After a year of gathering and modifying parts, assembly has finally begun. I have modified the dash with NVU Instruments, shaved the gauge hoods and speaker grill smooth and covered the upper portions with a stainless veneer. The HVAC controls are modified to work with the Vintage Air System. Thanks to Ron Roth for restoring the dash plating and adding the finish details that really make it! Classic Cars of Houston gets the credit for smoothing the firewall and reshaping the transmission tunnel to accomodate the GearVendor OD unit behind the THM 400. More to follow -

 

Can you tell me where you had your dash chromed?

 

Ron did a great job on the dash.

 

Continued -
The engine is a Mondello 455 Olds stroker short block with a full hydraulic roller cam conversion and Edelbrock heads. Manifold is a 4150 Posi Flow with fuel rails from Mondello; FAST EFI and distributor; suspension is Global West; Baer 4 wheel disc brakes, Wilwood dual master with Hydraboost; March Serpentine pulley system and accessories; American Autowire harness - slow progress on the wiring -

Ray

 

Ron did the dash as mentioned here is his info
Great guy highly recommend by board members I be not had the pleasure

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70224

 

that dash looks damn fresh and Im feeling the engine as well

 

Wow! Very nice.

 

Awesome work, your dash is a work of art!

 

That whole project is really coming together very nice. Alot of thought has gone into your build!

 

Its looking great!

 

Ray it has been a pleasure. Thanks for letting me a part of your project. I got into this Hobby backwards and it wasn't my intention to get this much attention. I just wanted to restore one for my car. I made a lot of mistakes along the way .Ruined 5 IPs due to Paint failures .I have it down pat now. Most of you have a nicer IPs than me..I am working on that this winter. I get Phone Calls an Emails all the time asking me for directions instructions and contact information for my Plater.I deal with a friend that does work for Chrysler GM and Ford .He is an OEM Supplier and has a tough time keeping the Assembly lines running. He is doing me a favor. He isn't Cheap ..But he is the BEST..He asks me not to pass on his information .He has turned into a great friend. I am not slighting anyone. I just want to keep running. Thanks again for your Kind Words and most of all your Friendship. Let me know if I can help you in the future.Respectfully..Ron Roth 586-556-1234

 

Ray, I'm working on a 66 442 also.. I ran across your post and saw that you installed some NVU gauges... I really like what they offer. I did not want to add additional gauges and just use the 2 gauge holes like you did.. Your choice is probably going to be my choice also... I'm guessing you cut the back of the dash off and then mounted the gauges to a piece of sheet metal and remounted to approximate depth of original gauges. Am I close or how did you do it... Bill

 

Bill,
I did cut away the back of the dash - used a Dremel cutting wheel which makes short work of it. I also heavily modified the original gauge housing so that the lip on the new instruments would sit flush on top of the silver plastic area. First, I sanded off the angled brow over the top of each opening, careful to not cut below the flat part of the upper dash. I used a stationary belt sander to trim it down quickly. CAUTION - as you get into cutting down the brows, there are hollows in the brows that will open up (due to the way it was molded). So, BEFORE you get too far with the sanding, turn over the housing and fill up each of the recessed area with JB Weld and let it harden. This strengthens the housing and eliminates the holes that occur when the piece is nearly flat. Only JB Weld holds up to the acid bath required for the chrome plating process. I learned the hard way, using a 2 part epoxy resin that softened up and had to be done over. After you have flattened the upper brows, there is a thin plastic ring inside the old gauge housing that must be removed for the new gauges to side through. The sanding drum tool for the Dremel makes quick work of this. Once you are happy with the fit of the new gauges, you will have to decide what to do with the surrounding silver part of the dash. I opted to cover mine with a thin stainless veneer because of all the other holes that were eliminated -lighter, gas gauge, ignition switch and speaker grill. For me, it was much easier to cover everything than to try and patch the holes. For chrome plating, the sanded areas will have to be finished with 2000 grit paper, otherwise you'll see scratches through the plating.

