Pete 67
Well-Known Member
Thanks, Al.
Wasn't easy to get it that nice. There was a ton of time in prep & painting. Felt like I was body working two cars.
Compliments like this mean a lot.
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- Thread starter Pete 67
- Start date
Thanks, Al.
Wasn't easy to get it that nice. There was a ton of time in prep & painting. Felt like I was body working two cars.
Compliments like this mean a lot.
Pete 67
Well-Known Member
Thank you, sir.
Still need to post the final pics. Been dealing with a lot of personal stuff. Car stuff has been on the back burner.
I appreciate the work you've put in your project. Every piece and part needs attention to detail.
I also understand the personal stuff as well. I've been dealing with my brother's estate since the turn of the year. He was a megahoarder and I'm not even a beneficiary. PLUS it's a long way away and I'm it for resources.
Pete 67
Well-Known Member
Life has been busy in other areas, but I finally created an album to show off the wagon. Mostly pics you've all seen here in the thread, but it's nice to be able to view them all at once. Enjoy...
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kmakar
Janitor
If I didn't have so much stuff going on with so much money going out the door. I'd buy that wagon in a heartbeat Pete. I love it!
Pete 67
Well-Known Member
Thanks, Kev! I've been going back & forth on keeping it, but you know how that goes.
kmakar
Janitor
Not many cars get to me, but yours is at the top in my book.
I get a "404 error" when I click on the photos link ?
Pete 67
Well-Known Member
Try this link instead
That's a sweet ride, so much to like there. The colors are stunning, and the fact you went with oem upholstery on a 300 says a ton about the build. SMS? I think I remember it being so. Did they make the door panels also?
And what the hell is that thing in the background???
And what the hell is that thing in the background???
Pete 67
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the kind words, Jerry!
LOL. That's my dad's unkempt palm tree. He's a different breed, so I just roll my eyes & don't ask questions. He's nice enough to stash the wagon for me in the meantime, so I'm grateful.
I did go with SMS for the seats & the door panels.....you may recall I PMd you asking what the magic words were to get SMS to ship them out the door. I finally had to tell the owner to refund my cash or have them to me by the end of April last year. I was moving out of my house in Vegas at the end of June & I was down to the wire. 22 months from order to delivery, but to me it was worth the wait & every penny.
Pete 67
Well-Known Member
Even though the car is basically done, I had some small stuff to complete that either wasn't documented yet or was done after I sent the car to my Dad's place in California.
Might be anti-climatic, but I had to install the booster & the master. Since I was going with front discs, I decided to use the small booster that was correct for '64s but went with a dual master from a '67 with front discs. I used the factory lines for a '67 SS with power discs, which also use the factory proportioning valve that bolts to the booster/master. I hate bending lines, especially where they need to be so precise in that area to fit around the steering column & the z-bar. The Right Stuff's kit worked perfectly & saved me a ton of time & aggravation.
Then it was time to work some of the bugs out. Right before we moved out of Vegas, the car was ready for its first ride around the block. I was extremely displeased when I returned quickly to the garage. The engine has extremely limited power & when I let go of the clutch, there was a NASTY vibration. I began to panic that something was really wrong & the engine wasn't balanced correctly. Blood rushed back to my extremities when I realized the enginie smoothed out when I pushed the clutch pedal in. Good news, it was either the clutch or the flywheel, bad news, it had to come apart. As livid as I was, having good friends with a lift is a nice thing to fall back on. Still didn't account for the fact the engine had no power, but I needed to tackle one issue at a time.
So after getting all the household items boxed up for the cross country move, I crashed with a friend for a few days & brought the car to my buddies' shop where he let me use his lift for the weekend. Before doing that, I made a very quick trip to my Dad's place in So Cal to grab the spare rebuilt Muncie that I put together for my Nova but hadn't gotten around to installing. I didn't know what I was in for, so I wanted to cover all my bases. I bought a new clutch kit, found an original GM 14" flywheel on CL that I immediately took to my machine shop for balancing & surfacing.... with all these parts along with the extra Muncie, I was prepared for the worst. Once I got the transmission down & the bellhousing off, the problem was pretty obvious....
Shitty aftermarket parts. Clearly only one side of the disc was engaging. Faulty pressure plate. Shocking I still had fillings left in my teeth it was shaking so bad, but at least I knew it wasn't my Muncie rebuild. I need to check which clutch kit this was, but I bought it from Summit. They actually warrantied it & credited my account, but it didn't cover my wasted time or my frustration.
After installing the new parts, I took the car for another test ride....good news, the shaking was gone, bad news, the car still had no power. And my buddy following me realized that the rear wheels are spinning completely off center. Great, more shit to fix. Sigh. That would have to wait...My cross country drive was days away & I needed some R&R with my Vegas pals before making the journey.
