[Jerry H.]

Originally Posted by Redpiston

What you want them PMD? I eventually will change them. Low on my priority list at the moment. I was thinking about putting some polished 17x8 Year One Rally IIs on it.

I have a very nice set of original 14" steel wheels that fit this car if you have a need for them. Very reasonable.

[blubomber]

Beautiful black with parchment interior '66 2+2 convertible for sale on E-bay now from a classic car dealer in St Louis. Lots of options: power windoes, powere drivers bucket seat, hard back bucket seats, 421, tri-power (not sure if that was an option), automatic, convertible, 8 lug wheels, red line tires.

I personnaly do not care for the fender skirts on the Catalina/Ventura/ GP's

Way to much money for me but a good source of pictures.

[duncan2plus2]

I live in So CAL and have a decent set of four 8 lugs and wheels mounted on white wall tires that would look great on your new 2+2. If interested, give me a call
Duncan
951-316-9927
BTW your car looks very nice...have fun with it.

[team1360]

I would be interested in the sizing of those wheels....B.S., tire size, etc....

Oh, sweet car!!

[duncan2plus2]

the 8 lugs are OEM hubs and rims. They are 14" size and the backspacing is very close to 4".
The tires are Cooper Dominator touring MRII size P215/70R14.
If you send me your e-mail I can send you additional pics and info. showing the condition and thicknesses of the steel liners.
my e-mail is [email protected]

[Redpiston]

Attached are some pics after a bath and some LUV. Got to get it used to what it should expect and get the karma right with it.

[Redpiston]

Originally Posted by duncan2plus2

the 8 lugs are OEM hubs and rims. They are 14" size and the backspacing is very close to 4".
The tires are Cooper Dominator touring MRII size P215/70R14.
If you send me your e-mail I can send you additional pics and info. showing the condition and thicknesses of the steel liners.
my e-mail is [email protected]

I was looking to convert to discs to make it more drivable. I have to admit I think 8 lugs would look sharp on it. What is required to convert from 5 lug to 8 lugs on the existing drums?

[Redpiston]

Underside of the 2+2 looks pretty good. Would like to do something with the exhaust. Looks small to me. Will have issues getting larger pipes past the starter though. Floors are excellent. Need to replace upper ball joints as the grease caps are busted up. Shocks don't look that old based on the new bolts attaching them. Looks like my biggest issue at the moment is figuring out where she's bleeding. Power steering was practically empty. So I hope that is it. If not, its either the pan gasket,rear main or possibly the pan gasket of the tranny.

[duncan2plus2]

If you go with disc brakes, the 8 lugs I have won't work. There was a company making disc brake compatible 8 lugs...think it was called Arrowhead Industries.

Switching to 8 lugs from the 5 lug wheel is not too bad actually. The front finned 8 lug hub goes on via the front spindle nut. The finned hub is actually the brake drum.
The rear 8 lug drums bolt on using a std 5 lug pattern and again are the brake drums.
The spindle nut up front and the inside 5 lug bolts on the rear are hidden under the center caps.
The tires are mounted with an 8 lug ring wheel (similar to the old Model As) and lug bolt off & on.

The 8 lugs throw off heat much better than the steel wheels. My 2+2 convertible stops quite well with minimal fade. I had a 66 GTO years ago with steel wheels and the fade was lousy...almost no braking at the outer ends of stopping.

If you plan to drive the car a lot of miles you are probably better off with the disc compatible ones now on the market. Mine are OEM and the steel linings are OK and for typical local car show driving would be fine but won't necessarily last very long under high mileage use. There is a company that does re-lining but not sure of the costs...could be pretty pricey. The rear linings take most of the wear and the rear drums I have are down to about 1/16 inch. The fronts are still much thicker as would be expected.
I hope this helps. If you are still in PHX you are more than welcome to come over to take a look at them.

