Fordpowerjoke

Well here it goes. My name is Jeff Scott and several you know me from high school. I recently ran into the boss at Horizon Ford and he put me on to this Forum. I am a shop foreman for a truck repair shop in Seattle and live in Graham. Nice commute huh? My sign on is Fordpowerjoke only because I have owned a Powerstroke diesel for several years and it was literally a joke for power when I first bought it. The name became my email address and stuck since then. I am a typical car guy and enjoy all classics even the odd ones. My passion for some reason is with Camaros. I currently own two camaros. One is a 1967 Convertible that I bought out of Iowa and is currently being restored by me. I have been working a ton of ovetime these last several months and haven't even touched it since August. It will be seveal more years before I am able to get it back up and driving again. I am not really in a big hurry. I use it for quiet time out in the shop to forget about the daily grind. With all the overtime we worked this year I was able to save a good chunk of change and recently purchased a 1967 RS Camaro. This one is pretty descent but has its issues. Its a driver and looks pretty good from 5 feet away. I bought this car soley with the intention of driving the heck out of it. I have a 11year old son Jacob who I am hoping will show interest in learning about cars soon. I would like to start including him in my time out in the shop. I also have a daughter Rachael who is 13years old and thinks cars are stupid. I think she gets that from her mom. Then there is my wife Jennifer who I have been married to for 16years now. I met her in High School 6 years before that. She tolerates my car hobbies but not very enthused. I am fortunate to have a decent size shop where I can keep my cars and tools without having to clean up my mess at the end of each day. I am looking forward to going on some cruises with the boys and their rides. Here are some pics of my cars and the infamous Powerjoke truck. I don't have the boat anymore. We had to sell it to get into a bigger house with some land and a shop. Both of my brothers have boats that they vacation on so I can always get my boating fix in the summer for free. Sometimes family is a good thing. Sometimes not though.










Go to this link if you would like to see my convertible restoration pics. I have actually accomplised alot on it for only being a year into the project. Its turning out great

https://s715.photobucket.com/albums/ww159/fordpowerjoke67/

welcome PJ!!!! Your cars are sweet....but the pics of your progress with the convertible has got me remembering all that work it takes to get a rig back on the road. Looking back it was not too long ago I thought I would never get my car on the road...and somehow I did. Can't wait to cruise with ya!

Stumbly!!! Good to hear from you after such a long time. Nice projects and I'm loving the shop. I upgraded from working on gravel to cement, but still no roof over my head unless I run a blue tarp between my two Broncos.

Tarps work too!. My biggest gripe now is that it takes quite a while to get the shop warm enough to be comfortable to work in. I have become a big pussy when it comes to being cold. I imagine living in Yakima cold is something you come to adjust to. I don't mind getting wet or filthy.....but cold just sucks. I have a pellet stove in the shop but I think it puts more smoke into the shop than it does heat. Its wore out and eventually I will upgrade it. I have learned quite a bit with my Camaro project. I signed up to a Camaro website called Team Camaro and they orginally got me thinking about doing the sheetmetal replacement myself by watching other members posting their projects as they went. The car is turning out awesome and someday it will be sweet but I have to take my time. One of the things I promised myself when I moved out to Graham that I would try and pay for stuff in cash instead of living off of credit. So I have been saving, then buying, saving, then buying. I hate paying interest to borrow money. It takes alot longer but its worth it in the end. I am anxious to start driving my RS but I am patiently waiting for Hagerty to get back to me regarding my application for Classic Car insurance policy. I applied last Monday and still am waiting for an agent to contact me. Its really starting to piss me off they are taking so long. I have perfect credit, perfect driving record and have sent them all the documentation needed. I think the holiday is fucking everything up. I am off work until Wed. and wanted to drive it around a bit so hopefully they get back to me tomorrow. How does your Ranchero run? Looks like it should be pretty quick with the small block in it. Those Rancheros can't weigh much and I image frying the tires would be pretty easy? My RS is really tall geared and has a powerglide transmission so smoking the tires takes a bit of effort. I definitely see a TH350 transmission and 3.55 gears for the rearened in its future. I have all the stuff to do a Muncie four speed conversion but I think I am going to put it in my convertible someday. I want the RS to be a good daily cruiser that my wife or kid can drive someday but yet be quick enough that I can light em up when I want to. When is the first event of the new year?

Boss, I am going to have to come by and check out your mustang. How many hours do you figure you have invested into it so far? Do you have it running on pump gas now?

