Rob & Stu's 69 Sport Satellite
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Rob & Stu's 69 Sport Satellite
Just dragged myself into the 20th century and got me scanner up & running so thought it about time to post some old pics of our Satellite.
Plenty more to come over the coming evenings, I'll try not to bore ya too much
Saw the car in an ad in the Auto Trader, advertised at £1700. Went to see it on the Thursday (I think), agreed to buy it for £1500, collected it on the Friday, drove back from near Guildford in the Fri evening rush hour back oop north to North London.
Next day off to Garys Picnic at Santa Pod (pre North Weald days) for the weekend.
Following are some pics from that 1st weekend with the car...
Plenty more to come over the coming evenings, I'll try not to bore ya too much
Saw the car in an ad in the Auto Trader, advertised at £1700. Went to see it on the Thursday (I think), agreed to buy it for £1500, collected it on the Friday, drove back from near Guildford in the Fri evening rush hour back oop north to North London.
Next day off to Garys Picnic at Santa Pod (pre North Weald days) for the weekend.
Following are some pics from that 1st weekend with the car...
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- cant remember what times we got out of the 318, but soon got tempted by the lure of a big bloke....
- Garys Picnic 1985-4.jpg (57.02 KiB) Viewed 28206 times
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- Garys Picnic 1985-3.jpg (72.96 KiB) Viewed 28206 times
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- how to do dual points on a small block in a B body...
- Garys Picnic 1985-1.jpg (65.97 KiB) Viewed 28206 times
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- June 1985-2.jpg (85.2 KiB) Viewed 28206 times
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- June 1985-1.jpg (70.49 KiB) Viewed 28206 times
Last edited by RobTwin on Thu Apr 10, 08 8:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
At the time, our mate Paul Mander was having his 360 in his Aus CH Charger built up for racing in Sportsman class by Clive Bond of Ultimate Race Cars. His other customers were Dave Mingay (Hellraiser) and Graham Barrs (Neon Star), so were keen to 'let' him build up a big block for us.
After a couple of months scouring the Expand & Fart and keeping ears to the grapevine (pre internet, unfortunately), we had a good block & heads to take down to Cirencester for Clive to make a start on.
Cant remember exactly how long it took but a few months later the Satellite had the engine it was made for (ie big not small).
After a couple of months scouring the Expand & Fart and keeping ears to the grapevine (pre internet, unfortunately), we had a good block & heads to take down to Cirencester for Clive to make a start on.
Cant remember exactly how long it took but a few months later the Satellite had the engine it was made for (ie big not small).
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- engine bay sporting a fresh coat of Woolworths Cover Plus matt black - Clives recommendation for taking heat out of the engine (rather than reflecting it back). Easy to apply but not very concourse!
- feb 1987 big block in.jpg (80.04 KiB) Viewed 28205 times
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- jan 1987 sorry bout the colour-2.jpg (66.06 KiB) Viewed 28205 times
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- in Clive's operating theatre, sorry, engine building room. Got told off for wearing muddy shoes in there. And it was mud from his yard!
- jan 1987 sorry bout the colour.jpg (70.79 KiB) Viewed 28205 times
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- 318/904 on its way out
- late 1986 small block out.jpg (88.36 KiB) Viewed 28205 times
Yeah, 20th anniversary this summer! Tho not as long as some one here, eh Allkiller? 27 and counting...
As 318's go, it was a good un, had been worked on, but was always fighting a losing battle in a stock B bod.
Despite a problem with no 5 cyl's spark plug boot being constantly burned thru cos of the bad design of the cheapo Blackjack headers, the 440 (446 with 0.30" rebore!) was just what the doctor ordered.
Car should really have run 12's with a bit of traction but best we managed was 13.6 at 105 on the BFG's. Trap speed certainly suggested there were quicker times to be had. And that was still with the 3.23's, as far as i recall.
So we ordered up a pair of slicks from Summit and changed the rear for 3.91's. Then the slicks arrived the wrong size; too tall if memory serves. Yeah, I know, shouldve got them from a UK supplier then we wouldve changed them without any hesitation. Didnt fancy the hassle of sending them back to the US so stuck it out, and gave em a go.
Cant remember how may runs we got in, but before you could say 'one extreme to the other' the extra traction off the line caused the drivers side engine mount to tear off, and the pass side header clouted the inner wing, at least an inch away under normal circumstances.
And, because of the too-tall slicks, dont think we ever did beat the 13.6.
Got any the more recent pics? What do you think....
As 318's go, it was a good un, had been worked on, but was always fighting a losing battle in a stock B bod.
