64Rocket

The 5/16 bolts on that rocker set up is a very good deal. You are bolting the pedestal and the shaft all in one unit. The factory arms are the same design. The factory aluminum pedestal is the part that breaks. Like was said before, your best bet is to get a hold of Harlem Sharp for that adjuster bolt. The cup for the push rod needs to be specific for oiling and durability for the push rod rotates. The headers should fit, I'm not sure why the engine mounts didn't work,small block engine mounts and factory frame mounts, the lower control arm frame mount on the drivers side needs some cutting.
On my driver '64 Cutlass, I had the radiator shop move the lower connection to the other side.

Gene

1964F85

Update.. the 455 has a scraping noise... sounds low in the oil pan, near the bottom sump.. but it carries 40 lbs. oil pressure at idle. I thought it might be a cracked flex plate, so I unbolted the converter ans shoved it back out of the way. It still makes noise.. time to drop the pan.. fun. The motor sat for a while but full of oil and coolant. More later as I find out the cause of the noise.

1964F85

I dropped the pan off and found several pieces of broken push rod in the pan. On piece was about 2" long and bent 90 degrees, the other pieces were 1 inch and 3/4 of an inch. There was also a press-in ball end present as well. [ I seen where it was laying up in the main area, trapped by the oil pan. I removed the pieces and put it back together, crossing my fingers. I got it started and it seemed to do the trick. I couldn't let it run too long, as I found the thermostat to be stuck shut. I'll fix that today. The remaining things are bleeding the brakes, e-brake cables, and playing the driveshaft game. It sure does sound good though. Maybe I can get my old youtube account up again and get my son to record a few sound clips and/or "test drives" **LOL** YIKES!! Cheers, Mike

1964F85

It runs and drives... My son and I took a test drive yesterday and went down to the gas station for a load of high test. It runs pretty good, but needs fine tuned, as the carb was set up to run on a 330. My latest problem is cooling... as you can see in the photo, there isn't much room to work with. I've added a junkyard flex and I even custom shortened the spacer 1/2" to get it oh-so-close [at the bottom anyway...], but it still runs about 210 or so. I have a brand new 180 high-flow thermostat in it now. I tried to add a fan to the front of the rad this morning, from a ford taurus, [my fav. factory fan to use like this.. used several to great effect on 2 other cars..], but the space is too narrow. I tried to mount it to the front and use it as a pusher by wiring it backwards. However it was not efficient this way, so I'm back to square one.

The question of the day is: What factory fan is the thinnest to use? I have 3" room to use from rad to pump face and maybe 4.5" to use in front of the rad. I don't care if it's a domestic or foreign fan... as long as it fits the space.. Yes, I know I could go buy something, but I'm seriously low on funds... Besides the joy of factory fans are the fact you can get a replacement motor at any parts house. Try that with one of those no-name aftermarket fan$. Any suggestions?

I added a few guages to the inside and I've tried to keep it both old school and minimalist looking. The old hose clamp trick worked out perfectly and the dual gauges are mounted down low. Gotta love the column shift.. I'd rather keep it in this 4 door body...

After I get the cooling sorted, I'm going to have to tie up a few loose ends before really getting on it.. I've made a restraining strap from 1/4" steel, which ought to be in place to keep the cheap a$$ india motor mounts from ripping. Even as it sits now, you can tell it really wants to get up and go.. My son will try and help me post a few vid clips on you tube of this monster...

This monster is like Chuck Norris... it does not sleep.. it waits... **LOL*

1969w3155

Mmm, I would say a clutch fan and a shroud. but I don't know if you have the room.

