Thanks Dan!

 

Joe Man it is like you slapped that thing into overdrive LOL... making great progress.... I love the chromies myself, and the whole car looks amazing, I am far behind you in my resto but folks finishing their cars/Builds is a real inspiration for those of us staying greasy LOL....


where in Jersey are you? I hope to see that car in person someday!!

As for you garage space I feel your pain, I am working out of a single car garage myself...



thanks for sharing..

 

Joe - looking good! Hope you get those plates in time for the DVOC show, but if not still trailer it! We'll enjoy it even if not totally finished.

 

Eddie I am in the Trenton area. Thanks for the thumbs up! I had all the parts waiting so once the paint was done everything was on hand for the assembly. I did not want to go thru the winter with the car still apart so lots of vacation time was used. Try and make the DVOC show if possible and the weather holds.

 

I'll try joe if not this year than next :-)

I keep collecting little bits and pieces myself it is great to haul down bins from the storage shelves and put them on the car...... but I have a loooooonnngggg way to go yet hope to swing the motor in soon



Again great job

 

Tom will see what I can do and as alway hoping for nice weather!

 

Looks Awesome. Bet your happy the end is near.

 

Thanks L69, I hope to get a road test in this weekend, hope all goes well. I still need to permanetly install oil and water temp gauges. I was going to exterior cowl mount these and tach but decided to do the traditional under dash and steering column install.

 

Its hard to believe but I have not road tested the car yet! Its swap meet season and did Etown and Carlisle and next week is Hershey. I was planning on trailering the car to the DVOC show this Sunday but the weathermen are calling for unseasonal cold and lots of rain... At Carlisle I got some pinch on windlacing but noticed it is slimmer than the original. I believe this is my only alternative as I checked the Chevy and Pontiac guys and everyone had the same stuff. I did find some that was almost like stock but is only produced in black and i am not sure how paint would coat and stick and this would take time. For now the repro off white ones will do. I still need to mount my gauges and get the headliner done. I spent today waxing the body. It is looking nice.

 

The 1st road test was not as exciting as I had hoped. As I started out getting into 3rd and 4th there was a shuddering that seemed to come when I tried to accelerate. The engine lacked power. About a mile down the road I turned around and headed back to the garage. I opened the hood and heard a slight noise from the distributer. I placed my hand on it and could feel a grinding type sensation. I checked the timing and dwell and adjusted things some and the problem was still there. Today I pulled the plugs and found #2 as new with bright shiny porcelain as if it never fired. The others looked normal. I decided to pull the distributer and swapped it with another. Upon starting the engine seemed smoother and the noise and shudder was gone. A short trip down the road and back confirmed this. Now I need to see if the brakes are ok for a non power brake car. They seemed rather lacking with quite a bit of pedal pressure required. My 66 Delta has non power brakes as well and they seemed better than these.

 

Put a few miles on the 442 today. Engine is running fine now. Have been keeping my eye on temp gauge. I have a 160 Tstat in there and gauge stays at 180 till some stop and go driving then it hovers around 200. Need to borrow my instant read temp gun from work and see how the readings compare to the sun gauge. Am getting used to the non power brakes. Guess they are ok. Now its time to see about getting the headliner done. Lastly all the lights wok except nightime tail lights. Have to trace the wire back. Have no power to the sockets. Headlamps work so I am thinking the switch is ok.

 

Sounds great, Joe! It's a good feeling to finally be driving a car you've ben working on for so long.
I could be wrong, but I believe that on the '67s the parking lights turn off when the headlights are turned on, so there are three feed wires out of the switch -
One for headlights,
One for parking lights, and
One for taillights.
If your taillight wire is loose or poorly connected (or the switch has a problem), it would do what you've got now.
I'd give the switch a look before ripping other stuff out to chase the wires.

- Eric

 

Thanks Eric, easy enough to check the switch and now, yes that does make sense to me. Will let ya know what I find next time I am there.

 

Joe - These boats with manual brakes take a lot of pedal pressure to stop em. I experienced the same thing after i removed the power brakes from mine!

Did you look at your plugs after changing distributor? If you still have one white one that doesnt look like its firing, that is a sign of a vacuum leak in the intake and fuel doesnt get to the cylinder. Sometimes one of your manifold plugs isnt "plugging"? How's the clutch working?

 

Taillights are on a fuse in fuse panel -- headlights are not. check to see if you have power at the taillight fuse. If you have both parking lights and taillights when switch is in parkinglight position and then the taillights go out when you pull switch all the way out, then its probably the switch or wire from switch. (the parking lights are suppose to go out when switch is pulled out to headlight position).
You will build temp at stoplights. Best way to avoid it is to assist the cooling with an electric fan in front of radiator. I have a thermostatically controlled one on mine set to come on at 195 and now it never gets above 210. It used to get close to 240 on warm days.

