chadman

Got a little more done. Had to get it back on the ground so I could roll it out of the shop. Getting ready to insulate and heat the shop so I can keep working on it through the winter. We are planning to start the body work in December.

chadman

A few more pics. I think I'm going to remake the quick release steering wheel extension. Functionaly it's perfectly fine I just don't like how spindly it looks with the 3/4' tubing. Probably going to use 1-1/2" to make it look a bit beefier.

young olds

its looking good, i need to get back to work on my race car. are those bars to keep the engine from moving fore and aft?

coppercutlass

The car looks awesome. I always seem to appreciate the in progress pictures more than then finished product lol. But I can't wait to see pictures of it when its done.

chadman

Yes. Their is one on the drivers side too but it's hidden by the header in the pics. I am using a front and mid plate and no motor mounts. The plates are very good at resisting side to side or twisting motion. Not so good at preventing fore and aft movement. I also took the opportuninty to change the installed angle of the engine in the chassis. From the factory the engine sits at a 4 degree angle in relation to the frame. I changed it to 2.5 degrees.

young olds

any reason behind that? im still at the point where i can change the angle but i was just going to put my carb pad at the same angle as my rockers.

chadman

I wanted the car to sit low with a 30" tall rear tire. In order to achieve that you need to tuck the rearend up into the car quite a bit. This raises the pinion at the same time which makes the universal joint angle more extreme. By tipping the engine up in the rear it lessens the angle at the front universal joint. In an ideal world I would have tipped it up even more and pointed it directly at the pinion but unless I wanted raise the trans tunnel and have custom headers made this was the practical limit. Basically the car is as low as I can get it without raising the driveshaft tunnel and still have room for suspension movement. I may be able to drop it a tad more but not much.

young olds

Ok I see.

gear head

Nice work Chad, digging the project, I'm currently doing something similar with my '70.


Maybe I missed it but, What steering column are you using? Right now I'm leaning towards the Chassisworks 2"column, kind of pricy though.

chadman

The column is a TRZ and the quick release is by Strange. I did remake the firewall plate for the column. TRZ puts the location where the column passes through the firewall lower than stock for a set back driver position. I wanted the column in the stock location so I made a new plate so the column would pass through in the stock location.

83hurstguy

The Driveshaft Shop has been making driveshafts with CV joints now at the front so you don't have to worry about setting canceling u-joint angles on lowered cars. Most newer RWD GM products are using them. I fought that driveline angle battle for a while on my '83 with .

Not cheap, but it's an option on lowered cars... a friend just got one for his 600 hp LS7 powered A-body.

Bad *** work so far, I like seeing the updates.

Bernhard

Chad
The car is looking awesome
I like how you are getting the rear of the car down and having it sit as low as it can with a large tire.
Car would look good as a H/O and have that wow factor, but as a 442 it will be clean.
Very nice build

chadman

It's funny you mentioned that. When I put it back on the ground I hung that fender on there just to see what the stance was. That was the first time even the slightest thought of doing the H/O paint scheme crossed my mind. It would look pretty cool as an H/O but one thing that really prevents me from doing that is the deck lid wing. I don't know of any other way to say it besides I REALLY HATE THEM! LOL! and I really don't think the H/O scheme would look right without it.

chadman

I'm actually surprised noone has mentioned the front spring cups. I figured that would be the first question after the new pics.

Bernhard

The H/O with the rare rear wing delete.
I'm with you on the wing I'm not a fan it takes away from the clean line.
Car would have a wow factor as a H/O
Car would be cleaner as a 442
Wings and Vinyl roofs take away from the clean flowing lines of the 69.
What color are you thinking of if you go 442?
You could have two deck lids one with spoiler one with out.

The engine limiters,upper spring pockets, steering shaft,engine plate all look nice.
I know it is a race car but I think you are right if you can give the steering column/wheel mount more of a factory die mention it would look better.
If you go the 442 route and want a factory race car look there are new reproduction dash heater and radio delete plates that will soon be on the market for the 69.

chadman

This is what I'm thinking.

Bernhard

Platinum silver or silver looks very sharp.

Vinyl roofs you ether love them or hate them.
My friends 69 cutlass S has the vinyl roof he likes it because it breaks up the body line. I used to be in the vinyl roof camp but these days I lean toward the cleaner look of vinyl free roof.

What ever you pick it will be killer

69455

Detroit Speed kit 3
drop spindle

chadman

OK, I took a break from working on the car for a bit to finish prepping the shop for the body work. Got the insulation done, OSB up on the walls and new compressor wired and black pipe air lines run. Now it's back on the car.


