1966 Valiant Signet Convertible Resto

Here is a short history of the car. It was bought by the original owner from Mancini Motors in Mountainview, CA for a whopping $3100. It has been in California it's whole life and is in great shape. I bought the car in June of 2005 from a guy in Fresno that consigns/auctions old cars. It came with the original bill of sale from the dealer and the original certificate of ownership. He went through the car and got it running since it had been sitting in a garage for some time. Everything on the car was practically original except for the top which had been replaced at one time. No rust or body work that I have been able to uncover besides some surface rust.

I thought I would keep it all original as a survivor but those plans went out the window pretty quickly. The plans now are a new 340, 5-speed keisler tranny swap, 8 3/4 rear, subframe connectors, new wheels, disc brakes, new interior and B7 color and a black top.

The car came with new seat covers from Legendary and so that was my first order of business along with new carpet since I would be driving the car around until I got all the parts I needed for the swaps.

Then came new wheels. Unfortunately I did not get any good pictures of the car with the new wheels. I think they look great on this car. They are from Stockton Wheel Company and they are te 5 X 4 pattern. They were a lucky find on ebay $300.

Currently I have the entire body stripped and getting it ready for the paint and body shop. I yanked the engine out yesterday. It came out very nicely. Sorry to see that trusty little 273 go. I will be hanging onto it though. I am reusing the pulleys, brackets and possibly the exhaust manifolds. I'm still waiting for tti to get the kinks worked out on their headers.

I will updated this resto page when more work is done.

take good notes,,,,,cause mine will be next

Love the wheels, they remind me of the old American Racing "Mags". It looks as though you`re making great progress and the 340 should really liven up that Valiant.

I've always liked the 66 Signet. Looks great.

Got a few pictures after taking out the carpet and cleaning out the trunk. I'm amazed at the condition of the floors. The car is off to the shop Monday. Will be going with the Dark Mopar Blue from 1966. I've got plenty to keep me busy while at the shop.

Floor

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Here's the trunk with the original spare tire. Still holds air
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Here is the Clutch pedal assembly I took out of the other Valiant. I'm getting all twitchy thinking about mashing 5 gears.
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Trunk floor. wow

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Next pic will be awhile later when the paint is done

isnt it just exciting.. man im excited for you keep me posted on this redo as i will be doing a 66 vally vert 273 auto rebuild in the near future.

Looks good man

how does the Dark Mopar Blue from 1966 fair up to what the colour of the car is now? really dark? will you add pearl to it at all?

Cerwin

I couldn't really tell exactly from the PPG paint codes from the mymopar.com site. The scanned pages are not that great. I wanted to go with an original color from the 66-67 year because the seat covers are from a 67 dart. The paint colors and interior colors did not really change between those years. The darker color should match the interior nicely. The Light Mopar Blue is nice but I've always liked the darker colors.

The 66' Dark Mopar Blue color seems like it matched the 1968 Midnight blue which looked nice too. I don't think I will add any pearl to the paint but it would look great too. I like the old school look on these 60's cars. I say leave the glitter and disco for the 70's :afro:

I will be visiting the shop during the strip down and laying of the paint for pictures and will post them in the next couple of weeks I hope.

I'm still can't stop thinking about rowing 5 gears of mopar muscle in this little A-body. Makes my hair stand up thinking about it. :burnout:

dang the interior looks really good :headbang: lookin good i like the blue

Well she's off to the shop. It was sweet sorrow seeing her loaded on the trailer all bare and naked. She'll be back home by the end of October hopefully. I think I got a great deal on the paint and body. Will have to see what the final bill is when she's done.

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BYe-Bye

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Man! I wish the body on my B`cuda looked even a fraction as good as the body on your car does! I hope your car comes back from the body shop sweeter than ever!

Guys, the original color on the Darts/Valiants for 1966 was EE1 - Dark Blue Poly. That's the original color of my 66 Valiant, but I went to a lighter blue because I found it didn't really suit the lines of my car - personal taste I guess. :)

Thanks OldVart. That is the exact color I am going with on my car. I am rethinking the addition of pearl to the paint. It would really shine like crazy. Only thing is if I get into a fender bender it is almost impossible to match if I don't have enough backup paint made. Tough decision.

That EE1 has a lot of poly (metal flake) in it. Keep in mind that metalics are hard enough to match, and adding pearl to the mixture also adds possible problems to any future repairs that might be necessary.

or you could remember the formula..

types and manufactors

like dupont or nasons
one bump pearl
one bump small metal flake
one bump large metal flake
ee1

then you can just remake it..
the colours dont really change duponts a861 will be the same blue for the last few years.. maybe a hair of difference

also at work we have a paint colour gun. tells me what colour you have and how to make it. regardless of what it is.

Cerwin

I heard the shine is pretty spectacular and there is less work to get that show shine with pearl added. I'm not sure how exact he would be as far as how many "bumps" to put in. If a bump was a very specific amount/formula in miligrams or grams I could see where that would work out just fine. Should I ask my paint guy to just mix up a half pint of regular EE-1 poly(metal flake) and another half pint with pearl and then shoot a small scrap panel so I can see the difference? If I like the pearl and I can get an extra half gallon how long will mixed paint last in the can? Besides that, how many gallons does a whole car need anyhow? BTW, my paint guy is uses PPG. The paint gun sounds very cool.

The real problem with metalic / pearl type paints isn't actually the color formulation - that's easy enough to get right, although getting two exact mixes is sometimes difficult enough! The more metalics /pearls in the paint, the harder it is to get a consistent sprayout. Things involved would include temperature, humidity, gun speed and settings, number of coats sprayed, and many other factors. A really big consideration is if the car is going to be assembled and painted or panel painter then assembled. Just the fact that you paint the doors, for example, laying flat on saw horses or upright the way they go on the car - the matalics will lay out in a different manner under these two circumstances and it will be difficult to get a perfect match even if they are painted at the same time as the rest of the car. The more variables you add, the greater chance of not getting a perfecr match in color.
The pearl won't really add to the ammount of shine involved or the work to make it shine. Just about anyone can get shine on a car, but I've always tried to get DEPTH in my paint jobs. When you stand back 10 feet from the side of the car and the reflection of your legs look like they are 1/2 a mile away in the side of the car, then you have depth and distinctness of image. Color sanding and buffing can provide the shine.
By all means, get a pint of each color and do some test panels because that's the only way you'll know if you're going to like the color or not. I was going to put Viper Red on my Vart so I got a pint mixed, sprayed a garden tractor for a buddy of mine, and then decided it would not really suit my taste on my car. I must admit though, my buddy has the sharpest little tractor in the county! :) It doesn't make any difference if the paint is Dupont or PPG, or any other quality name brand, just what your painter is familiar with using. Hope this helps.

That helps a bunch. Depth is the key from what I am understanding. I think I will go with the EE-1 without any pearl just to make things simpler by adding less to the equation. The enemy of 'good' is 'better' in some cases. Thanks :salute:

looking good,,,cant wait to see it painted,,,,did you pull the windshield,,,,do you have a source for new windshield gasket and also the roof rail weather stripping????,,,,mines all wore out,,,,good luck with the paint,,Aloha

Got all the weather stripping from ebay. Check it out. I thought it was a pretty good deal for a complete set of weather stripping. It included the window gasket. You still have to get the window gasket seal strip that goes inside the gasket. you can find a chrome one on ebay for $25-30. You can get the window/doorlace from Paddock in the color you need ~$70-80. http://cgi.ebay.com/28-Piece-WeatherStrip-Set-for-1963-66-MoPar-A-Body-Conv_W0QQitemZ260012668857QQihZ016QQcategoryZ10076 QQcmdZViewItem There is another company in Mopar Muscle that has stuff too. I will get that for you later when I get a chance.

I took out the windshield and Door glass. Super easy if you are ditching the gasket. I just cut it out with a utility knife. Putting the door glass and window regulator back together will be a challenge. I basically striped the entire car of all trim and piece that were not going to be painted. My guy is going to undercoat the whole car for an extra $500. :headbang:

Hope this helps for your resto. Can't wait to see how your's goes.

I'm looking into finding a company that makes a glass window for the valiant. I may need some luck on this one.

wow,,,that seems like a bargain,,,to get everything,,,,I just scored a brand new washer bottle and pump kit from those guys,,,atlas parts,,,,everything i buy new is just sitting off to the side,,,waiting till i restore it,,,I figured the hardest thing to find would be the chrome strip for the windshield,,,mine is bad,,,,I even have a perfect grill sitting on the shelf,,,firewall gasket set,,complete nut and bolt resto kit,,,and I had a 65 signet that was a bucket seat,,floor console auto,,,,so I parted the car on e-bay,,,kept the 65 motor,,trans,,,buckets and steering column to put in the 66,,,and I have an edelbrock 2x4 intake for the 65,,,,gonna make a nice sleeper,,,,thanks for the info,,,Aloha,,Joe

Try restorationspecialties.com for the door windlace and other weather stripping. Not sure if they would be cheaper for an entire kit.

Don't have much to add at the moment for the resto. Have been doing little things like trim pieces and cleaning parts. Lots of drooling over new parts to buy $$$$$...fuel setups, brakes lines, rear-end overhaul, differentials, instrument gauges, etc... All the little things Santa or a good sugar momma should bring.

This is the latest progress. I got a little 40 lb sand blaster from Harbor Freight and got to it on the 8 3/4 rear. I must say the little blaster unit did quite well. I used some nice sand from a nearby beach. Used a strainer and voila...ecologically safe, reusable and effective blast media.:flower:

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The cardboard cutout worked really well to keep the sand out of the banjo. And yes that is carpet padding under the rear (been re-moldeling the house some too). That stuff was great. Kept everything fairly clean and made it easy to vacuum the sand up too.
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Ahh isn't she sexy all naked...sick I know

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Next up is the carrier and axles this weekend :headbang:

Paint Shop Visit

Got the rebuilt 8 3/4 rear today from the driveline shop. Packed with goodies. Detroit Truetrac, 3.91 Richmond ring and pinion, new large yoke, and all new bearings/seals and complete overhaul kit. Put together the new hardware and brakes tonight. Now I just need to order up new drums and paint them. The pictures are a little dark.

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:headbang:

Shiney stuff is cool.....


The rear axle looks great. Please keep these pictures coming. I'll do the same as soon I have something to post.

lookin real good, this is where stuff is exciting, tearing things apart sucks, putting things together= awesome.

-RPM

Got frame connectors in and now ready to powerclean the undercarriage and apply some evercoat to the bottom. The framerails went in nicely. Decided to stay away from the factory torque boxes and welded the tubing next to the frame rails. This also avoided capping and covering the framerail drain holes too. Not prefect but at least I didn't have to go up through the floorpans. As long as they function well I'm happy. Will post pictures tomorrow. :headbang:

It sounds like you're progressing quite nicely Dave. What size and wall thickness did you use for your frame connectors?

Used 1.5" x 1.5" x .125. It was a little different than the setups posted on BBD and other posts because the factory torque boxes were already there. Would have done it differently if there were no torque boxes maybe. Was still able to use the factory parking brake cable bracket holes on the passenger side but will have to re-route the fuel line anyways.

Hmmm, yes, I forgot about the torque boxes on the rag tops. Are the connectors going to pose any problems with your exhaust pipe routing? With the torque boxes plus the connectors it should definitely keep the body twist to a minium. Good job.

Thanks. I'm actually getting there bit by bit. There should not be any issues with the exhaust thankfully.

