HWYSTR455

Got the front suspension hung, only need the outter tie rods to finish it. Will pick up the rear this up coming week, (something came up, couldn't grab it this week), and knock the rear suspension out next weekend. I pick up the engine from OPP next saturday, and will have it all measured by the end of the following week so I can begin the assembly the weekend after that. Seem to be on schedule, Looks like I'll get it to the body shop by the end of Feb...

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HWYSTR455

Picked up the rear Friday afternoon, all it needs now is a shot of chassis black and center section cast iron paint, will look mint.

Drove up to NY saturday, met with Andy Miller from OPP, picked up my engine. All I can say is that Adny is a stand up guy, and he went above and beyond on the machine work. The attention to details is second to none. I would certainly recommend him to anyone for machine work, Olds or other makes too.

Will spend the weeknights this week going over all the clearances, paint the block, and hopefully get the rings gapped so I can start the assembly on saturday.

Next monday I drop the trans off for the rebuild, Hampton at County Transmission in Vienna, VA is one of the TH400 gurus of the area, well known for his work. Nothing special needed for this build, reds, kolens, and the usual.

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HWYSTR455

Painted the block on Sunday, used VHT SP404 Gold Flake, and am happy with the shade:


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HWYSTR455

Mic'd the crank, and it's spot-on. The rods are too, really making the build easy, kudos to Mr. Miller!

Hung the rods on the PROBE SRS pistons today, (floaters), had a snow day, figured I'd get some work done. Should have all the rings cut today, and will be ready to assemble the short block saturday...

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HWYSTR455

Here's the Desktop Dyno sheet on the engine, not too bad, and that moc-up is with untouched 5 heads, mine are doctored some. Check out the flat tq, like, it's 350-400 from 2000 - 5000 rpm. Going to be a nice street engine....


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t bell

Canyou send that file?

joesw31

I have enjoyed your project. Good job!

HWYSTR455

Thank you joesw31! Hopefully it will inspire others!

t bell - I can post the file when I get home, sure, but honestly, it's pretty straight forward. I downloaded a #5 head flow file from somewhere, but it's untouched #5 heads, and I just modified the valve sizes. Other than that, I just plugged in bore, stroke, and the cam info, pretty easy. It's a Comp 222 cam, fyi, nothing special.


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t bell

The head info is really all that I need. I have a file for my 350 but wanted a close head flow of a stock head.

HWYSTR455

Do a search, their our there, that's how I got them. Or if you have the flow numbers @ lift, plug them in and make your own file.

Try this:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-profiles.html

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oldsguybry

Thats the stuff I need ,woohoo....I looking for something to get inbetween metal on rear wheelwell lips , I beleive this would be put on after most paint and body work , then just wipe any excess off.

HWYSTR455

Exactly. But careful, that stuff is kind of nasty. Read the caution docs that come with it. (Plenty of ventilation, and avoid skin contact). It works though! Quarter/outer wheel house joints, rockers, cowl joints, etc, the stuff is great!

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oldsguybry

yea lol , I learned my lesson on that one from using POR-15

Don L/442

Your daughter is one lucky person! Your $3800 project should look like a million when your done. Nice work!

HWYSTR455

Mic'd the main and end play clearances, installed the crank today. Ran into a little hiccup, the '72 crank in a '69 block has an oil slinger clearance issue, it rubs the rear of the block and cap. A quick hit with the die grinder cleaned that up, and allowed for a .005 end clearance value.

Anyone else ever have the oil slinger clearance problem? Would be a good one to note...

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HWYSTR455

Sorry for not posting in a while, have made a lot of progress though, been busy!

Got the short block together, and of course, degreed the cam. Amazingly, the Comp Cams cam, using the Comp Magnum timing chain set, came in at 107 ICL. Everything I've read and heard says they usually are like 5-7 degrees off, which is why I was surprised.

Went over the heads, very happy with them, got them cleaned up and painted. Bolted them on after a few days of drying time.

Checked the pushrod lengths, looks like I'll need some shorter ones, will order them Monday.

Mocked up the intake, wow, the as-cast ports are way off...

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HWYSTR455

Here's an example of how far the ports are off, and some initial porting...

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HWYSTR455

Finished painting the rear housing, installed new bushings, and mounted the rear in the car. Once I toss the springs and shocks in, I'll put the Moser cover on it, and get it topped off with lube.

Mounted the 9" dual diaphram booster and mocked up the master, will need to adjust the booster pushrod some. Pirate Jack's had the best pricing, and they are super to deal with.

I will order the pushrods, and have the rest of the parts in hand by next weekend. Will get the engine and trans installed by the end of next weekend, hope to have the brakes bled by then to.