Might be anti-climatic, but I had to install the booster & the master. Since I was going with front discs, I decided to use the small booster that was correct for '64s but went with a dual master from a '67 with front discs. I used the factory lines for a '67 SS with power discs, which also use the factory proportioning valve that bolts to the booster/master. I hate bending lines, especially where they need to be so precise in that area to fit around the steering column & the z-bar. The Right Stuff's kit worked perfectly & saved me a ton of time & aggravation.
Then it was time to work some of the bugs out. Right before we moved out of Vegas, the car was ready for its first ride around the block. I was extremely displeased when I returned quickly to the garage. The engine has extremely limited power & when I let go of the clutch, there was a NASTY vibration. I began to panic that something was really wrong & the engine wasn't balanced correctly. Blood rushed back to my extremities when I realized the enginie smoothed out when I pushed the clutch pedal in. Good news, it was either the clutch or the flywheel, bad news, it had to come apart. As livid as I was, having good friends with a lift is a nice thing to fall back on. Still didn't account for the fact the engine had no power, but I needed to tackle one issue at a time.
So after getting all the household items boxed up for the cross country move, I crashed with a friend for a few days & brought the car to my buddies' shop where he let me use his lift for the weekend. Before doing that, I made a very quick trip to my Dad's place in So Cal to grab the spare rebuilt Muncie that I put together for my Nova but hadn't gotten around to installing. I didn't know what I was in for, so I wanted to cover all my bases. I bought a new clutch kit, found an original GM 14" flywheel on CL that I immediately took to my machine shop for balancing & surfacing.... with all these parts along with the extra Muncie, I was prepared for the worst. Once I got the transmission down & the bellhousing off, the problem was pretty obvious....
Shitty aftermarket parts. Clearly only one side of the disc was engaging. Faulty pressure plate. Shocking I still had fillings left in my teeth it was shaking so bad, but at least I knew it wasn't my Muncie rebuild. I need to check which clutch kit this was, but I bought it from Summit. They actually warrantied it & credited my account, but it didn't cover my wasted time or my frustration.
After installing the new parts, I took the car for another test ride....good news, the shaking was gone, bad news, the car still had no power. And my buddy following me realized that the rear wheels are spinning completely off center. Great, more shit to fix. Sigh. That would have to wait...My cross country drive was days away & I needed some R&R with my Vegas pals before making the journey.
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Pete 67
Well-Known Member
After settling into my new Connecticut digs for a few months, and recharging my brain & my body, I made a trip out to Cali to finish up the loose ends.
First thing I did was investigate the wobbling rear wheels. Jacked the car up & put a dial indicator on each side & they were so out of round, the dial couldn't register it. Pulled each tire off & realize the factory drums aren't sitting flush on the aftermarket 12 bolt axles. Not only are they not flush, the drum hub center holes are mushroomed over the flanges & I can't get either side off. Yay, just what I wanted to deal with. Luckily my dad has a ridiculous amount of tools that he's collected from having his own body shop, garage sales & god only knows where else...next thing I know he pulls out this set of drum pullers. I doubt he's ever used them & if he did, he couldn't remember when....what a lifesaver these things turned out to be....We were getting nowhere for an hour before he remembered he had this set of pullers. I think we'd still be trying to get them off without them. 30 minutes later after some time with a drill then a die grinder, & we have flush mounted drums.
Good excuse to show the rebuilt assemblies that I never got around to posting...
These are the original drums from the stock 10 bolt that was originally in the wagon. Another coat of cast gray after the prying & trying to beat them off & they're as good as new!
I had rebuilt the original wheel cylinders when the chassis was still separate from the body...
First thing I did was investigate the wobbling rear wheels. Jacked the car up & put a dial indicator on each side & they were so out of round, the dial couldn't register it. Pulled each tire off & realize the factory drums aren't sitting flush on the aftermarket 12 bolt axles. Not only are they not flush, the drum hub center holes are mushroomed over the flanges & I can't get either side off. Yay, just what I wanted to deal with. Luckily my dad has a ridiculous amount of tools that he's collected from having his own body shop, garage sales & god only knows where else...next thing I know he pulls out this set of drum pullers. I doubt he's ever used them & if he did, he couldn't remember when....what a lifesaver these things turned out to be....We were getting nowhere for an hour before he remembered he had this set of pullers. I think we'd still be trying to get them off without them. 30 minutes later after some time with a drill then a die grinder, & we have flush mounted drums.
Good excuse to show the rebuilt assemblies that I never got around to posting...
These are the original drums from the stock 10 bolt that was originally in the wagon. Another coat of cast gray after the prying & trying to beat them off & they're as good as new!
I had rebuilt the original wheel cylinders when the chassis was still separate from the body...
