[tharkun8]

Hi all,

I just posted an update in the 'Lets see your big cars' that Ive finally
really begun my first car resto.. and Matt (Engine-Ear) suggested that
this might merit its own thread.

So in the interest of completeness Ill start with a short history and pics and
info of the car as I got it and Ill update it as I go along. If you don't want
to read the history then just skip on ahead to the 2nd posting where ill start pics...

.................................................. ................................................

I got bit by the car bug when I worked at a Sears auto around my first years
in college. I got into IT after college and never wrenched again until my wife
and I went over to her parents house 1 night and there was a 64 Bonneville
convt in the driveway. A few months later her stepdad passed away
unexpectedly and I ended up with the car. Driving that car was a revelation..
I loved it.

The problem is it is a Ohio car its whole life and it needs a frame off resto itself.
Since I never did a resto before I didnt want to try doing a car that huge as
my first. Seemed like too big a job for a rookie esp being a convertible.
I moved out to CO from OH and started looking for a project that was less
intimidating.

I found the Ventura here on this forum.. it was being sold by Josh (Fat Cat 2+2)
and it looked like a good candidate . Josh was great to deal with and the
car turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. Enough work to be
challenging without being such a big job that it would be too much to chew.

I bought the car and brought it home and it sat for a few years while I got the
parts I needed to start the job. I was finally able to start...

So on to the pics..

John

[tharkun8]

Here are pics of the car the day I got it home.

The car as new :

1966 Cat 4 door with Ventura package
Barrier Blue with white vinyl top.
Medium Blue interior with front Bench seat
YA 389 Engine
Automatic
2.41 open rear end
A/C
Sport Wheel Covers
Fender Skirts (missing)



Here are pics the day I got it home..

John

[tharkun8]

More pics...

[tharkun8]

last few pics of the first day..

Almost no rust underneath..

love the pic showing the effects of 40+ years
of sun fade...

John

[tharkun8]

I got the car home and just left it for a while while I looked out
for replacement parts.. I pulled out most of the interior while I was
looking but was waiting to take on the real work until I could get all
the parts and a HD camcorder to document the process.

It needed a new nose and grille, the grille punctured the AC condenser
so that needed replacing, the pass front door, and a rear 1/4 to start
with. the 1/4 damage is shown here.

I eventually got almost all the parts from diff folks on this forum -
I got an entire Pass side rear quarter last fall which was the biggest
thing i needed so I was ready to start.

[66bonne]

4 door sedan...now that is cool.
Keep us posted.

[tharkun8]

Originally Posted by 66bonne

4 door sedan...now that is cool.
Keep us posted.

Thanks.. I dont know if Id ever call it cool .. but It will work for me.

I got a new grille,nose and lower grille fascia plate ( not sure what its
actual name is) had them blasted and cleaned up. 1 nose came with
the car so now I have two.. not sure which one ill be using but ill have
to see if Ill eventually sell the other.

Got a new replacement door from Steve B in AZ. Then the last major piece
was a new 1/4 panel. I had to see if the 1/4 damage extended to the tail
panel behind the bumper so I took off the rear bumper and 1/4 panel end cap.
Luckily the damage was only on the 1/4 as best as I could tell. Talked to Jeff
out here in Lamar CO and he was parting out a red 66 Cat 4 door so I bought
a quarter panel from him.

and with most of the parts assembled I began...

to be cont...

John

[tharkun8]

With the interior out and the rear bumper off I figured to move from the rear
towards the front .. though it didnt quite work out that way..

next thing I did was drop the gas tank and empty it. There was enough
dirt on top of the tank to make 2 or 3 baseball fields it seemed like. I also found the
tattered remnants of the build sheet. They are barely readable but they
are still nice to have.

Then I cut off the single exhaust and then removed the drive shaft. I decided
that since I was taking the front end apart that I would pull the engine and trans
together.. since there wouldnt be any radiator support i figured it would be easier that
way.

So I moved to the front and removed the front bumper.. and then removed the bumper
supports from the bumper. both bumpers are dented and bent and it sucks to have
to replace both of them but I think that would still be cheaper then repairing the ones
from the car.

Then I removed the broken grille,nose,and grille fascia plate. Then i removed the
hood,hood hinges, front fenders and inner wheel wells..

and that brings me to today..

