[Thumpin455_GTO]

Originally Posted by BLACKGP

Will the 15 inch rally II wheel be used with this build. And with that 400/200r4 combo, what cam, carb, and exhuast system (mufflers) will you use?

Its getting a 2802 and 1.5 rockers, a Qjet on a stock intake, and a cheap set of Summit headers, cheap summit mufflers, with 2.5" pipes, maybe an X pipe in it. I think I will end up putting the ported 5C heads on it that are on the 455 I pulled from my 70 GTO, and swapping some Comp 995 springs on them that I have laying around. It should make some nice sounds with a slight lope to the idle.

Im thinking either some Ansen slots or Rally I wheels in 15X8 rear and 15x7 front. The rallys with center caps would be more expensive, and Dave doesnt care what the wheels are as long as the tires hold air and drive ok.

Just a cruiser with a little power if Dave wants to have some fun. Right now he thinks he will never see it running, since I havent gotten most of the other projects legal. I have been concentrating on his car more than mine, so that means mine just sit for a while. I want this one running this spring, and with a complete parts car it shouldnt be too difficult. The one thing holding me up is glass, but a member in Wisconsin has it, just need to get down there and pick it up.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Right now I am thinking of stuffing the 326 from the LeMans in this one and adding a Performer intake with a Qjet. Dave doesnt want lots of power, and the old 326 runs ok, so with a couple upgrades it should be fine for him. HEI, the intake, and maybe some headers, but it could still use the stock manifolds with a basic dual exhaust. That would let me use the 400 or the spare 455 in the LeMans and do something fun with it.

I should have masked it better, now I have to shoot more black on the frame and firewall. The brake parts are here, but they have the wrong ends on them, so I need to do some flares again. Should have just saved the $$ and built them myself. Still trying to decide if I will pull a MC from another car or buy a new one with a booster and put it on. Maybe just roll by the junk yard pick one up and make it work. In a couple days the LeMans will go in the shop alongside the GTO so it can donate parts directly from one to the other. Still need to get a carpet since the LeMans had a junk one in it, but I can do the sound/heat barrier stuff and get everything else done. Havent decided on a headliner, might just build one rather than struggle with bows and creases.





I got my groove back, and I want to work on stuff again. Part of it is the new set of heads I got yesterday for the alky 455.

[BLACKGP]

Its good that you are making the best with what u have to work with. But this car is a REAL GTO, and your 400 (or a 1965 big car 389) with some "day two mods" can get the job done. The slot mags on the car, who made them? U.S. Mags or Ansen Sprints? With proper sanding and polishing maybe you can save em. Just a thought.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Thanks, the LeMans I got from RAJohn would have been a faster build, but this is what I started with and its pretty close now. Its a GTO so its worth saving IMO, even if it was rusty as hell before, I am not doing it for a living or for profit. To me its fun and I get to learn new stuff doing it.

I only have two 15" slots, and the 14" wont clear the calipers, so it would mean a new set of wheels. There is nothing wrong with the slots other than the size issue, they polish up nice without too much trouble. I am thinking of doing some swapping of tires around, giving this one the wheels that are under my 70 GTO right now, and putting the set of Centerline wheels under the 70 that are under one of the 79 TAs.

I think the 326 and a 2004R will work great for a cruiser. Dave turns 67 this May so no need to put lots of power under his foot. He doesnt want something that is hard to drive, he just wants to feel young again. When Dave is done with enjoying it, then we can pull it apart, paint it back to its original red, and make it more like it once was. Until then, its going to be as close to how he wants it as possible.

[BLACKGP]

What shape is the 326 engine in? Original 2 or 4 barrel 326? Are headers, performer intake with Q-jet, & a 067 cam part of the upgrades?

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Its a 2 barrel engine, and it runs ok without smoke. Might change the bearings and oil pump in it before I stuff it in. Probably not going to swap cams, mainly because I dont want to deal with the valvesprings and the father in law doesnt care if its rowdy or has lots of power. He said a 6 would be fine with him, so I am going to make it look like a stock engine with a couple upgrades. For right now the engine is going to be boring, Dave doesnt want lots of engine to feed.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Decided against the 326, the 400 is going in since its a known engine. Just throw the 5C heads on that are on the 455 right now. It will probably get the 326 valve covers and the exhaust manifolds, no need for leaky headers.

Almost the entire LeMans interior is going in the GTO, its the LeMans I got from RAJohn last year. That car has some rust, but it isnt that bad. Might have it running yet this summer, depends on how much I am enjoying the 70 when its drivable. Since the weather has been in the 70s since last week (incredibly rare for March) work has progressed on the LeMans and GTO, but right now I only have pics of the LeMans. It will stay a LeMans, but probably with a Tempest grill, since they are lighter and I have one in good shape.

Here is the work thats been done since the snow melted and it got all balmy here in the usually white north.

Trunk has some holes but isnt terrible.



Floors have some holes that can be fixed with simple patches, about a days work there.



Trim is in good shape, and some of the interior pieces just need a little attention.



The grill surround is much better than the one I had, so it will get refinished and used on the GTO.



The dash pieces were in great shape. I really wish I would have started with this car, the thing would be a driver now. The wiring is in great shape considering it is almost 50 years old.



The column from this one is going in the GTO, Dave doesnt mind it on the tree, and the horn actually works on this one. Also yanked the brake booster, fender wells and some other small parts. Its nice being able to tell how it goes together, and then just bolting it to the GTO.



Found this cool stamp under the fender on the cowl, apparently this one was built in December 64.




