Wednesday, December 30, 2015

1969 440 HP2 block $250.

'69 440 Mopar HP2 engine block with main caps. It is .060 over and has some surface rust on cylinder walls, stored in doors. Came out of a GTX and has the RS23L9 vin stamped on it. 507-732-4363

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

1968 Dodge Charger R/T

'68 Charger RT 

Thursday, October 22, 2015

1976 Yamaha XS 500

76 Yamaha XS 500 Twin, four stroke, good runner , clean title, 28k miles, new flat track bars . $1,200/obo 



xs650 xs500 xs 650 street tracker

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

1967 Dodge Charger in California

This car has always been family owned and garaged, my in-laws bought it new from Empire Motors in San Bernardino. It has been in my possession for around 15 years. Over that time, it has morphed from a big cruiser to a big and fast street/strip car. Now a new drag car is moving in and the Charger, regrettably, has to go.
The car has its original paint (TT-1 medium copper) and much of the original white with black carpet interior. The body is very good, with absolutely no rust anywhere. There are minor dings and a crink in the passenger door (see pics) that I have been reluctant to repair because the rest of the paint is so nice. All of the trim is nice and straight, and bumpers. Lights, etc. are in excellent condition.
On the inside, I installed a new carpet kit and had the front seats re-covered. It is a factory a/c car, but the under hood a/c components have been removed and saved. It currently has a B & M shifter sitting on a flat console cover plate as shown in the pics, but I have all of the original console parts that are in very nice condition, including the console mount clock. I rebuilt the dash several years ago, and all gauges and the electroluminescent lighting works great -- very cool dash lights! The radio works fine as does the heater, but I do not have the correct heater control valve. They were not available for some time, but I understand that they are now.
This car is an original 383 4 bbl, dual exhaust car with a 2.73 gear. Some years back I removed the motor and trans which were worn out, and built and installed an upgraded driveline. It now has a very drivable 451 inch motor, with a built 727 and heavy case 8.75 rear with a 3.91 posi. I have the original motor and trans, along with all of the a/c parts.
I built the the motor, which is a 400 block with a Muscle Motors rotating assembly, with Edelbrock heads, Torker intake, and 750 BG Speed Demon carb. It has a wonderful Engle hydraulic cam, with Isky rockers and springs. I freshened the heads two years ago. As noted, a/c is removed as well as power steering. There is an upgraded stock style radiator with a flex fan which works very well, even on hottest days. The ignition is a MSD distributor and MSD 6AL box. The car has a TTI headers and a full TTI 3" exhaust with H pipe and new Dynomax muffs. It sounds great and runs really well, with virtually no maintenance other than regular oil and fluids services. 
The trans is a 727 that has been built with a heavy duty clutch pack, bolt-in sprag, reverse manual valve body and has a Coan 2500 stall converter -- very streetable, and works great at the track. The motor and trans have approximately 15k miles on them.
There are really only a few things that I would do:
The electric headlights do not operate -- one motor is bad. I will include two rebuildable motors. I also installed new modern relays for headlights, just need motors that work. I drive the car and rotate the buckets manually -- works fine. Probably why I've never fixed them. All other lights work and are in good condition. 
The front end needs a rebuild -- I have not because I was debating about staying with stock drums or going to disc. I have later B body disc parts that I will include. 
Replace heater valve -- I have one mounted under the hood, not terribly convenient. 
I have many extra parts and bits I've accumulated over the years that I will include. Off of the top of my head, this includes:
Spare back window glass
Rear deck lid
Headlight buckets
Extra console parts, mirrors, vent wing window, door handles, switches, etc.

Robert 925-980-4751

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Introducing the WORLD'S most Technologically Advanced , Light Weight, and BLACKEST Van Stem !!!! $59.99

One new Al's Rapid Transit MYSTERY MACHINED Dodge A-100 Panel Van style BMX Stem. CNC machined out of 6061 billet aluminum , 53mm reach , for use with 1 1/8" fork, 7/8" handlebar, 18.8oz. Comes in Anodized BLACK. Customize your VAN: You can paint it like the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine. You can anodize it Green or Brown or Polish it until it looks like a mirror on the ceiling of a miniature stabbin cabin. Use it as a paper weight at work and reminisce about the smell of spilled bong water on the carpet of that old high school ride. We machined out the inside to save weight and you can have have a secret Van $tash $pot . The possibilities are endless You can even put it on your Bike ! Made in USA.
Celebrity Endorsement; B.A. Baracus: "I pity the FOOL who does not have the new Al Rapid Transit Van Stem!" 

