[squidtone]

Beautiful. VERY sharp. What a great feeling it must be to take it for those first few drives.
Nice photography throughout the thread by the way.

Dave

[wytnyt]

Originally Posted by 6 Grrrs

. It misses real bad -- like 2 or 3 dead cylinders. It is popping thru the carbs when revving it up. Seems like a lifter is stuck

like mine when it sat several years
let her run @1800 for 10 minutes
that will pump em up

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by Old Blue 66

Todd, I love this thread and the car. Thanks for all the updates. Has your father been able to help through out the restoration?

Yes, my father helped with some of the assembly (I don't remember everything from back in the day when we were building these cars 20 yrs ago). He helped me over the last few days to get it running. He rebuilt the carbs, setup the points & helped me get it running today. I'm pretty good with the modern EFI stuff, but this old stuff is a little different to me.

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by 6 Grrrs

Yes, my father helped with some of the assembly (I don't remember everything from back in the day when we were building these cars 20 yrs ago). He helped me over the last few days to get it running. He rebuilt the carbs, setup the points & helped me get it running today. I'm pretty good with the modern EFI stuff, but this old stuff is a little different to me.

Well Todd, that now makes it a father and son project. You'll remember that 20 years from now when your son gets the car.

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by Old Blue 66

Well Todd, that now makes it a father and son project. You'll remember that 20 years from now when your son gets the car.

That'll make him 22. He'll have to wait until 30 at least. When I was 22, I beat the snot out of everything I drove. I bought my truck (1990 454SS) when I was 21, and broke the crank & #2 piston when I was 25. I started chilling out when I was 30. I'm still tough on the truck, but I built it to hammer on. I'm 38 now & really find myself slowing down. Kinda like a parent

[Greg Reid]

That is a great car. Congratulations.....and I STILL don't have my '66 home.

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by 6 Grrrs

That'll make him 22. He'll have to wait until 30 at least. When I was 22, I beat the snot out of everything I drove. I bought my truck (1990 454SS) when I was 21, and broke the crank & #2 piston when I was 25. I started chilling out when I was 30. I'm still tough on the truck, but I built it to hammer on. I'm 38 now & really find myself slowing down. Kinda like a parent

I hear ya. Im 39 and going through the same thing. Good luck on this project and keep the info coming.

[ctgross]

Tod, looks Great!!! Obviously my favorite year.

Does the engine have the 093 heads? If so, were the studs converted to screw-in when it was re-built? Those press-in studs can start to pull out after a rebuild(esp. if a higher lift cam was installed) fought that battle with my first 66 back in the day(when Moby Dick was a minnow)

Great job on the car..congrats.

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by ctgross

Tod, looks Great!!! Obviously my favorite year.

Does the engine have the 093 heads? If so, were the studs converted to screw-in when it was re-built? Those press-in studs can start to pull out after a rebuild(esp. if a higher lift cam was installed) fought that battle with my first 66 back in the day(when Moby Dick was a minnow)

Great job on the car..congrats.

Yes it has 093's on it. Tell you the truth, I never even looked when I had the valve covers off a year ago. I'm gonna do a comression test tonight & obviously I will pull the covers off & let you know. As far as I know the motor is compltely stock, with a stock 3x2 cam (the motor is a '66 4bbl WT motor with a build date 3-4 weeks older than the body, instead of the WS that belongs in the car). I am not really concerned with having the proper coded motor, as this car is for me, not the purists. Again, it was rebuilt 20+ yrs ago & all I did was pull the oil pan & check the bearings and put a bunch of new gaskets in it. The bearings looked new, so I never thought to look into it any closer. If it turns out more serious than a few lifters, I will probably just build a 428 or 455 for it. I have a 455, and I know someone with a '67 428 for sale. I'd love to find a '66 421, though.

[Old Blue 66]

You going to keep the Rally II's???

[6 Grrrs]

Don't get me wrong, I like the Rally IIs, but so many of theses cars have them out there, even though they are not correct. I personally do not care for them on a '66 for this reason. Also I do not like the Rally Is either. My plan is to go with the poverty hub caps with a deeper wheel/fatter tire in the back and also lower the car to fill in the wheel gaps. I think I am going to do this with 17" wheels F & R, too.

I'm running tight on my budget getting it on the road, so I will probably leave the Rally IIs for the rest of this season. I'll work on the wheels over the winter as well as finish the A/C installation and misc other stuff.

[Old Blue 66]

I really like the poverty caps. Just a basic raw muscle look. In 17" format, the car would look great. Nice combo!!

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by ctgross

Does the engine have the 093 heads? If so, were the studs converted to screw-in when it was re-built? Those press-in studs can start to pull out after a rebuild

Crazy that you mentioned this...

