I've been distracted from the Olds lately but a few little things are getting done. At the Monroe Wa. swapmeet last weekend I found a set of side mirrors that are nearly mint for only 40 bucks for the pair! They aren't 100% correct but extremely close. Of course I only need one - so I gotta go buy another '64 Olds to match up to the spare...
Two weeks ago I was at OPGI in Seal Beach and I took a chance on the reverse switch for column shift cars. The part looked close enough to the floor shift so I thought maybe...
Sure enough it's the same part. Spread the word - the part fits both applications and is only 22 bucks.

 

I got my thornton exhaust manifolds back from ceramic coating today. They sure are pretty...
The 330 will be going on the engine stand shortly and then onto the chassis if all goes well. A lot should happen soon.

 

How much did the ceramic coating cost?

 

Dave,

A very good customer of mine did them for me for nothing. Having said that, I believe the average cost is around 100 bucks per side.

 

I am surprised it is that low. Having headers ceramic coated is far more expensive.

 

Ok over the weekend I dropped the engine and trans into the chassis. Seems really low to me...probably the 2" drop coils I installed. There's still torqueing and bolt tightening to do all over the front suspension and the placement of cotter pins and the like. At least I have more space in the garage with the engine and trans out of the way.
I still need to run my fuel lines and brake lines and all that good stuff before the chassis is complete. Due to budget restrictions it looks like I will be doing the mudwork on the body and panels myself. The plan is to block out the car until I feel I'm satisfied and then let a pro look at it and tell me how crappy I am at it...The black paint I will leave to a pro.

 

Looking great! If you need some taller springs......

 

I just might smarty pants!
This evening I bolted down the carb and dropped on the air cleaner. Anyone have an opinion on air cleaner nozzle direction before I apply my decals?

 

I got a lot done this past weekend. Brake lines and fuel line are all in. I'm just waiting for my exhaust to arrive so I can get that together and mounted. Drive shaft is in too.
The plan is to sweep blast the fingerprints and such off the body and panels on Saturday in preparation for primer. By the end of the weekend I am looking at having the body home for the mudwork, blocking and sanding.
The car might just be ready for spring.
In the meantime I have started reassembling my dash.

 

very impressive solo, looks like a brand new car !!!!!!!!!!

 

Looks like building a big model. Great job.....

 

Thank you! It feels like a scale 1:1 kit. For outward appearances anyway, my car will look like yours but black with a matte black rally stripe. I still have the really expensive stuff ahead - chrome and brightwork...

 

Yep that stuff will run up the tab! When it cools off here in Dallas I will get out to the shop and resume construction.

 

I finally got to my p.o. box to pick up my exhaust system from Classic Exhaust. I was surprised by two things:

1 - The first section is complete with down pipes. I had bought down pipes separately because I was under the impession that manufacturers didn't include them in their systems because of engine variations. Not from olds to olds but brand to brand. Anyway, I guess that's a good thing.

2 - The tubes were obviously tossed around a bit on the bench or cnc machine because there were a few dings and gouges here and there. My mufflers were a little scratched and one had a small dent. OK I'm not looking to win the Riddler award but I figured it would be packaged and or handled with a little more care. The big deep dent shown i believe will be on top once installed so luckily it won't be seen from underneath. I will likely take them to the shop and glass bead them for polishing.

Now I'm gathering and ordering the last of the things and stuff I need to test fire the ol' 330. Trying to get the body in primer too - customer work keeps getting in the way. Dang!

 

Very nice!!

 

Finally got the ol' machine primed today. This week it will be coming home for the mudwork over the coming months. Doesn't need much. Still looking at massaging out a few minor dents and dimples. My buddy Terry said it was fun!

 

I still have a bunch of stuff to do to the chassis but i figured I'd best get the body into the garage before the rains come. Not crazy about leaving the chassis outside but the canopy I have has four sides to it so the weather will stay out. I'll be hanging fluorescents in there so I can keep working through the depths of the rainy season . Having it outside will make test firing the engine a lot easier too which will be coming fairly soon.
I will be doing the mudwork, blocking and sanding myself in the garage so that'll be a new experience. I do have multiple buddies who can check my work and provide pointers.
I don't think much will happen for at least two weeks here cuz my shop is swamped and then off to NYC for Comicon! Yes, I'm a fanboy nerd.

 

There is still a ton to do but I've been too busy to work on the ol' machine. I've been doing small stuff but some upcoming life changes necessitate me to amp things up a bit.
Right now I'm building my core support but what needs to happen starting this week is seam sealing the underside and firewall to get ready for paint. The chassis is outside under a canopy but I'll need that space for my Jaguar so the plan is to get the U/S and firewall painted so I can drop the body on it. The mud work, blocking of the body will have to happen on the frame. This should all be happening over the next few weeks.

 

It coming along nice SOLO. Great job

 

x2

 

Top shelf build very very nice.

