PT 69 Pontiac Custom S

[boss_hoss]

Just starting a thread to start dumping photos of my project. I'll add some specifics as I go along. Essentially I'm trying to build a solid PT/cruiser for a reasonable price. Not cutting corners but not going too over the top at the same time. As stated in the title its a 1969 Pontiac Custom S which is a trim level between tempests and lemans. it's the perfect platform for a budget minded PT car as its an A body and shares body panels with the GTO but I was able to pick it up as a runner(kinda) for about $2,200 with almost no rust. If you want to follow the build I'm on Instagram as @grantdavidjones67. without further adieu. Her she is when I got her.
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[boss_hoss]

Back in the garage I had to pull the power plant. Aside from looking like he ran over a ninja turtle the previous owner blew some ring lands and pretty much wrecked the transmission. The car did run when I bought it but when I got it home we quickly realized it was not going to be usable without a rebuild.

[boss_hoss]

Once the engine was out I stripped the front clip off and the interior and started treating any rust. Fortunately there was only slight surface rust on the frame and on the floor pans. I also cleaned and under coated the entire bottom of the car since it didn't need any sheetmetal replacement

[boss_hoss]

Once the front of the frame was all cleaned up I replaced the whole front suspension with a mix of parts as that is what was most cost effective. QA1 coilovers that I got here on the forum, big brake kit from right stuff detailing, Grand Cherokee steering box swap, summit brand sway bars, and non branded control arms from eBay with tall ball joint. The control arms may be swapped out but I'll let it ride for a while and see how they hold up.

[boss_hoss]

Rear suspension is once again a mix what what I could get a good deal on, bilstein shocks, Hotchkiss springs, Sphon control arms and once again summit racing sway bar.

[boss_hoss]

Once the suspension and breaking system was all sorted, I found a guy that only built Pontiac engines. I swapped him my busted Pontiac 400 plus $600 for a freshly rebuilt unit that was perfectly tuned on a run stand when I bought it. I backed the engine up with a bowtie overdrives 200-4R

[boss_hoss]

Exhaust system is a Pypes 2.5 stainless system with x pipe.

[boss_hoss]

Once all of that was sorted out and the engine was running it was time to prep for paint which meant months of hand stripping because what I didn't have in money I certainly had in time.

[boss_hoss]

That brings us up to current, it's in the paint shop and getting ready for some color. Only small amounts of sheetmetal had to be replaced. Not because of rust necessarily but the lower rear quarters had Been beaten up something fierce and it was faster to replace than repair. You'll see the color I'm going with is a GM Cyber Grey metallic.

[boss_hoss]

Here's the cyber grey

[Motown 454]

Nice color! The car is looking good, I like those wheels.

[ekmxryda]

Wow the body looks like it was in great shape, nice job so far.
My first car was a 69 Custom S!
I will be following along.

[boss_hoss]

Nice color! The car is looking good, I like those wheels.

Thanks. Here's a closeup of the wheels. They're older KMC wheels I got for super cheap. They're not staggered though so I'll probably switch them out when everything else is done. I'm looking at either US mags Rambler wheels in black or some Forgestar f14s.

[boss_hoss]

Here's another budget minded move. Instead of replacing all of my old trim pieces I'm vinyl wrapping everything in gloss black. It turned out to be a very easy process with good results and pretty easy to chang if I ever have the inclination. Should look good with the cyber grey

[JRANGER]

awesome car and build

[T/A Addict]

Vinyl wrapping the trim pieces in black is going to look outstanding against the grey. Good choice

[badolds]

I love it!! You don't need ultra high dollar parts to have a nice car. Good job.

Dan

[boss_hoss]

Wow the body looks like it was in great shape, nice job so far.
My first car was a 69 Custom S!
I will be following along.

It really did have a good body when I got it and that was one of the keys to keeping some costs down and keeping the project moving as I only had to buy the quarter patches and a new hood the rest is all stuff my body guy had been able to bang out pretty easy. Surprisingly this is one time where rattle can bombing a car helped out. The previous owner spraypainted over the original Limelight green paint which appeared to be in pretty good shape when I stripped it essentially adding another layer of protection over all the years it was neglected.

[boss_hoss]

I love it!! You don't need ultra high dollar parts to have a nice car. Good job.