Since none of you guys have seen our place here in graham I will post a pic. Moving out here was single handedly the smartest thing we have ever done. We LOVE the neighborhood. We have our share of white trash in the area but we had them out in Lake tapps at our old neighborhood too! I average about 1hr 15 minutes to work and back each way but its worth it to me!



Here is a picture of my "someday convertible camaro fantasy". I am going to make mine a RS/SS clone and I am really liking the Maroon color with the black top. Now if I could just pull about another $20k out of my ass and free up about 1000hrs of my time I could have this car. ENJOY!

yeah the boss466 is powered soley by 91 octane now! I have 6 years into the thing, and never kept track of hours....but let me put it this way. I got the car only because it was such a basket case, that a mustang enthusiast thought it was too gone for him, so he let me buy it instead!! I got it for $500.00 IN OCT OF 2003. I agree with you on the paying cash thing.....and i was doing that same thing up until last year. I then RAPED my credit card to get the thing on the road. If i didn't do that, i am sure i would have sold it by now. Luckily the card is fixed at 4.9% so not too bad, but i am back to the cash thing. I have just exceeded the $30k mark and have no end in sight I love your house...i wish we did something like that, cause the neighbors...i am sure, love the stang firing up at 6am to go to work when i drive it I am looking to take the car out soon, PM me you address sometime and I will pay you a visit.

The Ranchdog isn't going to win any races, but it does alright. Just like in high school I have the slowest vehicle, but like everyone else on here it's a work in progress. I got mine in May of 2007 for free and we got it running in 1 year. I figure I hav about $3000-$3500 invested in mine so far. I'm dreaming of a 347 or 408 stroker for it someday. Your place looks great out there. Nice and serene.

Boss, PM sent.

Ranchdog, does your Bronco run? How does it do off road? $3500 is all you have in the Rancharo? Thats pretty cheap to have a driving classic out of. I too dream of building the radical small block for one of my cars but I also fight with the desire to keep it streetable and reliable. There seems to be a grey area between "performance" and "radical". A buddy of mine has a pretty pumped up 68 Camaro and you can hardly hear a conversation in the car going down the road since its so loud! It goes like a raped ape but I couldn't see driving it to work in Seattle and back home. I think the key to a perfect cruiser is walking that fine line between drivable and peformance! I like the Boss's (sp?) idea of the 6speed someday but I think I am a long ways out on the perfect engine/trans combo for even one of my cars. I thought about buying a "done" car for big $ since you can by a finished car for less than you can build one for but I just couldn't bring myself to it. I know that I don't respect the owners of cars that "bought them that way". I enjoy talking to the owners that built them. I better go do some yardwork. I place looks like a war zone from the last windy day and there are branches everywhere!.....

fordpowerjoke wrote:

Boss, PM sent.

Ranchdog, does your Bronco run? How does it do off road?

Oh ya it runs like a champ. Eating up heeps like no one's business. Well, as soon as I finish hooking up my ARB locking diff up front and lock up the rear.
https://theblueovalspeedshop.forumotion.com/trucks-f11/my-first-bronco-project-t5.htm
https://theblueovalspeedshop.forumotion.com/trucks-f11/my-winch-install-t58.htm
https://theblueovalspeedshop.forumotion.com/off-road-f9/quartz-mt-run-t612.htm

You sound like me with multiple projects going all the time. Sometimes it gets overwhelming when I look around and have nothing but stuff that needs worked on. I gotta take a break every now and then. What does your wife think of your "projects"?

She tolerates it. She likes that it keeps me around the house. I can keep an eye on the kids as they play outside. She does not support me buying parts though, especially the kind that make it go faster. She deems it unnecessary. I guess it's kind of understandable because we're a one income family of 6.

Did you say family of SIX? ......For some reason I thoought you had two kids? What are your kids ages and names? I guess it has been a REALLY long time since we have hung out. If all goes well this year I think I would like to come to the Vintiques (sp?). I had a really good time when I went that one year, with the exception of having to leave early to go see my mom in the hospital. I guess I am pretty spoiled having older kids now and having dual incomes. My wife works pretty close to full time now for Fred Meyer and even though she doesn't make great money it definitely helps out. She has a really flexible schedule and pretty much makes up her own hours. She has been there I believe 15yrs now so she gets tons of vacation and sick leave. I just now get 3 weeks of vacation with no sick leave. I am union fortunately so we have a pretty killer pension plan and benefit package. If this economy doesn't take a turn for the better I am sure we are going to get pounded on at our next contract negotiations. I have to start saving my $ now for a kitchen remodel. We are going out and about tomorrow to start putting plans together for it. We are doing the full meal deal including moving walls and vaulting the ceilings. Probably be 1 more year before begin the tear down since I want to wait until we have a new contract signed at work before I begin a costly home improvement like this. Can't wait to see you again!