Friday I go to the body shop to ensure my spot is still available, and finalize the estimate & dates. I'm thinking it will go to the shop after startup, roughly around the first or second weekend in March.

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HWYSTR455

Got the rear installed, springs, shocks, etc...

Used a sheet of Dynamat on the new gas tank, which is better than the factory anti-squeak pad, and also helps prevent any 'drone' / noise. New sending unit and straps too, of course.

Today will get the brakes done & bled, booster rod adjusted, and a few other loose items. Have a couple little things to do to the engine before I can drop it in, but plan to knock that out tomorrow, and have the engine/trans in there monday....

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HWYSTR455

Sorry for not keeping up here, a lot has been going on, like changing jobs, etc....

A little update: I've gotten the engine/trans installed, and started doing all the brackets, pulleys, and headers.

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HWYSTR455

Headers (Flow Tech) required some doctoring, the one tube was right on the frame, and wouldn't bolt up. Easy fix, laid the header on the floor, propped the end on the engine crane, and used a BFH. The header cleaned up after beating it, and the coating didn't crack or chip. Bonus.


In that pic you can see the engine dip stick tube, which snapped off while installing the engine/header. Bummer. Took about an hour to remove the piece that remaind in the block, and it wasn't fun. I put a plug in it and ordered another, but looks like there's no good way to put the headers in without removing and re-installing the tube. I guess you could cut the header flange to go around it, but a big washer would be needed for that bolt hole after. MAYBE, the header could be installed from the top, but that looked like it would require removing the master/booster assembly. Anyone ever install these after the engine is in the car?

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HWYSTR455

So, me not being an Olds guy, the brackets took a little time to figure out. I took pics as it was coming apart, but didn't get a clear shot of the lower brackets and spacers, as well as how the one bracket fits on the pump. After a different post, and a little head-scratching, got 'er done. Thanks to the guys who responded to my post by the way!

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HWYSTR455

The lower alt bracket made contact with the header flange, so that required minor doctoring. Can also see in the one pic that the dent I made in the one header tube can't be seen from the engine compartment. Nice.

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HWYSTR455

All my A/C stuff came in except for the box and evap core, which I should have early next week. So, have everything to complete the drivetrain, minus the driveshaft. (Which I'll have made new).

I have some pics of the rear disc setup going together, but it's on a camera I lent out! Doh! Once I get that back I will posts pics of that.

This weekend I'll knock out the remaining items in the engine compartment, the new harnesses, relays, fan controller, etc, and post pics when I'm done.

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GreekDog

I just bought my car a few months ago and Ive been kinda reluctant to fix very much just because Im worried I'll ruin something haha.

I was wondering exactly what you did to your instrument panel and dash. That is one area of my car that I want to do and it looks like you did a standup job. Did you buy all you gauges and woodgrain? or did you remove and clean up the old ones?

anyways, great job with the restoration!

HWYSTR455

Thank you, worked hard on that one! Yes, bought the gauges, Classic Intruments, and used new wood grain.

Basically what I did was install the new gauges in the original openings, they fit perfectly, with little mods. Then I looked at the orginal harness, and 'mapped' the wires to the new gauges.

In the first two pics you can see the originally gauge openings, and the plugs, as well in the second pic.

Then I looked at the factory wiring diagrams, and did my 'mapping', as you can see in my notes pic.

I couldn't find the pics of it completed, will have to dig some, and trying to get some stuff done. If you want more detail, let me know, maybe I'll do a sticky.

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HWYSTR455

Oops. The one pic didn't post the first time....

This is the pic of one of the plugs, and I can't find a mating connector, since it was a surface mount type. I ended up chopping off the end and making my own connector with I think weatherpaks, would have to dig up the pics.

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GreekDog

I definitly want to do the same. Did you use a manual or guide to help at all? or just the notes and remembering how the old gauges where set up? Also where did you order your gauges etc..fusick, opgi?

Sorry to ask so many lame brained questions but this is my first classic car(72 cutlass convertible) and I have almost zero experience working on cars.

HWYSTR455

Just the factory service manual for the wiring schematics, and the instructions that came with the gauges. It's pretty straight forward, just match the wires up. Then you can use the factory wires in the engine compartment for the senders.

I got the gauges at:

http://egauges.com/vdo_mult3.asp?Typ...od_SLF&Units=E

As for zero experience, you've got to start somewhere! And really isn't rocket science, sure you can figure it out! Even if you have to do it again, you've learned something, right? I still make mistakes!

By the way, you can order those gauges with any color pointer, background, or bezel....

