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    Results 1 to 13 of 13
    1. #1
      Join Date
      Nov 2020
      Posts
      40
      Country Flag: Canada

      1972 Buick Skylark - Pro Touring Smiles per $ build

      Hello,



      I just joined the forum. Truth be told it was just to check out some shocks that someone was selling but i see there is a ton of useful info on here! I'm up in Canada land and the snow is flying right now so not a bad time to make some progress on my project! Just a financial advisor with a car hobby...

      Picked it up in Calgary, AB about 4 years ago. Got it from stinky Roger. Literally the guy was gag worthy. Paid 2000$ for the car. just a standard 350/350 car. Drove it for 2 weeks then it sat for about a year on my garage pad. Built the garage and then started to tear it down. For the most part the body is in decent shape from what I can see except the roof skin has holes in it. The car originally had a 1/4 vinyl top that stopped working and rust ate its way through the spots it was attached to the roof skin. Some patches to be done (drivers door, passenger fender, quarter panel patches, small spot on the trunk floor) the hoods in good shape though!

      Nothing to special about the car to start with but I completely tore it down to the frame. Didn't really do a tone to it for about 3 years until this year i have made a ton of progress.

      I always wanted it to go fast, stop and handle well. Got the body off the frame a, had the frame sand blasted and then installed a Hellwig Frame FX kit. Essentially turns the coupe frame into a convertible frame with an extra body mount. Wasn't terribly hard to install this, just some grinding, cutting and welding. Welding is slow with this. Had to do about an inch at a time in 4 different spots then wait for the frame to cool to the touch and repeat. I think it took me about a 5 days of off and on to full weld in the kit. If you put to much heat through the frame when you weld it it will bow out the middle frame rail sections and then you have to go get it straightened. Mine bowed out a little bit but nothing that wasn't manageable, everything still lined up. Went this route cause it made clear space under the car for exhaust and anything else. (see pics of the old frame (just oily and had a coating on it really, then sand blasted, then with the kit installed).

      Once the frame was welded i just finished it up with poly body bushings from energy suspension and put the body back on. obviously i haven't driven it with the frame kit yet, but just moving the car around with a jack there is a noticeable difference in the stiffness of it.

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      I have always wanted to do an ls swap. Super tough and reliable and cheap to buy. I got my engine for 250$. 5.3l lm7. Doesn't get more generic than that. Supposedly it has 170,000kms (105,000miles) on it and ran fine when pulled. Guess we will see! Needed some sensors, a coil and what not but nothing major so far. I used UMI lsx mounts for the install. Put on an f-body oil pan so the oil pan wasn't hanging 3" below the k-member. Also got a 4l60 trans built that a mated to the 5.3l. think i might be the only person in the world that had to cut their trans tunnel to make this fit (my car seems to be different when it comes to the measurement and fitting of things, same thing with the steering box) going to end up running a turbo. Not sure how to fix the picture orientation.

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      Added a JGC steering box too, had to beat the frame a little to get it to fit which is odd cause i haven't heard of anyone else having to do that ()you will notice a trend here). Car stayed like that for a real long time. like 2-2.5 years. Then I made a ton of progress this year.

      Put together the whole fuel system. Tank, pump, filter, fittings, lines you name it. used PTFE fittings and hose. Fixed the core support cause one side was totally rotted out. Installed a Buick big block radiator along with some ford windstar fans, plumped the steering box (fittings too) with a cooler and the water pump hoses.


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      Then i fabbed up a log manifold, sch 40 pipe that is all 2.5" with 1.5" runners. got a flange that is a 2.5" pipe to t4 that made this easy to install the turbo. This is a 78mm i used for mock. Will end up using a 72mm most likely. going the vs racing route with this!
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      Also got some front suspension goodness installed. Had to drill new upper shock mount holes, which i don't think anyone else has ever had to do. 1" back on the drivers side and 3/4" back on the pass. side. Like I said trend with my car that its tolerances must have been after some afternoon scotch on the assembly floor. Got the suspension and brake parts from a friend. 6 piston wilwoods with 12.19" rotors too! Adjustable upper control arms, tubular lower arms, 2"drop spindles, and the brakes.

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      Picked up a 12 bolt about a month ago. Its a 373 posi unit. Running poly bushings in the axle. Got rear suspension control arms coming from a buddy, 2" lowering springs in the mail. Just need some shocks to complete the package. Also picking up some wilwood brakes from a guy that couldn't use them for his project. 4 piston with 11" low profile rotors and calipers. 500$! Steal of a deal, they are new in the box.

      Getting dangerously close to having this thing sit under its own weight again! going to run 295 tires at all four corners. with superspeed wheels 18 or 19 x 10.5.

      Cheers!


