[HWYSTR455]

I like the gauges!

.

[Marv]

Another update on my website, here: https://bargegarage.com/2019/03/28/o...10-steps-back/

It has been an incredibly challenging few months with the car, having to strip it back to bare metal as I discovered I got screwed by the body & paint guy.

Another guy has now repaired the rear guards. After the trunk lid is fixed the rear of the car will be ready for blocking. Then, once I have more money I'll fix the doors, then the front guards and front-end, then hopefully get it sprayed some time in the new year (I have a wedding in Sept to pay for).

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Marv

It has been an incredibly challenging few months with the car, having to strip it back to bare metal as I discovered I got screwed by the body & paint guy.

Ugh, sorry to hear that. There can be a lot of flakey body men out there, but there are plenty of good ones as well...when you do find a good one, treat them like gold.

[HWYSTR455]

I too have suffered some body & paint setbacks, had most corrected, took 2 trips back to the shop, added time, and still have a couple items that need attention. But no way am I going back to the same place!

So I feel your pain!

.

[Marv]

So so so many sharks in the body game! It must be the paint fumes that turns them all crazy, haha.

[OZZIEVILLE 67 2 door]

Great to see you are sticking with the build, it will be worth it at the end, nothing cooler than a full size Pontiac
John L.

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk

[Marv]

I threw another post on my website as I've had people asking about fixing janky wiring in their cars. I like to swat flies with nuclear weapons, so this might be seen as an overkill fix to some

https://bargegarage.com/2019/04/04/w...ure-just-lazy/

[Marv]

Not sure if any of the Aussies on here would be interested but I am parting out the drivetrain in my car.


'64 389 over-sized to accept stock-bore KB 400ci pistons, 10.5:1 comp, bolt-together rods (not press-fit), ARP fasteners throughout, Comp flat tappet cam (already broken in), 11-bolt water pump & timing cover, Rollmaster timing chain set - $5k neg
Edelbrock 72cc D-port alloy heads with Yella Terra platinum 1.65-ratio rockers - $4k neg
Rebuilt radiator with custom shroud and 16in Spal thermo fan - $250 neg
Rebuilt BOP TH400 long-tail trans - can come with tailshaft, mount and crossmember $2k neg

I'll also have my 9.3 BOP diff for sale once my new diff is built - $500, drum-to-drum

[HWYSTR455]

Uh-oh. Does that mean you're going to a 'corporate' drivetrain does it?


.

[Marv]

Yep.

It makes more sense for my particular situation and how i want to use the car. I get it will make most in here curl their toes with disgust but i am well past caring what others think

[HWYSTR455]

~sigh~ I get it. Sadly, but I truly understand. Maybe I' just too stubborn though! Heheh!

.

[Heybuck]

What's happened Marv? What's brought this on? I now see you haven't been posting for a while either.

And what's up with the bargegarage web pages??

Ian

[Marv]

A work project involving an LS motor has fallen in my lap and will allow me to sell off the Pontiac drivetrain and put that money back into finishing my car.

Would my car be cooler with an EFI Pontiac engine? Probably, but i have reached a point where i just don't care about any of that. To me, having a reliable cruiser that is safe and easy to drive thousands of kilometres in a single trip is more appealing. My car already has shaved trim, custom seats, custom suspension, non-OE paint, 17in wheels... changing it back to Pontiac power won't be impossible, just highly, highly unlikely.

I binned the website as it just wasn't worth updating or spending the money maintaining given barely a handful of people ever looked at it.

I accept my car isn't liked by most people who like big Pontiacs, and that is fine with me. I wasn't cool with how some of them voice opinions online so i have largely stepped away from the Pontiac scene online.

I hope that answers your questions, mate

[krisr]

Originally Posted by Marv

I wasn't cool with how some of them voice opinions online so i have largely stepped away from the Pontiac scene online.

This is one of the biggest problems with smaller niche areas of the hobby, not just from Pontiac "people", but also from Pontiac "people". Some comments from people really do make them sounds like they lick windows or have suffered from a brain injury. I applaud anyone that has the desire to do something different!

