not the desert worth rain,
30:35but if you're going through somewhere that has rain, you want to be able to see.
30:39Next up, speaking of sync, do you guys hate a dirty windshield?
30:42Because so do I.
30:44No, actually, seriously, it is one of my pet peeves.
30:46I get in the car and wash my windshield and then wash it again five minutes later.
30:50And then if a bug hits it, I wash it again.
30:52Really, big pet peeve.
30:54So we can't fill this up right now because we don't have all of our reservoirs for all of the peak fluids.
30:59But let me tell you, they got you covered.
31:01And then, of course, the last one, which you're most familiar with, antifreeze and coolant.
31:05So that is going to go in here once we get a radiator in.
31:08But in the meantime, one thing that I can do is put in some new headlights.
31:12So let's get to it.
31:15So how tired are you right now?
31:17I'm not too tired, but I am tired of not finding the fitting that we need.
31:22I'm tired of looking.
31:23You know the one thing you can't find in the catalog?
31:25What?
31:26More hours on a Friday.
31:27That is a great point, which leaves us right here.
31:30You remember how Lucky mentioned the fact that we can't find that rear trim for this car?
31:35It's made of unobtainium.
31:36And so are Dash 6 ORB fittings when every shop in the city that might have them is closed.
31:43Once again, it is Friday.
31:44It is Friday.
31:45And we are legitimately down to one ORB fitting away from actually being able to finish this fuel system and starting this up.
31:52We just need to feed a little fuel to the pump.
31:54That's all we need.
31:55Is that too much to ask?
31:56Actually, it is.
31:57On a Friday?
31:57Yes, it is.
31:57Yeah.
31:58So we are going to finish that out.
32:00We'll connect it up.
32:01But we can say we have made a lot more progress this week than we would have if we were piecing this all together and fabricating it on our own.
32:08Yes.
32:08With help from Roadster Shop, we were able to install rack and pinion steering, four-wheel disc brakes, completely articulating four-link rear suspension, adjustable transmission crossmember, front suspension with upper and lower control arms, everything powder-coated.
32:23Yes.
32:23And with the help of Blueprint and their crate engine, we were able to already have all of the pulley system installed, all of the belts on.
32:30We have the fuel injection on.
32:31We have all of those little fittings that take a lot of time already found, installed, sealed up, and ready to go.
32:37And with help from Gears Fire Transmission, we were able to install a drive shaft and connect all that horsepower to the rear differential.
32:43And it was all super simple.
32:45Now, the rest of that, we had to cut the floors up.
32:48We have most of the patch panels done.
32:49We've got everything pretty much fitting.
32:51We're just missing a few things, like cooling system, which we'll have done very soon.
32:56And we need to connect a couple wires, connect the AC, because we are going on a desert cruise.
33:01You can never be too cool.
33:02That is a fact.
33:03So we just have a couple things to do.
33:04But I think our Friday is up at the moment.
33:08Yes.
33:08I'm happy Friday is over right now.
33:11All right.
33:12So the next time you see this wagon, we're going on a road trip.
33:15Yes.
33:15So pack your snacks.
33:17Count me in.
33:21All right.
33:25So this is our wagon that we have borrowed from Peak because when we started with this project, we wanted to try something that was on the opposite side of hot rod building, where maybe we bought more components to bolt together than we just built.
33:40Theoretically, you think, oh, you buy a chassis from Roadster Shop, and you buy a blueprint engine, and you get a Gearstar transmission.
33:48You have all of the nice brakes already installed on the vehicle.
33:51And then you take the original, fully restored, very, very nice body, and you just set it on top of it.
33:58Simple.
33:58Throw in some bolts.
33:59Right.
34:00Push some nuts.
34:00Put in some fluids.
34:01Hook up a couple wires.
34:02Boom.
34:03You're on the road.
34:03Wrong.
34:04Absolutely wrong.
34:05So yesterday, we actually took it out on a test drive for the first time, pretty much, since it's been in this state.
34:12We found a couple things, okay?
34:13So we thought it's probably best that we get those fixed before we head to the desert.
34:17So we're going to spend a little bit of time in the shop this morning, fix some stuff, diagnose some stuff, and then if all goes well, we're going to hit the streets and get some wind in our hair.
34:26Cover me.
34:26I'm going in.
34:27We're going in.
34:57The few wires we needed to hook up.
35:00Wow.
35:01Dude, call me Hawkeye, because that is exactly the same as that.
35:09And I didn't even count them.
35:10I'm going to raise the back a little.