Despite a problem with no 5 cyl's spark plug boot being constantly burned thru cos of the bad design of the cheapo Blackjack headers, the 440 (446 with 0.30" rebore!) was just what the doctor ordered.
Car should really have run 12's with a bit of traction but best we managed was 13.6 at 105 on the BFG's. Trap speed certainly suggested there were quicker times to be had. And that was still with the 3.23's, as far as i recall.
So we ordered up a pair of slicks from Summit and changed the rear for 3.91's. Then the slicks arrived the wrong size; too tall if memory serves. Yeah, I know, shouldve got them from a UK supplier then we wouldve changed them without any hesitation. Didnt fancy the hassle of sending them back to the US so stuck it out, and gave em a go.
Cant remember how may runs we got in, but before you could say 'one extreme to the other' the extra traction off the line caused the drivers side engine mount to tear off, and the pass side header clouted the inner wing, at least an inch away under normal circumstances.
And, because of the too-tall slicks, dont think we ever did beat the 13.6.
Got any the more recent pics? What do you think....
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- one more with our new centrelines on before we get more up to date
- Sat-2a.jpg (76.77 KiB) Viewed 28179 times
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- come to think of it, those slicks do look rather tall
- 29-5-89 Doorslammer Nats with slicks.jpg (75.35 KiB) Viewed 28179 times
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- Like most, at some time in their life, the car had to sit out on the road or at best in the front garden, until we found a garage to rent that was big enough. And when we did it was about 8 miles away!
- winter 85.jpg (79.96 KiB) Viewed 28179 times
'Lucky' I'm in between jobs at the mo, otherwise this could take forever.
Around 1990 we were going to a gym in Hendon that was also being used by Mark Wilsmore, who, as some of you will know, has since then gone on to re-open and run the Ace Cafe.
Turned out that Mark was into his American cars (& various bikes), and had just bought a Chevelle from a guy in Suffolk. Mark had had some bodywork done to the car and was so pleased with the results, when we said we wanted to do a fairly major job on our car, he recommended the guy to us.
So off to Wickham St Paul, nr Halstead, Suffolk, we went, and left the car in the capable hands of Steve Daines, along with some new rear 1/4's, a spare door we got with the car, and a replacement front pass side wing that Olly 'Sure route to Destruction' Eckaslike (sorry cant remember his surname) sold us.
Before we took the car I took some pics to remind us of the worse (visible) bits. I say visible, as there was worse to come once the car was stripped!
Around 1990 we were going to a gym in Hendon that was also being used by Mark Wilsmore, who, as some of you will know, has since then gone on to re-open and run the Ace Cafe.
Turned out that Mark was into his American cars (& various bikes), and had just bought a Chevelle from a guy in Suffolk. Mark had had some bodywork done to the car and was so pleased with the results, when we said we wanted to do a fairly major job on our car, he recommended the guy to us.
So off to Wickham St Paul, nr Halstead, Suffolk, we went, and left the car in the capable hands of Steve Daines, along with some new rear 1/4's, a spare door we got with the car, and a replacement front pass side wing that Olly 'Sure route to Destruction' Eckaslike (sorry cant remember his surname) sold us.
Before we took the car I took some pics to remind us of the worse (visible) bits. I say visible, as there was worse to come once the car was stripped!
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- and the usual scabby area around the base of the vinyl/rear screen
- late 1990 rot box-5.jpg (49.49 KiB) Viewed 28176 times
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- top of same wing.... no patch panels available here! Steve had to make his own
- late 1990 rot box-4.jpg (72.63 KiB) Viewed 28176 times
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- bottom of front wing - got patch panels from Sherman to cure this
- late 1990 rot box-3.jpg (37.49 KiB) Viewed 28176 times
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- rear 1/4 was an mot failure cos of jagged edge developing around arch
- late 1990 rot box-2.jpg (61.61 KiB) Viewed 28176 times
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- ok from 20ft, apart from the colour and the badly painted on Dodge stripe
- late 1990 rot box-1.jpg (80.22 KiB) Viewed 28176 times
- Cannonball
- Posts: 17242
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tell you what that guy in the blue jacket and the glasses is a ringer for a fella that used to race with our crowd groucho, we called him unfortunately he lost the plot and got more on the bottle
www.dwatts80.fsnet.co.uk
WATTS RACING TRANSMISSIONS, CLOBBER THE COMPETITION ITS CLOBBERIN TIME
OFTEN OUTNUMBERED NEVER OUTGUNNED,
HEY WHATS THE TOP END ON THAT SUPERSPORTS. UNLIMITED,
I HAVE A NVQW
LIFE GOES PRETTY FAST, IF YOU DONT LOOK ROUND A WHILE YOU MAY JUST MISS IT,
THE PASS IS THE JUICE,
LOVED BY FEW,
HATED BY MANY
RESPECTED BY ALL
WATTS RACING TRANSMISSIONS, CLOBBER THE COMPETITION ITS CLOBBERIN TIME
OFTEN OUTNUMBERED NEVER OUTGUNNED,
HEY WHATS THE TOP END ON THAT SUPERSPORTS. UNLIMITED,
I HAVE A NVQW
LIFE GOES PRETTY FAST, IF YOU DONT LOOK ROUND A WHILE YOU MAY JUST MISS IT,
THE PASS IS THE JUICE,
LOVED BY FEW,
HATED BY MANY
RESPECTED BY ALL
Thanks Sandy
The guy with his back to us in that pic, with the no-expense-spared team t-shirt, was the CH owner, Paul Mander.
