[krisr]

LOL, yeah. The "LS the world" fan club. It gets tiresome sometimes, and it's hard being cool (read: different) in a world of white sheep!

[wheelspin]

Hey Marv,

This is easily the best build thread that I have had the pleasure to view . Perseverance and ingenuity have served you well as your big ol' car is restored to it's former beauty. I sold my '68 GP darksider and really miss it at times like this. You are an inspiration to every automobile hobbyist!

SUBSCRIBED

[Willshire]

Very cool thread marv. I am working on the 64 as often as i can i was hoping to drive in sept but looks like next spring for me. Maybe if i push harder! again, good thread bro

[Marv]

Thanks guys - it is great to get such great feedback on what sometimes (to me) feels like a futile project.

I got my new universal wiring harness today, as well as an original 1964 Pontiac sales brochure and a '64 Bonneville ad featuring a coupe in pretty much the exact same colour as mine! Stoked!

[Marv]

Not quite in properly yet (one mount is off by literally 0.25in) but still feels great to have the donk back!!!!

[Marv]

So. Friday i picked up the motor from Dan and Phil at Peninsula Engine Services on Sydney's northern beaches. I then drove the 100km up to my parent's house in Ourimbah on the NSW Central Coast.





They had already broken the cam in on their run stand so I ran through their break in proceedure. It is filled with fresh Brad Penn oil due to the BP zinc content. I have to do 500km and change oil filter, then change oil at 1000km. It needs heaps of load and the boys said not to be shy "giving it the bejeesus".

I got the engine straight out of the ute and into* position just to check it was all going to fit. Thankfully the boys kept my old engine mounts as the 1964 Bonneville ones i bought from Summit are totally wrong and are apparently for later model Ponchos.






Job done for Friday night


Turns out i almost had it right but had to call it for the night as i was up early Saturday to rip a mate's bathroom out for his house renovations. I got back into it last night by pulling the motor, installing the B&M torque convertor and bolting the new trans to the new motor.


I put my load leveller on it but that broke (chinese tool quality!!!) so i had to remove the headers and finesse it in haha. She went together like a gem and i have the rear of the trans sitting on the crossmember.

I have to drain the full tank of fuel in the car as i dont want to mess with stale fuel. The "to do" list currently sits as such;

- make new transmission mount
- get new tailshaft made
- install new universal wiring harness
- make exhaust from headers back
- plumb motor for heater/coolant hoses
- install radiator, thermo fan & core
- plumb fuel system
- fit Lokar throttle cable, kickdown, trans shifter, etc
- get carburettor tuned
- buy an air filter & housing
- paint rocker covers
- refit front end
- media blast and powdercoat inner guards, bumper bracket and shock mount bar
- fit new front shocks
- shedskids

[Marv]

Spent a couple of days working on the barge. So on Friday i lifted the roller door at my parent's house and this is what greeted me.



I procrastinated by painting my rocker covers. Ill tape up the fins and Edelbrock script and do the rest of the covers Pontiac blue with leftover Duplicolor.



I had to make an extender for the transmission mount as the TH400's mount is further up the box (towards the front) than the Super-Hydramatic's (which was right at the back).

I made it out of a piece of thick-wall box section, cut into 3 pieces, welded together and them cut down so i could access the bolts. The bolts were a saga as my reproduction mount had 2 different sized threads! Both pitch and diameter of the bolts are different on left to right thread so i spent around 2hours searching for 2 damn bolts!





My mount is not pretty but I'm a self taught welder and i havent done much fab work before so i wanted to make it strong and align correctly before worrying about aesthetics.*

I have spare tube so i think ill make a 2nd one with some refinements the current one will do for now as the car is still rolling.w

I also wanted to pull all the old wiring out which (after 52 years) was pretty janky and messy. So i stripped the loom and welded up the holes in the firewall. Ill cut new holes for the new loom, a universal 21 circuit job sitting on my shelf here.


The original loom plugs;




Filled it up and shaved the ignitor off the firewall as i have an aftermarket Summit unit ill put under the dash

2
After i get the wiring sussed out ill get a new tailshaft made and start on the exhaust. Because it sits so low im thinking of doing oval tube (if i can find it to buy).

My inner guards are in the back of my ute off to get blasted and powdercoated by Scotty at Oxytech Powder Coating, as is a bunch of other bracketry. I already had my radiator support panel and bonnet hinges done in gloss black and they turned out great.



Mmmm shiny




Once the wiring is done ill paint strip my front guards, bonnet and nosecone, then prime them up ready to paint. I am thinking of painting the car the original teal/mint colour which i discovered when cleaning dirt off the top of the firewall.

I would also like to update my suspension to run twin Viair 444 compressors and an Accuair VU4 valve block. New shocks and tyres are also required ASAP but until the car is driving ill leave them be.

But, for now, old mate sleeps...

[Engine-Ear]

...that last pic is TOPS, Marv.

Thanks for the updates and keeping it DARK, DarkSider.

