ah64pilot

Rambow, I edited the post to add the specs...they are at the bottom.

ah64pilot

I am trying to stay away from aftermarket A/C because my components are still good. I did get a Sanden compressor so that the 134 system will work properly but other than that it is all factory. Because I am running tall valve covers to clear the roller rockers, and because I have a mechanical cam I will be adjusting valves once the engine is in the car. To make room for the tall valve cover, and to be able to remove it...I have cut away the evaporator box that sits close to the valve cover.

(This is my dad's hand)




Then I used fiberglass to form a new side that is flat rather than bulged.





Then I used bondo to finish it and make it smooth. (I use smooth as a relative term, there is a reason I paid $8700 to the body man)





And this is what it looks like on the evaporator box (not painted yet)



If you have any experience with fiberglass and bondo this job would be much easier. I have never messed with the stuff before so I'll consider my modification a "functional" modification. Thanks Brian Trick (507Olds) for the idea!

sicky olds

Looking good man and subscribed.... But i got to ask about that video.... was that an ice cream truck in the background of the video lol. I had to pause it cause i thought it was outside my house....

ah64pilot

Haha! No, that was some dude's ring tone. My camera died so I only had a few videos worth posting...I had to use that one. Hey, are you going to the cruise in on Veteran's day? It's in Fredericksburg November 11 & 12. I'm thinking about going if I'm up and running by then. Would be cool to meet you in person

Wyze

Great car and thread!!!!!!! Gotta keep an eye on this!!!!!!

ah64pilot

Ok, I've been wrenching too fast to take pictures so I hope this short video will suffice. The engine, transmission, and drive shaft are in...the only thing preventing me from cruising down the street is a throttle cable bracket.

sicky olds

sounds beautiful sir!!!! GREAT job

ah64pilot

Hey Joe! I didn't see this before...my car should be entered in the Auto Rama. The body guy that painted it wanted to show it for his "special" paint job. Even though the body work was $7500, it got his single stage paint job for $1200. If he's ok that the interior isn't going to be finished it'll be up there for the show. I look forward to seeing you there. Send me a pm with some contact info and I'll link up with you when it gets closer

ah64pilot

Ok, I didn't plan this but I'm ok that it had to happen this way. I had originally just sort of cleaned my wiper motor but never planned on detailing it like some of the other guys have. After painting just the motor part my dad knocked the whole thing off the workbench and broke off one of the mounting points:





He redeemed himself by finding (free) another core, but I had to completely disassemble my working motor to build up the non-working housing. I figured while I had it apart I'd clean it up a bit...



So after COMPLETELY disassembling the working motor (and non working motor to get the housing) I will now join the club of DETAILED WIPER MOTORS (DWM CLUB). Once the housing dries I'll put it all back together...here is the housing before reassembly:



And After it's assembled:

ah64pilot

First drive, has a little shifting problem (2-3 shift) but other than that it runs great!







We went to get some transmission fluid, it was 3 quarts low (all new fluid and bone dry on install - we knew it was low) But it still has a problem with the 2-3 shift even with the manual valve body mod. Even then, it was nice to cruise with my dad Of course, his version of cruise and mine are completely different...we broke the tires loose at 40 MPH (my version) and he said to cool it and break the motor in easy (his version) lol!

sicky olds

NICE!!!! This mean you ready and set to take it to the BOP shootout on the 21st? lol

ah64pilot

If I wasn't going to Arkansas I would be there. We've had a trip planned for 6 months i also need to figure out why it is hesitant to shift from 2 to 3. I still have to hook up a hose to the vacuum modulator but I was thinking that shouldn't matter...it has a Trans-Go shift kit with a quasi manual valve body modification. I don't know...we'll find out tomorrow. Too late to mess with it tonight.

sicky olds

DUR ka DUR!! even though we talked about it on FB the other day i totally forgot lol. Good luck on this new problem with the car.

ah64pilot

Haha! Don't worry this thread is long from over. I've got it running. Although the paint and body is 100%, I still need to do the interior. I'm running a dark green bench seat and green door panels with NO carpet, yeah baby!!! And I still need an air cleaner and electric fuel pump set up. We'll get there, the main thing was to get it driving and enjoy it a little bit.

ah64pilot

Sicky, after my dad and I cruised around a little bit I took my wife to McDonalds to return a redbox movie. On our way there, not 2 miles down the road...this blue 442 pulls out in front of me. As I approached on his drivers side, he stomped on it...so I did what any self respecting Cutlass Supreme (not 442) driver would do. I BLEW HIS DOORS OFF with only a nudge of the throttle.

