[Greg Reid]

What a fantastic looking '66. I'm envious!

[6 Grrrs]

Thanks.

Looks like I'll be putting it in the local World of Wheels. I wasn't planning on it, but the painter wants a few vehicles down there to drum up some business, so I figured I can help him out. I gotta get something done on the wheels, ASAP. These Ralley IIs are not near as nice as the car.

[GT182]

Originally Posted by 6 Grrrs

I can't wait for spring. I wanna put some miles on this thing.

You're not alone on that thought, not at all. LOL I did have mine out for a spin New Years day, and boy did that feel good... but bare roads and no snow.

I see you've added the right side mirror on the passenger's door. That's my next move this spring. Now you've got to hook up a jumper to get those parking lights on when the headlights are on. You will like the looks ... guarranteed.

I just got my 1 1/4" front sway bar yesterday from B-man. Got to get that and the 1 3/8s" rear swaybar and boxed control arms on.... also from B-man. Then I'll be ready for the highway again.

[67blackcherry]

Originally Posted by GT182

You're not alone on that thought, not at all. LOL I did have mine out for a spin New Years day, and boy did that feel good... but bare roads and no snow.

I see you've added the right side mirror on the passenger's door. That's my next move this spring. Now you've got to hook up a jumper to get those parking lights on when the headlights are on. You will like the looks ... guarranteed.

I just got my 1 1/4" front sway bar yesterday from B-man. Got to get that and the 1 3/8s" rear swaybar and boxed control arms on.... also from B-man. Then I'll be ready for the highway again.

I'm interested to know how much of a difference that makes...

[nodwyer]

This is the longest and worst winter I can remember, Or maybee I just dont remember.
I cant wait to cruise again. Great looking car!!!!!!!

[GT182]

Originally Posted by 67blackcherry

I'm interested to know how much of a difference that makes...

Me too Paul. I haven't started changing out the old front swaybar yet, nor installing the rear bar. It's been too cold here these past few weeks and I ain't gonna freeze my fingers off on all those cold steel bars. I don't want to end up stuck to them. It'll warm up here in a couple of weeks and then I'll Git-R-Done. LOL I"ll let you know once it's finished.

[67blackcherry]

Originally Posted by GT182

Me too Paul. I haven't started changing out the old front swaybar yet, nor installing the rear bar. It's been too cold here these past few weeks and I ain't gonna freeze my fingers off on all those cold steel bars. I don't want to end up stuck to them. It'll warm up here in a couple of weeks and then I'll Git-R-Done. LOL I"ll let you know once it's finished.

So wear a pair of Mechanix gloves! Jeez, do I have to tell you everything? First the overheating/radiator hose too high issue, now this...

Seriously...off the top of my head, I seem to recall that rear boxed arms & traction bar set up cost $600+/-, is that about right?

I swear, I wish I had $30k that I could just blow on my cars...that would be a good paint job on all three, sorting out the remaining suspension issues, a rebuild on the GTO, and some minor BS. They're all very presentable, they drive and handle great but still...

I'm too impatient for this piecemeal crap!

[GT182]

Originally Posted by 67blackcherry

So wear a pair of Mechanix gloves! Jeez, do I have to tell you everything? First the overheating/radiator hose too high issue, now this...

Seriously...off the top of my head, I seem to recall that rear boxed arms & traction bar set up cost $600+/-, is that about right?

I swear, I wish I had $30k that I could just blow on my cars...that would be a good paint job on all three, sorting out the remaining suspension issues, a rebuild on the GTO, and some minor BS. They're all very presentable, they drive and handle great but still...

I'm too impatient for this piecemeal crap!

I ain't wearing no sissy mechanics gloves, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty like you. LMAO I just can't work in the cold anymore... gloves or not.

My rear swaybar setup came from B-man. We made a swap so it didn't cost me any where near $600. Not sure what the cost of new parts out of the catalog was, but I remember the cost of it all scared the living crap out of me awile back. LOL

While I was doing the jumper wire thing for the parking lights, I took my driver's seat out and had to lift the carpet .... that frosted my a**. Nothing dangerous but not what I was told when I bought the car. Oh well, time to buy a mig welder I guess.

