The Sandy Cranbrook Soap Opera: Episode Six – As The Engine Turns (with video!)

Thanks to Jim Thwaite at Asphault Adventures, Sandy’s seized engine has been set free! It is too early to call the patient cured, but hopes (and pulse rates) are running high. A new head gasket will be applied shortly to facilitate a more complete diagnosis of the patient.

Stay tuned for Episode Seven – With The Turn Of A Key…

 

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Uh oh… Sandy’s Sandy experience was worse than we thought…

Apparently, Murphy continues to ride as an unofficial and unwelcome Third Horseman…

Looks like the engine in the Cranbrook has some…er… small… issues contrary to what was represented by the seller. Friend Jim Thwaite at Asphault Adventures  is showing tremendous ingenuity (and patience) in trying to get thing moving again, but drastic action may be required if the Cranbrook’s “freely turning” engine proves to be anything but…

A couple of possible options being explored:

1. Find a replacement running Flathead 6 engine and swap it in. While the most easily executed backup plan, these engines are not as pervasive as the Slant 6 and finding one could be a bit of a challenge. The team is putting word on the street to its many Mopar fans that such an engine is being sought… perhaps Murphy will look the other way for a moment and one will turn up.
2. Rebuild the existing engine. This option looks costly and complicated, especially as compared to swapping in an identical replacement engine. However, if we can diagnose the exact point of failure, it may be a less-ambitious endeavor.
3. Go Rat Rod-lite and swap in something other than the correct engine. On the plus side, this is potentially inexpensive and comparatively easy, especially since conversion kits for both Mopar and Chevy V8s are readily available. Finding a more contemporary replacement engine shouldn’t be a big deal, and would result in a far peppier Cranbrook than the Chrysler engineers ever intended. (For the record, a Slant 6 is not really a viable swap no matter how much we want it to be. We checked.)
4. Go full-on Rat Rod and do a chassis swap. Friend Jim discovered that there is less than a 0.5″ difference in the wheelbase of the Cranbrook and of a Chevy S10 Extended Cab. While not an the least expensive or or complicated option, it would yield a Cranbrook-looking street rod with plenty of pep, modern brakes and suspension and possibly even air-conditioning. However, the team is just not sure how driving a Chevy in Mopar clothing will sit with the team’s Mopar fans…

Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

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THOTC 2013 BABE Rally Wrap

The 2013 BABE Rally is over… It was a fantastic experience, as always.  The array of crappy old cars (and one crappy old semi-truck) was staggering, Costume Day the most humiliating one yet, and the parking lot parties in the evenings still the stuff of legend. It also was a bittersweet experience as the 2013 BABE Rally was the last BABE Rally ever.

 

Dodge (the team’s beloved 1969 Dodge Dart Custom) had few mechanical problems… A broken oil pressure switch caused an oil leak of massive proportions that caused the car to be temporarily re-christened “The Exxon ValDart.” A weepy power steering pump at the start of the Rally degraded over four days of hard driving and threw a tantrum (and all of its power steering fluid) all over the Night 4 hotel parking lot. Dodge’s  44 year old un-rebuilt suspension proved strangely unsuited for off-roading and the car has developed a marked list to starboard. Best of all, after off-roading also loosened Dodge’s exhaust system in its mounting brackets, an unexpected encounter with a raccoon corpse in the road separated the muffler from the downpipe and necessitated a challenging (and icky) roadside repair. However, Dodge came through the ordeal with flying (albeit sun-faded) colors and is awaiting transport to Burn’s New York garage where a survivor restoration (and potentially a turbo-charger re-fit) await.

Team Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse successfully completed four of the five stages of the Rally, racked up 1,250 miles, and raised $1,328 for two great charities – the Hot Rodders Children’s Charity ($682) and Toys For Tots ($646). (The team was unable to complete the fifth stage of the Rally due to a friend’s medical issues requiring the team to return home early.)

The Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse would like to thank StreetSafari, Misfit Toys, Allpar.Com, North Georgia Mopar Club, Year One, Leverage Corporation, Pathfinder Advisors LLC, our (very patient) families, our friends, and all our fans for all their support on the 2013 BABE Rally and those two great charities. It isn’t just that we couldn’t have done it without you… we *wouldn’t* have done it without you.

Though the BABE Rally is no more, Team Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse remains committed to driving beat-up old Mopars in wacky automotive events to raise money for worthy charities. Have a look at Asphault Adventures (www.asphaultadventures.com) and 24 Hours of Lemons (www.24hoursoflemons.com) for hints about what lies ahead for Crash and Burn and look for more details in the near future.

Thanks so much for coming along for the ride… See you on the road!