Dan

That's the plan. I certainly have no brand loyalty when it comes to parts. Whatever is most cost effective and furthers my project is what goes on the car. I would love to have an entire system by QA1, Ridetech etc. but I've been able to spend a little extra time and find the parts I need here on the forum, Craigslist, swap meets, eBay, whatever. Doing it that way has allowed me to save a little here and a little there which all adds up. Someday when it's on the road I may go back and do some upgrades but if it's carving corners the way it should who cares.

[69Goat]

Nice car to start.

[OregonianNova]

Nice build so far! Subscribed! I saw a car like this not too long ago on craigslist that I wanted to take a look at but it sold pretty quickly. Maybe this was it. I am really digging the paint choice and gloss black trim.

[boss_hoss]

Nice build so far! Subscribed! I saw a car like this not too long ago on craigslist that I wanted to take a look at but it sold pretty quickly. Maybe this was it. I am really digging the paint choice and gloss black trim.

Thanks. I've had this one for about 2.5-3yrs. Plenty of A bodies out there in decent shape but pontiacs seem to be the cheapest to get in to.

[boss_hoss]

While the cars in the paint shop I got a little froggy and tried to order a new driver seat from TMI. It's a pro series universal seat I got from JEGS. Overall I really like it, just one hiccup. They sent me a passenger side seat with a driver side seat track. The box had the correct markings for a driver seats so I'm guessing it was just mislabeled. Not really a big deal as I hadn't ordered a passenger seat yet but now I have to go through the process of getting the right seat track. Then ordering a driver seat again. I'll be getting a hold of JEGS and TMI tomorrow to see if we can make it right.

[badolds]

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This is my poor neglected race car that sits in the garage. I thought it may give you some insight as to how the black parts will contrast to the silver or gray paint. I had all of these parts powder coated.

Dan

[JRANGER]

thats a nice looking seat

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Great project!

[boss_hoss]

Some updates from the paint booth

[JRANGER]

gotta love progress

[boss_hoss]

And another one

[ekmxryda]

Nice 68 nose, much better than the 69! Are you painting it too?
I think it would look cool.

[boss_hoss]

Nice 68 nose, much better than the 69! Are you painting it too?
I think it would look cool.

Yep, the front and rear bumpers will be color matched. And you're right I had to get rid of the 69 front bumper. That beak was just too much.

[rickpaw]

Nice project.

Quick question if you don't mind. Looks like you have LED headlights installed. Can you tell me where you got them, and how well do they work? Quick search on Amazon showed they look like Harley motor cycle headlights?

Thanks.

[boss_hoss]

Nice project.

Quick question if you don't mind. Looks like you have LED headlights installed. Can you tell me where you got them, and how well do they work? Quick search on Amazon showed they look like Harley motor cycle headlights?

Thanks.

I picked up my LED headlights on EBAY, They work great and are very bright but I did have to do some modification to the headlight buckets. Depending on which ones you purchase the housing is either domed like a normal headlight or like mine they have finned heatsinks. I essentially had to cut the headlight bucket down to a ring that sandwiched the headlight between the factory retainer ring and the modified headlight bucket. Not terribly difficult just lots of trimming and fitting. after that it was very straight forward. they plugged right into the factory harness and that was that. another site i would recommend would be Dapper lighting which i have attached below. They're more expensive but they will most likely not need as much if any modification to the factory headlight buckets. and you can customize them.

https://www.dapperlighting.com/

[rickpaw]

Thank you for the info. I actually looked into dapperlighting, and kind of turned off by the 60 day turn around.

[boss_hoss]

Thank you for the info. I actually looked into dapperlighting, and kind of turned off by the 60 day turn around.

Yeah that turnaround time is a bit rough. Must be a good product if they're that sought after. For my money though, the price I paid, shipped in a few days and went in with relatively little modification I dont know that I would buy anything different if I had to do it again.

[boss_hoss]

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[minendrews68]

Looks like this is going to be one nice ride.

[72blackbird]

hoss,
Great work on your 69 Custom S. My Pops had one- verdoro green 2-door post car- it's the car that sparked my love of Pontiacs. Thanks for keeping it PONTIAC POWERED.

Geno

[boss_hoss]

Thanks Geno , early on I considered going LS powered but I just couldn't do it. I'm planning on going efi at some point but probably with a Butler performance Multi port kit so it keeps the original look with modern reliability.


hoss,
Great work on your 69 Custom S. My Pops had one- verdoro green 2-door post car- it's the car that sparked my love of Pontiacs. Thanks for keeping it PONTIAC POWERED.

Geno

[boss_hoss]

Few updates from the paint booth. Blocking is done. One nice coat of black then it's topcoat time.

