[FatfreeGTO]

Thanks for the replies everyone, looks like I'm going to have to go through my original cables and hopefully be able to clean them up and reuse them.

[6 Grrrs]

I personally would install the parking brake. The park pin is only about 1" long and approx 3/16" diameter. Seems kind of crazy to trust a sub 4000lb car to something that small

[i4abuygto]

Nice project,
What disc break conversion kit did you use, from who and how much.
Mark

[FatfreeGTO]

Originally Posted by i4abuygto

Nice project,
What disc break conversion kit did you use, from who and how much.
Mark

I used the Right Stuff kit ordered from mattsclassicbowties.com cost was around $800 for the kit but I added prebent stainless brake and fuel lines which were extra.

[FatfreeGTO]

Made some progress today on the front suspension. Didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked but it all worked out in the end. It was kinda cool that my little brother who is 16 was hanging out with my dad and I today and actually starting to ask questions about how stuff works and why. I've been trying to get him outside with me every time I work on it because he needs a hobby other than video games. He was actually able to get the steering fork/knuckle off of the old drum brake spindles all by himself. I was surprised to say the least. I should have taken a picture of him covered in grease and PB blaster Here are some pics of todays progress.

This is my homemade way of compressing the coil spring to install it.

Another view of the coilsprings being compressed.

Hotchkis springs and bilstein shocks.

[GT182]

That's great you got your little brother out there to help. Frame and all look great...... Wanna do mine? LOL

Now, I've got to ask. Where are you located to get weather like that? We haven't seen the sun out here since early last week. And won't see it til late this week.

[FatfreeGTO]

Originally Posted by GT182

That's great you got your little brother out there to help. Frame and all look great...... Wanna do mine? LOL

Now, I've got to ask. Where are you located to get weather like that? We haven't seen the sun out here since early last week. And won't see it til late this week.

Hey Gary

Yea everytime I go over to my dads place to work on it I go bug my brother to come and help. I'm having a good time doing this project its actually alot easier then I would have imagined. I'm in Wisconsin and we have been having nice weather lately. Yesterday was sunny but kinda cold, I hear by the end of the week we will be near 70 so that will be great. I need to get the engine degreased and painted. So yeah if you want to send yours this way I'll work on it, i'm unemployed right now anyways so I have the time.

[GT182]

Originally Posted by FatfreeGTO

So yeah if you want to send yours this way I'll work on it, i'm unemployed right now anyways so I have the time.

Crap, unemployed sucks. Yer a bit too far away but thanks on the offer.

Nice prices on MattsClassics disc brake conversions. That's a project on my to do list, and I'll keep that site in mind. I've got to get another set of 15" Cragar mags for the front of mine to replace the 14" Cragars I have now. Plus a power steering unit and Hydro Boost to round things out. No power steering on mine car tho. Tho the PS unit will be only for the brake system.

How's the body coming along? Post some pics if you get a chance.

[66GTO Jim]

Originally Posted by FatfreeGTO

As a side note there is a guy selling some Turquoise front buckets on Craigslist around here with factory headrests from a 66 he says. I have never seen that before.

Hey Bill,

Welcome to the PY Forum. Can't get any better than a 66 GTO! My first GTO was also Marina Turquoise with a dark Turquoise interior like GT182 had. One of my favorite colors for a 66. I now have a 66 GTO Convertible that is Reef Turquoise with a dark Turquoise interior. I happen to be looking for a driver seat as one of the seams came apart. Also was thinking about adding the optional headrests, so I would be very interested in those seats on Craigslist if they are still available. Can you post a link if you have time?

Jim

[FatfreeGTO]

Originally Posted by 66GTO Jim

Hey Bill,

Welcome to the PY Forum. Can't get any better than a 66 GTO! My first GTO was also Marina Turquoise with a dark Turquoise interior like GT182 had. One of my favorite colors for a 66. I now have a 66 GTO Convertible that is Reef Turquoise with a dark Turquoise interior. I happen to be looking for a driver seat as one of the seams came apart. Also was thinking about adding the optional headrests, so I would be very interested in those seats on Craigslist if they are still available. Can you post a link if you have time?

Jim

Thanks Jim its good to be here! I had never really paid attention to the green color until I got this one, I always liked the reds and blacks. But it is a really nice color, another fav of mine now is the fontaine blue or palmetto green. Your reef color is really nice too, I think the pastel colors from the 60's are neat because you never see new cars on the road with those colors. I had put the link up somewhere else down the thread but I can do it again so here you go. Let me know if you would like me go check these out for you since they are only 10 minutes from my house. http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/pts/1656856296.html

[FatfreeGTO]

Originally Posted by GT182

Crap, unemployed sucks. Yer a bit too far away but thanks on the offer.

Nice prices on MattsClassics disc brake conversions. That's a project on my to do list, and I'll keep that site in mind. I've got to get another set of 15" Cragar mags for the front of mine to replace the 14" Cragars I have now. Plus a power steering unit and Hydro Boost to round things out. No power steering on mine car tho. Tho the PS unit will be only for the brake system.

I thought the price was good too, this kit doesn't seem any different then the CPP kit. I went with power brakes even though my car had manual originally. New booster and master cylinder are included with the kit.

How's the body coming along? Post some pics if you get a chance.

I will put up some pics but I'm warning ya they aren't pretty and I wish I could afford to have the body work done this year, but that just isn't going to happen. I had a quote of $11k just to have new metal put on the car, quarters, trunk pans, etc. That price didn't include and body work either. That was from the former shop call Aloha here in wisconsin, more of a mopar shop but maybe you have heard of them. I'm expecting 20k plus for body/paint work. I will be having the body acid dipped and e-coated when the time comes for body work. Who knows maybe by then I will try panel replacement, I am good at welding and back in highschool shop class TIG was my favorite one to do. Well here are the pictures

Rear DS quarter this is the worst spot on the car. The area aournd the GTO emblem has been wiped out in the past, I can see from inside the trunk and you can see the bondo around the emblem.