When we got to McDonald's he pulled in behind me and we talked for about 30 min. He said "I was gonna mess with you and then I realized I was the one being messed with...I knew as soon as you stomped on it that your car WAS NOT stock" lol! It was hilarious! Nice guy, but more ironic that of all things we see on our first drive was another 442 (rare around my neighborhood)

442_Mustang

You do need that hose to the vacuum modulator on a turbo 350. That's what controls shift points. If theres no vacuum to it, the trans thinks it's at WOT. btw, you bring up a point. What's the best way to break in an engine? I've heard to drive them reasonably as well as drive them like they will be driven.

67Olds442X2

I put a Trans-go kit in my TH400 and mine shifts early (1-2) and late (2-3).
By early it's like 15-20 mph and late it's like 50 mph. I got an aftermarket modulator that's adjustable but hasn't helped. Vacuum line is clear.
I've been running my new motor gently, got it to 4,000 rpm once for a brief time. With my gearing I cruise around at 3,000 rpm. I'm afraid to punch it.

ah64pilot

I have a TH-400...but in any case, I have the Trans-Go manual valve body set up. I should be able to shift into any gear at any time, but it won't go into 3rd automatic or manually...unless I'm ***** out.

Every person has a different perspective of breaking in an engine. We dyno'd this engine, and saw no damage to internal components after the dyno...as far as I'm concerned, it's broken in after the 20 min cam break in and a few pulls on the dyno to get the rings to set in. My philosophy is if it's going to break, it'll break no matter how hard you run it (after the 20 min. cam cycle and a few trips around the block of course). I also believe that old saying "break it in hard and it'll run hard till it breaks". As long as you are using a high ZDDP oil the bearings are getting proper lubrication everything should be ok.

Nicken's Racing Engines, Faerman's Racing Engines, and DaVinci Performance Carburetors all advised me that these things are broken in on the dyno...drive it like you stole it

I understand your pain Dan, I may change my outlook on break-in's if I have to redo my motor w/ in a year of building it. But for now, I'm not afraid to give her a little gas on the street

I'm going to hook the vacuum modulator up today and see if it works, I just don't think we're making very much vacuum with this cam anyway. I got it to shift to 3rd but it was only while I was punching it and manually shifting from 2-3. At cruise it won't shift at all.

Joe Brown

Glad the trans is shifting good after you connected the modulator. You might could use an electric vacuum pump for consistent brake assistance. Let's install the vacuum canister first, but the electric vacuum pump might be a good investment.

MX442

I like your thinking! I agree. Drag strip cars don't drive 3000 miles to break them in!

ah64pilot

I would install the canister now but this guy I know took it back to Austin with him It's ok dad, when you come back we'll put it in and see if it helps. By the way, I've got to get these drag radials mounted...do you have a set of SSII rims that are in WORSE shape than the 6 I have? I'll put them on these if not.

Did you say drag strip? I think I will...we're headed up there in a few weeks Classic Olds members Joe Brown and LeeA are going with us...if there are any more Houston members that would like to go let's get together and plan it

ah64pilot

So my new carpet came in (Thanks Joe Brown)...I documented the fun as much as I could.



I started by putting seam seal where it wasn't





Then I laid the sound deadener under the rear seat and rear floor pan



And then the carpet



I laid and taped the sound deadener on the console and front floor pans, and then laid the carpet over...



Then it was all trimmed, not too much as I didn't want it coming out from under the kick panels and sill plates. I actually left as much on as I could...it made the panels a little harder to reinstall but it is worth it in the end



Once I got the seat back in, I realized how ugly the green seat covers are...they didn't stand out against the bare floorpans, but now that there is pretty black carpet I can see how badly I need new black seat covers. We'll get them, eventually

sicky olds

LOVING the green seats lol. JK looks good mang

citcapp

Carpet looks great. The seats look like split pea soup.

oldsguybry

gotta love those 70's colors

ah64pilot

Yes, yes they do...they will be black as soon as I have the money.

