Rolling Thunder
Well-known member
Thanks Bob. Have enjoyed every minute of it. You have brought a lot of info, humor and friendship to these forums and the Corvette hobby. Enjoy your trip!
Dave
Project "Rolling Thunder"
- Thread starter Rolling Thunder
- Start date
Thanks Bob. Have enjoyed every minute of it. You have brought a lot of info, humor and friendship to these forums and the Corvette hobby. Enjoy your trip!
Dave
mrvette
Phantom of the Opera
Dave, you have more dignity and grace under immense pressure, than most any man has....may you enjoy intelligent company man.....:beer:
Rolling Thunder
Well-known member
Thanks for your kindness and your prayers. Your offer is overwhelming, and says alot about the kind of people I have enjoyed being a part of for many years. You guys have contributed more than you know to my last years. I count it a privilege to be here. :beer:
Thanks again,
Dave
DC3
Well-known member
I really enjoyed following Dave's progress on this car. It's a shame he didn't get to finish it.
R.I.P. Dave and God Bless his family.
DC
R.I.P. Dave and God Bless his family.
DC
Hi all,
I am bringing this old threat to the top for those, that might be interested in what has happened to Rolling Thunder project. Since I have been posting in other forum for a long time, moderators permitting, I will insert a link to the update on Rolling Thunder. I have purchased this car from Dave's daughters several months ago and now I am happy to say, that the project is nearly complete! Have a look:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-...-on-dave-hoppers-rolling-thunder-project.html
Regards,
Linas
I am bringing this old threat to the top for those, that might be interested in what has happened to Rolling Thunder project. Since I have been posting in other forum for a long time, moderators permitting, I will insert a link to the update on Rolling Thunder. I have purchased this car from Dave's daughters several months ago and now I am happy to say, that the project is nearly complete! Have a look:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-...-on-dave-hoppers-rolling-thunder-project.html
Regards,
Linas
JeffP1167
Well-known member
Most of us are banned from CF, well I am at any rate. So sadly can't see that thread.
Ok, so here is a brief summary of my thread in the other forum, basically copy-paste, since I am not very much into writing long threads 
August 18, 2011
As some of you might know, Rolling Thunder, 1971 Corvette resto mod project has been for sale on the forum and I bought it.
I received some PMs and emails from forum members, asking for updates on this car, built by Dave Hopper (forum member Rolling Thunder). So I thought I will set up a thread to keep you posted.
This is the first set of pics, how the car is leaving the garage of its previous owners, Dave's daughters. It has been taken to Herzog Motor Sports, where engine DFI tuning will be completed along with some other things, which Dave did not had a chance to do before his death.
Then 502 DFI engine of Rolling Thunder will be fired for the first time!!!
Afterwards the car will be shipped to Europe, where I live. It will be a good company for my 1968 completely stock 427/400 convertible
August 18, 2011
As some of you might know, Rolling Thunder, 1971 Corvette resto mod project has been for sale on the forum and I bought it.
I received some PMs and emails from forum members, asking for updates on this car, built by Dave Hopper (forum member Rolling Thunder). So I thought I will set up a thread to keep you posted.
This is the first set of pics, how the car is leaving the garage of its previous owners, Dave's daughters. It has been taken to Herzog Motor Sports, where engine DFI tuning will be completed along with some other things, which Dave did not had a chance to do before his death.
Then 502 DFI engine of Rolling Thunder will be fired for the first time!!!
Afterwards the car will be shipped to Europe, where I live. It will be a good company for my 1968 completely stock 427/400 convertible
November 17, 2011
So it's been few months since the last update, when Dave's Rolling Thunder left the garage of his daughter's house and headed to a shop of Doug Herzog to be completed.
Those were few months of ups and downs (and a constant cash flow :willy, as the project turned out into a can of worms, as there were so many loose ends left. Dave just did not have time to take care of this million of small details... Now I can fully understand, how much he wanted to see it running and how much he was upset by huge number of things that had to be done in the time he had left to make this Vette running.
