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Installed Wilwood Alum Front calipers. Had to space rims with 3\16" -1\4" spacers with 15" rims. Again the 14" rims fit better than 15" over calipers as previously explained on rear disc conversion ("D" shaped 14" rim vs "C" shape 15" rim in caliper area of each rim)-
Last edited by JCMC64; December 4th, 2014 at 12:06 PM.
Installed the W - 25 hood and did minor mods to get it fit good. Local Hood from company called Stinger fiberglass. Pretty decent hood, fully functioning air box, fiberglass framed underneath, fully caulked\ glued attachment points between frame and hood, also riveted. I talked to guy at length about his process in forming hoods before hand, and visited his warehouse in Cocoa beach. He bought several (under $1k) aftermarket W-25 hoods to inspect design. He didn't like any of them. Made improvements in design using an original 71-72' hood in near mint shape as the form. It really does fit awesome. Real straight, consistent. Only issue so far is the rear molding lip is a bit thick, and probably will need some shaving to get molding on. I also left hood out in sun\heat to see if air pockets formed, no issues. He said he took care of that possibility up front by curing properly and was aware of some of the air pocket issues in other hoods. He said he doesn't know how some of these hoods could even be sold with such crap quality control\ manuf process. Kind of a scary thought.
Just a temporary mock up, hood will be coming back off.
Also removed front windshield for other restoration reasons. Might need some pinch weld metal replaced too. Its 50-50, not terrible as some you see, but some lower areas on pillars not so hot. Not sure how far to go here.
Finally got caught up on this thread amazing amazing work... and a great read, thank you
Thx Ed. Havent been hitting it like I was in June and previously, but not many could keep up that pace. I eventually waved the white flag and been keeping a much more sustainable pace. The cool thing is ive done 95% of the work myself.
Ive begun reading below book, so you know what that means...??! Look out!! This is definitely an illness...
Uh-oh..... lol funny enough when I was having my motor done at hansen racing, there were a couple of big poncho guys there and they were touting turbo like crazy nearly had me sucked in lol.... that said them old paxton blow through superchargers were pretty cool MAW add fuel injection and have it allmsd computer managed lol.
I am sure whatever you do will be excellent, and looking forward to following your progress speed on brutha
Uh-oh..... lol funny enough when I was having my motor done at hansen racing, there were a couple of big poncho guys there and they were touting turbo like crazy nearly had me sucked in lol.... that said them old paxton blow through superchargers were pretty cool MAW add fuel injection and have it allmsd computer managed lol.
I am sure whatever you do will be excellent, and looking forward to following your progress speed on brutha
Ed, Im on page 4 of your thread, so I read all about your engine rebuild. One question, if you had to do it all over again would there be any changes you would make to your engine build? I'm going through different olds 455 builds up here on the site and I'm copying all their specifics of each build into a document. I was just interested after I copied all your pertinent info on your build if there was anything you would change looking back. Thanks.
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
Jim, who made the W25 hood and what was the price point? Is it reinforced for regular hood springs or do you need to go with lightweight. Also does it have the cutout for the hood latch? Curious to hear about this hood.
Jim, my build wasnt an all out performance build, however I had a lot of maws as I thought. What the heck, the only thing that really comes to mind is aluminum heads, allows you to run a bit more compression,
That said I havent run my motor in the car, so I have no idea about the performance but it sounded very very healthy,
Another point with the alu heads is weight savings, weight is just as good as horsepower
Its also a budget thing, for my application, the c heads will be just fine...
I would consider having your crank drilled for a manual , even if you dont plan on it now, ya never. Know, and youll neverhave a better oppourtunity.
Jim, who made the W25 hood and what was the price point? Is it reinforced for regular hood springs or do you need to go with lightweight. Also does it have the cutout for the hood latch? Curious to hear about this hood.
Jim:
X2 on the hood info. That hood looks very straight, I like how the curve of the hood follows the fender line so closely. need more info!
Ok , I did mention the company of the Hood above - Stinger Fiberglass in Titusville, Fl. Basically cape caneveral area. Al, yes it does have cut out for latch, I had latch Powder coated and installed it already. No issues. I know I examined hinge area carefully long time ago, but I honestly cant exactly remember!
