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June 22, 2025, Update on Masterpeice

We hit a major milestone yesterday—welding is officially complete! All brackets are in place, and we've successfully made the doors removable. Now, the only major tasks remaining are wiring and addressing the transmission components we discussed earlier. I've also started removing decals in preparation for a potential future paint job. Some of them peel off without much effort, but others are proving to be pretty stubborn.

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June 20, 2025, Update on Masterpeice

Over the past three days, Lynn finish modifications of the passenger side header. He also made some brackets for our two fuel filters and an access door for the transmission cooler lines inside the car. He is almost finished with the sheet metal in the trunk. Reggie is moving right along with the PDM circuits. He completed the break line to the Line-Lock. He also installed the electric shift solenoid. I have been doing some painting around the floors and firewall. I also installed a "stop" behind the accelerator petal. We are getting there, slow but double-checking ourselves. We found a problem with the shift cable, but Lynn is making a custom shim to correct the problem. I am projecting a start-up around July 20, 2025.

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June 15, 2025, Update on Masterpeice

We, Reggie, Lynn and myself, are about to round the corner on the final steps to finishing the little things that I have been worrying about for the last few months. Reggie is doing great on the wiring and fuel system plumbing is almost done. Lynn is about to get the headers finished. Lynn will get some misc. sheet metal and brackets done to secure all the things that might shake. Lynn will also cover the big holes left in the trunk when we moved the fuel system to the front of the car. I worked on the throttle cable and acceleration system. I also do what sailors do best, keep the place clean and in order. I think I am in charge of Orders/Shipping and Returns! I had an excellent Father's Day. i spoke to al 5 of my children. (All are over 60). That really makes me feel ancient. After church, my wonderful wife cooked a great dinner and treated me like a King❗️(She always does 🤎🙏🏾🫶🏾)

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June 12, 2025, Update on Masterpeice

Moving PDM from test bench to car. During the past two weeks we have made a lot of progress in several areas. Reggie has concentrated on PDM wiring under the Dashboard and MSD installation, which go hand in hand. The PDM is a two-part device with all outside wiring terminating on one panel and a second touch screen panel (for driver) hard wired to the other panel which is out of sight. We are using a combination of existing wiring and new MSD wiring to complete our circuits, one by one. Having done the bench test, with our light, water pump, fan and fuel pump gives us much more confidence as we make various connections in the car. It looks bad and messy, but everything is labeled. We even got the tail lights and all the dash lights working! We worked on the carburetor linkage and got it adjusted for WOT. This coming week Lynn will modify the right side header and we will pull the engine and transmission, put the converter, flywheel, and input shaft in place, and complete the brake line to the line-lock before putting the engine right back in the same day (we hope). We are moving right along.

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May 25, 2025, Update on Masterpeice

Moving right along with several things at once, we did a trial fit of most of the equipment that will be on the front of the engine. Crank Trigger, Fuel Pump and Water Pump. The Carburetor and Distributor with all the wires were put in place. All of this was to make sure we had adequate clearance to put our hoses on and for maintenance. We did have a belt alignment problem, and one hose interference, but we think both issues can be solved without much headache. We accomplished more today than we have in weeks!

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May 22, 2025, Update on Masterpeice

A few persons have asked how the car is coming along. The best way to describe it, a "snails pace". If you know anything about me and Reggie, it's slow but sure! We make list, check twice, install and test (sometimes twice). All kidding aside, we are getting things done, just not very fast. A eighty-six year old and a sixty-plus year old tend to move at a slightly slowly pace. The photos look worse than it really is.

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May 21, 2025, New Member of our Racing Team, Mr. Reggie Jackson

We have a new member of our racing team, Mr, "Reggie" Jackson", long time friend and working colleagues. I can remember Reggie helping me take a 350 tranny out of my SBC and installing a 4-speed in one night at my house back in the 90's. Reggie has always been a Mopar owner/Racer, building the engine for his 7 sec. Big Block Chrysler dragster and completing a total restoration of his own high school 440 Magnum Challenger. The car recently won recognition at several local car shows in the area. The car was in storage since 1958, until recently, about 7 years ago when he started the restoration.

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May 10, 2025, Proud Great Grandpa

Last night my Great Granddaughter, Olivia Underwood, earned her Associate Degree from Pensacola State College, Magna Cum Laude. "Liv" had the following relatives present during the ceremony. Her grandmother Christine, her mother Catherine, her father, Samuel and her brother Preston. The whole family is proud and happy for "Liv". She has been accepted into Florida A&M University (FAMU), in Tallahassee, Florida, which was her 1st choice of Universities. She ie expected to study Political Science and maybe become a lawyer, but she is still undecided. We all know, whatever she decides she will be great in it!