Got the Lakewood bellhousing and Keisler 5-speed tremec tranny bolted onto the 340 the other night. My computer monitor crapped out so I can't post any pictures yet. Looking forward to getting my tti headers in a couple weeks. Can't wait to mock everything up before dropping everything in. Will keep this thread updated

Looking good! You're gonna love the Kiesler 5 speed. I'll bet you got those wheels from Stockton Wheel before they stopped making them for the sbp. Keep up the good work.

Everything bolted on perfectly. Still need to do the runout measurements for the warranty cert. so I didn't put the flywheel or clutch plate on yet. Want to make sure everything mounts and clears well first. BTW I still need the 90* filter adapter in case you're wondering.

Looks pretty sweet right now. Was thinking about spraying some dupicolor clear on the tranny to keep it looking nice. or maybe not. Challenge for me will be cutting the tranny tunnel and building the floor shift hump from the template.

Next pictures will be the mock up of the tti's onto this setup with the pesky :cussing: powermaster ministarter. The tti guys didn't seem completely sure if everything would clear the lakewood bellhousing and keisler tranny. I sure hope everything goes well. I guess I will be the first guinea pig :snorting: Unless someone has been there already please let me know.

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Sweet.

That should be one blast of a ride when it`s all done! Excellent job Dave! I just keep checking in to see pictures of the new paint?......

Thanks for the comments. Should have primer on next week I hope. Driving down to the tti shop next week to pickup my headers and will be stopping by the paint shop to check up on things and drop off the new gas tank for painting/evercoating.

Hope to have something for ya by the end of next week. Headed back to Oklahoma to visit my folks. Going to put disc brakes on my dad's 67' Chevelle. Should be fun and I get a bit of practice for when I do my conversion. :headbang:

Picked up my headers yesterday and started to mock them up to the engine. The passenger side fits perfect witht the lakewood housing. There is about a 1/4 in clearance from the housing onthe passenger side. I could grind some steel away from the header if needed but I don't think it will be necessary once the gasket goes on.

The driver side is another story. Everything clears well so far except one of the tubes touches the valve cover lip very slightly. May need to be massaged ever so slightly. I have not placed the clutch linkages yet but it should clear from what I can tell so far.

The custom starter goes in easily. I need a larger locking bolt for the top starter hole with the Lakewood housing, since it is not threaded like a standard bellhousing.

I should have some pictures up tomorrow. Looks like everything will work so far. Keeping my fingers crossed

Looking great! I'd love to upgrade to a Keisler 5 spd. later on. And as for the header tube contacting the valve cover, your right. You might have to "massage" the offending area. But do try and do a nice massage, not a dismemberment.... http://www.websmileys.com/sm/cool/681.gif


We're paying attention! Keep posting!

Well the little Valiant is still coming along. I got the headers on and took a few pictures. I have not put the 90* oil filter adapter on just yet because I want to blast it and then re-paint the whole engine. The starter will go on and off without removing the headers which is nice. For all you guys looking into the tti exhaust I am very pleased and impressed so far. It is a tight fit but looks like it will work out well with the Lakewood and Keisler/Tremec Tranny

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Really tight one here. Needed two gasket to get clearance from the valve cover. Still something I'm working on though.

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Just a quick update. I ended up trimming the valve cover and then sanded and polished it up. You can barely tell it was modified.

On Monday, I will be visiting the shop around noon. Should hopefully see some primer at least. I know that he's done nearly all the block sanding so far. Getting itching. I'd like to have it back before Christmas.

Dave don't you dare forget your digital camera!! We're all waiting (no so) patiently for some pics. :)

Don't worry it's in the glove box already.....so I won't forget :thumbup:

Was a little bored after watching a little football today. Decided put the engine on a stand instead of using the engine crane. Still feeling productive, I pulled the M1 (since I'm replacing it with a RPM anyways) to take a look under the valve covers and check out the porting that was done on the J heads. Looks pretty cool.
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There is a 3mm difference between the Head ports and the intake manifold ports. I'm wondering if I should port match the intake manifold to the Heads?

Then I decided what the hell I may as well put a fresh coat on her.
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I kinda wish I had roller rockers on instead of the stamped rockers. I wonder how much more output the engine would have? You guys think it would be worthwhile to switch or just leave it alone? ugggh starting to ramble, maybe too much paint fumes. :sleepy3:

Still no car yet. I expected a delay of course, but man am I getting antsy. No worries, I know she's in good hands. Hope to have a real update (pics) this week. Until then I'm just pluggin away at the litle things. Lots of buffing and polishing trim and the bumpers, sort of like a bad re-run of karate kid....vax on vax off :toothy7:

Well I went to visit the Valiant today and I am so far very pleased with the work and attention to detail. There was a fresh coat of primer on the hood and trunk lid, while the rest of the car was shinny bare metal. :toothy7: It was interesting to see how MaMopar made these little Valiant Convertibles once all the paint comes off. I also got a chance to see the paint color. It looks awesome. I can't wait to see it on the car. Hope to have the trunk lid and hood delivered this weekend. :) The pics are not that special but at least I have some progress to report.
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That looks fantastic! Looks like it's all metal to me.
I'm enjoying seeing your progress... it's very motivating.
I need to prep my car and get some paint on it.

Clear coat the sucker now and have the only bare metal convertible around!

Yeah I thought of that too. As did the painter. Hehe. MaMopar's Ragtop Silver Bullet

Thanks for the kind words. Seeing the steady progress really makes the project much more fun and enjoyable. It has been a couple years or so just getting all the parts together. Can't wait to get her back together. Hopefully by this Spring. That may be pushing it since I still have to do the trany swap, brakes, plumbing, suspension and other misc. stuff. It's doable I think. :nike:

BTW. Here is a heads up on the color I chose. Big tease for me right now seeing this car. This convertible is just north of me. She's a beauty. Mine will not have the Silver and will have the SWS wheels of course.
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Looking good Dave. Progress like that in a body shop these days is kind of rare...right John? That's the original EE1 paint you're going to use? That's the color that was on mine when it came from the factory. Keep up photo'd up on the progress. :)

Yep, it's the closest EE-1 from PPG that could be made. I'm glad I got my car into the shop when I did. Apparently, everything has to be switched to water-based paint here in California within in the next year or so according to my painter. Bad news for the little resto guys because of some of the extra equipment needed in the shop but good news for the environment. Good thing I had him mix an extra gallon for me. I will keep up on the photos for sure. This is sort of like blogging.

Have not reported in for a couple weeks now. We had a bad cold snap here a week or so ago so my painter could not get much done. Plus the usual life circumstances.
I do have new progress though: The completed doors and trunk lid should be delivered on Monday. Unless the paint is not cured enough for transport so as not to leave any impressions in the paint. This would be great because I can install the window regulators, glass and door hardware. I've already done some of the new window weatherstripping. I hope to have some new pics this Monday. Don't anyone hold their breath though.

Great progress! Inspiring for the rest of us who have a ways to go yet.

You have to be a good guy Dave,
This could not happen to some off the wall guy.
I am enjoying your build and your decisions and doing it right.
Hope everything keep's going good for you.
Thank's for letting use watch this build. :thumbup:

Thanks again for the kind words. I love this project. If you put enough time and love (eerrr $$$) into something you are bound to get good results eventually. Each step is a learning process and that is part of the fun. Thankfully, I have not had too many snags. Just the extra time it takes to resto/mod one of these great cars. Oh wait......another snag....it's rained the last 4 days here in SoCal. My painter doesn't have his own fancy heat/humidity/moisture contolled shop. He shares a booth with a few other shop owners. The paint would not have cured to well I guess with HIGH humidity and lots of moisture. I'm sure he doesn't want to strip the car down again. What does all this mean.....he didn't shoot the doors and trunk lid meaning more block sanding on the body by the painter. Yeehaw...even better results I hope.

DOH. Another snag from the painter. He and his son got hit by a car while on a walk. Luckily neither were hurt too badly just shaken up. His ankle was swollen up like a grapefruit and his wrist is messed pretty good. Nothing broken. The guy that hit them didn't have a license or insurance :scratch: Glad they are okay and things could have been worse.

Take care of yourselves out there.

You have come a long ways...and it looks like you left out nothing. She's going to be very beautiful but mean car. Well done :salute:

The waiting game really sucks. The painter has had my car since I don't know when. Oh...September. Super nice guy with some bad luck lately as per previous post. I got a bunch of stuff done today and am please with the results of some of it.

Dyed my seat belts Navy blue to match my seats. They were really faded and they came out awesome using navy RIT dye. Great stuff.
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Then decided to do the tranny mount for dual exhaust. I already have a tranny mount for the 5 speed. This will be just in case I ever want to put the automatic back in the car. I doubt it once I'm rowing those gears down the freeway. The template is from the tti exhaust intructions. Maybe I'll post it in the early a-body section when I have it completed. I'm just about ready to weld the plate on. Then primer and paint black. Pretty simple and should work great for anyone wanting dual exhaust on their early A without the passenger side hanging down low.

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Oh and I sandblasted my shock mounts as well.
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Really productive day.

You are going to have an incredibly nice 'vert when you're done. Hope you enjoy the ride...I'm jealous!...sorta....mostly excited

Got a few things done today. Finished the tranny mount for the 904 if I ever decide to use it again. Turned out pretty well. Posted more pics in the early a-body discussion forum. Here is one.
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Also decided to paint the intake manifold with Aluminum Dupicolor 1200* High Heat paint. Was going to powdercoat it but decided not too since I was going to get all the suspension parts done in black. Would have cost and extra $85 to do just the intake in silver. Was cheaper to do it this way and I could always recoat if necessary. Looks pretty good to me. Just trying to keep busy with little stuff while I continue to wait on my car. :sad:
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That's a really pretty car!

Can wait to see video of the first burn out!!!!!

I love seeing this post! It helps keep me motivated.
I really like the dyed seat belts. I was thinking of getting another set for my car, I do have a set from a parts car that look really poor. I hadn't thought of dying them, I might need to do that.
Keep us up to date on the progress.

Hey guys just got a call today that my car will have base color on it this monday or tuesday. The weather has been really great here in Cali and is perfect for shooting paint. I can hardly wait. If all goes well I should have my car back by the end of the month. It's been a longer than expected wait, but I think it will be totally worth it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though. :angel9:

Don't worry there will be plenty of up coming photos. I'm going to try and visit the shop next week for sure.

Delays delays delays.......but finally...really getting somewhere on the paint job. The car is almost primered and should get some beautiful midnight metallic blue this week. These are the only pics I have so far from the painter. MOre should be coming tomorrow. It has been a really long road just for the paint and body work. I still have to put the thing back together. It sucks to be idle for so long. Have gotten some stuff done but things will really start to come together once I get the car in the garage (outside garage that is....hehehe) Hope to have color pics next weekend. :salute:
-Dave
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I`m getting anxious too, wish they`d finish that paint! That`s going to be one really nice vert when she`s all done. What will ya` do then?

take it to shows, cruise the coast, run it at the track a couple of times and enjoy it as often as i can. :toothy7:

WoW your 66 is coming along nicely !!

this has been a good project to watch. :salute:

Can't wait to see it in its new skin :thumbup: :thumbup:

Very cool. "Cruise the coast and take it to shows", man im dreaming of the day i can do that. I bought my car over a year ago, half apart and never even got to drive it. Sense then ive taken it apart even further. Are you gonna have them paint the enginebay? Im thinking of buying a fairly priced spray gun and doing the trunk and enginebay myself. When im ready for paint ill see how much they will charge me to do it. My fenders, doors and trunk lid will be off the car, so im thinking it souldnt cost tons more.
Looking good, cant wait to see it done, and i really cant wait to see the 5 speed in it.

Hey, i had pics of that valiant you had also. I modified them abit. the last one didnt turn out too well.