So plans for the LeMans are to fix the rust, build it with extra parts, stuff in a 455/2004R and the 2.93 gear rear in the back of the shop. Maybe the 9" if I bring it from Nebraska at some point. Might paint it the metallic engine blue, Tiger Gold, or back to Mayfair Maize to make it an evil twin to Dave's car. I have a couple different sets of seats that will fit, and I plan to make some door panels for it. It will be a fun driver with lots of power, and might end up with F body spindles, steering box, and thick swaybars turning some 17" wheels, in the interest of science.

It is not going to be parted out, just donate some parts and then be reborn into something that would scare the little old lady who used to drive it. I always wanted a 65 of my own, now Dave and I will both have one.

[64woodwheel]

Nice to see the correct PS pulley for a 65.

[BLACKGP]

What trans and rear end will you use in Daves Goat?

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Considering the LeMans was pretty much unmolested it should have the right pulleys. Im trying to figure out how to make the short early cover and accessories fit a 400 or 455. The balancers are different, so getting it all to line up would be a problem. Someone probably has a solution to it, just havent looked.

Whatever rear the LeMans has under it is what the GTO will get. Its a ways from needing it, so I havent checked to see what gears it has. I have a choice of transmissions, Th350, Th400, and 2004R. It depends on the gears in the rear end and what trans I feel like rebuilding. I would like to do the 2004R, OD is nice and the lock up converter would get better mileage, but if the rear is a 2.56 then it doesnt need the OD, cruising around here with the 55 speed limit would be problematic since it could be lower than idle speed.

[64woodwheel]

Originally Posted by Thumpin455_GTO

Im trying to figure out how to make the short early cover and accessories fit a 400 or 455. The balancers are different, so getting it all to line up would be a problem. Someone probably has a solution to it, just havent looked.

You can run the entire 65 accessory drive system (timing cover, water pump, PS pump, and pulleys) on a 400 or 455. That's what I did with my 64 ('64 setup) . To make it easy, everything needs to be from the same year.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Good info, as long as the late balancer puts the lower pulley in the same spot, we should be good then. It will be nice having a 400 that looks the part under the hood.

Only have to pull the rear bumper, taillights, and steering box now. All that can wait a bit, and it might actually keep the tail lights if I can get the other sets I have to clean up. Put the Tempest grill in it so it doesnt look so derelict in the yard. With that, its back to assembly on the GTO.

[64woodwheel]

You'd have to use the 6 bolt balancer. 65 stuff won't line up with 68+ balancer.

[Old Blue 66]

Whats going on with the red Goat?

[Thumpin455_GTO]

I dont have a red one anymore, its now yellow. Been working on small stuff, mostly assembly. Need to repaint a couple pieces, and refinish the grille surround. Having an entire car rather than buying a bunch of parts I need sure works nice.

Here is the dash all installed. The wires are mostly connected, need to connect the heater controls then put the radio and defrosting duct back in. For the most part its done.




My daughter has been cleaning the seats and door panels. They came out ok, still could use new covers on the fronts and new door panels, but for now they will work. Better ones will come later.



Then there are the engines. The 455 is on the small cart, the 400 is on the stand. Really need to do some cleaning on them.



Once the power steering box is in this one, then the column can be mounted in the right position. Need to figure out some carpet and sound deadener, want to do dynamat but $$$. With luck, if I get up before noon, I will probably do the engine work tomorrow. Swap the 2802 cam in the 400 and the heads from the 455, button it all up and wait until I can stuff it in. Really thinking about using the front drive from the 326, and the valve covers, so it looks like a 65 engine, since I will have the front off to swap cams now would be the perfect time for it.

Going slow, but the weather is making me stiff and sore. Just barely motivated enough to mess with the cars.

[Old Blue 66]

Looking back, Im not sure why I thought this car was red. Progressing nicely!

[Thumpin455_GTO]

It used to be red, and there is another 65 build on here that is red, but his started out in much better shape.

[Andre]

I have used the white vinyl dye for my '64 seats. That has been about 8 or 9 years ago. You might be able to get a peal white to touch up those seats.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

The seats are worn more than discolored, especially the drivers seat. It could use new foam, springs, and a cover. Dave saw the interior yesterday and said they looked great, so they are going in as is. Maybe later on I will put new stuff in the interior, but for now the goal is to have it drivable by May 5th.

The heads are swapped from the 455 to the 400 and they look pretty good inside. This little 400 should be a nice mover in a light car like the 65.

Here is the 455, doesnt look too bad with its 40k+ miles. It ran on 10% most of the time, and E85 for the last few years, but it didnt see any long trips on E85, so its still kinda dirty in there.



The 5C heads looked pretty good. No problems with the valves sealing up or anything. Just a bit carbon covered.



Then the .040 over 400 with forged slugs but stock rods. It has less than 10k on it, probably about 3k and it had 91 or race gas run through it. It is dirtier than the 455 with more miles. How interesting.



This is the 400 with the heads torqued down, waiting for the front cover and an intake. I want to clean it up and paint it again so it doesnt look like it came out of a tow truck.



Going to Dave's for Easter dinner, so that means taking a break from working on the cars. Tomorrow will be a busy day getting things done, finding some foam backed insulation, and possibly stuffing the drivetrain in.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Swapped the power steering box on this one from the LeMans today, and put the manual column and box on the LeMans. Almost have the foil backed foam insulation done, just need to do the front half. Had some things I wanted to do before I put the foam down, like seal up the manual shifter hole so it doesnt leak water and air. I put the back seat in the car to get it out of the way, should keep it from getting greasy or cut too.



The engine might go in tomorrow or the next day, need to figure out which transmission it will use for now. Been holding off until I got the column and box swapped, and figured out the brake lines. All of that is to the point where the engine can go in, so its just the trans holding that up now. There is a Th400 sitting here that would work nice, and the 2004R is on the stand. Might just put an empty case in to hold the engine up and get it out of the way. Shop space is getting tight with all the parts laying around the car waiting to go on it.