1964F85

Well, after looking at the car and more head scratching, I've decided to bite the bullet and go for a thin 16" diameter street rod fan. I found one new on ebay for 40 bucks.. and it is 3 1/4" deep. I think I can make it work and best of all it's designed to push or pull and it's new. I think by the time I go back to the junkyard with crossed fingers and a tape measure, I could just save a lot of drama and use a new part for once. As for the extra clearance, I could tilt the top of the rad. in up to 1" without too much trouble. I'd need to slot the upper plate mounting holes, but I'm sure the hoses would stretch that much anyway. Now I have to wait till it gets here and the holiday weekend is here.. I'll post more when it gets here. Cheers all, Mike

1964F85

An update while I wait for a vacuum reserve tank and a 16" thin street rod electric fan....

A word to the wise.. don't waste your time or money on the el-cheapo "chrome" dipstick for Oldsmobiles, as found on EBay. It is made of Chineseium and breaks as soon as you try to install it. I doubt the Chinese even know what on Oldsmobile is, and it shows... I ended up reusing my stock 1964 assembly, with a minor mod. Caveat Emptor... You get what you pay for.. yada yada..

Hopefully the vac. can will restore my extremely weak brakes. Cheers, Mike

64Rocket

Your deal on the wheels needing more camber, cut a half coil off the front springs. In you pic, it looks like you car sits high anyway.
You might want to check your PVC connection, as the hot water may melt the plastic. maybe that is your over heat problem.
I have found that if you use constant vacuum from just under the carb . If you hook into a intake runner you effectively lose vacuum to that cyl when you apply the brake.

Gene

1964F85

Update after long break and an unfortunate death in the family. My dad lost the battle with cancer after 6 years of fighting.. he was just 3 days shy of his 83rd birthday.

The car has been on the back burner and the last things done were the addition of a vacuum canister/reserve tank to help the brakes out with this massive cam. I also modded the front radiator support frame to accept a brand new 65 style rad. It is 3" taller and is a 3 row. I also managed to eek the rad forward enough to allow room for the installation of a Taurus fan. This finally solved my overheating and she runs 180 all the time. I did also modify the 800 CFM QJet to allow adjustment at idle.

The car is running great, but now winter fast approaching us here in the NE and all the car cruises are over with for the season.

I am also regretfully going to have to list the car for sale in light of recent events, my unemployed status and the looming school taxes against my property. I'll be listing it here first, and if there is no interest, she'll go to ebay.

vista461

That sucks that you have to get rid of it.

What taurus fan did you use and how did you mount it?

1964F85

The fan I used was the Taurus fan, but it was the one speed version... I used those "thru the rad" plastic zip-tie type fasteners to hold it to the rad core. The dimensions were a perfect fit and it really draws the air to cool the beast, let me tell ya... I used a heavy duty relay to ease the jolt on the toggle switch too. I made sure to add sections of fuel line added as cushions between the core and the edge of the plastic fan shroud to ease chafing..

The car is now listed in the "For Sale" section of this web site.. It's gonna make someone smile when they drive it.. [and many cry when they get their butts handed to them .. **LOL**]

Oldsguy

I like what you have done to the car and the way you have done it. Good luck in the sale, sorry to hear that you have to sell it.

1964F85

Project Update... I'm no longer in a must-sell situation. I was able to choke the tax money yet again this year without the drastic measure of selling my car. The car remains "for sale", but this time the sale price is going to be adjusted accordingly... I've decided on a "rat rod" look... being a 4 door car, I'm sure it won't sell for what a 2 door coupe or 442 would, so I'm just going to enjoy myself with this one. I've also decided on epoxy black primer job this spring and a set of steel wheels with the "modified" pop on dog dish caps I fabbed up for it, as seen in a previous posting. The primer will be sprayed on with a regular gun for a smooth look.. no more rattle cans here. Just this afternoon I removed the inboard high beam assemblies and fit heavy mesh screening in for the old "Thunderbolt" ram air look... It really changes the front end look of the car.. I'm going to retro fit a small diameter hi/lo beam unit in place. [I kept everything and the swap back to original is as easy as 3 bolts on each side..] (It's really weird that this car kinda looks like an old 67 Coronet from behind.. and kinda like a 68 Torino from the front..)

