[eaglesan13]

My dash had the chromed dash bezel rings on it and the chrome was starting to fail. I contacted a guy named Bob at ChromeTech who re-chromes plastic dash parts and asked if he could chrome some rings for me. He asked if mine were originally chromed or if they were originally black. I said I had my original chrome ones but was thinking of keeping them for the original patina and just sending him an extra set of black rings I had. He said he could not chrome the black ones. He said he had tried many times, but GM must have used some special type of paint because he could not get the chrome to stick, so he would not even try; however, he said if I sent him my original chrome rings he could chemically strip them and re-chrmoe them. So, I sent them off to be re-chromed and they turned out very nice.

[eaglesan13]

So, the dash is back together now and all the gauges (and clock) are working properly. The restored replacement bezel and re-chromed bezel rings are in place (and the mechanical oil pressure gauge is gone). Randy Combs did a great job on the bezel, and I'm real happy with it.

[77 Canamman]

Randy is a magician!

[weranc55]

Very nice

[keith k]

Those gauges look great, Chris!

[Norwood]

Well Chris like everyone else has said it looks fantastic. Great Job

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Have you gotten enough miles on the new engine to spank it yet ?
Made it sing for its supper ?
Any type of really hauling ass to report ?

[eaglesan13]

No, there has been no spanking or singing yet. I've only got about 315 miles on the car since the engine rebuild. In addition to the dash repairs noted in the previous posts, I've had the brake system torn apart and only finished those repairs last week. The brake fluid was contaminated so the hydraulic system had to be gone through. I sent the original master cylinder and combination valve out to be rebuilt and the master cylinder sleeved. I replaced all the rubber hoses, rebuilt the calipers, and replaced the wheel cylinders. The front pads were on the rivets so I installed new pads and resurfaced the rotors. All four front wheel bearings had to be replaced. The grease was dry and hard so the bearings were running hot (the races were all blue). Anyway, now the brakes are safe, so at least when I start the spanking, I will be able to stop.

No pictures on the master cylinder and combo valve because I instructed the builder NOT to restore them. In keeping with my attempt to leave the car in a "used and original" condition, I had them rebuilt but not restored, so no painting or plating was done. They're not shiny and pretty, so I didn't bother posting any pictures.

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

Have you gotten enough miles on the new engine to spank it yet ?
Made it sing for its supper ?
Any type of really hauling ass to report ?

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Okay
But we anticipate some real spanking and singing sometime this year.

Glad you caught the front bearings.

I really like the nice kept used car look the best.
Its what we grew up with .
And they tend to get driven more that way too.

axle lube
power steering flush
u-joints
cologne and condoms (optional but recommended)

[poncho4554spd]

That car really is looking good and will be fun to drive with your set up. I am amazed that the dash bezel was straightened with no signs of the previous UPS damage. Randy does nice work.

[eaglesan13]

I've actually been out driving it the past few days. I was having trouble with air in the brake lines but it looks like I finally got it all bled out.

There is a small oil leak coming from the rear end cover gasket so I will be replacing that this week, and I'll change the fluid when I change the gasket.

I flushed the power steering fluid when I had the engine out.

The U-joins looked okay so I didn't replace them.

No comment on the condoms, and I don't usually wear cologne because my wife is super sensitive to perfumes and they cause her headaches, but when I was cleaning out the car I found this under the seat. I think it's a vintage air freshener. Have a nice day!


to

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

Okay
But we anticipate some real spanking and singing sometime this year.

Glad you caught the front bearings.

I really like the nice kept used car look the best.
Its what we grew up with .
And they tend to get driven more that way too.

axle lube
power steering flush
u-joints
cologne and condoms (optional but recommended)

[roundportponchos]

Looks great

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by eaglesan13

No comment on the condoms, and I don't usually wear cologne because my wife is super sensitive to perfumes and they cause her headaches, but when I was cleaning out the car I found this under the seat. I think it's a vintage air freshener. Have a nice day!

lol, I actually have that same air freshener!

[bird72]

Nice Dash! I like the 70 dash with flash vs later blackies. Yours looks stunner. We sound on parallel paths working out final bugs in cars pre-done. I also haven't tested HO to speak of. It seems to be breaking in and "happier". And best: not a drop of nuthin below. My dash finish is extraction of giant clock and 8K tach insertion.

[eaglesan13]

I just checked this thread and realized that I haven't posted since last May. I took the car out to Auburn Cruise Night last summer and the car was well received. I met a couple of guys with 1970 Trans Ams. One of the cars was there, while the other was at home in the guy's garage. He said he bought the car over 20 years ago and it has never run. He's been busy putting his kids through college and caring for aging parents and in-laws, but said he wanted to try and get the car on the road soon, so I said I would help.

I've also taken the car to the local Cars and Coffee a few times but that's not really the right venue for this car. It's mostly new Corvettes, Camaros, and Mustangs and a bunch of Cobra kit cars. There are a few old muscle cars, but not too many, and most people just walk right by my car.

When I bought my car it had 16,750 miles on it, and when I did the engine and trans build it had 17,031 miles. It now has 17,902 miles, so I've put about 900 miles on the new engine and 1150 miles on the car since I bought it. I really like the way the engine build turned out. It ran a little hot for the first 500 miles or so, but then it settled down and now it runs great, and it pulls real hard.

The weather has been cool and damp lately and these cars run so damn good when the air like that so I've been driving the car for the last few days. It's fun getting it sideways.

I have a short list of stuff I'm going to be doing to it over the next few months to get it ready for next summer. I had the paint detailed last summer but now I want to pull the interior out to get the carpet out and throughly clean it. I also want to put some new Radial T/A's on the Honeycombs and see how the car drives with those on it.

[OVERULD]

Such a beautiful car! Hard to beat a round port 455 HO car for excitement behind the wheel, especially with a 4-speed. Love your car! There was one just like it when I was in High School - driven by the hot mom of an equally hot red-headed cheerleader at my school. I’ve wanted all three ever since I first saw them in the drop-off lane in my freshman year.

BJ

[eaglesan13]

Well spring is here and the rain has finally stopped. I put the honeycombs back on for a change of pace, and I actually prefer how the car looks with them. I snapped this first picture out at Folsom Lake this week, but that parking lot is underwater now, so we had a good winter. The odometer reads 17,992 now.

The second picture below is one I have posted before. It was taken back when Wayne (the original owner) was racing the car. The picture shows his white car hooked to his blue trans am with a tow bar, which he used to tow the car to the race track. I was talking to Wayne today and asked whatever became of the tow bar. Wayne said he still has it, and he sent me this last picture. He said he put wheels on the tow bar and mounted his wood splitter to it.

[keith k]

Does look great!
I love that old pic of the two TAs

[T/A Fanatic]

Awesome thread to go through. I've been away from PY for a few years now and miss the knowledge of this group. Recall several avatars and names as well. Good to see Bill O. still around! This '71 is a beauty! I like the fact that you didn't go all out and build a trailer queen! Alan

[Pepper Judge]

Good thread to read; bringing this one back to the top

Like the Ontario connection.