[Deadhead]

Guess but fusible link coming off the Alt. could have caused it. Been there done that.

[Ben M.]

Nice project. Welcome to the 4\more door club! Hope you get it done and enjoy the heck out of it.

Originally Posted by Engine-Ear

Therefore, a 400, stock heads (with a good valve job, including proper valve/seat/guide expenditure), roller-tip rockers, 068 cam, TH350 torque converter (for a few hundred extra lockup RPM), HEI (or a Dave's Samll Body HEI so it looks & fits as OEM), 1969-ish intake, a properly setup Q-jet, long-branch HO manifolds, 2.5" head pipes, Walker 17749 mufflers, 2.25" tail pipes and 3.08 rear gears (Saf-T-Trac is nice but not mandatory) and lastly... ENJOY.

I agree with everything here. Since I blew up the 455 in my '71 I've got a 400 with the exact same setup that I am thinking about putting in it for this exact combo. It will be a nice riding car when done, run on cheap gas and go anywhere keeping up with traffic while having some get up and go. I would go for 2.73-2.78 rear gears personally (got 3.08s in mine now), or just leave the 2.41s and never think twice about being able to go anywhere!

[tharkun8]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone..

I do get tired of hearing 4 Doors disrespected some in so many quarters..
and I do understand it if the money is paramount. IMO if you are
looking at cars as an investment then you are in the wrong area.
You will lose money on 95% of the cars you own. So many of the
Ebay and CL sellers somehow miss that...

I always went my own way though and its nice to see so many others
seeming to be the same way.

I was planning on getting to the rad support and engine bay this weekend
but Im a little under the weather today. We'll see how it goes.

John

[63gpman]

Nice looking project!! 4 doors just lets you put more people in to enjoy the fun easier!! Harder to sell, but if you don't plan on selling or if you figure the depreciation over the years of fun, you are much farther ahead than buying a new mustang or camaro. I am in a similar boat as you so I will be watching progress as you go. My goal is to have it done by next July.....but I have not hit a time goal or found a lot of time to work on mine with the addition of our 3rd child.

Have fun, ask questions, and enjoy!!!

[mike nixon]

That's a GREAT looking car!

Keep us informed on the progress
Mike

[b-man]

Hi John,

Cool project, would make a nice daily driver. The '66 body styles are all beautiful.

If you're keeping the 2.41 gears I'd suggest the 066 cam rather than the 068. The 066 should be more responsive around town and will pick up some fuel economy over the 068.

I see the right quarter has some damage at the rear, but does it have any rust issues that would require a replacement? The damage at the rear looks easily fixable without the need to replace the entire panel.

Good luck, Bart

[tharkun8]

Originally Posted by b-man

Hi John,

Cool project, would make a nice daily driver. The '66 body styles are all beautiful.

If you're keeping the 2.41 gears I'd suggest the 066 cam rather than the 068. The 066 should be more responsive around town and will pick up some fuel economy over the 068.

I see the right quarter has some damage at the rear, but does it have any rust issues that would require a replacement? The damage at the rear looks easily fixable without the need to replace the entire panel.

Good luck, Bart

thanks Bart..

I was thinking of changing rear end gears to somewhere in the 3.08 - 3.23 range.
I thought that would improve takeoff some without ruining the highway RPM levels.
Presuming I have a 389 or 400 with a comp ratio somewhere around 9.0 or 9.5-1.
I wont mind running on 91 octane.

I included a better pic of the quarter so you can see its condition. I figured a body man
could fix it pretty easy but i tried to figure how long it would take as opposed to just replacing the
whole panel... while i was pondering that I saw Jeff was parting out a red 66 with
a pristine panel that I could get nearby for fairly cheap. So i figured I would pick up
the panel and let the body guy figure out the best way to make it look perfect. Now
he will have no excuse If he can make this panel look pristine then Ill resell the one
I got from Jeff. Either way I get a perfect looking panel.

So I included a few more shots took on the day I got it home. 1 is a better view
of the damaged side. 2 is the passenger side dash panel.. I love that it says PONTIAC
there and not the model. Plus I am really happy with the condition of the door inner panels.
They are all almost perfect. A little careful cleaning and they should be as good as new.