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

New Al's Rapid Transit 6061 Aluminum Anodized Flat Black 111 Cruiser Bars $69.99

NEW Modern Geometry!  1' Upsweep and 11' Backsweep' ! STAMPED Made in USA. One New Al's Rapid Transit .120" wall 6061 T6 Aluminum CNC bent Anodized FLAT BLACK cruiser Handle Bar with knurl. These are patterned after the original Mongoose Kos Kruiser bars, but are made out of stronger , lighter material and are 1" wider ,so you can run new school grips. Aprox. 29" wide with 6" rise, 4.5" tall 5/8"cross bar, 7/8" diameter. 100% Made in the U.S.A. professionally tig-welded. Perfect for that SE OM Flyer, Big Ripper , Cook Bros. Hutch, GT, JMC ,DG, Fireman's Texas Cruzer, etc. Weight: 18.7 OZ.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

R.I.P. K.B.

                                                                      R.I.P.  K.B.

I am so very grateful that the pound was closed on the day that I tried to return you. You were not a good dog and I was not a good owner. But you were a great friend , member of the family and will be forever missed.

KB peed on my TV . At the top of the stairs when he had to go really bad one night. I was watching TV as some sort of liquid began to rain down into the vent on top of the TV set. The screen went black and it would never work again. A terrible uriney / electrical burning smell lingered for days. I was working on old cars for Mr. Bill at the time that I got KB. I begged, pleaded, and we negotiated for several days as Bill was also my landlord at the time. He had 2 dogs of his own which I was able to use as leverage for my case. I had never had a dog before, but always wanted one. So in March of 2000 I went down to the Berkeley Humane Society and picked up 3 month old "Buster" who I was told was a Pitbull mix.

Soon his name was changed to "KB" short for Keith Black. I was just starting to build engines at the time and liked the name so it stuck for the new black dog. Although he has been known by a series of other aliases over the years such as: Benson, K-Bu , Bee-bu, the Devil, Black Dog, Craze-B, Stinky, Mopar, Grumbles and many others. We lived in a cool old warehouse that had an apartment built inside of it near the Oakland / Alameda estuary. This was before techie and yuppie aliens had migrated into the neighborhood. People still dumped their garbage and stolen cars on our street.

It was a nice sunny bay area day ,so KB and I walked down to the estuary after work. There we found our friend Vinny playing with his 2 bigger older dogs Peppi and Fifi. Vinny was throwing a large rubber dildo for his dogs that someone had left at the end of the dead end street. He was just bare handing it and throwing it like any other dog toy. KB wanted to play too but I would not let him and I was the buzzkill he looked at with contempt and we went home. Ironically the street we lived on was called Glascock Street.

KB ate the arms off of my couch diagonally , through the plywood frame while I was at work one day like a giant termite. He dug a hole through my bed. He dug a hole through the floor pan of my 1968 Plymouth Sport Suburban station wagon. The Humane Society neglected to tell me that he was a wild animal who could not and would not be trained nor tamed. I took him to a lesbian dog training class in San Leandro where he would perform toward the bottom of the class. On graduation day he walked around the course with me as he was instructed. We were feet from the finish line when he saw something interesting and bolted out the door. I paid my fees and I think the teachers felt sorry for us , so they gave me the graduation certificate anyways. KB would partially eat the certificate days later and somewhere around the shop I still have 1/2 of it.

KB would pull me around on my skateboard for fun after work, trying to burn off some of that pent up puppy energy. One day he was pulling me along at dusk when he spotted a cat. Suddenly we were doing about 23 mph . There were some cute girls standing near the corner, then there were some train tracks coming up fast which I cleared the first set of, but came up short over the second set. I performed a Superman onto the asphault in front of the young ladies. I had the wind knocked out of me and was bleeding, but still tried to get up and play it off . Luckily they were too shocked and stunned to say anything. Eventually KB was apprehended with his leash still in tow.

One day after work I came home to find KB standing on all 4's on top of the kitchen table. He was eating my entire chocolate birthday cake from the previous day. He was about 7/8 of the way through when I caught him. I yelled at him and approached him to throw him off the table when he showed me his teeth and growled. We had a minor fight and I stuck him in his kennel (a wooden shipping crate marked "Benson Shipping") in the warehouse. In an effort to get some of the bad , negative, pent up energy out of him, I decided to take him everywhere I possibly could for the rest of his life. So he was always with me everywhere all of the time when I was not working.

We went mountain bike riding in the Oakland Hills and he could run 20+mph for hours until he literally wore holes through the pads in his feet and I would have to carry him back to the truck. Eventually we found just the right duration of ride to make everyone happy . He loved to parallel me as he chased deer and other woodland creatures through the forest. He was never obedient on or off leash until his last day and this was always a challenge for both of us. We went to the drag races together and he was my pit crew as I tried to win some races and make some money. There he had his own set of friends and he would try to remove fingers from any stranger who got too close to the truck.