[Blue '66]

Originally Posted by 6 Grrrs

Decided to start the GTO today, pull it outside & let it idle for a while. At that point, I thought I would see if it would go up my driveway in the snow & get some pics. This is the most it'll ever be in the snow as long as I own it.

I can't wait for spring. I wanna put some miles on this thing.

Beautiful car!

[67blackcherry]

Originally Posted by GT182

I ain't wearing no sissy mechanics gloves, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty like you. LMAO I just can't work in the cold anymore... gloves or not.

My rear swaybar setup came from B-man. We made a swap so it didn't cost me any where near $600. Not sure what the cost of new parts out of the catalog was, but I remember the cost of it all scared the living crap out of me awile back. LOL

While I was doing the jumper wire thing for the parking lights, I took my driver's seat out and had to lift the carpet .... that frosted my a**. Nothing dangerous but not what I was told when I bought the car. Oh well, time to buy a mig welder I guess.

It's funny, after I had been playing guitar for about 2 years or so I hated to get my hands dirty. Not so much my hands as my fingers and especially my fingertips. Been playing now for 31 years, it's my issue, I'm working on it!

The old "there's no rust anywhere" story from a seller?!? No, say it ain't so!
Sorry to hear that, good luck...look at the bright side. The welding torch will provide ample heat!!

[GT182]

Originally Posted by 67blackcherry

It's funny, after I had been playing guitar for about 2 years or so I hated to get my hands dirty. Not so much my hands as my fingers and especially my fingertips. Been playing now for 31 years, it's my issue, I'm working on it!

The old "there's no rust anywhere" story from a seller?!? No, say it ain't so!
Sorry to hear that, good luck...look at the bright side. The welding torch will provide ample heat!!

I've always worked where I've had my hands dirty.... well a few jobs I had I could keep em clean.

LOL.. yep one of the worst places of all, the floor on the drivers side. I'm not gonna worry about it right now. But that fiberglass mat they put in has got to go some day soon. Like a dummy I had to lift the carper when I pulled out the driver's seat. Oh well... it could be worse. I could be doing the Fred Flintstone thing.... feet thru the floor. LOL

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by GT182

You're not alone on that thought, not at all. LOL I did have mine out for a spin New Years day, and boy did that feel good... but bare roads and no snow.

I had my car out sometime between xmas & new years. I washed/waxed & then took it for a 20-25 mile drive. It was nice out (about 70 degrees), but I still don't like the salt on the roads. A completely detailed/painted undercarriage is a pain to keep clean.

I see you've added the right side mirror on the passenger's door. That's my next move this spring. Now you've got to hook up a jumper to get those parking lights on when the headlights are on. You will like the looks ... guarranteed.

The R side mirror was on the car when I started. I don't know if my father added it years ago, or it came that way. The PHS & window Sticker don't say anything about a right mirror. There were 2 NOS ones in the trunk, though so I put them on.

I just got my 1 1/4" front sway bar yesterday from B-man. Got to get that and the 1 3/8s" rear swaybar and boxed control arms on.... also from B-man. Then I'll be ready for the highway again.

I still have not put any sway bars on this car yet. It's funny that It doesn't handle all that bad without them (I'm used to the ****ty handling of my company van). I plan on putting a 1.25" on the front & 1.125" on the rear as well. I just gotta locate some for it. I am not buying new. There are a few salvage yards around the area here that have some Impalas & Gbody cars. I know I can get a front 1.25" from one of them. I just gotta locate some boxed arms & a rear bar.

Thanks guys for the compliments.

[GT182]

Tod, I would have thought that your 66 would have come from the factory with at least the 7/8s" front sway bar. I can understand none on the rear as I believe that had to be ordered. Once you get both swaybars on you'll see a big difference in the way she handles.

