[mgarblik]

I try to learn something new every day. This numbers matching stuff and really trying to be faithful to OE parts whenever I can is new and challenging for me. If this car wasn't so original, I would not have gone the route I'm on in many areas. Most notably the incredibly restrictive exhaust system and the stock cam choice. Trying to match bolt head markings, exact colors and hues is pretty tedious and not my typical way of doing things.

[nas t eh]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

Most notably the incredibly restrictive exhaust system and the stock cam choice. Trying to match bolt head markings, exact colors and hues is pretty tedious and not my typical way of doing things.

I think it’s great that you are for this car, that said if I was planning on keeping it for a while, I think I’d cheat on the cam a bit and keep the stock one for later when selling.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by nas t eh

I think it’s great that you are for this car, that said if I was planning on keeping it for a while, I think I’d cheat on the cam a bit and keep the stock one for later when selling.

Can't disagree with you. Just kinda wanted to see what a bone stock SD was like to own. Never being able to buy one new, this was as close as I was ever going to get. My 62 Catalina is a SD clone more or less and has 100 more HP. So for a really exciting ride, I can drive that one. Stopping it is even more exciting!!

[mgarblik]

Work is progressing once again! We have had 3-4 days of much colder than normal weather. This is allowing me to have some time to really get some work done underneath the car. It took 4 of us to push the SD into my actual shop so I can get it up in the air on the lift. I had been working on it in my other garage on the floor with jack stands for several months when time allowed. Now up in the air, things are so much easier to get done. The short list: Speedometer cable, transmission dipstick, cooler lines, shift backdrive linkage, starter, lower parts of the engine harness, gas tank, rear fuel and vapor lines, torque converter bolts and cover, parking brake cables, driveshaft, the list goes on and on.

I will post some pics in the coming days. I have 2-3 more days to get as much done as possible. Then I will have to push it out one more time. Hopefully , after the next time I push it back inside, it will leave under it's own power for the first time in 46 years!

[sdbob]

I can tell you from the factory after I broke mine in full throttle upshift into 3rd,Drive was very very firm!!!!! I can still feel it. I had installed different m40 shift kits other cars but the SD was the best. Maybe the torque of the 455. Glad for you that work is progressing. Enjoy those memories.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by sdbob

I can tell you from the factory after I broke mine in full throttle upshift into 3rd,Drive was very very firm!!!!! I can still feel it. I had installed different m40 shift kits other cars but the SD was the best. Maybe the torque of the 455. Glad for you that work is progressing. Enjoy those memories.

As a "Pontiac Guy", since my early teens, I followed everything new coming from Detroit like many on here. I was 14 years old when the 73 SD-455 was all the rage in the auto press and they were just coming out. My mother actually test drove a 73 SD at Moorman Pontiac, my local dealer. I pushed as hard as I could for her to buy it. My dad was not a "car guy" at all. He never owned a decent car in his entire lifetime that I can remember. My mother loved sporty cars and owned a number of them. The SD-455 she drove was red like the one I am putting together. It was VERY expensive and did not have AC. That was a show stopper for my dad. She ended up with a new 1973 Mustang, YUK! It was loaded with options and AC and cost over $1500.00 less than the TA. That was allot of $$ in those days. That was as close as I ever got to having an SD-455 in the family.

So yes, putting this car back together is really special and rewarding for me!

[mgarblik]

Here are some pics from the underneath of assembly progress. I wasn't able to log in for 3-4 days due to site problems. The exhaust system is the last major assembly to go in from underneath the car. Have been working on some small items from the topside as well. Pretty happy with the results. As you can see from underneath, this car has never been off the frame and the entire underneath had been coated with a mixture of hard and gummy undercoating from the dealer. It was a horrible mess. I removed as much as I could with a combination of dry ice blasting and solvent and dozens of hours. Just had to draw the line somewhere.