[tharkun8]

More work today..

-removed the steering column
-removed the wipers,wiper motor and vent panel

-removed the kick panel vents and there was 45 years
of leaves,dirt and crud all through the vent channel
and i mangled the pass side kick panel vent a bit.
Got all the visible screws out but it doesn't want to come out.
chalk up another thing to find a replacement for.

all thats left to take off:
- windshield trim and windshield
- wiper linkage
- emergency brake cable from the firewall
( once i figure out how to disengage the gdam little clip)

then its time for the body bolts and the cherry picker...

Im pretty proud of what ive gotten done so far.. I'll be even
more proud if I can put the dang thing back together..

John

[barrierblue66]

Movin' along, I admire your patience John. Like to see the pix of BOF. (body off frame)

[tharkun8]

Hi all..

havent been able to work on the car for weeks.. I had a ton of outdoor
work to do.. and since Im the only one to do it it takes a while .

I finally have the pad on the side of the house to get my bonneville moved
out from behind the Ventura so I can roll the frame out from underneath..
so next weekend Im hoping to get the cherry picker and lift the body off of the frame..

I will have pics and updates of that.. should be interesting.. everything is a first
for me and this will be no different.

Also .. picked up a nice looking 1968 428 block with 4 bolt caps yesterday.
If you want to move 4 doors faster.. add 40 cubes
( and prob a few extra bills in engine building costs )


John

[tharkun8]

Hi all,

was out in the garage for a few hours today.. removed the speedometer cable
( which was hanging loose by the bracket on the driver floor pan) and the emer
brake cables.. and removed (or broke off) all of the body to frame bolts except
2 of the front ones which i loosened... except one in front of the driver rear wheel
that I cant figure out.

for those of you with 66 full sizes.. the shop manual shows bolts ( labelled #5)
in the angled frame right in front of the rear wheel wells but it says they are not bolts ?
the pass side thing was removed but the driver side has a bolt (?) that looks like the
end of a carriage bolt.. no hex nut.. smooth rounded end ..

when i go to lift the body next weekend will it come off of this ? ( as if it was a dowel
or setting pin or something) or is this actually a bolt of some kind that i have to get out ?
I just dont see what tool i could use to 'grab' it to turn..

the task this week is to build a wood cart like the one shown here.. already have the wheels
http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=745431
then next weekend i will be getting a cherry picker and doing the deed.

thanks anyone for your help..

John

[tharkun8]

Hi All,

for those following along today was the day .. body off of frame day..

built a cart like the one in the link in the prev post.. mine had to be
shorter though because my garage door opening was only 78" tall..

knew I could get the cart and car in but wasnt sure I could get the
wheels under the cross members.. as it turned out it wouldnt..
but i took the valves out of the valve stems on the front wheels and
kind of bounced them under the cross members..

I thought the car would be fairly stable on the engine balancer..
nope.. car was tilting and swaying every which way until my
neighbor came out and helped steady the body while i pulled out the frame
and moved the cart into position..

now onto the frame/suspension and cleaning..

John

[tharkun8]

More Pics..

[tharkun8]

Last one.

[70ra455]

Really excellent!

[Heybuck]

You know, you really need to be commended for the way you are documenting this Resto.

Most guys, ME included would have started lifting the body off and not one more picture till the car was sitting on the wooden fram and back in the garage. And by then, it's all too late.

So, I take my hat off to you that you are stopping, taking pics, moving on a bit more, more pics and so on

Good on you

Ian

[barrierblue66]

That's some nice work. You must feel like you are progressing well! I like the roller frame. Seems like you'll have good clearance to work underneath. I never got that far into my GTO, but I would like to replace body mounts one day.

[barrierblue66]

Originally Posted by Heybuck

You know, you really need to be commended for the way you are documenting this Resto.

Most guys, ME included would have started lifting the body off and not one more picture till the car was sitting on the wooden fram and back in the garage. And by then, it's all too late.

So, I take my hat off to you that you are stopping, taking pics, moving on a bit more, more pics and so on

Good on you

Ian

X2!

[tharkun8]

Thanks all..

Ive enjoyed every second of it.. but the cheap phase (disassembly) is just about
over. I just have to strip the frame and get the frame and susp arms sandblasted
and powdercoated.

About 6-8 months ago I looked ahead so I already have new springs, shocks, new
bushings all around sitting in my basement ready to go on. The ball joints are also
new.. they were the very first thing I replaced on this car when I got it .. so once
the cleaning and coating is done the frame will go right back together quickly.

Next expenses. . new fuel lines, Scarebirds Front Disc brackets , new brake lines -
hard and flex. I also am swapping from 4 wheel power drums to 4 wheel power discs.
I still have to delve in to figure out what dual master cyl will work, MC bore size-brake
pedal ratio, which size lines to use,proportioning valve, etc.