    2. #2
      Join Date
      Nov 2020
      Posts
      40
      Country Flag: Canada
      here is a pic of the wheels i am going to run. they only weigh about 18.5 to 20.5lbs per corner. I big weight loss compared to the corvette reproduction wheels i was going to run, which are a little over 30lbs a corner from what i found.
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      should hopefully have all the suspension/rear end brakes installed in the next 2-4 weeks. then the rims/tires after.

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Aug 2007
      Location
      Jonesboro, Arkansas
      Posts
      2,506
      Country Flag: United States
      looks like you've got a good start, and keep those pics coming!

      Carl Wilson
      1968 Camaro - T-56 6 speed - 383 Stroker, 2014 Mustang GT seats. FiTech EFI, Tanks Inc. Tank with Deutschwerks fuel pump.

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Nov 2020
      Posts
      40
      Country Flag: Canada
      Picked up my seats. They are from the cobalt ss. Totally bought them hoping they would be good, my cousin picked them up for me. Got to sit in them and they are fantastic, bolstering is really good on them and i fit in them really well. Not sure how you could ever go wrong with them, considering that I only paid 300$ for the set. What is really nice about these is that the drivers side seat is height adjustable (had no idea when i bought these that was the case). I originally just set them on the floor of the car and was a little disappointed how high i sat but then viola, height lever. i can adjust them so i fit perfect in it and still have a few clicks (2-3 of even lower adjustment. I am 6'2" so i was happy they have adjustment.

      That being said there was a bunch of work to get the original brackets off the rails. I didn't count but i wouldn't be surprised if there was about 20 or so 1/2" to 3/4" rivets holding the brackets to the rails. I used an angle grinder to cut the rivets off then a pin punch to knock them out of the rails. Had to wack it with some pretty decent force but i was careful to check the rails to make sure i wasn't bending them or anything like that. This probably took me 2hrs at least, there was a lot of rivets. As an added bonus i wasn't paying attention to the spark show i was sending from cutting off the rivets and melted tons of metal dust into my garage windows.

      not the nest pic but this is what the rivets were like.
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      then what they look like cut off. you can see it in the picture, there is a faint outline of the rivet and bracket that i could see and use the pin punch to push them out.
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      I will need to do some floor modification to the driver side. The body mount sheet metal that contacts the seat at the front and rear of the rail doesn't allow the sit to sit centered with the steering wheel. I will have to cut out enough to get the seat to move about 1-2" to the left I figure. Won't be hard just some added work. I will put in a 90 degree angle of sheet metal to fill the hole i cut out and weld it in.

      essentially the angle piece here from the top of the mount to the bottom of the floor defiantly has to go then maybe some more. ill slowly cut out portions and mock the seat up until it fits right or i just get to close to the mount itself.

      This spot hits the front of the seat rail on the drivers side by the door
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      this spot hits the rear side of the seat rail on the same side


      There is also a hump of sorts on my passenger side that sits in the middle of the rail (on the side closest to the drive shaft tunnel) and doesn't let the front and back ends of the seat rail sit on the floor. Really hard to get a picture of this with the seat in and you can't really notice it just with the passenger side area on its own. I might cut this down to as it will allow the passenger seat to sit a little lower. I'll post pics of it and you can see where the hump was. They way that the seat sits on the pass. side, it is a little high for me (and i have some tall friends) so likely getting it to sit lower is a good idea.

      you might not be able to seeName:  seats passenger side.jpg
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      Once i get the floor all sorted out, I'll make up some brackets that bolt to the under side of the rails and then to the to body braces that run underneath the body of the car. The funny thing is that the seat rails are almost perfect to set in the factory holes as bare rails about an inch or so short on each end. Probably use 1-1.5" flat stock for the brackets.

      Got my rear control arms. The uppers are adjustable Edelbrock arms (i don't even know if Edelbrock makes them anymore) i have the poly bushing on the axle side and then it is a rod bolt/bearing on the other end. Will just have to locate the axle to center once everything is bolted up. The lowers are adjustable from TRZ motor sports i believe. My friend that i got the lowers from said they are set to factory length already so i will just keep them that way. they are both rod bolt ends. I heard a lot of things like the rod bolt/bearing style ends are super harsh on the street and noisy etc. In talking to my buddy he said they are a little louder but ultimately fine for the street and not a harsh ride. Plus you can torque the rod style ends to spec without the car being on its own weight like you have to do with the poly bushings.

