[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by 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?

When my car went into the body shop it was just getting some touch-up work that snowballed into a complete repaint. He put me in front of other's to get the car finished & back to me (that's why the hood & trunk were not done with the car, as he figured he could do them while I was putting the rest of the car together). Well about 3 weeks later, he had one of his regular customers that decided to do a complete restoration on his '68 Chevy pickup. He wanted it done for his wedding, which was 3 weeks later (this past Saturday). This truck was a bare cab & front fenders on a painted chassis 3 weeks ago. It was finished about 1.5hrs bfore the wedding started & made it to the wedding. They did it two tone & all with airbrushed mouldings instead of the original aluminum mouldings. There were 4 guys working on it for most of this time & there were others (myself included) that showed up to help finsih it. Friday morning I was there bending all the hard lines for the fuel, trans, & brakes, while there was no front clip (not even painted) & the motor had not even been fired. It was Overhaulin' without the 30 man crew & unlimited budget.

This is why my parts were not finished.

I picked up the header panel, cowl panel, & other misc items tonight. My trunk lid may be done tomorrow (he was stripping it when I was there. The hood isn't getting stripped, but it has a dent to fix & then paint. I should have it soon.

I got my plate transferred & the title work done tonight. I actually own this car now

Originally Posted by 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.

No smoke at all. You definately have a problem with 50psi in one cylinder. What were the rest of them?

My car has a console. It is actually in decent shape, but needs detailed/restored. I didn't want that to hold me up, so I just got a boot & trim ring for a non console.

[barrierblue66]

Originally Posted by 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.

There's always the classic Cragar S/S, my 2nd favorite after Rally I's. not cheap nowadays though. I remember I bought my first set in high school for my '70 LeMans, cost was $52 / rim.

BTW, car is looking NICE! ...wanna do my interior over as it's getting a little tired, but there may be a '64 LeMans convertible in my near future, so the funds may go towards that.

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by barrierblue66

There's always the classic Cragar S/S, my 2nd favorite after Rally I's. not cheap nowadays though. I remember I bought my first set in high school for my '70 LeMans, cost was $52 / rim.

BTW, car is looking NICE! ...wanna do my interior over as it's getting a little tired, but there may be a '64 LeMans convertible in my near future, so the funds may go towards that.

I've never really been a Cragar SS fan. I'm more into the Tourque Thrust look. I don't really care for chrome wheels. I like the polished aluminum look alot better.

I have about 10 cars im mind that I'd like to have in my future. One is a '64 Tempest coupe. Another is a '66 Grand Prix. About 6 of the 10 are Pontiacs

[GT182]

Originally Posted by 6 Grrrs

No smoke at all. You definately have a problem with 50psi in one cylinder. What were the rest of them?

We only did #3 seeing we found oil on it when we changed the plugs, the rest were clean as a whistle. And seeing #3 was so low and the rest clean, we figured they we good seeing the engine pulls so good. Last time I was out with it it didn't smoke all that bad. I'd poured a pint of Lusas oil in it again and used 20-50 Castrol for the oil change. I've added a can of Restore too as it was recommended by an engine builder. He said it won't hurt to try it before it's torn down for a rebuild. He even said it might just preserve it and help it for the little I'll be driving it.

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by GT182

We only did #3 seeing we found oil on it when we changed the plugs, the rest were clean as a whistle. And seeing #3 was so low and the rest clean, we figured they we good seeing the engine pulls so good. Last time I was out with it it didn't smoke all that bad. I'd poured a pint of Lusas oil in it again and used 20-50 Castrol for the oil change. I've added a can of Restore too as it was recommended by an engine builder. He said it won't hurt to try it before it's torn down for a rebuild. He even said it might just preserve it and help it for the little I'll be driving it.

It really doosn't take long to do a full compression test (about 15-20 minutes) on these cars. You should do one just so you know where you are at.

[6 Grrrs]

Update for tonight:

I never did locate a '66 GTO Right Side grille assy yet, so I modified a set of '66 LeMans grilles. The mesh in the grilles is different, but I was able to make it work with a little bit of effort. I had a set of '67 grilles, but the metal mesh was in poor condition. So I took the parking light housings & mounted them to the '66 LeMans grilles. It took a little grinding to make them fit, but I think the end result is pretty good.






Here is some more pics of the car today...






I have this bracket that looks like something that holds the back of a radio up. It was in the car when I got it. I haven't tried to get under the dash to look, but I don't think it'll bolt to the radio & then the dash. Does anyone have a picture of the original radio rear bracket, so I can figure out how to support my original radio?

[6 Grrrs]

The car is almost done for now. The hood & trunk lid need wet sanded & buffed (hence the reason why no scoop or emblem on the hood). I need to install the rear seat belts, some new rear tires, new fan clutch & some other small details. I have other things that need done, but they will have to wait until the winter. Mostly A/C completion & replace power window motors in front doors.

[GT182]

She looks real nice Tod. And you did a great job with the grills too..... necessity is the mother of invention.

[6 Grrrs]

Yesterday the hood & trunklid was wet sanded & buffed. Then the whole car was buffed/glazed. The color really pops now. I'm guessing in a few more months, the paint on the hood & trunk will cure some more & it'll need done again (damn laquer). I finished assembling the car & worked on a few mechanical bits.

Had it out for a drive today. Put about 150 miles on it & went to it's first show & 3 different cruise nights. The whole time my father owned this car, it never was at a cruise in. He used it for daily transportation thru the summer months.

I have a few nit-picks to work out, but for the most part, it ran flawlessly all day.

[Old Blue 66]

Congrats Tod. I'm sure the sense of accomplishment must be overwhelming.

Are you going to put the chrome trim back on the doors -- window moldings??

[Pontiac_Defender]

thats beautiful!

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by Old Blue 66

Congrats Tod. I'm sure the sense of accomplishment must be overwhelming.

Are you going to put the chrome trim back on the doors -- window moldings??

I do not have any of the moldings to put on it. It is one of the many details on my list for this winter.

[Old Blue 66]

Too bad you could do with out them. I think it looks better minus the chrome

[GT182]

She sure looks beautiful. JWD Tod.

Paul is right, it does look good with out the door chrome. But it's stainless on mine Paul... not chromed. Which is one correct? Could they have come either way?

[Old Blue 66]

Naw, its stainless. If its shiney, I always refer to it as chrome.

[Greg Reid]

Red GTOs have never been my favorites (too many non-originals repainted that color) but man, that car sure looks tough. Congratulations on a superb job.

[67blackcherry]

Tod

I can remember seeing those "before" pix...the one with the car in the garage with all that "stuff" on it...

Job well done - you should be very proud!!!

[6 Grrrs]

Thanks guys. I am very proud. I have had it out for a ride almost every day since getting it on the road. Took the family out to dinner in it a few times, took my son to day care, etc. The car runs great & is plenty fun to drive.

I do have alot more planned for the car, but I want to enjoy it for a little bit. The ralley IIs are gonna go away & I'm gonna do heavy sway bars & rear disc conversion. I want to finish the A/C & generally just finish all the little bits that need done.

[merlotgoat]

Beautiful car! Don't damn the lacquer, though. You'll be glad you have it when you get that first scratch and you give it a little light sanding and buff and it's good as new. My fertilizer spreader fell against the side of my car, putting two small dings not long after I painted the car. Smoothed out the dings and spot painted, and now I can't find where I made the repair. Lacquer has it's drawbacks, but it has its advantages over BC/CC, too.

[GTOGreg]

Your car looks great. Congrats on a job well done!