winter project
#1
winter project
Hello everyone, I'm in the process of doing some serious detailing on my '68 this winter. As much as I wanted to leave it completely stock I found a mint old Edelbrock 04B intake that I painted engine color so it at least doesn't stand out. It's the later model intake that has the bump-outs for a Q-jet ,the early style didn't have them. Everything was taken off the engine & redone. I purposely left the motor in the car because if it came out I know I'd end up going through it & it runs great, it's super clean inside & I've dumped a ton of $$ on it already!! I freshened up the front end with all new bushings(it had recent balljoints but someone really f$#@*d up the control arms putting in the bushings),I also added a new 1 1/4" swaybar & a fast ratio steering box. The car was never in salt so everything cleaned up nicely,the frame came out beautiful it had no rust pitting at all.I redid the stock pwr drums for now but probably will add discs in the future
#7
Just an Olds Guy
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
Looking really sharp. One thing though. With all that super detailing, what's with those cheesy t-stat hose clamps and extra long bolts? Should be 'tower' clamps. Really like the Air cleaner and vacuum line details.
#8
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Big Lake,MN..Spent most of my life in Boston
Posts: 714
Hey Kid64..thanks for rubbing it in!! It is going to be -17 deg. this weekend in Minn. I was planning on pulling the trunk lid on my car...but with those temps my heater can't keep up.......OH FOR SPRING
#12
Hi thanks for the nice words!!! What allot of work!Just finished up redoing all the headlamp housings & bezels yesterday.This is turning into real bad case of "as long as it's apart I might as well do this too"!!!! At least it keeps me out of trouble! The air cleaner paint came from Fusick,the engine bronze from Inline Tube, The red's a nice match but I personally would like it to have a little more gloss even though they weren't super glossy from the factory,I was going to clear it but it came out so nice I'll just leave well enough alone!!To Allen R, the "cheesy" wire style clamps are absolutely correct for '68. Yes the threads are too long, I trimmed them but it was after I took the pics. If you have the big '68 dealer brochure there is a nice pic of a fully dressed out 350 engine which has the wire style clamps on the bypass hose. Fusick doesn't show the "tower" clamps being used 'til around '71.. The bypass hose is suppose to be painted engine color also but I didn't do mine since the paint just doesn't hold up on the rubber hose & and I'm not into the "correct factory overspray" look anyway
#14
Update on all the fun
I'm slowly moving my way to the back of the car!!. All the stuff is back on under the hood. Of coarse since I already had the fender-wells & condenser out it was easy to loosen the front bumper & remove the headlight housings to refinish them,the drivers side was cracked anyway but I lucked out & found a real nice one on ebay last summer. Just some FYI,before I got the one on ebay I called Fusick & he told me he would sell me just one side of his repops instead of the pair for around $180,pricey,yes, but if you only need one side at least he'll do it...I had the flywheel turned,put in a new clutch,etc (the clutch in it sucked it chattered horribly). While it was out I went through the trans,freshening it up with new brass rings,bearings & shift forks,(it's been almost 30 yrs since I last rebuilt a muncie),it was in pretty good shape for 112k, besides normal wear on the syncro rings the only thing I found wrong was the special nut on the front shaft was loose & rubbing on the inside of the bearing retainer. I also went through the shifter,replacing the high wear pieces. If you're not worried about total originality,get the 2 new shifter housing pieces with the provisions for the stop bolts that our factory housings don't have.They really shorten up throw of the shifter, plus they help save the syncros and linkage from over-travel. They're around $60 for both on the Hurst ebay store. Next up is to finish cleaning the underside(Yuk!!!), drop the rear-end for detailing & new bushings & add an incorrect W27 cover.
#15
Winter project almost done!
Hello everyone, My '68 is almost done,for this year anyway!! The new clutch,trans & rear are all back in finally! My girlfriend Cheryl helped me hang the new back bumper this past sun. All I have to do yet is finish up the new exhaust & bleed the brakes. hopefully I'll be firing it up this weekend! I wasn't going to worry about doing "paint dabs & chalkmarks" when I started this project,I just wanted it clean & black underneath, but allot of the factory marking were still able to be seen, so I duplicated what I could. The purple/black driveshaft stripes & the hand scribbled "39" & a big white blob of paint on the rear were all quite visible. The left rear frame rail has the Olds part # & build date codes on it & there is also a matching #39 stamped after the part # I posted a pic of the frame #s but it isn't that clear. I was told the partial vin is on the frame rail somewhere around the drivers door, can anyone verify this??,just curios. Take care everyone!!
#17
Hi everyone, I hope you all had a great summer with your Olds'. I had just got my '68 back together back in May when the water supply line on my upstairs toilet blew while I was at work! the water ran for over 12 hrs & just trashed my house!! The water went from the 2nd floor all the way to the basement! What a f$#@ing mess to come home to!! Needless to say the 442 took a back burner this summer.Thank God for good insurance! State Farm was actually very decent to deal with & the house came out awesome!! Anyway I've only had the Olds out to a couple of shows. I did make our local all Olds show in Alliance Oh. back on Aug 25 & the car took 2nd place. The guy that took 1st had a freshly restored '70 W30 trailer-queen that was absolutely gorgeous!! It was a red with white stripes,4spd car with 3.90s out back. The guys wife told me it NEVER goes on the highway! What a waste but hey, it's their car. Next up on my car is disc-brakes for the front & even though it's incorrect for an A/C car I'm adding a complete re-pop W-30 OAI package. I just love those red fender wells!! Take care>>Rob
#18
disc brakes & OAI done
Hi Everyone. Hope you all had a great Christmas & New Year! I finally got my disc brake conversion & OAI installed. I know OAI's not correct for the car but I love the red fender wells & underbumper scoops!! Those red liners were a real bitch to get lined up! They were way off at the front where they bolt to the core support but with lots of trial & error(& beer) I got them in & they look nice. I bought the whole "W30 package" from the parts place & I will say it was a F$#@ing miserable experience!! I bought it from their Ebay store & the scoops that came in the box didn't even match(one was glossy black,one was kind of dull & they looked like they had been dragged across gravel. The air cleaner had chunks of paint peeling off one of the snorkels. They did respond by email & said to send them pics "because they were new parts & they couldn't be bad"?? they refused to call me even though I left my cell# many times & asked them to call me. They finally told me to send the bad parts back & they'd take care of it. The shipping cost me about $40 which they wouldn't refund! Nice!!! I have to pay to send back their shitty parts! I try to buy mostly from Fusick(Great people) but unfortunately the parts place has allot of stuff no one else has. I will say in their defense I'd always bought from their regular website & they've always been decent. I only used their ebay site 'cause I had some ebay bucks to use & I thought I'd try to save a little $$ Oh well live & learn I guess!! Take care! Come on summer!! It's a beautiful 4 degrees in Ohio today!!
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