The next thing this weekend is removing the radiator support and AC condenser
and to start breaking down the engine compartment to pull the engine/trans.

My process I use is using an HD camcorder to record myself taking the car apart showing
and narrating what Im doing and mentioning anything that might be important later. ( bolt sizes,
orientation, how rusted it seems to be,how i bagged and labeled the parts ,the tub the parts are in, etc.)
then I burn the movies to DVD and number them and put them on a spindle.
Then when Im ready to reassemble the car I watch the DVDs in reverse order and that
should walk be through the process.. theoretically anyway.. we'll see how it works in
practice.

anyhow sorry for all the long posts but I needed to get caught up. The next ones
should be much shorter..

John

[tharkun8]

I thought I would add just one more post tonight..

basically my intentions.. i bought this '66 to be my classroom.
It was cheap and in the right ballpark of work. If I mess up- and
i already have in some minor ways.. then its a learning experience
that didnt happen to my Bonneville. Ive attached a pic of the Bonneville.
It looks so much nicer but it is a much bigger mess underneath.

Since this Ventura is a 4 door and will never really be worth that much
I decided Im going to make it my daily driver when its done. I figure thats
the only way I wont lose THAT much money on it. My driver now is an 07 Envoy and
its nice (and paid off) but I find im liking newer cars less and less...and I will be ready to
get rid of it when the Ventura is finally ready.

My plan is to get the body all cleaned and stripped and fixed then re-paint with
all Barrier Blue BCCC. The Vinyl top is long gone and I hate them anyway.
I'm thinking 15x7 Rally Is for the wheels with disc brakes all around and redone interior.

The engine Im not sure what Ill do yet. Im thinking a + .030 bore and going
to a forged 4.25 crank.. with a roller cam and maybe something like a 3.08 posi rear..
but ill need help with figuring all that out when the time comes.

once the body is broken down and at the body shop for the 1/4 replacement,
Ill start breaking down the engine to see what i have to work with... but I wont have
the money to get engine parts for a while so I can still ponder what I want to do.

Thanks again for reading

John

[OZZIEVILLE 67 2 door]

Love the big cars..
Welcome to the darkside of the hobby..

I've had my Bonneville for 10 years now and am always doing something to it..
The big job now is a rewire
Good luck,as you will realize they are not cheep to restore..

John L.

[Deadhead]

On your engine - going with a 400 would save a ton of $. Since this is not going to be a show car, you might consider this. Pistons etc. are just a lot more reasonable. I chose not to do this but it would have saved me considerable coin. Go for the 068 cam and a double roller timing set. Very cheap and one of the best options you can get for these cars.

Thanks for posting your project. I like the 4 door sedans as sleepers or with the 'unmarked car' look.

[tharkun8]

Thanks John... I love the big cars too.. and I do know about the
'pontiac premium' when it comes to parts and availability.. but then
ive never been a crowd follower.. My wife calls me a contrarian all the time
and says I disagree just to disagree.. and I tell her thats not true.

Originally Posted by Deadhead

On your engine - going with a 400 would save a ton of $. Since this is not going to be a show car, you might consider this. Pistons etc. are just a lot more reasonable. I chose not to do this but it would have saved me considerable coin. Go for the 068 cam and a double roller timing set. Very cheap and one of the best options you can get for these cars.

Thanks for posting your project. I like the 4 door sedans as sleepers or with the 'unmarked car' look.

Thanks DH... Im a bit of a head myself.. and as you can see from my join date
Ive been lurking here for quite some time. Ive learned quite a bit from everyone
including yourself over the years,esp my fellow darksiders.

I know that there is so much more for the 400 and thats why Im putting
the whole engine question off for now.. Ive thought of boring the 389 to
match so I have a greater selection of pistons,etc. but I have to do the
numbers to see where it all falls. Ive also thought of going the 455 route etc
but since this is going to be a DD I figured a 455 would be less economical..

Ill get a 455 for the Bonneville since thats next.

John

[Ragtop Man]

You could do a lot worse than a good "TRW Rebuild" of your 400, coming in about 9-something on static CR, with good mannys and dual exhaust and the factory intake/with a later Qjet. If you really need it you can add a concealed 125 shot to take the worry out of being close.

Spend the money on the driveline, making it hook, steer and stop as well as possible -- that will give you the best bang for the buck in a DD.

