Just by chance, I was looking through a 1967 copy of "Honest Charley's " catalog last night and found just about everything aftermarket that was used on the "X" car at this point in time. If you multiply all those prices by 9 1/2 you get pretty close to current prices. That 3-barrel carb would be $952.35!!! People tend to look back with rose-colored glasses thinking things were so much cheaper in the past but the reality is they still cost a lot even then. Nobody was giving anything away.
I sold the aluminum door panel kit and a spare front apron for $310. Down to 18,690. Still have the race engine. Beginning to think it might be a tough sell. Part of the problem is we don't have a race track around here anymore ( they sold out to build warehouses) so whatcha gonna do with a 14 to 1 compression race engine. I just need to be patient. I'm close enough to the Vegas or Boise Idaho tracks that someone could make a day trip to pick it up if they bought it.
Believe me, I've tried to justify using the engine, but the approximately 15 grand the things worth would finish the car with money left over.
I've just about got this disassembled as far as it need s to go. At this point it's a matter of some body mount bolts and the brake lines to get the body off so I guess I'm gonna pull it off. It will sure make it easier to restore the rear suspension. The previous owner installed a nice ladder bar set up and moved the rear springs to under the frame. All that needs to be changed back to stock and it would be so much simpler with the body off. Cutting, grinding and welding while laying under a car is not as much fun as it sounds.
Scored a polished Edelbrock C427X intake and coil bracket recently. Baby steps. Already have the Valve covers and one A.C. breather. Still looking for another breather and a Holley 3 Barrel carb. Good swap meet season is coming.
Big Day! I pulled the body off. I'm a one man show so I had to improvise how to lift this thing without a 2 post lift or hoist of some sort, and with no help from anyone else. First I removed the doors and trunk lid to reduce weight. Then after removing all the body bolts(only broke two off), undoing the E- brake cable and the lines off the master cylinder, all that was left was the steering. The previous owner had adapted a rag joint to the box so it was simple to disconnect from there. With my plasma cutter I built an extension for my cherry picker out of one of the previously removed frame outriggers for the roolbar. Using a 4x4 fence post and experimenting with balance points, it turns out it is at the front of the back window opening. Making sure I positioned the cherry picker so it wouldn't be rolling over any cracks in the driveway, I placed the fence post through the car and centered the extension on the beam. It balanced perfectly and lifted right off. Pretty slick! I would estimate I only lifted it about a foot or so to clear the frame to remove the body sideways. I did have to take off the rear tires to gain additional clearance. Only took about 3 hours total. I know it's "hillbilly engineering" but necessity is the mother of invention and it did work after all. Now to chop out that nice ladder bar setup and put the springs back out board of the frame like original.
You have been busy!. I however have been picking at that big block, i think next week i will be shoe horning it in my car. Call if ya need a hand.
Utahvette, I'm a one man operation myself and your hoisting is similar to what I do except I have adjustable metal clamps with eye bolts on my 4 x4 and use chain over the top. I built a new much longer arm for my cherry picker that has a upright of 15". The original arm is just under 3 ft long. The new on is 81" long with the upright back 45" from the front. Too be on the safe side I wrapped the end of the tube on the picker with some 1/4" strap to prevent any splitting. I also built a piece onto the bottom back to hold counter weight if needed. I can easily lift bodies and truck cabs off my trailer now
Just sold the slicks to a "no prep" racer. He has a race this weekend and couldn't get new ones here in time. Down to $18,490
Through the power of the H.A.M.B. I was offered a Holley 3 barrel for a good price. It was kinda crusty but had good bones, mostly.
The good thing was it was complete. The bad was the base was cracked. This gave me a great opportunity to try my aluminum welding rod. After V-ing it out and filling it with rod, It really gives the impression it's gonna work.
I did add a vacuum take off for the distributor that was nonexistent. It only had provisions for ported vacuum and that's not the best for the street.
With the carb rebuilt and detailed, mocking up the top end of the engine gives a little encouragement. I even made up a matching fuel line with those stupid spring clamps and used the correct plugs in the manifold. Magazine pictures compared to what I have so far. I think it's going to be OK.
I may be getting a little ahead of myself here but I have this beautiful fly-eye air cleaner that might get used. They were all the rage back then. There are no pictures of the car with an air cleaner so why not?
Sold the MSD distributor for $325. Whittling the cost down now to $18,165. Picked up a manual tuning radio and a aftermarket coil that when painted black will look correct. Got a pretty good deal on a pair of lower fender patch panels at the swap meet today for $50. I was just going to cut and patch the fenders but for $50 I couldn't refuse. Got some leads on a seat and rear bumper that could work out. We'll see.
Neat project. That radio was an aftermarket deal intended for that car possibly, thats why it fits so well. Some cars back then came radio delete...so the aftermarket stepped in. Ive even seen those kind of radios for first gen Camaros and even cars into the early 70s. Generally they were Motorolas.
The only thing better than this project is if someone restored the original. It's so far gone... This is very exciting.
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