I've solved my bogging problem with the Q-Jet... I should have followed my own reasoning, rather then listen to the local "expert".. I fixed the bog myself and it's about 90% gone. Only a little more fine tuning needed. She'll fog the tires as long as you wish from a 20 mph roll-out. It's brutal.. A few last details were the addition of "old" dragway stickers from local tracks 75-80 in Md. and a pair of old York Rte. 30 stickers to complete the look. I'll post pix as soon as I can. Cheers and happy holidays! Mike

doc

Looking forward to new pics!!

1964F85

Here's a few shots with the old school "Thunderbolt" style ram air incorporated into the high beam openings. I like the new look and it is easily reversible. I've added the old style 75-80 Dragstrip sticker, and plan on adding an old York Route 30 sticker as well. I'm still waiting for the York stickers to arrive. I just had it out for a Christmas day drive, to zap the battery to full charge and get some high test. Everything looked good.. great oil pressure and temp. I got some puzzled looks from other drivers though .. **LOL** A lot of old timers did a double take.. hahaha.. [It was nice to drive a car with guts after driving that damned Comanche truck with the worn out 2.8 all the time.. ... what a peizza s**t that one is **LOL**] ... The only thing I will have to adjust is the valves as they are a tiny bit noisy. [Hopefully this new photo editing program I am just trying out will behave.. Looks good..] Cheers and have a great New Year! Mike

doc

I believe I'm going to have to copy your headlight trick......

1964F85

Hi Doc,

Yes, it does look sweet! I'd say go for it, as it really changes the looks and appears to have drawn some local interest. I was worried about the high beam issue, but it turns out the outboard lights are dual filament, so the do change when you hit the tilt switch. I was thinking it would be a big deal with the inspection guy, but it should be fine. I guess going for "modern" plastic replacements with H4 halogens would be the hot ticket, but I think the plastic bulbs would stick out like a sore thumb. I've added the last "period" sticker.. a York Rte 30 "class winner" and now it appears I need to add the black primer. Then it should be about complete for awhile. I'll have to get a shot of the sticker when the weather breaks. Cruising this spring will be fun! Cheers, Mike

1964F85

Update... The cold weather has been keeping me from really being able to do much with the car. The cold frozen weather must have been too much on the old wheel cylinders though, as I found the right front cylinder popped and a sizable puddle under the wheel this morning. I had a real mess to clean up, but it went back together o.k. I was unpleasantly surprised to find the wheel cylinder was almost 30 bucks... I'd really like to score a set of disc brake conversion parts for this beast.. So far, I've found 2 of the 4 steel wheels I am going to put on the car. 15 x 6's on the front and a set of 15 x 7's for the back if and when I can locate a set. Pics to come soon. Cheers, Mike

1964F85

Well.. the beast is back. I just got the registration renewed and the car inspected. It was sitting for a while and I thought I may lose the car, but things are looking better for the time being. I decided to have fun with it, since it will never really be more than a run of the mill 4 door sedan, and give it a 60's drag vibe. Simplicity is the name, and low key is the aim. I went with a set of steel rims, 14's on the front, and 15's on the back, to match my home made dog dish style caps. The Rally's were nice, but I like the look of the caps better. The plan is to find a set of 15 x 7's for the back and go with a set of 275/60 15's. Along with the area/period stickers, I used shoe polish for the old B/G [ B Gas] markings and added a spin stripe to the tires.. So today i took the car and my son along to the local car show... It looked out of place among the fancy custom paint jobs, but it sure was an "old guy magnet" ..**LOL** It was immediately swarmed by a group of 5 crusty old men, and they hung around for awhile looking and chatting amongst themselves. I didn't have the nerve to tell them it was mine.. **LOL** My son and I had a great time at the show observing from afar the reactions the car got.. the most attention came from the over 50 crowd.

To complete the car, I'd like to paint it... I have 3 choices in mind... [still keeping the steel wheels].. Classic plain Jane antique white paint job.... a medium blue metallic.. [like GM marina blue..] or a dark British racing green.. [kinda like a 68 or so dark Chrysler metallic green].. any ideas?