      uppers
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      lowers
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      I also went a different route with my rims! I am picking up a set of C5 corvette Z06 rims on Friday. My buddy had the same rims on his Chevelle and i really like the look of them. they are 18x10.5 (rear) and 17x9.5 (front). currently they have michellen pilot sport tires on them 295/35/18 and 265/40/17 which are supposedly at 75% tread left. I will work them off at some point (likely as burnout victims)and then maybe throw on 305's in the rear (would definitely have to trim the fender lip )and 275's up front. Was really thinking that having the car set up to be square (295's all four corners) would be cool but it would be about $3000 or more to get all of that sorted out, so for $1700 for this set i am happy. The corvette rims are only about 1 lbs or so heavier that the super speed wheels i was looking at from what i have read. After getting the wheels i will just have to do some measuring and get some wheel adapters likely 2" (might have to cut the fender lip) or 1.75" if i can avoid the fender lip issue and they still look right on the car. here is a pic of the rims/tires.
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      here is a pic of a buddies chevelle that had the same rims on his car
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      Should hopefully have my rear brakes this weekend, 11" low profile wilwoods. They are 6hrs away and a friend may be heading that direction and could pick them up. They are brand new in the box so pretty excited about those!

      NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS

      Holy fack fack fack fack.

      When i had taken the axles out of the rear end (72 chevelle 12 bolt posi) i must have spun the posi unit and the thrust washers that sit between the smaller top and bottom spider gears slipped out and are now trapped behind the spring and plates. this freaking sucks. I tried for about an hour and a whole bunch of options to get them out. Magnet, pick, tried pulling them through the springs, tried pulling the springs/plate out enough to see if they would come out, tried wedging the spring and plates either up or down to create some space between the housing and the spider gears but no such luck, it is just too tight and there is not enough space. oh and did i mention that by the time i noticed this i had already sprayed a bottle of anti-slip additive and a liter of rear end gear oil in the housing.

      you can see the washers behind the springs all the way at the back.
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      I really don't see any other option other to remove the spring pack and plates. could be kind of sketch because i am pretty sure that they are the 400lbs springs. i talked to the guy that built the rear end and he was really trying to get me to avoid taking the spring pack out. It is also really tight because the plates hit the ring gear when i pull them out so hopefully I can compress them enough to get them out. Going to wrap a whole shwack of welding wire around the plates and twist it super tight, probably zip ties, a clamp or ten and hopefully be able to get it out safely and not lose an eye or two (safety glasses first). If i can get it out it will be easy to grab the thrust washers and put them back in.

      Open to any other suggestions of getting them out without removing the spring pack. Other option is to take it to a shop and have them take it apart but it would essentially mean taking the entire posi out of the rear end removing the ring gear, removing the spring pack and then get the thrust bearings. I'd like to avoid it if i can. Besides i have two eyes anyways.

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Apr 2001
      Location
      The City of Fountains
      Posts
      15,971
      Country Flag: United States
      Looks like a stellar start!

      Andrew
      1970 GTO Version 3.0
      1967 Cougar build
      GM High-Tech Performance feature
      My YouTube Channel Please Subscribe!
      Instagram @projectgattago
      Dr. EFI
      I deliver what EFI promises.
      Remote Holley EFI tuning.
      Please get in touch if I can be of service.

      "You were the gun, your voice was the trigger, your bravery was the barrel, your eyes were the bullets." ~ Her

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Nov 2020
      Posts
      40
      Country Flag: Canada
      Quote Originally Posted by andrewb70 View Post
      Looks like a stellar start!

      Andrew

      thanks Andrew! can't wait till its on the road

    7. #7
      Join Date
      Jul 2008
      Posts
      453
      Country Flag: United States
      Man I might have bad news for you.

      Our frames are like wet noodles. With the jack stands back @ the firewall the front will sag. When you jack up the nose of the frame the space you had between the back of the block and the firewall will diminish. The other bad news is you might have the engine sitting too low. A-bodies suffer from lack of space between the oil pan and inner tie rods. With the engine so low the tie rods will contact the oil pan.

      I had to readjust everything I was doing. When mocking up engine placement and piping I had to put the jack stands under the a-arms so the frame stayed in it's final resting position.
      *Jeff*
      Project Salty - 1964 4 door Malibu, beaten, neglected, red headed foster child
      Cammed LQ4 / T56 Swap Project Thread <-click to read! 😁

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Nov 2020
      Posts
      40
      Country Flag: Canada
      Quote Originally Posted by Hotwire View Post
      Man I might have bad news for you.

      Our frames are like wet noodles. With the jack stands back @ the firewall the front will sag. When you jack up the nose of the frame the space you had between the back of the block and the firewall will diminish. The other bad news is you might have the engine sitting too low. A-bodies suffer from lack of space between the oil pan and inner tie rods. With the engine so low the tie rods will contact the oil pan.