[69Phoenix]

Glad you are reducing the “beak”.... like so many others, I agree with what you are doing. Nice build, looking forward to pics of it when it’s back from paint.

[badolds]

Rhinoplasty - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty (ῥίς rhis, nose + πλάσσειν plassein, to shape), commonly known as a nose job, is a plastic surgery procedure for correcting and reconstructing the form, restoring the functions, and aesthetically enhancing the nose by resolving nasal trauma (blunt, penetrating, blast), congenital defect, respiratory ...


LOL!!!!

[cbpldc]

Looking great! It will be a super nice budget Pro-Touring when you get it on the ground.

Chris

[boss_hoss]

just a few shots of the color going on.
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[NoNo]

Nice choice of color, gonna look sweet on this car.

[boss_hoss]

Update: Clear is laid down, gotta cure for a bit then cut and buff. not long now till shes out of the shop.

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[rickpaw]

Nice.

[JRANGER]

looking good. Cant wait to see it all finished

[PonchoJohn]

Looking sweet!!

[boss_hoss]

Well. Reassembly is now in progress. Should be back in the garage by then end of the week then I start on the interior. 150403150404

[boss_hoss]

One thing I had to leave on the car was the Custom S fender emblem. In case anybody tries to call it a GTO......which they probably will anyway.
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[ekmxryda]

Lookin good! Love that you kept the Custom S emblems, one year only option.

[Buryingthesun]

Car looks great! That joker looking motor was terrible lol, Glad you replaced it with a factory blue color!

[boss_hoss]

Paint and body Complete, Now its back in the garage for interior, I also have to make some adjustments to the ride height on the QA1s in the front and i definitely need to get some 2" lowering springs in the rear.150500150499

[chem]

car is looking awesome, love the color.

If you dont mind me asking, how much approximately does a paint job like that cost? time frame?

[boss_hoss]

car is looking awesome, love the color.

If you dont mind me asking, how much approximately does a paint job like that cost? time frame?

I Think i got a smoking deal but I may be wrong. Total cost out the door was $6K. Fortunately I was able to start with a really clean body and I took the time to strip it down to bare metal myself. Cost included replacing 2 lower rear quarters, one patch on the front driver fender then Filling a whole bunch of miscellaneous trim holes. The car was in the shop about 10-12 weeks. One thing I would recommend is that if you are thinking of getting paint and body done, find your guy and get on the schedule. My plan was to have this in the booth in Aug-Sept but had to wait until January just because of how busy my painter was.

[chem]

That does sound like a smoking deal, work looks great.

Appreciate the info, now to find a painter for my car.

[boss_hoss]

Just a quick update, now that the ol poncho is back in The garage I'm down to all the small tedious work. Installed sound deadner, finishing wiring and chasing electrical gremlins, reinstalled the dash and new guages, tweaking and reinstalling Windows. My goal is to have this thing on the road testing and tweaking by June. Don't worry about the exhaust tips, I'll be tucking those a bit more. I decided to go with the 70s trans am style split tips but they'll require some cutting and modification of the hangers to get them in the right location.

[OregonianNova]

This is looking so good!

[72blackbird]

Very nice work!

My love for Pontiacs started with my Pop's Verdoro green 69 CustomS, so your Poncho has much love from me. His car had a 350p with no. 48 heads, which explained why it ran so well against the IROC-zs and other weaksuace musclecars back in the early 80s.

Geno

[boss_hoss]

Got my wheels and tires fitted. 245/40r18 Mickey Thompson street comps on the front 305/35r20 on the rear. Wheels are foose legend. 18x8 and 20x10. May not be my long term set up but I got a good deal enough to offset the cost of a headliner and carpet. Rears fit fine right now but I'm planning on swapping out the hotchkis 1" springs with some BMR 2" drop springs so I may need to roll the inner lip on the rears.
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[JRANGER]

I like the perch better then a level ride on a hot rod but it looks good. :) You do excellent work...Wish it was my ride. Think it would look good with a lil more polish on the wheels like Ridlers 645s but then again im just not a fan of those wheels. Seem too much like bullet knockoffs
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[76TA]

Dan,

That last pic you posted of the rear...great looking car man.


