BigB

Glad you got the old girl running better, good to see you doing all the stuff to the car.

A minibike guy, huh!?!?! I have 5 minibikes right now but only one that's ridable, I just had it out last night for my cool down lap after mowing. You can't beat the harbor freight motors really for the price, I have one that I pulled off my minibike to put on my drift trike when I get it done. Head over to http://www.oldminibikes.com and ask over there, tell them hemigremmy sent you. They are a good group of folks over there and there is a More Than Two Wheels section for karts and old school trikes and stuff.

For the most part, John Layman owns the building and there are still a few companies in there doing stuff. I used to work for Airolite before they were bought out by Greenheck and moved to Wisconsin, Airolite was in that building for about 2 years. The shop floor out there is HUGE and smooth as silk, Would be an awesome kart track or fun on a motorized drift trike. Last time I seen the shop floor there was hardly anything in there but that has been about 5 years ago and I know a lot of the other companies that were in that building have moved out and left.

I know a few guys that work out at the old Kardex building in Reno that I am hoping can talk to the owner and see if he would let me play in the huge unused parking lot that they have out there.

Here is the one that has the motorized Drift Trikes but to rich for my blood at $2000!!! http://www.sfdindustries.com/

You can buy a Huffy Slider at Wal-Mart for like $80-$90, then there is how to's on youtube that show you how to add sealed bearings and race Kart wheels on the back to add the 10" PVC. http://www.walmart.com/ip/20-Huffy-Boys-Slider/30824945 I need to find some 10" PVC, you can buy the precut pieces from the sites for $20 a set but I would like more than one set and at $20 that gets kinda pricey.

I have seen a few around our house here lately too. We have never seen them before so it makes me wonder why so many this year and where they are coming from. Biggest problem we have had was the food ants but they were all around the sink where there was never any food. I put some ant killer stuff out and sprayed the house with Home Defense and now we get a few here and there.

If it looks like that much fun just coasting down a hill it has to be even more fun with a motor....RIGHT?!?!?

There is actually a very big following of the down hill coaster drift trikes and now the motorized ones are starting to really gain interest. There are a few sites out there that sell the coaster versions and a the motorized versions. http://modernlinedrifttrikes.com/ http://www.flatoutdrifttrikes.com/

Anybody here into them? I am gathering parts to build a motorized one and just seeing if anybody else is into these things. They look like they would be a blast!

You can but remote controlled wall plug in adapters around Christmas time that you just plug into your current outlet and plug what ever devices you want into them and they have a small remote to turn them off and on with. I think they are fairly cheap, like $15-20 or maybe less than that. Just a thought to keep it cheap for the time being.

I have some build pictures of a smoker that tells you all about building your own and what plates to use and how to set it all up. It's not really plans or measurements just a lot of useful info on building your own using a compressor tank. If anybody is interested in building your own shoot me an e-mail to hemigremmy@yahoo.com and put smoker info in the subject and I will send them on to you.

I got chewed up there a couple years ago for bumping my car into neutral after I passed the 1/4 mile mark then coasting and using my brakes when I got closer to the turn around. I was coming through the traps at 99mph and close to 6,000rpm in second gear, so I just started bumping it into drive when I passed the 1/4 mile mark. Seems like you can't make everybody happy all the time. Sounds like everybody had a good time once the weather cleared up though.

I used to help out at Marietta Joint and Clutch and installed a zillion u-joints and balanced tons of drive shafts there. I will have to check with the owner of this one and see if they are all owned by the same people. I know that Zanesville Joint and Clutch is owned by the brother of the one I worked for. Both great people and businesses!

That's my plans, the body has some really nice lines on it and the rear fender area had the markings like the early 50' chevy cars like the DeLuxes that had the chrome pieces in front of the fender. There is even what looks like tail lights on the back of it as well. The grill and headlight rings will all look neat when done too. The wind shield area will be outlined as well following the body lines that are already there as well. I have 2 more different ones at the house as well, One is an all ORIGINAL Murray firetruck and the other is an AMF Generic that will be getting the Gasser treatment when I do it.

