View Full Version : EEE's '72 vert progress...
I thought I'd start a thread about the work that is being done on the car, much like Smartin's '71 thread. I'm currently working on the core support and the next thing would be to replace the inner fenders. The core support is getting some holes opened up so I can have a ram/fresh-air snorkel system put in, so I guess we'll start there. I guess it would have been easier to get one of those circular drills that can just cut a three inch hole in one go, but I thought I'd save myself ten bucks..
This is what the port looks like that will connect to the air ducts leading to the air box. I managed to break one when I was forcing it in, so I've ordered a new set from ebay, the pair ran like 8$ including shipping.
As you could tell from the earlier pictures, the core support was in need of some resto, so I sanded it as good as I could using a wire wheel on an angle grinder?, sand paper, and this metal ball you use when you ned to scrub your pots and pans. There was a fair amount of surface rust, but it should come out ok.
The battery tray is hot, and so is the inner fender, and also the core support underneath. I will have to weld in a new piece to the core support, but the inner fender will be replaced, and so will the tray also.
Smartin
04-21-2007, 07:33 PM
Dig in!!!:beers:
I wanted to take out the radiator, but I managed to strip a bolt to the tranny line and it had to stay in. I will have to go back in at a later stage anyway when the inner fenders are being replaced to do the parts of the core support that goes underneath them, then I can get the bottom part under the radiator too. I've shot everything with a rust convertor, so now the car is back on the street for 24h for the convertor to do its magic, and I can either shoot some paint right over it, or go with a grey primer first to help cover some of the scratches tomorrow.
The convertor turns all rust into this black primer surface, but you have to brush/sand off as much as you can first. Note that in Hollywood, all masking paper is XXX rated..
This is a stock customized air box, to fit the dual air ducts I will be running to the front of the car. I tried some crazy color combo with a lot of layers in the paint to get some depth, it went like primer-silver-silver flake-transparent red metallic-gold flake-transparent red metallic-clear. it's hard to tell by the picture, but it's rally nice and shiney. I just hope it doesn't get too hot under the hood and we see the paint flake or similar.
This is where the original snorkel to the box was cut out and I then welded in two new pipes. I used bondo to make it smooth inside the pipe coming into the box, and also around the outside of the pipe to make it look nice.
The lid was wire wheeled to give it some texture and then painted with just clear. It has some rust bumps, but I didn't want to mess with bondo to make it all smooth, so it's going in as it is, with some under clear patina if I can call it that. hot rod style...
I've had these laying around here for something like two years, they're painted and ready to go in. I've added some of that rubberized paint on the bottom, hopefully it will hold up.
I finally got my act together and picked up some nice vice grips and a flare wrench to get the rounded bolt off the transmission line going in to the radiator. It was then a deep dive into the unknown and while the bottom part of the core support was freshly painted with the rust convertor I took the fender off so I could exchange the inner fender. Here's a situation where you can go on forever and clean and paint stuff, you have access to everything you normally can't get to. I didn't want to get stuck in there forever and it's not a full on resto so I decided to gor for the visible frame pieces, upper control arm, and the firewall. It took a long time to clean everything, and it was quite some work too, but now it's done and I think I set the level about where I want it. I'm not going to do every single bolt under there. Everything was first painted with the rust convertor so it will have to sit overnight to make sure it's completely cured.
I found this behind the fender, and it sure looks like it could be a piston ring. I know my heads don't match up, so maybe it came out during a previous rebuild?
I sure have some work to look forward to when we get to the quarter..
Back on the street for tonight..
Something interesting has come up, and I'm putting the car together for this Sunday.. The inner fender was replaced and the whole core support finally got painted, together with the frame section behind the wheel and some other stuff. The grill pieces all got some paint on them today, together with the plate that holds the radiator etc. The fender came back on without any major drama, just a little fiddly, but nothing I wouldn't do again.
So here it goes, someone on craigslist was asking for a cool classic convertible for a tv pilot, and I thought I'd give it a shot and sent some pictures in. It turns out they picked my car and I've got to hand it over to them for a few hours on Sunday. Supposedly a couple of chicks are coming from the beach in their bikinis... :Brow:
Smartin
04-26-2007, 08:49 PM
Sweet! What ever came of the people who were interested in your car a few months ago? I forgot what they wanted it for..
They wanted a photo of it for an ad on the Ford website, I have no idea if anything ever came out of it, but they paid :Brow: ...