Firewall, note the rot in the windshield channel.


Rocker DS not too bad.


Floorpans.



Trunkpan.


Sailpanel area


Doors, the paint does have some shine to it the other pics are just so covered in dust.


Hood


Door panel


Fenders and seats etc are stored where I can't get to them easily to take pictures.

Please everyone chime in with opinions on what should be done with the body as that is the scariest part of all this for me and an area that I have absolutely no knowledge of.

[GT182]

Well... I've seen worse bodies than yours that have been restored. I'd try and find some other place and get a price. Don't know how much an acid dip costs but you might want to look into soda blasting. Read the article in this issue... they tell it like it is. It's got to be less expensive than an acid bath.... and safer too.

[6 Grrrs]

20K seems a bit steep, unless you are planning a 100pt show piece. If just a driver, you should be able to spend $5-8k, and have a decent looking car when done. I would think if you did the metal work, you could save yourself alot of money.

[FatfreeGTO]

I haven't done too much investigating on the body work but I did get a price of $2200 for the acid dip and e-coat. They said they would acid dip to 80% give me the body back so I could have the new metal installed bring back for another "dip" to finish and then e-coat the whole body. At which point I would need to get the body work and paint done.

I have the quote from aloha and their shop rate was like $80/hr I know the owner who opened a new shop and he does do fantastic work basically national show winning mopars but that isn't what I want, because of the cost and the fear of driving it anywhere. Anyways here is a link to Andrews site http://www.apexautosports.com/home.html

In my area there isn't much for body work choices on classics. I have a really good friend who does collision repair for a local high end (bmw, merc, lambo, etc) shop and he estimated 200 hours in body and paint prep. He is willing to do it but is nervous because he never really has to deal with rust or old cars for that matter. He says in his 10 years of doing body work he has only done maybe 10 "patch panels" that he had to fabricate himself. And I fear that would be the problem I would run into at any "insurance repair" type of shop.

If anyone knows of a body shop in the Milwaukee area that is reputable with this type of work I would spend the $5k-8k in a heartbeat to have the car be done. What is others experience with having their bodys done what type of shop did you go to?

[FatfreeGTO]

Originally Posted by GT182

Well... I've seen worse bodies than yours that have been restored. I'd try and find some other place and get a price. Don't know how much an acid dip costs but you might want to look into soda blasting. Read the article in this issue... they tell it like it is. It's got to be less expensive than an acid bath.... and safer too.

Gary your artice link isn't there and I am interested to learn about soda blasting could you repost it? Thank you.

[Greg Reid]

That car doesn't look bad at all to me. Floors are great, trunk not bad at all. Take the paint off that ds quarter to see what you really have. Then you can decide whether you need a full panel or if it's worthwhile to just replace the lower areas and maybe the outer wheelhouse. Makes me want to do something with my '66.
I think it's time for you to buy a welder. The windshield channel is pretty easy to fabricate. Especially since it has no compound curves, just right angles pretty much... If you've done TIG welding before, I don't think this would be much of a challenge for you...Just time consuming. By then, you'll be ready to tackle that quarter panel.

[GT182]

Sorry about that Bill. The Soda Blasting article is in the April 2010 issue of Muscle Car Review. I looked and can't find it online.... so you'l have to grab a copy at your local magazine store.

They even have a 65 GTO they're changing the rear gearing from a 3.23 non-posi to 3.55 posi unit.... full "how to". And check out the 67 Canadian Pontiac 427 4 speed Beaumont..... Canada's 67 GTO. Plus, the 69 Firebird article with info on the Pontiac 303ci racing motor..... that never made it to the public.

[66GTO Jim]

Originally Posted by FatfreeGTO

Let me know if you would like me go check these out for you since they are only 10 minutes from my house. http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/pts/1656856296.html

Hey Bill,

Thanks for the offer but I'll pass on those seats after seeing the pix. I have the original interior in my car and it is in excellent condition except for a minor seam splitting by the driver door. What I was looking for is an original drivers seat in excellent condition that I could swap out mine with. When you mentioned a set with headrests, all the better. Except I was not looking for ones to reupholster. The aftermarket Legendary seat covers are much better than what was already out there from PUI and others, but they are not exactly like the original Morrkide seat covers from Pontiac. So I'll have keep looking.

Thanks much for the offer to go look at them though. If you ever need something looked at around the north Atlanta area, just let me know and I'll be happy to do it for you. Jim

[66GTO Jim]

Originally Posted by GT182

As for the headrests on the 66 seats. I believe that was an option but done by a dealer, or someone else did it later on. There's nothing in my Options/Accessory book showing headrests for 66. Tho I too have seen them on 66 bucket seats, that had the reclining right side. Maybe Keith Seymore can add some input about 66 bucket seat headrests from the factory.

Headrests were a factory option on the 1966 Tempest/LeMans/GTO.

From the 1966 Tempest/LeMans/GTO Car Order Form that coincides with the PHS Billing History:

Head Rests - L.H & R.H - front seat only COLUMN 57 Code 1

So if you have one of the rare 66 GTOs (or Tempest/Lemans) you would have a "1" in column 57 on your PHS Billing History. Mine doesn't, but I am thinking of adding them.

Jim

[Old Goat 67]

UH, I'd think twice about that soda blasting idea. I know I did.

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/soda...=soda+blasting

http://spi.forumup.org/viewtopic.php?t=156&mforum=spi