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#1101
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Nice Ken,! I definitely have to check that out as I am in the market to buy a distributor. Where did you buy that?
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********************************* The 1970 Pontiac Firebird Formula 400... Lean, mean, tire-scorching machine! |
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#1102
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Directly from Progression Ignition. It's pretty cool tech if you're into that sort of stuff.
https://progressionignition.com/prod...gories/pontiac I'm trying to figure out a good curve to start from. I suppose the easiest way to start is to document how the current distributor in my car is curved and transfer that over.
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Ken '68 GTO - 464 - Ram Air II heads - 236/242 roller - 9.5” TSP converter - Moser 3.55 Truetrac (build thread | walk around) '74 Ventura 350 '69 AMC Javelin SST |
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#1103
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60 degrees here today. I figured I’d get the cars out for some exercise. Took each one on about a 20 mile loop.
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‘63 LeMans- ‘69 400 w/ original transaxle. 2.69 gears. ‘55 Catalina ‘62 Mercury Meteor-all original, bought new by my grandfather 71' GTO -original 400/4-speed/3.23 posi 13.95 @ 102.1 on street tires @ 4055lbs.-now my sons ride |
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#1104
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Busy weekend on the cars. Great weather for tinkering.
I went to install the Progression distributor on the Goat thought I'd warm it up so I could write down the current advance curve. I fired it up and within a couple minutes the idle got erratic and the car shut off. I installed a new fuel pump a few weeks ago and apparently it wasn't up to the task. The end of the arm broke off inside the pump! Fortunately, I saved the old one, reinstalled it and was back in business. It took about an hour to install the distributor - super cool piece. I didn't get to take the car out because we were finishing up the carpet on the Ventura, but I did get an initial curve dialed in. Back on the Ventura...I wasn't happy with the green paint the shop mixed up as it was too light and I went on the hunt for something closer. I probably went through 10-12 different off the shelf greens before finding Krylon Italian Olive which is almost an exact match. So, we repainted all the interior plastic. Cole had to work on Sunday so I kept going and installed a new package tray, new a/c vents, reinstalled the repainted panels and finished with new sill plates. Got things wrapped up just as the sun went down. Original mix by the paint shop is on the rear door panel and part of the kick panel: Some of my green paint collection: The winner! Repainted rear door panel:
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Ken '68 GTO - 464 - Ram Air II heads - 236/242 roller - 9.5” TSP converter - Moser 3.55 Truetrac (build thread | walk around) '74 Ventura 350 '69 AMC Javelin SST Last edited by Verdoro 68; 03-10-2025 at 12:28 AM. |
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#1105
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Finally got around to fitting my new Summit Racing mini starter which was a royal pain as the mounting block fouled the headers. After removing a small amount of the mounting block all was good. Sorted the poor earth strap mounting point from the engine to the chassis mounting. Fitted a new gearbox modulator, and sorted a minor oil leak from the oil pump/pressure gauge line union. Fitted another new set of ignition leads as I didn't like the neon blue ones I bought the previous week. All that and manged to get in a local car show at the Krispy Kreme and win first prize (Box of KK doughnuts minus 4 for my friends at the show). Good to to see the sun out and the start of the car season!
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#1106
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Had ACP Classicos (Portugeuse AAA) haul the Lemans to an exhaust shop to repair damage done by the Customs warehouse. They did superb work.
Chanced driving back as the weather has been constant heavy squalls and the wipers are not working. Going across the Ponte Vasco de Gama. Cost about $105 to fill the tank with 95 Simple (they have 98 too). |
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#1107
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looks nice there....
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Esquire '74 T/A 455 Y-code SD clone previously on Dawson's Creek: '74 T/A 400 '81 AMC SX/4 '69 FB 350 |
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#1108
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it is, king buzzo.
Found the fuse blown in the wiper circuit. Why? I noted that the plug into the motor was just connectors (no plastic plug until I get the delay sorted) and rather tight - so it seems 2 of the wires touched. So some shrink tubing electrically isolated it and now they work. Good thing too as I visited my insurance agent and got caught in a pretty good squall. A bit ago I was trying to decide what car to bring over. Given the long doors, small trunk and worse mileage the Trans Am was sold. Good thing as I am dumbstruck how many people notice this old girl. Most of the cars here are black, white, silver or gray. Lucy Blue sticks out but good - the TA would have been too much! |
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#1109
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Well I walked past my 62 GP today and thought.......maybe tomorrow!