[Marv]

Thanks mate! I am looking forward into doing more detailed posts when it comes to the wiring and bodywork. I'm self-taught so it gives me a buzz to knock over jobs like I'm doing with this car - no formal training, just a lot of questioning and listening with very highly experienced and talented friends who have done it all before.

I'm really looking forward to paint-stripping the big barge because we have some excellent rust-killing products on the shelves Down Under and we certainly aren't scared to muck in and chop out the bad tin and get good fresh metal in our cars I just have to resist the urge to lower the car and make more body changes while I'm in there haha.

[Marv]

So I've been driving my Road Runner around and that's quite nice, but it really just makes me miss this car - I'd really prefer to be driving this thing than the Plymouth.

So I've decided to get this thing bloody well finished, and this means (due to lack of time and skills on my behalf) sending it to a mate's hot rod shop in Newcastle in late January - www.unitedspeedshop.com

Ryan was the former shop manager at Chop Shop and he does amazing work - check out the Magnum IFS and new HQ-WB front-ends. He's building some really cool stuff in the shop, too. I'll take some pics next time I'm up there as I think you guys mights dig what he's doing

I bought a 4L tin of All-U-Need primer way back in June 2015 and will be sending that with the car. The plan is to hopefully get the body in primer (tinted straight white... or maybe a spearminty green), paint the roof pearl white and do the jambs, door inners and underside of main panels in the new body colour, then throw it back together and cruise it around until I can do a proper paint job on the body.

The newfound verve for the Bonneville means the parts accumulation has started again. I found new hand-made lower rear quarters off eBay USA for $165USD each and, given the length of the things, I consider getting them including shipping for $650AUD something of a bargain given it comes from a guy renowned for making excellent parts for these cars. That will hopefully make it easier for some of the rust repair work this thing needs - the rest will be all done by men with talent (ie: not me).

Other jobs I'm wanting United to do include making a new tailshaft, making a new exhaust and doing sound deadening/heat proofing through the cabin using Aussie-made Car Builders products. www.carbuilders.com.au

I've also decided to install aftermarket air conditioning so, as I'm already doing a new aftermarket loom anyway, I'm going to pull the dashboard and old heater/blower out, paint the dash and get a new top made (along with a new parcel shelf). With the dash out it'll make it much easier to fit the new loom and A/C, too. I'll do that before the car goes to Ryan as I can do all that work... and he is a mate, and mates don't make mates crawl around under old dashboards doing wiring. Mate.

Final piece of the puzzle will be redoing the air suspension and handbrake so I have the faintest hope in hell of getting the car engineered for road use on New South Wales' upcoming modified classic car rego scheme. This means I'll be fitting new lines, valves and compressors as my current basic front/back system is in no way legal for that rego scheme.

I'll be changing the lines to be predominantly hardline along the chassis rails, ending with flexi line down to the bag, much like how brake lines are done. I'll also be fitting the height-sensing (and load-levelling) Accuair E-level system to make it legal and able to be engineer-approved. I've got plenty of friends using this gear and it's good stuff, even though it isn't cheap: http://airide.com.au/collections/aut...touchpad-model

On top of this Accuair have released their new ENDO series tanks that have the valves positioned inside the tank itself (ENDO-VT), but I'm really interested in the ENDO-CVT they are releasing mid next year which has both compressor AND valves in the tank. I had a good look at them at SEMA and they're a super cool piece of kit - http://endo.accuair.com/ Because I want my car done soon, and because you will be able to upgrade the "VT" to the "CVT" I'm happy to do a bit of double-handling in the short term.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Looking good, Marv.

[GruntedCatalina]

something to be said about a car with a missing front clip in all of its beauty.

[Marv]

I'd prefer to have the front clip back on it and the car running! haha

[Marv]

It's been an expensive coupla days...

I ordered x4 boxes of Car Builders Stage 1 insulation, x4 rolls of tape and an applicator kit (about $570). That is enough to do my full-size US car, or an EH wagon.

http://store.unitedspeedshop.com/col...-1-noise-block

The big expense was going shopping with AirRide.com.au...

Accuair E-Level ($1600) for height sensors & load levelling - that will make it able to be engineered in NSW as the controller will be locked out when the handbrake is off.

http://airide.com.au/collections/aut...touchpad-model



Plus I'm replacing my out-dated single compressor with twin Viair 480C compressors ($650) because it really sucks waiting for a single compressor to fill a 5 gallon tank before you can drive away from a show. Twin 480s should mean less run-time through shorter cycles.
http://airide.com.au/collections/com...ck-compressors



I also ordered a black ENDO-VT 5 gallon tank ($1300 for black, $1250 raw). Unfortunately AirRide are still waiting on their shipment as Accuair have been smashed with more orders than they envisaged, so I'll be getting this some time in January.

http://airide.com.au/collections/air...ndo-valve-tank



Once this stuff turns up I'll take some photos of it going into the car

[Marv]

Its 1145pm on Christmas Eve here in Australia. I spent a few hours on this barge today getting it ready for its return to the road. The first step was wiping it down and giving t a clean!