35:11There was a little interference with the drive shaft.
35:13The obvious thing there is brand new springs have not been used.
35:17They haven't seen any heat.
35:19Now this thing has been moved around a little bit, driven very little.
35:22Springs are starting to settle to the right height.
35:25I'm going to raise the back about an inch, maybe, or two.
35:28Please don't tell Alex.
35:29She hates when I raise anything.
35:31Everything has to be low for her.
35:33Honestly, we're minutes away from getting out on the street.
35:35So I will see you out there.
35:37Maybe we need to go back and work a minute.
35:53It's got some steam in her.
35:54Yeah?
35:55Just can't put it through the wheels.
35:56Yeah.
35:56So as we're driving down the road, it seems like it's in fourth, and it's downshifting
36:01fourth, third, second, first.
36:03Then we get neutral.
36:04We literally get neutral.
36:05So we accelerate.
36:06It's like, buh.
36:09Then it goes, uh, wah, wah, wah.
36:14Hang, hang, hang, hang.
36:16That was actually really accurate.
36:18That was pretty accurate.
36:19I mean, really accurate.
36:20We can go back to the video if you want.
36:21That was an instant replay.
36:22So anyways, we talked to your star.
36:24I also just called my friend Jake from Jake's Transmissions.
36:27So he's like, try flashing the firmware, clear everything, re-upload that tune to both
36:33the ECU and to the transmission controller, and go back out and try to drive it.
36:37So I think that's the easiest place to start.
36:41And then from there, we got more figuring to do.
36:43Let me turn the ranges.
36:46So today continues to get more and more interesting.
36:49We're not giving up on this peak wagon.
36:50It's just fighting us.
36:52So I went to update the firmware.
36:54The firmware is on the card, but the computer that's in the car can't see that card.
37:00So they're not communicating with each other.
37:02So basically, the peak wagon has lost its mind.
37:05Literally, it's making us lose hours.
37:07So we thought, what else has a sniper unit on it?
37:11Old trusty burnt rentals.
37:12So I'm going to grab that new sniper unit, go stick it back on the peak wagon, hook everything
37:18back up, flash the transmission side of stuff, put the new tune, and then we're going to test
37:24drive.
37:24What's all the racket?
37:35Sorry, I didn't realize you were back there.
37:37Okay, neutral and drive.
37:47This is the very first time this car has seen first gear.
37:50True.
37:51And as a benefit, our O2 sensor is now working because we've got a new unit.
37:54What the heck?
37:55It's like a new car.
37:56It is.
37:59This is it.
37:59We're going to go through some gears right now.
38:01I fell second.
38:02I fell second.
38:03That second.
38:04We've got to get higher speed for that.
38:05I fell second.
38:06I fell third.
38:08Woo-hoo!
38:08Okay, this is the first time this has happened.
38:12This is nice!
38:13That's overdrive right there.
38:14It just kicked in.
38:15Yeah, yeah, yeah.
38:15All right.
38:17So now I think we can go back.
38:19We can sort a couple of things.
38:20Let's look at the squeaks, and then let's make sure all the loosens are tied up, and then
38:23we can hit the desert.
38:24Nice.
38:25Yeah.
38:26Nice work, dude.
38:26We did it.
38:27Woo!
38:27Woo!
38:27Woo!
38:28Woo!
38:28Woo!
38:28Woo!
38:29Woo!
38:29Woo!
38:30Woo!
38:31Woo!
38:31Woo!
38:32Woo!
38:33Woo!
38:33Woo!
38:34Woo!
38:35Woo!
38:36Woo!
38:37Woo!
38:38Woo!
38:38Woo!
38:40Okay, so let's just say we're back up to speed again.
38:43Yeah, so last time we tried to take our peak roadside rescue wagon that we put a Roadster
38:49Soft chassis, Blueprint small block in, and a Gear Start transmission, we didn't quite make
38:54it to the location we wanted to make it to.
38:56No, the shakedown was exceptionally shaky.
38:58Oh, it was shaky.
39:00So we wanted to go on the road trip that we're doing today, which is 200 miles, really putting
39:04some miles on this before we hand it back over to Peak.
39:06Right, and we have to simulate real-world driving, because we're going to be able to do this
39:08with the conditions.
39:09I say that a lot, because I enjoy doing it.
39:10Yeah, yeah.
39:11This is going to be in all types of weather and all types of climate, so we're looking
39:15for an unhospitable climate.
39:17True.
39:18Normally we go to the beach and just cruise around, get a boba.