So it happened, I took the car to the location of the shooting of the pilot, some show for VH1. I had to sign a "I will not talk about this" paper, but I thought I can tell you what happened in general without giving up the plot. They seemed happy, the car is far from perfect (more like a driver in need of some resto), but good enough for what they were using it for. A lot of waiting until it was time to use the car and I was almost going to be included as the driver, but someone else drove it and it was over in like ten minutes. They gave up some $$$ and that was it. They said that they wanted a really nice 50's caddy or similar but they run like a grand a day to rent..:tonge2: .. and this option fit their purpose well. So thank you "Big Green Car" for pitching in for the rent this month!! Maybe you'll get a louder exhaust system some day..
Robroy
05-03-2007, 09:27 AM
Hey Kimson,
You have been busy as a bee. I haven’t checked this site for a while since I have been travelling. Looks good the work you have done, especially the air cleaner. Did you replace the front fenders?
I finally got the lug nuts for the Rallys (acorn” style chrome) and a six pack of Halogen Sealed beams as well.
On Monday I will do the Swedish Registration-inspection and then I can start using my car, finally.
My dual exhaust got lost at the shipper in LA, the same shipper where you left my wheels. I’m very grateful it is the exhaust that got lost and not the rallys, since I can order the exhaust anew.
We, my friend and I have luckily a DHL-receipt on the two exhausts delivered to the shipper so that we can claim them.
Keep us posted on the Green Giant project
I've been busy working during the evenings, which has left my energy level a little low during the days for starting on the other side. Next week looks better, and I will take the passenger side fender off. I took this shot of the installed port, and on the back side the carbon canister has been tucked in under the fender so the air duct now has a free passage up to the air box.
I felt it was time to put in a few more hours today and work some things out. I changed one of the heater hoses and put the valve at the back against the firewall with a little 90 degree hose, to clear the hose from the new air box snorkel. I also changed the spark plugs and wires, they needed a new route to also be cleared. I had these yellow ones laying around, not the color of choice when it comes to keeping them clean. I also got the first duct in place, and I can now start on the passenger side.
Today was a good day to start digging again, off with the passenger side everything..
Not exactly a dream situation, but I'm glad I could get the battery tray out with bolts looking like they were not going to be good to me.. The battery tray is completely shot and I have a nice replacement. I'll just have to cut the bad part of the core support off, and weld on a new piece, shouldn't be that tricky. I just hope I can still go to the body shop class, since I haven't been there for a few months by now. I would hate to have to pay someone else to do it for me.
This a/c box is finally on its way out... lighten the load a little..
I've had this a/c delete box laying around here for a good year and a half. Just a quick check to see if it fits. There is a problem with the electric fan being too deep, and I'll have to figure something out :confused:
There was a tremendous amount of dirt and grease on all of the chassis parts etc. I made these balls with the grease I scraped off with a plastic putty blade? I then took it to the "wash it yourself" place and used up three cans of gunk and power washed everything around the engine compartment.. Worked real well, highly recommended, and "gunk" is good.
I then proceeded with some more cleaning and shot it with rust converter. It's now back on the street and I'm trying to figure out what to do with the electric fan in the a/c box.
Smartin
05-15-2007, 09:44 PM
I can only guess that the non-AC blower motor is shallower than the AC blower...kind of odd.
I have a few different options, other suggestions are of course welcome.
1. I try to fabricate a spacer ring of some kind. Aluminum would be nice, but I'm not sure where I can get the material and I don't really have access to the tools needed.
2. There is a hole in front of the fan, I could enlarge it a bit and have the fan stick through it about 1/2 inch and just leave it at that.
3. I go to the yard and try to find a more shallow fan unit.
4. I cut down the "blades" of the fan a bit and try to glue back the outer support ring, or even try to melt it back on with a soldering iron or similar.
:confused4:
I've posted the question on the v8buick site, there's 15.000 brains there while there's only 100 here.
http://v8buick.com/showthread.php?p=991100&posted=1#post991100
After a quick run out to the yard we're back in business. A mid 70's Camaro contributed to the continuation of the project. Seven bucks well spent. There were some interesting big Buicks out there too, and I'm considering making another run tomorrow just to stash some stuff for the half price weekend coming up in ten days. Anyone needs anything? I have a few parts in mind, but if it's something small I don't mind harvesting it for you.
