[Marv]

I have spent an inordinate amount of time looking for an air filter set-up to put on this motor. Originally i was thinking I would bash a nice vintage-style finned oval housing on, but that suits hot rods and '50s cars more than this mid-'60s full size barge.

On top of this, i discovered the stock Carter AFB caburettor i had rebuilt and am using on my motor has a 4in mounting flange (hehe, F L A N G E) instead of the more common 5 1/8in flange used.

This narrowed the options considerably. I could make an adapter to sit on the carb and space the 4in out to a 5 1/8in mounting. Or use the old crusty air filter housing. But it looked sad and would be a (small) restriction on my motor given the small intake neck.

After talking to an acquaintance who is a guru of factory race/performance cars i discovered there was a modification that was common on cars back in the day, including stock cars and stock class drag cars.... and it involves taking to your stock air cleaner with a 75mm holesaw. That sounded like fun to me, so i dressed in triple-denim, fluffed my mullet, drank 6432 beers and fired up the power tools.

The housing will get finished off with a die-grinder (which i dont have), blasted, and then powdercoated. I will then jam a K&N E-1520 filter in it as it is one of the few modern filters that fit in this housing (12in x 3in).

Honestly, i want this thing to appear like a car the Pontiac engineering skunkworks put together using left-over Super Duty parts, so modifying my stock cleaner appeals. I will see if i can get the stock sticker remade to finish the look.

Stock, fine for a 303hp (gross) 6.4L engine






Then i took to it with an angry drill.

[GruntedCatalina]

thats pretty damn awesome! I actually have an old cleaner im trying to re-do. I think its a great idea of going that oldschool race look! Im actually trying to fix up one myself but, mostly cosmetic. I want to put an indian head on mine.

[Marv]

Thanks bud. There isnt a lot of bonnet/hood clearance on these things and i would like to do something different - even though i think there is only a handful of proper US-built '64 Pontiacs in Australia (we got Chev-spec Canadian cars, mostly 4dr posts).

I am going to keep working on tidying up the holes and going for more of a Super Duty look

[Marv]

I tidied up the holes as none of them were aligned. This isn't perfect, and it is hogged out a lot more than the SD air cleaners I've seen, but it will let me run in the stock class at nostalgia drags if I ever run it and you won't see the holes easily as they won't face to the front of the car.




This is the "SD" intake I've seen.

[Marv]

I was going through junk in the garage yesterday and pulled out a parcel of paperwork I'd pulled out of the Pontiac before I sent it to Newcastle, then forgot about.

It's a really, really cool time capsule (IMO) with rego papers dating back to '64 plus service receipts for work done between '71-'04. The REALLY cool bit for me are the letters from salesman Bob Leal of DiGiulio Pontiac to the original owner of my car, Mr Hemry P. Giambruno of 4325 Alder St, Fremont, California, as well as the original dealer receipts and the original books. One thing I never picked up on was that this must have been a company car, as it was ordered through a "Clements Construction" on behalf of Henry Giambruno (who I am guessing was a manager or salesman).

I don't know if anyone else on here is as much a history tragic as me but I really love going through this old paperwork and feel it is a really cool addition to the car. My plan is to scan it and preserve it in a proper folder, then frame the scanned versions of the sales receipt and invoice.



"Honest Bob Leal" doing his best finger guns on Mr Giambruno... now, I don't ACTUALLY know if he was "Honest" Bob Leal but I just get that vibe from what I've seen in this paperwork. I reckon he had a tartan sports jacket, gold tooth and dodgy hairdo.


The original quote - April 24, 1964


I used a website to work out this equates to around $39k AUD in today's money - exceptional value given this would have been Calais V or 6L Statesman spec


26 May, '64 - when Henry must have placed the order


Being this slip is from June '64 this must be the delivery slip.





I reckon I may have voided that warranty lately...



Original Pontiac Ident-O-plate for warranty/service/ID purposes. Rare as hen's teeth!




My olds and I think old Henry was a builder of some sort, and we guessed this is his old trade licence or union membership card or some kind?



I love how the '64 Pontiac manual covers way more technical info than we have gotten in modern cars in years. I also love the names for some of the optional equipment - and there was a stack of options for a '64 Pontiac, including power seats, power windows, tinted windows, power mirrors, air conditioning, a couple of radio options, LSD, x4 different high-output engines, tri-tone trim, power brakes, disc brakes, power steering and more.



















Old rego paperwork

[brucee70]

Marv,

I too love all the paperwork that some owners saved .....a nice look back into the past and shows places they went and how they kept up the car through the years.
I was very lucky when I bought my 63 Bonne Station Wagon from the original owners wife .....he was really anal about saving and documenting EVERYTHING about the car. She was in her late 70's or early 80's when I bought the car in 2000 ....they lived in California as well. She could not understand why I would travel from Virginia to California to have and old car that did not run packed up and shipped across the country. She offered all the paperwork he had saved thru the years ...great window into his mindset. The best was a hand typed out list of all the options with codes and costs of all he wanted on the car before he ordered it. You can see he even went so far as inquire about ordering the Aluminum front end stuff that were special order on Super Duty cars ...only to find out they would not put them on a Station Wagon !!
He ordered like 33+ options (would have to go count again) on the car for a total $6053 ish dollars in 1963 ....very expensive.
Thanks for all your posts, Bruce

[Engine-Ear]

Great info, Marv. Thanks for sharing it with us!

