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I would be happy to make them for anyone interested, Virtually any wood species could be sourced. But I think the one I made would match up really nice to the Walnut steering wheel. I have a great wood supplier close to Toronto. If anyone is interested please contact me directly at my email address. ben442@sympatico.ca
Thanks Ben Nagy
update from my previous column replacement post (1962/3):
This was all for nothing I ended up swapping the starter...would not start. I found the ground wire from the battery was loose. All that effort for a loose battery cable. Then to make things worse, the previously installed column ended up having a bad dimmer mechanism after all. I had to replace the column again. I just happened to have another column at my dad's. It went in a lot faster than the other one.
I got up this morning with a plan to install the upper and lower control arms, new coil springs, shocks and all the new steering linkage. I received notice that the disc brake conversion kit will be shipped on Tuesday and I figured I had better get the front end ready.
What did I accomplish? I got really dirty?! And pissed off!! Seems that Joe was correct and the ball joints I received from Performance Suspension were the wrong ones. Getting the control arms installed was a serious fight and I figured it would be smooth sailing after that.
Now to find the correct ball joints and find out what the policy is for the incorrect parts from that company
I got the Autumn Bronze 66 Toro out last week. Started right up after sitting 18mo. Need to use up the old gas (won’t take long with the 425). Changed the oil, plugs, filters etc with my son. Smiled like a kid as we wafted down the interstate past the “little” imports. Noticed the differential cover was leaking and passenger hub bearing was grinding. Ordered from FelPro. Guess what... the only gasket sold has 10bolt holes and I need 8 bolt holes!? What!?!? Craig in Long Island is sourcing the bearing. I’ll get two since they’re so hard to find. If anyone has found an 8bolt differential cover gasket I’d love to know... sorry that was the past week not day...
Oldsmobile V8 G Body Frame Mounts THe absolute hardest part of this project, hands down Ready for a SBO Now...IT IS ABOUT TIME!
Today I finally installed the frame mounts so that I can install my SBO in the El Camino. All that I have read about it being quite the chore totally undersold it~ Thank God Oldsmobile was smart enough to put only 2 bolts on each mount, instead of 3 or 4! I don't have all the nifty tools to do this job, so I expected it to be a little slower. I started at 9:00 and finished at 3:30. 4 BOLTS! I first got them started which took about 45 minutes each to get the bolt into the hole and the nut started. The rest of the time I was using every open end, box end, socket, multiple extensions, wedges etc. The bolts could be started from the top and I used a wire to bring the bolt to the hole, worked it up, then a zip-tie to hold it from dropping out while I started the nut. That worked well, but there was a difficult access to them and it had to be from underneath, long wrenches (I don't have) wobble sockets I don't have and angles and access that made each bolt a real process. Couple that with the fact that these bolts are made to be hard almost as soon as the nut is threaded on. Add to that, only getting 1/8 of a turn with the ratchet before the lower wrench drops off the bolt and you get a recipe for a very long day. Forget Torquing them unless there are two people. In fact, two people probably would have cut the time in half. Going after all the 9/16 versions in my tool box, I determined one thing. I would never want to do this job again! Progress is progress, right? Today I made progress, but my body is retaliating! The engine goes in soon!
THe absolute hardest part of this project, hands down
Ready for a SBO Now...IT IS ABOUT TIME!
Today I finally installed the frame mounts so that I can install my SBO in the El Camino. All that I have read about it being quite the chore totally undersold it~ Thank God Oldsmobile was smart enough to put only 2 bolts on each mount, instead of 3 or 4! I don't have all the nifty tools to do this job, so I expected it to be a little slower. I started at 9:00 and finished at 3:30. 4 BOLTS! I first got them started which took about 45 minutes each to get the bolt into the hole and the nut started. The rest of the time I was using every open end, box end, socket, multiple extensions, wedges etc. The bolts could be started from the top and I used a wire to bring the bolt to the hole, worked it up, then a zip-tie to hold it from dropping out while I started the nut. That worked well, but there was a difficult access to them and it had to be from underneath, long wrenches (I don't have) wobble sockets I don't have and angles and access that made each bolt a real process. Couple that with the fact that these bolts are made to be hard almost as soon as the nut is threaded on. Add to that, only getting 1/8 of a turn with the ratchet before the lower wrench drops off the bolt and you get a recipe for a very long day. Forget Torquing them unless there are two people. In fact, two people probably would have cut the time in half. Going after all the 9/16 versions in my tool box, I determined one thing. I would never want to do this job again! Progress is progress, right? Today I made progress, but my body is retaliating! The engine goes in soon!
It actually takes less time if you remove the lower suspension arms. I replaced the mounts on my 91 OCC, and that was the key to easy street. I was replacing the suspension bushings anyway, but it allowed unfettered access. The actual mounts took about 20 minutes.
