Allan R

When you're riding on old shocks that are just there taking up space? Handling is crappy. Nice to have a predictable and solid ride isn't it?

The wood grain on the dash is just an applique. It could have been taken off and the residue gum easily removed. The dash pad looks like it originally had the silver trim in the channel as well - another option. The white clips or holes left by them will reduce the selling price. I've seen good undamaged dash pads sell from a low of 30.00 to a high of 140.00 in this condition.

I see you also have an AM/FM radio. Can't tell if it's stereo with rear fader from the pics.

To bring back the silver on the glove box (and match the dash insert) you can use a Sharpie 'chrome' marker. It works well. Just practice on the old dash before attempting on the new one/glove box. It also works well on side ac vent outlines

orismedic

thanks Allan. I have touched up the silver on the dash and it looks real good. I will have to get a pic for you guys. I do have another question for you all I want to eventually put a posi with 3.42 gears in and I am wondering what is the best way of doing this. I found the numbers for the rear end but am unsure what I have so if any of you guys could tell me that would be great. on the tube I have numbers R2 B131 2, and on the pumpkin I have 1235197. here are some pics for you.

orismedic

Ok guys it's been awhile but these things take time and money. a couple of things that I have done is redone the dash bezel. I used a peace of brushed aluminum. I also redid the A pillar trim. Here are some pics.

orismedic

I have also gathered the parts I needed to rebuild the front end. here are some pics. I hope to start work on it in the next week or two.

orismedic

So I have finished the front end of my car which shall now be know as Gertrude because she is an old cranky b*tch. Any way I striped the front end completely out from under it cleaned the frame rails and painted. I then took out the ball joints and bushings and sand blasted the A arms. also sand blasted the spindles and backing plates and any other thing I did not replace. and painted every thing. All the new stuff I put on ( center link, tie rod ends, tie rod sleeves, quick ratio power steering box and new power steering lines, ball joints, bushings ( polyurethane ), stiffer 1 inch lower springs, new heavy duty sway bar, and bearings in the rotors. all reused parts sand blasted and painted. I also put on duel exhaust with flow master mufflers. Every thing was looking good put the car on the ground and pulled out of the garage and low and behold I have no brakes. I mean really what a let down. I think im dealing with a busted booster. Not something I really wanted to deal with right now but I guess I'm going to have to. I have some friends of mine looking for a 9 inch booster in Indianapolis this weekend, if no luck there I will get one from O'Reilly's when I have the money. I have pictures but the computer is not working with me tonight. I will get some up when I can.

orismedic

here you are a couple of pics for your pleasure.

RetroRanger

looks good its a big job but its all behind you now !!

what a bummer on the brakes....dont worry tho once you can drive it it will all be worth it !

Fun71

R2 decodes to a 2.56:1 gear ratio. I had that one both my '70 Supreme and my '71 convertible.

orismedic

So next project is going to be the rear end and breaks. I plan on getting stainless break lines from inline tube and a new break booster and master cylinder ( maybe chromed I don't know yet. ) for the rear end I'm going to get a posi with 3.73 gears, new variable rate springs, a trailing arm kit from PMT, a sway bar, and a W-27 cover. I also plan on cleaning and painting the housing ( aluminum on the pumpkin and black on the tubes. ) I will soon be getting a 700r4 for the car so the gears wont be a big problem for long. I'm wondering if I should change out the axle bearings while I'm at it. Any way now starts the long process of buying the parts. I'm hoping with my income tax that I can get the center console with the duel gate shifter. If I can get that and the 700r4 that would be awesome. So that's where I'm at the car is at my house the breaks don't work real well but enough to get Gertrude home, I'm hoping that with a good bleeding of the breaks that will solve the problem but it's been a little cooled and snowy to do that right now.

orismedic

So come to find out that putting the calipers on the right side is kind of important. apparently The bleeders need to be on the top of the caliper or you cant get all the air out. the good news is that I have breaks again and I was able to take Gertrude out and she performs much better then she did. the front end work has really helped improve her ride. Waiting on my income tax return, as soon as I get it I will be getting rear end parts, new break system all round and center console. And if I have enough money left over probably a steering wheel.

orismedic

Ok so I found out how much I will be getting in my income tax return and have been trying to decide what to spend it on, and this is what I came up with.
fist off this posi carrier and gear kit on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GM-8-5-10-Bo...9d8c8f&vxp=mtr