'75 LeSabre
'76 Electra (no drivetrain)
'73 Electra with a '71 bumper and '72 headlight bezels :confused2:
'72 LeSabre Conv. totally burnt, I'll have to get a picture of it..
'67 Electra, wasn't this the year with the good heads?
I finally made it back out to the body shop class to get some welding done. I cut the bad piece out from the core support and placed this plate slightly overlapping on top of the hole that was made, and welded around it. The plate was folded like a "Z" on one side to follow the contours of the core support. The welding didn't go very well because of the rust on the core support, I should have wire wheeled it too, not just try to grind it to get a better ground. It just took some extra time, but now it's in. This morning I sprayed some rust convertor in that area, and underneath, I will then proceed with a small amount of bondo around the weld. I will put seam sealer on the bottom is the plan, and then paint it. Next up is to work out a solution for the bump on the inner fender which is in the way for sliding the battery tray in under the fender to clear the space for the snorkel. I guess I'll have to take the car out to the class again to make something up.
2mnykars
05-22-2007, 03:16 PM
Hi Kimson:
I was just curious. Is that an aftermarket a/c delete box or an actual oem non a/c box from a fullsize car? Reason I ask is cause I have an oem style box (non a/c) and was planning on doing the same conversion over to no a/c. If that's the case, then I assume I'll need a new blower/fan. Thanks 2mnykars
Hi, the box I'm using is from another Buick LeSabre I think it was. You'll need to get a fan with the more narrow "hamster cage", just like in the picture a few posts up. Just take a trip to the yard and look for a 70's GM car with no a/c, I brought the original fan with me so I could make sure it was the right one.
I let the rust convertor work for a few hours, and then I decided on the seam sealer instead of bondo, I think it's a better choice for keeping water out. Then just some black paint and we're ready to move on.
Robroy
05-23-2007, 04:05 AM
Does that rust converter work well?
I remember using something called Rust Eater a long time ago, but the rust returned pretty fast. My experience is that nothing really can stop the rust process except maybe sand blasting, and then you need to go deep enough into the metal. It’s a dirty job though and you get sand absolutely everywhere.
The rust convertor is supposed to neutralize the rust and stop it from spreading. According to the label on the can, the rust turns into black primer which can be painted on. The teacher at the body shop class says it's good to use, and he's very picky with the products he uses, so I'll take his advice. First you have to brush/sand off all the loose rust pieces, then apply it.
Robroy
05-23-2007, 10:49 AM
Sounds like the same thing as the Rust Eater. They probably have improved it during the years. It’s a very convenient way of removing rust.
What’s the brand name on the one you use?
It's called "Rust Converter" and it's made by Klean-Strip. I buy it from a shop which only sells automotive body/paint products, and it's like 9$ I think.
So it's getting closer, put in a full day yesterday and got some help from Lisa too. Figuring out how to connect the a/c cables to the no a/c resistor connector and getting it to work with the switch for heater fan was a real pain. I even had the wiring diagrams but since some wires were going in and out of different things that had been taken out it was a little confusing at times. I finally got it to work as good as it was before. Level 2-3 of fan op. was placed on level 1-2 of the switch, excluding level 1. Once it was all connected it didn't seem that fuzzy.
I still have to hook up the stereo cables which will go under the fender, and there's also a bunch of spare wires from the a/c that I'm not sure what to do with (all taped up right now).
I'm now at a point where I have to decide on proceeding with putting the old fender back on or continuing to prepare the replacement fender (still need some light bondo work and sanding), and putting that on. I think it might be worth putting the new fender on, and then get the replacement driver's side fender on too, just for the sake of progressing. So the car will be out on the street -fender for a few more days.
Got this fender done last night, added another coat of ppg ncp-280 primer 75$/q :tonge2: Of course I saw a small wave that needs to be knocked out, so maybe pepboys will have a hammer/dolly set and I can get this taken care of tonight, or it will have to be Monday, and then installation on Tuesday.
The first fender is on, but it will probably have to come off again to have the inside corners painted once we get to the paint stage. There is a slight gap issue at the front, but everything will have to be moved around anyway at a later stage so I don't really care for now. I was planning on taking the driver's side fender off today, and then go to class and finish the replacement fender for installation tomorrow. It all depends on how long the cable guy will be here to install his disc etc.. There was even a quick discussion about going to the track tomorrow night, but then I'll have to get the bumper back on, we'll see...