( this is getting stupid, this aging thing!) I dont think they are reinforced with metal. HOWEVER, I know that my normal steel hinges did work ok, but I got temp lighter springs on it right now anyways. They hold hood up fine for now. The hood cost $650 and I picked it up in person. I believe shipping to a business is $165. I like this hood alot so far.
Ed, I've already got aluminum heads planned, probably those worked up Bernard Mondello pro comp heads with some porting done. I think I'm pulling the trigger on that 70' block with orig E heads we talked about and that will be the start of the next build. Probably will be starting a new thread on that engine rebuild, but that will be a long term, slow project. I really enjoyed reading your thread, i'm up to page 5 right now.I really wish I even had a little bit of your metal skills, but I'm a real chicken s*** in that area! I'm a total retard when it comes to metal work/ body work. But I did just recently cut off some clean a pillars off of a donor car for the front windshield pinch welds in my car just in case I want to do mine, I have a set now. But it sure as hell won't be me welding in those things if I do!
As to those wanting info on the hood, please let me know if there's any other info you need re Hood. I'll get you whatever you need. I will try and take pics this weekend of the underside and post them.
Last edited by JCMC64; December 9th, 2014 at 07:18 PM.
Ive stripped the heads, oil pan, H balancer, timing cover, etc on the 70' 455 block and next weekend or two I will tear down the rest of the block.
Im also experimenting with this cowl air filter setup from Spectre. I think in theory its an improvement on original design air flow wise. (Much cheaper too.) But in reality I have no idea yet. Havent been able to really test it out hard yet. Goal is to get some of that benefit of
cool air through ram air hood.
Im also going to be installing headliner too this month. Never done one, this will be my first. Ive watched a lot of vids on it though. I got front windshield out so that will help front side (front was planned on coming out for various reasons project wise.) Rear will be a Bit** though, will not be taking the rear window out.
Last edited by JCMC64; January 7th, 2015 at 08:50 PM.
Nice, i like the air cleaner, I picked up a dual snorkle from a 68-73 corvette that was used with cowl induction, it has a similar design, and a stock look. As I am using an edelbrock manifold there was no room for a correct ram air aircleaner ( I am putting the 69 hurst scoops on my 69) I chose the vette assembly over a chevelle assembly because I believe it will sit lower over the carb .
Nice, i like the air cleaner, I picked up a dual snorkle from a 68-73 corvette that was used with cowl induction, it has a similar design, and a stock look. As I am using an edelbrock manifold there was no room for a correct ram air aircleaner ( I am putting the 69 hurst scoops on my 69) I chose the vette assembly over a chevelle assembly because I believe it will sit lower over the carb .
Anyway looking forward to your engine build
Thx again Ed. I will look at your thread to see your setup.
I'm just in the initial phase of research for this rebuild. I want to have at least a good beginners level understanding on hipo BBO builds. I got a good build sheet going on the most proven BBO builds gather from several threads including some from yours...Edel/Pro Comp heads, H/S rockers, forged pistons/rods, custom grind roller cam probably from Mark R., etc etc. First I need to find a good honest paint shop and get this car painted....sort of
a tall order down here in So Fla where you always hear the horror stories, even from the Olds club members down here. I got a small budget for paint, so I can't afford to make a mistake here.
Thx again Ed. I will look at your thread to see your setup.
I'm just in the initial phase of research for this rebuild. I want to have at least a good beginners level understanding on hipo BBO builds. I got a good build sheet going on the most proven BBO builds gather from several threads including some from yours...Edel/Pro Comp heads, H/S rockers, forged pistons/rods, custom grind roller cam probably from Mark R., etc etc. First I need to find a good honest paint shop and get this car painted....sort of
a tall order down here in So Fla where you always hear the horror stories, even from the Olds club members down here. I got a small budget for paint, so I can't afford to make a mistake here.
I hear you, I am working metal like ceazybas I know how fast time flies hopefully ill be looking for a painter or painting myself come spring....
My folks used to live in naples fla up till mom passed loved it down there...
