1965 442 Project Update

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February 29th, 2012, 02:01 PM

kanskidoo

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Join Date: Jan 2009

Location: Derby, Ks

Posts: 57

1965 442 Project Update

I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on my '65 442 project......finished up the interior a couple of weeks ago. I did an off-frame rebuild; car was a mess, badly cannibalized and beat to s#@#, not a straight panel on it! Every body mount bolt sheared, had to replace body mount holes in frame, rear mount tabs, and trunk floor mounts, front brake drums were completely rusted thru, lower rear quarters and pieces which attach quarter panel to trunk floor, rear inner fender panels, trunk floor pan, tranny hump, firewall sections, sections of interior floor pan all had to be replaced with formed sheetmetal either due to rust or butchery, right rear quarter was smashed, all the glass was bad, no interior at all. The car now has a '70 442 front suspension with '72 Monte Carlo discs, fore and aft sway bars, new brakes, shocks, brake lines and fuel lines, rebuilt '76 455 from a GMC motorhome (Toronado motor) w/ HEI and 660 cfm Holley, 4-speed, all the chrome and medallions removed, fiberglass bumpers, customized grille, hidden park lights, smoothed firewall, custom dash panel, flush mount taillights, EZWire harness, Dolphin gauges. Tires/wheels on the car are only for checking tire clearance (will have polished five-spokes), still have to finish polishing paint, install California-type mirrors, install drip rail trim, and put a charcoal pinstripe down both sides. I parted out another 442 hardtop and a Cutlass F85 hardtop gathering enough parts to put it back together. I've done all the work myself, except for the stitching the interior and installing the exhausts. I've spent just a bit over 3 years working on it.

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