[blueghoast]

WOW, I think it looks good just like that.
Maybe some argent silver to highlight. ?
Eitherway that 60 is looking great.
Nice work.


GT.

[Gas455]

That's looking good Jim!

Grill looks cool.

[60man]

Originally Posted by twooldgoats

I couldn't do without the quad taillights, though. IMO, they're one of the defining elements of a '60 and my favorite styling feature. Like I said above, I changed my '63 LeMans into a Tempest, because I like the quad taillights.

Jim

X2 on quad lights....60 trademark...
Grille looks very different. will have to see final results...
I'm partial to full width grille...makes the wide look wider...
JMO....and your's is the one that counts Jim..after all ...it is a custom by Jim....
You are sure doing a great job....
FWIW: A buddy used the Wilcap adapter to mount a 700R4 behind his 421 in a 63 GP.....nice stuff.

I removed all my E-brake stuff last week in my rear disc conversion(race only style). Need any parts..

[hellerods]

This Darksider belongs to a friend of a friend that I took some pics of some time ago. I wish I had taken some pics of the $12,000 upholstry job--IT WAS AWSOME! Tan/camel leather, just Primo! Frame off job that looks killer in person,belongs to "Red Dog" in Ca. central valley.

[twooldgoats]

Originally Posted by 60man

...
Grille looks very different. will have to see final results...
I'm partial to full width grille...makes the wide look wider...
.....

I removed all my E-brake stuff last week in my rear disc conversion(race only style). Need any parts..

I think I'm good on all the emergency brake stuff--this car was mechanically very complete (except all the wiring was stripped). Don't throw any parts away yet. I'll be under there in a few weeks and I'll look around.

As far as the grill goes, I share you're feelings. The jury is out and that's why I look forward to priming it and seeing how it all ties together. Originally, I wanted to french the lights, but I couldn't find any good quad headlight frenching rings I thought I could make work. Then I saw an ebay auction where a decent (not even NOS as I recall) set of unscratched original aluminum headlight rings went for $500-600. Yikes!! Mine are scratched on the outside and every used set I've seen is scratched in the same place. So I got the idea of filling the dents and painting them body color. From there I thought I would remove the outer chrome strips by covering them and so it's evolved to that. The plates I made to cover the chrome strips bolt through the holes that originally held the parking lamps and can be easily removed. I also have a decent set of parking lamps and new lenses, so if I don't like it when I see it all together and painted, I can restore it to the original look (with the exception of the painted rims) in about fifteen minutes.

My philosophy of customizing is to start with a car whose basic lines I like and then emphasize those lines by removing elements that interfere with them (like extra chrome trim, backup lights, turn signals, etc.) We'll see...........

Jim

[Poncho60]

I've seen at least a couple of 60s that used the headlight trim from Buick 1960, but I have no idea of what was involved to adapt it.

[60man]

I never throw away any 60 parts as most do....that's why parts are so hard to find...
I kept everything...Also found some center support bearings for drive shaft..
I tried to snag a set of headlight trim rings off Ebay this week....was too low. They appeared to be in decent shape. Went for less than a $100 IIR...
I don't have any spare ones...they disapeared ..
If yours are f'ed up...painting may be the only option...

[Gas455]

Do you guys have anyone over there that does stainless trim repairs?

We have a guy local to me that does repairs and polishes stainless trim.

I'm going to get him to sort my headlight surrounds out.
I will post up a before and after pic.

Not cheap...but well worth the $$.... He is a magician.

[Gas455]

Also...check my post above..post #23.

Lance has used different headlight surrounds.
Can't remember what they are from.

He also used a...I think it was a Buick hood skin.

[60man]

Originally Posted by Gas455

Do you guys have anyone over there that does stainless trim repairs?

We have a guy local to me that does repairs and polishes stainless trim.

I'm going to get him to sort my headlight surrounds out.
I will post up a before and after pic.

Not cheap...but well worth the $$.... He is a magician.

Used to have a guy around here...but he moved. I have done some small repairs myself...very time consuming.
On the headlight trim/surounds....what material are they? Aluminum ?.
They are anodised I know that. I buffed out some and sprayed them with clear...looked pretty good. I sold the car so no pics..
Eastwood has a clear coating.....