Oldsmobile V8 G Body Frame Mounts THe absolute hardest part of this project, hands down Ready for a SBO Now...IT IS ABOUT TIME!
Today I finally installed the frame mounts so that I can install my SBO in the El Camino. All that I have read about it being quite the chore totally undersold it~ Thank God Oldsmobile was smart enough to put only 2 bolts on each mount, instead of 3 or 4! I don't have all the nifty tools to do this job, so I expected it to be a little slower. I started at 9:00 and finished at 3:30. 4 BOLTS! I first got them started which took about 45 minutes each to get the bolt into the hole and the nut started. The rest of the time I was using every open end, box end, socket, multiple extensions, wedges etc. The bolts could be started from the top and I used a wire to bring the bolt to the hole, worked it up, then a zip-tie to hold it from dropping out while I started the nut. That worked well, but there was a difficult access to them and it had to be from underneath, long wrenches (I don't have) wobble sockets I don't have and angles and access that made each bolt a real process. Couple that with the fact that these bolts are made to be hard almost as soon as the nut is threaded on. Add to that, only getting 1/8 of a turn with the ratchet before the lower wrench drops off the bolt and you get a recipe for a very long day. Forget Torquing them unless there are two people. In fact, two people probably would have cut the time in half. Going after all the 9/16 versions in my tool box, I determined one thing. I would never want to do this job again! Progress is progress, right? Today I made progress, but my body is retaliating! The engine goes in soon!
this is why when i did conversions like this that i hung the frame mounts from the engine mounts,bolted the engine to the trans in place and leveled the engine on the frame and then welded the frame mounts to the chassis,took very little effort or time.
this is why when i did conversions like this that i hung the frame mounts from the engine mounts,bolted the engine to the trans in place and leveled the engine on the frame and then welded the frame mounts to the chassis,took very little effort or time.
That is great if you have a welder, and can weld. For those who do not have a welder, or can not weld, bolting them in place is the only other option.
I suspect that one could just lower the arm, and not remove it completely.
Believe me Fred, If I don't have the tools for the mounts, I do not have the experience and expertise to lower suspension arms. My suspension had already been rebuilt just prior to me acquiring it. I doubt I have the right tools for that either, like impact wrench and giant metrics. What might have made a difference for me is a helper and having it on a hoist. The crawling in and out to look for new/different tools and dropping the bolts in to the frame piece made each bolt a thrill. I actually lost a bolt somewhere but had the set that came with them. I expect to hear a loud crunch at the most inopportune time, or maybe karma will let me up and I will find it when I am sweeping out the garage! I am sure I did my aerobics yesterday...and today I need some stretching!
Fred hit it on the head for me. Believe me the thought crossed my mind to get a portable welder guy come out and weld them in. I live so far away the cost of that equals a lot more than a few hours of stress and strain, cussing and skinned knuckles. I am never doing it again that I know and I would not recommend my way to anyone, but it was simply the only option available to me since my build has spent double my budget so far.
I built and installed a Gen VI 454 BBC in a 91 Olds CC that was never suppose to have one. The first step was to remove everything front of the firewall. I also rebuilt the entire front suspension, virtually single handed. Any help I got was more of a hindrance, and cost me more money, and time then they were supposed to save me, because I had to do everything over anyway, and buy parts they damaged. I got it done within 10% of my very tight budget, but it took me 3 months instead of 2 weeks as I planned. The main reasons for delays was incorrect parts, waiting for the correct parts, and fabricating numerous minor things. I was 67 at the time, and am now 70. I had to figure out everything, including the wiring, because I had no one to consult with. Like all custom builds, there is no set of instructions. I spent numerous long nights at the shop trial fitting, and contemplating solutions. I could do it over again in two or three weeks, but the 3 years have taken its toll on my body. This was the first time I tried to build an engine, completely rebuild front suspension, and modify wiring. It was not all that difficult even with the screw ups, and parts issues. it was more frustrating, trying to get the right parts, than anything else.
Fred it looks like a worthy cause and effort! I bet it is in the tradition of the best ground pounders! Making 4000 pounds move quickly takes some raw horses! Maybe budgets are to keep you from going hog wild. Without a limit, I would be going through the rearend now, beefing up the transmission now, and upgrading my interior to floor-shift, console and buckets, and there is still painting which I cannot do.