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My money talks to me-it usually says goodbye! |
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#1110
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Installed a new set of wide oval radials and added trim rings to the KR wheels. They reduced the price on the tires by $150/ea so I sad screw it and bought a set.
White cars look too plain without trim rings IMO. And no... there is nothing wrong with the front end.. Pic was taken at a weird angle and the tire is turned at a weird angle.. And yes... it's dirty because I drive it...
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Current Pontiacs -1973 Formula SD455 - #'s auto orig paint 1972 Trans Am - 4 speed orig paint 1966 2+2 convertible - 421 4bbl automatic 1967 Grand Prix - 4 speed orig paint 1967 GTO - 4 speed orig paint 35k orig miles |
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#1111
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Took my LeMans out for a cruise! Beautiful night. Now we await a winter storm.
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Design Engineer | Dakota Digital 1973 Lemans - 350, Centerline Auto Drags and Cooper Cobras |
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#1112
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The main shop is on hold currently, finding a contractor that returns emails is tough here. A mechanic friend here has a close friend who does this sort of masonry thing. I am having him enclose a walkway and convert it into a garage - the Lemans snuck in and notes it's approval:
Some friends had me over for dinner, they noted a car swap meet thing going on in our hometown. So the old girl rumbled down for a visit. To say this car turns heads would be a British-level understatement. So entering the complex (local expo center) was interesting. They put the Lemans right up front. There was a lot of other interesting kit about; a 74 (?) Mk. II Escort - very clean lines, Minis, buncha 2CV's and a lot of BMW's. Inside was mainly motorcycle stuff; not much in the way of intakes, cylinder heads etc. A lot of toys and for some reason multitudes of headlights. There was of course a functional bar that even at 10:30am was doing a land office business. Portugal... My friend Andre turned up and gave a nice tour. By the time I finished the inside the number of cars outside had tripled. The Pontiac was soaking up attention. Strangely, no other car had their hoods up? A couple spots down was an early 70's Opel. I wonder if GM used the same colors over here? Last edited by Scarebird; 03-16-2025 at 12:39 PM. |
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#1113
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Update on paint:
The time period shows a Blue running in availability the same time as Lucy Blue, even though the codes are different. My guess is they are the same: Exterior Colors - Factory Code, Name, Plaque Number 1969 Colors 15 - GT Metallic Green / Forest Green - 336 BB - Sand Beige - 448 CC - Sun Yellow - 450 DD - Regal Gold Met. - 447 HH - Strato Blue Met. - 235 JJ - Rallye Red - 520 PP - Spring Green Met. - 338 RR - Brilliant White - 451 UU - Metallic Silver - 135 1970 Colors 16 - GT Chartreuse - 406* BB - Sand Beige - 448 CC - Chrome Yellow - 446 DD - Aztec Gold Met. - 404 GG - Copper Bronze Metallic - 507 HH - Strato Blue Met. - 235 JJ - Flame Red - 508 PP - Spring Green Met. - 308 RR - Brilliant White - 451 SS - Sunburst Yellow - 407 UU - Metallic Silver - 135 WW - Rallye Orange - 513 ZZ - GT Chartreuse - 406* * Some sources have this as ZZ, others as 16. 1971 Colors CC - Alpine White - 416 DD - Strato Blue Met. - 235 GG - Aztec Gold Met. - 404 HH - Jade Green Met. - 304 PP - Astro Silver Met. - 135 QQ - Rallye Gold - 411 RR - Flame Red - 508 TT - Antique Bronze Met. - 412 XX - Fire Glow Orange - 529 YY - Chrome Yellow - 446 1972 Colors CC or RR - Alpine White - 416 DD or HH - Strato Blue Met. - 235 HH or PP - Jade Mist Met. - 303 QQ or SS - Rallye Gold - 411 RR or JJ - Flame Red - 508 TT or GG - Antique Bronze Met. - 412 XX or WW - Fire Glow Orange - 529 YY or CC - Chrome Yellow - 446 UU - Astro or Grecian Silver Met. - 135 1973 Colors CC or RR - Alpine White - 416 DD or HH - Strato Blue Met. - 235 HH or PP - Jade Mist Met. - 303 QQ or SS - Rallye Gold - 411 RR or JJ - Flame Red - 508 TT or GG - Antique Bronze Met. - 412 XX or WW - Fire Glow Orange - 529 YY or CC - Chrome Yellow - 446 SS - Grecian Silver Met. - 135 |
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#1114
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Last night I finished wrapping up an 8.5 A body rear end to ship out. 129 lbs. with probably 10lbs of tape and cardboard!
