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SD455DJ · 05-21-2019, 07:01 AM

Here are the Mity Mounts on the 455...we'll see how well these hold up (literally and figuratively). I'll be checking for oil pan to centerlink and crossmember contact. They are beefier than the standard mounts, so I'm hoping they will last a little longer.

Dennis

Judge273 · 05-21-2019, 07:46 AM

Paint looks great on there too. Going to drop it in soon?

SD455DJ · 05-21-2019, 12:26 PM

Mike, Hopefully in a couple weeks. The 'revised' 455 will be going into the Lemans first, then its the GT-37's turn for the 455HO install and much more.

Dennis

Judge273 · 05-22-2019, 06:52 AM

Sounds like a fun spring projects! Going to document results at track?

SD455DJ · 05-22-2019, 10:03 AM

Mike,

If it's ready by the time of the Pure Stock Drags in September...I may run a few time trials on Friday...but not in the actual race for Saturday. It has too much "patina" to be allowed on the track (lol!).

Dennis

SD455DJ · 07-03-2019, 11:59 PM

Now it's time for the GT-37 to get some long overdue garage time...brakes, suspension, power steering, AC components, interior, and the drive train refurbished and reinstalled. The 455HO is ready for the engine compartment along with the original M-13 3-speed transmission and its 11" clutch assembly. Now it just has to be put together.

The original owner put a Judge wing on the deck lid so the holes will have to be filled in...notice the paint being less faded under the wing...also under the hood tach.

Dennis

455HOGT37 · 07-09-2019, 12:23 AM

A little history on the deck lid for your car:

When I bought it in '88, the original owner told be he ordered the car with a wing but it did not deliver with one. So he did an over the counter purchase and did the installation at home. I'd never owned a winged car so it looked fine to me. Sometime after I looked at an original Judge at California Musclecars in Sacramento and found that my wing was well aft of the proper position. Being the early 90's, I simply purchased a virgin trunk lid and drilled the holes in the correct position. The original, otherwise perfect lid was discarded (remember the early days?). Years later, I found out that there was no way to have the wing "correct" for the GT-37 and it was sold. So IIRC, that lid is a '70, and it was a factory light green color. The paint is a little more faded than the rest of the car because I barely had enough CC paint left to cover. One more coat would have done it, but I ran out.

SD455DJ · 07-09-2019, 09:39 PM

Now that the M-13 (actually the M-330) has been deemed unworthy for future use without an entire innards transplant, we were able to mock up the new Hurst Competition Plus shifter on the original stamped steel mounting bracket along with the rods and arms from the installation kit. We have to replace shifter arms from the 2nd Gen F-bird type with the original A-body with bench seat arm. We had to swap the reverse rod with another from a different kit that was longer. Must be the reverse lever position is a little further forward on a Muncie vs. a Borg Warner. Next steps are the motor and trans install along with the 12-bolt rear end inspection, brakes and suspension rebuild.

Dennis

SD455DJ · 07-10-2019, 07:00 AM

Concerning the trans... The picture above with the left front tire up on a snow bank was taken in an auto parts parking lot somewhere in Wyoming. The shifter bolts fell out during my trip home to California on I-80 and this was my parking lot repair.

To be 19 and broke again...

Very cool history Mike...yeah, I remember roadside repair work when we were young and fearless. So you had just bought the car and were heading home to CA. Did Carlton G. (the original owner) put the aftermarket wheels & tires on?

Love to hear (read) more stories about the car!

Dennis

455HOGT37 · 07-10-2019, 10:27 AM

Yep, there were genuine Cragar SS wheels on the front and SS clones on the rear. The single original Honeycomb was in the trunk with a worn out, off brand bias ply tire mounted. This leads me to believe that he wore out at least two sets of tires on the Honeys before going with the SS look. He claimed he still had the other Honeycombs (and the original round port exhaust manifolds) in storage at his parents house, but that never panned out.

I fought that shifter all the way from Illinois to Ca. The bolts would come loose and I couldn't shift. IIRC, if I caught it in time I could just tighten them enough to get by from the top, but in this case I lost all the bolts and the shifter was hanging by the linkage. The auto parts/snowbank was me getting new bolts in for a "proper" repair.

SD455DJ · 07-10-2019, 12:33 PM

Great story Mike! No wonder Hurst supplies lock washers for the 2 bolts that attach the shifter body to the mounting bracket on to the tranny tailshaft! You were only 19 and at Rantoul AFB? Did you start there as an 18 year old? At least is ran all the home to CA without other mishaps...right?

I found the original shifter mounting bracket in a baggie hiding in one of the boxes you had in the car when it was delivered along with the M-13's levers (2). We're also going to replace the padded dash and formula steering wheel with nicer used pieces I've collected and I'll be 'shopping' at Norwalk for door panels and other various interior trim pieces. It looks like the front seat was reupholstered fairly recently, so that is good to go.

Keep the memories coming...I'm sure we all love reading them...not just me.

Dennis

SD455DJ · 07-10-2019, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 455HOGT37

Yep, there were genuine Cragar SS wheels on the front and SS clones on the rear. The single original Honeycomb was in the trunk with a worn out, off brand bias ply tire mounted. This leads me to believe that he wore out at least two sets of tires on the Honeys before going with the SS look. He claimed he still had the other Honeycombs (and the original round port exhaust manifolds) in storage at his parents house, but that never panned out.

I fought that shifter all the way from Illinois to Ca. The bolts would come loose and I couldn't shift. IIRC, if I caught it in time I could just tighten them enough to get by from the top, but in this case I lost all the bolts and the shifter was hanging by the linkage. The auto parts/snowbank was me getting new bolts in for a "proper" repair.

Mike, Mr. C. Green is still alive and living in Del Rio, TX where he bought the car from Monroe Motor Company, 500 Ave. F, dealer code 040 (22 250?). I wonder if he still has the 14x7 Honeycomb wheels and RA exhaust manifolds you mentioned...?

Dennis

455HOGT37 · 07-11-2019, 11:43 AM

I was only at Chanute for 3 months (tech school). I left in March (about -20 that morning) and made it about 20 miles before the ignition wire running down to the starter shorted against the exhaust. I was dead on the side of the highway for only a few minutes before highway patrol showed up. He was a lot more concerned about me freezing to death than the lack of plates, registration or insurance. He left with the promise to return shortly to check on me. I got it running and got out of there!

The car ran great but had a weird oil leak issue- above a certain speed (about 70), it would leak oil on the exhaust and create a huge cloud. Kind of embarrassing to pass people in a cloud of smoke.

Aside from me almost getting robbed/murdered at a truck stop in Utah and spending a day in jail in Nevada (no plates/registration finally caught up with me), and getting on I-80 in California after a gas stop going EAST for an hour or two (remember the scene in "Dumb and Dumber"?) it was an easy trip.

SD455DJ · 07-11-2019, 12:25 PM

Dang Mike! That was an adventure! How did the car run...headers I imagine and other modifications? Holley carb?

Dennis

455HOGT37 · 07-11-2019, 07:40 PM

Another weird story from Mr. Green... He had major overheating issues and cracked the original HO heads and replacements. When I bought the car it had 72cc #13's and log manifolds on it which he claims were installed under warranty!

Carb was a BBC qjet and a 1970 LT-1 Corvette air cleaner (got big bucks for that!). Car ran pretty good!

455HOGT37 · 07-11-2019, 07:48 PM

Also... He said the spedo cable melted on the exhaust almost immediately after he got the car home so he got a lot of warranty work done... IIRC, the odo is like 9700 miles - and those are "original"! (But only because the spedo hasn't worked since 1972).