I'm also planning on running a big mid sixties style "Hemi" scoop.. the big boxy forward facing affair.. I made a cardboard model and the big scoop actually looks right at home on the olds hood.. big scoop for a big car I guess.. **LOL** The hood center trim wil be retained and will run right into the scoop.. The switch over to a Holley 750 double pumper will require this mod anyway.. it's just too tall to clear the stock flat hood.

I took pics and turned them into the old "timeless" black and white... can't wait to get it finished now.. but there still is the scary "one cup brake thing" to deal with... guess I got to save my pennies for a modern disc upgrade..

nonhog

I'm digging your car. I'd be glad to park my not yet fancy Cutlass next to yours
One question why 15 X 7 instead of 8's? More period correct?
Just curious.

Keep up the good work.

1964F85

Thanks for the compliment! I guess it comes down to availability for me... I don't thing GM made steel rims with the pop on cap ears in 8" wide. They did make 7" wide rims, but I'm having a very tough time finding them. I did find one at a junkyard and the guy want 30 bucks for it. I did find rims that may work thru summit.. and the price difference between 7's and 8's, is just a couple of bucks. The next thing will be tire size and price.. I want to put 275/60 15's on it.. but bigger ones might not be as easy to find and have enough sidewall to fill the wheel well.. and the odd sizes cost more. Then there's the offset issue.. I'm running a 69 GTO rear, which is wider than the narrower 64 style rear.. will 8's and wider tires rub? I'd love to talk to someone who has already got the issue figured out. Personally I think the 8's would look more aggressive, but I got to see if I can get tires to fit... at a reasonable cost.. I'm not exactly flush with cash these days.. [aren't we all?]

15 x 7 here;

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WV...4044/?rtype=10


15 x 8 here;

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WV...4044/?rtype=10

I suppose back in time, they may have used custom chrome reverse rims? I'm not sure if aftermarket companies made wide steel rims.. I'll have to do a web search and try to find old hot rod parts ads and magazines.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Cheers, Mike

Project Grandpa

Mike, first, awesome build, bigtime. Second, I measures my stock "R" rims which are 14x5.5 actual measurement, the back spacing is 2.75 in. I would think that if you increased that to 4.5 inches on an 8 inch rim should make up the difference of the GTOs 54.5 inch plate to plate measurement. I went with a set of 14 in SSIs that I bought at a swap meet for $40 with caps, tires, and lugs a few months ago. I have 2" of room so out comes the 8.2 this week for a 3.73 8.5 out of a 71 Cutlass that was in my 68 396 Chevelle when I got it.

1964F85

Hey, thanks for the quick reply! This is good info and gives me food for thought. I checked the summit site and both sets of rims have 4.25" of backspacing.. I did another bit of research and seen 7.5" of minimum rim width is needed for 275/60 15's... so it looks like I just might go with the 8's after all... I don't think I'm going to run into fender rubbing with those either... currently there are but 15 x 6's on the back end now..

The last critical bit will be to call summit and ask if the factory stock style S10 pop on button caps will work with them. If they do, I'm all set!

1964F85

I think I've finally decided on the colour.. I guess I'll do the antique white [car was originally white anyway..] with black steel rims with the home made pop on caps. [However, body color wheels would be different.. ideas here?.. but will it be too much white??] I'm also running a hemi cuda style hood scoop... this scoop will be painted semi flat black and has a rolled under edge for a super clean look. [Hood will be white.. scoop black..] The scoop will be needed, as I'm going with a Holley 750 double pumper, and I'd like to feed it cold air. I'll have to fab up a base plate to suit, I reckon. Next plan is to fab up an exact model of the scoop and see how it looks on the car.. I think the size of the car and the big blocky looking scoop will be perfect together.. I'll keep the centre trim .. having "disappear" into the scoop and keep the "oldsmobile" lettering on the front edge of the hood.

