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...The FI unit was rebuilt four years ago but did not run properly. Quick visual inspection revealed that, although rebuilt, it had never been calibrated. How on earth can anyone expect to do a proper FI rebuild without also performing a proper calibration????? ...
Because...
... it came off a running car.
... they all run like that.
... my rebuilder set a world record at Bonneville in 1946.
... I used to drag race a lot.
... I use aviation gas with an octane booster.
... I buy a secret lead additive from the "bestest FI rebuilder in the world".
... my unit is an experimental set-up built by GM.
... I can time an engine "by ear".
... I read a how-to article in a 1962 Hot Rod Magazine.
Man alive! Thanks so much to the OP and to Jim for sharing.. What an incredible automobile and piece of American history! Not overstating that...incredible car and really love seeing it. OP - can you tell me more about the wheels? Are the Kelsey-Hayes Wire wheels? They are really cool as is the whole entire car! This is the type of stuff that I come here for and really love seeing. Thanks again for your willingness to let us see this wonderful auto!
I am somewhat amazed that the person who converted the engine to an SBC didn't go the extra mile (which would have been a plug-and-play with the BW T-10.
Hi Dan,
The story goes that Mr. Foster, the original owner, enjoyed the two speed Columbia rear axel. After the installation of the FI Corvette engine, Foster can be quoted saying "with the new motor the car screamed. With the rear end in high-range, I did 90 MPH in first gear, 127 MPH in second, and never checked third!" He raised hell on the drag strips in the Detroit/Lansing area. I would tend to agree that a BW T-10 would make most sense however the story of the car is tethered in the past. Being a bit of a historian myself, I intend to leave the car as is and share the car with the masses. Thanks for your comment!
Thank you so much for your kind comments on my special little auto. The wheels are a facilitating story in themselves. When building the car in 1954, Mr. Foster decided he wanted something different. He commissioned Dayton Wheel Co. in Dayton OH to custom build a set of five straight spoke lip-lace 15" wheels to accompany the Firestone gum-dipped white walls. To me, it gives the car a very Euro / Jag look. Which ironically is where B.R. Woody Woodill got some of his design inspiration to design the Wildfire - The Jag XK 120. What's more is in 2010, Mr Foster sent the custom Dayton Wheels back to Dayton Wheel Co. for their restoration some 56 years later. Thanks again! Cheers, Chandler.
I want to take a moment to thank you all for your kind comments on my Wildfire. This car has been a joy to own and share since my acquisition of it in September. The car was purchased from the family of the original owner/builder. After nearly 70 years of single ownership, I was fortunate enough to purchase this truly unique Wildfire and bring it to CA. As I work to get the car up to my standards and look forward to the possibility of a Pebble Beach participation, I am humbled and tickled to learn more about the car and honor Mr. Foster as I go along. He had the vision and I now have the privilege.
Jim, many thanks to you! The car is running better than ever. I knew as soon as the car came off the transport that it needed help and I was stunned to find that the FI Guru lived just over an hour away from me. You have the car running like it did when Foster was doing 127 mph down the drag strip in 1958. Thanks again!
Cheers everyone!
-Chandler
PS my Golden, Hudson, approves of the Wildfire and can't wait to take a ride now that it's running right!
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (track prepared))
2019 C1 of Year Finalist (track prepared)
Originally Posted by jim lockwood
The engine in Chandler's amazing car is the only Real Deal "EL" engine I've ever seen. Similarly, I've seen only one "EK" engine that I believe was authentic. (Look up the EK suffix if it doesn't mean anything to you.... yet.)
If I ever get my '57 back to CA, Jim, I'll be glad to show you another one! I'm glad Chandler got his car and FI to you. I was one of the people who sent him your way on one of the Facebook C1 pages.
You made me curious with the "EK" though. I didn't and still don't know what that is. Did you mean FK? Which in '57 would be a rare engine. The 579B FI 250hp with automatic. Only 102 made. There was also an FK in '56, of course. Was EK some sort of prototype?
If I ever get my '57 back to CA, Jim, I'll be glad to show you another one! I'm glad Chandler got his car and FI to you. I was one of the people who sent him your way on one of the Facebook C1 pages.
You made me curious with the "EK" though. I didn't and still don't know what that is. Did you mean FK? Which in '57 would be a rare engine. The 579B FI 250hp with automatic. Only 102 made. There was also an FK in '56, of course. Was EK some sort of prototype?
EK is a 283/283 passenger car. I've only seen two that I knew were real. I have a real EL also.
If I ever get my '57 back to CA, Jim, I'll be glad to show you another one! I'm glad Chandler got his car and FI to you. I was one of the people who sent him your way on one of the Facebook C1 pages.