I answered your question in my own thread but just in case, the corvette cowl induction air cleaner looks like the one below, it is made to sit lower on the motor and still use a good size filter height wise, I figure the performer manifold sits what a 1/2 inch higher than stock? and then if you look at the foam used around a hurst olds air cleaner I think I might be right on the money...
Thanks for all your hard work in providing so much detail to other builders. I will be watching and studying this thread. Mines in way worse condition than yours and this thread has really opened my eyes. The one thing on my side is all the small stuff I can do at work. hehehe. once again nice work! James.
Been a while since I've been up here. Came real close to rebuilding the engine, but I then put everything on hold as I was about to make a major decision and perhaps get a head of myself as I still got paint and body to do, and I'm not as versed on engine builds as I feel I should be to make major move like that. My goal is 525 hp . So, I finished reading book above which was great intro book for a amateur engine wise. But still not sure what to do next. Tough decisions ahead...
Things Ive collected so far for this project:
(Like I said in Newbie section, I got very small budget and have to be frugal)
-Front bumper parking lights
-442 4 spoke sport wheel (just got to have!)
-2 used proper 71' Cutlass S door panels in awesome shape but are white. Will need to be dyed.
-New door arm rest (existing arm base seems fine)
-Good set of 4 used tail light assembly inserts.
-One headlight housing to replace cracked up passenger side one.
Either already had or paid very little for all above.
ALL above needed because missing, damaged or looks way too crappy.
Things I need still to get her in proper driving cond - I'll call it stage one-get her safely on the road!
-Tires. Mix deal here. I might be able to use 2-3 of them temporarily.
Going with Radial T\A's 245x60x14
-Radiator top support. Not absolutely necessary, its a 4 core radiator in 2\3 core support. This kind of stuff bugs the crap out of me. I got to fix it!
-stone shield
-Front bumper put back on, core is straight, but very poor condition. I could throw it on there as is temporarily, but boy would it be FUGLY! Looking for local chrome plater. One guy near me has 2 month wait.
The Good-
455, TH400, 10 bolt rearend, body work 80% done, dont know much else yet.
Engine and tranny have only 200 mi on a 2009 rebuild. Shift kit done at that time. Looks like its got HEI at that time too.
Attach is what he did to the engine.
Looks like a standard rebuild, nothing crazy here. (But Im a novice and know little about specs, internal engine stuff)
Its been mostly sitting since the guy ran out of money.
Headers, brand new exhaust from headers back. Looks like 3 Inches out the back.
New Brakes, brake lines, cylinders, Master, top to bottom.
Looks like most of the body has been worked on extensively.
Guy that I bought it from took it off his co-workers hands as a loan,
and then original guy just couldnt buy it back. But original guy is a 30 yr body guy and did a lot of work on it. He fixed a little bit of metal, front lower qtrs behind wheels, got it all done and prepped and then tried to shoot the car himself. But he had little paint exp, and the paint wrinkled, and blem'd all over. But she has a great base to start from to re-shoot, already primed and sealed, etc.
New Carpet, headliner (not installed yet).
Frame, engine well, undercarriage has already all been done.
The Bad...and Ugly -
What it still needs for the body to get ready to paint - the bad:
--Possible both doors -- Doors have rust rot in the strangest area to me - right at the front top window seal area on fender side. They are missing a few inches of metal. I personally have never seen this before, but Im sure some of you have. I will post pics of it when I get a chance, but here are couple quick pics. Can this be fixed at a decent cost, or is it better to go after better doors?
--Possible Trunk lid - may be usable, here are some more pics. Im tempted to just throw a more decent trunk lid on it, if I can find one.
Ugly- Front bumper is horrible, the back bumper stripped, sanded and Primed. He was going to do a Rallye 350 clone.
More Ugly - the seats...YIKES!
Will add more later.
Hi I'm about to start on my 72 I have good door panel but want to change the color how does the dye work and where can I get it I'm a newbie as well
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
Dye is easy peasy. Duplicolor makes a Fabric/Vinyl dye that's excellent. Lucky my interior is black so it was a no brainer. Clean the areas really really well. Get rid of any accumulated Armor all or shine/clean products. Mask off anything you don't want to be colored by the dye. This stuff is good - it won't rub off or smear the color into your trousers. It does smell a lot though especially if you leave the car with windows closed.
