[Verdoro 68]

Road trip day 2. Indio -> Tucson. Lots and lots of desert. The car continues to run like a champ. No issues on today's gas with the lower compression. The only issue we've had is (oddly) with the Wagner PCV valve leaking at the valley pan grommet. A little bit of oil pools up in the front of the valley pan every couple hundred miles. Not a big deal, we've been cleaning it up when we get gas. Hopefully that remains the extent of our issues.

Heading out of California we passed a cool old GMC motorhome on the freeway and gave each other approving nods.

At the hotel we ran into Dalton from Pole Barn Garage. I think Cole was a little star struck because he didn't say a word while Dalton looked over the Ventura. He approved of the honeycombs and the plaid interior. We hung out and chatted about Pontiacs for a while. As expected, the interior has been the show stopper with the car. I'm so glad we got the seats in time. The community vibe here is already pretty cool. Tomorrow will be fun.

[Shiny]

Got primer on my front valance that I've been messing with for way too long.

Sufficient to hold some turn signals!

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...d.php?t=874353

[65 Lamnas]

Not really for me so much, but have been working on a super nice, and obviously damn near new SR 1971 QJet.

When I got it, there was a “vacuum tree” broken off in the rear TB port. Some of the features on the carb make me think Jack Armstrong put the carb on the engine and proceeded to immediately break off the fitting.

Anyways, I’ve been working on it the last couple days, and it’s looking great so far. Waiting on a part to complete it.

[WQ59B]

A LO-OOONG time comin' / gettin' closer ~

[tempest1964]

Made some headway on my twin belt setup.

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

Originally Posted by 65 Lamnas

Not really for me so much, but have been working on a super nice, and obviously damn near new SR 1971 QJet.

When I got it, there was a “vacuum tree” broken off in the rear TB port. Some of the features on the carb make me think Jack Armstrong put the carb on the engine and proceeded to immediately break off the fitting.

Anyways, I’ve been working on it the last couple days, and it’s looking great so far. Waiting on a part to complete it.

I recognize these photos from your post on FB, I'm pretty sure I'm the one who purchased the NOS timing cover off you. Jim, right? It came in a week and a half ago, looks brand new, thank again.

This QJet body looks immaculate... is that an unwarping jig it's bolted on??

[65 Lamnas]

Originally Posted by nUcLeArEnVoY

I recognize these photos from your post on FB, I'm pretty sure I'm the one who purchased the NOS timing cover off you. Jim, right? It came in a week and a half ago, looks brand new, thank again.

This QJet body looks immaculate... is that an unwarping jig it's bolted on??

Glad you’re pleased with the cover. It looks brand new because it is….lol

The carb is sitting on “feet”.

[Verdoro 68]

Tucson -> Ventura -> Home

Left Tucson Sunday morning and decided to take the long way home up the coast and stop in Ventura for the night just to take a pic of the Ventura by the Ventura sign LOL. Stopped for a pic at the Cabazon Dinos, dinner at In-N-Out #1 in Baldwin Park. In the morning we explored Ventura and headed up 101 and drove through Santa Barbara to Slovang via the Los Padres forest. Beautiful drive with perfect weather and great views. Stopped in San Luis Obispo for some tri tip and motored home from there.

Only minimal issues encountered over the 1800+ miles. It used about a quart of oil over the course of the trip. I was expecting much worse.

[SD455DJ]

Wow! What an epic trip! I know you had a great adventure (ad-ventura!!!)!

Dennis

[Verdoro 68]

Definitely one for the books. We'll likely do it again next year and maybe bring the rest of the family. Cole was urging me to stop to look at a '74 Ventura in Indio and a '74 GTO 4 speed project in Palmdale on the way home as Duct Tape cars for next year.

[post toastie]

Originally Posted by Verdoro 68

Tucson -> Ventura -> Home

Left Tucson Sunday morning and decided to take the long way home up the coast and stop in Ventura for the night just to take a pic of the Ventura by the Ventura sign LOL. Stopped for a pic at the Cabazon Dinos, dinner at In-N-Out #1 in Baldwin Park. In the morning we explored Ventura and headed up 101 and drove through Santa Barbara to Slovang via the Los Padres forest. Beautiful drive with perfect weather and great views. Stopped in San Luis Obispo for some tri tip and motored home from there.

Only minimal issues encountered over the 1800+ miles. It used about a quart of oil over the course of the trip. I was expecting much worse.

Thanks for sharing

[VCho455]

Congratulations on a successful adventure. If was fun to see the build up and the posts from the road.

Love the Dino picture. Mine from a couple years ago.

[Shiny]

Took advantage of a beautiful day and sprayed black SprayMax epoxy on the back of the valance. Convenient and it sticks, but the SPI through a gun that I used on the sunny side is a much better coating for when I'm not lazy.

[camerjeff]

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the Main Serpentine Belt of the V8 Solstice was fraying, so today after 60K miles and 20 years I changed it and the A/C belt. Not the worst belt changes I have done, but probably in the top 5. And I found out Mallett had modified both tensioners to fit the tight confines of the engine bay. And to change the idler pulley I will have to remove the cooling fans to get the bolt out. So being time constrained I broke a personnel rule and just changed the belts and not the tensioners. It had to be ready tomorrow for the Horsepower for Hero's Show/Rally. I didn't trust the fraying belt for the 100 mile Ralley.
Hope to have fun for a good cause tomorrow. And I have a winter project to take off the tensioners and modify them to fit using the originals as guides. I may have to put off retirement for a week or so. So I can use the shops Mill to modify them.