39:21Get a boba.
39:22That's a shakedown.
39:23That's a shakedown.
39:24Yeah.
39:25We are actually on our way out to the Mojave Desert.
39:26Yes.
39:27Anyway, I am proud of us, because we are actually doing this one as right as we can.
39:32We didn't just take it out last time and say we broke it, leave it on the side of the road.
39:36We actually took time, figured it out, and now we're going on a road trip.
39:40Road trip.
39:41Road trip.
39:42Road trip.
39:47Do you think we went through a whole tank of gas?
40:01Not yet, because it is getting great gas mileage.
40:03It is getting amazing gas mileage.
40:05Running fine.
40:06Everything is going good.
40:07This has actually been an amazing day.
40:08I feel like we're really at the peak of this day.
40:10Ah, ah.
40:11You know how I've been hopping out and peeking under the hood?
40:13Yeah.
40:14Didn't need to.
40:15Yeah, I think this is a peak performance.
40:20I got nothing on that.
40:21That's a good one.
40:22That's pretty good.
40:23All right, for real.
40:24The peak rescue, roadside rescue vehicle, I actually feel good about handing it back
40:28to them.
40:29Absolutely.
40:30Everything is working just as it should.
40:31It's a nice driver.
40:32I fell asleep two or three times on the way up here, honestly.
40:35You were driving.
40:36Well, that's irrelevant.
40:37But still, it was just super comfortable.
40:39Just cruised up here, no worries at all.
40:41It can definitely rescue some vehicles, and I don't think it's going to need to be rescued.
40:45No way.
40:46No.
40:47It'll be good.
40:48I know that, like, we could be done.
40:50I think I want to keep driving, but it's going to look fairly much the same.
40:54Honestly, whenever we go to wherever we're going, we always have a truck and trailer
40:58following us.
40:59Yeah.
41:00Just because this is actually talent.
41:01This is a star of the show.
41:02I mean, it is.
41:03Just go ahead and go home.
41:04We're good.
41:05Yeah.
41:06So we're going to keep going because there's a lunch spot that way.
41:09Peak, we just want to borrow your car for a little while longer.
41:11Yeah.
41:12But we do have a lot of people to thank for this build.
41:16There's definitely gear star transmissions, as always.
41:19Of course.
41:20I mean, we have been passing in the correct gear.
41:23Spiritedly.
41:24It has been performing very well.
41:26Roaster stop chassis.
41:27Very engineered.
41:28Very nice.
41:29They absolutely brought comfort to the curves.
41:30Comfort to the curves.
41:31Yep.
41:32Blueprint engines.
41:33Things sounds good.
41:34It's performing well.
41:35I like it.
41:36It pulls.
41:37I wouldn't say we've done any burnouts with it, but I promise you we could.
41:40Also, Holly, as always.
41:42Fuel management.
41:43We got wheels here from them as well.
41:46Also, Toyo tires to go with our new wheels.
41:48Round, made of rubber, and apparently don't burn.
41:51I don't get that.
41:52Fair enough.
41:54One more big thank you.
41:55Thank you to Peak because they let us borrow the car.
41:58Because here's the thing.
41:59We had a lot of parts to acquire.
42:01We also needed a vehicle that was nice enough to put on those parts.
42:04Peak had some good bones, and we put it on the rest of the bones that we had.
42:08Yeah.
42:09Absolutely.
42:10We shot high, and I think it paid off.
42:11Nice work.
42:12You want to go get lunch?
42:13I am on the peak of starvation.
42:15I can see that.
42:16Yeah.
42:17All right.
42:18So we're going to hit the road, but first I have to ask Lucky.
42:20Do you have social media?
42:21Well, thank you so much for asking.
42:22Yes, I am Mobile Tech Lucky on all the platforms.
42:24I also have a YouTube channel.
42:25Oh, you do?
42:26I am.
42:27I am Lucky's Garage Show on YouTube.
42:28That's, yeah.
42:29Do you have a YouTube channel on social media?
42:31I do.
42:32It is Riding with Alex Taylor and Alex Taylor Racing on everything else.
42:35Wow.
42:36And we are Hot Rod Garage Show.
42:37Absolutely.
42:38You know I follow you, right?
42:39Yeah, I follow you.
42:40Okay.
42:41Cool.
42:42Okay, all right, lunch?
42:43Follow you too.
42:44No, go to the car.
42:45Go to the car.
42:46We're going to go this way?
42:47Food, yeah.
Be the first to comment