I am with you on wrong parts and waiting. Since March, I have been stalled almost half of that time by back orders or wrong parts from reputable vendors, or wrong parts from Olds and Chevy folks who don't pay attention well. I wish I had my shipping back from all the SBC parts sent to me for my SBOlds. I understand the confusion though because El Caminos never had Olds engines and so most assume I made a mistake and are helping me to get the right parts. I even ordered a few wrong parts when the list of engines states 5.7 and I forget I am in a Chev only category or store like Summit and Jegs. Mostly I have it all sorted out, but even Olds G Body V8's are not the same as my 1968 engine, so again I got to order and re-ship a lot of parts. It won't be that long before I am out there on the road, but the last 6 months have been torture! I'm not getting any younger for sure!
My wagon is currently in the shop for some trans surgery. It seems that 2nd was not quite up to the task of the 454. They are also doing surgery on my wallet at the same time.
I have a partially completed rear in progress.
Before I ever got the 454 in the car, it had 3 timing chains, 3 oil pans, 3 sets of cam bearings, 2 sets of lifters, 2 distributors, 2 sets of main studs, 2 sets of main bearings, crank repolished, and a bunch of stuff I have forgotten. Once it was in the car it got another distributor, the heads had to be resurfaced (read new gasket for the whole top end), got water in the oil twice, and a bunch of other issues to numerous to count. It now runs fine, but as above the trans has an issue. I also had to make a hood to cover the intake (after the fact). It was then involved in a sideswipe accident and spent the last 15 months in the body shop, until about three weeks ago. Total drive time is about 8 months of the last 3 1/2 years.
Fred, I know sometimes you feel snakebit, but the results somehow balance out all the bad points. I have had a money-ectomy several times in the past few years from so-called mechanics, which is what started me back into building my own. Mechanics are high paid technicians with no knowledge of a simple air-fuel-spark engine. Parts guys are computer savvy but give me blank stares when I talk about a 68 Olds 350 Blueprinted. Nissan Sunny? What?
Mine will be out of service until Summer is over and then I will drive it very little during the rainy months, which are more than half up here. All those horses with one wheel spinning seems a lot less fun than cruising!
I reserved the hoist for Saturday, which also gives me Sunday. The engine and transmission will go in and get bolted down. Any other scenario than this will be followed by a large bonfire! Then I can start all the hookups. I had the intake on, but I didn't like the shallow bolts for the hoist chain, so off it came...and then I remembered all the clamoring about using/not using the Turkey tray....so best that I start again. I am going with Greg Rollins (Supercars Unlimited) advice on this one! I still am worried about the height of the 7111 but that will come at steps 26 and 27. Step one is getting it in and secured! That may be enough for this weekend. Depends on the heat and how hard I have to work to get it in! I might have some help from my tiny wife, all 92 pounds of her. The only place I can't be two places is driveline to transmission, then engine onto mounts. This is the first Sat/Sun only weekend since summer started. I had been working 4-10's and had Mondays off but most of them were squandered awaiting pieces and parts. I feel I wasted a whole buncha time this Summer and hopefully it will be smooth sailing after the weekend to get it moving itself around again.
Inches to go! Snug Fit but fit! Sinking onto the mounts! Without the tranny because the tranny did not want to bolt up right. In! Engine mount bolts on and there is room for a few more tiny things! RAMROD 350 went in with hardly any hitches except that the transmission is still on the ground as I could not get it to go home. More research. Should a TH 350C bolt onto a 68 350 without clearance issues? It seemed like the torque convertor was not seating and I could not get 2 of the six bolts to not bind and would not pull the case snug to the block After 3 attempts we decided to get the goal done, install the engine. Is there a wrong side of the flexplate? I installed with counter weights out. It was not on it when I bought it and I could find no reference, but no one told me the bolt pattern was one way only. I bought a second one because the first one was off. After a few choice words, my noted the spacing was different. I kept spinning it a hole at a time and like a kaleidoscope, all six finally lined up. WHO KNEW?
Last edited by Chuck Cole; August 17th, 2019 at 06:09 PM.
Reason: add photos
Make sure the TC is properly seated, or nothing else matters for the installation. I can empathize with the wasting of time waiting for parts. I spent the better part of 3 months waiting for parts while assembling my 454 for my 91 OCC. The actual build took about 2 days. The redo of all the delayed replacement parts for the wrong parts took about 3 months.
I just got tired of trying after 3 removals of the trans and decided it was a project for another day. Ther TC was seated but seem awfully wobbly to me. My previous experiences in both engine and transmission installs was a TH400. I will give it a better try in a few weeks when I am up under it again. For now the zillion little details of installing the intake carb, lines, hoses, heater core, throttle cables and vacuum will keep me occupied. I'm sure the tranny was more alignment than obstinate. I could not get a straight shot with a dangling engine. It dangles no more haha!