- Andrew

[boss_hoss]

I like the perch better then a level ride on a hot rod but it looks good. :) You do excellent work...Wish it was my ride. Think it would look good with a lil more polish on the wheels like Ridlers 645s but then again im just not a fan of those wheels. Seem too much like bullet knockoffs
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I hadn't seen those rider wheels before, Very nice. I went back and forth about the polished lip vs all black for a while. The opportunity presented itself for these wheels and tires so i pulled the trigger. At some point I aspire to have some Rushforth Black Widow wheels but those cost many times more than what I paid for these wheels so they'll do for a while and allow me to pound some pavement this summer.

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[boss_hoss]

Dan,

That last pic you posted of the rear...great looking car man.


- Andrew

Thanks, Its been a wile in the making but It's really turning out as I hoped it would.

[cbpldc]

Nice choice on the color and badging. Such a unique car.

[boss_hoss]

Installed the headliner this weekend. It's not a big project but it's one of those things that make the whole thing feel like I'm closer to completion.

[boss_hoss]

Here’s a few update pics. I’m down to finishing up the interior and working out all the bugs. 154081154082

[ekmxryda]

Looks great, love the color.
Hows the front suspension upgrade feel?

[boss_hoss]

Suspension feels great. Corners nice and flat. I haven't added any frame bracing yet but I haven't noticed any flex yet, then again I haven't pushed it too hard. I've got 550lb qa-1 coilovers on the front. looking at QA-1s Spring chart they're a bit stiffer than they recommend but it still rides pretty well on the street. About as stiff as my 3/4 truck. Which isn't too bad.


Looks great, love the color.
Hows the front suspension upgrade feel?

[boss_hoss]

Here's some updated photos now that the interior is mostly done. Still waiting on the TMI rear seat upholstery and have to decide what console I want to run as I'm not in love with the stock one. Unfortunately my transmission started making noise so other purchases will have to hold off for a while.
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[boss_hoss]

Well the old adage do it right or do it twice just bit me in the butt. In my quest to keep the budget down a creatively source parts my "rebuilt" 200-4R from Craigslist wasn't as good as advertised. After approximately 50 miles the low/reverse sprag let go and taco'ed the tranny, ruined the case the whole 9 yards. Now it's in the shop for a full rebuild and I'll have 1.5x what I would have paid had I just done it right and bought a good warranteed one from a reputable shop. A great learning experience but One I'd rather not have learned today.

[boss_hoss]

Not a project update as much as a garage update. After building my car with all my tools crammed in a 28” harbor freight toolbox Home Depot has a deal I couldn’t pass up so I pulled the trigger on this monster 61” tool chest for under $500. Major upgrade. 158692158693

[slimjim]

I love the husky gear, great value, those Black Friday deals were hard to beat

[boss_hoss]

162958Update,
Scored a BOP 10 bolt with factory limited slip and 3.73 gears which was a pretty big upgrade from the 3.30, open rear end I had in the car. Still testing and tuning, need to get some lighter springs for the QA1s in the front, and still having a hell of a time dialing in the braking system. I've got a short hard pedal that will not go away. Tired different booster and master combinations re bleeding the system and now I'm on to an adjustable combination valve to see of that helps.

[boss_hoss]

Bringing this thread back. Having kid will really slow down your progress. Most recent upgrades are some us mags u123 wheels and Wilwood brakes on the rear. I’m also in the process of installing fitech efi so I’ll be posting a bit more about that soon. Here’s some photos of the new wheels and tires. 245/40r18 front and 285/40r18 rear.

197777197776

[boss_hoss]

Back again with yearly updates. Not much major changes but working on finishing out the interior and some systems upgrades.

I was finally took a chance and got my rear seat upholstery done. TMI insisted that the rear seat upholster for a 68/69 Chevelle standard rear bench seat would not work on a 69 Tempest/lemans/GTO. I can confirm it absolutely does fit and really finishes out the back seat area nicely. if anybody needs it I'm pretty sure I can find the SKU for you.
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Other interior upgrade I'm working on is a 5th gen Camaro console. fits pretty well but I'm still working on the riser for the trans tunnel, so the console sits at the correct height.
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Finally got the FITECH GO EFI classic installed. I spent a lot of time making the whole system as low profile as possible to keep the engine compartment clean. Ill upload some more photos later of some of the finer details I'm sure people will want to see.
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The two things that have really been taking up most of my spare time these days are a 1- and 3-year-old but also, I made a promise to my wife that once I got far enough along with the Poncho, I would build her a VW bus so over the last 2 years I've been doing a cosmetic restoration on this.

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[Dominic68]

Your car looks amazing. As a fellow Pontiac fan I'm also considering going with EFI in the future. Would love to hear your opinion on the FITECH system it's one of the ones I'm also considering.