Keep posting, I'm getting ready to crack the seal on my 2+2, and your project is great.

[Alf ista]

Great project. Looking forward to seeing the progress. Best of luck with it. Hugh.

[barrierblue66]

Subscribed and watching! Welcome to the "4 door club", which I think I qualify for? Hmm, maybe the "4 door plus"

[Deadhead]

Originally Posted by barrierblue66

Subscribed and watching! Welcome to the "4 door club", which I think I qualify for? Hmm, maybe the "4 door plus"

More Door

[Engine-Ear]

Great thread. Hope it inspires folks to dip a toe in these waters.

Your post about this one being your classroom is wise. Not sure if the '64 is still in the picture but if it is and it's crusty, I'd just leave it as is and drive it.

As for the engine and given the nature of the car (many were built=no harm in changing away from OEM stuff), Deadhead's and ragtop man's input is solid. Think of the driveline as a knife that you're putting an edge on: a 35 degree edge may not be as wicked as a 20 degree edge but it will require a lot less maintenance...in terms of the engine, I wouldn't get exotic. You are building something to drive across country if you want to. Therefore, a 400, stock heads (with a good valve job, including proper valve/seat/guide expenditure), roller-tip rockers, 068 cam, TH350 torque converter (for a few hundred extra lockup RPM), HEI (or a Dave's Samll Body HEI so it looks & fits as OEM), 1969-ish intake, a properly setup Q-jet, long-branch HO manifolds, 2.5" head pipes, Walker 17749 mufflers, 2.25" tail pipes and 3.08 rear gears (Saf-T-Trac is nice but not mandatory) and lastly... ENJOY.

I am eager to see how this goes.

Be well.

[tharkun8]

Originally Posted by Engine-Ear

Great thread. Hope it inspires folks to dip a toe in these waters.

Your post about this one being your classroom is wise. Not sure if the '64 is still in the picture but if it is and it's crusty, I'd just leave it as is and drive it.
...
A, a properly setup Q-jet, long-branch HO manifolds, 2.5" head pipes, Walker 17749 mufflers, 2.25" tail pipes and 3.08 rear gears (Saf-T-Trac is nice but not mandatory) and lastly... ENJOY.

I am eager to see how this goes.

Be well.

Thanks Matt.. like I said Ive lurked here for quite a few years just reading a bunch
before I felt confident enough to start... and that sounds like a good plan.

as for the Bonneville.. its out of commission right now and Im too frustrated with it
to really look at it right now. My plan was exactly as you suggested - drive the Bonnie
while I was working on the sedan... but I spent all last summer completely
rebuilding the front suspension- bushings,springs,ball joints, end links, everything.
There is also some floor rot and the seats needing new upholst. ( being a vert)

I was still going to drive as is but I had a little episode in Feb and I cant quite figure
out what happened.. In early Feb or thereabouts I get in and want to start it just
to get the juices flowing a bit... its prob.. low 50 deg or so..

I get in and start the car.. sounds fine.. I start to get out.. all of a sudden the
engine rpms start going crazy and smoke starts coming out from behind the dashboard.
I shut the car of as fast as I could and just tried to work it out in my
head and I couldnt come up with an obvious answer. Why would the motor seem to go
crazy but smoke come inside the cabin from behind the dash ?

It's likely electrical but at the least I was going to have to open up the dash and
likely replace the entire dash harness.and while I was at that the engine harness..
now that Im in the motor compartment the rear main seal needs to be replaced too,
etc. Before you know it Id be doing the Bonneville anyway... so I decided to push
the Bonneville aside until I can really tear it completely apart and do it right.

Its going to be a big crap job.. the entire underside is coated with old tar rustproofing
and now everything seems rusted solid under all that rotted cracked tar coating..
plus I have worries now about the frame condition.

Arent you glad you got me started ? but that adventure will be its own thread lol

So.... only 1 car at a time.. and the Ventura while looking worse still seemed like
less of a job. So I am poncholess til the Ventura is done... but on the good side
thats also what really finally lit a fire under by butt to get the Ventura moving.


John.

[Bonn66]

Looking forward to keeping up with this thread.
Think i've said it before '4 Dr's are way under estimated'!!
How cool are they as factory sleepers
paul

[Stu Norman]

It's cool to the power of 4.