Let me know if you want to try this and I'll post the progress pictures. I'm happy with the end result, but it does require a lot of patience. The stainless veneer is another story -

Ray

 

Ray,
Thanks for the help... You kept me away from a few mistakes.. Your explanation
was so specific that I should be able to nail it the first time. Good luck on your
project it looks fabulous, I can't wait to see the final product... Bill

 

Ray,
I'm far away from installing my gauges.. I ordered a NVU bare gauge housing for $32 and after I received it I started cutting on the back of my dash.. I made an aluminum mount for the gauges and attached some suds with epoxy to mount the gauges to. After getting it all done I was able to use my stock gauge face. I will be able to remove the stock gauge face and then install the gauges from the front and secure them to the aluminum with the gauge holders that come with the gauges and then reinstall the stock gauge face... The last thing I will need to do is replace the clear plastic with the speedo markings with clear plastic in front of both the gauges. I'm going to try and upload some pics on my personal page of the project... Bill

 

Here is a link to my project

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...vu+gauges.html

 

After 20 months of starts and delays, I'm finally achieving some measurable progress. From my last post in Nov. '13, there is actually hope the car may be on the road soon. It has gone through extensive panel and frame alignment to fix all of the gaps better than factory; body is fresh out of the paint booth, color sanded and polished. Final assembly is underway with trim, the top frame, door and window hardware installed last week. The drive train and chassis are finished. Wiring is 95% complete and the engine has finally started. Current issue is with the FAST ECU - sent it back to the factory to replace a circuit board and re-flash it. Hope to have it running shortly - need to find an experienced FAST EFI tuner in Houston.


Ray

 

I was at Dennis Faerman Racing a while back, he had some kind of EFI on a ?65 GTO? It was really nice. He was showing me how to change tuning with a lap top. I dont know what brand it was, but he may be able to help you. Hes great guy. He did my machine work on my motor. 713/686/7909
By the way your car is looking amazing!

 

Steve-thanks for the tip! I know Dennis - his shop tore down my engine in March to figure out why it wouldn't hold oil pressure. Turned out to be oversized main bearings - human error when it was built. Dennis checked all machining while it was apart and balanced it. Mondello honored their warranty on the engine - great people to deal with.
I didn't think about Dennis for the EFI tuning - will call him tomorrow morning.

 

Steve - You were right - Dennis F. has been setting up the tuning in consultation with FAST and it is running near perfectly now. The IAC sensor was not functioning which precluded setting the idle and fuel mix properly. The FAST XFI 2.0 software is complex and not very intuitive - thus not for the weekend amateur to tackle on a laptop. Final tune is later this week, then time to bolt in the seats, dash and assemble the front clip for a tune on the road. Dennis has been a real asset through several long evenings.

Ray

 

I hope to see your car in person one day Ray. Absolutely outstanding.
A one of one to be proud of for sure, beautiful.

 

Thanks Tru-Blu! It has been challenging and the end is in site. It is scheduled to be shown at Houston AutoRama in November with the Classic Cars of Houston display. After that, it will be driven and enjoyed! The convertible top cover will be the last major hurdle to completion - I am looking at using Stitches in Houston. Recent progress photos are attached - the rear bumper, top frame and windows / wiring made it last week.


Ray

 

Here is the latest progress for the month - hood, grill and front bumper go on tomorrow. Convertible top next week -

Ray

 

Love those custom touches on the rear bumper and wheel well moldings, gorgeous.

 

It's amazing how eerily similar our builds are. Very nice work.

 

awesome build!!

 

Absolutely gorgeous.

 

Absolutely spectacular!

 

Thanks for all of your compliments - it is great to finally have it all come together. The body and engine compartment are now complete - on to the top and interior.

Ray

 

That's beautiful!

 

Here are some recent shots from Houston AutoRama last month - now I am ready to get it inspected and drive it!

 

Beautiful car, turned out great! But, you really do need to shine it up a bit...........

 

It really turned out ... awesome. I especially like your tailpipe setup and your take on an OAI. Where did the air cleaner and stuff come from?

 

Eric,
Thanks - the airbox is a one-off design by Classic Cars of Houston. I was trying to find something off the shelf with a dual snorkel, but the clearance from the fuel rails to the hood limited that. It is all aluminum and loosely follows the ducting of the W30 option - it is cut through the core support just inboard of the parking lights. There are throttle and fuel rail brackets were fabricated as well as the radiator support cover.
The attached posters summarize the major modifications. The "W66" option code is a play on the W30 - for what an updated magazine ad for the modified car might look like.


Ray

 

Stunning!

 

Just a simple compliment . Combining enough of the original , and adding your touch is the genius of this project . It appears that you and Jeff from CCOH have a nice compliment of ideas to completion .

If you are comfortable with sharing the information , what kind of budget would a person set for themselves for having CCOH do a similar type of car ?
I'm thinking a 66 or 67 , 442 Sports Coupe with the latest Corvette drive line ? Again , congrats on your car , enjoy every minute with it ..
Jim Tuma