A few days ago I got the rear disc brackets off of a 2000 S-10 blazer.. so I can mount
rear discs.. just have to figure out what rotors will work. Read that the system bolts
right on and go.. which it does if you are running 5 x 4.75 bolt pattern. The bolt pattern issue
didnt occur to me until after I bought the parts. The only rear rotors Ive seen at Napa in
5 x 5 don't seem to be deep enough.. but ill cross that bridge when i get there.

Also , when i was at the Pull a part getting the brake brackets I stumbled on a 1978
Olds 98 Regency that still had its Qjet on it so I snagged that as well. According to
Cliffs Book that falls in with the best (common) Qjets cores to start with. It will replace the
Edelbrock 1406 that i was using as a temp Carb.

Im filming the whole process so I know how to put the dang thing back together.. but
I pull out the still camera when I want to post images. I know there were a few who
wanted to see the frame off process so I took my time to document it. Another reason
is to prove that anyone can do this.. if they have the desire, the patience and the
garage space.

If I can do it.. so can anyone.

Thanks for following along.

John

[tharkun8]

I was out there again today doing more work..

mostly it was using a wire wheel on the frame to get the dirt off..
looked like I was in brownface when I came in to shower..

but I removed all the body frame mountings, the fuel and some of
the brake lines and the front wheels and drums.

It was my first time taking front drums off.. to get the inside
bearing out does it come out the front or back of the drums ?

then i got a look at the spindles.. both are similar..

are these spindles toast ? because they dont look like
i would expect.. looks like bad bearings scored the spindles ?
or is this normal ?


thanks
John

[barrierblue66]

Inside bearing out the back. I sneak it by putting the spindle nut on, put the drum on just far enough to catch the nut on the bearing. Give it a sharp tug outward and it'll remove the bearing and seal.

I cant tell on the spindle from here. Only the inch nearest the backing plate needs to be smooth. That's where the bearing rides. Same as the outer edge just after the threads. The middle is usually rough and unfinished.

[63gpman]

The area on the spindle where it is not black are the surfaces that count. I can't tell for sure, but the inner portion of the spindle appears to have a grove. if so, it is likely done for.

The inner bearing (closest to the engine, same as where the grove appears to be) has a seal that needs to be removed to take that bearing out.

[70ra455]

Tharkun ... I too took off drums for the first time today ... I was going to switch 8 lugs in place of steel wheels ... but when I tried to put the 8 lug wheel back where it was originally on the parts car I could no longer fit the wash and bearing and still have enough room for the nut?? Crazy ...

[barrierblue66]

Originally Posted by 70ra455

Tharkun ... I too took off drums for the first time today ... I was going to switch 8 lugs in place of steel wheels ... but when I tried to put the 8 lug wheel back where it was originally on the parts car I could no longer fit the wash and bearing and still have enough room for the nut?? Crazy ...

Huh? Drum on all the way?

[tharkun8]

Originally Posted by 70ra455

Tharkun ... I too took off drums for the first time today ... I was going to switch 8 lugs in place of steel wheels ... but when I tried to put the 8 lug wheel back where it was originally on the parts car I could no longer fit the wash and bearing and still have enough room for the nut?? Crazy ...

Havent run into that. Maybe the bearing shifted inside the drum ?

My drums arent going back on so all that matters to me is that my
spindles are in good shape. Im going with Scarebirds front disc bracket setups
on my rebuild. I like the 8 lug wheel look.. but not enough to pay to keep drum brakes.
What sucks when going to discs is 14" rims cant be used.. so Ill have to
get some 15x7 wheels eventually..


John

[tharkun8]

Hey all,

more work today.. took the last thing off of the frame.. the rear end.
took off the rear brake lines.. drained the differential and removed it..
took off the rear control arms and the last rubber bumpers..

so the frame is now completely stripped and going to the blaster/powdercoater
as soon as I can scrape up the $$$.

reading up on how to remove the companion flange from the front of the
differential.. that is literally the last few pieces to come off of the car.

kind of pissed though.. got the rear disc brake setups off of a 2000 blazer the
way that is supposed to 'bolt right on' to the rear end.. well maybe on an A body
on my B body the bolt holes dont line up.. @$%^@$#%@$#%$^$@%^@
I wouldnt have thought A and B body flanges would have different bolt configs
but apparently they do.

oh well .. i can sell it if someone wants it for an A body but ill prob return it
to the pull a part to get some temp 15" wheels and tires for when i get the
disc brake setups on the fronts.. looks like Scarebird will be getting more
biz from me for front AND rear setups..

anyway.. Happy 4th All..

John

[63gpman]

Sounds like things are moving along. Honestly, with your build, I would seriously consider keeping the drums in the rear. You should still have great braking power for what you are doing here, but that is my opinion and it is your build.

Keep up the progress, nice to see these getting worked on, lots of builds going on here on the PY board lately.