Very cool. "Cruise the coast and take it to shows", man im dreaming of the day i can do that. I bought my car over a year ago, half apart and never even got to drive it. Sense then ive taken it apart even further. Are you gonna have them paint the enginebay? Im thinking of buying a fairly priced spray gun and doing the trunk and enginebay myself. When im ready for paint ill see how much they will charge me to do it. My fenders, doors and trunk lid will be off the car, so im thinking it souldnt cost tons more.
Looking good, cant wait to see it done, and i really cant wait to see the 5 speed in it.
Those pictures are awesome. I love it. The black convertible top will really set it off with the dark blue body. Now if you could get the SWS wheels on there. I'm not that good with photo shop. I saved a couple of those pictures. I lost the guys phone number. He lives 30 miles north of me in Santa Barbara. Hope to run into him some time again.

My painter is painting everything, engine bay, trunk, inside, floors, undercarriage, chassis. I am very patient because I know that good work takes time. The stars have to align just right for a guy to get motivated to work on these old cars, especially when they have a family to feed. :thumbup:

Sounds cool, cant wait to see it done.

Been busy with the trial 5-speed swap using the parts car. Should be nice when it's in the convertible. Here is just a little of what's been going on.

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Will be visiting the car this week to see what else has been done. It's been one delay after another but it is getting closer to being done and back inmy garage. I'll be pissed :cussing: if I don't get to drive it this summer. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.

It will be home soon Dave and well worth the time it take's. :blob:

The tunnel looks great. :thumbup:

In preparation of getting my car back soon and being a little bored I finally swapped out the M1 for the Eddy RPM Performer, put the Mighty Demon carb and fuel feed lines on, the ported mechanical fuel pump, FBO distributor, plug wires and FBO coil, Schumaker motor mounts and to top it all off a polished Barry Grant air cleaner. Good busy few hours today.

It's only a matter of time now. :toothy7:

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Looks real good Dave!!! :thumbup:
I always enjoyed this part,
In the shop!! just me and my small block. :toothy7:

are you doing a scoop or will it all clear the hood?

I started my conversion on the center hump with an existing 4spd. and console. I riveted the new sheet metal in and used "Great Stuff" foam to filll the void. The two things that I`m having concerns with are the front console bracket and the old shifter position in the carpet.The front console bracket I simply bolted in (in case I need to move it) and I need to find a piece of carpet to patch the old shifter position when the carpet goes in. Otherwise all looks good. Here`s several pics of the process.

Dude,
Looks really good. Yeah the shifter hole in the carpet is going to be a bitch to cover up I bet. Guess you may need to get a new carpet set if necessary. You could take the hole that you cut out for the new shifter hole and use it to plug the old hole I guess. Don't see why you could stitch that piece in with some nylon thread or even dental floss works great.

How much does that Dynamat run?

I`m going to try to piece in the carpet I cut from the new opening but I suck at seaming carpet. The idea of stitching it in sounds feesible, thanks! The Dynamat was a 9 piece kit, each 18 x 32. I found a website called www.hifisoundconnection.com that had it for $124.95, so I called Summit, they beat the price by a buck, shipping was only $9.00, and I had it in two days. Nothing against hifisound ,I just like Summit. The Dynamat should help quiet and insulate things.

I should use that stuff too. I'm having my painter coat the inside of my car with stuff that is similar to undercoating but more like rhino lining but much thinner/lighter. Then the dynamat would be perfect to deaden the header noise and heat. Might actually be able to hear some tunes.

Dave, I just saw a video on youtube of three guys putting a hemi in a Roadrunner from underneath using a engine/trans stand and regular engine lift. They used the engine lift connected to the front frame rails or bumper(couldn`t tell which) and then slid the engine in from the side, lowering the car down over the stand. Bolted up in about 2.5 minutes. It looks like the way to go.

Dave, I just saw a video on youtube of three guys putting a hemi in a Roadrunner from underneath using a engine/trans stand and regular engine lift. They used the engine lift connected to the front frame rails or bumper(couldn`t tell which) and then slid the engine in from the side, lowering the car down over the stand. Bolted up in about 2.5 minutes. It looks like the way to go.
I'm totally convinced it's the only way to go for us hobby guys. You have a link to youtube? I'm doing it this way for sure. I want to avoid the TTI headaches all together since everything will be out of the car. I think it's a brilliant. :headbang: Hell I've already bolted the headers and trans up to the engine once just for fun, now all I need to is bolt on the K and the discs. Presto...one man show. YOu know I'll have plenty of pics on this one.
-Dave

BTW how is the 5-speed coming along?

I don`t have a link to the youtube video, I just saw it when watching a video that 9secsmallblock had posted in the racers forum about (good audio of a 408 in a parking lot). I get into youtube and get carried away. I don`t think the guys had the LCA`s on the K-member or any of the suspension which made the install really fast. I`m waiting on Keisler to finish the machine work on my bellhousing and slave cylinder. Seems they are busy and had to send out the items to a machine shop ,so things are moving slower than usual. After putting my carpet and seats in, it appears I`m going to have to make some changes to the sheet metal center hump. It`s pushed my right foot over enough that if I wear a wide shoe my foot gets caught behind the brake pedal when I go to brake. I`m probably going to make some changes after I get the trans installed, but just do the bare minimum on the center hump as far as any sheet metal alteration. I don`t want to change a lot there if I can help it because of the center console. I guess it`ll come together all in due time.

Yeah I'm waiting to get the offset dowel pins before I can bolt on the pressure plate and clutch disc. You might want to ask Keisler to send you a set (0.007, 0.014 and 0.021) of offset dowels pins just in case you need them. I think you can return the ones you don't need. That will save you some time if you end up having to order them anyways.

I'm getting all the suspension parts powdercoated but I'll have plenty to do while that's being done. :)

The bellhousing is en route with a set of offset dowels. I thought the same thing, and if I don`t need them I`ll just send them back. Don`t need to wait any longer than what I already have. I tried installing the master cylinder for the clutch the other day and couldn`t get the mounting bracket to align with the cylinder and the firewall hole. I finally called the tech guys and found out that they sent me the m/c for a B body. It`s always something!

Hay Longgone!!
How is that nice barracuda of yours
I have not seen it since the contest. :toothy7:
To bad about the mix up on the m/c. :cussing:

The bellhousing is en route with a set of offset dowels. I thought the same thing, and if I don`t need them I`ll just send them back. Don`t need to wait any longer than what I already have. I tried installing the master cylinder for the clutch the other day and couldn`t get the mounting bracket to align with the cylinder and the firewall hole. I finally called the tech guys and found out that they sent me the m/c for a B body. It`s always something!

Bummer that sucks :sign6: . Luckily you have the wilwood master to work with. I have a CNC'd one for the early a-body which is slightly different. Hope it works out as well as the Willwood unit.

On the carpet you can try the old heat gun and sandbag trick to get the carpet to mold to the floor and lay down better over the hump. I may have to do the same, my carpet is pretty tight. I think I will do a better job with the floor hump fabrication the 2nd time around. I don't think I really need to cut out as much as the template shows.

Let me know how the rest of your's goes in. :thumbup: Looks like you will be done before me for sure. It might be at least a month before I get my car back. Not holding my breath though. I've done practically all I can do to prepare for the homecoming.

Hello Mike, the Barracuda`s been getting a heart/lung transplant this winter. As you would think, everything is taking longer than what it should. I`ve installed a new rotating assembly adding another 60 cubes( about 500ci. now), aluminum heads, bigger cam and of course the Keisler/Tremec 5 speed. I`ve been watching Dave to learn what I can about the 5 speed install. It should be nice when it`s all done and it`ll be the difference in trailering or driving the car to events. Oh, and thanks for your vote if I didn`t tell you already. I knew I did`t stand a chance and even making the big cut was a shock. There are so many really nice A-bodies here at FABO and I`m honored to be part of the community. Like Dave and so many of us here at FABO, we`re plugging away now so when the weather really breaks our cars will be ready. Speaking of ready......Dave, when does your car return from the painter?

I was typing while you were, lol. I`m thinking of reworking the hump after I get the trans in , it does seem to be much more than needed. Seems almost a good beating with a BMFH would`ve cleared things enough. I was kinda` hoping you`d finish first so I could use your thread here as a guide. It looks like the hydraulic clutch is going to be some of the most involved of the transition.

it's getting there. got more pictures last monday. everything is coming together nicely. hope the door jams will be done this week. maybe he can get the dash done and can bring it down to me so it's out of the way. The dash will be the same color but flat/satin finish. He has decided to blast the engine bay as well. I don't mind since he is going to smooth everything out. I'm thinking June I'll be on the road. I'm lucky to be in SoCal where the weather is nice 90% of the time.

That sure sound great longgone. The barracuda will enjoy that for sure!
I hope Dave gets you in gear and makes it happen. :thumbup:

good news. should have color on the jams, trunk and engine tomorrow. should have pics this friday. :headbang: looking forward to seeing how this color turns out.

been busy with detailing trim pieces and repaired the rear convertible panel. turned out pretty good. you can see the repair if you look closely. these things are rarely found without any cracks in them.
Before
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After
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got an AAR Hemi Dart scoop from an FABO member and have been working on the spare hood. plan on doing a flat black on the hood. should be a fun change up on the car. i can always go back to the original hood at any time. i'm trying out the roller method (was on moparts.com) as an experiment that's very cheap. $20 for all the stuff. we'll see how it turns out.

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anyway, hope to be posting the base color soon.

This is one of my favorite projects going on here at fabo. :coffee2:
That hood will look great Dave,
Just 63 hours from know I can see more. :blob:

good news. should have color on the jams, trunk and engine tomorrow. should have pics this friday. :headbang: looking forward to seeing how this color turns out.

been busy with detailing trim pieces and repaired the rear convertible panel. turned out pretty good. you can see the repair if you look closely. these things are rarely found without any cracks in them.
Before
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After
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got an AAR Hemi Dart scoop from an FABO member and have been working on the spare hood. plan on doing a flat black on the hood. should be a fun change up on the car. i can always go back to the original hood at any time. i'm trying out the roller method (was on moparts.com) as an experiment that's very cheap. $20 for all the stuff. we'll see how it turns out.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7da05b3127cce83af898fedfd00000016100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7da05b3127cce83af89b7edc500000016100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg

anyway, hope to be posting the base color soon.

:scratch: Roller method?!?!?!

Hey dave, if its not too late, I can tell you how to fix the crack in the panel so the grain covers the scratch and you cant see any repair at all. Let me know if you are interested.

Got a few things done today. Finished the tranny mount for the 904 if I ever decide to use it again. Turned out pretty well. Posted more pics in the early a-body discussion forum. Here is one.
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Also decided to paint the intake manifold with Aluminum Dupicolor 1200* High Heat paint. Was going to powdercoat it but decided not too since I was going to get all the suspension parts done in black. Would have cost and extra $85 to do just the intake in silver. Was cheaper to do it this way and I could always recoat if necessary. Looks pretty good to me. Just trying to keep busy with little stuff while I continue to wait on my car. :sad:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7dd24b3127cce82c7be5311ba00000016100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg

Another option is one I have used. You can have someone beadblast the intake clean, then spray it with a product called Diamond-clear, they have a satin and a gloss version. It is specifically designed for coating bare metal and protecting it from corrosion. I have used it on all my brake parts and I'm going to use it on my RPM intake as well.

Another option is one I have used. You can have someone beadblast the intake clean, then spray it with a product called Diamond-clear, they have a satin and a gloss version. It is specifically designed for coating bare metal and protecting it from corrosion. I have used it on all my brake parts and I'm going to use it on my RPM intake as well.

