#61  
Old 03-19-2013, 09:52 PM
67gtojones 67gtojones is offline
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Nice thread jeff...what did the powder coat run you on the subframe?

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Old 03-21-2013, 10:18 AM
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Originally Posted by 67gtojones View Post
Nice thread jeff...what did the powder coat run you on the subframe?
I believe the cost for everything was $650, my guess is that the subframe was somewhere between $150-200.

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Old 03-21-2013, 10:21 AM
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Can anyone confirm that the transmission pan should be natural metal finish/unpainted?

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Old 03-21-2013, 12:51 PM
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I think natural finish / un-painted Jeff. Perhaps someone else can confirm this.

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Old 03-21-2013, 05:18 PM
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I've never seen an original painted.

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Old 03-21-2013, 05:30 PM
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Thanks for confirming guys.

Made some progress today.
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Old 03-21-2013, 11:55 PM
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Wow....that's a rare sight on these boards. Restored front end with drum brakes in place. It's looking good.

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  #68  
Old 03-26-2013, 09:00 PM
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Wow....that's a rare sight on these boards. Restored front end with drum brakes in place. It's looking good.
Thanks. Just trying to keep things simple. Most everything was functional when we started the project, so we're just freshening things up as we go. Having a car like this that is intentionally "not perfect" will be freeing.

Engine is now back in place. Things should move more quickly now. I'll still only be able to work on it once or twice a week, but it's moved-up in the queue at the shop.
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Old 03-26-2013, 09:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gator67 View Post
Thanks. Just trying to keep things simple. Most everything was functional when we started the project, so we're just freshening things up as we go. Having a car like this that is intentionally "not perfect" will be freeing.

Engine is now back in place. Things should move more quickly now. I'll still only be able to work on it once or twice a week, but it's moved-up in the queue at the shop.

You got me stumped on your first image. What is it? The engine looks nice.

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Old 03-26-2013, 11:29 PM
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Quote:
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You got me stumped on your first image. What is it? The engine looks nice.
Part of the AC system, I believe it's called the POA valve.

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Old 03-26-2013, 11:34 PM
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Here's what it looked like in the car....
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Old 03-30-2013, 05:21 PM
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Need to verify finishes on a couple parts. First, should the pcv pipe from the valve cover to the air cleaner be left natural or painted black? Second, what is the correct finish for the alternator fan?

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Old 04-01-2013, 02:13 PM
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As the photos show, things are moving along.

If there's anything that's obviously incorrect and relatively easy to rectify, please feel free to point it out. I'd rather know now than later because once this car is buttoned up, it will stay that way. It will be driven and we're not likely to make changes that require much effort for the sake of aesthetics.

Trying to use as much from the car as possible. If it worked well before, it's disassembled, inspected, cleaned & painted/plated. Here's the starter.

The only rust on the car I could find was on the lower fenders under the rocker trim--a quarter sized area where the metal was soft on the skin and inner brace, both fenders exact same spot. Had it cut out and new pieces welded in. Exact paint match isn't a concern since the repair will be hidden by trim.

Still looking for guidance on the finish of the tube from valve cover to air cleaner?
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Old 04-01-2013, 03:31 PM
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That looks great Jeff....and by the way, I didn't mean for it to sound like I was knocking you for restoring your drum brake setup. I've never had a problem with them myself and have always kept them on my cars that came equipped that way.

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Old 04-01-2013, 03:31 PM
Tim john Tim john is offline
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Jeff, for the PCV tube that was natural finish, perhaps silver zinc plated from my memory. Fan was steel supporting web was 0 % gloss black and the actual blades were natural, again going off memory. Hope this helps you out and others will confirm or de-bunk as myth.

Tim john---

  #76  
Old 04-01-2013, 04:07 PM
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I dunno -

I would put disc breaks on the car just because of the safety factor. I remember when I was much younger and blowing through a stop sign because the car was not going to stop going 70 plus miles an hour.

I would hate to see you destroy the car after all that work, let alone die because you wanted to keep it all original, but to each their own.

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Old 04-01-2013, 04:43 PM
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Thanks guys.

With regard to the brakes, we considered changing them to disks, but to be honest, I did not notice a significant increase in stopping power in my GTO after I made the switch--at least not under conditions the car is normally driven. It's possible/likely that the brakes in my GTO are not set-up optimally, so it might not be a fair comparison, but I felt that the Firebird stopped as well as the GTO. Having said this, if they're not up to the task given the car's new motivation, we'll do the swap right away.

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Old 04-01-2013, 04:47 PM
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Jeff -

Though I respect your decision to stay drums, good common sense would tell me to put disc breaks on the car. There is a HUGE difference between drum and disc breaks. Your GTO may have had the rear drum breaks out of adjustment causing you to have less then optimum breaking performance. Give yourself piece of mind and do the change.

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Old 04-01-2013, 04:57 PM
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Besides that Jeff, the drum breaks on a GTO are larger. On a bird they are smaller and you can really feel the difference between disc and drum on an F body car. You will also get rid of the brake pull you get with drum breaks. An F body is a sub-frame car and it's night and day between a full frame car with drums.

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Old 04-23-2013, 08:24 PM
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Brakes and exhaust are finished. Front clip will start coming together this week. We're going with rally gauges, so we had to order new forward lamp and dash harnesses. Hood hinges sent out for rebuild.

Still haven't decided what to do about wheels and tires...

1. The least expensive option is to run what's on the car now. But these tires are too short for my tastes (205 60 14).

2. Another "free" option is to go with a set of 245 60 14 Radial TAs already mounted on 14X6 Rally 2 wheels. I've had these for a while. The tires have 0 miles and have been stored indoors...but they're like 10 years old now and look a little "fat" on the 14X6 wheels.

3. I could order a set of 225 70 14 and mount them on my Rally 2 wheels. I'm tempted to go with redlines for the period look, but I think RWLs would good with the color combo (and are half as expensive).

4. I have a set of 15 X 7 Rally 2s that have to be finished (need to mask and paint the charcoal). With these wheels, I could go with 235 60 15, but then I still have to decide between RWL or redline.

I don't know why I can't make up my mind.
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