[Brewster]

Someone had asked about the colored strips for a 73 drive shaft sometime ago so here is one.

[indyta1989]

Would anyone happen to have a recent dupont number or other cross reference for 1974 Admiralty Blue (code 29)? I called my local dupont automotive paint store and they seem to be stumped as what the cross reference is to a dupont base coat color.

[1qikta]

Originally Posted by indyta1989

Would anyone happen to have a recent dupont number or other cross reference for 1974 Admiralty Blue (code 29)? I called my local dupont automotive paint store and they seem to be stumped as what the cross reference is to a dupont base coat color.

Gary,

Its not Dupont but maybe you can cross reference the PPG somehow.

The code is BC 2526 A.

[Norwood]

Gary, just get SuperDutyBob to take his SuperDuty down to the DuPont dealer and get the color scanned...

[indyta1989]

Jay - thanks, it seems that the stumping point is getting to a dupont base code code. GM code 29 does cross reference to PPG/Ditzler code 2526. PPG 2526 does cross reference to Dupont 5474L. Apparently those are all single stage or lacquer. I was hopeful to find someone who has a matching dupont base cost code.

Craig - I did send a note to Superdutybob. Perhaps he has a code given his car is the same color.

[SD73]

Anyone know if the Rally rimmed cars w/o space saver came with a 5th Rally with Firestone tire as a spare?

[Brewster]

A 5th Rally rim would have been standard issue. In reality if Honeys where optioned they would have replaced the rally with a 5th honey too.
Back then the five pieces where considered a set.

[SD73]

Thanky, Brew!

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by Brewster

Someone had asked about the colored strips for a 73 drive shaft sometime ago so here is one.

Thanks Brewster, it was I that asked. The picture is great for what I need.

We might be driving the SD to Dayton from the Lansing area if the weather holds out, but the weatherman is talking 30% to 40% chance of showers for every day...crap. I really wanted to drive to Dayton, but may have to trailer it.

DJ

[takid455]

Originally Posted by SD455DJ

...
We might be driving the SD to Dayton from the Lansing area if the weather holds out, but the weatherman is talking 30% to 40% chance of showers for every day...crap. I really wanted to drive to Dayton, but may have to trailer it.

DJ

Wuss. I'm driving mine from NJ rain or shine. They made wipers for a reason.

[Brewster]

Enjoy and be safe. Wish I had the time to hit it but just aint going to happen this year.
Get some pictures ripping those cars to and from and please post them for us to enjoy.
Brew

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by takid455

Wuss. I'm driving mine from NJ rain or shine. They made wipers for a reason.

I didn't "wuss" out, but my T/A didn't make it further than 60 miles in the rain on Friday. We were caravaning on I-96 when it died several times. We limped to an exit with a gas station and tore apart the carb to see if it was starving for fuel...it wasn't, fuel bowl was full. Could be the fuel pump as it would surge above 2500 rpm and eventually stop running. It would start again very easily as if nothing was wrong. We did install a new fuel pump, so we are going to check it out with a pressure gauge this week. It could also be the Pertronix ignition (10 + years old). I had more than a few people tell me to get rid of those as they experienced similar issues. Could be the coil (original) or clogged fuel sock in the gas tank. We'll get it fixed this week. Got it back home, parked it in the garage and headed back to Dayton. We spent 4 hours messing with it on the road. I'm glad it wasn't anything worse.

I was bummed as there were no '73 SD T/A's at the Nationals and very few early 2nd gen Birds as compared to past events. There was a georgous Brewster std. 455 auto non-AC car there and a Bucaneer Red 4 spd that looked very original. I really liked the '74 SD455 Admiralty Blue 4spd TA that drove in from NJ. It had very rusted out quarters and fenders with lots of surface rust everywhere, but the drive train was totally rebuilt. Very cool in my book.

[superdutybob]

Dennis:

takid455 is the guy who drove the rusty SD from New Jersey. We stopped by to talk to him a few times. Each time he wasn't there so we spoke to his gal!