We have twins, Bailey and Riley, age 9. Liam, age. Leif, age 2. My wife is a teacher, but quite her job when we started our family. I work 2 jobs to support us, but it's getting harder to do. We are working without a contract so far this year because our union has no balls, but then again I can't afford to go on srike either. Ya man I can't wait to see you again as well. I think I have a picture of the kids here somewhere. I'm not on my home computer because we're visiting my wirfe's family in Yelm. I'll post it up when I find it.

I pulled this pic off my facebook page. It's about a year old, but it's all I have now.

Good looking Family. Its all we can do to handle two kids at tiimes. Four must be a handful. Isn't Leif your sisters name as well? Two jobs is brutal. What do you do for your second job?

Welcome, ......I need a 4 car garage!

fordpowerjoke wrote:

Good looking Family. Its all we can do to handle two kids at tiimes. Four must be a handful. Isn't Leif your sisters name as well? Two jobs is brutal. What do you do for your second job?

My sister's name is Liv. Ya four can be tough at times, but as you know kids are great fun as well. For my second job I tutor students after school. It's not a difficult job, but it does get old. You can imagine what kind of students need to come in and get extra tutoring. What else have you been up to? Are you parents living around Cle Elum in the cabin?

Thanks BadDNA. Where do I find pics of your project. Cant wait to hear how the whipple turns out. You can't be supercharging for a quick instant power boost.

The Whipple has been installed since July, I'm building a new engine for I can turn the boost up to 22lbs.

welcome PJ. Sounds like you have more raport with these clowns than I do

great looking place in Grahm....Wow 2.5hrs a day commuting could get old though.....but looks like it's worth it!!

Hollar next time you drop in at Horizon....maybe you, TheBOSS and I can grab lunch in the vicinity. I work about 1/4 mile up the road from Horizon. I'm exactly the same as you.....I look around and have so many projects that I don't know where to start and almost get overwhelmed on a a daily basis

f-nuts

Hey PJ....you ever thought about doing this to your camaro???

Hey bad DNA have you had that truck to the track? Any idea how big of an improvement it was in HP? How difficult was the install?

FNuts- Where do you work at? I work pretty early hours. I try to start at 4am and leave at 2:30pm so I only start to hit traffic. Every now and then I do end up with a 2hr commute just going home. I have pretty busy job with lots of phone calls and questions coming at me all day long. By the end of the day I sort of welcome the 1.25 hr of quiet time before I get home. It definitely gets old a times though. We looked around quite a bit when we were buying our next place and at the time we had to go this far out to get any property and a larger house. The shop was just a bonus but obviously is one of the things that sold me on it. The house is pretty old school inside and needs some definite updating. It all takes time and money. We are actually starting the planning stage of the kitchen remodel now.

When it comes to the Camaro's I am pretty old school still. I buy into the larger wheels upto about 18"? But I only like them lowered just a bit, and more for handling than anything else. If I had my choice I would take one that was all original with big block and 4speed. Who cares if it handles or stops worth a shit. As long as it fries the tires and goes like hell in a straight line I am content. Look forward to meeting you guys!

fordpowerjoke wrote:

.... I would take one that was all original with big block and 4speed.

Big Block?! Man, times have changed. Aren't you the guy that said he could build a small block to beat any big block?

I have come to realize that there is no replacement for displacement. ALTHOUGH, NOS and supercharging is a good substitute. I definitely wouldn't rule out a nice supercharged small block. Problem with small blocks I believe is that they have to be pretty radical to get SERIOUS horsepower out of and they lose their street manners. I could see myself building a supercharged small block and have the best of both worlds. I am a hipocrit when it comes to performance. I want old school with perfmance and drivability. They all kind of contradict each other. My biggest problem with "upgrading" is one upgrade leads directly into another item that needs upgrading. Kind of like remodeling a house. One nice room makes the rest of the place look like a shithole.

Before the Whipple I had 425 to the rear tires, Its got to be close to 500 now. It took me like 10 hours to do the install in 90+ heat. I also cleaned the inner cooler , changed the plugs and injectors.

How much do you figure the supercharger upgrade cost you all things considered? 75hp is a pretty nice boost in power (pun intended).