      I had to readjust everything I was doing. When mocking up engine placement and piping I had to put the jack stands under the a-arms so the frame stayed in it's final resting position.
      Wet noodle might be generous! haha. I know they are, thats why i put in that hellwig frame fx kit. The amount that it stiffened up the frame is incredible. I have been meaning to do what you say (jacks under lower A-arms) but i am waiting on one upper ball joint on the drivers side to put that side together (last piece of the puzzle). I did just put the jack up under the k member and lifted the car off the front jacks and no issues with the back of the block and the firewall.

      i am using the UMI lsx engine mounts that Mark at SC&C recommended and then i am essentially using his front suspension set up so i don't think that i would have problems with the steering linkage but will obviously have to wait and see. friend of mine was running this set up on a lowered Chevelle and had no issues with steering linkage that i know of.

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Jul 2008
      Posts
      453
      Country Flag: United States
      I need to look into boxing my frame. You can literally feel the car squirming when you hit uneven road.

      I swear to you I'm not a negative person! BUT.. Just be wary of SC&C. A LOT of people have placed orders, paid, and never received their parts. Co-worker got caught up in 8 month wait before trying to get his money back. He's unfortunately had a litany of excuses mainly stating mfg issues. If you contact the mfg directly they'll tell you product is on the shelf ready to ship.

      If you google SC&C you'll see the problems people are having with Mark. He's great on the phone but is having problems following through with orders. Can't speak for him, but it seems like he's robbing Peter to pay Paul right now.

      http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...4488&p=6069441
      https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ustoms-142520/
      https://www.chevelles.com/threads/sc...oooow.1100784/
      https://www.chevelles.com/threads/sc...forum.1106780/
      *Jeff*
      Project Salty - 1964 4 door Malibu, beaten, neglected, red headed foster child
      Cammed LQ4 / T56 Swap Project Thread <-click to read! 😁

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Nov 2020
      Posts
      40
      Country Flag: Canada
      Quote Originally Posted by Hotwire View Post
      I need to look into boxing my frame. You can literally feel the car squirming when you hit uneven road.

      I swear to you I'm not a negative person! BUT.. Just be wary of SC&C. A LOT of people have placed orders, paid, and never received their parts. Co-worker got caught up in 8 month wait before trying to get his money back. He's unfortunately had a litany of excuses mainly stating mfg issues. If you contact the mfg directly they'll tell you product is on the shelf ready to ship.

      If you google SC&C you'll see the problems people are having with Mark. He's great on the phone but is having problems following through with orders. Can't speak for him, but it seems like he's robbing Peter to pay Paul right now.

      http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...4488&p=6069441
      https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ustoms-142520/
      https://www.chevelles.com/threads/sc...oooow.1100784/
      https://www.chevelles.com/threads/sc...forum.1106780/

      Yes the frames twists and roll soooooo bad. To give you an idea when i used to jack the car up under the k member(no-frame brace) i swear it would flex like 1-2 inches before coming off off jacks (this was with no fenders or anything and just the engine/trans in and the body). If you can do it i would highly recommend it.

      so i have only ordered the Hellwig frame kit from Mark. Shipping times were reasonable and overall no complaints. When talking to Mark about it he said that of all the kits out there the hellwig one is the best because it increases the cross-sectional area of the frame while boxing it in. compared to others that just weld plates on to the c-channels and then do a bunch of tubular bracing. He said that those style braces if done properly should be an "X-brace" that run essentially from the front to the back of the c-channels in an X pattern. I personally haven't had any issues, granted that is the only thing i ordered from him. was going to get one of the suspension packages but i obviously have all the stuff i need now except rear shocks.

    11. #11
      Join Date
      Feb 2019
      Posts
      270
      Sub’d! Wanna see this one done!
      1968 Cougar - 408, FiTech, AOD, TCI, Currie, RideTech, Wilwood
      1968 Skylark - 462, TKO 600, RideTech, CPP
      1985 Mustang - 04 Cobra/Terminator Swapped
      1988 Mustang - Vortech V3, Boss 327, Magnum, MaximumMotorsports, StopTech

    12. #12
      Join Date
      May 2010
      Location
      kitchener,Ontario,Canada
      Posts
      2,336
      Country Flag: Canada
      a fellow , A body guy ,A Canadian , A Ontario person ... im sold lol subscribed
      Spinnin'my tires in life's fast lane

      Ryan Austin
      On twitter @raustinss
      On Instagram austinss70

    13. #13
      Join Date
      Nov 2020
      Posts
      40
      Country Flag: Canada
      Quote Originally Posted by STREETFIGHTER50 View Post
      Sub’d! Wanna see this one done!
      Me too! haha

      i posted this in the project updates section and have made some updates since this. i will post everything new i do to the car in that thread. here is the link. Cheers!

      https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...ng-Garage-Made

      - - - Updated - - -

      Quote Originally Posted by raustinss View Post
      a fellow , A body guy ,A Canadian , A Ontario person ... im sold lol subscribed
      your a Canadian too eh! ha.

      I have continued updating this thread in the project updates section. best to subscribe to that one as that is where i'll will post any new info! I made some updates since this one too. link below...

      https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...ng-Garage-Made





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