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May 7, 2025, Power Distribution Module (PDM) Bench Testing

This project started with me (Mr. Skip) watching Motor Trend Channel and seeing someone raving about how great this new innovation was and how it eliminates switches, relays and allows you to program when your components cycle on and off automatically. There are several companies that make PDM's. Seems drag racing is late to get on board. I think mainly due to ( in my opinion), a lot of the features are not needed for the short duration of a drag race, and most racers use Racing Fuel or pump gas. I am about to switch to alcohol for my fuel, and being able to precisely control my water temperature by cycling my water pump and fan (iI I choose to run one), would be great. There are other hidden perks too, but they are just bells and whistles. One thing it does, many racers do not run fuses, the PDM has built-in circuit breakers and relays that can be set by the owner that take the place of fuses. Today, 5/7/25, Reggie and myself set up a test bench in my shop to test my PDM. We used my old water pump, fan, fuel pump and a light. All were connected to the 16v battery. There are not a lot of instructions available on the internet for this unit. The only YouTube video available as of this date is from the manufacturer. The enclosed instructions are OK, but I would advise reading them more than once before diving in. Reggie is very knowledgeable and meticulous when it comes to following directions. So am I, but at my age, I trust him to read and catch the problems. We made a mistake today, which turned out to be a lesson learned, We did not connect the temperature sensor. When we attempted to run the fan, it did not start. We checked all connections, and then recalled the fan needs a temp. Signal above a certain point for the fan to start. We have already removed the old switch panel and MSD. We are ready to get started installing our two panels, new MSD and assorted wiring.

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May 1, 2025, Progress on Masterpiece

Well we have agreed not to paint the car at this time. Let's just call that an economy move. I cleaned up the trunk area and installed the new 16v Battery System. We must do some more sheet metal work back there to close off a few holes and make it look a little better. Reggie Jackson called and came over to start on the wiring today. Removed the old switch panel and labeled a lot of wires. Worked almost 3 hours but seemed like we did not accomplish much. Getting started was the hardest part. Reggie did all of the work, I just found things for him. Sort of like when Outlaw comes over to help me. He says,"Sit down". "Give me a 9/16", "I need a bucket"... Anyway, Reggie is not that bad, we did get an excellent start on installing the new MSD 7 AL-3 and identifying other wiring. I really appreciate all of my team. They know my shortcomings and limitations and work with me to get things done. The swapped out parts for the fuel system came back today. Now we can .mount the fuel pump on the lower drivers side and be out of the way of the water pump.

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April 24, 2025, Pope Francis

I am not Catholic but there are several life changing occasions that have happened during my life that have happened to me to make have a lot of love and respect for the Catholic Church. I was born into an African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) family and moved into the Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) Church at the age of nine and remained until I married my wife Barbara. In 2007 I joined the Baptist Church to go to church with my wife. My Catholic story starts many years ago, when my cousin Edward ("Don") would visit Daytona Beach, FL each Summer. This was in the late 40's and early 50's during segregation in the South. Don attended the only Catholic Church close to our home, a white church. He was welcome whenever he came to visit. This really impressed me at as a young teen. During my last tour of duty on the submarine USS SCULPIN (SSN-590), I was blessed to be able to take a tour of St. Peters Catholic Church and to be blessed by Pope John Paul II in St. Peters Square in 1979. When I married Barbara, although she is a lifelong Baptist, she burns candles from the Catholic Church all the time. When my family doctor thought I had prostate cancer, Barbara and I went to the Catholic Church, lit candles, and prayed. When my Ufologist looked at the PSA and other reports, he could not believe what he read. He checked me again and found nothing! Prayer Works! Pope Francis has been an excellent Pope. I have agreed with the majority of his views and policies. Most of them do not apply to me anyway, but the World would be better off. God Bless Pope Francis (The Peoples Pope)

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April 20, 2025, That First test Burn-out!

Oh so happy to have my car back home! Just to be able to go out back and look at it, rub on it or just think about that first test burn-out! "Outlaw", Kevin Gray, came over yesterday to take a look. He loves what he saw. He did his normal thing, crawl all over, under and around everything and then give me his opinion. Well, he could not find anything wrong! (Nothing that we did not already have on our list of things to work on.) I was very happy because Outlaw always speaks his mind.

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April 16, 2025, The car is finally home!

The car is finally home! After 7.5 months of work, it was worth it. The car turned out better than I expected and I got more done than I asked for. Lynn did an excellent job. My trusted help, Eddie & Reggie, did all the work of moving the cac while I shot photos. The car is really low, VERT LOW, it was a challenge getting it onto the trailer. I am so happy that the car is back home! All of us just sat and looked at it and started making plans for all the wiring and parts that will have to be installed before we can go testing. Jeremy stopped by after work to look and talk. He liked what he saw. Many hours of hard work lay ahead, but now I have a big smile on my face! My Baby Is Home!

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April 16, 2025, Radiator is in, almost done!

Using 2-day shipping, we have our new, smaller, radiator in our hands. It will be installed Monday!

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April 10, 2025, The car is getting close to moving from the Fab

Reggie Jackson and Myself were asked to come to the Fab. Shop earlier today to look at the placement of the fuel cell. After talking it over, we decided to modify the front area behind the grill and mount the cell there. This will make us have to get a smaller radiator. Lynn will try to pick one up locally Friday. All that is left is the wheelie bars and we will be almost ready for the paint shop. The car really looks good. Actually better than I expected!