 

Thanks for the info Tweed. Engine runs smooth now so I see no reason to pull the plugs again. The distributer was the problem. It had trouble holding dwell and the timing seemed to bounce around a lot while adjusting.

As for the tailights, I will check fuse and fuse panel along with other things. I have a nos headlight switch as well that I can try.

 

Had a little time today to work on tail lights Fuse was not making good contact. After that the headlight switch at times did not bring on tail lights. Probably dirty contacts. The left lower tail light would not light at all once I got the rest to come on. I started to wiggle the wires at the back of the socket and "snap" the fuse blew. I removed the assembly and see the inner insulator is broken allowing things to move enough to cause problems. For now I will repair with an aftermarket push in socket after i get the old one out of the hole.

 

Joe, not much is worse than tracking down electrical gremlins. Glad to read you are making progress. Sometimes when those older light sockets start to give you trouble, they either need to be completely refurbished or just replaced. Hope you are able to put the electrical issues behind you soon.
Brian

 

Man, that sure is a fine ride!! Great work.

 

Thanks Brian, got this one covered. Your efforts on that 69 are producing amazing results. Makes me weary just watching the whole process!

 

Thanks, havent done much riding yet, maybe 3 miles on it after 3 years work and now the show season is over. Am hoping at least to make it to the BOP show at ATCO Dragway Nov 3.

 

Today was my 1st real roadtrip in the 442. There was a BOP show at ATCO raceway. The 25 mile trip was pretty good with the only real trouble was the shifter. At times I had to use some force to get it into gears and while moving at times 3rd was hard to find. I was a block away on the return trip and the shifter got jammed. The trans was stuck in 2nd and I could get nothing else. At home I removed the shift arm from the trans and put the gears in neutral and reattached the shift arm and all is well. I see a shifter rebuild in my future.
I am happy to say the car was well received at a mostly Poncho show with the biggest draw being the tires!??? It was a good time. I still need to get the headliner done!

 

Nice job, Joe!

She looks really fine out in the sunshine!

You get through the storm okay?

- Eric

 

Wow thats a great job Joe!! Bet that car was a blast to drive down the highway!!

 

Very nice Joe and the car looks great.
Brian

 

Thanks Eric, Brian, and Holiday Coupe! There is a sense of pride along with the nervousness while driving the 442. Overall I am satisfied with end result. There are a few minor flaws in the paint and bodywork if one were to search them out but I do take pride in the fact that I did things myself. I will go thru the Winter and Spring and then decide if the graphics will go on to transform it into a B/Stocker replica. I have a logo and scheme for things already mapped out. It will be a transformation but I am not sure I am ready and would prefer actual vinyl graphics rather than magnetic ones. Time will tell. Hey it doesnt hurt to get ahold of things,, hold them up to the car and envision the results.
Oh, Yes Eric weathered the storm quite well. Thanks

 

Car looks great! Now for some 'Baby Moons' for those shiny chrome rims!!

 

Nice job Joe --- sounds like that shifter is your problem? Did the clutch work ok? Are you using a factor original stock Hurst shifter? I have a couple extra of those if you may need one? LMK

 

What a great job you have done. I hope to have mine on the road with in the year.

 

Nah, plain chromies are where its at! Thanks for the compliment!

 

Tweed its the stock shifter from the 67 I parted so once again working condition was unknown. It was a parts car. I have the one out of my conv I will try. I know that one is good.

 

Thanks again, will be looking for those pictures!

 

Just a quick update on the headliner. It is finally finished and came out good. The price was 600 and I supplied the headliner, windlace and sail panels. They had the car a day and a half. I dont know how long it actually takes to do a headliner and thought 4hrs would do it? I already had it all down.... Well it really came out nice and with the dome light and visors and rear view mirror installed the interior is finally complete. I must say when I dropped the car off at the shop it felt like I was leaving my kid behind for a first day of kindergarden. I guess I have some attachment to the beast! Now with Winter approaching and the car about done for now I will take a rest from things.

 

You deserve one, after a job well done.

- Eric

 

Have been giving thought to graphics to transform the look as an era B/S car, and have been playing with a photo. I do not know if I will go thru with it... but its fun to play and of course my photo program and skills are lacking.

 

Ahhhh!! Joe --- The Trenton Speed Shop !! -- I sure do remember their beautiful black 57 chev Sedan Delivery junior stocker back in the day!!

Keep playing with those graphics!!

 

Joe, that is one BEAU-TI-FUL ride, with or without the graphics. You should really be proud. I remember when you started it, 'bout the same time I started mine. Would luv to see it live!
Once again, great job!

 

I do not remember the TSS car. I started patronizing their shop around 1976 and they built a 425 for me for the 67 convert. There was an employee there who said he had a 67 W-30 (bought new) but totaled it due drunk driving... The shop closed about 15 years ago.

 

Thanks again Mike, your 442 is a beautiful ride as well!!

 

Sweet resto Joe! you have to see in person to truly appreciate it