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The Slant 6 Trio headlines at the Hot Rods at Hayes Muscle Car Show – marching to the beat of a different drummer, of course…

Crash took Dodge to the Hotrods at Hayes muscle car show in Baldwin, Georgia this weekend (put on by THOTC sponsor North Georgia Mopar Club) so Dodge could meet some fans and get some quality time on the open road. Dodge got lots of love and Crash was treated to an array of over 200 top-quality show cars.  Despite the huge Mopar turnout at the show, there were only three Slant 6 engines in the bunch and every one of them was an oddball.

First, of course, was Dodge.  Dodge was an oddball both for his dilapidated appearance as compared to the shiny, glossy examples of automotive near-perfection that surrounded him as well as his soon-to-be role of BABE Rally car. Ugly duckling though he was, Dodge was a favorite of those attending the show and garnered many smiles, guffaws and outright belly-laughs.

The Slant 6 Trio’s second member was none other than 24 Hours of Lemons (think European LeMons endurance race with $500 cars) Team E30/6’s bizzare BMW/Mopar hybrid — a BMW 325 with its original drivetrain removed and a Slant 6 with push-button transmission crammed into its place.  The car’s mere presence at a hot rod show drew a lot of very confused stares until people noticed the familar-yet-out-of-place Leaning Tower of Power nearly overflowing the Bimmer’s teeny engine bay. At that point, it became an immediate crowd favorite.  Team E30/6 is slated to re-take the track in their B-Mopar-W  in an upcoming 24 Hours of Lemons event later this year.

Rounding out the Slant 6 Trio’s act was this 1976 airplane tug, a U.S. Air Force veteran sporting a Leaning Tower of Power and a 727 3-speed transmission. This patriotic Mopar was acquired by its owners in a government auction for the bargain basement price of $500.  If only it were street legal and could exceed 8 miles an hour, it could have been a BABE Rally contender!

Photos of some of the more traditional but no less awesome contenders in the Hotrods at Hayes show should be available shortly.

 

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Val’s day out at the 2011 Mopar Challenge

Crash and Val had a great time at the North Georgia Mopar Club‘s 2011 Mopar Challenge show. Val didn’t win any awards, but she garnered a bunch of grins, elicited more than a few laughs and raised a great deal of awareness about the great work of American Diabetes Association and March of Dimes. Read on for additional show highlights, a slideshow of all the great Mopars featured at the show and a few funny moments involving Val.

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Come meet Crash and Val at the NGMC Mopar Challenge on May 14th!

Val is still a little nervous about being out in public after so many years in backyards and musty garages. So, before her national debut in June at the 2011 BABE Rally , she wanted to make a local appearance and try out the limelight closer to home. With the North Georgia Mopar Club’s Mopar Challenge just around the corner (both geographically- and temporally-speaking), this seemed like the perfect opportunity for Val to re-take the stage.

Come out to Landmark Dodge in Morrow, GA on May 14th between 10 AM and 3 PM for good, clean Mopar family fun, to meet 2/3 of the Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse team, and pledge your support for American Diabetes Association and March of Dimes!

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Allpar Forums members join the fight against diabetes and premature births!

Click the image above to pledge your own donation on Allpar Forums

Allpar.com led the way with a significant corporate donation to the two great charities Team Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse are supporting in this year’s 2011 BABE Rally — American Diabetes Association and March of Dimes. Now, the caring members of the Allpar Forums are jumping on board by making their own individual pledges. Two guys driving 2,700 miles in a $300, 35 year-old Plymouth Valiant to raise money for two great charities couldn’t ask for 28,558 better friends. Thanks to Dave Zatz of Allpar.com and all of our fellow Mopar junkies on the forums for their generosity.

Please consider visiting the Allpar Forums (free registration required) or visiting our Pledge page  and joining the fight against diabetes and premature births.

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Meet Team THOTC’s new corporate sponsor – Allpar.com!

Two Horsemen of the Carpocalypse is delighted to announce its new corporate sponsor,  Allpar.com.  Allpar.com is the web’s largest community for Mopar enthusiasts, boasts over 1,700 pages of content read by over 300,000 unique visitors every month and is an invaluable resource for owners of Mopar cars from the earliest days of the American automotive industry to today.

Allpar.com’s fearless leader Dave Zatz spotted a post about THOTC’s 2011 BABE Rally entrant Val (a 1973 Plymouth Valiant) on one of the Allpar Forums and did a little web sleuthing to find out more about the car, our team and the Rally. Once he picked himself up off the floor laughing, he emailed Crash with the offer of a very generous pledge to the two charities the team will be supporting in this year’s rally: American Diabetes Association and March of Dimes.

Crash and Burn would like to thank  Dave and the entire Allpar.com crew for their generosity, and for promoting our team and the BABE Rally on their website.  Look for the Allpar.com stickers Val will be bearing proudly on her rear doors during the 2011 BABE Rally!

Click the graphic below for a brief slideshow highlighting the Mopar contenders from the 2009 and 2010 BABE Rallies.

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