I'd be interested in making the panel look better. I used a leather glove and pressed it into the wet paint a few times to get a pattern. If I can find a better grain pattern that would be great. Maybe I could get some reminent from an upholstry shop. What's your option?

The Diamond clear stuff from Eastwood would work good I guess. I wanted something with a very high heat rating. I baked the intake after I painted it.

Here is the link to the roller method. http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&an=0&page=3#Post2331682 Very long thread. 45 pages I think. I could spray it but can't deal with the cleanup and overspray mess right now. It's an experiment to see how it works. :-|

This is one of my favorite projects going on here at fabo. :coffee2:
That hood will look great Dave,
Just 63 hours from know I can see more. :blob:

Thanks again Mike. I can hardly wait that long.

dave, if you don't light a fire under this guys ass who's painting your car, i will when i am in the area for spring fling.

you have been killing me with the waiting..............what is going on?????

dave, if you don't light a fire under this guys ass who's painting your car, i will when i am in the area for spring fling.

you have been killing me with the waiting..............what is going on?????
It's killing me too. I couldn't make it down yesterday and I'm working all day Saturday. Will see it in the sun tomorrow at noon. I can't wait. Should be good. It's only the jams and hopefully the trunk and engine bay. The weather is perfect here right now in the SF valley. Very warm. In the 90s. I should have pictures for sure tomorrow. I will be pretty damn dissapointed if there isn't some color. The fire is on. :angry4: We talk every few days. He is a one man show and has access to the paint booth at off peak hours. If the results are what I expect then it's worth it. So hard to find people to do these old cars. Luckily, we have a reciprocol agreement for future services rendered for him and his family. :goodman:

Will keep the pressure on. I was hoping to have it ready for the fling but no such luck. It will be at the Fall Fling if all goes well. I will be at the fling on Saturday. Thanks for the support and watching my back. :lol:

Well I have good and bad news. The good news is I got to work on the body myself to make sure it turns out the way I want it. I scrapped all the seam sealer from the all joints in the car and cleaned the entire floor. I also removed the dash and prepped it. The doors, convertible top and gas tank were also removed. I really wanted the engine bay to be smooth (I'm not a big fan of the factory drips) so that took up quite a bit of time. He also felt better that he removed the doors to get every nook and cranny possible. So the bad news is my painter did not shot any base coat. I'm really happy I was there for some of the final body work stages so there is no mis-communication :sign6: and I get what I want. Plus I got to contribute more to lighting a fire under the ass of my painter. LOL. I've got lots of love for this guy it was a fun day.

Here are a few shots and a teaser of the paint. We tried to spray a small part but it flashed too quickly. Was pretty warm out today.

Sun bathing

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Me being obsessive/compulsive about getting the doors off and cleaning the jams up myself. I'm a perfectionist but I hope I can accept some flaws. They are inevitable unfortunately.
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My bitter Ferd Face after noticing the Ferd banner above the shop door :sleepy3:
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Paint guy Douglas getting primer in the engine bay after smoothing things out a bit
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And the final teaser. Some paint left on the the paint cup after trying to paint a small piece that didn't turn out so well. This paint looks awesome. I can't wait to see it on a body panel or the hood even. :headbang:

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http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7da08b3127cce847408c902b600000016100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg

Hope to have more pictures up soon as they come in. :salute:

Looking real good man. Youll be rollin down the road before ya know it.

So we're all patiently waiting for paint pix.... C`mon Dave! We're almost neck & neck here. Your car is going to be such a sweeeeet cruiser!

Glad you got those seams cleaned up and had a good day with your great car.
Take all the time you can now, But it look's ready for paint from here. :blob:

She's going to look awesome Dave. :thumbup:

Should hopefully pick up some panels on Friday. The Spring Fling is on Saturday down the street from his shop so I may need to pick them up then as I now how he usually gets delayed. The trunk lid, doors, dash and hood are totally ready to go. Ordered more goodies from Don at FBO. Got a really nice triple gauge kit from Stewart Warner. Headed to the stereo shop today to get new door panel speakers, a new under the dash 6x9 speaker for the original radio and an inexpensive radio to hide under the seat that has an iPod jack. Plan on having both system working but the original will be for show. Hell, I might not even hear the tunes so well with headers and the beast rumbling. We'll see.

I'm just as giddy as you John. :toothy7: Doing the pee pee dance every time I visit the shop. I might need a diaper when I see the final finish. I should get a video camera. Everything is pretty much lined up and ready to go as far as the car assembly. Well it's off to more misc work this afternoon. Updates as soon as I get them. :thumbup:

Dave

Tell that slacker to get painting, we're getting tired of waiting. Hell I'll paint it for you if he keeps dragging his feet. I'll be at the fling on both days so stop by & say Hi.

Friday came and went and no panels. Just like I thought but today I got email from the painter of the dash painted. Looks like it came out really nice. It has one small run near the radio and this will be cleaned up today and I should be able to pick it up tomorrow before work. The dash has that factory satin/textured finish. I really like this color. Next up are the other panels. :wav: Oh and now he plans to removes the fenders as well. Getting much more work than I bargained for which is cool with me. He must feel guilty for having my car for this long. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. This was just enough to get my mouth watering. :tongue5:

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Looks really sharp dude....coming together nicely!!

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?????? IS IT DONE YET??????????????????

an-tic-ipation......................

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?????? IS IT DONE YET??????????????????

an-tic-ipation......................

I hear ya!!! This thing should have been done two-three months ago. I'm glad I've been able to be there for the critical stuff and I can visit anytime. He is anxious to finish the car as well but wants it to turn out really nice.

I just visited my painter this morning. He happened to be here at the hospital I work at for an eye appointment. Everything is coming alonggggggg at a snail's pace. But, things are looking really good. The trunk lid is ready for clear and the doors should be ready for pickup on Tuesday. I've been waiting to get more pictures before posting any new ones. Here are a couple of the trunk lid. The lighting is not great and it's only basecoat right now so it looks a little flat. When the clear goes on it should be awesome. Wish I had more to post. I'm afraid John (FASTBACK340) will have his car all put together by the time I get my car back. :coffee2: Patiently waiting SUCKS but here ya go.


TRUNK DECK
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Close up of the color. Wish I had a better pic. Can't wait to see the clear on it.
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i just have to follow this thread to the end! wow, talk about patient!

You will be dun when you get it dun!! That is the only way to go. :thumbup:
The color is a good brilliant Blue
and like I have said It will look damn good when it is dun, I can wait. :drinkers:
Looking great Dave.

I'm getting sooooooooooooooooo tired of waiting to get my car back. Wish there was more I could do to help get this thing busted out and done. Luckily I've been out of town a lot this past month. I will be lucky if I get the car done by the summer. I'm bummed about that. I really wanted to hit some of the shows and summer cruises. Next year will have to do for now since I won't be rushing the assembly.

I got all my gauges for the car. Stewart Warner gauges are nice :) I fabbed a tach bracket for the dash. The first one set on top of the dash but I prefer the sleeper look with it under the dashpad. This is about all I've done with the car lately. I'm dying to do some serious wrenching.

Top
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Bottom
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I like the tach down below the dash too, much less conspicuous. You`re fortunate to have that second car to mock up everything for the real one. You are going to LOVE the 5 speed in that car, I can`t wait to hear from you when it`s all together.

I like the tach down below the dash too, much less conspicuous. You`re fortunate to have that second car to mock up everything for the real one. You are going to LOVE the 5 speed in that car, I can`t wait to hear from you when it`s all together.

Trust me I'll be getting a video camera for the first burnout.

Dave, things are looking good, even if they're really slow. One question though, how long is your painter leaving those parts in basecoat before applying the clearcoat?

WTF. Really getting out of hand. Had a good talking to the painter. He has apologized profusely and said he has no excuses. Basically, I'll be getting a 15K paint job for 1/3rd the cost. I guess I should not be complaining. I'm glad he is detailed and a perfectionist, but damn this is a long time to me at least. My problem is that I'm trying to sell my house and was wanting to have this project done before the house sold. Now, I have to figure things out in the interim. Best part is he offered to let me keep the car at his shop as long as needed and I can even work on it there if needed at no charge. He is also happy to help me with the rest of the resto at his shop if needed at no charge. He must feel either guilty or I actually think he realy likes the car and enjoys working on it with me. I've been to the shop a number of times doing little things to the car and we have a good time. Pretty mellow. Still gotta get 'er done.


Good thing is that he did the doors/trunk and hood but the doors had some slight waviness so he is redoing them completely. Whoever did the previous work on the car did an incredible job so he's got to match that craftmanship otherwise neither of us will be happy. I'm glad this guy is not a jerk. Just needed to rant some more. (BTW, thanks for letting me rant earlier John) :angry4: :coffee2:

Well I now have a new plan. I bought a set of frame dollies. Hell, I should make my painter pay for them. No disrespect intended..... but he may need them for future projects at the rate he moves. :clock:

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I probably could have made them myself but the price was right and I don't have time to screw around anymore since I have an open house this weekend and can't be a slob anymore :pottytra:. I've gotta use this time in my current :home: while I can. The new house is not really setup well for my restoration project. These will work out great. Now I can get the k-frame, selected suspension parts, and other misc parts all powdercoated at the same time, which will save me time and $$$. Once I get the stuff back from the powdercoater I can install the new suspension kit and finish making my engine cradle. Then, as soon as the car is back home I'll be ready to drop the body straight onto the engine cradle...headers, tranny and all. :cheers:

I feel like I'm getting back on track and moving again. Been stalled for some time now. I'm psyched. :rock:

Man ,Dave, I checked in thinking.............PAINTS DONE!......... but no!!! I`m sure your painters doing a great job but he needs to push your car back to the front and give it his full attention again. Good luck with any prospective buyers for the house.- John

Man ,Dave, I checked in thinking.............PAINTS DONE!......... but no!!! I`m sure your painters doing a great job but he needs to push your car back to the front and give it his full attention again. Good luck with any prospective buyers for the house.- John


Thanks John I appreciate everyone's support. Happy to be moving again on this project.

No big updates. Went down to the shop on Monday and pulled all of the front suspension. I got it home and started removing the bushings, ball joints, etc. Managed to break the specialty tools to remove the bushings and pivot arm. I only broke the threaded steel rod though, which I guess I'll replace eventually. Finally got all the bushings and sleeves out the hard way today. Old school: Torch and air hammer. :naka:

Scrapped the 40+ years worth of grim off the parts and cleaned them up a little. Not they are ready to go to the powder coater on Friday along with some other parts.

Doesn't look like I'm going to be cruising around this summer. I am determined to make it to the Fall Fling for sure. I should set a deadline and will pull the plug and taking my car elsewhere if he can't finish it.:protest: I'm pretty much done with all the excuses.

Happy 4th of July everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

whats the deadline and when should i show up? just give me the address and time....................:angry3:

i have a customer who just sent a letter to his body guy(after 1.5 years in shop), that he has 2 months to finish or........don't know.

what's the scoop, man.

whats the deadline and when should i show up? just give me the address and time....................:angry3:

i have a customer who just sent a letter to his body guy(after 1.5 years in shop), that he has 2 months to finish or........don't know.

what's the scoop, man.

THE SCOOP

.... I absolutely have to have my car by next month.

I gave him a date to finish and he is working towards having it done in two weeks. I know he knows that I want my car back and that I have been very understanding of his circumstances. It looked like there was a bunch of work that needed to be done when I was there last Monday. I'm not a paint and body guy so I don't know how long this stuff will take for a solo guy.