__________________
‘63 LeMans- ‘69 400 w/ original transaxle. 2.69 gears. ‘55 Catalina ‘62 Mercury Meteor-all original, bought new by my grandfather 71' GTO -original 400/4-speed/3.23 posi 13.95 @ 102.1 on street tires @ 4055lbs.-now my sons ride |
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#1115
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Wife pulled the driveshaft and front springs from the parts shelf. She sanded the driveshaft and blasted the springs.
I was relegated to painter for those pieces. |
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#1116
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Tore the dash apart on the Ventura. Painted the dash and column. Replaced the broken a/c and heater cables. Cleaned all the ducts and installed new foam seals so there will actually be some air flow when we get this thing back together.
Cleaned up the dash housing and took a chrome pen to all the highlights. A few years ago Shiftworks made a tach that fit in the clock blank. They've been discontinued a while, but I found one on Marketplace a couple weeks ago, so we installed that in the freshened up housing and cluster. Took the Goat out and tinkered with the new distributor. I like it.
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Ken '68 GTO - 464 - Ram Air II heads - 236/242 roller - 9.5” TSP converter - Moser 3.55 Truetrac (build thread | walk around) '74 Ventura 350 '69 AMC Javelin SST Last edited by Verdoro 68; 03-16-2025 at 11:32 PM. |
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#1117
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Did some research and figured out what parts to go with for my 400 rebuild. Ordered rings, main and rod bearings, oil pump and drive, and timing chain. Gotta get back out in the garage now that it’s warming up a little.
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‘63 LeMans- ‘69 400 w/ original transaxle. 2.69 gears. ‘55 Catalina ‘62 Mercury Meteor-all original, bought new by my grandfather 71' GTO -original 400/4-speed/3.23 posi 13.95 @ 102.1 on street tires @ 4055lbs.-now my sons ride |
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#1118
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I ordered a ton of parts from our host over the weekend. The fan shroud, the AC rad seals, all the clips, etc. Fuel lines. Also ordered virtually all of the emblems, the wheel well mouldings, the quarter panel gills, and then some interior parts.
This is all in anticipation of getting the car cleaned up and wrapped in vinyl. We got a price of about three thousand dollars from a place that we know does great work. Painting is out of the question. The order of magnitude estimates that we received were insane. We think that the car will look presentable with a satiny wrap in the closest color to the original Montego Cream, with the new emblems and everything. Anything else we will polish as best we can. Also ordered a bunch of stuff from Rock Auto. I'm hoping that a "Low Profile" fan clutch will position the fan blade back from all the way into the shroud. I guess the present location in relation to the shroud is a result of an 11 bolt water pump on our '67. The list goes on. New wiper motor, all new front brake lines for the disc brakes, rebuilt 4 piston calipers, etc. So were going to be busy. |
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#1119
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Not a damn thing...
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Current Pontiacs -1973 Formula SD455 - #'s auto orig paint 1972 Trans Am - 4 speed orig paint 1966 2+2 convertible - 421 4bbl automatic 1967 Grand Prix - 4 speed orig paint 1967 GTO - 4 speed orig paint 35k orig miles |
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#1120
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I did a little pre driving season Maintenance on the Mallett Solstice, Oile & filter change, rotated the tires. Stareted thinking what else needed to be done before Driving it in June from Michigan to Taos NM. I looked and the Colant and Brake fluid are now 5 years old so time to change those out. Maybe do a fuel injection clean and change the original 19 year old spark plugs, they only have 53K on them but better here than somewhere along Rt 66 in June!
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Jeff R 60 Jaguar Mark 2, 3.8L Automatic 67 Sprint Firebird 230 OHC-6 4-Speed A/C 1971 Fiat 130 Coupe 3.2L SOHC V6, ZF 5-speed 78 Catlina Safari, Pontiac 400 powered 77 Astre Formula, 215 Buick V-8 T-5 73 Lemans Safari, 400 4bbl 4-speed 71 Catalina Enforcer, 455 4bbl 05 Dodge Magnum 3.5L SOHC V6 06 Mallet Solstice #024 LS2, Now with a Tremec 6060 6-speed! 2012 F-150 Echo Boost (My local Ford Dealer SUX!!!) 2020 Dodge Charger Scat pack (recovered) |
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