If this needs moved to a different section please let me know. So I have had this old '56 Garton Mark V pedal car for about 10 years now. I bought it from an auction and it was all tore apart and in a box missing some parts. I chopped suspension (if that's what you want to call it) down and started working on the body work but it got stashed away and that's how it set for 10 years. Well my wife said she wanted to use it for some picture with our son but I was kind of embarrassed because it has set in the storage building and rusted and looked like crap. So took it to work and sand blasted all the rust and bondo back out of it, had them run it thru the powder coater. I brought it all home and started working on the rims, I had bought new tires and a steering wheel for it 10 years ago once I found out what all it was missing so I had all the parts lined up for it. Here it is when I started this time around... http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396717654_zpsa6239fc2.jpg Here it is now.... http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396705883_zps4581dc19.jpg http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396705845_zps91f2d154.jpg I still have bodywork to redo and then ad some painted chrome and some scallops or color to it but he ABSOLUTELY loves it!!

Here is some "throwback" pics for you, I knew I had them and found them tonight. These are pics from the day I bought the car, 100% ORIGINAL!! http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396581758_zpsb77d45c5.jpg http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396581693_zps6dfa51f9.jpg http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396581713_zpsc0f4c1fa.jpg http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396581726_zps57cc4de4.jpg http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396581845_zpsdfa26cc9.jpg http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396581956_zps87f197f8.jpg My very first mod, got rid of that GIANT steering wheel, LOL! http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396581740_zpsdabaf108.jpg Then wheels and radial tires....even moved up to 14" tires. http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396581976_zps714032ce.jpg Then a few years later came the paint job, new grill and front bumper delete. http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396581991_zps502ee6ff.jpg http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/Mobile%20Uploads/th_1396582002_zps172aa36b.jpg

The brake line issue with the master cylinder now that I think about it was this. When I bought the car originally it had drum brakes all around, I swapped it over to discs that I got from a guy I did some trading with. I had read a lot online about doing the swap and and everybody said theirs worked just fine with the drum master cylinder so I left the original master cylinder on the car. When I installed the line lock I also installed a NEW master cylinder for disc brakes and when we unhooked the lines from the old we hooked them right back up to where they were connected on the old master cylinder not even thinking. That was a brand new Biondo line lock, i even went and bought new calipers and new rubber brake lines for the front trying to figure it all out as to why when you hit the brake and set the line lock and let off the brake they would lock solid even after you released the line lock. I never even thought the when I went to the new DISC master cylinder that the lines should have been swapped front to back. DOH! I even went and bought another line lock that I never even tried to install because I was so frustrated after all the work of trying to install it. That stall converter was a Jegs brand converter and i believe it was a 10" converter, maybe it was a 12" but the stall on it was supposed to be like 2400-2800 or something like that but it never seemed like it was a stall at once I put it in the car. I can ask my uncle if he still has the original 650 main body that I took out of that carb and let you know. The drop blocks in the rear end mad a HUGE difference in how the car launched because before I installed them it had the weight transfer of a cement block with wheels, that cars suspension was solid and had absolutely NO GIVE. I cut 3/4 of a coil out of the front coils because the only new V8 coils I could find were for an A/C car that had an extra 75-100 lbs on the front end, I wanted to pull it all back apart and cut another 1/2-3/4 coil off to lower the front end some more and give it some suspension travel. Any questions please let me know and I will answer them as best I can.

Thanks for all the welcomes. I know when I sold the Gremlin that it was far from being done but was a very good start. Looking back on a lot of it there is SO much I would have done different now, there were so many plans I had that I was going to do to the 75 when I transferred everything over to it. The SBC crossmember I bought off of a fellow gremlin enthusiast who already had it built...It was built HEAVY and could have been done a whole lot better. I had bought an engine plate that I was going to use in the 75 but sold the car before it ever happened. I wish more than anything I would have been able to make some full passes on the car with the 4.11's and the full aluminum spool just to see what the car was capable of. I had made SO many changes to the car before i took it to the track the last time and had shaved like 200 or 300 pounds from the car and a lot of it was rotating mass and weight off the front end. Wish I could have seen what the old girl would do. Glad HPfiend got it and is giving it the care and attention it needs. Wish things would have worked out with me so I could have finished the car and seen it through the end though.