I also stumbled on this sway bar at the yard, it's from a 76 Caprice. It's just test fitted here and will be a project for next week.
The garage situation is a bit chaotic. My plan is to get the hood out of the way and put the doors against that side. Then I can actually use the garage again which would be nice. I don't have a door for it so if anyone needs some old Buick stuff, then they can help themselves when I'm not looking. I've got some heads / intakes / exhaust manifolds laying around on the sides, waiting for some future porting and use. The inner fender in the front is for a Skylark that I'm selling on ebay.
2mnykars
05-31-2007, 06:40 PM
You should get some bike hooks from home depot and hook them to the upper beams and hang your fenders/doors,etc. That's how I have my centurion stash hidden and I can still drive the car in. Just make sure you use enough hooks for the heavier items.
2mnykars
Some bike hooks sounds like a good idea, but the doors weigh a ton etc.. I guess a lot of hooks would do it.
Yesterday I scrambled to get the car together and managed to change out the second fender and hook up some wires and other lose ends. I even managed to take it to the track for a few runs including setting a new personal best ET. I upped the timing a notch and with the new snorkel system it was enough to shave off .25 sec. This is how the runs went:
60 ft. 2.307 2.420 2.244 2.347 2.654 2.310 2.295
ET. 16.543 16.534 16.312 16.697 17.025 16.248 16.397
MPH. 80.060 81.482 81.565 80.697 80.200 82.917 81.508
I noticed how the car shifts at an even 4000 rpm's which is way too low for drag racing circumstances. Maybe Smartin can pitch in on where to get the spring adjustment kit for the governor?
Later it was a quick stop at the local cruise night and when I was leaving the starter broke. The car started but the little gear on the starter kept spinning, I turned the car off and the little wheel still kept spinning ??? I unplugged the battery and as soon as you would reconnect it the little wheel started. Luckily I still had some warranty left on the starter and I got a new replacement today. I hope that's the problem, otherwise it would be the ignition switch.
Smartin
06-03-2007, 01:28 AM
Governor recalibration thread:
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=65171&highlight=governor
Robroy
06-04-2007, 04:04 AM
I had the exact same problem with the starter as you describe on a Dodge 67 once and it was the starter relay that had gone bananas. After replacing that the problem was solved.
The car is back in business again, I just changed out the starter motor and it was good to go. The relay had probably fused itself, and it's now part of history.
I went out to the garage to take a look at the spare hood I've had leaning against a wall for a loooong time, and it is a '72 Electra hood. I was hoping it to be a LeSabre, but that's the way it went. I'm not sure if I can stand the 4-long port holes on it, it's just such an extensive piece or metal. The LeSabre only has three ports that's why i was hoping it was one of those.. This was to be the next stage in the restoration, but I might have to leave it for later to see if I can find a '72 Centurion hood. The thought of having a '71 has even crossed my mind, and then make a new custom grill for it, cause of the short overhang in the front... :confused4:
Smartin
06-06-2007, 10:09 PM
The 71 and 72 hoods are the same. There is just a bigger painted piece that bolts to the front of the hood on the 72 models.
The 71 and 72 hoods are the same. There is just a bigger painted piece that bolts to the front of the hood on the 72 models.
Are you sure about that? I've always thought the '71's have had a little pointy tip on the front of the hood, more like a 60's car, while the '72 is a more modern, flat angled. The grey one is a '71, and the other is my green '72. It doesn't look like you could change out the front part, or?
Smartin
06-07-2007, 07:04 AM
Maybe you could confirm they are the same/different by pulling that piece off your car and taking a picture.
I'll take it off the spare hood tomorrow, and someone (you, the irrigator) can compare it to your '71.
Another setback today when I wanted to install the swaybar. I have lost the little lug nut key for the wheel locks. I can't do anything until I get another one sent for :Dou: :rant: .
So I cleaned up a bit and decided to take a bunch of parts that's been changed out and other junk laying around here to the yard for recycling. I got 10.50$ for 150 lbs of Buick's finest material. My Toyota truck weighs 2880 lbs without me in it, not that anyone cares, but now you know. It's half price at the yard again on the 15th through 18th and I'm planning on taking a set of front springs from this 72 Electra that I've seen there, and then cut the coils by 1.5 turns and install them on my car. The wheel gemoetry might get a bit screwed up, but "looks" before "safety" right, and I'll still have my old springs if everything turns to ****. Maybe I'll make my way out there on Monday or Tuesday and stash the stuff for the weekend, cause then I'll have work coming up for the rest of the week. I've already bought new shocks for the front when Sears had a buy one get one free deal a few moths ago..
