The master disconnect arm and how the two shut-off cables connect to it is shown here. It took about an hour to put together and about $25.00 for the arm and $35.00 for the dash cable.	The master switch mounts into the dash on the right side and is a great safety item that the driver can control if electrical problems crop up.

This is what happens to a piston when a valve seat comes apart! Ouch!!

We have decided to get both dragsters on Mopar power. I found a used, albeit slightly damaged, 500” Mopar for sale from a racer in Northern Iowa. The price was right and replacement parts for the damaged pistons have been ordered. As you can see in the picture, when a valve seat comes apart it gets into everything. The block was O.K., oiling system, etc so all we needed was for Woody at R&J Performance in Hudson to work a little magic on the head repair and a set of pistons, rings and bearings.

Next up was checking out the 9” Ford rear-end. Disassembly was straightforward and everything looked great. We are leaving the 4.30:1 ring and pinion in place and all that was required was a readjustment of the backlash to .008”, when I took it apart and checked it, it was over .020! At least now I know what the “howling” noise in shutdown was. I was used to having to change shims to correct backlash on my Dana rear ends. The 9” Ford is much simpler and it took about 15 minutes.

We decided to get the ignition and wiring off the floor and onto a tray similar to the “Project 4-Link” wiring. We are just about done and about all that is left here is to add the harness from the MSD Programmable 7 to this area. One thing to note here is we use solder on every connection with shrink sleeve and be sure to fuse the power wire to your relays.

We are just finishing up the wiring and installation of the MSD #7530 Programmable Digital-7 ignition. The best advice I can give you on doing racecar wiring is this: Take your time, sketch out what you need wires for and buy top quality wire ends and solder everything you can and then use shrink sleeve. Will it take quite a while? YES! We have put about five hours in this so far and should be done in about three more hours.

Next month we should be starting on the engine pieces. Repair of the damaged heads, getting the valve train straightened out with some great Comp Cams parts and the beginning of the assembly process.

Hope you check in next month as we are going to cover as many things as we can in the next few months. Be sure to check out “Project 4-Link” and the upgrades and installation of a Jesel Rocker Arm system on the 572 Indy Mopar.

Now get off the couch or chair and get out to the garage and start getting ready for a great 2005 racing season.

Back 2 Basics  [10/28/04] We Were Busy Toward the End of the Season