Short List:
Hood and trunk need additional coat and then clear
Doors are blocked and ready for base and clear
Pull fenders
Fenders need final blocking and painting
Final blocking of the body
Base and Clear body
paint engine bay
paint inside trunk
paint floors
paint misc parts
undercoating the car

Realistically....I'm betting something will come up and it will be the end of July. If it goes past July I will have a talk about getting my car sent to another shop to be finished. If I can get the body/shell back to my house, then I can get started on the drivetrain conversion/install. The suspension will be back from the powdercoater by next Monday and I will get my cradle built.

Hoping all goes well and he keeps motivated.

Called up my painter today to see how things are going and guess what? :cheers:

I may have my car back as early as next week....the shell that is. All the panels will come later. With the shell back home I can start with my suspension, engine and 5-speed install. I can't wait to get her back together.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the paint goes on nice and there are no hang ups. The powdercoated K-frame and suspension parts will be done next week as well. This will be good timing.

Next posting will hopefully be a painted body and suspension parts. 8)

That is what we all have been waiting for.:cheers:
hope she comes home looking good.8)
Life get's better.

WHAT? Next week? No way!.............That would be great, that is,..if he`s not just blowing smoke.

I may have my car back as early as next week....

Maybe this will make you feel a little better that your not the only one: My body guy STILL hasn't painted my header panel, lower valance, and fender tag! I paid him a surprise visit this past Monday morning and explained why I must have my parts painted and returned. The reason is because I already PAID him to do it. I was promised I'll have them back this Saturday. We'll see....

Good luck Dave. I'm sure everyone is dying to see your car.

I know it has been a long hard road but you're lucky you have found someone that wants to do quality work for you. Keep in mind your car will be really great!
Keep the reports coming in and good luck.

Well I said the next posting would either be shiny suspension parts or the car.

I got the k-frame and control arms back and they look awesome. These guys used to do the powdercoating for Willwood. I wish I would have added some other stuff to get coated at the same time. Beats the heck out of sandblasting and painting these parts myself. Especially the K-frame. For all the parts it was $125. Well worth it to me.

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Shop dog checking out the parts
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I have decided to replace the original 1966 Valiant grill with a 1966 Barracuda grill. After seeing a post about the Acapulco Mexican Valiants I was hooked. There was a picture of a 66 Signet with the barracuda grill and it looked fantastic. I dig the cheese grater grill. Much more aggressive and screams killer MOPAR. I got lucky and found a set on ebay for $60. They looked rough in the pictures but they sure cleaned up nice. Very little pitting in the pot metal and only one corner has a pinch. I think that can be fixed though. Man they are way heavier that the aluminum ones from the Valiant.

Filthy Before
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Beautiful after cleaning and polishing
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This is about the only excitement I've gotten lately. I'm headed down on Sunday to cut the holes out for the 5-speed and fab in the new tranny hump. I had a word with my painter and we now have an understanding.

Sorry to leave you guys hanging. It'll get there soon enough.

I had a word with my painter and we now have an understanding.

Sorry to leave you guys hanging. It'll get there soon enough.

I hope the understanding is if the car isn't painted he'll be hospitalized for a blunt head trauma.... your being WAY too nice with this guy.

I finally got my header panel back last Sunday (along with an attitude...:angry7: ) from the guy who painted my car. And I'll probably have to hit bodyshop # 3 to fix what he didn't do right. Damn bodyshops....

BTW: Good deal on the powder coating!

I hope the understanding is if the car isn't painted he'll be hospitalized for a blunt head trauma.... your being WAY too nice with this guy.

I finally got my header panel back last Sunday (along with an attitude...:angry7: ) from the guy who painted my car. And I'll probably have to hit bodyshop # 3 to fix what he didn't do right. Damn bodyshops....

BTW: Good deal on the powder coating!

Too bad about your header panel. Everything else looks so good. I am being way too nice and patient than most people would be. I told him I didn't want it to come down to taking my car to someone else. He knows that I'm starting to get very impatient. I have set a deadline :clock: to get my car back. I must get a majority of this car done before the my house sells. He totally understands and he seems to be a straight up guy but with a lot of back luck this year.

BTW: Good to see yours is coming along nicely. I dig the trunk and hood releases. Very cool.

First off..no car yet.....:angry7: But.....

I went down to the shop today and finished the floor hump for the 5-speed. It turned out 100% better than my first attempt with the parts car. I ended up making my own template (Keisler's template is total shit for the early a-body IMHO) with some metal that I took from the roof of my parts car. My welding still sucks but it is getting better...it's not going anywhere. I feel better knowing that part is finished and it will be painted with the rest of the floor. It still has to be sealed from underneath but I will do that later. It was really good to work on the car. I love that feeling of working on something that you've planned out for so long and you see it starting to really come together.

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The body work is looking fantastic. The car was in an accident at one point on the driver's side and it has been giving my painter/body guy some fits. The previous work done was exceptional and he wants to make it better. On the early convertibles the factory kinda did a mediocre job making body lines transition smoothly where they cut the body for the convertible top. He made everything flow really nice and smooth. I really enjoy making things better on these old cars.

Tough spot
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The fenders came off since the last time I saw the car at least.
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I'm hoping to get the shell back soon. I can tell that there is not much more to be done before he can actually shoot the car. In the mean time I gotta finish my engine cradle/jig for the transplant.

Since I am getting my car back pretty soon I have been busy getting things ready for the arrival and transplantation. Ordered some dynamat from Summit. Thanks Longgone for the tip and the price savings. I also got the engine cradle/dolly finished so I can install everything at once. Hopefully I'll avoid the issues of getting the TTI headers into this early a-body. I still need to mount the power steering gear box, the lower control arm and maybe the disc brakes and other steering components. Having the fenders off makes the access easy. :grin:

I used my engine stand from Harbor Freight as the dolly. I just removed the engine mounting post. The lumber supports everything nicely and it's very stable. I can't wait to see everything sitting in the engine bay.:burnout: That's all for now.

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Everything looks good man. I just looked this thread over from the beginning for the first time, and I'm very impressed and happy for you.

dave, all the stuff you are doing to the car is great. i hope that you and i both are at fall fiing so i can see it in person. that is if the car gets painted in a timely fashion. good luck.

Looking good Dave! The silver lining to the paint job taking so long is that it gives you time to do everything you need to do in detail. When it comes time to put it all together, the assembly should go really fast, since you`ve done so much in preparation for it. I`m still tickled silly with the Tremec 5spd. when I go through the gears and then right into OD:toothy10:. They do need to improve that top cover that`s stamped steel though. I bent mine on install and it leaked like a sieve. I had to go back and pull the trans and reseal it. BUMMER, but she`s nice and dry now. Everything looks good , have you any wire looms? R&M make some nice sets that`ll keep those wires safe from those headers. I look forward to seeing this project come to fruition! Your vert is going to be one nice ride!!!=P~ Dave,thanks again for the gas cap!

Thanks again for all the kind words. It has been a great journey so far and will continue to be. My goal is to have it at the fall fling for sure. It might be missing some finishing touches but I hope to have her there.

I did get some thermal sleeves for wires #5 and #7. They are really close to the headers. I'll figure something out with the wire looms though.

I've definitely had plenty of time to plan things out and get things ready. I still have more to do but not too much. I hope. :tongue5:

My painter called today in the middle of coating the floors and trunk. Yesterday he went ahead and stripped the engine bay down to bare metal and cleaned things up so it will look as nice as the outside. He said basecoat should go on Saturday and clear on Sunday if all goes well. I'm headed down again this Saturday to check things out. Should be fun.

Everything looks good man. I just looked this thread over from the beginning for the first time, and I'm very impressed and happy for you.

Thanks. How's the Deviant?

The floors are seam sealed and coated. In addition to the dynamat, this rhino liner type stuff should help deaden the sound a bit more. I'm headed down tomorrow to see the rest of the progress. Might even see some blue.

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More tomorrow :wave:

Looks real good !!
I seen a jeep painted with rhino liner.
It is some good material . We have a big rhino liner co here in goober town Arkansas.

Was at the shop a couple times this weekend. I finished sealing up the 5-speed conversion hump and installed the dynamat. The dynamat stuff is awesome. Tedious and very sticky. I managed make one box fit the whole floor. I think I will do the doors and kick panels as well. It looks killer too.

NO BLUE PAINT YET...damn it. Was at the shop today while doing the dynamat and the filler he put on some moisture in it during the night and stayed tacky and never really cured. He had to take it all down and do it over. It was only a couple sections but this is getting tiresome. :bs: At least I got some more stuff done on the car while I wait. So it's not all that bad and actually good in some ways.

Wishing I was driving my car right now. HAHAHA
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Shifter hole is done, just needs coating over the foam.
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Dynamat
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Looking real good man. Ive did the "sitting in the car and dreaming" thing alot. I think we all have. Keep us posted

Well I got my suspension finished today. Painted the 340 torsion bars. Installed the brake conversion kit from SSBC. Super easy kit. Bolted up really nice. I get both patterns too. Everything is setup now for plug-n-play once i get the car back which is no telling at this point. :clock:

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dave looking good,,im concerened,,,you want to bring home the shell..and wait on the doors,,hood trunk lid???what if there is a color blending issue???
any metallic in this paint??? if so,,,is the matellic in the clear???now a days the metallic is in the clear,,was on my 02 dodge truck any way,,,if the metallic is in the clear,,it wont match the shell,if sprayed at a diferent time,,

question,,did you make some thing to roll that car around at the body shop?? i may have missed that part in your story,,good luck cant wait to see it,,

your first post was 9-17-2006, give this guy an ultimatum. this is ridiculous. it seems like drama and excuses are this guys middle name. its always something.

if it ain't done by fall fling, when i'm there, i'm giving him a visit.

dave looking good,,im concerened,,,you want to bring home the shell..and wait on the doors,,hood trunk lid???what if there is a color blending issue???
any metallic in this paint??? if so,,,is the matellic in the clear???now a days the metallic is in the clear,,was on my 02 dodge truck any way,,,if the metallic is in the clear,,it wont match the shell,if sprayed at a diferent time,,

question,,did you make some thing to roll that car around at the body shop?? i may have missed that part in your story,,good luck cant wait to see it,,

Yeah the metallic is actually in the paint itself. It is rolling. I put some casters on the fron framerails. We pretty much decided if he can't get it done in the next week it is gone. Either to another shop or my house. He has offered to get someone else (wonder about the guarantee from this guy) to paint it if he can't get a booth, which was the problem this week.... he got bumped. This is Fuccking rediculous at this point. Car was on a silver platter when I gave it to him. Bad luck is bad luck. 3 months tops if could have been one. I have been way to generous and patient. Now I have lost all patience. He's between a rock and a hard place now. So maybe things will get done. I would rather have everything painted at once. I may have to rent a flatbed trailer and pick it up. Maybe I'll paint it my self.:angry7:

DAVE,,,sorry your having this experience,,but i have heard it before,,always seems a regular guy with a classic car,,gets the shaft,, ive knew a guy when i lived in chicago area,,had a 71 charger at a paint shop for 2 years,,he finally went and got it,,took it some place else,,to finish it,, i have no clue as the how the money worked out,,,your in calif ?? land of tons of classic cars,,and custom shops,,,,i cant believe this is happening in your area,

good luck my friend,,tell him you wil have his legs broke,,trust me he will respond,,,i had to treaten a auto insurance co,,one time,,gavew them a choice,,,i can go to the media,,or come down there with a gun,,,,i finally got my money,,,,

But no pictures yet. Sorry. Just got the word that the car is bout 70% blue right now. :cheers: Hope to have pictures soon.

Not to leave you empty handed I did hook up the tti exhaust to the headers to check clearances. Sure enough the passenger side hit the Keisler tranny mount. Better pics are here. http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?p=177090#post177090
I didn't want to double post too much stuff.

