[highrisk]

Originally Posted by tempest1964

It's beautiful. I bet sometimes you can't believe it's all come together!

Thanks for the compliment. I was starting to doubt that it would ever get to this point. When I started almost 6 years ago I had not planned on this detailed of a restoration. But as I got into it I realized a quick cleanup and paint job would just be a bandaide so I decided to do a full restoration. That is when I decided to upgrade it as I restored it. I knew it wasn't ever going to be an "original" car and it wasn't some rare high optioned car, so it was the perfect car to make some "Dale" changes to. I was originally thinking of painting it back to the original Teal Turquoise, because I do like that color, but my wife is the one that reminded me that bright red was my favorite color for old muscle cars and as she said, "it does not have the original engine, transmission, or rear end, so what would it matter if the color wasn't original". Every time I go check on the car and I see it in that bright red I come home and thank her for her wisdom
Dale

[highrisk]

The wheels made it in. You have to excuse the one picture is out of focus. I did not realize it until I got home from test fitting the wheels. If you need wheels I highly recommend talking to Blaine at customwheelsexpress.com (800) 580-9008. He beat everyone's price and he has great customer service.

[highrisk]

The official inspector is ensuring the wheel/tire selection meets her approval.
The left one is the 245/50/17 and the right is the 215/55/17. I decided on the Kumho Solus TA71.
Still making slow progress. The new glass came in, I decided on the solar ray tint (green). It should look good with the red. They are rebuilding the window regulators so the new glass can get installed.
They ran into problems finishing the A/C install so the front end is not back together yet. They had to order a tool to crimp the A/C hoses but it would not work. At this point, what is another delay?
Dale

[highrisk]

Here is a better picture of how the backspacing turned out.
Dale

[indymanjoe]

Its all coming together very well! rims look great as well.

[highrisk]

Originally Posted by indymanjoe

Its all coming together very well! rims look great as well.

Its getting there. Sometimes I wish it was going a little faster. I think I will really like the wheels. I think they will look good once I can get them on the car and get it back on the ground.
Dale

[The Champ]

Dale

What BS did you end up going with on the rims?

[highrisk]

Originally Posted by The Champ

Dale

What BS did you end up going with on the rims?

The front is 17x7 with 4.75"BS the rear is 17x8 with 5.75"BS. I have had them on the car but not with the weight down on them. These BS seem to have worked out well, but I won't know for sure until I can get the car home and get the wheels on it and get it on the ground.

I know we had talked about 5.5" for the back, but after talking to American Racing I decided to go with the 5.75". American Racing recommended, on the rear for the 65 GTO, a 4.5"BS on a 17x8 wheel for a fairly stock width tire. They recommend a 5"BS if you are running wider/taller tires. So based on their recommendations I would add .5" for the wider rear end and .25" for the disc brake setup which is how I got the 5.75". It might be .25" too much, like you said, but I wanted to get it right in one try since these are custom made rims and cannot be returned. The only problem I might have after I get the weight on the car is the exhaust pipe but this car had 275/60/15 on the rear before I took it apart and the exhaust was close but did not hit. So I should be good. The 275/60/15 were 11" wide and 28" tall. The Kumho Solus TA71 245/50/17 are 10.3" wide and 26.7" tall. I don't know what the BS was on the old wheels but the rear was up a little because the car had bigger station wagon springs on it, but the tires did fit in the wheel well. They were very close on the outside edge as well as the exhaust.

For the front wheels American Racing recommended a 4"BS for 17x7 for original size tires. For wider/taller tires they recommended 4.5"BS. So add in the .25" for front disc put me at 4.75"BS which was exactly what we had talked about that day. The front has really good clearance but I won't know about the sway bar until I can get it back on the ground. The 215/55/17 for the front looks like it will be a great fit and should not cause any rub problems on the fender. The Kumho tires are 26.3" tall and 9.2" wide. I am glad you and Bart talked me out of the 225/55/17 for the front. The tires I picked for the front and rear really look good together and their side profile looks good. I think they will look good on the car giving me better handling without looking too radical. They actually have a decent sidewall to them.

Thanks for all of the help making this very hard decision.
Dale

[The Champ]

Sounds good! Let me know how the fit is after you get the weight on and get some photos!!!

As you know, I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on 17's myself.

[highrisk]

Originally Posted by The Champ

Sounds good! Let me know how the fit is after you get the weight on and get some photos!!!

