[BB70]

Making some progress on some things. Wetsanding the paint on my hood finally and then getting the off idle- part throttle cruise dailed in. A 270 @ 50, 688 cam in a 4 spd car is a challenge with no afr gauge.

[67drake]

Well, I finally talked to an upholstery shop willing to do my Catalina. It’s an hour and a half away, so she agreed to start with me sending pictures, telling her everything I want done, and she will track down if any “kits” are available. If not she has to stitch everything from scratch by hand, it’s obviously more expensive. So I sent off about 25 pictures yesterday.
Also found a NOS light up hood ornament, wasn’t cheap, but should be here by Thursday or so.

[OCMDGTO]

Drove it to the beer store

[tempest1964]

Converted my 1964 30 ohm 3/8” sending unit to have a vent return line,

[kingbuzzo]

nice mach

[srmmmm]

TCI finally shipped my TH350 and converter back to the House of Hotrods, so I stopped in to check on the progress. Everything went back in place nicely and the transmission came with a full spec sheet that looks like they really ran it through its paces on their dyno.

The tech had worked through most of my follow-up punch list discovering more things unique to the '70 Firebird. I had an NOS fuse block and dash harness for the restoration that was appreciated by the tech because all the connectors and wires matched the factory manual I gave him. What he found though, was some of the associated replacement parts such as the new turn signal switch and headlamp switch had slightly different connection blades because they covered up to the 1974 model year, and the new column harness was missing a jumper wire. It was enough that the dome light could not be turned on manually and the PRNDL lens did not light up.

A additional ground wire from the motor housing to the firewall got the wipers working properly and a vacuum reservoir tank now supports smooth HVAC vent selection. By the way, the vacuum switch for the heater control valve is unique on this model too. It has a longer actuating arm than other 1970 Pontiac models and is harder to find than a 1970 windshield wiper switch.

The CVF power steering pump and housing were replaced (again), along with the high pressure line. The new 4-row aluminum radiator from Radiator Express and new water pump was installed and the freeze plug at the back of the block replaced. That should take care of the excessive highway operating temps. I'll do a separate thread on the disappointing Edelbrock water pump that came off.

The filter screen had fallen off the fuel pickup tube which is why I ran out of gas after using 14.5 gallons out of an 18.5 gallon tank. The new one has a filter sock that lays on the bottom of the tank but the sending unit is making the gauge read high all the time so it may have to go back.

Lastly, an MSD tach adapter that converts the square wave from the distributor to an analog wave got the tachometer working again, but it is reading at 1/2 speed. It was interesting to see that the 1970 Firebird tachometer was specifically identified in the installation instructions as one needing the adapter. Hopefully, we can get this figured out.

As soon as the sending unit and tach bugs are worked out, the car goes back to the upholstery shop to re-install the driver's seat and redo some trim panel painting. Then back to the body shop for re-alignment of the front clip. The bumper and fenders are sitting about 1/2" farther to the right of centerline and it's causing the left fender to slice into the tire on deep bumps.

Considering it was a full re-assembly of the car, I still think the House of Hotrods did a great job. A lot of the follow-up items were really due to the wavering quality encountered with what is available for today's replacement components and not with their work. They've always taken a sincere interest in providing great service. Just a couple of weeks to go!

[Rachelsdad]

Late to the party (had to resize a couple photos and regain my strength - not necessarily in that order), but it was a busy weekend. For the second weekend in a row, I did shows Saturday and Sunday (enough of that for the season).

On Saturday, I was in Westhampton Beach for what was touted as a Cars & Coffee on the Great Lawn event.No trophies, but in spite of the rainy morning, there was a nice field of cars (several 'Vettes of several generations, a number of Ferraris and Lambos, and a few classic full size cars from Detroit, including a '57 De Soto and a '59 Fleetwood). By noon or so the sun was out, and I as able to drop the top for the drive home.

Upon my arrival in my driveway, however, I noted the telltale gray spotty film on the rear quarters from the rain and road dust, so I had to wash the car before putting her away for the night, as I knew I wouldn't have had any time to prep in the morning.

Sunday was the Goldcoast Cruisers' Waterfront Car Show at Morgan Memorial Park, in Glen Cove. The field opened at 7; I got there just before (see first pic), and got a great spot (see second pic). By the time the field filled, there were several hundred cars there of all makes and models. The Model A club was well represented, and of course, there was the obligatory sampling of early '70's Chevelles and rods, and a really nice selection of fine stock originals and restorations.