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by superdutybob

Dennis:

takid455 is the guy who drove the rusty SD from New Jersey. We stopped by to talk to him a few times. Each time he wasn't there so we spoke to his gal!

Hey, that's right. I didn't make the connection until you pointed that out. I admire takid455 for driving from NJ. I didn't get a chance to talk to him either at the hotel or at Tipp City, but spent alot of time looking and admiring his car and the great photo album. I did see him driving around the hotel grounds, so at least I heard it run and it sounds strong. Sorry I didn't meet/see you either. Did you get a chance to see Dan? He seem's to know everybody in the Pontiac circle.

takid455, what's your buildup for the SD motor? Do you have a full restoration planned for the future?

DJ

[takid455]

DJ, Bob.
Sorry we didn't get to meet. my gal did mention there were 2 guys looking for me though. I was really hoping Bob would have his car there as it is similar in options and color to mine. The owner of the 7900 mile SD ( very nice fellow) & I did a photo shoot early Sunday morning which came out very nice. Sad to here about the mechanical issues. I had a small issue with mine about 100 miles form home. one of the wires for the XRi module (crane's version of pertronics), got caught in the advance plate and was shorting out. Some electric tape and relocating the wires out off to the side and we were on our way. We arrived home this evening and completed just over 1300 miles. cruising on the highway, I obtained 17-19.25 MPG cruising 75-85 around 2500RPM. whoo hoo. I did install 2.73 gears prior to the trip though. ( I made a 'highway' rear last year for the trek. So, now for long trips, I switch the 10 bolt housings, bolt up the backing plates, connect the d-shafts and off I go) Being the HC-03 cam is rather healthy, occasional 'leg stretching' allowed the engine to sing. Although the excessive rain and down pours hindered the trip out Friday, it did not stop the SD or dampen our spirits. The road trip is one of the best parts in going to this show. at least for me and especially driving a T/A and experiencing the raw power of the Poncho V8( the SD ROCKS!!!). Hill??...what hill?? did I just fly by 100, oh well..it happens. It was nice to reunite this fellow with its siblings too. I had and F'N BLAST!!!

All in all, I had a blast. I was overwhelmed with the amount of attention the car received. There seemed to be a non stop crowd around the car. sometimes 10 or more. Met several fellow board members and made some new friends. I am glad people enjoyed the car and seem to appreciate it even though it has some rough areas. I myself enjoy looking at 'work in progress' cars if you will as you can see the owner's desire and appreciation for the automobile. A few respectable offers were made on the car, but I really enjoy the car too much at this point in time to let it go. I did receive 'Barn fine of the Year' trophy at Tipp City. That made my day. I have never won an award for a car before. Between answering people's questions and fixing others' cars, I didn't get to walk around the show till mid day Sunday.

Dennis , Bob & others
here is a link to the resto or resurrection as I would say on 78ta
http://www.78ta.com/smf/index.php?topic=16668.0

PM me with your contact info and I will be more than delighted to speak with you.

Larry

[SD455DJ]

takid455,

Very interesting story about your trip. I would have had only 300 miles to drive one way compared to your 600 miles. You da man! That is a neat photo of yours and John's T/A'a nose to nose. He raced his SD at the 2007 Pure Stock Drags and managed 14.0's at 102 mph. Not bad for not doing anything to the tune of the engine. Stock carb jetting and distributor curve. I told him he has a least another 2 to 3 tenths waiting to be discovered.

Is the HC-03 cam based on the SD cams with the smaller distributor drive gear? My car came with an HC-02 cam (high lift 744 specs w/ 230/240 degress @ 0.050" lift) in a cam box and that has the smaller SD-type gear. Do you run Rhoades lifters or regular? It sure gets great gas mileage with the 2.73's and it sounds alot easier to swap entire rear ends out than changing gear sets. Is the trans the original BW close ratio with the 2.43first gear?