I pulled the interior out. The whole loom and dash will go. I removed all the airbag and stereo wiring, and those gauges


I measured up my Ford Falcon thermo fan


And removed some rear trim



The big working days actually start on the 27th

Merry Xmas darksiders

[Marv]

Have spent a few hours a day fiddling with the barge. For some unknown reason i decided to put the Cragar S/S 15s back on. I am wondering if i should get these stripped and powdercoated - i dont like the fact they arent hubcentric and use elongated mounting holes for the lug nuts.



I found this cool window plaque hiding in the trunk


I pulled the factory tar up and only found 2 very small spots of rust 2-ish-mm across. I have used KBS AquaKleen and RustBlast to prepare the metal. Once it has dried out fully i will paint the floors and then stick the insulation down.


I stripped the rest of the interior trim, stereo and airbag wiring as i will redo all that. Thankfully the doorcards dont look too bad and i think i could get away with some new carpet across the bottom of them for the time being... ill probably end up just getting them retrimmed as my front seat needs foam, springs and covers




I was going to shave the door handles but will just do the locks now as i have had an idea for a button system to open the doors



I also pulled the front airline as i am going to install a fitting to allow me to manually air the front up for when it goes on the towtruck to Newie. It is going to get all new airlines anyway so no biggie doing this

[Marv]

So i only got about 30mins on this today before i was knocked out by a bloody virus ive picked up. Also it has been +40degrees Celcius here the last few days so work is difficult to do in a non-AC garage!

Some presents turned up from the USA. These are in impossibly better shape than my old ones so was easier and cheaper to buy them in (ill likely buy a new front bumper in from this guy too)


I removed the tee-piece that ran between the front airbags as i am going from a front/back system to a four-corner one with independent controls. I get that front/back systems are popular as they are simple but they drive like **** compared to a proper f/b/s/s setup (im also doing new shocks).



New push-to-connect and Nitto fitting on



Now in access mode ready for the towtruck in mid-January.



I need to spend a couple more days fixing 2 rust pinholes in the floor, removing some of the old air gear and all the wiring and dash. Thats going to be a crunch as my weekends are now taken up with Summernats (Australia's biggest car show that i work at as a journalist for Street Machine Magazine) or work but ill get it done.

[Marv]

Happy New Year, Darksiders!

I am back down in Sydney and away from the car again so i am going to look at the next big issue: paint! I reckon a pearl white roof is mandatory as i just like that clean look.

Body colour i am leaning towards is a proper '50s spearmint as below... possibly satin.


Or a satin gold maybe.


And wheels are going to be either Radirs or maybe the stock 15s with Cadillac hubcaps



Also, the rough idea i had for door handles (needs a drain and another support)

[Marv]

So after driving my Road Runner down to Canberra and back for Summernats I am 100% putting air conditioning in this barge. But what system do I use? Of course, there are no aftermarket kits to suit '61-'64 full-size Pontiacs out there so I'll be making my own "kit" to suit, which works out better for me in some regards as I can source a modern Sanden compressor and a condensor locally to save a bit on freight.

Option 1 is to buy a Vintage Air Gen IV Magnum set-up, including dash vents & controls. These guys have compressor brackets to suit Pontiac V8, a range of different styles of outlets to suit hot rod/street machine/truck, heaps of fittings and hose options and more. It's almost a bit overwhelming when working out what specs of parts I'll need to use in my car but I've printed out sections of the catalogue I think relate to what I'm doing, will put together a parts list, cross-reference it off their kit for a '63-'64 Impala and then email them to double-check it will do what I need it to. With the mark-up Aussie distributors charge ($2000AUD minus compressor/condensor/lines/etc) it is line-ball on whether it is going to be cheaper to just buy it from the USA and get it put into a container coming over to Sydney.

Gen IV Magnum:
http://www.vintageair.com/2016%20Cat...talog%2044.pdf

Impala kit:
http://www.vintageair.com/2016%20Cat...talog%2025.pdf

I also looked at getting the guys at Resto Mod Air to piece together a kit with their evaporator, lines, bulkhead connector, controls and outlets. These guys are based in Texas, are much newer on the scene than Vintage Air, but also have great quality finishes on their products. They don't do a complete kit as such, and they're expensive, but the quality of the parts they use seems to be top notch from what I saw at SEMA. They have an awesome Bluetooth-controlled A/C set-up, but the bad news is you're looking at over $2kUSD without compressor or condenser or freight. Yeouch.

http://www.restomodair.com/shopprodu...ioning-system/

For the picture book kids who don't like reading, here is a pic of a sweet '57 Caddy on Radirs.

[cruzingratiot]

what about a trunk unit
this is the rout I was thinking about on my 63 grand prix
http://www.vintageair.com/08/catalog...g%2022%20f.pdf

http://www.vintageair.com/Instructio...905000-VUY.pdf

or go to junk yard
and get a rear mount unit in a passenger van or??
and make it work