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HWYSTR455

A little progress this weekend, though not quite as much as I was hoping. Some may be due to me going out last night, pretending like I was when I was in my 20s, and, yeah, drank too much! So got a late start this morning, and moved a little slow!

Upgraded the core support mounts for the radiator to accept a 4 core. Mocked it up, marked the core, drilled the holes in the brackets and core at the same time. used the holes in the brackets as a template to drill holes in the rubber mounts, so they would fit flush when the screws were in place. (pic 1)

Once I got the mounts in places, I mounted the condenser. The upgraded condenser I got from Classic Auto Air doesn't come with the mounts, or the dryer brackets, so those I had to remove from the old, clean up, paint, and re-use. One bummer was that one of the rubber mounts for the condenser ripped when I tried to unbolt it. Hope those are available.
(pic 2)

Mounted the fan to the radiator, and installed the radiator.
(pic 3)

Laid out the new forward light harness, mounted the fan controller, and the headlight relays. I got some of those AutoPal H4 lamps as an upgrade, which is another reason for the headlight relays. Even without the upgraded lamps, the relays make the headlights much brighter, and a great upgrade. Stronly recommend the relays, allows for a solid 13.8+ volts to reach the bulbs, as well as take the load out from under the dash/headlight switch.
(pic 4)

I have a few items I need to order to complete the engine compartment, some fittings, some bolts, etc, will knock that out tonight and have it for next weekend. Figure I should be able to get all the odds and ends stuff done, then tackle the exhaust the following weekend. That will have it ready to start the weekend after that. Nice.
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HWYSTR455

Got the headlights mounted, required a little doctoring of the buckets, in order to allow for bulb replacements without having to remove the enclosures. I had to mod the forward light harness, since I bought 4 hi/lo headlights, so robbed the connectors off the old harness. When those babies come on, they will be bright.

Also populated the firewall some, as well as plugging in the majority of the forward light and engine harness.

Got my other camera back, here's a pic of the rear brakes coming together.

Today I'll knock out a bunch of small stuff, since later today I have to go look at a car for a friend...

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HWYSTR455

Got the trans lines installed, and some of the fuel lines. Realized I need a couple fuel fittings I don't have, will order tomorrow.

Here's the pre-bent trans lines I got from BTO. I wrapped the return line with heat shield, then wrapped the two lines together.

Installed the lines, had to bend them around a little, and then used adel clamps and secured it in place. Can see the fuel feed line to the pump.

Last pic is of the cooler soft lines, also from BTO. They have a compression fitting on one side, and will use them to make a connection to the rad and cooler, without having to use any worm clamps.

And the stack plate external trans cooler I had is a little small, so decided I would get a bigger one, so didn't get that mounted. (Will order this week too)..

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HWYSTR455

Sorry for not posting in a while, was on travel for work, for one, but did get some stuff done.

Finished the trans lines and cooler install....


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HWYSTR455

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Got the rest of the fuel lines done, and the filter installed. The carb sits real low on the intake, had to use a 1/2 thick gasket to raise it so the linkage wouldn't bind. Also had to use a different elbow off the front bowl, hope that clears the OAI air cleaner.

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HWYSTR455

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Built out the evap case and got it installed. Also got the heater hoses cut and routed, all brackets in place.

Have a few wires to run, some harness cleanup, and get the distributor, wires, and engine primed, but getting closer. Starter and exhaust, few other minor things, but real close...

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GreekDog

looks better every day

HWYSTR455

Thanks! I'm a little behind, but a lot has been going on and haven't had as much time to work on it lately. I figure another 2-3 weekends and I'll be good. Will still have to get the alignment, swap the windshield, and get the exhaust welded, but for the most part, it will be done. Lost my position in the body shop, will have to see what kind of a turn around they can still give me. Might be a 2 month job, which puts me into Aug. Oh well, at least it will have air conditioning! All in all, I will have about a year of weekends into it, not bad...

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oldsguybry

wow , great job ....I will have to do the same thing with my 72 CS someday...when I have a place to do it , and some money he he....do you remember what the name of the 3m product we talked about a couple of months ago on this thread ? the oozing stuff you spray or squirt in the rear wheelwells where the sheet metal is spot welded together to neutralize rust in places you cant get to with anything else...I looked at the link you have here now and it takes me to a collision products page....I could of swore when I looked at it a couple of months ago , it took me to the right page.

HWYSTR455

Yeah, it's a seam sealer/rust preventer, and I tried the link I posted a week or two ago and it didn't work, not sure why. Just have to poke around on the 3M site to find it. If I get a chance, I will as well, and post the part number(s).

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HWYSTR455

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3M™ Rust Fighter-I 08892


http://3mcollision.com/products/coat...oreInfoDetails

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