[boss_hoss]

Your car looks amazing. As a fellow Pontiac fan I'm also considering going with EFI in the future. Would love to hear your opinion on the FITECH system it's one of the ones I'm also considering.


I’ve had zero problems with FItech once I got it installed easy starts. Good throttle respons, no issues with reliability or drivability. I did have to replace the temp sensor that came with the kit because it wouldn’t read correctly. It’s relatively well known that FiTech uses cheap sensors but they’re all just GM style sensors so I replaced them with AC delco.
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I went with the Goefi classic for two reasons.1 looks more like a stock carb and 2. The ecu is not integrated in the throttle body so I could mount it inside of the car ways from heat and vibrations. I read some early horror stories about guys sending back complete efi units just because the integrated ecu went bad. If I have the same problem I just unplug the ecu under the dash and send it in.
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I was originally planning on running a Holley in tank pump set up but it was not available during COVID so I went with the Fitech force fuel system. No issues there. Plenty of space to mount it in the A bodies and it’s not noticeably loud especially when the engine is running. In retrospect I actually like the set up. If I have a fueling issues I don’t have to drop the tank it’s all in the engine compartment.

one great tip for Pontiac or Chevy guys if you run a fuel system that needs a return line. AFX body cars that have provisions for fuel lines on both driver and passenger side. The fuel pump on the Pontiac is in the driver side and the fuel pump on the Chevy is on the passenger side. I just bought a chevelle fuel feed line and ran it as my return on the passenger side. Made it nice and clean and I didn’t have to fuss with bending customer lines or running tol much soft line.

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here’s one thing in pretty proud of finding. It’s an auxiliary light mount for a motorcycle/atv but it also fits the fitech fuel pump perfectly so I was able to bolt it to the intake manifold. Keeps it secure and looks clean.

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this is also one of my new favorite things. The company is called split seal. It’s a firewall grommet that splits in half. The Fitech ecu harnesses a oblong plug that wouldn’t fit through a normal firewall grommet so this was a great solution since I could cut the hold the same shape as the plug and then install the split seal over it.
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oh and I also installed an 7 circuit auxiliary fuse block from jegs. 3 keyed and 4 hot circuits. I have the stock harness under the dash and plan on adding Dakota digital gauges and AC eventually so this was a good way for me to add circuits without stressing the stock harness

overall I’m happy with fitech but it I were starting the process today I’d seriously look at spending the extras money on the Edelbrock pro-flo system because of the port injection and integrated timing control. I also feel like Holley is really pushing forward and expanding their engine, timing, and trans control products so if you want timing control or plan to run and electrically controlled trans Holley may be better.

[Dominic68]

Thanks for all the great info I'm definitely going to do some more research. If everything goes well I plan on switching over to EFI in the spring.

[JJ 86]

Love this build. Something quite different and looks great. Great job thus far!

[GrandpaKen]

This is a very good looking car. What is the name of the color?

[mikewoods]

Great thread! Thanks for bumping this back up.

[boss_hoss]

This is a very good looking car. What is the name of the color?

Cyber Grey Metallic is the paint color. GM paint code WA637R. It was a stock GM paint color available on the Camaros and Corvettes from around 2010 ish to about 2017.

[boss_hoss]

Great thread! Thanks for bumping this back up.

Tanks, I get to working on it for a while and forget to take photos and post them until I'm between projects or waiting on parts then I get back to adding to the thread.

[boss_hoss]

Merry Christmas all. The Mrs. Came in clutch (with a bit of a recommendation)with a new steering wheel for the Pontiac. It’s a Flashpower brand steering wheel. Fit and finish are really pretty good and a fraction of the price of some of the more expensive billet wheels. Flashpower use to have their own stand alone sight but now I think they do all their retail through Amazon. 211046

[boss_hoss]

Nothing particularly new or exciting. Been chasing around a driveline vibration at highway speeds. Adjusted the pinion angle bot directions with little change so I decided to pull the trigger on a new driveline from Inland Empire driveline The driveshaft was last part of the original drivetrain so at the least i figured it was time for an upgrade. The new 3.5” steel unit is super beefy compared to the stock unit and should handle any engine upgrades down the line. Inland Empire was a breeze to work with too. From order to doorstep it took 4 business days
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[hammy3147]

@Boss_Hoss, I see that you have some QA-1's for sale... If they are still available, I would like to purchase them ASAP as I need them bad!! Im new to the site, and cant reply to your for sale post.