My Brother Bob, KB and I went mountain bike riding one day in the Oakland Hills . The ride turned into an epic journey and we found ourselves exhausted at midnight 15 miles from our truck without lights. KB turned around to back track toward the end ,but it was too dark for us to find the trail or him. We rode home on the streets listening to gunfire from Foothill Blvd. KB had gone missing , the next day we looked for him and put up flyers . We contacted pounds and searched for days to no avail. I had the feeling of deep loss for the first time in my adult life . Ten days later a woman called me from the pound to tell me that she had dropped him off there and had seen my flyer. She also let me know that KB had bitten her dog when he tried to take a treat from him. He is the only animal I know who could look bigger and stronger after being lost in the woods for over a week.

After a few years we would venture out and I would try to start my own business selling classic MoPar parts. The most affordable warehouse I could find was a 4500 sq. ft. 1890's tractor assembly plant on 92nd and San Leandro in Oakland. There were bullet holes in the siding and trash dumped out front, but it would do. It was next to the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train tracks so Al's Rapid Transit was born. There was an industrial machine shop on the other side of the wall that built heat exchangers for Navy battleships. They started work at 7AM every morning so that is when we woke up every morning for the next several years whether we liked it or not. We would walk down 92nd Ave. each morning hop scotching used heroin needles, garbage and broken bits of glass. One day we found ourselves surrounded by 3 stray dogs. There was no one who lived within a 1/2 mile radius during non-business hours. A mangy old St. Bernard started to bite KB as well as a pit bull. I grabbed the St. Bernard by it's neck and began to kick it as KB bit back and eventually it let go. I yelled and kicked at the pitbull and they eventually walked off. This was one of our many trips to the Vet.

People would dump stray bait puppies when they were done with them at the end of the street. We would take the battered animals to a no-kill shelter in San Leandro. That was until they found out that we were bringing them puppies from Oakland and we were banished. KB was the dog you wanted with you when you had to help your best friend pickup a '68 Camaro from recently released felons at night in Napa. Especially when they volunteer to help load the car by swinging donuts in the middle of Highway 101 and crashing it into a ditch after the car had already been paid for. We would go to the swap meets and sell classic car parts together . At Ohlone College in Fremont we were setup one day and a sketchy guy was kind of hop scotching around all of our parts and giving off a bad vibe. Eventually he stepped on KB's tail and KB latched onto his pant leg ,ripping off one of his pant legs. So the whole day there was a guy walking around missing one pant leg. KB was no longer welcome at that swap meet.

It seemed like a weekly occurance that KB would have to chase someone over the concertene barbed wire fence back to the train tracks where we lived. Or catch a crackhead and tree them on top of one of the classic cars parked outside the shop. One day KB was barking, I opened the door to find a guy inside of my truck. I let KB out to watch him... as he locked the doors and was yelling for mercy. I went inside to grab the bat, the phone and dial the cops. I came back out and put in the call, but the police tended not to respond to any calls in that area unless it was a homicide or you just dialed 911 and hung up. After a few minutes the guy decided to make a run for it , KB and I chased him down the driveway and into traffic on San Leandro Blvd. ,but he got away. It is really amazing how fast someone can run when there is a mean black dog chasing them!

One night someone crashed a stolen car into a power pole near the train tracks behind the shop . This caused the power lines to drape across the tracks and around midnight the Amtrac train came screaming down the tracks uprooting more power poles . Leaving high voltage lines strewn all around our metal home, no power , no phone, at night with several small fires burning. We were able to dance our way out and a few days later the power was restored.

We also met many good life long friends in that neighborhood . KB would eventually help trick my beautiful wife Emma into marrying me . Emma and I would grow tired of the daily grind of our neighborhoods and we moved 2 hours north to the small town of Willows,CA near Thunder Hill Raceway with KB and her 3 dogs. There the animals could enjoy the fresh country air and we would meet more great friends. We could also enjoy a good night's sleep without worrying about getting our home or vehicles broken into. The big old house and large backyard was a pet mecca. There we have fond memories of Emma and I chasing KB around the yard as he swallowed an entire pigeon whole.

Five years later Emma's career change, our son Mikey's birth and family connections would bring us to Rochester ,MN near the Mayo Clinic. Our 3-legged dog Sadie was put down just before the Big Move. Old Bogart had also left our lives before the 2000 mile journey. So in 2013 , 13 year old KB was introduced to the cold, ice and snow of Minnesota. The amazing amount of wildlife helped distract him from the freezing of his paws on our walks. As recently as the spring of 2015 KB unearthed a cache of baby bunnies in a burrow and consumed each and every one of them whole.

The only person KB has not acted aggressively toward was our young son Michael. I think he realized that it was a line he could not cross, even though he had lived his entire life as a wild animal. Going on 16 years old and 95+ in dog years. KB's health was failing . He was mostly deaf, blind and had difficulty walking. His reverse was also broken. Now I am the one who saves him all of the time , when he gets lost in a corner of the house or forgets who I am. My Mom taught us an important lesson early in life about ice cream. My brother and I were to eat ice cream only for an entire day ,until we were sick . We must have been 10 and 12 years old respectively. We ate the crap out of ice cream that entire day and had a great childhood memory to our Mom's dismay.