You made me curious with the "EK" though. I didn't and still don't know what that is. Did you mean FK? Which in '57 would be a rare engine. The 579B FI 250hp with automatic. Only 102 made. There was also an FK in '56, of course. Was EK some sort of prototype?
I would love to see your car, Todd! What would it cost me to get to go for a ride, too?
Thanks for directing Chandler my way. Nice guy with a great car. And I'm pretty sure he left here happy.
As Mac has already indicated "EK" is the passenger car 283/283. The only real one I've ever seen is from a beige '57 210 which was apparently a drag race terror in the Santa Barbara area around 1961. I would love to hear from ANYONE who remembers this car, owned by a local doctor if my memory serves.
Last edited by jim lockwood; 12-13-2023 at 05:25 PM.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (track prepared))
2019 C1 of Year Finalist (track prepared)
Oh yeah, the passenger FI’s. There’s one sitting in a farmyard near here on flat tires, but of course the engine and fuel injection are long gone. I always forget about those cars.
Oh yeah, the passenger FI’s. There’s one sitting in a farmyard near here on flat tires, but of course the engine and fuel injection are long gone. I always forget about those cars.
Rides are free, Jim! Bring ear plugs.
Oh hell no!
Concerned briefly about the effect of the unmuffled exhaust of my Grand Sport on my own hearing, I drove ONE and only ONE session with ear plugs. I missed shifts. I missed my downshift points. It was ugly because my brain wasn't getting the auditory feedback to which it was accustomed. Never again. I may have to turn up the volume to hear Grace Slick hit those plate-glass-shattering notes, but the bottom line is that I can still hear them. Ear plugs, though? Never again!
I'll gladly hark back to the first few times I was a passenger with Mick Swezey in his amazing, pretty much unrestored / as it was back in the day RPO '57 at Sears Point. My ears were on an auditotory holiday as he gently and competently four wheel drifted around Sears Point's turn 4.
I wish only that I could have had the same ride with the Master of Oversteer. You know who I mean.
Bottom line: Ear plugs? I don't want no stinkin' ear plugs!!!!!
Last edited by jim lockwood; 12-13-2023 at 05:57 PM.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (track prepared))
2019 C1 of Year Finalist (track prepared)
Originally Posted by jim lockwood
Oh hell no!
Concerned briefly about the effect of the unmuffled exhaust of my Grand Sport on my own hearing, I drove ONE and only ONE session with ear plugs. I missed shifts. I missed my downshift points. It was ugly because my brain wasn't getting the auditory feedback to which it was accustomed. Never again. I may have to turn up the volume to hear Grace Slick hit those plate-glass-shattering notes, but the bottom line is that I can still hear them. Ear plugs, though? Never again!
I'll gladly hark back to the first few times I was a passenger with Mick Swezey in his amazing, pretty much unrestored / as it was back in the day RPO '57 at Sears Point. My ears were on an auditotory holiday as he gently and competently four wheel drifted around Sears Point's turn 4.
I wish only that I could have had the same ride with the Master of Oversteer. You know who I mean.
Bottom line: Ear plugs? I don't want no stinkin' ear plugs!!!!!
I keep some in the car, but I don't use them either. But we're going to need parkas if we go anytime soon. Winter in Minnesota....
RIP, Dave MacDonald. Just to see those guys drive against each other would have been amazing. To ride with one of them? Especially Dave. THAT would test one's bravery. You guys are lucky to be in the same area as Bondurant's old car, so well cared for for all these years by Mick Swezey. Well... other than rolling it. Sure glad he had a good bar.
Chandler, I'm glad that your FI has been straightened out by one of the best FI guys in the country. It probably will be good forever, now, just don't mess with it (the dreaded tinkeritis) unless you become well educated by someone like Jim. Even '57 fuel injection works great once it's set up right.
I keep some in the car, but I don't use them either. But we're going to need parkas if we go anytime soon. Winter in Minnesota....
RIP, Dave MacDonald. Just to see those guys drive against each other would have been amazing. To ride with one of them? Especially Dave. THAT would test one's bravery. You guys are lucky to be in the same area as Bondurant's old car, so well cared for for all these years by Mick Swezey. Well... other than rolling it. Sure glad he had a good bar.
Chandler, I'm glad that your FI has been straightened out by one of the best FI guys in the country. It probably will be good forever, now, just don't mess with it (the dreaded tinkeritis) unless you become well educated by someone like Jim. Even '57 fuel injection works great once it's set up right.
I knew you'd recognize the "Master of Oversteer:. Anybody else and I'd be terrified to go for a ride. Him? I'd have 100%, total confidence in the outcome and I'd jump at the terrifying chance to go for a ride.
12-11-2023, 03:02 PM
