[SD455DJ]

Dan corrected the ground problem, so now all the lights function properly, and brightly. North, you were right that the signal lamp metal housing needs to ground itself to the valance with is grounded to the chassis via other sheet metal pathways. Pics of the emergency flashers and the running lights.

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

It’s been a little more than a month since the last update…still waiting for the front seat to get reupholstered, so poked the guy with a ‘stick’ to get moving, or lose some business. So, in the meantime, Dan & I installed the front seat (white) from the GT-37 (’71) so we can drive the Custom S on its first outing tomorrow (a nice cruise that Jeff Denison organizes every summer). We swapped on some newer tires (215R70-14’s on 14x7 steelies with dog dishes) and loaded the trunk with spare parts (fuel pump, alternator, belts, etc.), tools, tune-up equipment, mini floor jack, jack stands, fluids, fire extinguisher, and spare tire to be ready for almost any ‘normal’ problem that could occur and the 300-mile event. Looks like nice summer weather too, dry with highs in the low 80’s. We’ll see how the 350 HO does in the mpg department with the 3.55 gears…hoping for 15-16 mpg.

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

Before & After....

[b-man]

Nice.

The owner’s wife will be ecstatic seeing the family’s car so well loved and cared for.

[SD455DJ]

Thanks B-man! I'm writing her an update letter tonight with pictures of the car and to find a time when I can drive it over to her condo to let her see it and go for a spin.

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

The first real test of the Custom S since acquiring it this past January went without a hitch, except for running out of gas on the way to the gas station 4 miles away to begin the trip. It ran out just ½ mile shy of the Mobil station…ohh, so close…hopefully not a harbinger of things to come! Well, nice to say, that was the worst thing that happened since the gas gauge isn’t working now, for some reason (it’s pegged to the high side of full) so we’ll be chasing the grounds and checking the sending unit in the tank. Other than that, the Custom S drove like a dream, smooth and straight down the road, quiet and tight body, no rattles or squeaks, and the handled very well in the twisties along the route that Jeff planned.

The shorter F70-14 tires (actually 215R70-14) combined with the 3.55 rear gears made for 3200 rpm travel at 70 mph on the interstate, but the littler 350 HO seemed to like it. We had a lot of stop & go & wait traffic along the cruise route due to 2 different accidents that diverted traffic the same way we were going. Despite all that, it managed 15.5 mpg, so could have easily achieved 16.5 mpg in normal traffic conditions. The 350 HO/3.55 rear gear combo makes for a very peppy ride with plenty of torque off idle. It had no problem keeping up with a 2005 GTO and a ’78 WS6/W72 TA. We drove a total of 256 miles with air temps in the low to mid 80’s and the coolant temp never got above 180 degrees. Never heard or felt any pinging or detonation with 93 octane E10 fuel thanks to the factory slow ignition advance and the great cooling system. The exhaust system sounds great out the back…very factory sounding, but you can barely hear it inside the car. We are really happy with the way the Custom S performed.

Now we just have to get the front seat back from the upholsterer and then show the OO’s wife the finished car.

Dennis

[b-man]

We need 1/4 mile time slips.

Because that’s really all that matters.

[SD455DJ]

Yeah, I hear ya! I'd love to see what is does too! I never did crack open the secondaries since we had the trunk full of tools, fluids, water in a lidded bucket, floor jack and jack stands, so was mindful of those flying around the trunk. It was sooo tempting, but I played the cautious card. The TH400 shifts so quickly that it's in high gear by 20 mph. I thought it lost 3rd gear early in the drive, but it was already there and confirmed with a manual downshift. Overdrive would be nice for sure.

Dennis

[Cammer-6]

It was always my understanding that the 350 HOs used RA exhaust manifolds
so the A body got RAIII and the F body got long branch D ports.
Isnt this true?

[north]

No, the 67-69 350 HO, like the 1970 455 HO used standard exhaust manifolds.

[SD455DJ]

North is correct! Even though the '69 350HO's got the 48 heads and the 60 lb. oil pump, and cams 067 auto/068 man, it is essentially a smaller cube standard GTO engine...so just regular log manifolds. There is a lot of wrong information that was perpetuated in the 90's regarding the '69 350HO and GT-37 400's in 1970.

Dennis

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by SD455DJ

North is correct! Even though the '69 350HO's got the 48 heads and the 60 lb. oil pump, and cams 067 auto/068 man, it is essentially a smaller cube standard GTO engine...so just regular log manifolds. There is a lot of wrong information that was perpetuated in the 90's regarding the '69 350HO and GT-37 400's in 1970.

Dennis

Never heard the "350 HO's have RA manifolds misinfo....

Wish I had you two & Scott's upholstery guy. One of the most nightmarish journeys down here is finding a really tallented old school upholsterer, one that's crowning achievement isn't sewing up seat covers for junky deck boats.

[HO LEMANS]

Cammer these are the original manifolds from my 69' 350 H.O. so they definitely didn't get the RA manifolds

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by 'ol Pinion head

Never heard the "350 HO's have RA manifolds misinfo....

Wish I had you two & Scott's upholstery guy. One of the most nightmarish journeys down here is finding a really tallented old school upholsterer, one that's crowning achievement isn't sewing up seat covers for junky deck boats.

OPH, I'm pretty sure it was in HPP back in the late 90's/early 2000's.

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

With the H.O. style body stripe...what do you think? (done with PDF-XChange Editor, btw...not real)

Dennis

[sprintbird]

Let Cammer 6 make you a set. I think they will look great!

[Scarebird]

meh. part of the charm of this build, like the wheels, is the utilitarian feel, so a stripe kinda wrecks that.

[north]

My 2 cents is that those stripes would undermine the whole nature of the car, if it was a two door… maybe.

[SD455DJ]

I appreciate your thoughts on the stripe...I'm more on the fence once I doctored the photo. Having this simple graphic capability sure helps with visualizing!

Dennis

[north]

What was the actual use of those stripes in 69? Was it just A body Sprints?