As you know, I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on 17's myself.

I wish they would just finish up what needs to be done and get the car back to me. Once I get the car back together and get it on the ground then I will decide if it will need lowering springs to get the stance I want. If it needs lowering springs then I will replace the upper and lower control arms up front to make the car handle even better.

I will definitely get some pictures posted once I get the wheels on it and get it on the ground. I am glad I decided to go with the 17" wheels and tires instead of the 15". There is just no good choices in the 15" tires anymore. The 17" gives you a lot more choices.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a great New Year.

Dale

[highrisk]

They have made some more progress on the car. Finally got the A/C all lined out and installed so they could get back to getting the front end finished. Do you notice my little hint that there might be something other than a normal GTO engine hiding under the hood?

They also finished installing my aftermarket rear antenna. I bought some of the original type mounting hardware so it would look more like an original antenna and not an aftermarket. I think they did a good job.

Dale

[highrisk]

I also test fit the rear seat and the aftermarket seat on the driver side. This was so we could decide where to put the mounting points for the three point seat belt system. I modified the seats and had a velour insert put in where you sit and then had them sown in the original pattern complete with the arrow head. The front seats are ProCar 90 seats with a headrest and recline. I replaced the front seats because my wife needs a seat that reclines a little because of a bad back. She can't sit for very long in a stock seat because it sits to upright for her. The front seats are sewn the same as the rear with the stock pattern. I also used the stock vinyl so it would match the door panels and still look stock.

I know it is not stock but the velour inserts makes for a lot more comfortable ride and I like the mild custom look while still looking original.

Dale

[AdamIsAdam]

Originally Posted by highrisk

I also test fit the rear seat and the aftermarket seat on the driver side. This was so we could decide where to put the mounting points for the three point seat belt system. I modified the seats and had a velour insert put in where you sit and then had them sown in the original pattern complete with the arrow head. The front seats are ProCar 90 seats with a headrest and recline. I replaced the front seats because my wife needs a seat that reclines a little because of a bad back. She can't sit for very long in a stock seat because it sits to upright for her. The front seats are sewn the same as the rear with the stock pattern. I also used the stock vinyl so it would match the door panels and still look stock.

I know it is not stock but the velour inserts makes for a lot more comfortable ride and I like the mild custom look while still looking original.

Dale

waaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiitttttt just one minute here! Those seats and floor brackets fit your car? I LOVE them! I've been thinking about a safer solution to my stock `64 non-headrest seats for years but hated everything I saw. But using the vinyl pattern makes it look great.

Summit lists these as fitting 68-72's. How much modification is necessary to fit them to your floor (I know it's different on my 64.)

Where are you mounting the should belt anchor?

Please share any research / pics you have. That would be great! PM me for email address if that's easier.

Thanks in advance!

[highrisk]

Originally Posted by AdamIsAdam

waaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiitttttt just one minute here! Those seats and floor brackets fit your car? I LOVE them! I've been thinking about a safer solution to my stock `64 non-headrest seats for years but hated everything I saw. But using the vinyl pattern makes it look great.

Summit lists these as fitting 68-72's. How much modification is necessary to fit them to your floor (I know it's different on my 64.)

Where are you mounting the should belt anchor?

Please share any research / pics you have. That would be great! PM me for email address if that's easier.

Thanks in advance!

Adam,

The seats and brackets are made by Scat Enterprise and their seats are called Procar and the seats I bought are their Pro-90 series. Their website is http://procarbyscat.com/ I bought the seats from Summit without a covering and the upholstery shop covered them for me. I got the vinyl from AMES and the shop supplied the velour. She took apart my old back seat covering to use as a pattern for the back seats. She made her own pattern for the front seats. The arrowheads she did free hand with her machine. You can get the seats either bare, covered in vinyl of different colors, cloth, a combination of cloth and vinyl, and even leather. I chose the bare seats so I could cover them the way I wanted and so the vinyl would match the door panels. The seats are just a little narrower than the stock seats, but other than that, they fit very well and look like they were meant to be there. The top of the seat even comes to about the same spot as the original seats, when looking at the top of the door.

The seat brackets I also got from Summit and are made by Scat. They are made specifically for the car. If I remember I only had to elongate two holes to get it to match up. They list the brackets as fitting 64-67 GTO and they are different for left and right. If you go to Scat's website they have all the information on the seats, brackets, and part numbers so then you can find them on Summit or any other site that sells them.