[boss_hoss]

@Boss_Hoss, I see that you have some QA-1's for sale... If they are still available, I would like to purchase them ASAP as I need them bad!! Im new to the site, and cant reply to your for sale post.

they're pending local sale, if they don't get picked up I'll shoot you a DM

[hammy3147]

I totally understand, that would be awesome... thank you Sir! :cool:

[boss_hoss]

Incoming Christmas present from myself. Classic Performance Products just started selling Ibooster kits so I decided to pull the trigger on this instead of piece a kit together myself. All in it was about $100 more than if I was going to source the bits and pieces myself. Excited to see how it stacks up against my current master/ booster set up. 215614

[Lakeshow Bob]

Love seeing the progress. Keep up the good work and it's incredible the progress that has been made so far.

[ekmxryda]

Looking forward to how the brake booster install goes.
Was thinking about trying one, my manual Wilwoods are ok but not impressive.

[boss_hoss]

Ibooster showed up from CPP today. The kit has everything you’d need bolted up and ready to go. The firewall adapter bracket is a nice piece of billet and the pushrod has an offset adapter I assume to keep the factory pushrod location. Overall very impressed so far. I’ll probably work on getting the master bled and start installing it this weekend. 215768215769215770

[Vimes]

Watching this brake booster with interest. Before you get started, would you be so kind as to weigh it? I'm debating using manual brakes to drop the vacuum booster weight off the nose but an electronic booster might be worth the difference.

[dontlifttoshift]

Does it actually say Bosch on it? Just curious because CPP.

Also, the offset on the pushrod, why?

[dhutton]

Does it actually say Bosch on it? Just curious because CPP.

Also, the offset on the pushrod, why?
They state it’s Bosch iBooster on their website.

[boss_hoss]

They state it’s Bosch iBooster on their website.

correct, it's a legit Bosch unit.

[boss_hoss]

Does it actually say Bosch on it? Just curious because CPP.

Also, the offset on the pushrod, why?


I'm going to start working on it this weekend, So I'll be able to confirm but my only guess at this point is that the offset adapter for the pushrod is to allow you to use the factory power brake hole on your pedal. I'll update with pictures once I get going on it.

[boss_hoss]

Watching this brake booster with interest. Before you get started, would you be so kind as to weigh it? I'm debating using manual brakes to drop the vacuum booster weight off the nose but an electronic booster might be worth the difference.

Yes, I can get a weight for you. My first reaction when I pulled it from the box was that it's pretty heavy, but I don't recall how much the vacuum booster set up weighs, so I'll put up a comparison.

[boss_hoss]

All in the bolster weights 17.9lb. Haven’t pulled the other booster/master to compare but if you want to weight your own this should give you a good idea.

[boss_hoss]

Started fitting the ibooster. First little hurdle was that the holes firewall bracket didn’t line up with the studs on the firewall. No big deal I attribute this to the normal variation in factory and aftermarket parts. A little work with the Dremel and the booster slid right on. Getting the bolts on the firewall studs to secure the booster bracket Is a major PITA, just not a whole lot of clearance and Ive got big ol sausage fingers. Once it was mounted to the firewall everything is pretty straight forward. The offset pushrod adapter does in fact allow you to use the factory power brake hole on the pedal arm. I had some concern I was going to have to re bend my brake lines but the new ibooster set up appears to be the same
Overall length as my old vacuum booster set up because the brake lines went right back into place perfectly. Fitment is pretty tight to the inner fender but there’s no interference anywhere and there’s definitely more clearance in the engine side.
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[boss_hoss]

All in the bolster weights 17.9lb. Haven’t pulled the other booster/master to compare but if you want to weight your own this should give you a good idea.

i weighed the vacuum booster/master set up and it came out to 15.5 lb. So not much lighter but something to consider if you’re concerned about weight.

[Vimes]

Thanks. According to the Dodge website my master cylinder with booster weighs 16.4lbs, but also takes up a TON more room than that tiny little thing. Plus, I spy with my little eye an adjustable rear proportioning valve, which is a bonus.

Weight loss is important, but only because it means I can add weight where it'll do the most good. Can't wait to hear your before and after observations on this unit.

[boss_hoss]

Thanks. According to the Dodge website my master cylinder with booster weighs 16.4lbs, but also takes up a TON more room than that tiny little thing. Plus, I spy with my little eye an adjustable rear proportioning valve, which is a bonus.

Weight loss is important, but only because it means I can add weight where it'll do the most good. Can't wait to hear your before and after observations on this unit.

