oldzy

Rear end (with new Eaton posi and Richmond 3.42's) waiting for either rubber or Hotchkis supplied poly bushings (can't make up my mind).




Moser axles (with orig style backing plates from 2blu4u and brake H/W that was included in the ILT complete rear drum kit)





Double gaskets used (outer 712146 seals stuck out little too much apparently)



ILT S/S parking brake cables



Moog Idler arm. Bolts do not stick out too far though with included washers. Also, not sure yet whether to paint cast iron color or leave the factory coating (gray zinc phosphate?)

olds67

WOOOOOW!!!!
compliments beautiful work.
see all new and how you're doing is really nice.
the frame looks new !!!!!!

gearheads78

looking good

oldzy

Thx.

Finally got my original proportional valve back from Karps... rebuilt and powdercoated. Anyone know where to get that end rubber piece? Mine has a tear in it. I am not even sure of its function, but it comes out very easily. I assumed they would replace it.

garys 68

I'm doing the brake lines on my 72 cutlass now. It's being switched from auto to 4 speed. It looks like the old proportioning block was mounted on top of the frame while the lines I have for the 4 speed mounts on the side like yours.
Could you shoot a few pics when you get yours mounted. Also could you show some shots of the brake line routing. I might just make my own since most of the replacement lines came with the car, but I do seem to be missing the left front.
Do you know if there's supposed to be a reducer fitting on the valve that goes to the rear brake line?
Thanks,
Gary

oldzy

I don't think auto vs 4-spd affects anything brake line related... only if you have drums or discs up front. I am actually selling a complete OEM brake line set on feebay for 71-72' w/front discs. The prop. valve is mounted on the side.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...STRK:MESELX:IT

Below are a few pics. I am still waiting on my proper blue/yellow brake line clips. 2 x lt blue 3/8" (3952717) near the rear, and 2 x yellow 1/4" (3952716) clips near the front. I am having a pair of 1/4" powedercoated yellow as no one seems to have the correct color.


Not mine, but here is a pic of the prop. valve mounted...


Mine. Valve not mounted yet. (note that line with yellow rubber end goes 'under' the linkage bracket on frame - I just have it resting on it in the pic)

















No reducer... rear line threads into the big nut at the end

garys 68

Thanks! Those pics really help. I'm thinking I'll just make the ones I'm missing. When I got the car, the proportioning valve was on top of the rail. Might have been a header "modification" from the last owner.

oldzy

Probably. When I put headers on mine, I had to move the line that goes from the valve to the pass. side a bit, as it was too close for me. I hate headers on these cars, but as I seen someone mention before... they are a necessary evil. I think I will try Thornton repros first though when I get to that point.

oldzy

Not much done today. Found out that my Global West TS-82 rear frame braces do not fit (well the drivers side at least)... the bottom part of the brace does not fit flush to the frame, and the bolt will not go through, even with force. Will try the Edelbrock braces (#5211) I have instead.

Mounted the motor mount mounts, which are a bit of a pain actually (had to use a specialty ratchet on one inside bolt head). They were powdercoated in a gun metal color.




Also put on my yellow brake line clips per the assembly manual (#3952716). Not sure what is up with these... no mention of #3952716 in either of my parts manuals, and no one seems to offer an aftermarket one (other than Classic Muscle, but appears to be gold cad plating)

mikes71

I've got a 71 cutlass i'll be doing soon, your doing a great job, the chassis looks great. keep up the great work. Mike

oldzy

Mounted for the most part. Just can't get the one bolt lined up. Coil springs will need to be compressed it seems. It is the Hotchkis TVS kit so far. I am considering changing the lower rear control arms to poly/delrin or a poly/joint arm though like Currectrac or Global West.

oldzy

Finally hammered in the last lower control arm bolt (tapered end of the factory style control arm bolt made the difference), then mounted the circus colored Bilstein shocks. Just need to install the sway bar and tighten everything. I did not need to compress the coil springs (well sorta)... to get the shocks on... I kinda sat on the frame a bit to lower each side (using floor jack on each side as well) enough to get the bolts through the shock mount holes.

oldzy

Hotchkis rear sway bar mounted.

Indy_68_S

Looks great oldzy!

Dunno if it applies to your setup, but I've heard that you shouldn't tighten all the control arm bolts until the car is weighted (at ride height) to avoid binding. This seems particularly important for the sway bar links......Just what I've heard....

Also, did you wash/rinse the mfg'ing oil off your ILT kit drums ? When I did it with brake cleaner, the cheap gray/cast paint washed off too..... I ended up repainting w/ VHT Cast....

And, I'm curious as to how your brakelines (ILT?) will line up with the prop block. I had to really rework mine by hand to get everything to fit....

Keep up the excellent work!

oldzy

Thx.

Nothing is tightened yet. Also, all bushings are poly (with the exception of the spherical/delrin 'joint' on the upper frame side). I do notice a 'gap' on the one side of the sway bar, but am assuming it will disappear once tightened up (will tighten sway bar last to make sure no shims are needed). IIRC, everything can be tightened before weight is on it when using poly, whereas rubber bushings need the full load on it first before tightening.

