UGGGGHHHHHH!

WOW! It's been crazy around the "Suede and Chrome" headquarters the past month!!! I am sorry for not being able to post lately. The home computer crashed, and with it, several folders of pictures including most of what I took at Beatersville this year!!!

On the home-front, the Nifty50 has gotten a few upgrades! Fenton headers, and Offy intake, and 2 dual carbies for starters. Thanks to Dick York at Dick's Hot Rod Carbureators for building the SWEEEET set up. Also thanks to my buddy Erin Whiteneck from the TwistedRodz for helping me get everything installed.

Once the headers, intake, and carbies were installed, the car was put on a rollback and taken to Greenville, Ohio by Sham's towing in Union City. Thanks to Drew's Exhaust in Greenville for a SIK dual exhaust set up with glass packs and 3" chrome tips.

Finally, the car was driven to Sham's Garage in Union City, Ohio were Sham along with several others sync'd the carbs, installed new points, plugs, battery cables, etc. The only setback was that we found the compression to be low in cylinder 2, and REALLY low in cylinder 3. Looks like I'm gonna have to spend some time trouble shooting the lost compression. Since I've already exceeded the maximum amount I had planned to spend on the Nifty50 this year, I'm hoping it's not going to be any serious expense....but, it has got me thinking about a 235 or 261 swap down the road....The little 216 just isn't the "best" thing to have under the hood. lol

Other cool happenings around here include the start of my son's trike build.

My oldest son, Kolson, is 19 years old and has a rare genetic disorder called Williams Syndrome. There are several characteristics common to people with WS, including physical disabilities and some learning disabilities. He has never had the balance and/or coordination to learn to ride a bike, so in the back of my mind, I've always had an idea that I would like to build a slick custom adult trike for him.

Well, things have finally came together for the build to take place. 1st, one of my car club buddies found an adult trike that was going to be scrapped. He saved it from the trash pile and gave it to me to start the project. Next, thanks to meeting Randy Blackledge at our club's recent 2nd Annual Wheels for Williams event, I found someone with the skills and know-how to make this build happen. Randy's business "RJ Customs" in Flatrock, Indiana specializes in building custom bikes. A trike he recently built for his father, took home the "Best Non-motorized Vehicle" trophy at the 2011 Beatersville Show in Louisville, KY last month.

Randy and I have taken a lot of ideas from Kolson, as well as combined several ideas of our own to start planning a wicked ride. In this picture, you can see the chrome forks and springer front-end that will eventually be on the bike. Randy has promised to take pictures throughout the build, so I hope to post pics on this site as well as on Facebook so that everyone can follow the build. We are hoping that the trike will be finished in time for an "unveiling" at next year's 3rd Annual Wheels for Williams event on May 12, 2012.