A few friends came by and stayed for a while, which was nice, and in spite of the heat (and lack of a breeze coming off of the water, oddly enough), I was able to walk the entirety of the field. I even got to see a '58 Buick Roadmaster convertible which was in pristine condition, and insofar as Pontiacs were concerned, my friend's '60 Bonneville convertible was there as well as a handful of 1st and 2nd gen Goats and Firebirds of all generations.

They gave out awards to the Top 25 cars on the field, and my '63 picked one up (see third pic).

Overall, it was a nice weekend, even if physically draining. (I'm a night person, so my clock going off at 5am is like a middle-of-the-night fire alarm.) Still, I'm glad I did both shows, and particularly honored for the Top 25 award on Sunday; there were a lot of really nice cars there.

[post toastie]

Put gas in the Judge today 5.61 a gallon for 91 octane today.

[BILL BOWMAN1]

Took the beast to a July 4th barbecue.

[tom s]

Got my new spare engine ready for the Dyno.

[Jeff Hamlin]

Another great turnout/event. Been doing this for 15 years now.

AMERICA!

[carcrazy]

Put the headlight bezels on my 67 GTO. Passenger side was a piece of cake but the driver's side has a reproduction fender that had to be "massaged" where the bezel fits. In addition, the upper screws didn't come close to lining up so I had to drill new holes. Also preparing the engine for starting after sitting for a few years......tomorrow is the day!

[b-man]

Gave the love ‘em or hate ‘em wide whites a good cleaning, which they need often especially with the disc brake dust buildup on the front ones.

Took ‘er out for a quick spin the dry out the wheels.

Happy Independence Day!

[Little63Indian]

I took advantage of the 4th of July sale on OPGI and bought a few things for my '63 today. Not a lot, but it's a start.
Bought new armrest bases front and rear, ashtrays and 2 front armrest in white. Also white door jamb windlace.
A package tray with jute in black, a new opticlean label for my original bottle and a new cap. Some taillight gaskets for my NOS lenses, trailing arm bushings, and black lift latch seatbelts to replace the 4" racing belts.

[gtokid1968]

I finally got the rebuilt rear end back in the GTO!
Just need to bleed the brakes, hook up the driveshaft, flush the radiator, and go for a test drive!

[Rachelsdad]

Originally Posted by Little63Indian

Bought new armrest bases front and rear, ashtrays and 2 front armrest in white. Also white door jamb windlace.

Two quick ones, here:

About, oh, 1979, upon hearing that the '63 Corvette shared armrests with the '63 Pontiac coupes & convertibles, I went to my local Chevy dealer and ordered a factory new pair of front armrests for my '63 Bonneville convert. Naturally, the only pad cover color option available was red (LOL), but the parts guy was amazed that they still had any listed as available. Those bases, and the new black covers I made for them, are still in the car, but now in need of replacement. Plated plastic; gotta love it.

Next, around the same time, I noticed that my windlace in front of the rear quarter armrests was getting kind of shabby. I went to my local upholstery shop (Auto Mat Co, in Hicksville, NY), and had new ones made up, which I installed myself.

Last year, I had the seats and carpet done at Auto Mat. Tim, the owner (whose dad made the windlace for me back in '79) asked about whether I wanted to replace it. I replied, "Your dad made that for me," with a big smile on my face.

Tim smiled back and said, "Okay, that stays!"

[camerjeff]

I just moved them around to hang up 3 of the 4 Banners I have had in storage for 10+ years. The actual size Solstice Dealer banner looks good finally hanging up.
The Pontiac Banner was given to me after a Pontiac Sponsored IROC race in the 1990's.

[carcrazy]

Was hoping to start the 67 GTO today but it was not to be....got tied up on some other duties. That said, I did get it cranked and primed.....the oil pressure came right up. After, I Installed new plugs, connected the plug wires and put in some new 93 octane gas. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

[1965gp]

Been pretty busy trying to get things together for the 58 Bonneville. Got brake drums, shoes and hardware on order from CPR. Had to source the front hoses and master cylinder (that might fit) from Rockauto.

The shop is going through the carbs on the Tri-Power… hate the sand residue this new gas leaves in the carbs.

The other shop got the motor out of the 72 TA that had the crazy broken rear main. The 670 heads have definitely been worked over so we will probably use them on the 350 HO instead of the 68 HO heads. Looks like the gear in the car is a 3.42 or 3.55 so we will be going with a 2802 cam. I don’t really care if the 2801 will be better for a 350, I need the choppy idle to be happy with it. Gonna swap the Torker intake for a Performer RPM which should help with drive ability.

[Verdoro 68]

Amazed my wife by shuffling a bunch of stuff around to fit both cars in the garage again.