[Redpiston]

More pics:

[Redpiston]

More pics, last set:

[duncan2plus2]

You probably know this but Pontiac used rope seals on the 66 engines, including the 421's.
They are a real pain in the butt to install properly and still often leak especially on engines that are only driven occasionally.
There is a preformed Cadillac seal that can be used but a long time friend and Pontiac engine rebuilder told me they often leak as well.
I also hope its the pan gasket as the rear main seal replacement is a biggie. Supposedly some of the old school Pontiac techs could do it with the engine in the car but I can't imagine even trying it. I did mine during the engine rebuild with the 421 on an engine stand.
Good luck.

[Big Bear]

Nice find. Like the color and a set of 8 lugs would set it off. If your rear main is leaking use the viton seal from BOP Engineering. I replaced the seal in my TA three times with rope with little success, then went to BOP's seal. No more leak. Barry

[blubomber]

You might want to consider going with the Long Branch exhaust manifolds and exhaust for the car. It doesn't appear that the car has them installed. There is an aftermarket starter you can install that is smaller to allow better access once the long branch is installed. See the 67-76 Full size forum for more details from David Brown.

[Redpiston]

Did some digging in the car tonight. Found 4 of the rocker trim pieces under the back seat. Just need the 4 short pieces that go on either side of the doors and the left rear wheel well trim and I think I will have all exterior trim.

[Redpiston]

Looks like I have lots of electrical tracing to do. None of my interior lighting or equipment work. Fan doesnt blow, AC compressor does not engage, top motor does not engage, radio does not come on. Will have to get the wiring diagram and start testing for power everywhere starting at the fuse block. The only lights I have are the dash. Brights indicator does not light though. Top headlights work and change to bright, but lowers do not illuminate at all.

[LASJayhawk]

Top should be on a breaker in engine compartment off the hot buss.

AC requires both the heater fuse ( to power the master relay) and the AC fuse in the harness by the alt. to work.

I'll have to think about the headlights.

[geeteeohguy]

Great find! Top headlamps are lowbeams, but go bright when Hi beams are selected. The bottom lights are Hi beam only. As for your license plates, the "T" prefix plate you have is a 1966 vintage plate. It would have been on your car in '66. Starting in the mid-late 1970's, California required a month sticker on the license plate. Prior to that, the sticker was swapped side to side every year. The car owner was instructed to scrape off all of the previous year stickers on the L/H side of the rear plate, and install a month sticker. Been that way ever since. I like the idea of parchement seat covers and maybe door panels, but keeping everything else blue. It would really look sharp. Love those big boats!

[65 Cat 2+2]

Very nice looking 2+2. You need to register it at www.Pontiac2plus2Registry.com.
Welcomer to "The Darkside"!

IMO all Big Pontiac's of that era are enhanced by the look of 8-lugs. Installation is no more complicated that swapping out your wheels - unbolt old ones, bolt on 8-lugs. As for braking, the 8-lug hubs are very fade-resistant. I have driven my '65 over 22,000 miles, including many 1/4-mile passes at the drag strip @ over 100mph, and my (manual) brakes worked fine with the 8-lug drums. I don't feel the need for disc brakes.

[Deadhead]

Originally Posted by 65 Cat 2+2

Very nice looking 2+2. You need to register it at www.Pontiac2plus2Registry.com.
Welcomer to "The Darkside"!

IMO all Big Pontiac's of that era are enhanced by the look of 8-lugs. Installation is no more complicated that swapping out your wheels - unbolt old ones, bolt on 8-lugs. As for braking, the 8-lug hubs are very fade-resistant. I have driven my '65 over 22,000 miles, including many 1/4-mile passes at the drag strip @ over 100mph, and my (manual) brakes worked fine with the 8-lug drums. I don't feel the need for disc brakes.

X2 If you use asbestos shoes you will have no problem. If you use shoes with any level of metallic in them, that is where the problem is. And, with 8 lugs, you do not want the metallic either for wear. I run the hell out of mine, and while it may not stop the way my '01 2500 HD does, it works.

Also second the Viton seal from BOP. Like it better than Graphtite. BUT, you must follow instructions exactly. I used a small file to get it perfectly flush.