My son and I went to the all mopar drags at Quarter Aces Drag-o-way..[formerly South Mountain Dragway.. Boiling Springs Penna.], and we were scoping out the F.A.S.T. class of cars run.. Very clean cars and with some very stout times to boot. I researched this class of racing online and found I may not be able to make the requirements after all.. BUT seeing the plain-jane all white cars with the steel wheels, inspired me to pick white.

A quick question for those in the know.. I need to get the headers on the car.. the manifolds got to be killing it.. BUT I want to retain the stock column shifter.. anyone know if the shifter can stay, or can be made to work with mods? Suggestions welcome!

1964F85

I took the time to make up a model of the scoop out of cardboard, to get a general idea of what to expect. The scoop was cut to the dimensions and taped up with duct tape. I determined the back of the scoop needs to be about 9" from the rear edge of the hood. The scoop fills up the hood nicely and does not look too bad sitting there. Any suggestions/ideas? Cheers, Mike

PS... I've added a "modified" picture to show the scoop. less chrome strip. My son thinks I should ditch the strip... **LOL** and fill up the holes... I can go either way with it.. ideas?

64Rocket

On my daily driver '64 with a 350 & T-350, I took the bracket on the frame, that has the 3 bolt pattern. I took two bolts out and pivot the bracket up until the shaft cleared the collector. I pivot the bracket on the front bolt and the bottom one I made a notch and used a washer and put the bolt back in. It only has two bolts holding, but there is no pressure. Works perfect for me.
If you need pic's, let me know, I can do this week.

Gene

1964F85

Hi Gene,

Thanks for the description. I think I've got the idea, but pics would be great. I'd really like to keep the column shift to keep it very simple and plain. Besides, the simple linkage for that is many times lighter than an aftermarket floor shifter [which would look out of place in my 4 door..].

If need be, I have a floor shifter from a late 80's jag which I could make work. The flat chrome handle kinda fits the sixties theme and is small and unobtrusive. I've also made up a surround for that shifter, which I'll carpet and add vinyl to, from the armrest job I did on the car.

Hopefully, the existing shifter can be retained instead. Cheers, Mike

a64olz

Did you trade your 64 for a Dodge Dart ?

1964F85

Hi,

No, I bought the car local here from a kid for 300 bucks... He decided to get rid of it after he watched "The Fast and the Furious"... [he must have thought old cars just can't run fast.. ] **LOL** His loss...

Cheers, Mike

1964F85

I decided to remove the hood trim, since I've already removed the back cast alu. panel. I filled the holes in the hood the same way I filled the back panel holes, with gas tank putty. This 2 part knead-together epoxy putty sets up extremely hard and quickly [you've got to work quickly, and not futz with it too much..] . I simply make a small ball of putty and mash it flat on the back of the holes, spreading it out and smoothing it down.. not too thin though.. and allow it to mushroom thru on the other side. I wait till it's almost set and carefully slice it off level with a razor blade. You just wait till it hardens and sand it flush. You may have to add a dab of spot putty if there is porosity, and re-sand it flush. I went over mine twice with the spot putty and it turned out great. Time will tell if the putty will hold, but the way I've seen it stick to gas tanks, it looks like it will be fine.

Now you see the blobs under the hood, where the holes were, but mine is not a show car, and a few swipes with black paint helped make them less noticeable. You'd never see the blobs in the rear panel, unless you crane your head down to look in. I suppose welding is the best method, though you'd be hard pressed to get behind several of the hood trim mounting holes. I'm not sure how well body filler would stop up the holes either, really. This method is cheap and easy and it worked, [so far.. ] , for me. Cheers, Mike

1964F85

Two things got done.. I found a pair of 15 x 7 rims on a 76 Monte Carlo at the HUGE U Pull it up in the middle of the state, and I sucessfully installed a 9C1 B body rear sway bar... [from my old 85 Impala.. I was a big chevy guy.. but that's the topic of another forum posting .. **LOL*]. I had to fabricate a set of adapters from rectangular tubing, but it went somewhat easy, without any big problems.