Services and shipping are not like they once were. At least yours is a SBC and likely to be correct when they are guessing, but I have a small bin of SBC parts because they didn't pay attention to what I ordered and filled it based upon the car. Jegs backordered my intake for over a month, then sent it to an address I hadn't lived at for 10 years, then added another 10 days getting it back and shipping it correctly..That was June and well now you can see the headway. Got the wrong fuel pump to carb line, the wrong dipstick, wrong flexplate and on and on. I used to use NAPA exclusively until their parts kept going up and the quality dropped I avoid Autozone and O'Reilly's except for consumables. I got to the specialty places but I refuse to pay show prices for an everyday driver car, so often I find the part on Ebay or Amazon. You really have to watch them like a hawk though! Enjoy the rest of the weekend! What did you do for exhaust systems on your Caprices?
Chuck, I have Gen VI BBC, not a SBC. The Gen VI is unique in many ways. The pistons, rods, intake, bearings, and heads from other BBCs will fit, and the crank, and timing set, rear main seal, oil pan, cam and lifters from a Gen V will fit. I am not sure the front cover from a Gen V will fit, or the seal. The Gen V and VI have a different water pump, and harmonic balancer. The oil pump may be different too. It does use the same distributor, but a different flex plate/flywheel. I had to buy 2 or 3 of many of these parts because the suppliers would send me the Mark 2 parts, or the parts were for engines that had more extensive work done on them than I had done on mine.
I put shorty headers and duals on both of my wagons. The one with a 350, and the one with the 454. I have Flowmasters on the 350, and Magnaflows on the 454. I modified the crossmembers to allow the pipes to pass. It was relatively easy to mod them, and I did not even need a jig. Welded a "half pipe" piece of a JY part on the top, then cut the bottom out, and filled the open ends of the tube. The DS gets little close to the floor, but it clears. Since they were both LO3 cars, the muffler mounts are simple hooks that attach to a receiver bracket on the cross member in front of the axle. I got a second one from the JY which mounted on already existing holes on the driver's side. I used the drive shaft cradle bolts to make a solid third attachment point. Easy peasy.
I have a new issue, the newly installed quarter glass has decided to leak, and it goes back to the shop for reinstall. I think they do not want to see this car for a while.
I had the Recaros reupholstered and they look great. I think I got ripped off a little on the price, but they do look nice.
Last edited by Fred Kiehl; August 17th, 2019 at 08:28 PM.
I had it installed but I wanted longer bolts and easier access to move the chain on the hoist to change the angle on it going in and out. I didn't want to put stress on the Aluminum either.
I put the intake back in and the carb and air filter on top to check the hood clearance. The answer is yes, the hood cleared, but by MMs. In fact I ripped out the hood blanket because it was full of dirt after two shut my covered engine would have had a lot of dust on it. I got the pulleys on today and the valve covers. Only 11 0r the 12 intakes bolts went in. One of the small ones supplied by Edelbrock for the tight runners seemed to start then locked up hard after a turn or two. I don't force bolts so I stopped and will try again sometime later. It fit snugly, and I think my clutch fan is not the correct one now. This is fun but frustrating. It is making progress, 2 steps forward and one step back!
If that is a test fit, you could loosen all of the other bolts, and put that one in first. It may be a tight fit against the manifold, and that causes a crooked start, making the bolt crossthread.
Unfortunately it was the real thing . I will have to take it off and see what is wrong. If it is cross threading there is nothing I can do because of the angle. There is simply no straight shot at is and it needs ultra thin walled 3/8". I will adjust as I can but it worked fine without the gasket.
Hi all,
i had a productive weekend. I replaced my pinion seal and rear transmission seal, both were leaking pretty bad, oil change , greased all fittings, tightened up a few things while up on the lift, replaced my rear bumper now with cutouts and ordered new tail pipes so I can install my trumpet tips.
also ordered a few more parts for next weekend.
Got up this morning drove 442 to cars and coffee. Wow on the way over to it got on highway 74 in okc and there were 5 other cars in group joined in wow what a throw back.
July 20th, 2019, 10:54 AM
Then I can start all the hookups. I had the intake on, but I didn't like the shallow bolts for the hoist chain, so off it came...and then I remembered all the clamoring about using/not using the Turkey tray....so best that I start again. I am going with Greg Rollins (Supercars Unlimited) advice on this one! I still am worried about the height of the 7111 but that will come at steps 26 and 27. Step one is getting it in and secured! That may be enough for this weekend. Depends on the heat and how hard I have to work to get it in! I might have some help from my tiny wife, all 92 pounds of her. The only place I can't be two places is driveline to transmission, then engine onto mounts. This is the first Sat/Sun only weekend since summer started. I had been working 4-10's and had Mondays off but most of them were squandered awaiting pieces and parts. I feel I wasted a whole buncha time this Summer and hopefully it will be smooth sailing after the weekend to get it moving itself around again.
It is good when a plan comes together. I'm still waiting ..but eventually it will all come together!
