[dataway]

Are we all ready for the winter thrash? Tons of questions as people do the off season work on their rides?

My winter list is:

Entire interior including headliner
Dash, instruments, radio and inside AC.
Under hood AC components
Glass front and rear
All weather striping except door glass
All interior and engine electrics

Got a head start on some of it.


Spring time,
Sand and shoot more clear on rear quarters and doors
Finish body work and paint/install front fenders and hood
Install front bumper and hideaways
Vinyl top
Exterior trim

Fall .... shake down cruise
Late fall ... fix problems
Winter ... fix problems
Spring Fix problems
Summer Fix problems .... etc.

[Greg Reid]

Well, we don't have much of a winter down here so I don't think of my projects as necessarily seasonal but here's what I did to mine today. I guess you could say, "Out with the Olds, in with the....Pontiac"

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[dataway]

So it had an Old's rear and you are putting a Pontiac back in?

Aren't they pretty much identical? You putting in the Pontiac just for correctness? If so .. good on you, lot of work just to make something right.

[Greg Reid]

No, not just for correctness. Several reasons actually -
It's a 2.78 pegleg and I'm putting a 3.55 limited slip, nodular.
Also, I had to use a conversion u-joint at the rear because the Olds is slightly smaller. The biggest problem is that the u-joints use a different type of snap ring retainer between the two brands so I've been on borrowed time for all of these years with absolutely no retainer back there except for the u-bolts.
In other words, the pinion on the differential is looking for an outside snap ring (l guess) and the drive shaft is looking for an inside snap ring, the u-joint that I used doesn't have a groove for the inside snap ring except on the drive shaft yoke. The two arms that mate to the yoke don't have it.

[Greg Reid]

This is the u-joint that was in the car. Notice that two of the legs have the groove for the snap ring, plus they are slightly smaller. Those are the ones that are sized for the pinion on the Olds rear. The larger ones with the snap ring grooves press-fit into the Pontiac driveshaft.
Maybe the drive shaft on an Olds has the something for the outside snap rings? Or maybe the actual Oldsmobile u-joint has the snap ring grooves. I don't know.

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[OG68]

Greg, does that have the Vista Cruiser rear drums and backing plates? The drums would be 2 1/2" wide and may be worth more than the axle itself to a Buick or Olds wagon guy. Saw a set at the San Diego swap meet a few years ago. IIRC the seller was asking $750 for the pair. Claimed the rear drums were no longer available.

[Verdoro 68]

I'm gathering pieces to do an engine refresh and deep clean of the engine bay. Over the summer the A/C compressor slung gunk all over the place. Planning on pulling the engine once I get a timeline on when the machine shop can do my heads.

My to do list:
- Pull the engine
- Reseal leaky pan and/or rear main (not sure which one it is)
- Get the RAII heads cleaned up and ready to install
- Port match the repro RAIV intake
- Swap the cam to something the pairs well with the heads.
- Clean and detail the engine bay

Pretty loose timeline on all this as we recently moved and house projects are competing for time and money.

[dataway]

Yep, right now I'm at a bit of standstill getting the house ready for the extended family to come over and inspect it for errors on Thanksgivings

The drums in the photo look every bit of 2+" to me

[GOAT8U2]

Ethanol dyno tune

Remove all old gauges (using Holley Dash now)

Install new pillars

Install Halo headlights with blue ring

Complete interior light issues, dash and trunk

Fix horn relay

Possibly get the front endura bumper repaired and repainted. Shop seems a bit reluctant to attempt vs buying a new one. Worried years from now the cracks in new locations will piss me off and make their fixes seem like they didn't do their job.

Install new chrome quarter trim

There's probably more but for now, that'll make me feel really good about 2021 and the cars future after the amount of $$ I just spent on it. Ouch

[will slow gto]

Wow, Greg, you’re about to have a lot more fun with your car.

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

No, not just for correctness. Several reasons actually -
It's a 2.78 pegleg and I'm putting a 3.55 limited slip, nodular.
Also, I had to use a conversion u-joint at the rear because the Olds is slightly smaller. The biggest problem is that the u-joints use a different type of snap ring retainer between the two brands so I've been on borrowed time for all of these years with absolutely no retainer back there except for the u-bolts.
In other words, the pinion on the differential is looking for an outside snap ring (l guess) and the drive shaft is looking for an inside snap ring, the u-joint that I used doesn't have a groove for the inside snap ring except on the drive shaft yoke. The two arms that mate to the yoke don't have it.

[will slow gto]

This sounds like an awesome project/build. Did you ever dyno your D-port YS? Would be cool to see before/after numbers. Good luck with everything!

Originally Posted by Verdoro 68

I'm gathering pieces to do an engine refresh and deep clean of the engine bay. Over the summer the A/C compressor slung gunk all over the place. Planning on pulling the engine once I get a timeline on when the machine shop can do my heads.

My to do list:
- Pull the engine
- Reseal leaky pan and/or rear main (not sure which one it is)
- Get the RAII heads cleaned up and ready to install
- Port match the repro RAIV intake
- Swap the cam to something the pairs well with the heads.
- Clean and detail the engine bay

Pretty loose timeline on all this as we recently moved and house projects are competing for time and money.

[Verdoro 68]

Originally Posted by will slow gto

This sounds like an awesome project/build. Did you ever dyno your D-port YS? Would be cool to see before/after numbers. Good luck with everything!

I never have, but it's set up almost identically to Roger's engine in this thread aside from the fuel injection. 425hp/480tq - surprisingly strong!

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by OG68

Greg, does that have the Vista Cruiser rear drums and backing plates? The drums would be 2 1/2" wide and may be worth more than the axle itself to a Buick or Olds wagon guy. Saw a set at the San Diego swap meet a few years ago. IIRC the seller was asking $750 for the pair. Claimed the rear drums were no longer available.

With my luck it probably HAD them but l put brand new drums on several years back so no chance. As for this 'O' rear, it's weird in that it is clearly stamped 'T1' but that code doesn't exist as far as I've been able to find.

[Verdoro 68]

Trying to motivate myself to get rolling on this project! After lugging these parts out last night, I realized the first step is getting the garage situated after the move. Things are still in relative disarray out there. Plus, whomever built the house put ONE electrical outlet in for the whole garage.

[dataway]

Not sure if you have any electrical experience ... but wiring the shop is kind of a fun project. Bite the bullet and do it up right and it will make your life so much easier in the future.
I lived with a jury rigged system that I installed to get up and going quick when we built the house, 15 years later I did it right, all armored BX cable tap-conned to the walls, various 220v outlets in strategic locations etc. No more extension cords run everywhere.

Do it while the shop is empty ... kind of a pain later after work benches are such are installed.

[1969 Ram Air]

My 69 4-speed GTO is getting a new coat of Verdoro Green. I am adding hideaways, Rally II's, disc brakes and deleting the vinyl top.

[dataway]

Looks pretty freakin nice the way it is, hideaways would be a nice touch. That vinyl top makes them look classy, specially black on green.

[1969 Ram Air]

Originally Posted by dataway

Looks pretty freakin nice the way it is, hideaways would be a nice touch. That vinyl top makes them look classy, specially black on green.

It was a nice driver, 68k original miles and mostly original paint. But it had rust in the lower fenders, behind the passenger side rear wheel and around the back glass.

[Greg Reid]

Yeah, that's a nice car. It's very refreshing to see them every once in a while with white walls and hubcaps.

[dataway]

Do it up like that again, put on a PMD polo shirt, get the right hair cut and go to a Pontiac rally as a PMD exec