So on Tuesday September 9, 2015 KB and I went to the deli and bought a pound of thin sliced turkey. We hung out at the park , gorged on turkey and prepared some orders at the shop until it was time for his last appointment with the vet. I'm still waiting for a call from the vet's office telling me that he awoke because he was so mean and wild and stubborn. Or some sort of message from above that he has been kicked out of Doggy Heaven for biting Eric Clapton as he played "If I Saw You in Heaven."  You will be missed KB!



Monday, August 31, 2015

Friday, August 14, 2015

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

New Melling Big Block MoPar Oil Pump Gaskets $9.99

New Made in USA Melling oilpump gasket with rubber O-ring for Chrysler BB 361 383 400 413 426 Wedge and Hemi ,440 engines. This gasket goes between the block and oil pump. $9.99

Monday, June 8, 2015

The Empire Kicks Back T-Shirts $14.99

Back by popular demand, we have a limited supply of "The Empire Kicks Back" T-shirts in stock now. Sizes S thru
XXL

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Thursday, May 28, 2015

New Billet Aluminum 7075 Big Block MoPar Main Caps $249.set

New Made in USA set of 5 Al's Rapid Transit 7075 T651 Billet Aluminum 2-bolt Main Bearing Caps for B 383 400 and RB 413 440 Dodge Chrysler Plymouth Mopar Wedge Big block engines. These are stock height and help absorb the shock in the lower end of high horsepower engines. These are clear anodized to provide a durable finish. As with all main caps they must be align bored / honed to fit your engine block. Often times it is less expensive to fit the aluminum caps since they are easier to machine . These can also be used with a main girdle for ultimate strength. Aluminum main caps also help to reduce cap "walk" and extend the life of bearings and lower end components. $249.set shipped.

Monday, May 4, 2015

New Left Bend Cook Style Bars!!!

New Al's Rapid Transit STAMPED 4130 Chromoly Cook Style handlebar with bent crossbar for 2-finger lever clearance. We put the bend on the other side this time. STAMPED Made in the USA as well ,made out of 7/8" .058 wall CNC bent CR-MO with a 3/4" CNC bent cross bar. Approximately 29" wide, 9" tall, and 7" tall cross bar. Not to be confused with the original Cook Bros. Racing bars, these handlebars utilize more modern upsweep and backsweep geometry, similar to the S&M Slam bar. So you can abuse these and not have to worry about destroying a rare piece of BMX history. These are knurled.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

New Al's Rapid Transit Black 111 Cruiser Bars

NEW Modern Geometry!  1' Upsweep and 11' Backsweep' ! STAMPED Made in USA. Stamped Al's Rapid Transit .058" wall 4130 chromoly CNC bent Black Powder coated cruiser Handlebar with knurl. These are patterned after the original Mongoose Kos Kruiser bars, but are made out of much stronger material and are 1" wider ,if you like to run new school grips. Aprox. 29" wide with 6" rise, 4.5" tall 5/8"cross bar, 7/8" diameter. 100% Made in the U.S.A. professionally tig-welded. Perfect for that SE OM Flyer, Cook Bros. Hutch, GT, JMC ,DG, Fireman's Texas Cruzer, etc.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Justin's Polished Van Stem!!!!


1980 26" Panda Pro Am BMX Cruiser

1980 26" Panda Pro Am BMX Cruiser bought new by fun
ny car racer Cecil Yother back in the day.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Van Stem Wheels Up


New Al's Rapid Transit MYSTERY MACHINED Dodge A-100 Panel Van style BMX Stem

New Al's Rapid Transit MYSTERY MACHINED Dodge A-100 Panel Van style BMX Stem. CNC machined out of 6061 billet aluminum , 53mm reach , for use with 1 1/8" fork, 7/8" handlebar, 20oz. Comes in Raw Finish. Customize your VAN: You can paint it like the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine. You can anodize it Green or Brown or Polish it until it looks like a mirror on the ceiling of a miniature stabbin cabin. Use it as a paper weight at work and reminisce about the smell of spilled bong water on the carpet of that old high school ride. Or machine out the inside to save weight and have a secret Van $tash $pot . The possibilities are endless You can even put it on your Bike ! Made in USA.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

New "MADE IN USA" stamped Al's R/T Seat Posts now in stock

Chrome plated 12" length .065" wall 4130 chromoly 7/8" diameter $29.99

Friday, March 13, 2015

Duncan's 26" SE PK Ripper Cruiser

Al's knurled chrome kos style cruiser bars.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Doug Schwerma

Shared From VFT.ORG