New Texas Project
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rps442
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 45
From: Bellaire, TX
New Texas Project
Greetings from Houston! I just acquired a '66 442 convertible that is a partially restored basket case. The car began restoration 4 years ago - it is straight and rust free. The body was soda blasted and prepped on a rotisserie while the chassis was also blasted and painted. Many of the parts are restored or new and ready to be installed. The car is a mild resto-mod with 4 wheel disc brakes, a dual master cylinder, tubular front suspension arms and heavy springs, shocks and oversize sway bars. It has a 3.50 posi rear and a rebuilt THM400. The original 400 block was not rebuildable, so it will never be numbers matching. I thought about an LS3, but that didn't seem right in a 442, so have located a freshly bored (.030) & magnafluxed 455 with crank and rods. Edelbrock aluminum heads with a hydraulic roller cam, a FAST EFI system and a Gearvendor overdrive will complete the drivetrain. The factory A/C ducts will be tied into a Vintage Air system, the steering column replaced with a tilt unit and the wheels will be replaced with 17 in. aluminum magnum 500s. Those are the key plans for now - this is a great website and I look forward to learning from the members. More to follow - Ray
Rodney
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 2,592
From: Houston, TX
Welcome to CO
Welcome to CO neighbor! I live in Houston in the Galleria area off Westheimer. I love the color of your car. My first car as a teenager was a '71 Cutlass Supreme ragtop painted Matador Red - always been partial to red classic cars. I'm currently working on a '72 ragtop that I think is a 442 (no documentation or papers, just a few clues). It's Viking Blue with white bucket seat interior. It's turning out to be more work than I bargained for. I've learned a lot from the members here and there's a thread for just about any problem you'll encounter. Good luck with your project.
Thread Starter
rps442
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 45
From: Bellaire, TX
New Texas Project -Current pictures
The front clip is mounted - ready for wet sanding and buffing next. The stainless trim holes on both sides were welded and smoothed - I will leave that as is except for stock rear quarter 442 and front fender rocket trim. The trunk lid will be returned to stock as I have located a decent piece of pot metal trim for the trunk lip (Oldsmobile) plus new 442 and rocket emblems. The firewall will be welded closed and smoothed before the Vintage Air installation. That's all for now - best wishes for the holidays!
Ray
Ray
Thread Starter
rps442
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 45
From: Bellaire, TX
Allan - Neither - I'm in the engineering & construction business. This is a weekend hobby. I'm very fortunate to have my car in a restoration shop near home where I can work on it weekends. The shop is www.classiccarsofhouston.com . The room is both a clean assembly area and display room for several of teh owners cars. My own garage is filled with 2 Tbirds and the wife says no more room for projects!
The Rocket Astronomer
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,500
From: South Texas
The original 400 block was not rebuildable, so it will never be numbers matching. I thought about an LS3, but that didn't seem right in a 442, so have located a freshly bored (.030) & magnafluxed 455 with crank and rods.
aaaaaaaaaaaaagreat 66 project... Myself and many other texans on this forum favor the 66. I have three going at once. I would not worry about numbers matching in 66 because eng vins were not a factor then; but being a real 66 442 vert I would opt for the correct 400 E block. You can build them for the same cost as a 455 you have in mind. Another texas guy on here named Henry in Aus can hook you up with the correct 400 that the car deserves.
aaaaaaaaaaaaagreat 66 project... Myself and many other texans on this forum favor the 66. I have three going at once. I would not worry about numbers matching in 66 because eng vins were not a factor then; but being a real 66 442 vert I would opt for the correct 400 E block. You can build them for the same cost as a 455 you have in mind. Another texas guy on here named Henry in Aus can hook you up with the correct 400 that the car deserves.
Registered User
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,393
From: Austin, Tx
The original 400 block was not rebuildable, so it will never be numbers matching. I thought about an LS3, but that didn't seem right in a 442, so have located a freshly bored (.030) & magnafluxed 455 with crank and rods.
aaaaaaaaaaaaagreat 66 project... Myself and many other texans on this forum favor the 66. I have three going at once. I would not worry about numbers matching in 66 because eng vins were not a factor then; but being a real 66 442 vert I would opt for the correct 400 E block. You can build them for the same cost as a 455 you have in mind. Another texas guy on here named Henry in Aus can hook you up with the correct 400 that the car deserves.
aaaaaaaaaaaaagreat 66 project... Myself and many other texans on this forum favor the 66. I have three going at once. I would not worry about numbers matching in 66 because eng vins were not a factor then; but being a real 66 442 vert I would opt for the correct 400 E block. You can build them for the same cost as a 455 you have in mind. Another texas guy on here named Henry in Aus can hook you up with the correct 400 that the car deserves.
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gearheads78
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