#381  
Old 05-23-2022, 10:01 PM
gtospieg gtospieg is offline
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Nice work...those push in plugs for the firewall were a pain in the ass because they're technically the wrong ones. I had the same issue and bought a different set that were far more pliable, not the harder plastic that came with the kit. Nice fab work on the e-brake switch. I think when I put my dash together I put the AC control panel in first.

  #382  
Old 05-23-2022, 11:00 PM
MUSLCAH MUSLCAH is offline
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Yup….they go back together a lot slower…

  #383  
Old 05-23-2022, 11:33 PM
randy1966GTO randy1966GTO is offline
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Great progress and outstanding work!

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  #384  
Old 05-25-2022, 12:39 PM
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I'm glad someone is still curious!
Definitely more than one someone...Glad to see that you are moving along. Stellar work as always.

  #385  
Old 05-29-2022, 09:44 PM
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Quick update on the latest happenings with my project from the past few days. With the dash wiring all ready to go, it was time to finally install the dash bezel w/gauges, HVAC control unit, and stereo.

When I removed my new $680 Antique Automobile Radio w/Bluetooth from the box, the AM/FM slider bar fell off and the retaining screw was rolling around inside the display. For as much as they charge for these things, I expect better. If I'm honest, the chrome on the push-buttons and display background are lacking as well. Anyway, I disassembled the face plate and was able to retrieve the errant screw and reattach the slider bar, but it's a poor design. If you tighten the screw that attaches the slider bar to a reasonable tightness, you can no longer move it. If you loosen it enough to allow the slider bar to move (i.e., function), the screw is then so loose that it will undoubtedly fall out again. I just snugged it up so that it was pretty stiff on the FM setting, as I'm unlikely to ever use AM. Still, poor design...





Next up was modifying my RetroSound R-410N dual coil front speaker so the factory speaker mounting brackets could be used. To do this, you have to cut wide slots in the metal speaker back. Very easy to do with a Dremel and cut-off wheel.





For those who are curious for their own car, here is the RetroSound R-410N speaker installed. Note that my defrost ducts are non-original, but the factory ducting would fit easily as well. No clearance issues, so if you're on the hunt for a good front speaker, the R-410N is about as good as you can fit in there. Regarding the height dimension, it measured within 1/8" of the factory speaker I removed from my car.





And finally, here is the dash bezel with gauges, HVAC control unit, and stereo installed. Starting to feel like a car again! The dash bezel fits okay. All of the lower attachment screws went in perfectly, but none of the upper attachment points align with the holes in the metal dash structure. They are spaced correctly, but the bezel doesn't seat far enough forward to actually reach the holes in the metal. I'm not yet sure what my solution to that problem will be. Perhaps just drill new holes with the bezel in place.


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Last edited by ZeGermanHam; 05-29-2022 at 10:27 PM.
  #386  
Old 05-29-2022, 11:19 PM
RedDirtRoad RedDirtRoad is offline
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With the technology that’s out there nowadays I bought a stock a.m. radio with a perfect chrome face plate
I just used it to fill a hole in the dashboard.
I bought a JBL wireless speaker and use my phone for all the music that I want. I can use Spotify or Pandora or even my own plat set from my phone.
Gone is all that time and effort running speaker wires amp wires, power wires
It’s the best ever

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  #387  
Old 05-29-2022, 11:55 PM
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Yeah, that is a very good option. I have a small JBL Charge 3 bluetooth speaker that I use around the house and it's great. It's one of my favorite household gizmos that we've bought in recent years.

In my case, despite the fact that I mostly listen music via Spotify, I suppose I wasn't quite ready to give up FM radio, which very few bluetooth speakers have for some reason.

At any rate, I'm just happy to no longer have a huge hole cut into my dash for a modern stereo like I used to have. Cutting the dash was the only "upgrade" that my teenage self did to the car back in the 90s, and I regretted afterward. The saving grace was that teenage me was pretty lazy when installing the stereo back in the day and didn't bother to actually remove metal from the dash. I just made some cuts and bent the metal inward. This meant that fixing it was only a matter of bending the metal back into place and welding the cuts closed again.

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  #388  
Old 06-02-2022, 06:35 PM
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Crisis averted regarding the upper mounting screws for the dash bezel. It's funny how ideas can come to mind at unexpected times, but right as I waking up and getting out of bed the other day, an idea sprang to mind for how I might be able to get the bezel fitted and screwed down properly. I put the idea to the test last night and it worked.


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  #389  
Old 06-05-2022, 11:42 PM
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A few photos from this weekend's work on the GTO. On Saturday, I installed the Holley Sniper EFI conversion tank, which is just a 24 gallon tank made by Tanks, Inc. with a 255LPH Walbro in-tank electric fuel pump. Overall I am pleased with the quality of the tank. The silver powder coating is very nice and adds a bit of bling underneath the car. Although it's an EFI tank, I will be running a carb at first, so I will be regulating the fuel pressure down to carb level. If I decide at some point that I want to do EFI, all I have to do is change the spring in my regulator.