Piece by piece :) ...
It's been a little while since I updated the progress on the car. It's actually kept going backwards, with my generous neighbor pulling a hit and run on the car. This is the fourth time it's been hit in three years. He has admitted, but only after I went after him and gave him an earful. For some reason it's not dented on the side, it's just the bumper and the wheel molding that has taken a small dent. It's still sitting like this, I haven't been bothered to take it in and wash it to take a better look. :mad: :mad: :mad: and I still haven't ordered the wheel key, so nothing's new there either :tonge2:
On a different note, I did get myself a '71 LeSabre hood. The front piece does not interchange the '72. The hood was 26$ including tax on half price day, so the damage wasn't that bad. The reason for me getting the '71 hood was so that I can build a custom grill. I needed the shorter overhang of the '71, and the three smaller ports on the sides are more bearable than the '72 Electra hood ports. I did a test fit at the yard with the grill piece I had brought and took some measurements. Luckily there was a '72 Electra in there too, so I could go back and forth to ensure that it would work out. I might need somthing like 20 of these, and they're 6$ / pair. Other plans down the line are to get the car lowered in the front, and get a thin chin spoiler in there at some point.
Robroy
06-21-2007, 05:06 AM
That’s a dam shame what happened to your car Kimson.
I hope he’s paying you for the damage.
I don’t about California but a proved hit and run would mean bye-bye drivers licence here, if you file a report to the police that is.
A few years back when we lived at an apartment with a common parking lot it was the same story. We had at least one burglary or other damage on our cars a year.
Today I have a fairly big and isolated twin garage with a workshop in one of the sections.
Man it’s paradise to have a place like that so you can keep your cars safe and have the possibility to work on them whenever you feel like it.
The problem can be to convince your woman about the need for having such a garage when you buy a house. Lower and fewer workshop bills was my “bait”;)
centurion 455 ragtop
06-21-2007, 06:13 AM
The problem can be to convince your woman about the need for having such a garage when you buy a house. Lower and fewer workshop bills was my “bait”;)
Ah come on that can be a fairly easy hurdle:rolleyes: When we moved to our second home, I kept myself quiet when dealing with car space and kept looking for a large kitchen and good bathrooms. I found my heated large two car garage and large driveway, in the trade off she LOVED the kitchen and bathrooms:xyxthumbs: Done deal for me:laugh: Worked for her so it worked for me:xyxthumbs: Remember: Happy wife, happy life!:xyxthumbs:
Robroy
06-21-2007, 11:15 AM
I dig your strategy:Brow: Rick and in our case the nice kitchen and bathrooms also came with the package. Problem was to move out of town to a suburb. Women tend to wanting to be close to the shops so they can spend money on a short notice :rooleyes2: .
Having 20 minutes to the two larger cities in the area isn’t that bad I think, but she thinks its too slow and sleepy out here.
The German
06-22-2007, 04:24 AM
Per, that house is a real giant - like a Centurion - :xyxthumbs: and it has 4 exhausts only on its front side of the roof !! Unbelievable!
Hope you - and your wife - don´t have too much work with it !
_______________
Rolf
centurion 455 ragtop
06-22-2007, 06:03 AM
Have to agree with Rolf, nice house! :xyxthumbs:
Robroy
06-22-2007, 06:59 AM
Thanks guys,
I fell for it rather directly when we were at the exhibition, and the big twin garage with the nice workshop wasn’t doing it less interesting:D . In this country many houses don’t even have a garage and if they do, you seldom get in an American full-size in them, so big ones with workshop included are indeed rare. I had the plan in my back head already then to get me a nice 60-70’s full-size to put in that garage, didn’t know exactly what, but later I found the Centurion and the rest you know.
The house was in very good condition when I bought it and the price was right, just like with the Centurion. Life can be good every now and then…:)
Rolf, have you made the inspection yet?
The German
06-22-2007, 12:53 PM
Rolf, have you made the inspection yet?
No, Per, it´s ready for the inspection since 3 weeks (I changed the frost plug and had to change the grommets of the stabilizer links of the front axle too - I found that 3 of them were broken when I cleaned the motor and the axle from old oil - and to get the right parts isn´t easy in Germany and lasts some days...), but until now I had too little time to get the 5-days-licence and drive it to the inspectors. The last weeks we had a lot of rainy weather anyway, so that´s not a problem for me.
