So you want to be a Street Outlaw? Part 4

What a roller coaster week this was. From our store front getting shot up, to firing up Chief's car for the first time after a huge rebuild, to not being able to get a handle on the Murder Nova. Time is running out for us here at Midwest Streetcars to get our cars fixed and ready to film a new season.

We start this week like any roller coaster, with a steep uphill climb, knowing that we have to get the cars running to their potential so they can kick ass on the street again, and then a sharp downhill drop that made all of our stomachs sink. When pulled up to the shop Tuesday morning, we were shocked to see someone had unloaded eleven rounds from a semi-automatic weapon into our store fronts windows and doors overnight. Baffled as to who or why, the show must go on because there is still tons of work to do in the shop.

It’s week 4 of filming. Chief just got The Crow reassembled after an extensive rebuild last week, but has yet to fire it up to this point. Shawn has a couple shakedown passes under his belt in the Murder Nova, but has yet to cross the stripe under full power. We HAVE to have these cars ready to rock SOON. So, with everyone on high alert and on edge due to the shooting, get the cars ready, we will.

First up is The Murder Nova. If you remember, we made a couple passes at the local track a couple weeks ago after Shawn had the car rewired. We left the track with the car making decent progress but, never being satisfied and always believing the car can be faster, Shawn decided to make some minor changes in the tire department. So, Kentucky dismounted the old faithful Hoosiers from the Weld Delta-1’s, slapped on the new hides, and off to the track we went. I can’t say that it was a wasted trip because Shawn made it to the 60’ quicker than he ever has before, but unfortunately, was battling severe tire shake by the 100’ mark. The brain rattling shake was so severe on the second pass, that it actually ripped the wheel tub out of the car!

Knowing we have to keep pressing forward, we headed back to the shop to fix the tub and come up with a game plan to get this thing on the street and get it hauling ass. A few hours later, a couple dozen new pop rivets, and after slingin’ a couple 4-link bars, we set out to find a street to see if we can get this thing down through there…Unfortunately, as you’ll see in the video below, we still have a lot of work to do to get this thing in the condition it needs to be to run at the top of the 405 list.

Last week, Chief had The Crow all but ready to fire up. This week was to be the moment he’s been waiting two long months for. Even in the midst of everything going on this week and the severe lack of sleep that ensued, that moment finally happened. About 7:30 Thursday night, the little 482x breathed its first bit of life in 2 months. It’s still not 100% ready to go at this point, but it was good to see Chief breathe a sigh of relief when the little Pontiac was serenading him to the tune of a 1000rpm idle. At this point, The Crow still needs the suspension set back up, all fluids checked and topped off, tune tweaked, and a little dyno time, but Chief is one HUGE step closer to making some noise on the streets again…Stay tuned for that, NEXT WEEK!