Finally I have gotten a decent massage. I managed to catch the bus outside the house (around the corner on the end of the block, but “outside”) and the connecting bus was only a little late. I had to wait a while for the tech to finish up a client, but the room I was assigned had a space heater so I was nice and warm, but not hot while I waited. This tech used an appropriate amount of pressure on most of my body, except for the back of my left thigh that caused me some kneecap pain, but she had no way of knowing about that. It was one of those “keep the lights low so the client will relax” places, and the one dim light was on the opposite side of my body from most of my scars and the scars on my knee were facing away from the tech, so how was she supposed to know about my damaged kneecap?
Anyway, I got a good massage and my neck felt a bunch better, and my legs and neck were working almost up to spec when she got done. I have been out of tolerances for so long that “almost spec” felt like heaven. There were some pops and creaks as things were pushed back sorta where they go, with minor jolts to my psychic equilibrium as they assumed spec position. When things have been not where they are supposed to be, and then all of a sudden they are, for a second or two after it takes some mental realigning to go along with the physical realigning. It’s like you have to change your mental image of how your body is and where everything is supposed to be, from “broken but still somewhat functional” to “back in spec”.
While I was waiting on the table I had time to think about the Sprint-T, and how to get more progress on the build. I have come to the conclusion that I should just start making the frame, building it up and ignoring where the engine goes until I get an engine and transmission. I should mount the steering in front of the axle and the radiator with the minimum clearance to avoid interfering with the axle’s travels so as to allow almost any engine to fit, even V-10 truck engines. Now the current situation is I’m going to use a junkyard 5.3l LS architecture engine, but I have entered drawings for Ford and FCA V-10 truck crate engines and gen 3, 4, and 5 GM small block, as well as Gen1 SBC and small block Fords of various displacements including 347 and 427 Cu. in. displacements (there were a lot of contests announced in November that were giving away performance engine builds after the first of the year). So I’m letting my Boy Scout handle this by being prepared to win any of them, or nothing. Seriously the 5.3l Gen 5 small block in stock form is just about perfect for the Sprint-T. I would have killed to have an engine like this in a T-Bucket back when I first got my license back in 1976. I’m trying to find the Richard Holdener video where he compares the various 327/5.3l small blocks, but I’m coming up empty so far. Hang on, I found it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNhZXFEjkII&ab_channel=RichardHoldener
As you can see, the later engine without mods makes more power than the 60s engine with all the good stuff from the factory, and the later engine is a truck engine. It would run like that all day on pump gas and never even stutter. That would be the perfect NA engine for the Sprint-T, so if you know a truck that has one maybe find a way to send out here to the Suburbs of Hell so I can stuff it in my bucket?😇
Witch on a Bicycle 