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I’ve gotten to door panels built out but I’m having the devil of a time getting all the holes in the door to line up.
I’ve also just found out the the rear panels I ordered from OPGI will not be available until March 2021 and the seats won’t be available until after January 2021. So, anyone have suggestions for getting PUI parchment door panels and seats?
I saw a video the other day that suggested a technique for the holes in the carpet that I hadn’t thought of before. Basically, we probably all have an old cheap set of sockets. This video suggested putting a junk socket on the end of a long extension and heating it with a torch. Then use the hot socket to melt a hole in the carpet. You can see how well that worked for me.
I had to put the old seats back in the car so I can drive it. I’m glad I didn’t tear them down completely and start refurbishing the springs. While reassembling the seats, I noticed that I did not paint the seat back and seat base edges well enough, so I have not installed the new chrome. It will be several months before I get the new seat upholstery. I’ve left the back seat out. I have installed the new package tray but do not know what to do with the flap, should I rivet the flap of vinyl on the package tray to the metal between the passenger compartment and the trunk, or should I rivet it to the decider board the is covering that metal?
I tried my hand at installing power window regulators today. I purchased a set from nu-relics that were direct replacements for the manual regulators that were pretty well worn out. The removal of the old regulator and installation of the new regulator were a bit like doing a tonsillectomy from the ear but relatively straight forward. Unfortunately, the motor does not run either up or down. I am pretty sure I did everything according to the instructions but I ran out of light before I could really do any testing.
I plan to call nu-relics on Monday to talk to tech support (another reason I purchased these is because of all the good thing I heard about their tech support).
I got the power windows installed, aligned, and working today. I also finished up and installed the new door panels.
if you lift the window **** slightly, the window rises, if you push it down slightly, it lowers. I also really like the new color, I’ll be changing the seats to this same color as soon as the new covers arrive.
I took the car for an extended drive today (60 miles) including abut 10 miles at 75. She did very good temperature was great , however, it was only 65 outside. Oil pressure is holding well but I still have a ton of blow by. She smokes like crazy when I leave a stop. She smokes a bit as I am driving but it is much harder to see, it seems the worst case is when I accelerate away from a stop. I will be rebuilding this motor in the next few months, I may even start the tear down this week.
I did find one issue with my new power windows. I now have no dash lights. I suspect that I disconnected something while I was zip tying all the wiring back up under the dash. I'll try to look at that today, but it may not be till tomorrow.
I tried to install an Autoloc 9703 Keyless Entry system today. Their instructions suck. I was finally able to figure out how to make it all work and was doing really well until I tested the drivers door. The passenger door went in pretty easily and I was able to connect the actuator to the factory eyelet on the lock mechanism.
This worked great!
Part of the reason I am using an Autoloc kit is because of the connection between the actuators. Supposedly, if I manually lock or unlock one door, the other door does the same thing and it doesn’t matter which door I do it from. So, I installed everything on the passenger side first and tested it all out. Everything worked great, I had to extend the actuator wires because they were not long enough for my wide car and long doors, otherwise, it was pretty easy once I figured out what I wanted the actuator to actuate and in what direction.
Then I moved to the drivers door, I had to extend the wires again, but I was moving along quickly now that I knew what I needed to do (duplicating the procedure from the passenger side. I got it installed but could not get the drivers side to work at all. It turns out I pulled too hard on a couple of wires while trying to get them through the door jam and I had to fish it all out and make better connections. Then I tried to test again and things got really Bizzar..... now the actuators will lock, but when I press the unlock button, they unlock and immediately re-lock. I am guessing g that the actuator is not able to travel as far as it need to travel but that is just a guess. I can manually lock and unlock my doors but I can’t use the new keyless entry. If I disconnect the actuator from the door mechanism, it moves appropriately and it stays in the locked or unlocked position as it should.
As I said before, the Autoloc documentation sucks, so I am looking for ideas to fix this issue.
I got the keyless entry working today. It turns out I had a crossed wire as well as an issue with the travel on the actuator. I tried to connect the actuators to the factory power door lock eyelet on the door latch using only 1 piece of steel bar (I bent this bar to what I thought was the correct length). If you cut that bar in half, it is a lot easier to get it to connect to the eyelet and to the actuator as two separate pieces. Then the kit came with a small bracket that you run both bars through and tighten down once everything is in the right spot. It is a little difficult being able to tighten stuff inside the door but that is a lot easier than bending the bar in hopes of getting the right length and both ends connected at the same time. The instructions didn’t mention this at all (as I said before, the instructions suck)!
I’ve done all the small projects that I had Laying around the garage, so I guess next weekend I have to suck it up and start the engine removal, tear down, and rebuild.
Last edited by babailey; January 10th, 2021 at 05:23 PM.
I hope to be in a position to pull the motor this weekend. I need some help from the son-in-law and I haven’t asked about his availability yet. If I can’t actually pull the motor, I will at least be disconnecting as much as I can without a lift to use.
I’m still undecided about rebuilding a 200-4R (I do not have one to build) or if I will be buying a professionally built one.
Seems you made great progress, what's your plan for the engine?
A relatively simple rebuild. I do not need a race car, trying have a nice daily driver. I’m hoping for about 400hp.
I plan to have the block decked and bore it but I do not plan to stroke it. I will have the crank polished and the rotating assembly balanced. I do plan to have a lot of work done on the heads. I will be inserting a more aggressive cam, better intake, bigger carb, and headers.
This all assumes that I do not get bad news from the machine shop (I think my block is good but I’ll have experts prove it).
I didn’t start the engine removal yet, I’m still missing the engine hoist and stand. Hopefully, I’ll get them some evening this week. In the mean time, I was able to get the new gas tank mat in place and the gas tank back in place. I also got the new rear bushings pressed together and ready for install. I may do that tomorrow.
