KMS769 Kirkham 289 FIA Build

[RestoCreations]

The car is in the assembly stage now and should be ready for pick up sometime this week.









And here it is on the lift last Wednesday ready for the suspension to be installed.

[RestoCreations]

KMS 769 has been loaded at the Reliable Carriers facility in Arizona and is set for delivery this coming Tuesday evening. That is a relief since I had been told on Thursday by Reliable that they had no idea of when they would have a full load headed East.

I am supposed to drive off in this car after my wedding on September 13th and I think I can make that happen, but it is going to be tight. I have a split window Corvette to finish and take to auction, a bachelor party in NOLA, several wedding showers, not to mention 4 other builds going on simultaneously. It's going to be an interesting 50 days till the wedding. I might not have time to fully sand and brush the body, but ill probably at least try to get one light round of sanding completed. I ordered the concept 1 pulley system in black anodized finish this morning, but that is the only thing I have ordered thus far...time to see if I can melt my credit card.

Anyway, the nice wife of the driver was kind enough to send me these pictures today. While i might not car for some of reliable carriers logistics practices, Their drivers are always incredibly nice and take great care of the cars!

[Avmaviator]

Awesome, Chris! It's going to be a nice one

Bachelor party in NOLA hey?

[GT350Mike]

Chris, we'll be down in B'ham on the 15th and I'd love to swing by to see your FIA car. BTW, I'm almost finished with mine....I'll send you an email later.

[RestoCreations]

Yes, Arnaud! My brother lives in Baton Rouge and suggested it. Great food, live music, some weird drinks, and outstanding people watching sounds like a good time to me. I doubt we will get in too much trouble since we are all in our late thirties or early forties. Catch a flight and come join us!

[RestoCreations]

Originally Posted by GT350Mike

Chris, we'll be down in B'ham on the 15th and I'd love to swing by to see your FIA car. BTW, I'm almost finished with mine....I'll send you an email later.

Sure thing, Mike! Let me check my schedule and I'll get back with you!

[RestoCreations]

The car arrived late yesterday evening.
My bride to be is quite impressed with the Kirkham's craftsmanship!

[RestoCreations]

I spent an hour blocking on part of the passenger fender. I'll be switching to a DA with 120 grit for the rest of the initial sanding.

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Hood is pretty rough around the scoop.

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[GT350Mike]

Looking great Chris, but what would be really impressive would be if your fiancé had blocked the fender!

[RestoCreations]

Originally Posted by GT350Mike

Looking great Chris, but what would be really impressive would be if your fiancé had blocked the fender!

Yeah, that will probably never happen! She loves looking at cars, but as far as working on them, she is just not mechanically inclined nor does she have any interest in being so.

[RestoCreations]

Messed around with the shifter yesterday while I was waiting on paint to dry on another car. I really can't do anything else on the car until the 363 stroker arrives.
I decided to go with an Edelbrock air gap intake and 750cfm quickfuel carb initially instead of fuel injection. I might switch to fuel injection later, but for now I am in too big of a hurry to fool around with programming a computer.

Here you can see the anatomy of the Tremec Shifter. Simply remove the two hex screws and the springs under them, then pull out the shifter mechanism that comes with the tremec. There is a pin in the shifter mechanism that must be removed and transferred to the kirkham billet shifter. I used a brass punch and hammer to remove it and had to get quite aggressive with the hammer in order to apply enough force to get the pin to move. I then wrapped the Kirkham billet shifter and carefully drove the pin into place. Next, grease the shifter, place the tabs on top, slide the forks back over the taps, insert the springs, and screw the allen head bolts back in place and it's finished. Took about ten minutes total.
[IMG][/IMG]

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[GT350Mike]

Originally Posted by RestoCreations

Yeah, that will probably never happen! She loves looking at cars, but as far as working on them, she is just not mechanically inclined nor does she have any interest in being so.

Don't expect anything to change and you'll have a long, joyful marriage. I'm lucky to get the boss involved with anything relating to working on the car 3 or 4 times a year. Even then, it's only for a few minutes.

BTW, my springs come in tomorrow so I hope to squeeze in a few test drives this weekend. Doubt it will be ready for Mötley Crüe, but you never know!

[RestoCreations]

Who's the one that's gonna make you feel good???... Dr. Feel Good!!!!

We are in town next weekend, so if you can make it early enough on Friday, you can come for a viewing of the 289FIA Kirkham, the split window Corvette, and the other projects.

[RestoCreations]

Parts started rolling in. It's like Christmas, but I'm Santa and I had to pay for everything.

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Air Gap intake, 750cfm double pumper, mechanical quick fuel carb. I had the Roush Air cleaner left over from another build, so i am going to use it for now.





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Kevlar clutch disc. Might be overkill, but it was the same cost as some of the organic units.

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CVR adjustbable starter

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Holley says a fuel pressure regulator isn't necessary when using the red top electric fuel pump, but I am installing one anyway.

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[cobrakiwi]

It is always fun when the parts start rolling in, looks like a very nice build you have going there!
Good luck with it.

[LightNFast]

Looking good - But I'd suggest using the mid-shift location for a 289

https://www.google.com/search?q=trem...2F%3B579%3B516

Originally Posted by RestoCreations

Messed around with the shifter yesterday while I was waiting on paint to dry on another car. I really can't do anything else on the car until the 363 stroker arrives.
I decided to go with an Edelbrock air gap intake and 750cfm quickfuel carb initially instead of fuel injection. I might switch to fuel injection later, but for now I am in too big of a hurry to fool around with programming a computer.

Here you can see the anatomy of the Tremec Shifter. Simply remove the two hex screws and the springs under them, then pull out the shifter mechanism that comes with the tremec. There is a pin in the shifter mechanism that must be removed and transferred to the kirkham billet shifter. I used a brass punch and hammer to remove it and had to get quite aggressive with the hammer in order to apply enough force to get the pin to move. I then wrapped the Kirkham billet shifter and carefully drove the pin into place. Next, grease the shifter, place the tabs on top, slide the forks back over the taps, insert the springs, and screw the allen head bolts back in place and it's finished. Took about ten minutes total.
[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[RestoCreations]

The Small Block 363 Stroker showed up today.

[*13*]

Love the Darth Vader carb!

[RestoCreations]

It's a special coating that keeps the carburetor cooler. I do not care for the polished finish, so to me, the black coating is worth the extra few bucks.

[GT350Mike]

What did you decide to do with the exhaust?