____________________
Rolf
Added some hours later :
The problem is, that the weather seems to be bad the next week also. May be we´ll have a summer for rubber boots in Germany this year ! :
http://www.das-wetter.de/de/home/wetter/deutschland/ortewetter.html
Back in the garage last night I finally spent the time to wire wheel some valve covers and a lid. The purplish covers that has been on the car for something like two years now have done their job and with the "resto" I wanted to lose that color to keep the palette down. I'm considering letting the pieces weather a bit to see some discoloration and patina develop, and then put some clear on them to lock in the finish. Right now I think they look too much like they've been painted silver, you can see the marks from the wire wheel, but not too obviously. I also had a lid done previously, which had some bumps in it which have developed some nice marks, if I can take it in that direction somehow I'm happy. If the time weathering doesn't work, I can always give them a quick once over and go with the metal finish.
Robroy
06-28-2007, 02:11 PM
Have that :Blasting: neighbour that hit your car opened his wallet yet?
I haven't seen the guy around here since I let him know that he had been seen. I don't really want to go through the trouble of trying to extract $ from someone who doesn't have any. It will just be a bunch of bs and excuses for months. But on a much brighter note I had my truck impounded today, for a second time in six weeks. It took me several days and several trips to different offices and even a tape recorded hearing to get it back last time because for the previous owners old parking tickets; and I guess some stellar worker never cleared my truck in the computer. It feels like I'm living in Africa :Dou: I was planning on wire wheeling the bottom side of the replacement hood tomorrow morning and put on some primer and paint before I have to work later on in the day, but since the parking idiots can't get their **** together I have to deal with this for probably most of the day, weekend, and begining of next week since I know how this story goes.
Nothing major happening here, I'm still waiting for the wheel key to get here from Florida so I can get the swaybar installed and then begin on the hood. I found this '73 GrandVille convertible in the yard and it had a nice set of top latches. My other ones have no springs on them and are of some other kind of design. It's not so fun to enter the freeway seeing a corner of the roof start to lift. I cleaned these up and put some paint on em. hopefully they will go on next time the car goes behind the house.
To keep the ball rolling I threw another Benjamin at the car and invested in some upgrades for the transmission. I got the governor recalibration kit from B&M, which will be tried out on Saturday when the lacr.net track hosts the ratfinkparty.org event. I was also given two spare governors by the guy who had the transmission shop who sold me the kit, the added benefits of buying from someone local! I also managed to track down the Transgo 1-2 shift kit which will hopefully go in tomorrow or Thursday. Any suggestions on the shift kit are most welcome, and should there be any additional drilling to the plate done?
Smartin
07-17-2007, 07:26 PM
Just follow the directions as they say.
Don't install the spring behind the vacuum modulator as they say in the instructions. It almost makes 2nd gear non-existant when you are driving around. It will make 3rd gear kick in too soon.
Let me see if I can dig up the thread from when I installed my governor kit...it was a pain in the butt to get it right.
Smartin
07-17-2007, 07:26 PM
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=65171&highlight=governor
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=65171&highlight=governor
Lucky ducky me I don't even have to go through the mess of trying to sort that one out. One of the governors that was given to me came from a corvette, and I thought I'd give it a shot to see what would happen if I installed it. After a medium sized battle to get the transmission to work again I took the car to the track and it hit 5000 rpms on both shifts, just where I wanted it to be.
I also have the new latches for the top on, and now you can actually talk inside the car, and you can't see the outside world through the roof line, and there are no more rattles from the loose handles.. much nicer, this actually was a very nice upgrade. As you can see the old handles look a little sad, and they're really loose too.
I'm still waiting for my wheel lock key to come from Florida :tonge2: They said that they've received my money order and was going to send it out a few days ago.. I sent the money order on the 26th of June..:rooleyes2: As soon as the key arrives I can install the rear sway bar...
Robroy
07-23-2007, 02:13 AM
Good job!:D
I think replacing those bad latches should improve your time at the track. I noticed on the films you uploaded on Youtube that your roof balloons up quite a bit during the race. Together with that new governor it should make a difference.
Keep us posted on the result!:beers:
Next weekend is the last weekend my most local and fun track will be open, after that they will start mining the granite underneath it. It's sad to see, it's been open since '64.. I will hopefully have acquired a real video camera by then and maybe we can have a few more film clips. The car's body is dying a slow death by rust, I can tell how it is slowly spreading around the rear wheels and in some other places, I hope I can get some more body work done this fall and get it in better shape. It sure is a nice feeling to have those new fenders on there, all smooth, and a good sign of progress..
The German
07-23-2007, 11:03 AM
... The car's body is dying a slow death by rust, ...
Here is a link to a German site of a seller of some of the best corrosion prevention fluids - but it´s written in German language; perhaps you know anyone who could translate the main informations - it would be worth trying that ! Because the catalog not only shows the fluids and other products but also informs about the special "know how" that is needed to get rid of the rust and to prevent the car from getting rust again !! You can download the catalog or give them your address and they will send it to you.
http://www.korrosionsschutz-depot.de/de/katalog.html
_____________________
Rolf
The rust business will be taken on in small portions as I work my way around the car. The teacher at the body shop class is good and knows what works and not, everything just takes time.
The upgrades for the transmission didn't really bring any improvements, maybe the cam is out of power up at 5000, I don't know. The car seems to have been stuck around 16.50-60, except for when I managed to get a 1.987 60 foot time. I don't know how that happened, and I'm not 100% sure I can believe the figures, but they do add up for the rest of the race, and all the gain was right at the start. They also claim I hit a .6 sec light for that race which has never happened before, so who knows.
2.272 2.326 1.987 2.37 2.372
6.75 6.765 6.415 6.813 6.801
10.526 10.513 10.159 10.549 10.532
13.719 13.671 13.327 13.709
80.293 81.286 81.076 80.913
16.616 16.533 16.21 16.58 16.563
I've got some videos that I just managed to extract from the camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRUe_uIFsIU
Some belt makes a screeching noise when my car revs high, you can clearly hear it in the video. It made the same noise (not always) going down the track after it hits about 4000 rpms. Any suggestions welcome. Alt belt? Tranny?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQgIHSTzdLM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGTHy2vLGkI
Smartin
07-29-2007, 07:39 AM
Have you checked all your belts to make sure they're tight?
The wheel lock key finally arrived and the sway bar is now a part of the car. I also bought a new belt for the alternator and one for the power steering pump. I don't think I've changed either of those since I got the car, hopefully that's what's been making the screeching noise.
Smartin
07-31-2007, 07:18 PM
Sweet!!
I thought I'd make a list of things that are in the plans for the future. It's hard to tell in which order this will go down, but in general this is what I have in mind.
1. Clean up the back of the hood, and get it painted (half done). Later bring the hood to the body shop class when that starts up in early September and paint the top part in primer. I will also weld up the holes for the front emblem. I'm not sure what to do with the vent louvres, maybe something custom, maybe just clean up and install, we'll see.
When the new hood is installed, I'll get going on the custom grille. You've seen the pieces I want to use in an earlier picture. For the bottom grille pieces I want to use dual bullet shaped cones on each side. I'm not sure where to get those, but somewhere I hope.
3. After the hood and grille, I want to start working my way back on the car, finish up the replacement doors I have here, almost done. Clean up all the mechanical parts and window motors that sits inside the doors. I plan to do the rocker panels at the same time, while the doors are off.
4. I'm not sure what the condition of the floor is, so the carpet will come up at som point after the door business is done, and see what we find. I see a replacement plate welded in on one side for the back seat feet position, maybe fix that better, maybe not. Don't know yet.
4. When the body shop class is up and running, I plan on taking off the trunk lid and doing that as a separate piece. Weld shut the key hole, and get a remote opener for it. I hope to use a stock trunk opener mechanism, and just get a remote signal trigger if such exists.
5. I will keep looking for a replacement rear bumper, since the one I have is scratched and dented (second one already), idiot drivers in Hollywood.
6. I will leave the quarters to do last, since I believe they will be the most difficult, and the more I work on the car the more comfortable I get with the body work.
7. Interior needs to get done, I'm not sure how, where ,and when, but when the car is totally in primer I think would be a good time. The current plan is to keep the saddle brown look, maybe change the pattern around a bit, maybe have a GSX style pattern with different shades of brown.
8. A new top is also needed. Maybe I can work out some package deal for it with the interior, I plan on keeping it black. I'm not sure if I want a glass window or not yet, we'll see. When the time comes for the top replacement, I will try to get the top frame cleaned up and painted.
