#161  
Old 01-14-2019, 07:11 PM
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Originally Posted by 455HOGT37 View Post
Great build! I'm sorry I'm so late seeing it. The 70 Formula 400 is one of my favorite cars. I bought this one back in the mid 90's as a numbers matching, rust free, "almost survivor". It's a 4 speed, A/C car with almost no other options. Of all the dozens of Pontiacs I've owned and sold over the years, this one is the one I regret selling the most. I paid $800 bucks for it and drove it onto the trailer.



I still have a nice Formula hood I'm hanging onto in case a nice base Bird drops into my lap that I can do the Pro Touring thing.

I'm also a frequent visitor to Scottsdale (I fly into Stellar Airpark in Chandler) and would LOVE to retire there... so I also appreciate the pictures of the house build!
That's a cool '70 in the photo...wish these cars were still available for $800! I've never regretted moving to Arizona. I'm located just west of Pinnacle Peak (east of Pima Road between Jomax and Dynamite)...a pretty quite part of Scottsdale but not too far away from anything.

  #162  
Old 01-15-2019, 12:58 AM
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Yep, I know the area... Flown over it when coming in from Sedona. Fountain Hills is the primary visual reference, but yeah... i know where you are. Nice place!

  #163  
Old 03-30-2019, 11:12 AM
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Have brakes now. 6 piston 14" fronts, 4 piston 13" rears. I would have preferred rear brakes that matched the front, but they're not needed, heavier, and over 1k more. Now that I know the wheels fit over the brakes, I'll have the tires mounted. Wheels and tires will need to be on the car when Randy gets it back so that he can deal with any potential clearance issues. I know the quarter lips may need to be rolled a little. The car is going to the chassis shop today to add some triangulating pieces to the roll bar. I hate to do it, but Frank is very concerned that the torque produced by the 535 will ruin all those nice gaps. Will try to keep them as unobtrusive as possible. Randy said he should be able to take the car some time in May and be done with it by mid-summer.




  #164  
Old 04-03-2019, 01:19 PM
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Boy Jeff, sure am happy to see all of your great work on the "Caroline." Hopefully once you get her done, we can meet up again and you can take me for a ride!

Please keep the posts coming. Can't wait to see the finished product!

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'74 Bonneville 4dr Sedan (455/TH400/2.93 open)
'72 LeMans GT (455/M-13/3.23 [8.5"] posi)
'71 GTO Hardtop (400/TH400/3.07 12 bolt posi)
‘71 GTO Convertible (455HO/TH400/3.23 posi)
'67 GTO Coupe (455/ST-10/2.93 posi)
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  #165  
Old 04-04-2019, 02:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Mister Pontiac View Post
Boy Jeff, sure am happy to see all of your great work on the "Caroline." Hopefully once you get her done, we can meet up again and you can take me for a ride!

Please keep the posts coming. Can't wait to see the finished product!
Thanks Todd. I made it out to the BOP event at the Pavilions the week before last and thought I might run into you. It would be good to catch up and hear about your projects and how things are going otherwise. The plan is to get the Formula done by November Goodguys...just depends on Randy's schedule.

  #166  
Old 04-04-2019, 02:28 PM
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Forgot to mention, we decided against any sort of door bar. The chassis guy thought the benefits of the design we had in mind (angled down from the main hoop with a sharp bend so the bar would be lower than the entire seat bolster) wouldn't be worth it. I was actually relieved. Now I won't have to worry about those bars being in the way and the interior will look a lot cleaner.

  #167  
Old 04-13-2019, 05:43 PM
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The car is back home. Just waiting for my spot to open up at Randy's. Not sure what I could be doing now to move the project forward. Won't assemble the engine until the car is painted. I guess I can plan out the wiring and interior, maybe the Vintage Air stuff... Anyways, here's what happened this last week...

Triangulating pieces and seat belt bar welded in.



I had the tires mounted using a mobile installer, 2UTire. They did a fantastic job, super careful.



Installed the front brakes calipers again to make sure the stick-on balancing weights would work... no problem.



I'm pleased with how they look on the car.




  #168  
Old 05-06-2019, 09:20 AM
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Very interested on feedback on the Vintage Air install, please post...

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  #169  
Old 05-16-2019, 04:05 PM
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Not much progress as I wait for space to open up at Randy's.

I tinkered with the rear suspension to check for tire clearance...no problems even when everything is completely bottomed out. Huge advantage to Firebirds over Camaros due to the wheel opening being round rather than flat at the top.

I also noticed that the transmission was hung up on a piece of the floor that I didn't notice before, and that's why the motor mounts wouldn't fit right. Everything is good now, no need for the spacers.

I started thinking more about what I'll do with the interior. Part of me wants to stick with Sandalwood. I reached out to Al Knoch to see if they could redo a dash for me in the correct greenish Sandalwood color vinyl. I haven't heard back yet.

The other option is to go with black. This would be an easier and less expensive option, especially since I already have a dash pad I could use.

Then there's the choice of what to keep factory and what to modernize.