Here's the stuff I used. Inexpensive and it works plus it comes in a number of color choices. There are others out there; my experience with this stuff has been very good. I did my OEM carpet with it and the thing looks almost brand new again. Same with the carpet on the lower door panel.
Hello all. Been a long while since I've updated. I had a crazy last 2+ years, including the death of both parents, job change, house move, major consolidation and several other personal issues. Car has just been stuck in dry garage since last post, starting it once a month, driving it every other month, tire pressure, oil checks etc...with just minor things done. Everything just got pushed not just to back burner, but completely out of the kitchen entirely.
I wanted to update on what 3 years of partial sitting has done to the restore. I LEARNED A LOT! Corrosion is amazing, even on painted parts! Main thing I've learned is to paint everything, and solid clear coating over bare metal does not even work. AND that so many parts today, even higher end stuff is not what it should be paint wise. Got some things I got to go back and redo, or do better than orig mfg did.
I'm still at point of body work and paint still, and knowing what a major hassle this is, I just didn't have the motivation and drive to fight through this, given all the personal issues. I'm in So FLA area, so any reference of middle of the road shops cost wise that won't hijack your car is much appreciated. I'm willing to drive within 2 hours, but that's it.
I wanted to update on what 3 years of partial sitting has done to the restore. I LEARNED A LOT! Corrosion is amazing, even on painted parts! Main thing I've learned is to paint everything, and solid clear coating over bare metal does not even work. AND that so many parts today, even higher end stuff is not what it should be paint wise. Got some things I got to go back and redo, or do better than orig mfg did.
I'm still at point of body work and paint still, and knowing what a major hassle this is, I just didn't have the motivation and drive to fight through this, given all the personal issues. I'm in So FLA area, so any reference of middle of the road shops cost wise that won't hijack your car is much appreciated. I'm willing to drive within 2 hours, but that's it.
I was going through the same issues with corrosion / body work . I've been sanding the car to bare metal and applying epoxy primer as I go . I had to fix areas I had already done because I didn't have the proper primer on the car . I keep the car in underground climate controlled parking , and don't take the car out when it's raining .
Hello all. Havent been around in a long while. Major life changes the last few years...so car has been very last thing on my mind.
...until 2 months ago. It's been just sitting in garage, starting it regularly, but that's it. But 2 months ago the bug hit again, so I've been catching up on a list of minor things needing to be done.
For one, She is running very rich, fouling plugs, so I got to look into the carb setup. Metering rods, jets something there... as well as other nick nack things that were bugging me.
As for the rest, Interior, body and paint... lots of ways I could go, given my **** nature...but I think it's time to shortcut it and get to the biggest items left which is body and paint, definitely the scariest venture yet given all the horror stories I always here. Budget is very tight, so will have to short cut everything, which means I will have to do a lot of the work myself where I can, but dont no crap about welding, body work, or body painting.
So just wanted to do a formal update.
Stay tuned...if you want to that is! 😉
Hope everyone is well.
Jim
So, last summer we had record rains that broke 75 year records down here in So. Florida, flooded entire neighborhoods and overwhelmed the drainage systems. Just my luck it flooded all the garages in my neighborhood, and was disaster for many. My garage had 2-3 inches of water in it for like 5 days as it slowly receded. It really tested my work I did, and unfortunately many of the products I used got severely tested by evaporation of standing water. Unbelievable. Needless to say some of the work I did did not stand up to the test. It really was an interesting case study of what moisture will do like this just from evaporation. Most stuff held up great, other stuff not so much. Tie rods very slight rust, spindles - major flash surface rust, zinc coated stuff held up, anything unpainted or lightly was hit and miss.
Same with bolts I did. Having to go through and redo some of what I did. Learned a big lesson - Paint everything, not just rely on heavy clear coats, EW clear products, as some of that stuff failed too. Eastwood products failing was surprising. This car would never of seen wet roads, so probably would of fared well if not for these floods.
It was very sad at first, really really aggravating, but now I'm just moving forward and start redoing what I need to. I literally had it down to every part, nut and bolt almost perfect. I'd say 10% needs to be redone...just from 5 days of standing water only 3" deep. EW clear coating really failed me. I imagine what you guys up north go through with sweating during the winter.
