[Scarebird]

Reconfigured the upper radiator hose for better flow/burping of air.

[tom s]

Engine builder came to my house and we did the breakin,all went well.I had the new Comp hydraulic roller lifters in it and they are quiet. Builder found you HAVE to follow the directions to a T.They are the Evolution lifters.Daved Butler gave them high marks.FWIW,Tom

[71GP76TA]

The supervisor.....

[form74]

Pulled the trans out today to be checked as the motor locked up going down the track.

[Verdoro 68]

Took the backroads to cars and coffee this morning. Car ran smooth, no issues. Brakes finally feel good.

That's Mt. Diablo in the background.



Found a cool barn on the side of the road and though the red might make for a nice contrast against the green.

[SD455DJ]

Ken, Love the stance, love the color, love the wheels & tires...one of the nicest '68 GTO's I've ever seen...drool!

Dennis

[Verdoro 68]

Originally Posted by SD455DJ

Ken, Love the stance, love the color, love the wheels & tires...one of the nicest '68 GTO's I've ever seen...drool!

Dennis

I know you've seen a lot of these cars, and have a pretty impressive stable yourself, so I greatly appreciate the complement!

[65 Lamnas]

Played around with the steels in direct and forward drums for my TH400 to get the clearances set at .040. Disassembled my Q-jet to get the castings, linkages and other steel parts plated.

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

Had a very intermittent coolant leak (like, would occur literally months apart) that dripped behind the passenger tire under the fender only after I would turn the car off. Had the same leak last year that spurred a heater core R&R along with all heater hoses and clamps.

Same leak happened again a couple weeks ago, and my heart sunk wondering if my new heater core failed. Would've been super pissed, since the inlet line is double restricted to prevent water slugging, and I splurged and got the higher quality copper/brass unit. Thankfully, I was able to trace the leak to the inlet heater hose connection. When I did the R&R, I used one of the repro Wittek tower clamps - don't use these, at least for the 5/8" heater hose connection. The radius of the tower end of the clamp is too bulky compared to the actual strap, and so the strap ovals out the house and doesn't seal well. It even slightly caved in the copper tube where the tower part sat (luckily the fitting bead was still round). In hindsight, the same leak from last year might've just been the heater hose the whole time, since it was the original hose, and not the heater core.

And so I tried out, as recommended on this forum, a Gates PowerGrip heatshrink clamp (specifically the 32925# one), and admittedly smeared a thin glaze of Waterpump and Thermostat Housing RTV on the fitting to aid in the seal as well as provide lubrication to put the new hose on. Was able to position the PowerGrip clamp perfectly per the instructions, used my heat gun, and it resulted in a great seal which after two tests of running the system up to temp under pressure and then shutting the car down, didn't leak a drop and is bone dry. So far I'm a believer in these PowerGrip clamps.

Could've probably gotten a proper seal using an old-fashioned worm gear clamp like what the factory used (which I recently found out is how W72 cars actually came from the factory: the engine side of the heater hoses used the Wittek clamps, while the heater core connections actually used worm gear clamps) as well, but I wanted to try out these PowerGrip clamps since they are variable tension in response to thermal expansion/contraction, and I don't plan on removing this hose any time soon since it's a bear to get to in that I have to remove the inner fender liner.

So to nutshell, don't use Wittek tower clamps for the 5/8" heater hose connection, at the very least not flimsy repro ones, and the PowerGrip clamps really are amazing!

[Verdoro 68]

The Wittek tower clamps are pretty finicky. I do a little prep to them before I install and I'm super careful when I clamp them down usually using vice grips to keep them straight. Even then I always have extra because some just don't hold. Hadn't heard of the PowerGrip clamps. They look pretty easy!

[Drag Star Le Mans]

I put Holley Retro bright headlights in my 73 Formula and 69 GTO. They are spendy at $200 each but well worth it in you night drive your old Pontiac. Before and after of the Formula.

[65 Lamnas]

Originally Posted by Drag Star Le Mans

I put Holley Retro bright headlights in my 73 Formula and 69 GTO. They are spendy at $200 each but well worth it in you night drive your old Pontiac. Before and after of the Formula.

Are you using factory wiring or do you have relays?

[Drag Star Le Mans]

Originally Posted by 65 Lamnas

Are you using factory wiring or do you have relays?

Simple plug and play.

[triathlonx13]

Originally Posted by Drag Star Le Mans

I put Holley Retro bright headlights in my 73 Formula and 69 GTO. They are spendy at $200 each but well worth it in you night drive your old Pontiac. Before and after of the Formula.

WOW - Really a big difference!

[GtoFM]

Removed LH exhaust manifold to access mini starter. Connected battery cables and tested rotation. Plan to compare compression pressure of each cylinder. If good, will replace worn cam and HFT lifters and move on. If bad, will consider rebuild of numbers matching spare '64 engine.

[BILL BOWMAN1]

Catalina , driver side A arms , new bushings installed, spring cleaned and painted, new Ames idler arm and centerlink arrived , frame rail almost ready for paint . Hope to be back on the ground in a week.

[FirebirdHank]

Cleaned up the G8 with a clay bar. Didn't find any new chips or scratches so that made me feel pretty good.

[form74]

Picked up the new motor for the Formula 😀

[67drake]

Originally Posted by form74

Picked up the new motor for the Formula 😀

No fair! Need details.

[form74]

Originally Posted by 67drake

No fair! Need details.

400 block 30 over with a Stroker kit to make it a 461

E-heads 87 D port

Rpm intake

Roller cam