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March 25, 2025, Final Stages of the Front-End Conversion

he car is in the final stages of the front end conversion. We only have a few minor items to finish, but like most projects, those last few things seem to be time consuming and I keep finding more things to do. Here are photos of the new headers. I really like them. Can't wait to hear the sound! We have the fuel tank, radiator and front clip to mount. I added sone wheelie bar work and that should be it. Hope the next report is at the finish line.

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March 13, 2025, Lots of progress in one day!

Lots of progress in one day! Four tires on the floor and the front clip is hinging in place. Henry Turner stopped by and gave his stamp of approval👌🏾, that means a lot to me!

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March 12, 2025, Moving Right Along

Lynn has completed the Funny Car Cage and steering wheel that Jeremy wanted, and he completed lowering the rear end that he (Lynn) insisted on doing to go along with the new lowered front end. The items remaining are the stainless steel fender-well exit headers and the lift-off/tilt front clip that I wanted. Then it will be off to the paint shop to be painted inside and out. I am still trying to figure out how to configure the front of the engine and do the wiring for all of our new systems. We are installing a Power Distribution Module (PDM) to manage everything. I plan to write a good series on installing the PDM, because I cannot fine very much on the Internet.

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February 18, 2025 - Update on Masterpiece Progress

Extended blog content...

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February 15, 2025 - Update on Masterpiece Progress

This week started off great! We trial fit the engine into the front frame of our car, and everything fit like a glove. I was so happy. No bending, grinding, stretching, or cutting. Just a perfect fit. Oh, by the way, it was the first time I had seen the car since Oct. 2024.

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February 7, 2025 - Progress Report

Getting ready to fit the engine and transmission in place for measurements.

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February 1, 2025 - Update on Masterpiece

The struts and rack are mocked up and Lynn came over and picked up the fuel tank and radiator so that he can get the front spacing correct. While he was at my shop, he looked at the new fuel system and some of the other goodies that will go in the new configuration. I still think about all that new wiring that I have to get done. The car must be painted. That will take a lot of time away from the shop. My family is praying for people affected by the fires, hurricanes and other natural disasters, and now the two airplane tragedies. We hope all of you that read these words would join us in prayer and support for those affected victims and families.

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January 21, 2025 - Update on Masterpiece Progress

Today was a record-setting snow day in South Louisiana. I woke up to just over 2" of snow on the ground, and it just got heavier throughout the day. We accumulated around 6" of snow, smashing the old late 1800's record of around 2" in Baton Rouge, LA. There has been movement on the fabrication of the front of the car. We are a long way from being anywhere close to complete. In addition to the fab. Work, I have to install the fuel system and re-wire the whole front of the car. After the fab. work wiring, tuning of the new fuel system, and testing, we may be ready for Mr. Willie's Zydeco race at the end of March.

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Dec. 26, 2024 Update On Masterpiece upgrade

We have not made much progress on the front of the car, but a lot of planning and changes of course have been made. I think for the better. Taking our time, ordering the correct parts, and spending wisely. I switched from EFI, after evaluating several models, to a carbureted AED alcohol system. This took a lot of time to decide also. The people at AED Performance were so easy to talk with and work with. The complete system they provided looks to be top-notch. My Transmission is back from TCI, certified and upgraded. The Torque Converter is back from COAN and is ready for another 7-8 years. Wow! That fuel line and AN fittings are expensive! We are trying to be ready for late February 2025 for testing and for Jeremy to get acclimated to the new changes.

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October 22, 2024 - Update on Masterpiece Progress

After our last trip to SCR on August 9, 2024, to let my daughter Cynthia see the car make a pass, we pulled the motor and transmission out and sent the transmission to be freshened-up at TCI and we sent the Torque Converter to COAN for a refresh. With all of the electronics removed and other toys, the body was sent to the FAB-SHOP for a major refresh of the car. The work is being done by Lynn Augustus. As time goes on I will give a few updates on the progress. The Transmission and Converter are both back. We have a new NHRA Cert on our Transmission case.

Blogs

June 22, 2025 - Update on Masterpiece

Juneteenth Update

June 15, 2025 - Update on Masterpiece

June 12, 2025 - Update on Masterpiece

May 25, 2025 - Update on Masterpiece

May 22, 2025 - Update on Masterpiece

May 21, 2025 - New Member of our Racing Team, Mr. Reggie Jackson

May 10, 2025 - Proud Great Grandpa

May 7, 2025 - Power Distribution Module (PDM) Bench Testing

May 1, 2025 - Progress on Masterpiece

April 24, 2025 - Pope Francis

April 20, 2025 - That First test Burn-out!

April 16, 2025 - The car is finally home!

April 13, 2025 - Radiator is in, almost done!

April 10, 2025 - The car is getting close to moving from the Fab

March 25, 2025 - Final Stages of the Front-End Conversion

March 13, 2025 - Lots of progress in one day!