First the rims... I was walking past the car and did a big double take... I thought sure they were 7's... They were rusted and it was a real pain to get the one side off. I got them for a mere 6 bucks each! I should have grabbed it's sway bar, as it looks more like the older A body bar with the Vee shape. I keep thinking about it, but the yard is a long 2 hour drive from York.. The rims were sand blasted at a friends shop and epoxy paint was applied. I then had another friend swap over the old 255/60 15's and slapped 'em on.. I'm thinking these are just about right for me.

The sway bar was a "police/9C1" part I had lying around from my old Impala. I know the "proper" A body bar is narrower, so I had to make some sort bracketry to adapt it together.. I decided on rectangular channel tubing.. 2 1/2" by 1" [had to settle for 1 1/4" wide and cut it down and reweld.. ugghhh try to get the right stuff first!] I then reached up thru the bar, clamped in place, to make the marks for the studs.. The studs were grade 5 7/16" bolts from the tractor supply place.. Only half of the bolt would be in the channel.. the other half had to be ground flush, in order for the channel to slide up in the lower control arm. Knowing I had to do a hell of a weld job on the back part of the stud, I cut a 1 3/4" hole directly behind the slot with a hole saw. I then fitted the stud in the slot and welded like crazy.. The outside was ground flush and I also added a welded "gusset" joining the stud to the channel, for extra strength. I hope this can be seen in the photos I took. This is the weakest point and needed some reinforcement. I made 2 alike and loosely installed the channels to the bar, then slipped it up in place. I drove it forward to a point where the bar section s were directly inline and underneath the axle tubes. The lower control arms were drilled thru and 3/8" Grade 5 hardware was used. It was not too difficult but would have been better with an extra set of hands. I know some will cringe at the thought and sight of these adapters.. but after closely studying the factory hardware and mounting brackets, I'm sure my arrangement is up to snuff. I used all high grade fasteners and of adequate size. I seriously think this will not come apart anytime soon. Though I will recheck all the fasteners in a few days.

The car rides even better, as predicted. I already put the big F/B car front sway bar on and now the back makes it complete. The car now corners flat and feels more stable. It looks a bit odd.. the modern bar on the older car, but it works nicely. I know the aftermarket kits are around 150 bucks, but I just don't have the extra cash.

If I were to do it again, I'd use full length, longer channel in the arms. This would give me more options for cross bolt location [My install here is only 8" long...]. This would also give you the opportunity to do two things at once. mount your bar AND strengthen your lower control arms considerably, by effectively "boxing" them in. This method may get used on my upper control arms, if I can get around to it. I'd also try to cut a small access hole from behind for welding... The big hole makes for some "grabby" drilling.. not nice..

Hope this helps someone else out, should they choose to try it.. the usual disclaimers apply here.. proceed at your own risk.. blah, blah.. But it worked for me. Cheers, Mike

The Stickman

Was he yard you were at Harry's in Hazelton? THere is also EZ pull up this way that is good. If I knew you were looking for that swaybar I would have let you know I have one. Keep up the good work.

1964F85

Hi Stickman,

Yes, I was at Harry's... great place but a long drive..! It's kinda unusual to find older cars there though. I was with my cousin who was looking for a dodge truck fender. [Scored a nice one for 35 bucks too.. ]. So, you have the bar I need, eh? How much would you want for it? Where are you located [out towards Allentown?] and where is the big junkyard up your way? Perhaps I could check it out sometime soon.. do they have older cars, or mostly newer stuff? Thanks for the kind words, Cheers! Mike

The Stickman

Yea I have a rear B-body sedan bar. Also a front one but not sure if that would fit or not. All stock stuff. Like $20 a bar. The other yard is EZ Pull it is in New Ringgold Pa. http://www.joesusedautoparts.com/EZPull.html And yes they do have older cars at the bottom of the yard. I am directly in Allentown Pa