DJ

[superdutybob]

Dennis:

Dick and I spoke to Dan on Sunday morning when you all were heading out for your late breakfast.

takid

I know you! We spoke a couple years ago at Dayton right after you bought that car. I didn't put two and two together. Glad to see that you got it running. Your gal seems to be behind you all the way on the SD project. We told her "believe it or not, this car is very valuable." She seemed to know full well what is will be worth when completed.

[takid455]

DJ
It was very nice for John to allow this to happen. 2 brothers reunited that have had different paths of life. I will say that stock distributor curve BLOWS. At least mine did. Very late and a tad much advance. I believe mine was 30+ degrees coming in at 4500. awful. I now have mine set to achieve 34 deg ( initial + mech) all in by 2800-3000 RPM and another 10-12 vacuum adv. small gear (15 tooth) cam blanks are no longer made. Ken from HO sold his last HC-03 small gear cam a few years ago. I changed to the small dist gear to run a big geared cam. I currently run the HC-03 cam w/ Rhodes lifters. they are a tad noisy for my liking. I may changed them in the future to either another fast bleed lifter or just run a regular set. that will be borderline for brakes though.

I was astonished by the gas mileage. I was in disbelief when I returned the 18 gal tank. I backed it up with a 17 and a 19.25. It is what it is. My speedo is w/in .5 MPH on the slow side too.( we paced with a few friends in modern cars and was just about dead nuts on) swapping the rear takes only a few hours. not bad at all. To help the engine cop with the highway gears, I run a doug nash 5 spd with a 4.06 1st, 2.20 2nd, 1.xx 3rd, 1.31 4th and 1:1 5th IIRC. I am looking for the 3.28 1st gear set as the gap between 1st and 2nd is rather far. However, the SD could care less. 500+ ft-lbs says "we're moving". No modifications were done to install teh trans except I had to modify the cross member. I had an extra one in stock so the original x-member was not harmed. I have the original stock trans( 2.43 1 st) all redone to install when I install the stock rear. I will say this thing rips with the 2.73's and can't wait to see what the 3.42's will be like. I did have them install for the engine break-in, but switched rears before tuning the engine for the Saratoga NY show when I did the rear suspension.


Bob -
I did speak with you a few years ago when I got the car. I asked for you and people said you were at the show, but no car. She is a great gal. She actual clean the seats and did the initial cleaning of the plastics before I dyed them. Funny thing about her and the car are that she has always been leery of it as far as reliability. This past January I came home and said 'we're going to dinner'. I had just gotten the car on the road after 23 years of resting. Of course I got pulled over only to be told I had a headlight out. no fine no biggie. that stuck with her. She was also not to confident that I was taking it to Dayton. The prior event stuck in her mind. I did get a mean look when I cracked 130 on the way home though. Still pulling strong mind you and only slightly above 4k RPM. All in all, after we arrived back home she felt confident in the car and told me not to sell it because of what it is along with the memories and efforts I had put into it. One day I will restore it. Just not in the near future as I am returning to school en route to obtaining my masters (MSME) along with a house in the future, funds and time will be limited. I will focus on preserving the body the best I can. Unfortunately, this is one of those cars that there is no in between. Its either original or balls out perfect. I wonder if I were to fix just the truly rotted areas (1/4's and front dog legs and lower fenders) and spray them with blue paint if I'd enter that in between area. we'll see. until then, i'll enjoy it as is jaming to the 8 track.

[KEN CROCIE]

Get rid of the Rhoads and watch the gas mileage tumble!! How quiet were the Rhoads @ 4K RPM? Bet you didn't hear 'em! Try , just for grins, pulling 1 spring off th dist. I think you will find better throttle response. Also try another 4 DEG of timing.

[bhakola]

Hi guys, I am looking for 73-74 tail panel photos with the bumber removed. I need close-up photos of where the tail panel meets the quarter and how they adjoin. I am doing minor repair and want to make sure that I everything is back to original.

Thank you

Bryan