[ZnbOlds455]

Not much to report this weekend. I started laying down they Dynamat. I actually used Kilmat since Dynamat misled me with their info and Kilmat was MUCH cheaper. I'll lay the Dynaliner down over the Kilmat to provide additional thermal and sound insulation. I got the firewall, tunnel, and floor boards up to the rear seat covered.

I spent a great deal of time sanding down the dash gauge surrounds. I laid down some Spaz Stix black backer and ultimate chrome. I did most of the insulation between coats of this stuff. I have 6 coats of chrome down and will apply 2-3 more today. Then I should be able to polish it out to a nice shine.

[geeteeohguy]

Late to the party, but as a GTO owner since the 1970's, I agree that if I were in your place I would run the Olds 455 you have. They are fine engines....durable, with tons of torque. Much better than a BBC or and LS. If I couldn't have a Pontiac engine in my GTO's, a big Olds would be my second choice. No worries.

[ZnbOlds455]

Originally Posted by geeteeohguy

Late to the party, but as a GTO owner since the 1970's, I agree that if I were in your place I would run the Olds 455 you have. They are fine engines....durable, with tons of torque. Much better than a BBC or and LS. If I couldn't have a Pontiac engine in my GTO's, a big Olds would be my second choice. No worries.

Thanks for the reinforcement! I may switch out to a 389. There is an old short block in my dad's garage. I don't know much about it yet. I really just want to get this car on the road as quickly as possible. My focus now is on getting the dash put together so I can wire up the car and get ready to fire up the motor. That may change everything.

[ZnbOlds455]

I made a little progress this weekend. I had to take the family out for an afternoon of shopping and eating after church Sunday, but I was able to get some work in Saturday and Monday. It helps that my teenage boys were able to take care of the yard Friday after virtual school.

I got all the Kilmat installed. Dynamat Dynaliner will be going in next. I started on the Vintage Air system; just got the block-off plates installed. I really don't like their fit and may do something different. The wiring harness (Painless) is now mounted on the firewall. The dash bezel is together with the Dakota Digital HDX model. I'm not thrilled with how the "chrome" on the gauge pods turned out. The Spaz Stix would work better with a higher gloss black backing. I used their black backer and it just didn't have as much shine as the paint my FIL used on the bezel. Good enough for now. It's not difficult to remove it if I change my mind.

[ZnbOlds455]

Still not a lot to report. I've been making progress wiring up the dash, routing the front-to-rear harness, applying some Dynamat Dynaliner, polishing knobs, and mounting the shifter. Unfortunately, my son's car has been experiencing a lot of gremlins, taking up most of my weekends since early November.

I'm fairly impressed with the ShiftWorks shifter. Most of the aftermarket guys have the stock appearance without the functional lock button on the handle. Their unit comes ready to roll. The instructions are the greatest - pretty generic, actually. I managed to get it in and lined up through trial and error, installing and removing the console several times. I still need to punch through the transmission tunnel for the cable and connect it to the transmission.

There were quite a few small bits I've cleaned and painted to install soon. Here's most of the entertainment for the last few months, minus all the work done to my son's car.

[sjdiesel]

Looking good! You have some nice parts there

[ZnbOlds455]

It’s taken forever, but I finally have the air conditioning vents installed. The dash was rotten when my dad bought the car. He had it replaced but with a non-a/c dash since the original version is hard to come by.

[ZnbOlds455]

Here’s how I got there. I was able to make a template from the old vents. I have a Dremel-like tool with a flexible head that made it much easier to cut the basic shape. Then it was just a few hours of filing, sanding, and grinding to finish out the holes.

[77 TRASHCAN]

Job well done! Looking forward to more of your work!

[geeteeohguy]

Originally Posted by 77 TRASHCAN

Job well done! Looking forward to more of your work!

I agree. You're doing a heck of a job and are doing the car a huge service. Well done. This isn't a race....you're having fun and doing it right. Win-win.

[ZnbOlds455]

Thanks for the encouragement. Just taking it one Saturday at a time. Hopefully I’ll get a little more time in this summer.