I’m curious how it’s going to work out too. The weather in Oregon in the winter is hit and miss but it’s suppose to be nice enough I can take it in a quick test drive in the next few days.

The reason decided to go with the Ibooster is I could never get my vacuum boosted brakes to work the way I wanted. Tried different masters, different booster, different brake pads and just couldn’t ever get the bite I wanted out of the brakes. They worked fine around town but never responded well to aggressive braking and for the life of me they would never lock up even when I really jumped on them. I’m hoping the combination of the 1-1/8” master and the iBooster will get me the volume and line pressure I need to get the brakes to perform the way I want them too without wearing out my right leg.

[boss_hoss]

Ol Mother Nature gave me a few nice dry days so I decided to test out the Ibooster today. All I can say is WOW. It’s exactly what I was looking for. I actually had to re learn how to dive my car a bit. With the old vacuum booster set up I had to use quite a bit of pedal travel before I really got the brake to clamp down. With the Ibooster the pedal is super responsive, and starts to engage right off the top. The pedal travel is pretty short and pedal effort is also light. It felt a little twitchy initially but it’s because I was so use to my old brakes. Once I figured out how much input I need to get what I wanted it was perfect. Feels like a new car which makes sense given its modern technology. I’d say if you were going to track your car and like a really progressive pedal feel this might not be for you but for my purposes, which is mostly cruising and spirited driving on windy rural roads this is awesome. I’d highly recommend it over a vacuum set up. I have not experienced a hydroboost set up other than my big HD truck but I’d imagine it would be pretty similar without the complication of tying your braking system onto your power steering. 215951

[boss_hoss]

The other thing I forgot to add. The one other big improvement was consistency With my vacuum booster set up the pedal never quite gave me the consistency I wanted even though everything was in good working order. With the Ibooster it’s perfect and repeatable every time.

[boss_hoss]

Now that the brakes are all sorted out I’m addressing the 200-4r transmission. It’s a great transmission but I’ve never been happy with the lockup. The 200-4rs in my experience and from what I’ve read tend to get up to 4th gear pretty quick and lock up which is great for cruising and economy but Unfortunately they don’t downshift and unlock very quickly. I can get down to 35 mph and it’s still not unlocking so the engine tends to lug. Not terrible with a Pontiac engine since it has good low end torque but it’s annoying. I’ll be installing a B&M lockup controller and Superior solutions vacuum switch hopefully to help control the converter lock unlock characteristics to get it the way I’d like. 216072216073

[stevehoj]

Boss, looks like Newport?? We get there often.

Great project and love you kept it Pontiac powered and the modern electric booster update.

[boss_hoss]

Boss, looks like Newport?? We get there often.

Great project and love you kept it Pontiac powered and the modern electric booster update.

You're right on the money; I've lived on the coast a long time. Weather this time of year is a bit dreary but give me plenty of time to work in the garage. When the weather is nice though there's some great twisty backroads to play around on which is what it built the car to do.

I'm glad I kept the Pontiac Powertrain too. I get the urge every now and then to go for a big Power LS but for what I do the Ponco 400 has plenty of power and with the EFI, Overdrive, and other modern updates its more than enough to put a smile on my face. I'll probably do something stupid before too long here and drop some serious coin on a top end package from Butler Performance to bump the power up from around 350 to 450 HP. Thats about all my drivetrain is built to handle before I really have to start beefing things up.

[andrewb70]

Ol Mother Nature gave me a few nice dry days so I decided to test out the Ibooster today. All I can say is WOW. It’s exactly what I was looking for. I actually had to re learn how to dive my car a bit. With the old vacuum booster set up I had to use quite a bit of pedal travel before I really got the brake to clamp down. With the Ibooster the pedal is super responsive, and starts to engage right off the top. The pedal travel is pretty short and pedal effort is also light. It felt a little twitchy initially but it’s because I was so use to my old brakes. Once I figured out how much input I need to get what I wanted it was perfect. Feels like a new car which makes sense given its modern technology. I’d say if you were going to track your car and like a really progressive pedal feel this might not be for you but for my purposes, which is mostly cruising and spirited driving on windy rural roads this is awesome. I’d highly recommend it over a vacuum set up. I have not experienced a hydroboost set up other than my big HD truck but I’d imagine it would be pretty similar without the complication of tying your braking system onto your power steering.

This feedback makes me very excited to see how the iBooster works in my 70 GTO. Mine is the 1st Gen unit, but I have to believe it will be very similar in function.