Using a transmission jack made installing the tank an easy 1-person job.







The Holley tank kit comes with a remote vent with check-valve to prevent fuel spillage in the event of a rollover. It needs to be mounted higher than the filler neck, so I fabbed up a simple bracket and mounted it centrally high up using an existing hole in the rear frame crossmember. With this vent in place, I'm assuming I don't need to use the factory style vent that attaches to the filler neck. Although I may hook that up too, because it can't hurt.



I blew some compressed air through the sending and return fuel lines and then hooked up the hoses and electrical grounds. I was pretty surprised by how much effort it took me to get the EFI rated fuel hose over the hose ends I crimped. Turns out the EFI hose is extremely stiff and did not want to expand enough to easily get over the hose ends. Makes sense, given their higher PSI rating. I had to help them on by applying a bit of dish soap to the outside of the hard lines, but it still was quite difficult.



Today's task was finding a mounting solution for the Vintage Air heater valve. The Vintage Air instructions just have the heater valve connected to the hose and not actually mounted to the car anywhere. The instructions also route the heater hose all the way through the inside of the fender and then it takes a u-turn and heads back toward the firewall again to connect with the rear of the cylinder head. That's a ton of extra hose cluttering up the engine bay...

My solution was to mount the heater valve to the firewall. I will use a 90-degree elbow where the heater hose exits through the cowl into the engine bay, connect it to the heater valve, then continue straight across the firewall to connect with the rear of the cylinder head. It will be much less cluttered this way.

But to mount the heater valve to the firewall, I needed to fab up another bracket. Out comes the angle grinder and cutoff wheel again. Here is my DIY bracket after I've already cut it out of a larger piece of flat aluminum, bent it 90-degrees in a bench vise, and got started with drilling mounting holes, etc.



All holes drilled and a slot made. I ran it through the media blaster to remove the manufacturing ridges in the aluminum and to also give it some texture for paint to adhere.



After paint and heater valve now mounted to bracket.


Heater valve & bracket assembly now mounted to firewall. It should fade into the background pretty well once everything else is installed in the engine bay.



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Last edited by ZeGermanHam; 06-06-2022 at 12:17 AM.
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  #390  
Old 06-07-2022, 12:58 AM
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After approximately 14 months of waiting, these beauties arrived unexpectedly in the mail today.



They are a set of billet aluminum pulleys for late 1969-70 with power steering and A/C (my chosen pulley configuration). Odd thing is, the billet crank pulley measures 7-3/8" diameter, whereas the correct OEM pulley (9790842 YB) measures 8". This means it will spin my water pump slower than stock, at a ratio of 1.13:1 rather than 1.23:1 as the OEM pulleys would.

And the billet power steering pump measures 6-7/8", whereas the correct OEM pulley (9786901 XH) measures 7-1/8", so it will spin the PS pump faster than stock, which is okay?

The other thing is that they are no lighter than the stock steel pulleys, and in the case of the water pump pulley, I think the billet pulley may even be a tad heavier. Go figure. They certainly look nice, but after waiting so long and spending over $400 on them, I do wish the diameters matched what I believe they should be.

Perhaps someone here can enlighten me, but I was under the impression that for late 1969-70 with PS & A/C, 9790842 YB was the correct crank pulley and 9786901 XH was the correct PS pulley. So in theory, the billet pulleys I received should match the OEM pulleys I have, but they do not.

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Last edited by ZeGermanHam; 06-07-2022 at 01:04 AM.
  #391  
Old 06-07-2022, 09:33 AM
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ftwmlp ftwmlp is offline
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Originally Posted by ZeGermanHam View Post

Today's task was finding a mounting solution for the Vintage Air heater valve. The Vintage Air instructions just have the heater valve connected to the hose and not actually mounted to the car anywhere. The instructions also route the heater hose all the way through the inside of the fender and then it takes a u-turn and heads back toward the firewall again to connect with the rear of the cylinder head. That's a ton of extra hose cluttering up the engine bay...

My solution was to mount the heater valve to the firewall. I will use a 90-degree elbow where the heater hose exits through the cowl into the engine bay, connect it to the heater valve, then continue straight across the firewall to connect with the rear of the cylinder head. It will be much less cluttered this way.

But to mount the heater valve to the firewall, I needed to fab up another bracket. Out comes the angle grinder and cutoff wheel again. Here is my DIY bracket after I've already cut it out of a larger piece of flat aluminum, bent it 90-degrees in a bench vise, and got started with drilling mounting holes, etc.


Heater valve & bracket assembly now mounted to firewall. It should fade into the background pretty well once everything else is installed in the engine bay.

I really wish you had posted this BEFORE I struggled with mine! This looks 100% better than the recommended location. May have to look into changing mine, crap
Mike Pearson

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  #392  
Old 06-07-2022, 11:29 AM
drewm drewm is offline
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I may have missed it, but what paint did you use on the underside of the body?