[Heybuck]

Marv,
That ticket for the Lodge shows that Brother Giambruno was a member of a Fraternal Lodge. A bit like the Masons but I don't know if they go into all that secret handshake stuff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benevo..._Order_of_Elks

Most Masons (I've known quite a few) are generally pretty OK sorts of blokes.Sort of guys that don't get up to much shady stuff and will do the right thing by everyone. I imagine that to be an "Elk", you would have to fall into the same category.
Ian

[Marv]

Ah sweet, thanks for the info Heybuck. It is amazing who some of the members of that fraternity were!

[Marv]

Ryan was setting the ride height in the Accuair E-level ECU yesterday and it gave me the first hint at what it will look like on the 17s. I'm going up Monday to start fitting up the power disc brakes and (if I have time) the Lokar throttle and column shift linkage.

[GruntedCatalina]

that looks hella sweet.

[Marv]

Barge goes up, barge goes down, barge goes up, barge goes down...

https://youtu.be/1n3DvBwSEKQ

[hurryinhoosier62]

Looking good, Marv!

[Marv]

Thanks buddy. So close to taking her for a drive!!!

[Marv]

This week in Barge News, some wins and some fails.

I am doing a story on installing A/C for Street Machine so i will just run through the basics here. Ryan and i whipped up the lines, mounted all the hardware for the last time and worked out what we needed for custom A/C line holders for the intake manifold that he will get laser cut.



I got the Vintage Air Gen IV Magnum evap from Rocket Industries for $1100. From Summit i got the dial controls, bulkhead connector, outlets and a TIG-welded compressor bracket to suit the Pontiac V8, for another $500.

I bought most of the other hardware, including condensor, Sanden compressor, drier, binary switch, and all the lines and fittings from Speedy Air Supplies in QLD. Under Ryan's advice i went with the Air-O-Crimp crimp fittings - http://speedyairspares.com.au/catalo...ing-269-1.html

All up I was about $3k into it just in hardware. The labour is around another $2500 at mate's rates, as there is a solid week's work fitting everything. Plus the custom condensor/drier mount, Spal fan, and firewall block-off plate all powdercoated for a nice finish.

Ryan had test run all the lines to work out what fittings and lengths of hose i needed. Once we had that I ordered them from Speedy and they arrived a few days later.












There are 3 basic line sizes to run with this set-up - #6, #8, & #10. The lines themselves are super easy to connect. Once you have the length right just use crimping pliers to tighten the fittings up.







As the crimp fittings use smaller size hose they are easier to snake through tight spots, although fitting everything under the dash, from the back of the bulkhead plate to the evap, was a several-hour-long nightmare.









Sorry about the light in these pics. That is how the workshop looked at sunset!






The brakes turned into a saga. Only 2 of the original lines undid even with brand new crows feet spanners, the kit from Master Power is supposedly bolt-in but the hardlines do not fit, and the pedal linkage is way way way too long. Emails have been sent but i think it will be easier just to customise what i have... which, if i am honest, i expected because "bolt on kit" is a bigger misnomer than a "government for the people".

Also, my nice new finned Edelbrock vintage rocker covers do not fit - rocker clearance to my 1.65 ratio rockers is non-existant and the lip fouls the power steer bracket. I am pretty gutted about that so will try to come up with a solution like a spacer or something.

On the plus side, the side trim holes are all done, plus the door handle work has begun. The rear trim holes, front guard trim holes, and the custom push-button handles all need to be done. That will probably take Eric 10mins given he did the side holes and front guard rust repairs in a day.






Also, i am wondering if i SHOULD paint my car emerald green, or the original Aquamarine.

[darbikrash]

That A/C installation looks great, looks like the factory did it. On the Edelbrock finned valve covers, we just put a set on my neigbors '64 GTO motor. You can try using the .31" extra thick gaskets to gain clearance, here is the link from Summit, about $20:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-7590

The bigger problem is that all of the retro style Edelbrock finned covers I've seen do not have a breather hole- which makes it challenging to add oil or accomodate a PVC system w/breather. Modifying the Edelbrock covers to add a breather hole is difficult as the fins make it hard to get a flat surface for seating a vent cap or breather. Paul Carter on this board modified ours and if interested I can ask if he has any pics on how he did it.

The car is really looking good!

[gtospieg]

Just an FYI....they sell a valve cover spacer to solve your problem...I believe it's a 1/4" aluminum spacer...I think Ames and others sells them...car is looking awesome

[Marv]

Thanks for the info, boys! Looks like those gaskets will go a long way to solving my problems!

I'll have a look at the spacers, but given we have a laser-cutting service at hand I might get some custom spacers made as it will be cheaper due to A) our Aussie dollar being weak against the US dollar at the moment, and B) the cost of shipping the parts down here (will be over $350 AUD for the spacers and shipping!).

[alleyCat]

Marv, i think the auquamarine is pretty badass for a color choice. Its different.

[Marv]

After going through swatch packs of OEM colours with my mate I think I have found a winning colour. It is Kawasemi Blue Pearl from the Mitsubishi ASX (with Mitsubishi Silky White Pearl on the roof). I was looking for a blue that has a little green in it, with not too much transition/flip between the colours in different light.

In direct light it is blue




It is on the right here.






Also my air cleaner has been powder coated