Im fairly sure this will work with my rear end but is some one knows better pleas let me know.


next is a trailing arm kit also on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-CHEVELL...e7483e&vxp=mtr


to go with it I will be getting this sway bar.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1964-72-GM-A...f14288&vxp=mtr


while I have the rear end out I will be putting a disc break conversion from right stuff.
http://www.getdiscbrakes.com/afxrd01


Break lines form Inline tube.
http://inlinetube.com/Preformed%20Li...es/OCB69D1.htm


and a new brake boost and master cylinder.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Inch-Chrom...ee9c3d&vxp=mtr


I will be getting new 15 inch wheels too from blue oval ranch.
http://www.blueovalranch.com/content...-rallye-wheels


and my favorite piece that I will be getting is a new center console and duel gate shifter from
http://www.hhclassicauto.com


I have a floor shift column in the shop already and if I have enough left over after all of this I will be getting a new steering wheel.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/70-71-72-CUT...f8427b&vxp=mtr


so that's my list, now all I have to do wait for my income tax check.

molasses4masses

How did you find out what you're getting on your income tax? Employer send you your forms early?

Best of luck! Keep posting pictures and progress!

orismedic

used my last pay check to see what I was going to get. but I did get my w-2 this week.

JCMC64

Medic...how did you cut the holes in the Aluminum for the gauge face plate?

orismedic

for the brushed aluminum I bought a door kick plate from Lowes (the kind you would use on the front door to your house) I then made a template, using that I marked the center of the holes and used a hole saw to cut the holes out and then an air grinder with and auger bit to clean them up and get close and then a little sanding drum to make it perfect. I used a band saw to cut the outer shape. the aluminum scratches really easily so be carful. and It also came with a plastic film, I left it on until I put it in the dash to help protect it.

orismedic

on another topic, turns out that wheels are going to be a problem. I have a thread in the wheels topic about it. but no one makes SSII wheels any more so I will be taking my 14's and sending them to Stockton wheel and have them build me 15's using my 14's centers.

orismedic

well I got my income tax the other day and went on a shopping spree. Posi with 3.73 gears, trailing arms, rear disc brakes, chrome master and booster, stainless brake lines, 4 spoke steering wheel, and a center console with duel gate shifter. All is ordered and on its way. I also bout a 455 engine last night. looks to be a 76 Fa block from Lansing with J heads. It is a virgin block and was supposedly magnifluxed with no cracks. I has a lot of surface rust but should clean up good.

molasses4masses

Sounds awesome! Keep taking pictures

orismedic

Parts are coming in! It's like Christmas!

orismedic

Ok so it has been a bit since I last posted. I have all the parts for my next project ( center console, breaks, rear end) and have had them for months but have been waiting for a place to do all of this. I can't do it at my house because I am trying to sell the house and having a car exploded all over the drive way just looks tacky. So I have been waiting for a spot at my buddy's shop to open up. He just sold his 68 Torino and it looks like I will be able to start next week. I have been doing little things while I was waiting. I found a pair a sport mirrors the I refurbished and put on the car ( I have picks that I will put up later) it is soooo nice to have a mirror on the passenger side of the car. I have also started putting the center console in the car. It is kind of half done at the moment but it does work, but I will have to take it out again to do the welding. I am really looking forward to getting this project started, it is a lot to do and I really would like to have it done in the next 2 weeks so I can take the car up to the car show on the 14th. I have to rebuild/replace the steering column, replace the master cylinder and booster, break lines, disk break conversion on the rear end, new trailing arms, and put in a posi with 3.73 gears. So we will see. And yes I will take pics and put them up.

orismedic

mirrors when I got them

orismedic

mirrors on the car

orismedic

center console, its not done but it is mocked up and working

orismedic

ok so I have pulled the brake booster and master cylinder. I have also pulled the steering column. I have also welded the brackets for the center console in place after fighting with the mig welder for 3 hours. It was a tough fight but I won. That was all yesterday, today I completely dismantled the steering column, changed out a few parts and painted. Now I have a floor shift column. If I get a chance to work on the car tomorrow I plan on putting the column back in, get the center console completely installed and the new break booster and master cylinder put in. Then start on the break lines.