So there are just a few shots, which were taken during the process. A lot has been accomplished: DFI tuning, belt drive & pulley placement issues, fuel lines, brake lines, electrical wiring nightmare, dash not working, leaking gaskets, fabricating many small details like accelerator cable bracket, melting fiberglass due to close proximity to exhaust, rubbing tires to rear flared fenders, leaking differential, issues with fuel pump, etc.
And ... finally .... it is on the dyno!!
Well, I bet, Dave is watching this from up above. Today's videos from the first ride and engine running :thumbs:
So the end of the works is close, but we are still not there yet. Electric windows not working, wipers not working, exterior lights are still funky, etc. But at least there is a light in the end of the tunnel
So it's been few months since the last update, when Dave's Rolling Thunder left the garage of his daughter's house and headed to a shop of Doug Herzog to be completed.
Those were few months of ups and downs (and a constant cash flow :willy
, as the project turned out into a can of worms, as there were so many loose ends left. Dave just did not have time to take care of this million of small details... Now I can fully understand, how much he wanted to see it running and how much he was upset by huge number of things that had to be done in the time he had left to make this Vette running.So there are just a few shots, which were taken during the process. A lot has been accomplished: DFI tuning, belt drive & pulley placement issues, fuel lines, brake lines, electrical wiring nightmare, dash not working, leaking gaskets, fabricating many small details like accelerator cable bracket, melting fiberglass due to close proximity to exhaust, rubbing tires to rear flared fenders, leaking differential, issues with fuel pump, etc.
And ... finally .... it is on the dyno!!
Well, I bet, Dave is watching this from up above. Today's videos from the first ride and engine running :thumbs:
So the end of the works is close, but we are still not there yet. Electric windows not working, wipers not working, exterior lights are still funky, etc. But at least there is a light in the end of the tunnel
mrvette
Phantom of the Opera
Welcome to the motley crew, Linas.....
with a car like that, you simply most post here too, need keep us hotrodders entertained, you know.....:drink:
with a car like that, you simply most post here too, need keep us hotrodders entertained, you know.....:drink:
Last update with the car still in US. Few hours before going into shipping container in Chicago and being loaded to a ship! :thumbs: As you can see, I made the decision to remove the front bumper, now the shape looks cleaner (for me at least, a matter of personal taste). Sorry for crappy pictures...
Kid Vette
Master-Baiter
Looks to me like the front bumper is still there. :skeptic:
00fxd
Well-known member
Too bad, you'll miss that. Not only does the spoiler look good, it definitely works to keep the air from under the car and the front end planted at speeds over 45 mph. I had one identical to that on my '74 years ago. After loosing it in an "incident" I could feel when it was gone and I could feel when I put it back on .... Pretty well all production cars and trucks have some sort of front air dam on them now days for a reason.
Yep, that is a good point about having no spoiler at all. We left the small part of the spoiler, of the same size as factory spoiler. it is not visible in the pictures.
Truth is, that achieving previous stance of the car, as seen in the pictures of Dave Hopper, was not possible, since the rear tires were rubbing the arches badly while driving. Dave did not have a chance to test that, since the car was not started or driven back then. So after adjusting the rear height, the front was sitting way too low to look proportional, especially seeing the car from the side and looking at the front wheel arch.
Another thing was that the side pipe covers were temporarily removed from the car. They look good for sure, but after getting the engine to running temperatures, they started to melt. The gap between pipes ad covers was very small. When I will get the car to Europe, I will think of solutions for this issue. Coating the pipes and increasing the gap between them and the cover, are the first solutions, that come to my head. Anyhow, increasing the gap would require further fabrication of the covers, since they are already modified heavily. Do not want to mess with header wrap tape.
Speaking about the spoiler again, in my view, that is more of a matter of personal taste
I have had 5 C3s over the years, none of them had aftermarket front spoiler and all of them were driven at speeds way above 45 mph. I just like the clean look of Corvette front :thumbs:
mrvette
Phantom of the Opera
That car looks beautiful, best looking wheels ever made too....
nice ride....
:loveletter:
nice ride....
:loveletter: