History Anyone recognize this 60’s, Orange, Channeled ‘34 5 Window from New England?

The obit. mentions a partner, Lynn Bourcier. There is a guy named "Bones" Bourcier from Southington who is a pretty well known writer for various circles track magazines. Could they be related? He should be easy to find(maybe facebook?)

 

Nice job @Stogy By removing the color and adding some contrast, the plate appears to be E 1257

 

Mark “Bones” Bourcier
https://blogs.gatehousemedia.com/tracktalk/tag/mark-bones-bourcier/

Just following your lead....Wahoo...

Not Lynn per say...but your saying related so yes maybe so...
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Neato!!...I will have a little dream tonight that that Coupe is sitting in the Garage tomorrow when I open the garage door...Fingers Crossed...

 

Thank you guys so much for the tip! I’ve sent him a friend request on FB! Hopefully I’ll connect with him soon.

 

Shaun as much as Tom was into old cars he sure was private about it...Reaching out to his family may yield something though...There was so much Hotrod going on in your region I'm thinking he bought it as an old Hotrod rather than Rodded it but I'm assuming of course...

 

HI, I have 63 Pontiac bell and stick setup. how far will you drive? I am in Hartford NY. no shipping, this way you can use your 63 389. if interested tell me phone number. Pete.

 

@SS Pete, I am across the border but pretty close or closer to Shaun so we could do a relay to help him out.
Walt

 

Hi Pete, thank you greatly for the offer. However is it a factory Pontiac bellhousing? My other problem is that from 61 up Pontiac angled their manual transmissions 15 degrees. Unfortunately my center crossmember doesn’t have enough clearance.

I think aftermarket scatter shields like an Ansen from back then might work? I haven’t been able to locate one.

Thank you for the offer Walt! You’ve been a great help on this project. Looks like Hartford is only 2.5 hours each way so not bad.

 

Shaun, I have the entire setup from a 63 Bonneville, FACTORY. This had the long tail also. Came from a 421 which is the same. If you do some work you can use it. My friend NHRA raced a 63 Catalina in the 70s and he could not find a shield. He had to get NHRA approval to use a 65 block so he could use a late shield.I would also check if your 1960 heads work on a 63 block ? If I remember timing covers and water pumps were not the same. better hit the pontiac forums . Pete.

 

Hartford NY is 40 miles each way for me, directly north but just across the border which is a mile away from my home. If you do this with Pete, you could come here, and I will give you the local tour and save you some road time. Just saying.....

 

Always cringed with that rear tail pan custom treatment that was more common than one might realize back in the day, but must admit since it breathes a true identity to the cars history wouldn't change it for sure. I've known of a 32 3w & a 5w with similar custom treatments over the years in my neck of the woods, not certain as to the whereabouts of either.

 

Glad to hear that they are that scarce… kind of why I gave up on the 63. I’ll see if that stock set up can be made to work. I appreciate your offer. The “builder” put the 60 heads on the 63, and from what I can tell that’s OK. Can’t use 59 or earlier heads unless you remove some internal water pipe. I’m going to be expert on 1960 Pontiac engine by the time I’m done haha

I appreciate that, I may take you up on the tour regardless if it works out with Pete. I have some friends down in southern VT over in Guilford I should visit.

It certainly is different, but I know I can never bring myself to change it. It’s part of the cars heritage now. At least this one was well done.

 

Dig some serious digging on FB and found a complete 1960 389 from a year old ad. Ran, but smoked. Guy tried rebuilding heads, but it still smoked. $300 complete. Same block and head casting numbers as the one that came out of the coupe. Guy pulled it out of a hot rod ‘55 Dodge pickup. He put it down by his shed with his tractor when he didn’t get any calls on the ad. Of course tractor engine blew since then.




So a 450 mile trip to NY netted me this old Poncho power plant. Bores look OK, no rust or scoring, but the bottom end smells burnt. Crank is discolored. Bearings are gonzo. Timing chain real loose. But it was $300 and gives me options.




I’m thinking I can swap the bottom end from the other engine into this one? The coupes engine had a fresh .010 crank, and possibly balanced rotating assembly. Necessary to do any additional machine work when swapping cranks?

 

I do not know anything about additional machine work when swapping cranks. Good to see you moving forward with the motor and options,

 

I haven’t ever worried about additional machine work when swapping cranks. But, I’ll probably find out I have been doing it wrong for 40 years when someone answers that says it needs it.

 

Hey Shaun, have you got a vernier caliper? Measure the cranks at their journals and see if they are the same, or close. Glad to see you're going the extra mile for this build.

 

I grew up in that area!
I have had hotrods for over 50 years!
I don't remember ever seeing this car?
In the 70's and 80's I knew everyone that had a hotrod around!
I will ask some of my friends that don't use the computer,
maybe someone will remember?
I did message someone about this car on Facebook!
Somebody has to know something about it?

 

Good news on the newest engine. Chrome valve covers - it must be fast
Since you're becoming an expert on these engines - whether you wanted to be or not.....consider building it yourself. Read up, find a machine shop you like to work with, buy some measuring devices and go after it.

I'm really digging this car, and the old orange paint, as you do bodywork maybe just shoot those areas in red oxide and run it. SPI has red oxide epoxy.

 

Having messed with a few Pontiacs in the sixties I will suggest whatever crank you go with align bore the block.

 

Had a chance to tear down the “new” 1960 389 a little further.

Not sure what the came is? Can’t find much? But SPC1 seems to be Lunati maybe?

Pistons are marked Alcoa (did they make Arias?) and 1956, as wells as 209X underneath.

Rod bearings aren’t quite as bad. One rod end cap has been ground quite a bit, but most are untouched.

Thanks, and yes it feels good to finally make a little progress. Haven’t really touched this thing for a couple months.

Haha that’s why I figured I’d ask! I just don’t want it to go boom

I do, I’ll have to start doing some measuring. And thank you. Can’t count how many people have told me just to swap in 350.

Thanks for looking into it for me. I really haven’t had any good leads.

I did end up messaging Mark Bourcier but he didn’t remember the coupe. He worked for him back in the 70’s. Said he was more into muscle cars. Talked to his daughter, but she thought he’d bought it in the 70’s, but then she wasn’t sure which car we were talking about. That’s all I got.

Haha I was hoping it would have something good inside! But nothing too impressive in there.

I’ve really been thinking about assembling it myself. I have a little experience, and there’s plenty of info out there on building these old Ponchos. Plus every machine shop is booked out for months, or not even doing full builds currently.

Thanks for the tip on the red oxide, good to know they make one. I’ve thought about trying to get color match paint made at Napa. I figure it’d be close enough for the lower area. It’ll blend once it’s all dirty

Thank you for the tip. Have you run into issues in the past?

 

I'd be cleaning that block up, soaking pistons in pine sol and bolting it back together with nome new bearings gaskets and rings.

Plasigauge it all and see where it sits.

Kinda looks like a lack of oil pressure or delivery, not like it's worn out.

 

I worked for a Pontiac dealer in the 60's. We ran a 62 Super Duty for a couple of seasons. I was fixing a 428 for a friend that spun a rod. Had the crank reground and reassembled the engine. It would not turn over. Loosening mains freed it up. Sent it to machine shop to have it align bored. If you are going to rebuild the engine you have, do everything right, don't skimp. Also machining the heads for screw in studs is a good idea. We had a lot of engines pull the studs out.

 

Does anyone recognize this steering box? Looks like standard Saginaw, but has 53” long shaft? Can’t seem to identify it or the steering column which may be from something else.

The body of the steering box is marked 5675536 and the cap is marked 5666723-2. Can’t make out the numbers are on the pitman arm.

Looks like it was a Superior steering wheel… they even splurged for the horn button kit. It’s missing the cap of course.

 

NAPA may still have a rebuilders casting number catalog. At one time years ago we had a source for casting numbers from A1A Cardone. Might check with them or a call to tech at A1A might give you some info. Looks early before say 58. After then many boxes had spline short shafts with rag joints. Is that a date code below the 567 number?

 

I did some welding to gain clearance for the shifter in the crossmember, wanted to see how it fit now. Still close, and I need to remake the trans mount but should be OK. They must have bent the crap out of the linkages to ever squeeze them in how they were!

Couldn’t help doing some mock up…

 

Shaun,
I should be coming down to your shop and seeing this in person. Outstanding save.

 

Playing around some more…



Found a 34 radiator that ended up being a little rough, but perfect for cutting up.

I may not end up using a stock radiator after all, I’m hoping by using a slightly narrower and thinner radiator that I can push the grille back another inch or two. May try to modify the top tank on the other radiator. I’ve got a nifty offset lower neck to help clear the crossmember.

Need to figure out how to clearance for an old chrome Jeep fan that Eastcoastmike aka Partswapper hooked me up with at the Pinetree Jamboree

How big of a radiator do I need for a stout 389??

 

Thanks! If you want to I’m in Wilmot NH. There’s a lot to take in with this old hot rod. A lot of details

 

Doing some more playing around with the radiator… tried chopping the stock 34 but too wide.



Found an aluminum Be Cool radiator for a 37-39 Ford, with Chevy conversion. Only 14” wide, so I made a mock up out of styrofoam, pushed the grille back 2”. Measurement from cowl to top of grille is only 1” longer than stock. Not bad for a 7” channel car with a big ol Poncho.



I smoothed out the block and heads a little before dropping them off at the machine shop this week… a lot more work than I thought it would be!