Andrew

[boss_hoss]

This feedback makes me very excited to see how the iBooster works in my 70 GTO. Mine is the 1st Gen unit, but I have to believe it will be very similar in function.

Andrew

I need to drive it a bit before fiddling with but the only thing I might do is play with the pedal ratio. I remember seeing yours when you first installed it in the GTO. If I recall you drilled an extra hole just above the stock power brake hole on the pedal arm and moved the pushrod clevis up. I’m thinking of doing the same thing on mine to increase travel a bit to improve modulation.

[boss_hoss]

The weather in Oregon is miserable and I’m board so I’m finally starting to work on closeout panels for the trunk. My grand plan is to mimic the design in the center of the door panels but we’ll see if my skills can match my imagination. 216598216599

[AngryBird75]

Great build

[boss_hoss]

Trunk panels are coming along pretty good. Not show quality by any means but once it’s all wrapped in black vinyl it should look presentable. I’m using two different types of magnets to hold everything in place. Some little round magnets for holding the sides to the sheetmetal in the trunk and some magnets used for kitchen cabinets. They’re actually working out better than expected.
216664216665216666216667

[JustJohn]

Really like the magnetic mount idea for trunk finishers. Something I have not seen before.


Trunk panels are coming along pretty good. Not show quality by any means but once it’s all wrapped in black vinyl it should look presentable. I’m using two different types of magnets to hold everything in place. Some little round magnets for holding the sides to the sheetmetal in the trunk and some magnets used for kitchen cabinets. They’re actually working out better than expected.

[boss_hoss]

Really like the magnetic mount idea for trunk finishers. Something I have not seen before.

Thanks, it just kind of came to me in the process. I really like the fact that all the panels click into place and are secure but it's easy to remove the panels if I want to utilize more space. I'm thinking of building a tray with some mounts behind the front closeout panel to store tools and other miscellaneous items that I would want with me on a trip so they can be secure and available but kept out of sight

[boss_hoss]

Got it all upholstered. Used 1/4” adhesive backed wheel well trim for the chrome stripes and I found a vendor on eBay that made this sweet laser cut Pontiac spear. The only thing I have left to do is wire up some LED strips on the back of the spear for a little back glow when I open the trunk. It’s definitely not a professional job but looks pretty good and probably cost me $200. 216806

[Cheveezy]

Looks great!

[jaybee]

That came out great. Nice work. I'd be proud to open my trunk and show that off.

[boss_hoss]

That came out great. Nice work. I'd be proud to open my trunk and show that off.

The worst part really is that I did all that work and I’ll hardly ever open the trunk. Feels better to know that it’s nice and finished though

[boss_hoss]

Quick update on the Ibooster adjustment. I drilled another hole in the brake pedal above the stock power brake position and moved the pushrod clevis up about 5/8”. This fixed the brakes being too touchy. Now they are easier to modulate. If you have the CPP kit basically you just flip the offset pushrod adapter over and re drill a hole wherever the pushrod clevis lands.

[boss_hoss]

One other note. For anyone running a 200-4r or 700-r4. After installing the b&m lockup controller and vacuum switch I was having problems with the transmission locking/ unlocking under load. After doing some bench testing on the superior solutions vacuum switch it appears I need to wire the switch differently than the manufacturer recommends. Superior solutions recommend wiring the vacuum switch in the normally closed position. I noticed that my converter seemed to only lock up when I got in the throttle. Which is the opposite of what I expected. After taking off the switch and wiring up a 12v power tool battery, a test light and a vacuum bleeder I confirmed that the correct wiring for the vacuum switch is to wire it to the normally open terminal. Under normal Vacuum conditions above 15in hg it closes the circuit and applies power to the converter when in OD and above 50 MPH. Then when I’m cruising, hit the gas, and the vacuum drops below 15 in it will disconnect the converter

This schematic from painless performance is the correct orientation.
216926

[boss_hoss]

No a glamorous addition but I needed a mount for my fire extinguisher so it wouldn’t roll around in the interior. Found this handy little quick release fire extinguishermounts for Jeeps/UTVs on Amazon and mounted in in the trunk with some nutserts. Super solid and looks pretty clean.
216977216978

[stevehoj]

Looks like the Drake quick release mount.
https://www.holley.com/products/interior/console/console_accessories/parts/FIREX-MNT-DAG

I use the same on my rear roll bar crossbar to mount fire extinguisher. First used it on my Jeep. Nice mount for sure.