My 1977 Nitro 440 NEW update 1/11/09

[wigman25]

These are the first pictures I took when I got the sled in my shop. I purchased this sled brand new way back in 1977, sold it in 1987, and bought it back in 2001. Been working on it for a long time, finally getting it done, only a few things to finish up. These are the first pics, I will add more from the start right through the finish. Hope you like the sled!!







After I got the motor pulled out, she was not good, 50psi in the LH cylinder, 135 in the RH. Note the Wiseco 'L' ring pistons - they really added some H.P.! Wish they still made them. Note the electrical tape around the LH carb - I guess that was where the air was coming from that toasted the piston! Also note how clean the piston tops are - this was sure buringing hot enough. One thing to note: I have seen this type of damage several times when the old styl electrode plugs are used on the liquids - stick with the surface gaps, the engineers knew what they were doing when they designed the head/cylinder/piston components. Had the crank and bearings checked, everything was still perfect on the bottom end.

[RuppParts]

a WEEEEE bit lean!

[snikr]

Boy do those photos bring back memories. I had one of those 77's new. What a machine. Almost as good as the '76 Magnum I had.

Tom

[magnumforce]

Looking good Keith! nice to know you were able to get her back after all these years!

[wigman25]

Here are a few shots of getting the chassis prepped for paint/polishing. My son was a Godsend in helping with the sandblasting of the steel parts. You can see the underside of the tunnel with all the marks from the steel spike days in the past! It had a couple spots where the picks actually tore through the tunnel and scraped the gas tank!









Here is the chassis after most of the blasting was done - a couple of broken welds, no rust-through at all. All was fixed and we finished her up for primer and paint.

[MrPeabody]

Hey Wigman, glad you got your sled back! It's in good hands and I know you will do it up great!!

Tom

[Dave]

I love the updates ! keep them photos rollin. Its nice to see some one else put up some poetry in motion ! Nice seeing how much labor of love you are putting in to this. Thanx, Brother ! Dave.

[wigman25]

Here are a few shots as the chassis work progressed - priming and painting the steel that had been blasted. A glimmer of what it might look like all done!! Still a couple of 'battle scars' on the belly, but I'm going to ride this thing - no trailer queen here!

[wigman25]

OK, now we get into the polishing part - lots of work, rubbing, steel wool, sanding, etc. I wasn't looking for a mirror finish, just that nice, clean look that has a little shine to it. One thing - Mother's Aluminum Polish is awesome, works fantastic. First a few pics of what I started with, pretty corroded and rough surface:









Started on the top of the tunnel, worked my way down to the running boards.











Now we're gettin' there!

[wigman25]

Here's a nice contrast - a couple of before and after pics:

[ruppersons]

Wig,
Great work. I'm jealous of the all the room in your shop!
Can't wait to see it completed.
Ruppersons

[wigman25]

Starting some reassembly now, putting the new track and NOS suspension in:



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Here is the suspension - I bought all NOS parts and assembled it - parts took forever to find. I had an original set of rear idler wheels, but I liked the looks of the Magnum style wheels better so I decided to go with them:














More to Come ;D ;D ;D

[bankRUPPt]

Any more progress pix!?!?! Looks good so far

[by]

whay to go looking good-fan

[magnumforce]

AWESOME Wig! can't wait to see her rumble again!! ;D

[wigman25]

Just uploaded a few more pics - the first batch is when the suspension was completed and installed - had a few problems with the new track, it didn't want to stretch too well, had to tighten it up a little at a time over a couple of weeks to get it right.







NEXT MOVE - INSTALL THE NOS GLASS!!!! Yes, I will clean them up first.

[Dave]

Go Go Wigzilla ;D

[alaskaruppguy]

Coming along nice, great job!

[RuppParts]

Wig, looking good! Spring issue looks to be resolved?

[rascalhoudi]

my goodness... that is looking sweet!! I feel like an 'armchair restorer' as I get to watch this project develop. I don't really have to work hard, but I feel like having a celebratory beer every stage of the way ;D