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Pete 67
Well-Known Member
Next it was the exhaust system. Tail pipe on the passenger side was not bent correctly to clear the spare tire well. Partially my fault as I shoiuld have provided the owner at Waldron's the correct part number from the assembly manual for that side. The system other than that is the same as a 2 door hardtop.
Here's the car in the air after I fit the drivers side pipe before leaving Vegas. Had to drill a new hole in the frame for the hanger, but it fit great.
Brought the car into a local exhaust shop & the kid in there took his time & was able to reconfigure the pipe from Waldrons to make it fit. He had to section it, but he did it very tastefully using a slip fit. Unless your under the car, you can't see it at all. Pipe exits perfectly behind the wheel, right in front of the spare well....
Sorry no underneath shots available, I went to use my dad's lift & both cylinders gave up the ghost. Fluid leaked everywhere. Sigh..
Here's the car in the air after I fit the drivers side pipe before leaving Vegas. Had to drill a new hole in the frame for the hanger, but it fit great.
Brought the car into a local exhaust shop & the kid in there took his time & was able to reconfigure the pipe from Waldrons to make it fit. He had to section it, but he did it very tastefully using a slip fit. Unless your under the car, you can't see it at all. Pipe exits perfectly behind the wheel, right in front of the spare well....
Sorry no underneath shots available, I went to use my dad's lift & both cylinders gave up the ghost. Fluid leaked everywhere. Sigh..
Pete 67
Well-Known Member
Another thing I felt on my quick test drives was the lack of shock travel in the rear & it was hitting really hard. Realized I had sedan shocks installed, so I ordered the correct parts for a wagon.
Not too many sources for Wagon or ElCo shocks, so I had to settle for Gabriels. If I keep the car, hopefully the KYBs are back in stock soon & I'll swap them out. At least the travel issue was addressed.
Edit... these are KYBs, but the Excels, not the Gas-A-Justs. I'd like it to ride a little firmer back there.
Not too many sources for Wagon or ElCo shocks, so I had to settle for Gabriels. If I keep the car, hopefully the KYBs are back in stock soon & I'll swap them out. At least the travel issue was addressed.
Edit... these are KYBs, but the Excels, not the Gas-A-Justs. I'd like it to ride a little firmer back there.
Yep, I remember the conversation Pete....funny thing is, I had several pms surrounding SMS when I started my '69 post build thread over there. I also noted I was within 20 miles of SMS, and couldn't get anywhere with them via phone calls or emails. I had to make special trips over there to get in their face and they weren't used to that, they play safe hiding and not answering querries. BS company, but yes, they are the shit for premium restoration panels and fabric.
Pete 67
Well-Known Member
Finally it was time to address the lack of engine response. I was worried the cam was flat or the carb rebuild I paid big bucks for was done poorly. After readjusting the valves 3 times, pulling the carb off & trying the one from my Nova, nothing was different. I did a leak down test & a compression test everything was good. Right around 210lbs of pressure for each cylinder.
Last thing I try was the points distributor I bought off Ebay & rebuilt myself. First I ditch the points after getting 2 sets of defective Standard points from OReilly. Throw on the points eliminator kit from AAW, but alas, no change. Finally I yank out the small body HEI that Dave Ray built me for my Nova...install it in the wagon & the car ROARS to life. And I mean ROARS. Thank fucking god. Now I need to find another distributor, so I go on to Rock Auto & order a rebuilt points distributor from Cardone. I expected to get the '66 up aluminum body version, but lo & behold they sent me the correct year cast iron version. Yahtzee. I shim the shaft, throw on the AAW points conversion, swap the correct B28 VA can on it & life is good.
Here's a quick video of the engine from a cold start. DO NOT PAY ANY ATTENTION to the mess that is my Dad's shop. He has a bit of a hoarding problem. I digress....
Having trouble uploading it....Is there a file size limit?
Last thing I try was the points distributor I bought off Ebay & rebuilt myself. First I ditch the points after getting 2 sets of defective Standard points from OReilly. Throw on the points eliminator kit from AAW, but alas, no change. Finally I yank out the small body HEI that Dave Ray built me for my Nova...install it in the wagon & the car ROARS to life. And I mean ROARS. Thank fucking god. Now I need to find another distributor, so I go on to Rock Auto & order a rebuilt points distributor from Cardone. I expected to get the '66 up aluminum body version, but lo & behold they sent me the correct year cast iron version. Yahtzee. I shim the shaft, throw on the AAW points conversion, swap the correct B28 VA can on it & life is good.
Here's a quick video of the engine from a cold start. DO NOT PAY ANY ATTENTION to the mess that is my Dad's shop. He has a bit of a hoarding problem. I digress....
Having trouble uploading it....Is there a file size limit?
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