#61  
Old 12-21-2014, 10:03 AM
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brucee70 brucee70 is offline
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Originally Posted by Marv View Post
Hi mate, yes i have been a contributor to SM for many years as a journo so i was very touched they gave me space to share my horror story. Theyre a bunch of great blokes and i wouldnt have achieved anything in my career without their help and guidance
My 1st time reading this thread ...So sorry for your Loss Marv. Thanks for all your great posts and pictures.
All the best with the new 64!!

Bruce

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  #62  
Old 12-21-2014, 10:08 PM
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Thanks Bruce.

Got my Xmas present today - ship sails Dec 31st and will be in Sydney 23rd January.

They might be unloading the new baby on Australia Day!

  #63  
Old 12-19-2015, 07:34 AM
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Wow I have a lot to update here. So, here is everything that happened between February (when the car turned up) and now...

I bought it and on November 18 Coby delivered it to HTX International shipping in Long Beach, CA



Finally, on February 15 the car reached Sydney and on February 28 the tow truck turned up with her! It needed a jump start and about 25-litres of fresh premium unleaded before it fired into life. I also had to reconnect the air compressor for the bags (which appears to be on its way out).





Got it aired up, and 5 months after I lost my last Pontiac, I took my new one for a lap of the block. I had to be sneaky as it is unregistered and you're looking at around $1500USD in fines for driving an unregistered car in Australia.


I couldn't go far as I was worried how old the oil in the motor was, knowing the car probably hadn't kept up to date with its service schedule while it was parked up (who would?).




It was filthy from sitting in shipping yards, container, etc. Even though Aussie customs & quarantine charged me nearly $800USD to clean my car it was obvious they're thieving arseholes who probably splashed some water nearby my car because it was f'n dirty.

I also wanted to get it off the street and change the old oil and oil filter out so, as my mates came over to check the car out, I wasn't freaking out I was killing the motor starting it on 5 year old bearing-destroying oil.

I decided I'd give her a thorough wash and degrease the engine bay to clean the built-up gunk off. At the same time I got inside and started fitting a stereo as she turned up sans head unit, amp and subs -and I've got to have cruisin' tunes

As you can see we still don't have a shed and, given it's only the 2nd day of Autumn here, it's f'n hot. This wasn't fun!






Before the thunderstorm hit I gave the big rig a proper wash and chamois and took a few pics:






Took it for its first drive on Aussie soil... couldn't wipethe grin off my face...

So, brakes got bled and I arranged a permit to take it out for a spin to see how she goes. Awesome is the answer and I'm over the moon at how good the car drives.

Here are a few flics from the drive:











  #64  
Old 12-19-2015, 07:36 AM
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So 3 weeks after those pics my wife split with me. Took a bit to get over that but I moved home and started licking my wounds. The story picks up in June after I'd gone and picked the car up. It had been sitting next to the beach in open salt air since March

The patching and general struggling continues. I spent a bit of time with the big girl on Saturday in between beer, being crook and seeing people. Having to work at Retro Speedfest all Sunday killSo i have to fix this to drive a 2000 mile round trip in late June. Best i do *something* about the cancer, lack of tunes, ****ty wiring and lack of rego....

My Mooneyes steering wheel is on



Aaaaaaand then i took a grinder to my car. (I puckered right up cutting into it). Have to trim it up more but I hit it with KBS Rust Blast to stave off the cancer.





More to come next week...

More work...

I tidied up the cuts, did more rust proofing and started forming up the patch panels (i also bought a sheet of metal to patch them).









I cut the patch panels and then got into the inner sections. I cleaned the cavities up more and laid down some Rust Seal.



Got the stereo working. Only slightly failed by getting a head unit with only 1 preout not the 3 i needed. Whatever. Itll do to get past the road trip I'm doing and i'll add subs later.



I have been struggling with some wiring maladies. Jeez such a mystery... not



More tins required...
ed my vibe a bit too

I started with the big patch and cut the bottom of the c pillar to get at the cancer. Theres more in the side rails but ill get to that some other time.



I then had to put a bend in it so i made cardboard templates and bend it using a bessa block, timber and a hammer. Somehow i didnt cock it up much.




I migged it all up, had to mess around with second fill piece but it all went ok. Also welded in the other side and got it ground back. No pics as i cbf using a camera today.

Its not pretty but it will do for now. I Will bog it up and paint it thursdayAlmost done bar a lick of filler, hifill, and paint. Im also having bad thoughts about Orbit Orange body and pearl white roof...



We have Aussie rego! For nearly $900USD i get to drive my car on local roads for 12months. The plates are $100aud/yr alone on top of that amount too.

Given the full CARB-spec roadworthiness test (that i was meant to do) it isnt just paying lots of money and drive any old car on our roads. Thankfully my inspector didnt go over the car as hard as he is kinda meant to as no old car would pass the dreaded "blue slip".