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Your work looks great and your welds look clean and well dun.
Nothing is better then seeing a young man getting it dun.
Congratulations Dave.

Wow, 7/10ths done, UNFRIGGINBALEEVABLE!!!!! :-DI bet your painter gets abducted by space aliens or something before it`s done completely. Congratulations Dave!!!:cheers:

dave looking good,, take your time,,, trust me you dont want to skip some thing now just to get it running,,,and then later down the raod redo a few things,, thats where im at now,,wishing i would of done it all at one time,,,

LOOKS GREAT,,,,

can you please post or e mail me a pic from the top of the tranny,,so i can see shifter positioning on the tail shaft,,and when you get the shifter up thru the floor,, let us know how it feels comming up thru the middle verses to the left of the tunnel like in a factory location,,,im thinking it may be more comfortable thru the middle,,

Hey guys it has finally got some blue paint her. 70% of the car is blue. Forget everything I said about my painter............He is going above and beyond the call of duty :cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::c heers::cheers:

After getting the car back to his shop he went right to work on wetsanding and perfecting every body panel. I finally realize how much effort and time that goes into making a darker metallic colored car just about perfect.

This is my first resto ever and I learn something every day. All of my bitching and moaning was me being a cry baby for not having my car back when I expected. Well sometimes things take longer due to personal life issues and then the rest comes down to doing a stellar job that your integrity is built upon. The lengths he is going to now gives me a new found respect for this guy and the friendship we have developed over the last year. This car has gone from cool cruiser to a complete ground up-every nut and bolt resto-mod without going onto an actual rotisserie. This is going to be one bitchin-assed car for sure when I done with it. Forget rushing it now. I've patiently planned everything out this far so no need to screw things up. I'll simmer down on the time issue.

The pictures are not the greatest right now but it was dark by the time I got off work and made it over to the shop. You get the general idea. This color will be amazing when finished with the clearcoat. Doors, fenders and hood are getting final prep. He assured me I would not have any match problems with his painting. He said he is very good with his paint mixing.

Dusty after just a tiny bit of wetsanding. The color is dark
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This was after 2 minutes of wetsanding and then some spray bottle water to get an idea of what the clear and glaze will look like at night. WOWOWOOW
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Undercoating and sub-frames. Awesome.
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I picked up some other parts that I'm going to sandblast and give back to him to paint. So that will keep me busy this weekend while welding new offset spring perches on my 8 3/4 rear. Should get my Mancini order this week. And I may get some more stuff powder coated since it turned out so well.

Cheers,
Dave

Wow, get a little paint on the car and you get soft. Ha ha, just kidding. Yeah, thats gonna look real good. Hey, i see you have the shelf for a power top motor/pump, i want my top to be an auto top also, but was wondering how different your tops frame was from a manual top.

Epic tale. Very nice!

Glad we're back on the resto thread again! Much better than the ultimatum therad we've been reading lately. Very happy for you, and happy that your guy pulled through for you. Obviously he IS a man of integrity, and I am glad that this all worked out better than you expected. Waiting for more as always, Grant

BTW, the Val is looking GREAT!

Wow, get a little paint on the car and you get soft. Ha ha, just kidding. Yeah, thats gonna look real good. Hey, i see you have the shelf for a power top motor/pump, i want my top to be an auto top also, but was wondering how different your tops frame was from a manual top.

I won't get too soft. I just feel better about the whole thing now. I'm sure there may be some more hang ups but Iknow that the job will be done right with me being around every step of the way. I can try to get more pictures for you if you like of the convertible frame if you like. I don't know if it was different. It may be an easy upgrade with an aftermarket kit for hydraulic top.

On a side note. He used less than a quart of filler on the entire car. There was more on the drivers quarter from a past macco-earl scheib(mexi-mudding according to my hispanic painter) job done previously.

Yes, if you have pics of your frame that would be awsome. Im not sure, but i think the frame for the auto top has to attach to the lift cylanders, so i think part of your frame has to be different then the area were my manual top has just a spring, the other difference is there should be two mounting brackets on your floor for the lift cylanders.

Yes, if you have pics of your frame that would be awsome. Im not sure, but i think the frame for the auto top has to attach to the lift cylanders, so i think part of your frame has to be different then the area were my manual top has just a spring, the other difference is there should be two mounting brackets on your floor for the lift cylanders.

Yes there are two brackets. It would be really easy to make those for the cylinders. I send some pics some time.

Yes there are two brackets. It would be really easy to make those for the cylinders. I send some pics some time.

Yes, i think the cylander mounts would be easy, but i gotta see were the top of them connect to the frame. Looking at my spring loaded top, i cant see how/where to mount the top of the cylander to the frame. Pics would be awsome, i could put them on file and use them later. Thanks

Okay guys it's been a long time coming but I finally have something to show that is worth while. The engine bay is pretty much finished except for color sanding and buffing. The color looks incredible after the clear coat. I have to work late all week so I can't get her back until Thursday or Friday. More pictures to come later this week. I've been busy doing all kinds of other stuff. Ground the perches off my 8 3/4 to get ready for the offset kit. Rebuilt my steering column so I could get rid of the column shift lever and indicator collar. Blasted the door hinges and prepped and primered them and some other parts. Ended up getting a bunch of goodies from Summit racing too. Can't wait to get it all together soon.

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Beautiful Dave!!!

Looking great Dave. Glad to see it coming together! Waitng for more....

Grant

Wow, what a long haul. I always thought I was slow, now I don't feel so bad :mrgreen: Looks great, can't wait to see it assembled.

thanks guys. she's getting there. i'm ready to piss myself when the car rolls up to the house. anyone have any spare depends undergarments handy. HAHA. Maybe fastback340 has some left over. :)

thanks guys. she's getting there. i'm ready to piss myself when the car rolls up to the house. anyone have any spare depends undergarments handy. HAHA. Maybe fastback340 has some left over. :)

i've got a used pair of "oops i crapped my pants" brand. they clean up fine with soap and water.:fart: :mrgreen:


looks great dave.

Car's gonna' look SWEEEEEEEEEET!

looking goooooood dave,,,,,

hey guys,
I get my car body back tomorrow. I've been working long hours all week and this is the first chance for me to get it delivered. Should be a fun weekend installing the engine and tranny I hope. Will have pics tomorrow.

DAVE is it rumbleing yet???

Vroooom Vrooom Rumpity Rumpity Blat Blat Blat Blat ?

quick post. got my car today and got the engine and tranny installed in 45 minutes. tti headers included. my plan worked flawless. install from the bottom. the tranny still has a couple wrinkles to fit absolutely perfect but should have that done tomorrow. will post pictures as soon as I get them loaded.




YIPEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEE

Well I got the shell back today around 3pm. By 430pm it was sitting in my garage with a new thumping heart and new gills. I had not planned on installing the engine today but my painter (Douglas) could not wait to see the motor in the engine bay. I had prepared earlier in the day with the parts car. This setup raised the front end over 4ft. I used the old bumper brackets mounted to the front frame rails (no need for a welded bar/frame to clear the radiator support). Then, I used some carabiners to link some heavy chain between the lowest points on the brackets. Worked like a charm with plenty of clearance for the motor to slide right under as you will see in the upcoming photos below. Lots of pics coming. Car porn is good :bootysha:

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Now for the actual homecoming 8)
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Ready for the new heart and lungs SAY AHHH
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Yep that's me manning the hoist
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Steady :clock:
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Of course it decided to rain on my parade as you can see. :thebirdm:
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SWEET SUCCESS. I love it when a good plan works
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And some crude video action. Camera battery died halfway through the install. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUmeUHC5VL8 The rain didn't help but made us move fast. :cheers:

More to come later. The body still needs to be color sanded and buffed. I'm sure I will put a couple scratches on it and find flaws. Those will be fixed though :)

Still a long road ahead but now I'm as happy as pig in shitt

Dave

Congrats, cant wait to see it together. Im very interested in seeing the 5 speed setup done, and see you get the top installed.

makes me almost want to cry. what a way to end a week. awesome dave. did you sleep in it? when i got mine back from paint, i sat in it and outside of it for hours just admiring it.

I gotta say, ill probably sit in and around mine for days when its painted too. Heck, i kinda do that now with it in primer, dirt and grease.

Yeah I had a big grin ear to ear. There is still some work to be done on the paint. I found a couple of runs on the lower rockers and few other spots that should clean up pretty easy. Lots of color/wet sanding to be done to make it perfect. It will get there soon enough. I am really going to get after it so I can make to the Fall Fling. We shall see. I may show up with a car in progress. I'm excited to get to work this morning. I should have the front
suspension and tranny perfectly fitted by the end of the weekend.

Hey Dodgenut64. I think the top and all the trim will be my last thing to do. I promise to send you plenty of detailed pictures of the convertible top/mechanism when I get to that point.

Off to get some work done.

Dave

Congratulations Dave.:cheers:
Looking good.=P~
I can see you had some good help getting it over the motor.
It is nice to have a friend you can count on
with a set of guns like his.:naka:
Thanks for the great build thread .
Hope your day go's smooth and have a good one.
Wish I could be there to cook a nice tender Pork Tender loin for ya.

:cheers:=P~

WOW!
It already looks fantasitc.
You've have a really great car soon.

Dave , that looks good! Lowering the car over the engine is the way to go. Did you have any clearance problems at the rear crossmember?

ya your lucky uou can do that. since the car is bare

Dave , that looks good! Lowering the car over the engine is the way to go. Did you have any clearance problems at the rear crossmember?

yeah I had to go back and cut the lip of the crossmember and massage it a little to clear the Keisler modified tremec. The engine and tranny bolted up just fine afterwards. My problem now is the TTI headers will not clear my center link on the passenger side. I need about a 1/4 inch more. I don't think shims are going to do it. The engine might not be in the perfect spot on the engine mounts. I gotta put some thought into this one :read2: These little a-bodies are a bitchh for headers. The 5-speed makes things even more complicated too.

Thanks for all the kind words. The hard part has really started now

You`re doing a great job with your convert :prayer: :cheers: ,
she looks soooooo sweet.
And with your patience, I`m sure of that you`ll solve all of the problems with the rest of the build.
Cause, the probs are there to be solved :thumblef:

Dave, I just looked at the beginning of this thread. I'm amazed at what you've managed to get done on this car in just a little over a year!

Dave, I just looked at the beginning of this thread. I'm amazed at what you've managed to get done on this car in just a little over a year!


HAHA feels like forever. I feel like I'm just getting started on a whole new adventure getting it put back together.

I have serious issues with Keisler though:cussing: I'll be posting iall the details on my early a-body 5-speed thread. :cussing:

Main thing is I got it to fit.

Memike I could use a pork chop. :lol:

Oooh yeah!! That is really looking sweet now. Glad you got her home again. As far as the rain, my bro and I can bring on rain anytime, just start working on the cars lol.

Grant

Man i hope your 5 speed issues arent too bad.

Congratulations Dave!! You've had a long and tiring trip to get to where you are now, but it looks great. Good luck with the rest of the little assembly problems, and keep up the great work.

I had some issues at the rear crossmember as well but a BMFH seemed to make everything fit just fine.:thumbup: I had some problems with their cheap top cover plate leaking.:cussing: That is something that Keisler needs to address. As far as header clearance, I feel your pain with the 440 and 2" pipes, a small engine miss and they`re clanking against the torsion bars. Thank goodness for the hydraulic clutch!! Your build has really hit it`s stride now, I can`t wait to see how things progress.:headbang:

Well Keisler is officially a bunch of hackers out to screw us over with their shitty work. The tremec is an awesome tranny but their kit sucks ass. So is their claim of "no hack job" This is a direct quote from their website: "BOLT IN REPLACEMENT – Engineered for NO CUTTING or ALTERATION of the car body or frame; attaches directly to GM bellhousing and works with mechanical clutch linkage." :cussing: Total BS. Check out what I had to do to make mine fit. I'm still having trouble getting the motor to sit in the stock position so the tti headers will fit properly.