1964F85

Thanks for the tip and the link. I'll have to check it out when this damn heat goes away a little. How are their prices?.. in line with Harry's? You wouldn't happen to have a-body disc brake conversion parts you might want to get rid of? The snortin' 468, with all drums and the single cup master, stopping is a dicey proposition ya know... **LOL** I'm looking for at least disc spindles, with dust shields.. caliper brackets, and proportioning valve.. [however, the more complete, the better..] Plz let me know.. Cheers, Mike

The Stickman

I can't help with the disc brake conversion. But I can tell you what I plan on using. I plan on going to a Wilwood manual brake dual resivior with balance bar. It should give better brake feel and take some weight off the nose.

1964F85

Hi All, The Olds is still kicking and it had to be my daily driver for a few weeks, as my truck was out of commission while the part came from Chrysler's "Vintage Parts" outlet.. What a PITA... anyway,

The car does ok, but the coming icy roads and bad weather is going to make things a bit hairy on the way to work. Time to try and find 15" snow tires too.. The motor is limbering up a bit and I need to adjust the rocker arms. I think the carb is still not right and it managed to eat a plug the other day. I installed a set of NGK split fires and that seemed to help things.

As for upgrades, I'm beginning to consider the G body disc swap, as a good friend had this setup on his 69 Chevelle with a big block, and it worked fine for him. I'd like to add a new carpet set and it still needs painted. I have a set of headers from a b body/olds engine combo [79 Seville with olds engine..] , but I'm not looking forward to making them work. Then the rest of the exhaust will have to be fixed/replaced. I'm kicking around real Flowmaster 50's maybe... I've got to ditch those stinking Thrush "Welded Mufflers".. [it sounds like a wop-wop'ing helicopter every time I pull out.. Uggghh... ]. A hood scoop and better carb would be nice too, but money is really an issue.

I'll keep lurking on the site here and picking up on some of the great ideas yous come up with. Thanks for the ideas and keep 'em coming! Cheers, Mike

1964F85

Greetings All,

Just thought I'd pop in with an update on the F85. I did manage to wrestle the headers in place by using a chain hoist and getting the engine and trans way up out of the car. I had to take off the oil filter mount to get the pass side to fit, then reinstall after the header was slipped in place. The headers were an improvement and the car responded very well. The remainder of the cobbled system was removed (along with the crappy thrush "welded" mufflers.. thank god..). I installed the 2 1/2" mandrel bent Jegs exhaust system, headers back, meant to suit a Chevelle body. I'm very satisfied with the fitment and overall result of the install. It came with a pair of large core turbo mufflers. The only thing I really don't care for, is the exit locations of the pipes, but for a mere 200 bucks for everything, I'm not going to complain. They run straight out the back.. I'd rather have rear facing turn downs... anyway..

The power steering box decided to go south, so I'm going to be putting in a newer steering box. I had to spin up a couple of flare fitting to newer style adapters out of aluminum. My help will be coming over later this evening, to give me a hand putting it all back together. I think I also have to drill out the flange end of the steering col as well.

Other than that, the valves need adjusted and the car shows are under way here. The 4+ dollars a gallon is going to bite though...

Cheers, Mike

therobski

I did the B-Body disc brake upgrade on my 64 build, all GM parts, some were a little hard to locate. Theres alot to it, finding all the right parts but with your talent you can do this job. B-spindle upgrade takes the under-steer out of these A-bodys. Example: Spindles are from a Buick Estate wagon, calipers are rebuilt Caprice Police car, with new 1990 GM Z28 IROCZ-1LE package rotors.
IMG_1137.jpg
IMG_1130.jpg
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doc

I just installed the right stuff 11" front disc kit & it stops great!!! I went on to install the SC & C stage 2 plus adjustable upper arms & tall upper & lower ball joints......removes all bump steer & creates a negative camber geometry - handles great!