9. Another thing is a new amp, the one I have cuts out and can't deliver enough juice to bust my ears, so at some point that will happen.
10. I will get a spare set of front coils, hopefully I can get a set from a mid 90's cop Caprice, similar rating as the Centurions, and almost equal size. Cut one coil, maybe more, get some rake.
11. Chin spoiler, depending on how low the car gets in the front, I want to add a chin spoiler like the GS's have. It will probably only be half as tall as theirs, but I think it would be a nice touch.
12. Engine upgrades. I have a set of '67 tall port heads here, with the intake manifold. I also have a set of '71 heads with the intake manifold. At some point I will port and polish either of those sets. At the same time a new cam would go in, and also the oil upgrades for the front cover and and new timing chain.
13. Exhaust upgrade. As mentioned before, it would be nice to go with the shorty headers, but $ is tight, and summer has been slow with work, so I'm not 100% sure. It will be a 2.5 mandrel system with the tips exiting in front of the wheels. It will be interesting to hear from Adam when he went down the track if he felt he was hurt by the stock exhaust manifolds.
14. Paint... This is way down the line, maybe by next summer, maybe later. All depends on what else happens in my life. I wanted to go with a champagne color offered for the Infiniti, but the car would kind of dissapear and not stand out. Right now, it's the stratomist blue direction. If I can figure out how to do it, or have someone else do it, I would like to ghost in the Centurion logo on the side of the hood, going slightly down on a fender, maybe having some ghost flames coming off it, who knows..
15. Blue xenon front lights, I'm tired of not seeing anything, we'll see. That could work with the startomist blue.
16. I would also get blue California license plates if the colors go in that direction.
17. Chrome top eyelids for the front lights, custom cut, not sure how yet.
18. I also have a replacement steering box that needs to go in at some point.
There's probably other things in there that I have missed. One problem I see is that the car is parked on the street. It's been driven into four times in three years, so maybe when it's paint time I'll have to find a solution for that.
This is just how I see my car coming together, most of you probably think I'm nuts and that I will ruin it etc. I'm not doing any real modifications to it, and it could be put back together into it's original shape again. But that is what I want and what I am working towards.
72tunaboat
08-04-2007, 12:08 PM
Will the springs from a 90s Caprice/ Impala fit the old Centurion/ LeSabre chassis? If so, will the rear springs also interchange and possibly the spindles? if this is true, I would definitely go this route with dropped spindles and springs for my car.
I looked at the moog chassis manual and the springs had very similar ratings and sizes. I'm not sure about the spindles, are drop spindles available for the later b-body cars? There is a person on the v8buick.com site who went with rear disc brakes on his 71 Riviera. Seems like a nice upgrade.
72tunaboat
08-04-2007, 01:00 PM
Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation (SSBC) makes a rear disc kit for the 71-76 Impala/ Caprice that will probably fit our cars without any problems.
http://www.ssbrakes.com/products/detail/900/?make=Chevrolet&model=Caprice&year=1972
Are the rear springs for the 90s Caprice similar to the ones in our cars?
72gsx4me
08-21-2007, 04:40 PM
KIMSON,
I FOUND A POLICE PACKAGE IMPALA REAR SWAY BAR FOR MY CAR AND WAS WONDERING HOW YOU BOLTED YOUR SWAY BAR ON. I AM PLANNING TO BOX THE LOWER CONTROL ARMS WITH METAL FLAT STOCK AND BOLT SWAY BAR TO THAT.
COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE MEASUREMENT FROM LOWER CONTROL REAR BOLT HOLE TO THE REAR BOLT HOLE WHERE SWAY BAR BOLTS ONTO LOWER CONTROL ARM? :confused4:
I WANT TO MAKE SURE I PUT SWAY BAR IN PROPERT PLACE.
THANKS....WILL:cool:
I never measured how far in the swaybar was situated on the control arms. I just popped it in place with the mounting brackets on it, and and pushed it forwards/backwards a little to make it sit evenly on both sides. The drilling was a little tricky, it's hard to take measurements laying under the car, and also to work with the drill. It's fiddly, I had to file half of the holes about 1/8 to make the screws fit. If you have access to a lift, I think it would help alot.
Only suggestion I have is to measure, and then to double check your measurements again to make sure you're as close as you can get. If you get it right you won't have to file.
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