I have had to pull the engine and tranny 3 times. In the process I managed to scratch the headers and the paint in the engine bay. :cussing::cussing::cussing::cussing::cussing::cuss ing::cussing::cussing::cussing:

At least my system for installing the engine and tranny together is working out really well and saves the old back. Plus I can do it by myself.

Here is what I had to do to get things to finally fit. Although the headers hit the center link and idler arm on the passenger side even in the stock position. At least TTI lets you know ahead of time that you may need shims. Which I did and now it clears. The first picture was the first install. Keisler modified tranny does not clear rear crossmember. I cut the lip showing in the first set of pics and massaged a bit.

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The second set of pictures is the 3rd time I pulled everything. I had to hack out half of the rear crossmember hoop. I was able to dog ear and weld the bottom portion to maintain structural integrity and strength. This was about an inch thick and allowed plenty of clearance afterwards. I also found that the firewall pinch weld needs to be flatted a bit to clear a spot. You need a BAMFH to massage the bellhousing tunnel for the Lakewood.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7d704b3127ccebd004c6dea9f00000026100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg

Afterwards I tried everything again and I still have some issues.
BTW it is best to have the power steering hose attached and the hydraulic slave installed loosely beforehand as well. You'll never get it in with the headers already installed.

In the meantime I need to touch up the engine bay. While I'm at it I will add that I'll be doing to some extra wetsanding/color sanding in the engine bay because I can see a fair amount of orange peel in the clear. This burns me a little but at least I can get to it with the engine out and I can get the finish I want if I just do it myself. It's funny that it is better when you just do it yourself anyways sometimes.

That's enough for me right now. I'll be sanding for the next couple days and then out of town for a week

I'll keep you posted of course :happy1:

dave,,looking go so far,,did you have clearance isues in the test car with the cross member hoop ??,,,take your time,,,youve come t ofar to get frustrated,,,,it will be well worth it in the end,,,,

I have looked at all your progress and man I am blowed away, that is going to be one sick ride bro. The engine and tranny are bad to the bone, the paint is beautiful, and your attention to detail is excellent, no doubt this is going to be one bad little thumper!

I have looked at all your progress and man I am blowed away, that is going to be one sick ride bro. The engine and tranny are bad to the bone, the paint is beautiful, and your attention to detail is excellent, no doubt this is going to be one bad little thumper!

Thanks, I sure hope you can hang onto your ride. If I lived closer I'd try to help you out.

Preciate it, but you just stay focused on your ride bro, it is going to be bad to the bone, I like my car, just don't have the time for it anymore, I am just 29, I will get back into it when the kids are grown. I will be watching this post, count me subscribed!

Well guys I've been busy at work and have been out of town some the last couple weeks. Last time I posted I was having a fit getting the "perfect fit" with the Keisler tranny and the compounding problem with tti's.

:thumbup: I finally got everything to fit...motor, tranny, headers, torsion bars, suspension and x-pipe exhaust. The most frustrating part was having to continue to modify the rear crossmember. I did weld an addition piece of steel into the gap you see in the previous pictures. It came from the original piece I cut out which was very cool. It turned out pretty good and is very solid now. Excuse the inverted welds...I'm getting better though.
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Talk about piece of mine in doing it right the first time before learning the hard way in the future.The other hard part was getting the motor perfectly centered into the stock position so the headers would clear the suspension and steering. I made a big dumbass move that took me a couple times to figure it out......... I was trying to adjust the motor on the K-frame with a leveler but forgot to unbolt the tranny mount. No wonder the engine wouldn't move. :banghead: In order to clear all the suspension I did have to use 1/4" shims and that did the trick. The clearances are incredibly close. We are talking 1/16" in some places. These headers are going to rub somewhere during driving. I don't think there is any way around it. Maybe TTI will come out with a 2nd generation for the early a-bodies that is an improved design. I think the torsion bars are tighter as well because I have 383 bars compared to the plain V8 bars. Thousands of an inch seem to make a big difference.

Managed to prep the engine bay for respray since I put a few scratches in the paint and headers too. :eye: Bound to happen I guess with as many tries as it took. Oh and I plumbed the stainless steel brake lines front to back and mocked up the hydraulic clutch slave cylinder. Damn those SS brake lines are a PITA to double flare but they sure look nice.

BTW I was not completely happy with the paint finish in the engine bay so I wetsanded the hell out of it since it had to be touched up anyways. Way too much orange peel for my liking. Now there is practically zero OP. Butter smooth now without going into the paint. I did the same on the firewall, cowl and drivers quarter. I'll be doing the same on the passenger side as well. My painter came by yesterday and we had fun working on the car and he could tell how meticulous I was on the paint. Oh and critical of it. He now understands that this car is going to a whole new level and will have to match my work quality. I'm a little irritated that I have to do so much more work to get it that way, but at least I know it will be right and I can blame somebody else besides my painter. Plus I get a hand in it and learn more. Bless his heart though. I'm glad he is a good sport about it all and enjoys coming to my house to make it right. He'll be one of the first to get his head snapped back. :burnout:

I'll post some updated pictures soon. The completed rear-end and goes in this weekend hopefully. :hello2:

fyi dave, you don't need to double flare ss line. the only reason you double flare regular steel line is that it has a seam, where ss line does not. looks good dave. i am not making it to fall fling but should be there in the spring.

brake lines plumbed and re prepped engine bay
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hydraulic clutch slave master cylinder
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Out with the old 7 1/4
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8 3/4 rear end with offset shackles
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The rear tires sit a little too far forward right now. I'll have to move the perches back one hole and drill an extra pilot hole in the shock mount. Should be much better once I get that done. The rear is much high with new 5 leaf springs. Still needs full tank of gas, spare tire and all the other trim to bring it down some. Luckily I can run 255/60/15 tires now which are taller than stock.

:headbang:

Even if you don't get it driving by Fall Fling, please still bring it to Fall Fling. You've got a trailer. Unload it in a show spot, just show/tell them it's not running.

I think it's great to show you work like this. People appreciate what YOU'VE done to the car. And when they see it at Spring Fling finished next year, they know the hard work you personally put into it.

And I'll bet you get all kinds of offers for help/leads/parts.

I think there's a lot of FABO member that will be there too that want to see it.

Even if you don't get it driving by Fall Fling, please still bring it to Fall Fling. You've got a trailer. Unload it in a show spot, just show/tell them it's not running.

I think it's great to show you work like this. People appreciate what YOU'VE done to the car. And when they see it at Spring Fling finished next year, they know the hard work you personally put into it.

And I'll bet you get all kinds of offers for help/leads/parts.

I think there's a lot of FABO member that will be there too that want to see it.

I didn't think about that but I may get my painter to trailor up my car Friday and we can bring it to the show on Saturday or Sunday and then he can take it back to the shop to do some more finish work on the paint. Work in progress showing I like that idea.

I didn't think about that but I may get my painter to trailor up my car Friday and we can bring it to the show on Saturday or Sunday and then he can take it back to the shop to do some more finish work on the paint. Work in progress showing I like that idea.

Fall Fling is ONE day only, Saturday. Need to be at the park by 10am to get in to show or swap.

Dave, how `bout some pictures of the entire car now as she sits?

Dave, how `bout some pictures of the entire car now as she sits?

I'll be there Saturday with the trailor. :headbang: I might have it running at this pace but not street legal.

She's still a shell at the moment and I don't have the front suspension hooked up yet. Waiting to get the engine bay all cleaned up and totally finished. I have the next four days off work so I planned on putting the engine and tranny back in with out the headers and putting on the front suspension on so I can set my pinion angle , weld the spring perches, run the fuel lines and check the driveshaft fitment. My painter is going to redo the engine bay Sunday. I'll have some pictures of that this weekend hopefully. She's still pretty rough. Everything is all wetsanded right now. I found a couple of low spots so it will get some more clear and touch up in a couple spots where he burned throught the clear with the buffer.

I feel like things are really starting to come together now that I have the rear-end in and brake lines and the motor install dialed. takes me 10 minutes to get the lung in and bolted at the k-frame with the headers in without scrapping anything.

Should be a good weekend

Ok.. I'll wait longer for pics. Glad to here the drivetrain is going a "bit" better now :thumbup:

DAVE comming together real well,,,do you know what the clutch pedal pivot ratio is yet?? will you be posting pics when you mount the slave cylinder linkage to the clutch pedal?

DAVE comming together real well,,,do you know what the clutch pedal pivot ratio is yet?? will you be posting pics when you mount the slave cylinder linkage to the clutch pedal?

I'll post some pictures of that when I mount it. I don't really know what the ratio would be yet. Or how to measure that. I'm guessing it is a ratio between the length of travel of the hydraulic clutch rod and the clutch pedal travel.

My hat is off to you Dave!!:thumbup:
You are doing a great build and this thread is going
to help allot of folks out here.
Keep up the great engineering and work.
This is going to be a grade A mopar.
Thanks for a good read and taking the time to do this thread.:coffee2:

DAVE im sure keislier should be able to tell you the ratio,,,or you can call the tech dept at Mc leod,,,that is who made them for keislier at that time,,,
tech number is( 714 )630-3668 fred taylor,tell him what you have beware they hate keislier,,they say they have no clue what they want,,,i think we already know that,,,

the way to measure it is,,,the length of the clutch pedal from the top where it pivots to the bottom where your foot goes,,they will give you the figures to divide that length by,,thats where you mount it linkage to the slave cylinder,,

on the unit i have a tilton,,master cyl is is very important,,not to have more then 1 inch of travel in to the master cyl,,,hope this helps

Well I have been busy doing lots of little things lately because we had some strong winds, bad fires and ash was all over the place. I had to keep the car in the garage covered so the acid in the ash didn't etch into the paint. I had to wait until everything settled down to repaint the engine bay. We got that finished on Friday. It turned out much better this time around with the EXTRA work I put into it myself. Some things you just gotta do yourself if you want it done right. Now, I'll actually be proud to open the hood and be able to look into the paint and see my reflection. I'm letting everything cure nice and hard before color sanding and buffing. Once that is done I'll get the motor in for the final time.

I got the pinion angle setup on the car and welded the new spring perches on and detailed the 8 3/4. Bolted on a MP adj. pinion snubber too. Wish my welds looked better but I think it'll hold just fine. I made double passes for extra insurance:toothy9:

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I also welded on the brackets for the hood spring modification and painted it. I think it looks really clean.
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That's all I've got for now. More to come in the next few weeks. Just trying to keep this blog going so I can look back on the progress I've made over the last year or so. Thanks again for all the kind and encouraging words.

DAVE,, looks great

Sorry I haven't been following this more closely as I've been too self-involved with my projects (a fault I battled with all my life...) From what you've posted the car looks sweet! But the hassles with the Keisler and TTI's are scarey.... Sorry to hear the NO HACK installation is turning into a hack-fest. Take your time and tackle each problem on it's own. That's why it's taking me forever to build mine. Nibble it off a bit at a time.