T'was a lovely car, a/c, electric seats, etc when he got it. But gradually got dtripped of its creature comforts in favour of go faster goodies.
Paul eventually moved on to a Duster to replace the Chrysler (but never got finished - current project should see daylight early next year), and the poor thing got sent to the scrapheap.
Another pic of the CH, plenty more to follow when I start posting from old events...
The guy with his back to us in that pic, with the no-expense-spared team t-shirt, was the CH owner, Paul Mander.
T'was a lovely car, a/c, electric seats, etc when he got it. But gradually got dtripped of its creature comforts in favour of go faster goodies.
Paul eventually moved on to a Duster to replace the Chrysler (but never got finished - current project should see daylight early next year), and the poor thing got sent to the scrapheap.
Another pic of the CH, plenty more to follow when I start posting from old events...
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- Guzzlin Gooseberry.jpg (96.23 KiB) Viewed 28153 times
Youre right about 'lost the plot', Dunc, but nah, dont think it's 'groucho'. This guy's real name is Spencer ..... stop it! But he also got called Lewis cos of his resemblance to one of the characters in Revenge of the Nerds. I thought he more resembled Velma from Scooby Doo........Cannonball wrote:tell you what that guy in the blue jacket and the glasses is a ringer for a fella that used to race with our crowd groucho, we called him unfortunately he lost the plot and got more on the bottle
Velma/Lewis/Spencer emigrated to Australia to settle down with a Shiela he met a work, never to be seen again...
Back to the history lesson...
See notes in the picture description
See notes in the picture description
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- can you tell what it is yet?
- 13-1-91 plenty o bondo.jpg (56.67 KiB) Viewed 28132 times
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- Be grateful Alex, you got off lightly with yours!!
- 13-1-91 rear qtr removed-3.jpg (74.53 KiB) Viewed 28132 times
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- 13-1-91 rear qtr removed-3.jpg (74.53 KiB) Viewed 28132 times
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- Other side. No recent import, this one! Been in UK since '77, and spent time in Belgium before that I think.
- 13-1-91 rear qtr removed-2.jpg (78.1 KiB) Viewed 28132 times
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- Biggest job was to replace both rear quarters, new sheet metal from Sherman. Fitted pretty good as far as I recall. Note other horrors revealed when old 1/4 removed!
- 13-1-91 rear qtr removed-1.jpg (67.15 KiB) Viewed 28132 times
oops doubled up on one there.
As you can see from some of the pics, original colour was Spanish Gold Y4 i think. I'm sure Stu will correct me if I'm wrong. There were about 3 other colours still on the car including the Volkswagen green and a white.
As you can see from some of the pics, original colour was Spanish Gold Y4 i think. I'm sure Stu will correct me if I'm wrong. There were about 3 other colours still on the car including the Volkswagen green and a white.
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- and this is what was in there. A golden virginia tobacco tin lid, with a lump of filler attached.
- 17-3-91 front wing bondo and tobacco tin lid.jpg (43.48 KiB) Viewed 28125 times
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- this is the bottom of the drivers side front wing that we thought would need a patch panel. Now we can see why
- 17-3-91 inverted driver side front wing.jpg (73.73 KiB) Viewed 28125 times
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- another area needing attention
- 13-1-91 pass side door jamb.jpg (63.16 KiB) Viewed 28125 times
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- interesting markings under the vinyl. Well, interesting to someone, no doubt.
- 13-1-91 vinyl & qtr removed.jpg (58.97 KiB) Viewed 28125 times
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- must've had a large impact on the rear 1/4 - loads of filler above where the old 1/4 removed plus the inner wheel housing distorted
- 13-1-91 rear qtr removed-4.jpg (77.72 KiB) Viewed 28125 times