[Gas455]

You talking about what's on Lances car?

Or stock Pontiac ones?
I think they are Aluminium.


Yeah...I can see them being very time consuming... Thats why I'm happy to pay for them to be done. Better job anyway...they have all the correct tools to get it done right.

[twooldgoats]

I finally picked up the engine on Thursday. Of course, I had to set the tripower on it to see how it looks.

The passenger side header fits past the adapter plate just fine, but I'll need to cut a major notch in the aluminum block for relocating the oil filter to clear the adapter. I bolted the adapter plate on, but Wilcap sent the wrong bolts to bolt the flex plate on, so I called them and the correct bolts are on the way.

On the driver side, there is a major problem: the left side header hits the Mopar starter and it isn't even close to clearing. I plan to order a clocking starter from Summit to rotate the starter and hopefully create a little clearance. I may also have to add a round port header flange or two between the head and the header to create a little more clearance. The Wilcap adapter kit uses a Mopar starter. Since I'm using the RARE long branch headers, the Bendtson kit which uses a Pontiac starter might have been a better choice.

It's good to get the engine and get back to the mechanical side of things. I'm sick of Bondo work.

Jim

[twooldgoats]

Here's one with the tripower sitting on top. Did I mention Ellen loves tripowers? She insisted on it.

Jim

[blueghoast]

I've found that the McCloud starters are better for clocking.
They've worked the best for me.

GT.

[twooldgoats]

Originally Posted by blueghoast

I've found that the McCloud starters are better for clocking.
They've worked the best for me.

GT.

Do they make a clocking Mopar starter? The only one I could find was a PowerMaster, looking at Summit and a few online Mopar suppliers. And the PowerMaster wasn't cheap, although my Summit racer's discount will help a lot if I go that route.

Jim

[blueghoast]

Originally Posted by twooldgoats

Do they make a clocking Mopar starter? The only one I could find was a PowerMaster, looking at Summit and a few online Mopar suppliers. And the PowerMaster wasn't cheap, although my Summit racer's discount will help a lot if I go that route.

Jim

That I couldn't tell you.

GT.

[twooldgoats]

I found that Robb MC makes an extremely small and infinitely clockable Mopar starter that should work with the RARE long branch headers. I'll know in a few days when it arrives.

Meanwhile, I got a power steering bracket and alternator mounts for a '69 from BVR421 and fitted them to the '60 block. With the Edelbrock heads, '66 timing cover and '69 mounting brackets, it took a little shimming, but it looks like it will work. I ended up shimming the whole power steering bracket out .320" from the head and that seems to have done the trick. The real test, of course, comes when I fire it up and see if the belts stay on.

Jim

[twooldgoats]

Still waiting on the starter, so I notched the oil filter adaptor to fit past the Wilcap transmission adaptor. I figure it pays to get these small things done while the engine is on the garage floor, rather than in the chassis.

Jim

[twooldgoats]

While waiting for the RobbMC starter I ordered, I decided to attach the electric radiator fans to the modified core support. I used a '66 GTO replacement aluminum radiator in order to simplify hose attachments, etc. with the repo '66 tripower manifold I'm using. I widened the core support by a couple of inches to accommodate the radiator. I recently ordered a dual fan kit from Summit for cooling. Attaching it proved easy: it comes with inset nuts for 1/4" bolts and I fashioned four pieces of metal to serve as brackets. The fans attach to the core support, but the rubber insulator is held against the radiator to provide a good seal.

Jim

[twooldgoats]

Received the RobbMC Mopar starter this afternoon and it fits with plenty of clearance. If you remember, I'm using a WilCap adapter kit to attach a TH400 to my '60 block and I'm running RARE long branch headers. The Wil Cap kit came with a Mopar mini-starter, but it came nowhere near fitting. It interfered badly with the driver-side header. The RobbMC Mopar starter clears by more than an inch. The starter is 360-degree clockable, but I'm using it just the way it came--with the solenoid up.

Jim