 

Thanks gents - starting to get my mojo back and focus on the car again. I applied a little seam sealer already and my wife told me I did a crappy job so I'd better improve my brushing skills. A buddy of mine strongly suggested two things - don't paint it black and don't do the blocking and sanding on the chassis...
I managed to borrow another rotisserie to facilitate the painting of the underside and seam sealing. I don't trust it completely. There is a bit of sag where it bolts up to the rear end and I don't want to see if the car bounces. I'm hoping to get the underside finished in the next two weeks. That will be a nice milestone to see colour on the car. To recap, the bottom will be painted matte black.

 

The rest of my expense now is the interior, getting the door rear qtr.panels covered, the backseat to match the Pro Car Scat seats that just came in.

 

I can't imagine it being too bad - considering what's been spent already. Mind you I don't know what a custom trimmer would charge.

 

SOLO when I find out I will let you know.( I will probably fall over) I have new cardboard door and qtr. panels from Ames Performance, 64-65 GTO post cars use the same panels.

 

Looking good Napoleon. Nice work

 

Napolean... I talked to a company just across the border that quoted me $2000 to do custom front and rear seat covers, 2 colours of faux leather and french seams and custom front door panels and both rear panels for the vert, I would take them the seats and they would recover and then I will do the install or take them the car and they will do anything you want.
If you want their contact info give me a call.

 

Thanks Maurice. My interior is pretty much mint but I'll likely get the info regardless. Therobski needs the interior trimmer. Bit of a haul from Texas though...

 

OK everybody - I've set some pretty tight timelines for myself. If I get focussed I can make it happen.

By May 1st I plan to:

1. Have the chassis completed and running
2. Have all of the bodywork done, car painted and back on the chassis

By Aug 1st I plan to:

Have the car complete and driveable. DONE!

Keep poking me with a stick so I stay on track...

 

Your not getting any younger and you only get slower with age so get on it while your snowbound and the yard work hasn't started yet! (How's that?��) I'm using the same logic to get my motor switched.

 

Um that is after the Goodguys!

 

A couple of weekends back it was actually nice out so I pushed the car outside and swept out the ol' garage. I'm almost finished the seam sealing of the underside although my wife says I did a crappy job...
I will probably go over the whole thing with sandpaper to try and smooth out the clumpy spots a little. I have been exploring options on coating the underside in another thread here however I have yet to decide. I did decide that it won't be regular paint.

We took four days last weekend and took a mini trip to SoCal as we often do. This trip was strategic as the Pomona Swap meet was on and I went to buy a set of restored bumpers from a local shop. Dan Gaitan of Big D's Chrome in Downey Ca. did an awesome job and my new bumpers are a sight to behold. I'll be picking them up and exchanging my cores in Puyallup Wa. at the swap meet in two weeks or so. This was the last of the big purchases except for front and rear glass when the time comes. Looks good that I will make my schedule.

 

Nice.

Any automotive paint should be fine for the underside of the car.
We used to use imron in the 80's, it was a two part paint used on trucks very tough paint.
They most likely don't produce it anymore do to health and environmental concerns.
What are you thinking coating wise for the underside?

 

I'm contemplating going to the Pullalup swap meet. I've never been, is it any good? How would you compare it to Monroe or Portland? I know Portland is huge but not much Olds stuff.

Thanks Randy.

 

Monroe seems to be 2-3 times bigger than Puyallup. However its been a few years since I went.

 

Howdy Bernhard!
I'm looking at going with a bed liner style coating - the product names escape me at the moment. The only reason why I'm not going with a proper paint is that it costs too much!

I've never been to the Puyallup swap meet. I do go to Monroe twice a year. It's pretty good. It's no Pomona but there's a lot of goodies. Sadly there's rarely any Olds stuff but there is usually a booth there by the PNW Olds club. I bought my 330 fuel pump from them.
I do want to get to Portland just for the heck of it.

 

So today I wrapped up the last tedious bit of seam sealing. I am looking forward to digging in to the mud work to test my skills. I have backup if it goes sideways..
I've had the bumpers for a week now but I have finally unwrapped them and had a really good look. There are a few tiny imperfections but I am super impressed.


Question - Should I paint seal the underside floor before sanding the body?

 

Today I finally started on the filler work on the body. I didn't expect to actually enjoy doing it. Having never done it before I was expecting it to be tedious and sucky. Knowing that the car will be painted black, I plan on taking my time with this stage. I gave myself the month of April to complete it but I don't think its even going to take that long. While blocking out the primed panel prior to the filler it's pretty interesting to see the high and low spots in the factory sheet metal.
It is therapeutic to take the minor impressions out and make them smooth as glass to the touch. I have to rebuild the lower body line with filler as you can see in the picture. The bottom side is going to get smoothed out tomorrow. A few quick tips and tricks I learned online like running a tape line to match the body line and run the mud up to it. When it starts to set, peel it free and there's your body line.
When the mud work and blocking is done I'm blowing slick sand high build on the car for the final sanding and block party...

 

Nice. Body work like that does seem like it would suck, until getting into a groove. I'm going to be doing the work on my 64 as well.

 

Honestly it's really not bad. Feels good to run your hand across the quarter and it feels as smooth as glass. The sucky part that will try my patience will be rebuilding that body line. I laid a straight edge across it and it's depressed by about 1/8". I'd rather not put that much filler there but not much option.