'65 Cat Post resto...home stretch
 

It's been over 18 years since this car saw the road. Things in life get in the way, cash needs, and other pitfalls (like hiring a painter that's a crook). Last appeared at the POCI Nats in '01 as found.

I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Chassis is looking great...again, and the body has undergone significant improvements in the last few weeks. It will be done this summer, come hell or high water.

Very nice Matt. Damn good work. You'll be rockin' & rollin' in no time.

Jim

Don’t think my 400 hp 455 will lift the tires but it’ll do ok.


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65 cat resto
 

I have an NOS trunk/taillight panel, if need be. $200.

PM sent

Front end satin black parts are done and the first parts finally getting some color.

Looking good! My '64 GP is about to go in for body and paint too.

Another milestone. Front clip pre-fit. It'll come back off for paint, then bolted on using without having to fit with fresh paint.

It's going to be a nice car. I think I remember seeing it at the 2001 show, big cars with four speeds tend to stand out from the crowd. :)

It was at the 2001 Nats, but in it's "ordered as" configuration. Built as a 389 2bbl A/T car with a 2.41 open rear. Nothing special other than the body style. When I found it in 2000, there was a mid 70s 400 under the hood that came out of a 4 speed F-Body.

Final prime and fit were completed this week. Guessing that they'll jam the doors and other misc items this week, remove the hood and fenders, and perhaps get the painting done.

Shortly after, I'll install whatever I can on the car while it's at the body shop. Gas tank, radiator, parking brake system, some wiring work.

Base and clear went down Saturday. Turned out great!

Looking good, progress is an amazing feeling.

Very nice!! Love the color.
Is that the stock crossmember for a 65?

There's still a long way to go, but getting the paint on really makes you feel like you've turned the corner. :) What shop is doing the work? I'm always curious about which local places are doing good work.

Great Project!!!! I feel its the most enjoyable part of restoring a car is when you get it back from paint. Looking forward to seeing more of it!!! Scott

The car is at Vescio's in Rogers, MN. It's a big shop that works on just about anything...cheap, hell no, but you get what you pay for. The car will probably turn out much nicer than I ever expected. After all the BS I went through with that A-hole in Sheboygan...thief, this helped to get past that dark period.

As for how much I have left, it's less than you think. Seats are done, bumpers are chromed, chassis and drivetrain is complete and done. At this point, I'll install all the trim, carpet, weatherstrip, side glass, back light and windshield, headliner, dash panel, header (grills and bump extensions), bumpers. Lastly will be tires and exhaust. Kind of a long list, but all of those items are restored or in hand and ready to go with the exception of the tires and exhaust. I have a couple items that need to be cleaned and painted, bumper brackets and gas tank straps...that's about it.

I'd like to have it moving on it's own this fall, but it probably won't be complete enough to take out of the neighborhood. We'll see.

Final buff.

I haven't heard about Vescio's before, but I just looked at the pictures on their website - they've done some nice work.

Another regional shop worth mentioning: https://www.bremsethbodyshop.com/ They're down in SE Minnesota, south of Rochester. They did a cosmetic restoration on my old BMW car a few years back and I was very happy with their work (if you go to their projects page, my car is in the bottom left corner.)

Big day for the kid. Going to install a bunch of various parts while I have access to a hoist, AND before the front clip goes back on the car.

Gas tank, parking brake cables, radiator, some wiring, various parts on the firewall...small stuff.

Assembly begins, slowly.

The car has a face again. :)

LOVE that second picture. The car is smiling at me:D

Any updates?

Stared at the car for part of the winter and spring. Then I got motivated. Tackled the electrical first.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f936995340.jpg


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Recently I installed the Dynamat and carpet. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...898e059b0c.jpg


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Closeuphttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...5467ca1db6.jpg


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Wheels and tires. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f7dac54482.jpg


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Started the engine a week ago with open headers. It was awesome.


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Looks good. I like that the car has the oil and temp gauges instead of lights. What brand of carpet did you get, is it ACC?

