BENNIGAN'S #1 - 2026

 The first cruise-in of the year for Bennigan's was on our anniversary so of course we went.  A little on the cool side but we enjoyed visiting with people.

The couple is restoring this 1970 IH Scout themselves. She came saying she saw us at Dairy Queen.

Cindy thought this looked like her old Firebird

GETTING MARY LOU READY FOR HER FIRST SHOW OF 2026

In anticipation of our first car show, I took Mary Lou out to fill check tires, fill with gas, navigate the trunk with our new wheelchair (for really big car shows) and finally a wash and chrome polish.

That, and I found a spot at the dog park on Johnston Dr to test out a new photo location.

FIRST EVENT OF THE SEASON - KARL'S SUMMER NIGHTS

 We had never been to Karl's Summer Nights (Karl's Kustoms).  They are on certain Wednesdays from 5 to 7.  It was too nice of a day not to go somewhere and with our show coming up, we wanted to reconnect with people we hadn't seen in a while.

We got there around 6 and managed to find a place to park but it's quite the experience driving in.  People were helpful to guide us the right direction.

Caught up with Cory, Adam and Todd.  Also, John Carter and Marv Whitlock.  And of course, Gary and Sandy (both sets!).

1954 Chevy

Stopped at DQ on the way home

HELLO MARY LOU!

 This blog is dedicated to our "new" 1955 Dodge Coronet Lancer.  We have been waiting 35 years for this moment.  A true car guy from Newton (Gordon "Gordy" Jones) owned this car.  Unfortunately he died from Covid and his son Justin made the decision to sell the car.  A big thanks to Randy Jones of Nothing But Customs for getting it ready.  We took possession on 8/5/22 and got the title on 8/12/22.

We are still learning the history of the car.  We know before Gordy owned it, Bob and Lonnie Clark of Mitchellville had the car. Bob is the one that built her the way we see her and Gordy added the Hemi.

"Mary Lou" is the name we gave the car...named for Cindy's aunt Mary Lou Cass.  She would have loved the car and we know she's smiling down on us now.

Posts will appear in chronological order...that's just how blogs are set up.  I can "label" (categorize) posts by a name or topic and that is how I see the blog being used.  See the menu (File Cabinet) on the right.  You can click on a category that way and see the related posts.  If you get to the bottom of a category, look to see if it says "Older Posts" and you can continue until there are no more posts in that category.  Then on to something else if you want and you can also click at the top of the page to go "home".

(Photo by Diane McKillip)

STUBBORN START - BIG ASSIST FROM CHRIS M.

Once I learned I could spoon some gas into the carburetor, I've been able to start Mary Lou when she sat for a while.  We drove the car March 8 after waking her up from the winter, but when I went to start her in April, she wouldn't fire.  I ended up pouring too much gas in and got a spark and a backfire so walked away for a few weeks.

I bought some starter's fluid.  I Googled many times trying to determine if this was a step to take.  Old hotrodders like Walt Johnson told me to use it.

Our neighbor Chris Masucci (AKA Smartest Guy I Know) is moving to Peoria and our neighborhood was having a garage sale, so I walked up to pick his brain.  He offered to come down and check it out even though he was starting his new job in 2 days.

He sprayed maybe 3 times (usually takes once) and we finally got it going.  He was looking at our setup and he feels our choke linkage is binding.

This was on a Saturday.  Sunday morning, Chris texted me at 7 in the morning.  He had been researching this 😀

So, what you’ve got here is a stromberg 97 model tri-carb setup on a dodge red ram hemi. Lots of info on the Red Ram Dodge hemis online, take a look if you haven’t. At least I was able to identify the carbs and apparently it was a pretty hot setup back in the day for hot rods using those engines. I’m trying to find an article on the choke sticking, and I did come across a conversion bracket or kits of some kind to do a cable actuated pull choke from speedway motors and summit racing. I’m going to keep looking for choke issues and solutions.

https://www.stromberg-97.com/cms/uploads/2018/11/stromberg_owners_manual_web.pdf

I also found that the Ford flathead guys use those same style carbs a LOT on their tri-carb setups. Almost exclusively. So if you can find someone that does flathead hot rodding, I’ll bet you they can fix that choke issue.

Something else I found online...

Hard Starting

Another common problem with the Stromberg carburetor is hard starting. This can be caused by a variety of issues, including:

• Low fuel pressure: If the fuel pressure is too low, it can cause the engine to be hard to start. Check the fuel pressure and replace the fuel pump if necessary.
• Choke not working properly: If the choke is not functioning properly, it can cause the engine to be hard to start. Check the choke to ensure that it is opening and closing properly.
• Clogged idle circuit: If the idle circuit in the carburetor is clogged, it can cause the engine to be hard to start. Remove the carburetor and clean the idle circuit.

1st DRIVE OF 2026

 After going to our Concrete Cruizers meeting and seeing Gary get his Chevy out, Cindy said we're getting Mary Lou out. She always needs a drink after a winter's slumber but a little more sluggish yesterday.  Once going, she sounded good and ran well.

NEW PHOTO IN GARAGE

 I've wanted to put up a picture of Mary Lou on the garage and was torn which one to use.  While I like the one by the Camp Dodge jet, I opted for one of significance - The Grand Re-Opening of the Val Air Ballroom in February 2024. It was very cool to be part of that event looking back.  The significance and history of the Val Air. Cindy spending her teen years there.  My dad going went it was open air.  My near obsession with it and finally getting to go inside.  And a 70-degree day in February to boot!