orismedic

I got the steering column in and finished up the center console. I also put the new break booster and master cylinder in. then I started on the new break lines. What a pain in the ***. But in the end I got the front break lines and the one that runs to the back replaced. I will do the ones on the rear end when I pull it. I have run into a couple of problems. One is a fairly easy fix, the rear seal in the tranny is bad and there is tranny fluid covering the entire under side of the car so I am going to have to pull the drive shaft and replace it, so I might as well clean up the drive shaft and paint it and change the u joints as well. My other problem is every thing works on the column but when I turn the key to start, I got nothing. I think it may be the neutral safety switch, at least I hope so. I am going to have to mess with it a bit. I will put some pics up when I get a chance.

orismedic

here is a couple of pics

orismedic

So it was the neutral safety switch so I just hot wired it. Who needs a neutral safety switch any way? Then I had issues with adjusting the shift cable, but in the end we got that working too. Put her all back together and went to the car shows. She is now back in the shop and I got the rear end out. After a couple of hot days and thunder storm the rear end is apart and about ready for paint.

orismedic

So I got the housing cleaned up and put some pant on it. all the bearing are pressed on, even the axel bearing ( wow what a pain in the rear ). I ran into the same problem with the breaks from Right Stuff that other have run into the axel hub it too big by about a 1/16' so I gave the axels over to my brother and he is going to turn them down for me. So that where I am at for the moment, here is a pic.

RetroRanger

the rear looks good did you get the W-27 cover as well ?

orismedic

Yes i did, its going to look great.

orismedic

The gears are in and the cover is on. I also have the disk breaks on. I got my brother to turn down the axels to fit in the rotors. I still have to press in the bushings. I also broke the vent so I have to get a new one. Next will be trailing arms. here are a cupule of pics.

orismedic

So I finished the rear end. I did have some problems with the break lines. I do like Rite stuff's break conversion kit, but if you use this break kit know that you will have to turn down your axle hub down by about a 1/16. That wasn't a big deal for me but it might be for others. The real problem I ended up having was with the stainless steal brake lines I got from inline tube. Basically I had to shorten up the axle lines and I don't have a $200 tool to put a good flair on the end of the line. So I used my normal brake flaring tool and it worked for one side but not so much for the other. I ended up having a leak on the passenger side and ended up ruining the passenger break line. so for a quick fix I got a regular break line and bent it my self. So the car is back on the street and I have already ordered a new stainless break line. The car rides a hundred percent better with the new suspension. I am still breaking in the new gears but I cant wait to really get on it. So my next project will be the transmission. Here is a pic of the rear end.

RetroRanger

that rear end looks sweet thanks for the pics

orismedic

So it has been a bit since I Posted. I still haven't gotten around to finishing off the rear break lines. I have been having too much fun driving it around. I have been moving along though. I found a 200-4r for a rebuild for $50 bucks. I found a guy who had like 400 transmissions in his back yard. So after finding the 200-4r I ordered a high performance rebuild kit from CK performance. The kit had every thing I needed and with their instruction book, the process went fairly smoothly, and now I have a rebuilt transmission. I am collecting the parts and peace's I will need to do the swap now. I look forward to going down the highway at highway speeds again.

orismedic

Ok so I know it as been a while but building a transmission is not as easy as i thought. So a few things. One I am still running a 2 bbl Rochester carb on my 350 and with a 200r4 you need a TV cable. No one makes a TV set up for this ( can't blame them, who in there right mind would do some thing like that). So I got a TV cable kit from Bow tie overdrive for a tri power set up. with some modifications and my brother making me a carb spacer i got that to work. Now on to other problems. Turns out that you have to put all the parts back in the transmission for it to work. so pulled the tranny out again put spare parts back in and re-installed transmission. this time i got first and second gear. at this time it was time to take it to a transmission shop. Apparently a 200r4 is not the transmission you should try and rebuild if you have never rebuilt a transmission before. But you never learn if you never try. Good news is that the transmission is in and work wonderfully.
I do have a couple of small issues i am dealing with now. the Heater core started leaking. And I have a exhaust manifold leak. But nothing that will keep me from driving the car this year.
I have also ordered some pro comp heads from Mondello. Seems like a really nice guy and i am looking forward to collecting the rest of the parts i will need for my 455 build.

Oldsragger

Hello, i just came over this thread and i see you have convert Your rear end to diskbrakes, im looking for this self and i see you have same axle like me as i can see on the pics, 8,5" With non c-Clip axles (i hope) i wounder if you wan`t to tell me where you bought the diskbrake kit and part nr? it would help a lot, is this 5x5" or 5x4,75" bolt pattern btw?
good work here too. keep going