patman Thanks for your opinion I am just worried that the car will loose something if i pretty up the motor,That being said i only pulled it apart cause it NEEDED It. I could hand clean it really good but alot of work My Tank is much easier I have alot of opinions and i gladly take them, but some want to keep the original paint the way i got it i understand and want that but I also want a good clean engine. Idk what i am going to do sleep on it for a bit i guess. Frank The tires are cool but NEED to be changed! I know you have sen them and agree. The car is waht it is and i have just realized that in the past few months talking with alot of you good guys Its a time capsule and i shouldnt redo everything on this car the way i want ie 427 sohc motor betwen the rails a body like 3wlarrys and all the fixings. I just bought some rails and other parts awhile back to build my version of a Hot Rod but a somewhat traditional 1. This car needs to stay the way it is except for a few things.... And i dont want to dump a ton of money in it. The single carb to 4 2`s was a good addition (i hope) from what i been told and i still have it .I`ll put the 4bbl on it if ya want?? As for the BBC I changed my mine on the tunnel ram 1 and am going to put this 1 in Have i told you how much fun this is but i kinda feel skitzafrensick *sp LMAO Wait til you see the new 1 i am building Thanks Frank its great talking with you
No, I am the only guy who has not seen the car in person Maybe at the V8 meet in Fitchburg soon? or is that too far for you to travel with that old clunker
Hey Dave, I wouldn't worry about making your motor look to good. Once it's done just drive the wheels off it and it'll look "patina'd" pretty quick. On another note Scott and I bolted in the dropped axle to locate the vega box and figured out that the motor mounts are in the way and have to be changed. So, it looks like I might have to pull the motor. I'll be in touch !!!
Frank I am sorry i thought you did I wouldve driven down to see you with Jeff we like to to go cruising. The early v8 meet is a little far and i dont know if it will fit in. Frank your awesome!! Clunker!!! It`s a Jalopy.......... Brett Thanks I will drive the wheels out of it. When your ready let me know I am here for ya. If you need anything or me to come down let me know
So what's up with the motor? Find something bad? Spring is coming faster this year. ...or I'm not making enough progress each day No joke there,
Just pulled it tonight found a broken bell mount. the motor has a pretty big ridge but looks good. I pulled the pan when i first got the car and cleaned the pan and pick up i posted pics awhile ago so i dont expect any surprises but idk. This was my first experience with the million flywheel bolts fun...... maybe should have pulled it as a unit but no need to really. I just see things that need fixing and want to go at it but I know where it will lead. You are right spring is coming and quick, your right I have to get moving but have alot on my plate with the shop. And then theres that little trip i want to take to THE LSR and over to visit a friend up north. I will post more when i get more info,keep plugging frank its looking good!
It`s ok not your fault I just cant stand oil leaks etc The steering box has been leaking and getting worse, I used gear oil and was told not to use grease but after the motor is being cleaned up I may tear in that and a few other things. I had to lift the body up off the frame very minimal but had to loosen the body bolts no biggie but i didnt want to OPEN PANDORAS BOX but as soon as i touched one thing i knew i had to becareful... So i am a little frustrated as i wanted to just leave this car alone and not get into painting and redoing things but i think its inevitable so i am now going to sit and rethink things so i dont make a mistake and cant go back. But i know there are things that must be tended to and with that it can snowball easily... AAAHHHH sigh and deep breath. I can say this car has made me slow down and not make quick decisions like in the past as i never would regret but would say it is what it is and its what i wanted. See there`s a part of me that wants to keep it as is and the other part wants to restore redo etc for lack of a better word. So i need to either make the decision to fluff and buff or pull up my sleeves and go in head first. I will post some pics later of what I been doing and found. Thanks spooky30a
Just me, but I think it's fine to clean/repaint the firewall because they would do that back then.....so if "they" were here , they would give you permission . Not saying to make it all smooth and grind welds...just clean up details. Hmmn, green and red motor... well.. What's the plan on the ridge? too much for a re-ring? That valley is cleaner than my 303 in the 40.
i agree with f&j restore it like it was!paint ....clean whatever the car was in need of u to save it and i think u will do it justice. nothing wrong with improvements some cars like this one are used up enough that for them to survive they need rebuilt. just remember its ur car and its a cool one...just my two cents
just do the motor and stick it back in place, the motor will dirty up in a few months and match the rest again just fine. the firewall and frame dont look that bad, id just leave it. new paint just looks like new paint! my 2 cents jeff
Frank i know waht you mean and thats what i want to do but it`s also cool to leave it as found aswell and thats what I am torn on. If i decide to start painting stuff ik it will snowball i mean how can i paint the firewall but not paint the frame etc right? Wasnt these motors green from factory? I can only see green red and then a chrysler orange which was the last paint job as you can see it`s even on the firewall in the pic. Some holes are brazed which is cool cause thats what they did and had. I am going to paint the engine for sure... Been toying with gold will go with the black frame and color of car i guess. I just got to think of it some more. It will be bored I want a straight bore and good ring seal, heck i cant have a engine that doesn`t run perform right just can`t.... And poor Jeff can`t drive with his head out window all the time . The first thing i need to do is give it a good cleaning and se what it looks like. Redroaddog Thanks for the input it`s a good input and what most likely will happen
Jeff thats my dilema i dont want to make it look like i just built this car and ik it will look like that if i start down that road. I`m gonna clean it up and do motor and as you said it will dirty up quick heck i will just have to drive the hell out of it whens the first ride?? Now that i am on a way to a plan cant to burn some freaking tire!!! Farmergal they thought you posted alot... F-em
Dave, just do it! Heres mine right now...youve got plenty of time (even though the weather is great) Thats what I keep telling myself anyway!
