[78Macho]

Poncho Dave-

Thanks for the reply, excited to hear what you have!

Thanks,
Jim

[78Macho]

I have been eyeing my steering wheel in the car since I got it. The top third section of the steering wheel was extremely worn down past the shiny original blue finish. The horn button was as bad if not worse. I messaged a guy about a steering wheel he had for sale that he had refinished. So I figured, maybe I could refinish mine? Unfortunately, I got a head of myself and didn't take a before picture. This is the after, just picture a steering wheel that should have been replaced!

As you can see, the dash board is trashed! Without jinxing myself, I am hopeful to give you a positive report before the end of the month about a new purchase.

Also, I am looking for a non-A/C engine turned dash faceplate if anyone has an excellent piece for sale please!

[78Macho]

Parts are coming in and the block is back from the machine shop! I am excited that the assembly process will be taking place soon.

This is the new stroker crank from Jim Butler Performance and a beautiful set of pistons and rods!

[Poncho Dave]

Wow, very nice. Really going to wake that thing up!

[TAKerry]

Beautiful, and trust me it sounds great as well!

[Poncho Dave]

Looks great!

[78Macho]

Paint and bodywork are officially off and running. Weather has been really cold in KC. I bit the bullet this week and forced myself into the garage. Sandpaper loaded and the paint dust is flying.

When I purchased the used red dash, to replace the damaged original I had a thought. Wouldn't this car be cool if it had the white seats, but instead of the blue dash and carpet, a red dash and carpet? Patriotic colors! Maybe on another car, but I am not doing it on this one. The original owner Albie sent me some photos of the car when it was new under his ownership. I recently found a vendor that makes reproduction stamped carbon steel license plates. I did a quick search on ebay for used plates and it turns out the original plate for 1979 was white with a red letter/number. Score, my patriotic colors are present and accurate! I had a local sign shop make some correct stickers for them as well!

[78Macho]

We will have to settle for a picture.

Got a call from Joe Sunday afternoon that he had the engine running! He has a stand and set up that looks like if belongs in a Snap On catalog! Engine sounds great! His dad, Jim Hand, was there sitting in a chair with a smile on his face! I asked Jim what his thoughts were and he was impressed! Pretty safe to say that the engine has not run in at least 30 years! I sent a message to the last registered, driving owner. He was so excited that he actually responded! I think there is some fairly heavy guilt on his part. I tried to explain that back in the day, this was a cool car and not anything a collector would bat an eye at. It was special ordered and built to be driven hard. That is exactly what he did. His ownership was a chapter in the book. A good number of really fun cars have been driven hard and put away wet. This one, is on its way back to life!

So grateful for Joe Hand and his passion for Pontiacs and the project cars he has helped rescue for me!

[Joe37]

Pretty sure you are right about the heat shield. The pulleys are for a A/C car, went that way for the extra cooling byway of higher rpm on the water pump. Due to the extra cubic inches, any help with cooling is a plus.

[78Macho]

I got the car home on that Monday night, it was dark and really cold outside, I probably didn't dress warm enough. I got the car in the garage quickly and barely shut it off before the boss started commenting on the exhaust smell in the house...

Sunny and 58 in Kansas City this afternoon. I got the blue car out, put a little gas in the tank and drove it around the block for the first time! What a blast!

Ok, so if anyone is interested in an OEM "Y" pipe for their W72 car, please let me know! Tom and Jack have a jig made to reproduce the pipe they made for my car. I can send additional pictures if needed.

I serviced my air compressor while the blue car was out of the garage. I turned it on this afternoon to air up a tire that had gone down, guess what? A small rust hole in the bottom of the tank.... I had specifically drained the tank several years ago and left the plug open. A step forward and two back.