  #170  
Old 05-29-2019, 08:35 PM
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So I thought I would begin the process of going through boxes of parts for the Formula to figure out what I have and what I need. Unfortunately, it looks like I need quite a bit! I forgot that I used a lot of parts for my TA, which was being assembled at the same time this car was being disassembled. At this point, it seems I'm mostly missing brackets, bolts, clips, etc., that go on the inside of the car...things like the dash support bracket above the steering wheel, the little access plates that screw in behind the interior rear panels, the bolt that goes through the clutch/brake & nut, etc. Nothing major, but it's going to take some effort to scrounge up a lot these things.

  #171  
Old 07-13-2019, 02:47 PM
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Randy's focusing his attention on a customer's 70 (or maybe 71) Cyclone which needs to be ready for MCACN, so I might be waiting for a few more months for paint...he's OK with me finding someone else if I want to move along quicker and said he'd help them to make sure it gets done right.

As I ponder that, I figured I'd make some headway on my fuel and brake lines. I'm using Vaporworx PWM controller, so will just have a single 1/2"/8AN line with a fuel pressure regulator plumbed right off the ZL1 module. I'll use 3/8"/6N for the II Much vent. For brakes, I plan to use 3/16" throughout. Although it's not as pretty as stainless, I decided to use nicopp/cunifer because it's easier to work with.



At some point, a previous owner changed the interior color to a reddish brown. I used a scotch bright pad to remove the dye from a couple pieces to reveal the Sandalwood. I can't believe how much contrast there is with the vinyl sample I received from Legendary.


  #172  
Old 07-14-2019, 09:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Gator67 View Post
Randy's focusing his attention on a customer's 70 (or maybe 71) Cyclone which needs to be ready for MCACN, so I might be waiting for a few more months for paint...he's OK with me finding someone else if I want to move along quicker and said he'd help them to make sure it gets done right.

As I ponder that, I figured I'd make some headway on my fuel and brake lines. I'm using Vaporworx PWM controller, so will just have a single 1/2"/8AN line with a fuel pressure regulator plumbed right off the ZL1 module. I'll use 3/8"/6N for the II Much vent. For brakes, I plan to use 3/16" throughout. Although it's not as pretty as stainless, I decided to use nicopp/cunifer because it's easier to work with.



At some point, a previous owner changed the interior color to a reddish brown. I used a scotch bright pad to remove the dye from a couple pieces to reveal the Sandalwood. I can't believe how much contrast there is with the vinyl sample I received from Legendary.
Right - Sandalwood was unique among '70 interior colors in that there was a significant contrast in color between the dash/kick panels/console (sort of a dark caramel color) and the rest of the interior (light cream).

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  #173  
Old 07-14-2019, 10:01 PM
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I think the contrast between the dark material and the tan material is what makes the sandalwood interior look so rich.

What interior/exterior color combo are you going with?

  #174  
Old 07-15-2019, 09:28 PM
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I think the contrast between the dark material and the tan material is what makes the sandalwood interior look so rich.

What interior/exterior color combo are you going with?
I’m leaning toward the factory colors, Carousel Red and Sandalwood. That said, a black interior would be so much easier.

  #175  
Old 07-15-2019, 10:53 PM
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Keith is the resident Sandalwood expert.( the sandalwood carpet confusion comes to mind) I have most of a worn 1970 Sandalwood interior. The thing is, If you dye Sandalwood and it doesnt match, it could be correct!
Sandalwood trees are regarded highly in Australia. I like the scent. Plastics and dash , sunvisors were usually darker than the vinyl.

  #176  
Old 07-16-2019, 02:28 AM
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I’m leaning toward the factory colors, Carousel Red and Sandalwood. That said, a black interior would be so much easier.
True enough Jeff, but boy, that Sandlewood will look SO sharp. It's probably worth the hassle to source the correct pieces, and of course you only have to do it once.

If it were me, and I went with the easier black, I would always second guess the decision, missing out on the gorgeous Sandlewood.

But that's just me.

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'74 Bonneville 4dr Sedan (455/TH400/2.93 open)
'72 LeMans GT (455/M-13/3.23 [8.5"] posi)
'71 GTO Hardtop (400/TH400/3.07 12 bolt posi)
‘71 GTO Convertible (455HO/TH400/3.23 posi)
'67 GTO Coupe (455/ST-10/2.93 posi)
'67 Tempest Wagon (428/TH400/2.56 posi)

Deuteronomy 8:3
  #177  
Old 07-16-2019, 04:26 PM
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Here's a photo I found a while back in that color combination.


  #178  
Old 07-17-2019, 05:27 PM
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Just found this thread. Nice project. Looking forward to following along.

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  #179  
Old 07-17-2019, 07:26 PM
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I decided to go with non-power assist brakes, so I drove across town to Baer and bought one of their 15/16" bore master cylinders, proportioning valve, and banjo lines. I spent some time in a pro-touring type car with manual brakes a while back, and was surprised how good the brakes felt and performed. I kinda splurged on these pieces, but I saved by not going with a hydroboost unit.

The plate behind the MC is used to index the T56 bell housing without having to remove the front cover of the transmission. Apparently, the bell housing doesn't have to be off by much to create problems, so rather than just slapping everything together when the time comes, I'll give my dial indicator a workout.


  #180  
Old 07-18-2019, 09:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gator67 View Post
Here's a photo I found a while back in that color combination.

Always hard to tell from photos, but that one looks like it might have a Saddle interior rather than Sandalwood.

Here are a couple pics of a Carousel/Sandalwood car with a highly original interior.
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