Now Im contemplating whether to take front end apart and do correct, or do my best without taking apart. So far I've been doing whatever is the easiest to do leaving the parts on the car.
I'm a perfectionist, so to most it's not as bad as it could be. But it still sucks.
Last edited by JCMC64; February 11th, 2019 at 03:32 AM.
Had to redo Intermediate shaft as clear coated polished steel did not hold up. Also disassembled and added new grease.
P/S pic to come
Also had to redo Power steering box, brushed steel and clear coat failed.
More steering linkage flash rust.
Bolts, very disappointed in EW blackening kit stuff which includes clear coats after process, looked great at first but does not hold up to anything like evaporating water for days...Some held up fine, others did not. So to me, a FAIL!
Most other bolts done at factories held up fine.
EW blackening kit has had probably 30% fail. Again no direct water contact, just standing water 2-3 in deep evaporating. None of this stuff got wet, just evaporation.
Lesson learned, paint everything. Cant rely on clear coats alone.
Last edited by JCMC64; February 13th, 2019 at 12:53 AM.
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
Jim - That really sucks. I have a feeling that this is the start of another MAW adventure for you. I'm the same as you but at some point I know it's just not worth taking everything apart just to have a trailer queen looking car. Deal with the ugly and motor on with what is ok. JMO. I've also had some light flash rust on some of the painted parts I did, but that's over 8 years so I'm not too worried about it. I'm not looking more at functionality.
I'm just probably going to do the best I can with parts on the car. Already started. I previously powder coated almost everything. So all that's perfect. I just wish I would have done a few more steering linkage parts which is what I'm going to go back and hit only with paint. Just got to pick the right paints for the right parts. Por 15 stuff I did has zero flash rust. But Por 15 isnt right on steering linkage parts.
Many others would have minimal issues with just 10% failure, but I've gone this far...
The worst is the spindles which the clear did nothing. Lesson learned. Paint everything!
I'm just going to jack up the front end , remove wheels, put it on stands and just hit it piece by piece for few weeks. (Watch , in few weeks all effected parts will be at P/Coater! lol)🤔😝
Last edited by JCMC64; February 11th, 2019 at 12:13 PM.
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
You could do that. BUT, once you have the spindle off I'd lower the jack right down to reduce the amount of energy in the spring. Better safe than sorry. Once the LCA is fully lowered the spring isn't dangerous.
^^this^^ If you decide to remove the spindles, I would let the LCA hang down fully extended with the jack under it to control the release when you separate the ball joint from the spindle. That's really a big bummer about the flash rusting and the EW clear failing. Don't lose heart! Just get in there and do what you gotta do!
Rodney
Allan, Rodney,
Thx man!😎
I'm over it, and already dug in and just 'got er done'.
Yes good advice about lowering spring tension.
But I ended up just taking backing plate, Brake mounts off, decided not to take spindles out.
If your careful taking time and taping everything, etc, it is easy enough to do them in the C.A.s.
Going to do one side at at a time.
I cleaned them up really good and then hit them with zinc primer and then 10 coats of top coat.
Now I will let them dry a week to hopefully cure hard. Again one side at a time. (I tried doing it lazy way with primer as a test, leaving backing plates on, then said screw that, and disassembled it all.)
First pic is before I cleaned them up. That is EW clear there! I've notice some other EW clear fails too on bolt heads. I put some time in those bolts too, prep, Blackening kit, and EW clear. I eventually ran out of the EW clear and switched to other rattle can clear backed then. But All the Inline Tube bolts and screws I got are still perfect.
If your curious the paint is duplicolor GM storm grey.
Last edited by JCMC64; February 13th, 2019 at 12:58 AM.
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
Definitely an improved look. 10 coats?? That seems a bit much IMO As far as color I used duplicolor also, but I used their 'Cast' color. It looks very similar. What color are you painting the backing plate? There are colors out there that mimic the zinc plating.
That cotter pin needs to be bent more than that when you're finished.
Don't forget the torque on that big nut on the backing plate is 120 and the other 2 are 90.
December 4th, 2014, 11:46 AM
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