I did a compression test & of course all cylinders but one had between 165-180psi. The last cylinder I checked (#2) had 0psi. Wouldn't even move the needle. I took the adapter for the compression guage, removed the schrader valve & both rocker arms for that cylinder (I didn't really look too close when I first pulled the rockers off), & connected my air compressor to it. It immediately bumped the engine over, and held pressure. When I then smacked the tops of the valves, I could hear air coming out thru the carbs (intake valve) or the tailpipe (exhaust valve). When I released the air compressor fitting, there was a whoosh (which determined that the cylinder would hold air. At this point I put the rocker arms back on & connected the compressor. I could hear air coming out of the carb, but not the exhaust. I loosened the intake rocker arm & suddenly it stopped. I pulled the rocker arm back off & this is what I found...




Obviously, someone had an issue long ago with a press-in stud & they decided to just weld it into place. It may be off center, or possibly it was hammered down into the head further, so when it is tightened down to bottom out the nut, it opens the intake valve. I asked my dad about it & he said it wasn't him & this was possibly overlooked when it was apart. The heads have A106 date codes & the block has A176 date code, so I'm guessing these are the original heads for this block. My dad bought this engine out of a junk 66 GTO back around '83 or '84, so who knows what happened to it before then. This car had a Pontiac 350 (I think '72 or '73), aluminum intake, headers, Qjet, etc in it when he bought it in 1982.

Basically I just rolled the engine over to just before #2 cylinder would fire (both valves closed) & then loosened the rocker until the valve was closed. I then checked the compression & found 175psi. Bolted the valvecover back on & started the engine & it runs nice & smooth. I took it for a 3-4 mile ride thru my plan & the car runs great. I still don't have a hood or trunklid, so no major road trips, yet.

My temporary fix will be to install a polylock on this stud & then adjust the valve lash like a Chevy. I would have done it tonight, but I can't find any polylocks for a big block chevy (3/8"x24) in my junk drawers. This will let me run the car until I can fix this permanantly.

My original intent was to get the car running with this 389 & then build a 428 or 455 with E heads & a mild roller cam. This may just have to happen sooner than later.

[Satyr1966]

If you aren't concerned with the engine looking "correct" or at least correct enough to fool most people who look at it, you would be better off going with different heads. I have a stock '66 & am currently getting together all correct numbered drive train parts. The 093 heads need a fortune in machine work to get them to a point where they are still not as good as later year heads. You can get them to have screw in studs & put in hardened exhaust seats but you can't put in bigger valves. There just isn't room with the way they aren't centered over the cylinders. If you can spare the money, the aluminum heads are great or some of the later year heads with screw in studs & big valves work good too.

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by Satyr1966

If you aren't concerned with the engine looking "correct" or at least correct enough to fool most people who look at it, you would be better off going with different heads. I have a stock '66 & am currently getting together all correct numbered drive train parts. The 093 heads need a fortune in machine work to get them to a point where they are still not as good as later year heads. You can get them to have screw in studs & put in hardened exhaust seats but you can't put in bigger valves. There just isn't room with the way they aren't centered over the cylinders. If you can spare the money, the aluminum heads are great or some of the later year heads with screw in studs & big valves work good too.

Thanks for the info but see below...

Originally Posted by 6 Grrrs

My original intent was to get the car running with this 389 & then build a 428 or 455 with E heads & a mild roller cam. This may just have to happen sooner than later.

By E heads, I meant Edelbrocks. I will not be using OEM heads on the motor I build, unless a set of RAIV or SD heads suddenly show up at my place.

[Satyr1966]

As long as that weld in the picture holds, you may get plenty of time out of this engine to build the engine you want for the car. If you can't come up with a poly-lock, a crimped type locking nut (not the nylon insert kind) with a thick washer can also work to hold your rocker in place.

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by Satyr1966

As long as that weld in the picture holds, you may get plenty of time out of this engine to build the engine you want for the car. If you can't come up with a poly-lock, a crimped type locking nut (not the nylon insert kind) with a thick washer can also work to hold your rocker in place.

Actually that is what I used. A Stover C locking nut & all is good. I was out driving it last night. It is awesome to finally have this car on the road. Hopefully by the week end, I'll have all the parts back from the body shop so I can drive it.

[6 Grrrs]

Here are some more pics...

[Old Blue 66]

Tod, that car has come a long way in a short time. Its beautiful and you should be very proud. Whats taking the guy with the hood and the trunk lid so long?

[GT182]

Todd, before you got the compression back in #2, did you have smoke and oil coming out of the breather cap on the valve cover?

I'm wondering if the same thing is happening with my #3 cyclinder and the smoke and oil deal thru the breather. I've been thinking it's a compression ring that's shot and causing my problem. When we did a compression test there was only 50 lbs of pressure in #3.

BTW.. if my 66 didn't have the "flames" or Cragars, our two GTOs could be twins just looking at the outside and interior. LOL I do have a console tho.