All that aside, we have tags and i have it starting! Dash lights are next...








Ok so this thing never got to go on the road trip as the gearbox comprehensively shat the bed on only the 3rd drive.

Boo. Urns.


After having a massive tantrum I pushed it inside the garage and considered my options. There's basically no support for the stock Super-Hydramatic 4-speed auto in Australia (and very hard to find anyone who works on them or Jetaways) so after I blew all the sand out of my vagina I manned up and bought a long-output TH400 from a '70 Catalina that a wrecking yard near me happened to have had sitting around for about 10 years. Snapey has a collection of cool rare Pontiacs (Ram Air GTOs etc) and it was only after a mate mentioned in passing he might have a box that I called him up and, low and behold, he had a perfect rebuilder sitting outside his office.





Because I can't just do simple and easy I've ordered a new flex plate, convertor, rebuild kit from Summit Racing. And then things got silly. The mate who put me onto Snapey sold me a set of ported #92 cylinder heads he used to run which have been set up for our modern unleaded fuel we get down here in Straya. Plus a set of flycut 400cui pistons and rods. And a Super Duty-style oil filter relocation block. I then bought a mini starter motor conversion kit as I couldn't use the original bellhousing-mounted one, and then I also picked up a new Comp Cams flat tappet bumpstick (with lifters), some 1.65 ratio rockers, a full engine gasket kit, Edelbrock Performer intake, finned Edelbrock valve covers and a pair of Ram Air Restorations long branch exhaust manifolds.

I've also got new hoodlining and carpet coming for the barge, and once I've got all the rust patched up I'm going to give her a lick of paint in the same hue. Then it's on to customising the 15in steelies from my '62 Bonneville. 15x8s and 15x10s sounds about right to me


Doesn't look too bad (a little pov-spec without a cap or bullets)



Bits have been arriving. Still need a ****load more before this stupid old pissskank will run again.


Pulled the heads off, then ripped short motor out. Thinking given the condition I'll just to rings, bearings and cam as it all looks good in the bores. Potato cam pics = 974 words each.







Next step involves flicking $50s at the gearbox and engine shop while I whore myself to pay for it all.

DISCLAIMER: this post doesn't have any beer in the pics. I know, I know. You're not mad, you're disappointed. Truth be told, I'm disappointed in myself. I've let the team down and will work hard on ensuring I capture the alcohol consumed during my trips to the shed in future posts. Once I get onto the bodywork you bet your sweet (collective) arse I'll be drinking heavily. Because I hate bodywork and paint. Mechanicals are easy; this is leisure drinking. Bodywork is power-chugging beers to dull the stinging acidic hatred coursing through my veins at doing that job. I'll do better next time, I promise, guys.

Had an hour to pull some more bits off this last night. Given I've now got 6 jobs I have precious little time to dick around with working on my own car, so I won't be able to do a proper inspection (in daylight where I can actually see things) and clean up the motor for another fortnight.






I don't think this is a stock timing chain...




I'm still tossing up whether or not to do a full rebuild at this point as it all seems to be in really really good nick and I'm hesitant to mess with something that doesn't need to be pulled apart any further.

I used oven cleaner to clean this thing up last night. Just chipping away at little jobs before I can handball it off to someone to build...






An update covering October, Nov and half of December...


TH400 trans dropped at Central Coast Automatics for the rebuild and should be done in around a fortnight (they cant start for another week and a half).

Organised to drop block, crank, heads, pistons and rods off too.




...

So 6 weeks later and my TH400 was rebuilt. Those blokes went above and beyond on it, couldnt be happier with the job or price. I painted the trans and have all new bolts for the Aeromotive deep pan. I also got fresh lines and fittings for the Davies Craig cooler.




I want to make a new trans mount, but that all has to wait til the motor is built. Ive got a dipstick, torque convertor and shift linkages sorted.

The motor needs a 60-thou bore which means i can use off the shelf 400cui pistons,which will work better with the #92 late '60s heads ill be running. The Armasteel crank has been machined and needs 20/20 undersize bearings too.

My new block mounted starter and con rod bolts showed up from Summit 2months overdue, and i have a spare Isky Racing Cam for sale as its too small for my build

I did reorganise the garage today with dad too. Felt good to tidy **** up and be in here for the first time in 5.5 weeks!





...


Mounted trans cooler.
Started cutting rust out of the roof.
Welded up the aerial hole.
Oh yeah, bought a MIG and TIG.


And a half decent compressor/air sander/spray guns/etc. Picked a colour. Will get onto fixing the bodywork over Xmas and the New Year... that means a new colour is coming, too. Was thinking Spruce Mica with white roof. Or BMW Kingfisher Blue on the body.

....

Go my Keith Black 400cui pistons in the mail yesterday. Just waiting on my ARP con rod bolts I ordered back in Sept. Pro tip - never ship ANYTHING with iParcel. They're f**king useless.