I am also eyeballing the Currie Currectrac rear lower arms with the poly on the axle side, and johnny-joint on the frame side. They look 'thinner', and if so, I am 'assuming' it will allow the entire rear end to drop more than these hugemungous Hotchkis lower arms, which will allow easier removal/installation of things (primarily the coil springs). I also notice the top coil spring isolators/dampeners or whatever they are called a bit 'twisted' up there right now. Hopefully, they fall into a nicer position once full weight is on them. I would also need shims for sure then for the sway bar.

I should have taken a pic of the other brake drum from ILT... it had some light gray bare spots. I may just get other drums, as these are no-names apparently (at least ILT could not tell me where they were from - not even a 'yeah they are Wagner, Delco, Bendix' or something - nothing). I have not touched them yet. I was planning on painting them with Eastwood Spray Gray though, whether I keep these ones or get another brand name pair.

In re to the prop. valve up front, I am curious as well. I am missing the two bolts to mount it to the bracket. Should have soon and I will post pics/results. I did notice the one rear axle line is a bit fussy on the one side, as it would not fully fit into the inner most weld tab w/o bending it downward.

oldzy

Here is the other ILT brake drum as part of their complete 9 1/2" rear kit. I have not washed/painted them at all yet.

nonhog

Great thread! Gives me hope!

O's_Car

x2!

oldzy

Small gap (near the lower bolt hole) between lower Hotchkis arm (1302) and sway bar (2202) did not go away after snugging all other bolts up a bit. Guess I need shims. I did not think I would need shims though with a Hotchkis arms/rear sway bar combo.

oldzy

Contacted Hotchkis, and they said I just need to tighten the sway bar bolts/nuts as-is (no shims). Will see what happens.

Svinet

Great job man! Keep this pics coming.

I'm taking my 64 F-85 apart and restoring it over the next two years. Seeing how much fun you're having right now I really can't wait!

- Anders

garys 68

Just wanted to say thanks again for the pics. I got my brake lines squared away for $10.
Oh and the motor mounts. I just removed mine and replaced them with 72 chevelle 307 mounts (for thr LS motor swap). What a pita, and I did it with the lower control arms in place!

gearheads78

Best way to do that is with a closed end wench with a piece of tape to keep from loosing the nut.

oldzy

Mounted prop. valve temporarily (need better/cleaner bracket screws) The ILT brake lines had to be bent some. Not sure if there is supposed to be that large gap on the drivers side line between line and frame or not. The prop. valve bracket is a zinc phosphated repro from ILT.

Indy_68_S

I think they're supposed to lie flat across the top of the frame. The other side does and has a clamp/clip. Mine looked the same way at first. I had to do some serious manual massaging of this & most of the other lines to get them to lay right....

I got mine from ILT too. These preformed line sets seem to be 'close' at best....

oldzy

Seems that way. For the most part, their lines have been 'ok'. I will have to try to flatten out that drivers side line... it seemed to be the worst line (pass. side was fine though - pic below). I might get another line just to see if it is any better than ILT's.

oldzy

Another gap shot.

olds67

GREAT WORK!!!! oldzy


this car when it's over, it will be better when it was new..

oldzy

Thx.

In regards to the line to frame gap on the drivers side... ILT replied and said that it was supposed to be that way.

oldzy

Original front disc brake Backing Plates and Caliper Brackets from a 197x? from 2blu. I have never seen original parts in this good shape (in particular with 'original' plating still on them) in this area. Only a bit of rust on the one caliper bracket. I cleaned these parts up a a bit, and sent them off to Steve G. @ brakeboosters.com to get plated.

2blu442

Hi Ken
I pulled them from a 1971 and think it's likely they were original on that car. They did clean up nice, please post pic's after you get them replated. John

bulldog

oldzy,
I sure would like to pop around someday and see your project up close. Sure looks nice in pictures. But I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice.

oldzy

.....

oldzy

..........

garys 68

Stupid question. What's the bracket for on the frame behind the brake distribtion block?

oldzy

The prop. valve/dist. block mounts to it. The frame curves a bit, and the bracket compensates. I guess they could have made a slightly curved dist. block and mounted it directly to the frame.

oldzy

Or you mean the bracket circled here in red? If so, it is for the tranny linkage. I fergot to take it off before being powdercoated... I think it is supposed to be silver zinc colored/plated or something.

garys 68

Yep, I was referring to the trans linkage. My car is an auto converted to 4 speed. I couldn't find any use for that bracket. It will be gon tomorrow.

oldzy

I am pretty sure the 4-spds use the exact same bracket pictured, same linkage also, aka 'back-drive linkage'. Someone pls correkt me if rong.

oldzy

A vid of interest... 68 Cutlass S. IIRC, it is someone who is on this board who did an auto -> manual conversion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk4k8-7M4PU