Slickwilly what the hell you doing??? Geesh i feel good now I got plenty of time when you going to be ready?? I thought i was bad with the checker board floor I had that once only once I wish i could afford Epoxy for mine maybe someday........
Im hoping it will come together real quickly, Im replacing the entire rear end and chassis, evidently, stepping the frame, pete and jakes ladderbars, new crossmember, posi 3.73 rear end... The split rear wishbones, yikes, one bent like a pretzel and the other cracked in half through a fishplate!! That was enough for me... the floor?, well, the floor...ahh nevermind, more dollars than brains at that time!
It's your car now. Unless you wanted to put it in a museum, or trailer it everywhere, you're going to have to fix the stuff that isn't reliable. Nothing sucks the fun out of a car quicker than spending more time on a rollback then on the road. Even if it doesn't actually break, you'll know the potential is there, and it'll bug you. You'll fix it all eventually anyway, so why not skip the frustration and drama and cut to the chase? There's a lot you can do without messing with the spirit of the original car. You've identified a few things that need redoing. Do 'em so you can enjoy driving it. Do the engine right, boil it, rebuild it, rattlecan it, then drive the snot out of it for 100K miles. If the shiny paint is the only thing stopping you, buy a can of red and a can of green, and shoot it with some suede clear (does that exist??) after you're done. Think of it as a really really big tuneup.
yes i agree,rebuild the olds motor,(they are badass),fix what has to be fixed and drive the car, remember the saying,if you can't drive it don't buy it,bye the way, super nice car.........
Pat Good advice and i am getting the same feed back from others Theres noway around it that to enjoy the car and make it driveable etc it needs the attention i am going to give it. As i stated before the rear end needs some work to. But again it opens up more of pandoras box... Its really to wide and is way up in the air so to make it fit and look right it would need to be shortened and lowered, the rear spring is bound up against the brackets. So its on now I`m going to fix the engine clean up the rest and see what happens from there. Thanks richie yes the olds are cool mills and i wouldnt change it for anything else it came withthe olds its going to stay that way as long as i own it.
Good to here you plan on boring the block. I'd recomend hard exhaust seats in the heads as well. Titus is right about the paint. Leave it alone because where do you quit once you start. Give it a good cleaning and maybe some rubbing compound to give it a little shine.
Yeah dyce I knew from the begining it was going to turn into a complete rebuild, and it was foolish for me to try to do it without tanking, its the right way and alot less work. So it`s getting the treatment I cleaned up alot of the stuff last night gonna tank the block this morning. I have rubbed the cars paint and it looks good when done And i am happy with that part of it. The car is what it is I just need to make a decision on how much of the crude stuff i will fix i will post more pis later if i have time alone at the shop today and got lots to do!
I hope it will make it to The Fitchburg V8 Ford meet coming up. I'll be there just in case it does make it.
Heres some pics i dont think posted for those who want to se whats going on. Block is in tank again i think this is the 2nd block i have ever had that was this sludgy! I have done alot of blocks... I also posted a pic of a flathead i just got done with with merc crank and all new valve seats and surfacing of the decks. I also posted a pic of the crossmemebers in the car I am considering redoing the hokey front mount its got a few cracks in it so i will weld them up if i dont change them. I like F&J`s mounts on his engine so i may do something like that. With all the HP and torque these produce i may need to beef the mount up 145hp 280 torque if remember right Frank I dont know if i will make The airport but i will be there either way and I am only a few minutes from there maybe i`ll have some of you guys over after the show.
I wish I could see the crossmember deal up front in person.. I know you said it has two Ford front crossmembers, but the location looks odd. My Olds is tucked up close to the stock firewall, and if I had used your type center front mount, my "2 holes" would be about 2" behind an untrimmed 32 front crossmember. I wonder if they altered your wheelbase? I say that because the crossmember that your motor sat on, is not in the stock location, unless your motor is way ahead of the firewall. ..and the forward crossmember on yours looks too far ahead to be stock. I don't know from just pics. Holt chit, they sure chewed on the front one..wow.. oh, I just got back from napa with ZR-1 10/30 and a bottle of "ZDDP-Plus". Carquest said they had nothing
Ok i just got done cleaning the block for the 4th time. Frank I will take beter pics for ya. The front original crossmemeber is still in the original location its stil riveted just hacked. I thought the 2nd crossmemeber was part of the original vut and moved back. The motor is right up against the firewall and the firewall has been trimmed a bit and it has been sectioned. there are alot of things they did well and then theres some stuff thye hacked maybe 2 different people? Wheel base isnt altered. What is ZR-1 you mean VR-1?? the zddp will work. Ok heres some pics you didnt ask for and probably are boring... to you but oh well I am a post whore I`d say it is pretty clean.
The Jalopy Journal
