starting a project. i am restoring this 442 chassis for a guy. he is making a nice driver out of it. i have wanted to do one for a long time but did not have the money to do an entire car so now i can do it on someone else's dollar. will also be rebuilding the 4 speed trans and maybe the 455 engine.

 

That is a nice way to do something, on someone else's dime. The only thing to make it better would be if it were your car.

 

Good learning experience and you don't have to pay for it. This way you will know what you face if you do your own frame of restore.

 

i done a frame off in 1999 but wanted to do another. this one will be a driver when complete so i will be doing some things differant than i would if it was to be a factory perfect piece. i will be using rubberized undercoat and not paint. and aftermarket brakes, bushings, shocks and ect. for a driver he didn't want to spend the big money for NOS stuff. i have an other project that i have to finish first, then i will get started on this one. the ATC 70 3 wheeler has to be finished first for my girls. hope to start this weekend on the 442.

 

finely got the kids 3 wheeler done and started taking every thing apart on the 442 next will be pressing all the bushings out.

do any of you have any ideas about the rotors? my Rallye 350 i media blasted them and left them. now they are rusty like all the others out there. could i clear coat them or would that hold heat in the rotor?

 

i just got the frame and parts blasted and primed today. i had the other rear end that i picked up last week blasted also. mine has alot of pitting compared to the one that goes in the chassis that i am doing. also wondering if anyone knows anything about the brake drums? i have seen both kinds in 1970 (see picture) what determined what got what kind and what kind is better? that is the first time i held a paint gun since 2002. i done much better than i thought i would. i got a new gravity feed gun just for the occasion. just need to fix the body mount holes then paint it. then the fun of putting it together begins. that is my favorite part.

 

I have a 70 vert I will be restoring as well so I will be watching.....I seen in another forum where a guy cross drilled his drums and said they stop as good as disc brakes now, disapating heat and getting rid of dust. He domne it a year ago and updated and said still working great....just an idea, I am going to do my rears.

 

What kind of primer and paint did you and are you going to use on the frame?
What is cross drilling?

 

i am a rookie painter and used SIM self etching primer 39684. i used it because you don't have to mix anything, just pour it in the gun and spray. it is a little more money but i did not want to get into mixing yet. the guy that i am doing it for wants the car to be a regular driver so we will be using Mar-Hyde rubberized undercoating for the finish. i used it on my rallye 350 and turned out great. he looked at my Rallye and liked it so decided to go with the same thing. the nice thing about this stuff is that if you do get a scratch or something on it you can just get a spray can of it and touch it up.

 

Thanks for the reply and thanks for sharing your project. Is that you doing the blasting or did you pay someone and how much did they charge?
I am looking to do the same thing eventually some day.

 

On the brake drums, I don't know for sure but suspected the style without the cooling fins was the eariler one. Then as drums wore down and people replaced them what was available they got the finned style. That's my best guess as I've come across many more of the finned style than the other. Hopefully someone will chime in with something more solid than my "gut feeling" John

 

that is our local sand blaster. he is $100 per hour but is very fast. for the frame rear end and all the front and back control arms, including sway bars it was $130. his compressor is a screw and has no tank. it will blow over 100psi out a 2 inch nozzle without stopping or loosing any pressure.

 

after a long brake from the project, i just got it painted. this rubberized undercoat is a little more flat than i like but will do fine. the pictures look a little more flat than it is. the guy has not got me the parts yet. i hope to have them soon. he will be getting a 69 cutlass from me soon and hope he brings the parts then. i want to get this done before winter so i don't have to charge him for heating my garage while i work.
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I've got a quick ? is the frame light enough for one person to handle when its bare I hope to be doing the same thing and just want to be prepred. Thanks Doug

 

well yes and no. it would be silly for someone to move one by there self but yes, i am silly. i lift one side to a wagon behind my 4 wheeler and then strap it down in the front to lift the back. i move it from place to place like this, i will post a pic. to flip it over after i painted it i had to have help or i would have scratched it up. in 1999 i did a hardtop. i was able to do it by myself. a hardtop frame is a little lighter.
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looking very niceplease keep the pics comming as it helps keep me motivated

 

the guy finley brought me more parts. i pressed in the new back control arm bushings and installed the back brakes. that reminds me what color are the back brake drums when these cars were new? i need the front springs before i can go much farther. hope he will get them to me soon.