Found a couple of pics from 2010. Damn she looked good back then



  #65  
Old 12-19-2015, 07:43 AM
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So now we're all caught up. I've got a mate's spare 389 block in my shed so I can mount it up and use it to position the TH400, which will let me modify the crossmember. Because this thing is all about getting low LOW I'm going to run a BIG holesaw through the crossmember and weld some strengthening pieces through it so my exhaust will go through the crossmember.

I've got the TIG welder so I'm also going to slap the 1964 heads on the bare 389 block (with the old gaskets), bolt the RARE long-tube headers up and get to work making a new exhaust. It's got to tuck high out of the way so the big Bonne can show those Impala upstarts just how good a REAL fullsize car looks laid-out :P

Once the TH400 is mounted I'll also run the Lokar shifter/throttle linkages and get the box wired up. I should have the engine back mid-Jan with the cam broken in. THe only thing delaying me will be all the +40degC days we're having at the moment!

  #66  
Old 12-19-2015, 08:38 AM
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Other than the fire this has been a fun thread to read.Looking forward to reading future posts.Thanks for sharing.

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  #67  
Old 12-19-2015, 09:52 AM
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I can feel your pain but this thread is highly entertaining! Keep up with the posts, even if you're not working on the car!

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  #68  
Old 12-19-2015, 02:17 PM
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Car looks great! Keep up the good work. Oh and enjoy the summer...

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  #69  
Old 12-20-2015, 06:23 PM
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Hang in there, Marv. Austraila needs Darksiders like you.

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  #70  
Old 12-21-2015, 11:26 AM
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Echoing the above 110%, THANK YOU Marv for the honesty, levity and photography.

If I ever get to Australia, I will look you up and together we WILL tip a couple cold ones.

  #71  
Old 12-21-2015, 07:09 PM
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Thanks guys - great to have some feedback, especially when it doesn't feel like I've been making much progress lately. More than happy to drink beer with any Darksider - in Oz or in the US! (I've got 3 trips to the USA next year).

I ordered more new bits, too: 150 amp alternator, armrest pads, hi-flow oil pump, Edelbrock mech fuel pump, engine mounts, engine mount bolts, transmission mount (for TH400), air cleaner assembly (ribbed for her pleasure), front wheel bearing kit.

Given it's the 22nd of Dec here I doubt I'll see these bits until probably 6-10 January. Our postage service is worthless in Oz

  #72  
Old 12-21-2015, 08:56 PM
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Cannot imagine having to wait so long but it is so cool to see our cars in other countries getting the same if not more love than they would have received over here. We take them for granted because we can easily get one even if it is just a couple thousand miles away. Keep up the good work and looking forward to more updates.

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  #73  
Old 12-23-2015, 12:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marv View Post
More than happy to drink beer with any Darksider - in Oz or in the US! (I've got 3 trips to the USA next year).
WHOA, partner!

You better post when and in what US-ZIP code these visits will be at!

I'm thinking a DarkSider Meet-N-Greet is in order here!

  #74  
Old 12-26-2015, 12:24 PM
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Glad to see you're driving it and enjoying it! That car is cool!

  #75  
Old 12-30-2015, 05:35 AM
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Got a spare 1964 block to use as a dummy. This lets me set where the trans crossmember needs to be extended to, run my trans cooler lines, fit my Lokar dipstick, fot my deep trans oil pan. I will also fit my Lokar column shifter kit, get my tailshaft shortened and start on my exhaust using the old heads and gaskets.



I am still waiting on engine and trans mounts from Summit so i made dummy mounts using timber til the real things turn up.





And heres an old shot of the car when Coby had it


  #76  
Old 12-30-2015, 11:14 AM
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So Marv, is your Bonne permanently slammed or does it have adjustable ride-height?

  #77  
Old 12-31-2015, 08:33 PM
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It rides on a custom air bag suspension set up that Coby had done a few years back. I really want to refresh the valves, put x2 new compressors in and add Accuair E-level (automated ride height/load levelling sensors)

  #78  
Old 01-02-2016, 07:52 AM
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Good job ...its an long way but you`re on the right way ..
So the four door cars becoming more and more famous thx for sharing us your project

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  #79  
Old 01-09-2016, 11:59 PM
RJ300 RJ300 is offline
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awesome write up, sorry to hear about the fire but. Great to see another big pontiac here in Aus. I'm in Canberra and recently brought a '64 grand prix over. Just a quick question, I see you mentioned you had some long tube headers, any idea of the brand of these? Im searching for some to fit my car but not having much luck so far...

  #80  
Old 01-12-2016, 04:47 PM
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G'day RJ300 thanks for your kind words

My long-branch headers are Ram Air Restoration parts, bought as a whole kit with oil filter mount spacer kit & flanges from Butler Performance. Not cheap and freight hurt but really, really good quality!

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