I took the body off of the frame to final weld everything that wasn't accessible with the body in the way. I should have that finished up this week. Then the frame will be powder coated satin black. I will soon have the shell media blasted and hope to start on the body work mid February (per the body guy who is helping me).


BTW, the shock cross member in the pics is just temporary. The actual cross member will be in the trunk as part of the cage and the shocks will come through the trunk floor. This will make for easy shock adjustments without crawling under the car.

dc2x4drvr

Nice work..

DENT

Very nice.

jims2000lt

Car is coming along nicely.
I have a suggestion for your paint scheme. Vynil top trim but no vynil. Then you can paint the roof a contrasting color.

I painted my car in 01 and would like to again a a year or so to fix the chips and dings from use. It originally had a vynil top but it along with the trim was gone when I bought it. I welded the holes up.
A few years agon I got the trim and installed it cuz I like the stainless trim alot.
I eventually plan to put the wheel well trim back on and possibly a stock 442 hood.
Ive had the car since 97 so i go through phases. Im in the phase now where I want to run 10s and I want to be less racey doing so.

The no vynil paint scheme I suggested gives you slot of options.

Also, I cant get into those wings either. Ive had a few people tell me to add it to mine. No thanks.

chadman

Actually as you have suggested I think we may try the two tone paint at first. That was suggested by the body guy as well. His point was that if I didn't like it I could just put a vinyl top over the painted roof and end up with the same result so it would really be a no loss experiment.

83hurstguy

Nice work Chad... chassis looks bad ***. Looks like you already made your mind up on the silver, which is sharp. I think it would still look awesome with the H/O paint scheme and no wing... the '68s used the same scheme with different colors and no wing, though the whole decklid was black.

Bernhard

Nice work Chad

In my opinion single color with black hood stripes time less.
I used to be in the vinyl roof camp but have had a change heart.
If you go single color and you don't like it you can always go with the vinyl roof.
The down side of doing the roof after is drilling in to fresh paint and sealing the holes so no rust starts from the stud screws or pop rivets used to hold the chrome trim on.
I always felt the to-tone painted roof, on a muscle car never looked right just my opinion.

Good luck with the rest of the build

jims2000lt

What are you planning for the hood Chad?

chadman

I need to clear a Victor intake with a Dominator on top of it and I'm not a fan of the raised W-25 style hoods so something like this:

jims2000lt

That will look good. Better suited on a 442 than H/O.
I had a repo w25 hood for year but hated that i couldnt fit an air cleaner so i so it and built up a repo h/o scoop to 4 inches high on my steel 69 hood. it fits better and after all the welding ns lightening it weighs less than the repo w25 hood. Wanted that height incase I someday go to a victor. 7551 with 1" spacer and 5" k&n on a drop base for now. I still have room so it worked out well.

Bernhard

This will be the biggest challenge in my opinion non factory hoods are a looks/line killer.
There are very few cars that look better with a after market hood.
The large W25 hood looks like its on cocaine.


Can you make the H/O hood work if you lower the engine?
Is this a max effort function before looks or is there room to alter the intake such as milling the intake carb pad?

chadman

I can't really lower the engine anymore than it is for a few reasons. One being that with the car being low the oil pan is already too damn close to the ground as it is. Secondly that would require me to get custom headers made and I'd like to avoid that. Not only that but I prefer the cowl induction look over the H/O scoop myself.

Milan..

Stance looks great Chad , a cowl is fine , the "Nostril Hood" does not work for me..... same goes for the "Wing"....

chadman

Thanks Milan. I think you and I have similar taste in how we like to see cars done.

69455

Nothing says CHEVY more than a cowl hood.


We all need to get it under the hood
Every one has an opinion


Snort

chadman

Well it may have a "Chevy hood" but it will not have a Chevy under the hood!

69455

Looking foreword to see completed project and time slips.


All in good fun as I take a shot of cocaine and away I run.

olds3442

Chad,great to see car is making progress, I will vote for cowl hood and no wing also

Bernhard

Thanks for the reply Chad
I was not a big fan of the H/O hood but it grows on you I have found.
I agree no wing, the wing kills the lines/flow of the car.
Milan's stage 2 hood scoup works.
Will you be going glass hood, or steel hood?

chadman

It will be glass. Basically my body guy and I will try to make an exact copy of the hood I posted pictures of above which as you will notice does not have the double bulge at the front as all of the cowl hoods available off the shelf do.

jims2000lt

That will look really good. I'm a fan off just about all scoops except forward facing pro stock style scoops. Unless its a 6 second pro stock.

Bernhard

Hi Chad
I agree
The cutlass supreme style hood lends itself better to a hood scoup or cowl style hood.
The H/O scoup is the only one that I have seen that works with the double bump hood.

Good Luck look forward to progress reports.