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it's going to be a driver,just leave them natural,maybe throw a coat of cast iron paint on them

 

depends on the wheel option for the car. natural (cast iron paint will work) for steel wheels and full size hub caps. if SSI or SSII wheels, then still natural but the face of the drum is black.

 

this guy has ben very slow at getting me parts and making decisions. i wanted to be done with this project months ago. well now i am working alot of overtime at work so it may be next year till i get it done. i had to use some old upper control arm for temporary till he gets me his and the rest of the new parts.

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it's about time i got back to this project. between work and racing i had no time to work on this. it now has to be done before winter because i have two major projects for the winter and need the space. i was installing the front springs and the spring compressor broke on me. was a little scary for a little while. i had ratchet straps and everything i could find to help hold it till i could let pressure off the spring. i used a blanket over what i could to help dampen the blow if it all came flying apart. nothing real professional here but being built with new parts and going to be a driver.

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got to work on this some more. i should have it done soon. i plan to put the engine and transmission in tomorrow.

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Those brake drums that look like lamp shades,are the original 1970 brake drums.I would like to get another pair of those,if you run across a pair.

 

OOPS! i forgot the driver side heat shield for the motor mount and the heat riser shield. i will have them tomorrow evening so i will put the engine in then. i bolted the engine and 4 speed and the clutch together today. also cleaned the shifter linkage and parts today. the shifter linkage has much of the original gold tint left to them but not enough to not redo them. for this car i think i will just strip them bare and clear coat them.

 

thanks for the info. i am thinking about taking the ones off my Rallye 350 and putting them away. i drive that car enough that i would rather not wear them out.

 

i did not know these were being made. he said he was going to send me the shocks and these are what i got.

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Nice work Jensen. It looks great.

 

Lookin good, Keep up the good work!! You mentioned racing, what do you race? Dan

 

all my racing is limited to off road. i raced 4 wheeler MX for several years and this year i am racing 3 wheelers. i hope this is my last year to race. i have a couple commitments to sponsors that may have me in it for another rear but i hope not. all together i have ben on 3 wheelers and 4 wheelers for 31 years and i want to sell out and retire from it. i want to spend the next 31 years or more into Oldsmobiles. (well, God and family first)

 

i am tired of parts made in China. the motor mounts don't fit that great. i had to pry on them to get them lined up. then the transmission mount, i had to grind a little metal off so it would fit onto the transmission. then when i tried to bolt it on the cross member the bolts would not go. i tried several times. i got mad and took the mount off and looked at it. it looked like the had fine threads in it so i put it back on and got some fine thread bolts. they would not go in. now i am steaming mad. i take it back off and figure out it is made for an 8 mm bolt. i took the mount back to the store and told them i will not have any metric bolts in this car. it is bad enough that i have to use parts made in China but metric bolts just AINT going to happen.


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I had a similar problem with the motor mounts. It does get disgusting. I told my kids how in the early 80's everything seemed to be made in Japan, I guess they got undercut by the Chinese and Mexico.

 

Did you restore that trans & b/h ? ... Very nice....!

 

i did the bell housing and all the parts but not the 4 speed. i was originally going to do the original transmission but when i opened it up it looked like it had ben full of water for several years. he was going to bring me another one to use the guts out of but he found a great deal on this one ready to go. he is just going to keep the original case for later use.

 

I read a post by Jensenracing77 about a 70 Cutlass CV windshield frame. It that still available? Mine is so rusty. Please let me know. I was not able to find the posting again.
Thanks,
Bruce (321)720-9101