I don't know if I'll have the money for seat covers by the time the Autorama comes around. Do you know if that will be a big deal? The guy that painted the car wants to show it, I think it'll be in a roped off area. Also, I got the trans working correctly, I didn't have the shift modulator vacuum tube hooked up. As soon as I did it worked brilliantly. And yes, it spins the tires in all 3 gears until you let out of the throttle.


Yes, I am going to the Fredericksburg cruise on November 11th with the OCA SA and Dallas chapters...you should come! I'm trailering the car down to Austin and then we will cruise up to Fredericksburg with the 3 cars my family owns (mine, my dad's '70 Vista, and sister's '72 convertible). After that weekend we will be headed down to Baytown either the following weekend or the one after. I think LeeA is going to meet us down there as well...it should be a fun night of racing.

I'll post an open invite in the "Clubhouse" once I get the date locked down.

70cutt

Just putting this out there for a cheap fix to your green problem. http://www.eastwood.com/leather-and-...-oz-black.html is a pretty simple way to change the color of your seats to black. It really does work, my father in law used this on his chevelle seats and they look great 3 years later. Your seats seam to be in pretty decent shape so this could be worth it. I would bet it would work the same on your door panels as well.

ah64pilot

I had a drip of transmission fluid coming out of the speedometer gear housing so I ordered new ones. If anyone is interested in doing this I'll post a few pics. In all it took about 20 min.



Per Joesw31 I jacked up the driver's side of the car to minimize the amount of fluid lost.



I placed a small clean catch can underneath so that I could reuse the cup or so of fluid I lost.



I then removed the bolt and "Y" retainer.



Then I pulled out the speedometer driven gear housing and gear.



I had an extra housing that I put the new seal and o-ring on before hand but here you can see the new seal on the left, the old torn seal on the right.



This is what the installed seal should look like inside the housing, the "C" ring holds it in place.



Once the seal and o-ring are replaced, assembly is reverse of removal. I did put a little grease in the cup of the speedometer cable and in the end of the housing before re-attaching the cable.

Allan R

That's a TH400 right?

ah64pilot

Yessir

car_designer

Your car looks and sounds amazing. Great work.

70vista

Nice work on the car and a very nice looking one to. Get out and enjoy it.

classicjoe

You have done a Great job on your Cutlass especially the engine. If I see you on the street of Houston, don't worry, I wont rev my engine and try to race you....

Vega

Sorry to be a little late on the draw here, but what VFN hood is that? Is that the pin-on? or the bolt-on? I noticed they have their bolt on hood listed with frame and airbox but no word on the pin-on

ah64pilot

Vista and Joe; thanks! That means a lot...it's not done yet though.

Vega; that is the VFN bolt on hood, it does have the air box and "frame" but it is all fiberglass.

ah64pilot

Houston Raceway Park track night:

Car didn't perform as well as we had hoped. I know we are short on fuel as I am using a stock fuel pump from the parts store, but I never imagined it would affect us as much as it did. After launch the car is nosing over going into 2nd gear and it never catches up. Times aren't even worth posting...the stock fuel pump is extremely insufficient for this build. Turning off the track and heading back into pits car has a hung idle to 1800 RPM's. Will be installing an electric fuel pump setup and heading back out.

Steve

ah64pilot

Pictures from the racetrack February 10, 2012:

Allan R

Nice burnout! What was your ET and speed?

ah64pilot

Thanks! I'm not posting the times because of a fuel pump issue. The engine makes too much power (with a good fuel pump) to run what it did. I will say the 60' times were 1.855 with 3.42 gear and 27" tall slick...about what I expected not having suspension set up or gears yet.

Allan R

No prob! When this popped up on the inbox, I kinda forgot to look that it was pg4 on C.O. My bad. When you're dialed in I'm sure you'll be posting some respectable times. BTW, LOVE the pic of the car from up top!! Looks so cool to see it how the highway patrol air boss does! Course, all he would really see is a silvery blur