Now, I'll bust your ball-joints like everyone else: PICTURES !!!!!!!!!!! ;)

I have some progress to update. The car is still pretty much a shell but will be on all fours soon. I ran into a snag with the aluminum strut rods I ordered from mancini racing. Apparently they packed the wrong strut rods in my A-body box. They sent me B/E body rods. So now I switched to the steel adjustable strut rods which should be here by the times I get back from visiting my folks this weekend. Since I couldn't finish the front suspension I wired up most of the engine bay and started on the dash wiring. I tried to make everything look clean and tidy. There is a lot of stuff around the master cylinder and hydraulic slave cylinder. I managed to find the perfect spot for the MaxiFuse box on the back driver's inner fender well.

The other cool thing was getting the Flaming River steering coupler milled down by another FABO member who is a machinist and who happens to be just about finished with the same modifications I've done except his is a 65 Dart. Milling the coupler allows extra space in between the headers for the steering shaft. The stock pot coupler works but I really didn't want to bother with that piece of sh*t. The other this I did was install the fuel tank. I used the Hammered Rustoleum ( Thanks John aka fastback340 for that little nugget) which turned out awesome. I also got the ADDCO rear sway bar installed. That was a bitch because my rear end was moved back 1" and the XHD leaf springs raised the rear end. Luckily I had some extra front sway bar end-links that were long enough. This car is really stiff compared to how it used to be. It should stop and go on rails now. Sent out my wheels to get widenend to 15x7.5 with 5.5" BS. Decided 255/60/15 will be best. No sense in trying to fit 275s without mini-tubbing.

Mechanical things left to do ......... Forget it.....too many other things to list primarily for my own sake.

Next will be getting the car back down to LA to get the final color sand and fitting of all the body parts. Need to get rolling on that pronto when I get back.

Here are some recent uninspiring pictures.

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closer up. I used the same hole as the plastic wire hold down for the maxi-fuse mount. was cool.
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Shaved Flaming River Steering Coupler by Ken.
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Rear sway bar in with new gas tank
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Progress in small steps at a time.

Little steps are working out great.:salute:
Looking good Dave!!:blob:

wow that cars gonna be one of a kind!

DAVE looking great,,,love the gas tank look,,whats the maxi fuse?? takes place of a fusable link ?? are you using orignal wiring harness???

I have been following this thread for months, and am getting excited for you. It will certainly be a stunner when you are through with things.

Hopefully I can see it at Spring Fling in person.

Good luck and keep up the great work.

Were there any clearance issues with the gas tank after moving the rear axle back an inch? I know things look like they'll get a bit tight there on my car.

DAVE looking great,,,love the gas tank look,,whats the maxi fuse?? takes place of a fusable link ?? are you using orignal wiring harness???

The Maxi-Fuse replaces the fusible links and takes care of the ammeter bypass issue. I ran wires from the alternator, battery, and bulkhead (hot wire slot Z) to the maxi-fuse with one 8ga wire going to the starter relay. I plan to run a kill switch also but don't know where I want to put that yet. I'm not finished with the wiring just yet. I still need to double check everything and run the gauges. I've got a pirated Hella unit off a BMW with the thick 1 ga cables.

Were there any clearance issues with the gas tank after moving the rear axle back an inch? I know things look like they'll get a bit tight there on my car.

I did not have any isues at all with the gas tank. The rear shock get close to the gas tank but you can roll the metal lip on the tank if yu wanted. I didn't need to. The offset springs did not cause any issues with the 2.5" tti exhaust either. With the 3" system you might have to dimple the tail pipe.

I know that one guy with 65 Dart had to dimple the passenger side near the spring. The tti X-pipe system bolted up perfectly. I was very impressed.

BTW the car looks 100% better with the wheels set back. I looked kinda stupid with the wheels closer to the front wheel lip

Wow,love the blog and all the helpfull stuff that you and other's have posted.

Keep up the good work

DAVE the maxi fuse sounds intresting,,, i never heard of that,,when i dedid my dash all auto meter gauges thats when i discoverd the entire car is powered thru the anmeter gauge,,which i deleted,,and put avolt gauge in, i had to tie the leads together to get power,, the car is done now ,,trying to get to some up grades,,,,ron francis wiring,,,lots of other stuff,,,but have ya ever heaqrd of this thing called myrphys law,,,,stuff just keeps holding me up,,,,

It's basically a modified version of the madelectrical.com setup. I like the idea of being able to replace the fuses instead of splicing new fusible links if something were to fail. I think it would also become a sort of kill switch if you pull the maxi-fuse out. I'm not sure though but it would make sense to me.

Commin along great.

Been busy. I hate wiring. It is not my forte at all but it turned out pretty good though. I still need to figure out where to splice in my backup light for the 5-speed. I have an issue with the neutral safety switch wiring from the automatic. I no longer need it now but my ignition switch won't turn the motor over. I was able to bypass the starter relay to get the motor to bump over. I'm sure it has something to do with switching to the 5-speed and changing steering columns. I'll hopefully get the gremlin figured out. I replaced the ignition switch for the heck of it.

She's on all fours now. The 440 to the left looks tempting :shaking2:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc25b3127cceb25c2d86e00500000026100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg

Powdercoated suspension parts and SSBC disc brake conversion.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc25b3127cceb25c2bc5e04500000026100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc25b3127cceb25c29c0e04100000026100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg


Here are some pictures of the motor installed and ready to fire hopefully this weekend if all goes well but no hurry
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc25b3127cceb25c23fa614e00000026100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc25b3127cceb25c23e1e06500000026100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc25b3127cceb25c10eb21de00000035110AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg



The dash is coming along great too. The instrument bezel was re-chromed and needs to be painted black but I kinda like it all chromed. What do you guys think?

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc25b3127cceb25c193b619200000026100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc25b3127cceb25c1e9ba09900000026100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg

now that's progress!! looks great dave! i hope you will be at spring fling. i'll park next to that beauty.

For your starting problem, have you tried switching to a starter relay (on the firewall) for a manual trans car? I think the main difference is that one terminal is grounded on the manual trans relay & it's grounded through the trans with the auto trans relay. Not sure, maybe you accomplished the same thing when you bypassed the relay.

awesome man, looking great.

Yes truly Awesome!!!!!

It`s finally taking shape and looking good. The radiator core support is huge on your car ,it looks like you could have gone with a much larger (wider) radiator? The dash looks good all chrome plated.

Nice work. Meticulous!

For your starting problem, have you tried switching to a starter relay (on the firewall) for a manual trans car? I think the main difference is that one terminal is grounded on the manual trans relay & it's grounded through the trans with the auto trans relay. Not sure, maybe you accomplished the same thing when you bypassed the relay.

I will have to check that out but I think you are right because the NSW from the 904 connected to the starter relay and was a tan wire as noted on the wiring diagram. I will have to see about getting a manual starter relay. There is a NSW on my 5spd-tranny tail shaft and will have to figure out the wiring for it. Keisler was not much help in that department.

now that's progress!! looks great dave! i hope you will be at spring fling. i'll park next to that beauty.

Absolutely.....we'll keep in touch for the 'Fling'

It`s finally taking shape and looking good. The radiator core support is huge on your car ,it looks like you could have gone with a much larger (wider) radiator? The dash looks good all chrome plated.

I could have gone wider but I wanted it to fit the stock holes in the core support, I didn't have to drill at all. I would have needed to move the horns and the overflow can would have been tougher to mount. I thought the same thing once I got it in there. I'm still thinking about a shroud possibility with this radiator if it becomes necessary for cooling.

I'll be damned. I did not realize there was a starter relay for manual and auto trans. Now I know. Thanks again FABO.

Looking like a perfect ride and more info then I can store
in my gray matter.:shaking2:
I would like to thank everyone for all the info I have learned here.
Just hope I can find it when I need it.:-k

This 66 valiant is going to be on a cover of a magazine !!
Looking great sir.:love4:

Comming along nicely, I like the dash as is. One question though, what is the stock application for your top radiator hose? I'll need one for the radiator I have, and don't want to use a flex hose.
Bob

DAVE i think the dash looks great,,,who did the rechrome???

the nsw,,you can use the auto but need to ground the treminal,the single wire that runs down to your old auto,,,just ground it,, or get one for a manual, mopars by crane has them,,20 bucks i think,,

question ??? is that radiator going to clear the hood ?? it looks a little higher in the pics then the support,,

Comming along nicely, I like the dash as is. One question though, what is the stock application for your top radiator hose? I'll need one for the radiator I have, and don't want to use a flex hose.
Bob

I went to car quest and found one that would work. They let me go in the back to find it.

DAVE i think the dash looks great,,,who did the rechrome???

the nsw,,you can use the auto but need to ground the treminal,the single wire that runs down to your old auto,,,just ground it,, or get one for a manual, mopars by crane has them,,20 bucks i think,,

question ??? is that radiator going to clear the hood ?? it looks a little higher in the pics then the support,,

The radiator is actually lower than stock. Yeah I'm going to get a manual starter relay. The chrome was gone by a guy in Florida and I got it off ebag for $65.

Really coming along now Dave.. will be nice to see everything buttoned up for good. I kinda like the dash with the chrome myself.. At least if you change your mind later, it's an easy job to paint it then.. Keep us up todate

Grant

cut out a piece of thin card board colored to fit over the gauges,,,if you dotn like it remove it and you will still have the chrome dash,,

dave who did the rechrome on the dash,,,,

cut out a piece of thin card board colored to fit over the gauges,,,if you dotn like it remove it and you will still have the chrome dash,,

dave who did the rechrome on the dash,,,,

Guy named Bob at Finishing Touches 727-546-6915

DAVE does he just do rechrome??? or complete dash resteration?? painting???
\
dave you have e mail about the head lite bezel,,

For those that want to see extra pictures here ya go.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYs27Ji3ZsmL8w&notag=1

Use the full screen mode for best view

Looks like yours will be running before mine. Great work Dave! Your doing one hell of a detailed, well thought out build.

With the damn cold weather here (it's warm today: mid-40's!) I'm getting NOTHING done on my heap. I did manage to fabricate a neat mount for my MSD unit and electric fuel pump... but that's about it. I'll post pictures in a different thread.

<sigh...> C`mon spring!

Are you done yet?

Are you done yet?


ME????? You done yet? LMAO.

Man I am getting really close to getting it fired up. I finished plumbing the fuel line to the gas tank and secured the stainless steel brake lines today. Got the exhaust hooked up the tti headers for good. Had to install the muffler hanger brackets. Wish I would have done this before putting in the rear end. Oh well, the X-pipe exhaust looks freaking amazing. Looks perfect very solid.

Still need to install the front shocks and crank the 383 torsion bars then install the front sway bar.

Fill 'er up with all the vital fluids and bleed the brakes, hydraulic clutch slave cylinder, spin the oil pump and I could be spinning around the block this weekend. I still have not gotten my wheels back. Guess I'll order tires tonight along with the bolt-on roll cage kit (eventually will be for the dart though)

Dropped off my driveshaft today to get shortened. It was a little too long. One day turn around is pretty damn sweet though.

I'll keep you guys posted.

How about now? Are you done now? :toothy4:

yeah, dave you done yet???? you're taking long enough that i am starting to think you have a job and a life.

How about now? Are you done now? :toothy4:

yeah, dave you done yet???? you're taking long enough that i am starting to think you have a job and a life.

This ought to shut you guys up for a day or two. LMAO.

Got the 340 running today. She sounds F'n awesome. This thing is going to be a monster. Here are a couple of pre-ignition pics and some crude video.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc33b3127cceb2cc73a73ab400000026100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cc33b3127cceb2cc73ef3afc00000026100AYs27Ji3Zsm Pg

Videos

Engine + Exhaust
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FFhuLjbdEV4

Exhaust Revs
http://youtube.com/watch?v=N1G5vBZprfc

yep you shut me up for a couple of days...........sounds awesome.

DAVE sounds great,,, what mufflers are you running???