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by 6 Grrrs

I had my car out sometime between xmas & new years. I washed/waxed & then took it for a 20-25 mile drive. It was nice out (about 70 degrees), but I still don't like the salt on the roads. A completely detailed/painted undercarriage is a pain to keep clean.



The R side mirror was on the car when I started. I don't know if my father added it years ago, or it came that way. The PHS & window Sticker don't say anything about a right mirror. There were 2 NOS ones in the trunk, though so I put them on.



I still have not put any sway bars on this car yet. It's funny that It doesn't handle all that bad without them (I'm used to the ****ty handling of my company van). I plan on putting a 1.25" on the front & 1.125" on the rear as well. I just gotta locate some for it. I am not buying new. There are a few salvage yards around the area here that have some Impalas & Gbody cars. I know I can get a front 1.25" from one of them. I just gotta locate some boxed arms & a rear bar.

Thanks guys for the compliments.

None on my car either. Im sure it would make a world of difference, but Im in no rush. Its not that bad.

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by GT182

Tod, I would have thought that your 66 would have come from the factory with at least the 7/8s" front sway bar. I can understand none on the rear as I believe that had to be ordered. Once you get both swaybars on you'll see a big difference in the way she handles.

Remember this car was in boxes for the last 20+ years. When I was building it, the sway bar was not at the top of my list, so I never installed it. I do have an original 7/8" sway bar for it, but knew I wanted to upgrade to a larger bar (it is painted & ready to install, though).

I am familiar with how well these cars can handle with proper swaybars. I owned several Gbody cars & set each of them I set up with bigger bars fr & rr as well as lightweight wheel/tire combos to take advantage of less unsprung weight. I auto x'd my '78 GP & my 454SS pickup several times. The GP was very competitive in it's class. I have no plans to auto x the GTO, but I do plan on driving it aggressively.

Yesterday I scored a 1.25" front bar & 2.25 turn steering box from a '77 trans am (got both for $30 at a local salvage yard). I may/may not use the box, because it is not the best box for these a bodies. More than likely I will find a '88 - '90 F41 Caprice box to use. It has the same 87 degree total travel that the original '66 box has. The f-car box has 67 degrees of travel, so it will reduce the turning radius. It is far superior to the original box, but I'm in no hurry to get it on there. The F41 is fairly uncommon, but I know of some yards with alot of caprices/impalas, so I should be able to find one.

Now I need to find a rear bar & boxed lower control arms for it. I do not want to modify my stock LCAs. I'd rather find another pair that are boxed, or need boxed.

[6 Grrrs]

Took my GTO to the local World of Wheels Show in Pittsburgh. It took a little detailing & a set of borrowed wheels/tires to get it there. The guy who painted the car has a '69 Grand Prix & he had this set of Cragar Super Lite replicas with 15"x8" rr & 15"x7" fronts and 275/60-15 rear & 215/70-15 front tires. Not my cup of tea, but the car looked much better for the show. In fact, many people complimented me on my choice in wheels at the show. The 275's were too wide & the 15"x8"s didn't have enough backspace (4.5") for driving the car. I ended up driving it home from the show to save time for making 2 trips with the enclosed trailer (total pain in the ass as I was the one with the truck/trailer & my buddy who was driving the GTO is a little heavier than me, so we ended up switching places & I drove the car home whilst worrying about damage to the truck/trailer - as he never towed a large trailer).

I took 3rd place in my class, though. We took 4 vehicles (the two trucks parked behind my GTO & a full custom Honda CBR1000RR) to the show & all of them placed.

Here is some pics before loading into the trailer...





Pics at the show...

[Greg Reid]

Car still looks great but I sure like it better with the Rally IIs. Congrats on placing. The car definitely stands out among that group.

[67blackcherry]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

Car still looks great but I sure like it better with the Rally IIs. Congrats on placing. The car definitely stands out among that group.

Yes, and yes!

[Pontiac_Defender]

Congrats!!! Your car is beautiful!

[6 Grrrs]

Thanks, guys.

The Ralley IIs are already back on it.