Here was a video of the car after it was all done the first time, this motor was a lot stronger than the one I swapped into it but the new motor was all fresh. Wish I had known that before I swapped them. LOL! I bought this car off of the 3rd owner who was only selling it for his family because they had moved away. His uncle bought it off of the original owners after her husband had passed away, the car only had like 67,000 original miles on it when I bought it in 99. I owned the car for 12 years and have a lot of memories that go with it. Here is a pic from before the headers, aluminum radiator and the wheels. The car looked mean but man are those Mopar police wheels HEAVY!!! http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/IMG00038.jpg Some more build pics... http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/th_ZmFuIGluc3RhbGxlZC5qcGc.jpg Fuel cell I had made a work, I drew up all the plans for it, installed the fittings and the filler cap and put the fuel cell foam in it. http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/th_ZnVlbCBjZWxsIHdpdGggcmV0dXJuIGJ1bmc.jpg http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/th_SU1HMDAxNjAuanBn.jpg Here is pics of the old strut rods and brackets (The end of the OEM strut rod was cut off and welded to the new one for the steering stop), the old mounting bracket on the frame was HUGE and was not going to allow any kind of headers or exhaust to fit on the car. http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/th_IMG00035.jpg http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/th_IMG00034.jpg New installed on the car http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/th_IMG00033.jpg New frame brackets http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/th_IMG00032.jpg Just a few of the build pics I have.

Yeah, to me it is not April fools day but more of the AMC Gremlin birthday. Today was the first day the Gremlin was available for purchase to the public!

My name is Ben, I am from Marietta Ohio. Cars have been a part of my life ever since I was little, my dad has always been a car guy, from '64-'66 GTO's to the early 70's Nova's to mid 50's chevy trucks to big old derby cars, it's been in my blood. I am more into the odd ball cars, never really been interested in the cars that everybody else had. When I had the choice of my first car it was between a early 80's Capri (other kids had those and Mustangs) or a 1975 AMC Gremlin....I chose the cooler of the two... THE GREMLIN and that is where my addiction started! Through the years ('95-current) I have owned six Gremlins, one Hornet, a bunch of S10's, two hearses and a few other cars here and there. The car I built was a RARE 1970 AMC Gremlin with the one year only 199ci straight 6 in it and three on the tree. At first I looked into turboing the Gremlin and had everything lined up to do it but them I was told that I "COULDN'T" put a SBC in the Gremlin and that was the wrong thing to say to me. Nothing gets me more determined than to tell me I CAN'T do something, so it was on from there. I drove the car on it's last OEM powered voyage to a Road Devils car show up near Dublin Ohio and that night when I got home I ripped the motor and trans out of the car and started the transplant after MANY years of collecting parts. The motor was a 355 out of a truck my uncle had and I had a freshly rebuilt th350 with stall converter to go with it. The motor went in "ok" but the trans mount required some mods to the original cross member and it worked just fine. I had bought a nice set of headers for it but of course they hit the strut rod mounting brackets where they mounted to the frame so manifolds were required for the time being until I re thought how to work around them. I went with a Ford 8" rearend and bought a centersection off of e-bay. I got the car all running and was happy......for the time being. The car then blew the valve body in the trans so I bought a new Jegs trans and stall and all was well again....for the time being. Then I swapped motors, added headers, aluminum radiator, disc brakes,......the list went on and on....all new prothane bushings through the entire car....bought another Gremlin to start on and had plans of swapping everything to it. Everything was going awesome until I family problems came into play with the car and as much as I hated to I had to sell the car. I sold the car to a member here, hpfiend. We have stayed in touch and he keeps me updated on what's going on with the car and I try and answer questions he has as best I can. I wanted to join the site so I could follow his build progress with the car and to keep involved in the car world. My other hobbies include minibikes, some pedal cars and anything vintage. Since selling my car I have kind of stepped away from the car world and focused more on my family but with the addition of our son I hope to get back into the car scene and find another odd ball car to build with my kids when the timing is right. I current have a 93 S10 that is just a daily driver. I will be honest, I have no car or project or anything in the wind right now but I am ALWAYS looking for another Gremlin or waiting for hpfiend to swap cars and sell me my old 70 Gremlin roller back (Fingers crossed!) so I can build it just one more time with my kids involved. Here is a picture of the Gremlin when I finally had it completed right before I sold it. The best I even ran it was 13.25 ... I think....at 99MPH with a set of 2.79 open gears coming through the traps in 2nd gear wound tight. I had a 4.11 center section with a full aluminum spool but sold it before I ever got to put it in and make an all out pass with it. http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/AMCSBC/th_SU1HMDAyMjEuanBn.jpg If anybody wants to see more pictures of the car I can post plenty...LOL! Thanks for letting me join the site and hope to answer any questions I can and learn anything I can along the way!! Thanx, Ben Sorry for the long intro.