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Phalen409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 6
I think by now, most if not all the Forum members are becoming tried of my venture into the world of 409's. But the friendships developed within this group is priceless. .....As much as we rag on Phil Reed, he has made a frivolous endeavor on my part,.. a reality...... Had he not provided me the opportunity to acquire the Z-11 engine that took him years to assemble, I could have never considered building the Shaker tribute.

The gentlemen on this forum that have restored and built these x-frames know the task of assembling the parts for final assembly can be a difficult process. Sometimes we put the cart way before the horse, but at least we get another thing off the list.

This is the case with my heater delete firewall plate. I painted it and sent it to Phil to sign as a thank you and acknowledgement to his help in getting this whole damn thing going..... It was to be my "Don Fezell / Bill Jenkins" signed air cleaner..... He kept the cover for months before FINALLY shipping it back to me. When I received it and opened the box, I was happy and surprised to have Carl McQuillin's signature there as well!!!

However, I called Phil up to chew his butt out for putting the cover back in the plastic before the ink dried and smearing Carl's and his signatures.... I left the plate in the box for weeks before pulling it out, only because I needed the box...... It was only LAST NITE that I saw the other side for the first time!

There are many folks here that have made this project happen, with advice, parts and encouragement and a lot of kicking me in the ass to get it done. Phil would first in that line. There will be many others to thank before this project is finally done. Pat Lobb told me to do it the way I wanted to.....it's my car............Russ Campbell's wisdom was that sometimes it just has to be "good enough"...... Brian L. (BSL409).....asking why is this taking so long?... Carl McQuillen's insistence to NOT use the original crank rods and pistons.....on and on.

BUT back to the plate.............last nite I looked on the backside of the plate... I was somewhat embarrassed and certainly humbled by the others that signed the plate....I want to thank you all and apologize for not thanking you sooner!!!......And thank you again Phil.....you always make the story better!!!

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Phil Reed

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 10
Thank you for the kind words Dennis!!! It's great for having you as a friend!!!
Can't wait until your project is completed and I can take a test drive!!!! Not too far....just about a quarter of a mile!!!!
The names on the back..we had 5 forum members for the break-in....Brian, Denny, Bo and Tom Gieb. The other signatures all belong to Carl's crew at the machine shop. I imagine they all had a hand in your build.
 
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