[Heybuck]

Mate, you want an LS in your car, you put it in YOUR car. I don't make any judgements on what anyone does to their own car.

I lost my WH Caprice to a hit run driver 20 months ago. It had a brilliant running Gen111 even at 320K. No rattles, no leaks, pulled like a train. Sold the wreck to a guy here with an A Model Ford hot rod. My motor is now running in the A model. He is super happy and I'm super happy but his clown mates are making stupid comments as to why he didn't put a Cleveland into it.

So good luck with whatever you decide to do mate. Hope you can flog the driveline without much drama.

Keep us informed on the progress.

Cheers, Ian

[Marv]

Thanks Ian. Yep, they're not the perfect engine, but they're a bloody good one for the cost and much easier to source parts for down here.

I drove with a mate from Sydney to Queenscliff for the rod run down there in his '56 Chevy pick-up powered by a blown 308 Holden and we had a hell of a rough time with breakdowns in 45-degree heat, while our mate with his modern EFI motor had no issues. This is the kind of stuff that matters to me so a primary concern for making mine LS-powered.

Just last weekend I fitted a radiator and thermo fan set-up from a 2015 HSV GTS - despite the radiators being wildly different sizes it wasn't hard to whip up some new corners for the rad support to let the modern core fit in and tuck right against the nose panel. These radiators can handle 1500hp no problems so should have an easy time in my car.

[gtospieg]

Looking forward to seeing this project get finished no matter what drivetrain YOU choose to put in it. Good luck.

[Marv]

So I have been hard at work putting this thing back together.

It has now been painted Poison Ivy green, which was a colour on our local VE Holden Commodores (AKA Pontiac G8 GXP). I also had the interior trimmed in white, with black carpet and a black textured powdercoated dash.

The wheels are 17x8/17x9in and custom-made for me, riffing on an old 3-piece racing wheel from the early 1970s here in Australia called a "Mawer". The biggest change, however, is the supercharged iron LS under the bonnet, Highes Performance 1000hp-rated 4L80E electronic trans, and built 9inch diff with billet 35-spline axles, Trutrac LSD, Strange nodular iron centre, Wilwood discs and 1350 uni.

I built the fuel system using Raceworks gear, including an under car surge tank, twin external pumps (PWM-controlled) -10 feed and -8 return lines, 1500cc injectors, and flex-fuel to run regular gas or E85. I also built the exhaust system using twin 3in oval exhaust from Vibrant Performance, with two cats and four mufflers.

To keep the engine cool I carved out the stock radiator support panel and fitted the big radiator out of a late-model Holden VF HSV GTS (AKA a factory supercharged Chevy SS). It now sits further forward than where the stock radiator sat, and I squeezed late model air conditioning condenser in front of it, as well as a thick water:air heat exchanger but that did require me to fabricate a new nosecone support and hood release prop.

The whole car has been rewired so it no longer uses fuses or relays as it now uses a Haltech Nexus R5 and PDM, with a Haltech ic7 colour digital dash and their CAN keypad to control headlights, cruise & traction control, reverse camera, fuel pump and thermo fan overrides, and more.

These are just some pics I had on my phone but the car will appear in an episode of Mighty Car Mods on YouTube soon.

I know it will disappoint some Pontiac fans who prefer standard restoration type cars but I am happy to be labelled a heathen as I'm a hot rodder at heart.

Cheers



Raised up for transport


Here is the heart of the matter - a 403ci stroked LQ4 6L from a Cadillac Escalade. It has a full Texas Speed rotating package, CNC-ported LS3 cylinder heads and a Harrop TVS2650 supercharger (with water:air intercooler).




If you'd like to hear it, here's a sneak peak:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kQy_Xr40rYk

[mr67gp]

Beautiful car.

[webfoot]

Very cool! You can count me in with the uber rare "don't care/build it for you" crowd. I put a 5.3 out of a tahoe in my catalina. The 62 blocks have a stupid bell housing mounted starter and the block had a freeze crack in it. The difficulty of sourcing a Pontiac block out here in BFE you'd think they hadn't made them for 45 years or something!