A true labor of love. Seems like you started on it back when I owned it's twin, except mine was an automatic. I see only one thing that's wrong--it's not in my garage!

Yes the carpet is ACC. Ordered it thru Ames. Fits quite well.

Nothing like seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Towards the end it seems like things come together quick. Great job.

More minor setbacks:

Steering gear input shaft seal leaked. Dropped the gear out and replaced the seal, messy. New gear, but I guess 15 years of shelf life does things to new parts.

Waiting on the 4th steelie to mount. Seems like finding nice straight and true wheels is not easy. Had 5 wheels blasted and painted only to learn later that 2 of 5 were too wobbly or out of round to use. Got another one that works, just waiting for it to be painted.

Leaks, leaks and more leaks. The input shaft gasket on the Muncie is dripping. I started the engine about a month ago (for the first time in 10 years) and after running it a number of times , gear oil showed up on the floor. YEAH! I can't let that go, or it'll oil the clutch and then that's junk.

Of course the typical thermostat housing leak and the valley pan leak are present.

This is the crap that happens when you've been letting new parts sit for years...

Of course there's the boring stuff to install, like weatherstrip and door glass. Oh boy!

If those are 14" wheels, I have a stack of them in my garage attic collecting dust - they're off 1961 cars so they don't have the correct date code, but they should fit if you find out you need another one.

The old girl is looking very nice! And it did look like she’s smiling. I know you’re making her very happy.

Working all the bugs/issues after getting on the road, sure test your patience. I find it's best to take a little break and then get back at it. You car looks Great!!!

Still revisiting things before I can drop it onto the ground. It’s running again. PS pump shaft and seal swapped. Pitted shafts tend to leak. Valley pan bolts corrected and sealed. Use a 1/4” washer drilled out to 5/16” and a flanged 1-3/4” long bolt with silicone.

Tachometer seems way off. Was serviced but didn’t hold. So that’s great. Just needs calibrating. But who does that? Radio service didn’t hold either so that’s getting reworked now too. And to think I actually thought I’d have it on the road by now. HA!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...338990f72f.jpg


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I had a Pontiac tachometer repaired at APT Speedometer in Bloomington with good results. I also had them restore the gauges for a couple different motorcycles and was very happy with them - one set of gauges was literally a pile of parts in a box, and they brought it back to NOS condition.

Address: 9632 Humboldt Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55431
Phone: (952) 881-7095

Their website was http://www.gaugeguys.com, but it's not working now...I don't know if they just let their license expire or what. I guess calling them on the phone is the best bet.

APT is the place that serviced it. They appear to have closed for good.


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Huh, that's too bad. It's been a number of years since I went there, maybe the quality of their work declined since then.

Just to be sure, I called again today and sent an email. Both dead ends. I need that tach recalibrated now, I can't wait to ship it out of state for who knows how long.

What is the tach doing? Is it reading low, and/or slow to respond to the actual engine speed? It may be worth taking it out of the housing and gently blowing it out with compressed air to remove any dirt or debris that may have gotten into the works.

I will take it out. Pad is already in but no glass so it’s not brutal. It is reacting slow but compared to a tach meter it’s low. Thanks for the tip.


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More setbacks. Popped a rocker stud while doing some tuning at idle. Damage was limited. Will upgrade to 7/16” studs all around.


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I think Pete Serio could calibrate your tach. He's also a board member.

While I breakdown the valve train, I freshened you the top side paint. 10 year old engine that’s been moved around several times.


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'65 Cat Post resto...home stretch
 

Updated pics from this spring.


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Looks almost done!

Thanks but it still needs: glass, exhaust, headliner, alignment, bumper install, and some body panel adjusting. Working on glass now, it’s a major task when some jerkoff removes and loses parts that are 2 door sedan only.


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I went to the Street Machine Nationals car show at the MN State Fairgrounds yesterday; it was mostly late model Mustangs and Camaros, but I did see a real nice '63 Catalina two door sedan.