For mounting the seat belts, what we came up with was to mount the return mechanism on the 1/4 just above the back seat and as close to the door opening as possible right in front of the rear arm rest. It is actually not too much in the way of a rear seat passenger. They are mounting a nut plate behind the metal so I can install the belts when I put the interior back in. For the upper shoulder part they are welding the nut bracket just in front of the roof cross member that the roof light is attached to. This moves the shoulder belt forward enough it doesn't cut into your neck. It will make getting in the back seat a little more of a challenge but the trade off for better safety is well worth it to me. Then the lap belt part gets bolted to the original floor hole. If I think of it I will take pictures of where they mounted the brackets, that is if I get back over there before they get the headliner in. I am letting them put in the headliner because they wanted to do that before the glass goes in. These are the belts I bought along with their installation kit. These are the belts I got for the front http://www.wescoperformance.com/3-po...rome-retr.html I thought the style matched the car well and I am going to install the foil emblem for the deluxe 65 chrome belts to help them look more stock. These are the belts for the back http://www.wescoperformance.com/ll60.html

Hope this helps,
Dale

[AdamIsAdam]

THANKS! Man, I really wish I looked into this more before I redid my factory seats.

Maybe someone here will want to buy my newly rebuilt OEM seats and I'll buy these. hint hint.

Pics of the seatbelt mounting would be great too. I guess I'd have to remove my headliner and stuff to do that.

Thanks again!

[highrisk]

Originally Posted by AdamIsAdam

THANKS! Man, I really wish I looked into this more before I redid my factory seats.

Maybe someone here will want to buy my newly rebuilt OEM seats and I'll buy these. hint hint.

Pics of the seatbelt mounting would be great too. I guess I'd have to remove my headliner and stuff to do that.

Thanks again!

Adam,
Yup, you would have to peal back the headliner to install the brackets. So here are some pictures and I'll explain my decision and line of thinking of what I did. First I would have loved for the bottom retractor and the upper mount for the shoulder bracket to be directly in line with each other, the shoulder bracket directly above the retractor. But that wasn't possible. I did not want to mount the retractor to the floor in front of the seat because it would have been in the way when you tried to get in the back seat, and there really wasn't a good space for it. We put the seats, side panel, and armrest in and the retractor fit really well right in front of the armrest and was pretty much out of the way since it is in line with the armrest. For the shoulder bracket I was originally going to mount it further to the rear where the 67 shoulder belt mounts then it would have been directly above the retractor. But that location caused a big problem, it put the belt up high enough that it was up on your neck instead of down on your shoulder. This was actually a bigger problem for my wife because she is shorter. So I sat in the front seat, another guy held the retractor and shoulder bracket in place, and then another guy moved them around until we came up with the best place for each. There was definitely some trade offs of cosmetic and looks over safety but the safety and comfort factor ended up being my top concern. We also tested the locking mechanism to ensure that it would work properly at an angle.

Hope this all helps,
Dale

[highrisk]

They are getting really close. We ordered some new rubber for mounting the door glass and that should be here Wednesday. Thanks to olde-goat for the website that has this hard to find piece. If you are having problems finding weather seals and rubber parts it is worth checking out this site http://www.steelerubber.com/ . They are going to get the headliner in today so the rest of the glass can go in. They also ordered new mounting tabs for the rocker molding so they can get that installed. Except for a few small items it is almost ready to come home, WOOHOO!!!!!

[AdamIsAdam]

thanks. Good info. Can't wait to see finished pics of this setup. It's worth doing... some day!

[highrisk]

Originally Posted by AdamIsAdam

thanks. Good info. Can't wait to see finished pics of this setup. It's worth doing... some day!

Like I said, my biggest complaint will be that the belt will be visible and you will be able to tell it is at an angle. I don't think it would be as big of an eye sore if I could have kept the belt straight up and down, but that hasn't going to work for me.
Dale

[highrisk]

Here is another one of my modifications. I hate the fact that if something slides in the trunk it can hit the quarter panel on the driver side and dent the quarter panel. The passenger side is protected by the spare tire. So I had them make a false panel that is painted the same as the trunk and they attached it with nut plates and bolts on the back side (towards the quarter panel) so it can be removed.

Dale