[Verdoro 68]

As if on cue, the Ventura started having problems right after we got home. We got so lucky this stuff didn't happen on the road! Today was a busy day fixing stuff..

Last night Cole came home from his girlfriend's house around midnight and woke me up to say his car was spraying coolant everywhere. The one heater hose I didn't replace cracked. I punted on it before the trip because it's a PITA to replace as you have to drop the inner fender. I should've done it when I had the fender off. So installing the new hose was today's first task.

When we were in Tucson, I broke one of the crispy fuse holders and broke off one of the alternator wires when I was reinstalling the belts after racing. We fixed it enough to get us home, but it looked ugly. I rewired all that today with the right connectors and made it look nice with shrink tubing.

The car developed a trans leak in the last miles of our trip. It looked like it was coming from the rear seal of the trans since it was sprayed all over the underside of the tunnel. I don't really know why it would be leaking there with a relatively new seal, but I pulled the tail shaft off the trans and installed a new bushing and another new rear seal. The new seal did fit tighter to the driveshaft yoke so maybe it will help. No signs of wear on the yoke.

The car also had a mild vibration around 60-65mph when we were cruising. It doesn't feel like an out of balance wheel, and was there before we swapped wheels, so I thought I'd try new u-joints since I had the driveshaft out. They didn't feel crazy worn out when we were prepping for the trip, so I left them. I ended up replacing them today with Moog HD units and while ones in the car weren't horrible, they were definitely loose. I'm not sure if my logic is sound, but I'm wondering if the driveshaft was causing the vibration the leak might have been related.

We also found the car is very slow and lazy when it shifts at full throttle. It just kind of hovers between 2-3 for a moment before shifting. One of the guys said this is a common TH350 thing. I figured it meant the trans was just old. I think Cole could easily pick up a half second if we can crisp up the shifts, so I installed a TransGo kit this afternoon. The kit mentioned fixing the 2-3 shift, so maybe it is a common problem. We'll see how it goes. After working on this TH350, I can say I definitely like working on a TH400 better.

I got everything buttoned up around 7:30 but was a little short on trans fluid, so I'll have to test drive tomorrow. Still gotta find and fix the oil leak that's dripping down the filter...

[WQ59B]

Did the Hurst 'Stage 1' modification (shimming the pump spring) on my car's transmission. Seals & filter already replaced. Next up: mating it back with the motor.

[71GP76TA]

Put original wheels back on and gave it a much needed bath.

[67drake]

Dropped the ‘55 off at the upholstery shop. They’ll have it till spring. Turned out to be a great 60 degree day to drive it 100 miles!

[Jack Gifford]

Struck up an email conversation with a guy in Norway who recently acquired a '26 Pontiac coach like mine. We'll be talking more- he got luckier than me and located a '26 shop manual!
His Pontiac was sold new in Norway, after all the pieces being shipped and then assembled there. Interesting.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by Verdoro 68

As if on cue, the Ventura started having problems right after we got home. We got so lucky this stuff didn't happen on the road! Today was a busy day fixing stuff..

Last night Cole came home from his girlfriend's house around midnight and woke me up to say his car was spraying coolant everywhere. The one heater hose I didn't replace cracked. I punted on it before the trip because it's a PITA to replace as you have to drop the inner fender. I should've done it when I had the fender off. So installing the new hose was today's first task.

When we were in Tucson, I broke one of the crispy fuse holders and broke off one of the alternator wires when I was reinstalling the belts after racing. We fixed it enough to get us home, but it looked ugly. I rewired all that today with the right connectors and made it look nice with shrink tubing.

The car developed a trans leak in the last miles of our trip. It looked like it was coming from the rear seal of the trans since it was sprayed all over the underside of the tunnel. I don't really know why it would be leaking there with a relatively new seal, but I pulled the tail shaft off the trans and installed a new bushing and another new rear seal. The new seal did fit tighter to the driveshaft yoke so maybe it will help. No signs of wear on the yoke.

The car also had a mild vibration around 60-65mph when we were cruising. It doesn't feel like an out of balance wheel, and was there before we swapped wheels, so I thought I'd try new u-joints since I had the driveshaft out. They didn't feel crazy worn out when we were prepping for the trip, so I left them. I ended up replacing them today with Moog HD units and while ones in the car weren't horrible, they were definitely loose. I'm not sure if my logic is sound, but I'm wondering if the driveshaft was causing the vibration the leak might have been related.

We also found the car is very slow and lazy when it shifts at full throttle. It just kind of hovers between 2-3 for a moment before shifting. One of the guys said this is a common TH350 thing. I figured it meant the trans was just old. I think Cole could easily pick up a half second if we can crisp up the shifts, so I installed a TransGo kit this afternoon. The kit mentioned fixing the 2-3 shift, so maybe it is a common problem. We'll see how it goes. After working on this TH350, I can say I definitely like working on a TH400 better.

I got everything buttoned up around 7:30 but was a little short on trans fluid, so I'll have to test drive tomorrow. Still gotta find and fix the oil leak that's dripping down the filter...

That was one heck of allot of work for 1 day. But nothing you couldn't handle yourself. Sounds like the Pontiac Gods were smiling on your trip and waited until you got home after a fun time. I enjoyed the pics and the "travel log" 20 years from now, you will be recalling all the details of this trip. Using the car for it's intended purpose.