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Old 06-07-2022, 11:54 AM
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Originally Posted by ftwmlp View Post
I really wish you had posted this BEFORE I struggled with mine! This looks 100% better than the recommended location. May have to look into changing mine, crap
Mike Pearson
Yeah, I think the way the Vintage Air instructions have the heater return hose routed is kinda goofy. They probably have it set up like that for simplicity of install rather than neatness. I looked online for inspiration and found this photo of someone else's car showing a somewhat similar arrangement to how mine will be configured. Much cleaner this way.



Fortunately for you, it is relatively easy to change your setup if you decide to, since it's just a coolant hose and not a refrigerant hose.

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I may have missed it, but what paint did you use on the underside of the body?
I first primed it with PPG DP90 epoxy primer, then sprayed 3m body schutz rubberized undercoating.




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  #394  
Old 06-12-2022, 12:25 AM
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Alright, it took me longer than I had anticipated (a recurring theme...) but I finally got the Vintage Air unit installed underneath the dash last night. It definitely took me a few attempts, and curse words were uttered quietly on more than one occasion, but it is in. One very annoying aspect of the process was realizing that there was no way I was going to get it installed with my center console and auxiliary gauges in place. So I had to remove those items, which is more annoying at this stage because everything is wired up. As others have stated when installing the Vintage Air units, it's just very difficult to move them around and position them correctly when you have four large hoses connected. But it's water under the bridge now.

My glovebox is now a... Pencil box?


Coolant and refrigerant hoses in place.


I'll be taking a week off of working on the GTO due to traveling to visit family, where I will be working on my brother's GTO. It never stops!

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  #395  
Old 06-12-2022, 11:50 AM
randy1966GTO randy1966GTO is offline
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Nice job, I also had to remove the console and gauges and only connected 2 of the hoses to get it in position.

The new glove box will hold your insurance ID card and that's about it.

  #396  
Old 06-27-2022, 01:15 AM
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No major updates to report due to having been on vacation for a little bit. I have been chipping away at more electrical work, and have most of the important things loosely laid out in the engine compartment to help me think about how I'd like to accomplish the routing and bundling of wires.

I think I will be able to achieve a very sanitary engine compartment when everything is finally installed and the wires are wrapped. I will be hiding the headlight wiring and starter wire between the fender and wheelhouse, and the Megafuse junction that is part of my American Autowire kit is mounted (out of view) to the driver side wheelhouse directly to the right of the battery tray. The breaker switches for the A/C and fuel pump safety switch are also concealed out of view in that corner near the battery.



I also decided to pick up a second set of mufflers a few days ago. I've had a new pair of 2.5" Dynomax SuperTurbos with 16" long case sitting on a shelf, but the fact that they neck down to 2.25" internally just doesn't sit well with me. So I bought a pair of Summit Racing's turbo mufflers (13" long case) which are a full 2.5" internally. They also appear to be better made than the Dynomax mufflers, and are manfactured in the US, for $46/ea. Not sure where the Dynomax mufflers are made. A notable difference is that the Summit mufflers are shorter, and they do not seem to have any fiberglass matting inside like the Dynomax SuperTurbos do. I'm sure the Summits will be louder than the Dynomaxes, but they will likely be acceptable to me. If not, I can always install the Dynomaxes later on.

Summit Racing "performance turbo" on top, Dynomax SuperTurbo on bottom:


Inside the Dynomax SuperTurbo where it necks down from 2.5" to 2.25":


Inside the Summit Racing "performance turbo", 2.5" all the way:

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  #397  
Old 06-27-2022, 08:58 AM
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proximity_alrt proximity_alrt is offline
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I bought the 3" Summit mufflers for the same reason as you. They are louder than I would like, but I can certainly live with them. I do like the tone. Sound deadening helped a bit as well.

  #398  
Old 06-27-2022, 10:22 AM
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Originally Posted by proximity_alrt View Post
I bought the 3" Summit mufflers for the same reason as you. They are louder than I would like, but I can certainly live with them. I do like the tone. Sound deadening helped a bit as well.
Yeah, I added sound deadening to the entire floor pan and will also be running a full exhaust with an H-pipe to the rear bumper, so I'm hoping they won't be obnoxious inside the cabin.

Glad to hear you like the tone on your car. I could hardly find any videos online to hear what they sound like, so it's somewhat a leap of faith.

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Last edited by ZeGermanHam; 06-27-2022 at 11:13 AM.
  #399  
Old 06-27-2022, 10:54 AM
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proximity_alrt proximity_alrt is offline
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Here you go. Again, this is the 3" and a solid roller cam/SBC (forgive me). My wife has a few of me driving off, but they never really seem to show how darn loud they are.

https://youtu.be/UeYASHQDIDQ

Edit: Here's a second vid my wife just sent.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4zhLBaxW5v8


Last edited by proximity_alrt; 06-27-2022 at 11:12 AM.
  #400  
Old 06-27-2022, 11:06 AM
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ZeGermanHam ZeGermanHam is offline
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Thanks! Not apples-to-apples of course, but it's still helpful. Much appreciated.

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