I’m having an issue with the power windows. The regulators are working fine but the window does not always stay connected to the regulator. When I took all this apart to convert to power, I noticed that the track in the regulator that the glass sat into was good but the plastic/maybe rubber seal that helped hold the window in place was brittle and mostly missing. I removed all the old plastic/rubber, cleaned the track and used some left over dynamat to create a new seal. Unfortunately, the dynamat is not doing as good a job as I had hoped and after sitting for a few days, the regulator can go down without taking the window with it. It is easy enough to “help” the window but I’d like to hear what others have used to reattach their windows to their regulators.
I started the rear end rebuild today. I putting in a positrac differential and 3.55 ring and pinion.
The old ring and pinion looks very good, no odd wear. The axles look good as well with little to no wear on the splines. I’ll take the axles to a shop to have the bearings pressed off and new bearings pressed on once the new bearings arrive. I have lots of cleanup work to do between now and the new parts arrival.
I did a bit more work tonight and got the old suspension bushings out so I can clean up the axle and control arms in preparation for some paint. I also got the pinion nut off but I have not yet removed the yoke.
I will eventually rebuild the motor and hope to get somewhere near 400hp out of the rebuild. I’m mostly changing the rear end and trans to get a little more power off the line. The real tall first gear in the JetAway just didn’t cut it for me and I didn’t want to keep the open rear end.
I’m still working on the rear end rebuild. Monzaz has been a huge help but this seems to be more art than science. I only did minor cleanup on the axle housing so the paint is not beautiful but this will be a daily driver, I just wanted to eliminate the existing rust and reduce future rust.
I thought I had the pinion placed properly, but it turned out being too deep and I had to back up and start over. I’ll be trying this process again this coming weekend. Unfortunately, because I thought I had it right, I had the bearing pressed in place. So I had to get that bearing back off to really be able to start from a clean slate.
I now have the axle back under the car and have completed a couple of short trips. New carrier, ring and pinion are smooth and quiet going forward with a slight whine in reverse. I still have some clatter while turning but I am told it will go away. I am so glad I completely removed the axle from the car, this process would have been way more painful if I was doing it all from underneath the vehicle.
Major problem with new radiator and electric fans. I used the wrong wiring harness that was not meant to be overridden by AC. I made some modifications and things seemed to work for a while, the fans kicked in at the right time and the engine stayed cool but the fans never came on when AC was turned on. I decided it wasn’t really an issue since the car was staying cool.
I went for a short drive over the weekend and she overheated just as I was returning to my neighborhood. This is the first time I have driven in temps over 75. I started testing things when I got home and the fans do not run at all now. I can connect the fans directly to the battery and the work so that tells me either my thermo switch is bad or the relay is bad. After some research, I realized that I purchased the wrong relay wiring kit. I’ve ordered a better one from Summit that I hope will fix my cooling issues.
Without seeing a diagram it's hard to tell you what went wrong. I'll assume your temp sensor went bad which you can verify with a test light once the engine reaches temperature.
Without seeing a diagram it's hard to tell you what went wrong. I'll assume your temp sensor went bad which you can verify with a test light once the engine reaches temperature.
That is my assumption as well. I have no diagram as I tried to make a wiring kit that wasn't meant to be controlled by the AC to be controlled by the AC and I think my attempt was in error although, the fans did work properly during a couple os tests but never were managed properly by the AC switch. I have now torn all that wiring out and tossed it with the exception of the relay just in case it is still good. I ordered this from Summit..... https://www.summitracing.com/parts/PRF-30117 so I think I will be good once it arrives and I get it installed according to actual install documents instead of what I made up on my head while trying to cobble a bunch of wiring and sensors together.
LOL
Ok, new issue with my build. I need a place to install a temp switch (to drive my electric fans) and a place to install a temp sensor (to drive my water temp gauge). I only have 1 appropriate hole in a water jacket on my original intake manifold. So, I purchased this.....
Unfortunately , it wasn’t until after it arrived that I noticed that I don’t have a “normal” GM thermostat housing. What is the extra small hose the leads from the water pump and looks to bypass the thermostat in our original housing? More importantly, can I just plug that hose, use my new riser to house my sensor and switch, and just buy a new GM thermostat housing to put on top of it?
Based on another thread I found here, the extra small hose that goes from the water pump and bypasses the thermostat is to eliminate cavitation in the water pump when the thermostat is closed. I have not been able to find a thermostat housing spacer that will accommodate this bypass water connection. Now I’m back to square 1 and looking for a way to install both a temp switch and temp sensor in my original manifold. Ideas please!
The new cushions are so firm that I sit higher. I might have to put a tilt column in. I don’t know if I will ever be able to recover the back seat, the delivery date keeps getting pushed out.
The new cushions are so firm that I sit higher. I might have to put a tilt column in. .
Funny you should say that, my 67 buckets recently installed do the same thing...I was thinking my 69 seat tracks were possibly taller than 67 ones... I found its not so bad if you plant your butt way back and sorta slouch... Car is looking good.
I really like the seats, I know a bit what you went thru to complete the seats. I did mine a few years ago. I also feel the new cushions put you taller in the seat. My headliner is still out and my head/ hair hits a bit.
I finally got to take the Cutlass to a Good Guys car show. I was very surprised at the number of people that came to talk to me about the car. I need to build a plaque that lists all the things that I personally have done to this car. The 8.5 x 11 sheet I created is just not good enough and I haven’t created a build book yet.
I also received my rear interior side panels. Unfortunately, I had to run out of town so I won’t be working on anything the next couple of weeks.
November 7th, 2020, 04:48 PM
