Dang flu blew my schedule! But did get a bunch of stuff done.

Got the front suspension done and test fit a wheel/tire. The outer tie rods I got from Rock Auto were not boxed properly, were the wrong parts, had to order another set, should have them Wednesday.

Got the rear detailed, all the rear suspension installed, rear installed, and test fit the wheels/tires. Need to touch up the axle tubes, there was some scuffing during installed, a misting is all it should take to straighten out.

Not going to do the brakes and all until it comes back from the body shop, main goal is to get it rolling and the engine/trans in to limit damage after paint. Should have the engine back in a week or so. Should have it in the body shop within 3 weeks.

A couple pics of progress...

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Engine and trans installed, going to the body shop this coming week. Sweet. I missed my slot because the engine took a while, machinist had the flu, was a nasty one, glad he cleared that ok.

Finally got to use the G-Force 4L80E swap trans cross member, had that thing for probably 2 years, never installed it. Fits great, and allows for a certain amount of adjustment at the mount, up and down, with shims, to correct driveline alignment. Will get to use my Tremec app on my smart phone for that.

Once it's in the body shop I will clean the garage, ebay a bunch of parts, and get the front & rear seats recovered. I can knock that out in the basement, won't freeze!

Also have to do some minor stuff on the clone, shouldn't be too bad.

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In case you care, my vote is for the atoll blue :D

Pretty sure I'm going with Atoll, and was hoping to find a similar color in the Hot Hues line.

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Any updates? Have you used those solid body mounts before?

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No, never used the ABC mounts before, but it's no-brainer stuff. They fit well, even if the instructions are a little weak. One thing you have to remember is the body bolts that are along the seat pans need to be like a 1/4" shorter than the rest, but no biggie.

Update is, still waiting for my slot in the body shop to open. I missed my original window, and that added like 4-6 months before I could get in. Like most other shops, their' bread and butter is collision work, and with the weather, there have been delays. The one car that is ahead of mine, a '62 GP, is almost done, or is done, I was told to check in tomorrow.

Once I get it up there I will clean the garage, and start collecting other parts. I have everything for the body, so it's mechanical and interior stuff I still need to get. I have like 70-80% of it all, just a few final, big-ticket items I need, like the EFI ECU and the like.

Soon. And a shame now that it prob won't be done until the fall...

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Great thread!

X2 on the great thread, Are you going to put a heater in it..

Yeah, I'm torn on either a Classic Auto Air setup or a Vintage Air setup. when I get to that point I will make a selection, but thinking Classic Auto most likely. I've had very good service from them, and pricing is better.

Spoke to the body shop yesterday, they are clearing a spot for my car. They finished the 62 Grand Prix that was ahead of me, and a 66 Buick GS. I may go up tomorrow to get a couple pics of the GP, that thing is sweet. Owner chose a pearl white Caddy color, turned out good. Anyway, there were hang ups on both those projects, which delayed my car getting in there. Just the way things work out in this field...


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Just to be informative...

I use rattle cans for suspension and other area finishing, for a number of reasons. One, later down the road, it's easy to touch up, and that's a big factor. I learned when doing the clone that it's not easy to find matching shades of rattle paint, and found that it's best to stick with one brand. Also, when trying to make sure different paints are compatible, it's best to stick with the same type of paint, be it epoxy or whatever. You don't want to find out after that you now have to strip a large section of something because you shot lacquer over acrylic or something.

Anyway, what I use is Dupli-color Engine paint, semi-gloss black. Can get it everywhere, readily available, not too expensive, and as my body guy says, sticks to anything. Don't have to worry about it catching fire either! Fairly good about repelling solvents and chemicals too.

I looked at a bunch of the bed liner stuff too, and originally bought some roll-on stuff, think it was Rhino-liner. But, that stuff is a pain to apply, need a bunch of rollers and different sizes, and it's still hard to get into some areas. So, luckily, there are aerosol ones. I didn't want one that would be 'rubbery' either, or one that would come off easy. And what I ended up with is the Dupli-color Bed Coating. I tried the Rust-oleum one too, it's fine, but it's a little more expensive and a little harder to find. I was able to get the Dupli-color one on sale for $7 a can, which is a pretty good deal, think normally they're like $10-12 a can.

I've gotten good results with my rattle can approach, and for a driver-quality car, it works, looks good, lasts, easy to touch up, and makes parts/areas last longer.

I'm curious how other approach this on a driver-class car, and would like to hear opinions/suggestions/comments...

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FINALLY!! Spot opened up in the body shop, and got the car up there! Here's a shot of it on the rollback:

Hope PY gets the site figured out, looks like all my previously posted project shots are now gone...

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You did not have old rims to put on? Those are real pretty and overspray clean up sucks!! Congrats. Hope they finish it fast.

Gave the old wheels to a board member, but the shop does have 'shop' wheels they will put on it.

Those are the US Mag ones, 18s, I like them, and will look good once it's done.

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Those wheel are what I want to run on my GT-37. They look great!:clap2:

Just got the wheels straightened and I am waiting on tires. I will post pics once I get them on. Thanks again for the really nice wheels. Glad they got you into the body shop and I can't wait to see it when it's done.

Glad to hear! Should be cake to get them polished out too! Nice to see they will get good use!


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Stripped, can see the previous work that was done, thankfully it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was sweating they made a mess of the whole panel, this can be done with a patch.

Can see some of the work already done on the trunk lid and quarter end, they are trying to keep busy until the quarter patch panels come in.

Roof was saved from a good coat of POR-15 like 15 years ago, no major work needs to be done anywhere. One door has a small spot in the lower rear corner where previous repair work needs to be corrected, nothing big.

Some minor window channel work as usual, again, nothing big.

Another 2 - 3 weeks and it will be further along, I will go up and grab some more shots then...

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Agreed :-)

What trans? Are you mating the 4L80E up to the Pontiac 461? How? Is there room in the tunnel?

Yes, 4L80E, the one I had in there for like 7 or so years I had freshened up by CK, was fully operational. I went to a new converter, wanted less stall. Considering going to a different rear gear as well, drop from the 373 to like maybe a 331, haven't decided.

If you search here, I did an install thread when I originally bought it, listed all that was needed to complete the install. Definitely one of the best upgrades I can recommend to anyone.

Here it is:

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...ighlight=4L80E

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