My big expense now is saving to get a air compressor. If I had had one a lot of the
work ive done up until now would have been much easier. Im a big fan of getting what
you pay for so Im looking at 1 big one that should be good for anything and everything.
Planning on getting an Eaton 5HP 2 stage 80 gal. in a month or two. That will kill my
wallet for a while but what the hell. I might not need the compressor so much for this
car but the Bonneville is on deck and I will be cleaning the underside of that for a
LONG time.


John

[mike nixon]

That'll be a pretty car in Barrier blue. I'd leave the top white, It'll reflect heat. Either way it'll be a sharp ride

[Engine-Ear]

I wonder what the production breakdown was by color... I have never seen a barrier blue Pontiac, let alone a DarkSider!

[Stuart]

When I was in high school 40 years ago, my girlfriend had a '66 Bonneville Safari that was Barrier Blue with a white roof like this car (its roof was painted, not vinyl.) It was really sharp.

This one looks like a pretty good car. Your door panels look nearly mint.

[barrierblue66]

Hey John, another nudge towards considering 2 tone, with a cameo ivory or white roof Man, that thing will pop. Friend of mine has a Tyrol blue '67 Bonny with the painted white roof, looks awesome.

I've always wondered myself about the production numbers, BB being a one year only color. Funny, a member in my car club here has a '66 GTO that is also BB. When we're out together, we tag ourselves as the (Barrier) Blues Brothers.

[Deadhead]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ponti...#ht_500wt_1182

Check it out. I know you are going for the classroom, but you could save a lot of $ on body work.

[barrierblue66]

LUCKY for me, that car is waaay too far, because I would be tempted and bordering on grounds for divorce
A good idea of what the white top looks like though.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Deadhead

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ponti...#ht_500wt_1182

Check it out. I know you are going for the classroom, but you could save a lot of $ on body work.

Wow, that's a nice car.

[tharkun8]

Originally Posted by barrierblue66

LUCKY for me, that car is waaay too far, because I would be tempted and bordering on grounds for divorce
A good idea of what the white top looks like though.

Thanks Deadhead.. and I have to agree with BarrierBlue on this. It looks like a
great car but I actually have an eye on a 66 Starchief Exec 5 min from me. Its not
in as good a shape as this one but it's still right around the corner from me.
It snowed pretty good around here the last couple of days but Ill try to get a pic
of it in the next week or so. The 66 near me is in a fenced in private lot with a lot
of other stuff.

Actually I started this project on a shoestring and couldnt have done it any other
way.. This Ventura I picked up for 800 bucks less then 2 hrs from me. If the car
was more money or further away I couldnt have swung it. I have to say though the
white top look looks nice Im still preferring all Blue.. but.. until its done it can
always be changed


John

[tharkun8]

Originally Posted by Deadhead

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ponti...#ht_500wt_1182

Check it out. I know you are going for the classroom, but you could save a lot of $ on body work.

That auction ended last night.. Sad that 3800 was the best that it could do. I
wonder what the reserve was...

John

[Deadhead]

I figured it would sell for less than that. At least you can say it was not worth that much to you for completing your project and you did not miss anything!

[barrierblue66]

I would have paid more than $3800. Out of money and garage space, though I could always kick my everyday driver out and house another Poncho.

[jdh421]

My Father in law has a 66 two door cat that is Barrier Blue with a Cameo Ivory roof. What a great looking car. BTW. It looks like a 389 in the ebay Starchief.

[tharkun8]

Well got back at it some today after a week and a half of no work.

Today i removed the radiator support and AC Condenser and started
on the engine bay. Got off the AC compressor and started on the
compressor brackets. Now that Im on to the engine bay ill prob put
in a hour or so a night. 1 accessory each night should work..

Should be able to get all the engine bay stuff done this week and
can pull the motor/trans in a weekend or so...

John (johnny406) has said I can use his hoist so that should be
helpful.. Thanks John

Little steps.... little steps..

John