After a driving day at Death Week that was like a dream, the Hemi Durango has turned into a nightmare! We cruised the PCH, visited Isky Cams and saw a whole lot of cool sights only for it to turn to disaster after a burnout leaving a checkpoint. I think we have a cracked block. Honestly, it would probably have done it on the first burnout at Bakersfield anyway, but it still sucks we are so far from the starting point. Now I have to try and get it to Vegas to fix the motor and hopefully make the final day of the event, as well as getting to SEMA.
Spend $50 on merchandise at and get a free Death Week shirt! Merch available at https://www.sickmachining.com.
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We will be at FAMOSO DRAG STRIP on October 25 with racing from 5pm to 9pm. Finally back to PHOENIX on October 29 for racing from 10am to 2pm.
More event information is at https://www.sickthemagazine.com/death-week
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@19:06 thru 20:19 is I believe the most words we have EVER heard Ayden say in one sitting, in ANY Tom Bailey video. Well done Ayden! 🙂
Broke block in the Derango? Lift the head,, work some JB Weld into the crack and put her back together,, you'll be awrite Tom,, trust us bud 🙂
Hey Tom!! Is that AIRPLANE motor actually a CORVAIR motor with a prop? Sure looks like it!!!!
You should have just went ahead and put a SMX in it
I would think you could have got an Engine in Bakersfield on Tuesday or by Wed morning? Good Luck
You just drove through my town Ventura,
That sucks Tom! Sure hoped that you guys would make it all the way to the end.
I feel for you , But its not a boat on the ocean …. its a current engine …… Hey Dodge pony up a HEMI ex California 🙂
Probably not best for a race cars to go up a 1000 foot incline at 8 miles. If you get the chance again in your civilian car head up to Cerro Gordo, south of death Valley. A 100 year old historic Union mine of silver! Brent underwood is the owner contact. Great guy AWESOME piece of history. Sick Death Week
Thank tom for motivation and tour.
They put those radial engines in tanks as well
Hemi doin Hemi things😂
So thats why I can't find an old cam grinder. They are all outback at Isky.
Block Seal , J.B. Weld ? an another Beer.🍺
You Rolled out of S.D. The day I found the schedule for the drive.
I Apologize for all of S.D for the TRACK LACK.
GREAT attitude by the way for having a giant piece of aluminum recycling still mounted in the Durdango. Oh that's my Nick name for mine.
Best to you Scott 🏁
Damn! Damn! Damn.
That's what you get for doing burnouts towards oncoming traffic sucker
Where's the screw attachment?
Holy chit! Ed is still alive? My gawd… I'm an the edge of 'old as dirt', that means… he IS dirt. LOL
I 1st met Ed Iskendarian in the early '80's. I'd bought a cast iron 392 Hemi straight out of an alcohol funny car for a '55 Chev funny car themed project car I was building.
The 3 loadies running the FC didn't know anything about the roller cam, other than the valve lash the previous owner of the car ran.
They'd bought the race car, trailer, truck & parts as a package; a low budget alcohol FC package… turns out, as I got to know these clowns a bit, it was real low, low budget.
That's what led them to needing cash more than their spare motor.
I wanted to know more about the cam, so I did what you did in 1983, I called Isky cams. The cam had Isky stamped right on the end; guess the clowns couldn't read.
Looked up the number, made the call & a gravelly voice picked it up, "Isky Cams," they growelled, "this is Ed, what can I do for ya?"
Told him I'd bought a motor w/ an Isky cam & the sellers didn't know squat about it.
"Ya got the number from the bearing journal?"
Yes, sir, I do it's… (I mean, this was Ed fricken Iskendarian, himself, a sir was the least I could do.)
Expecting him to ask me for a number so he could look it up & get back to me, I was prepared to give info, not receive.
So when he started off w/ cast iron 392 from a Desoto, (then branch off for 30 seconds on the particular difference a Desoto block made – could have been something other than Desoto – it has been 40 yrs. after all), I was ready & had to slow him for a minute while I got prepared to write.
Then he proceeded to go non-stop for a good 10-12 minutes data dumping everything there was to know about that cam.
At the end, he asked me how close I was to Eugene, (45 min), then have me a name & number, adding, "He know as much about keeping iron '92's running good & in one piece as anyone there is. Tell him I gave you his number; he'll school ya."
Highlight of my early car & racing life. It was different back then, noy as easy to meet people, connect w/ people or companies.
That was likely a $30.00 phone call, but worth every penny. It was hard enough to connect; driving 1200 miles to visit SoCal manufacturers was not feasible, flying was astronomical, add the cost of a mid day phone call & 'names'… stickers w/ names… names in magazines & on the rare occasion ABC's Wide World of Sports televised drag racing well, names became utterances to Gods of Drag Racing.
Ed fricken Iskendarian's still above ground. Best news I've hard this week.
A rare & generous man.
Just doing MOPAR stuff
How does Tom stay so calm?