1970 GTO Version 3.0

[andrewb70]

The engine plate was bolted over the valley cover with the supplied longer bolts. This made it a lot easier because the valley cover didn't have to be fully removed.



With everything unhooked on the bottom, it was time to hook up the hoist and get the engine and transmission out. A big thanks to Ron for lending me the hoist, engine stand, and transmission jack. All three were invaluable.











The engine was put on the stand, everything got tidied up, and the GTO was rolled into the garage. The space is pretty tight, but the driveway is huge. The plan is to roll the car out on nice days and just work on it a little bit at a time. Having a lot of working space around the car will minimize the chances of damage, etc...

Andrew

[Motown 454]

Nice progress Andrew. Your doing some nice upgrades.

[thumper877]

Sorry I couldn't get over to help you but glad the equipment helped out. Promise I will help you put it back in or with anything you need

[Way2qwk4u]

Yes I had the same issue. I made up some 6x6 blocks that fit tight in the pockets on the quick jacks. And also got a low profile creeper. Only problem I ever had was my fault and I did not check the locks. Left the car overnight and next morning when I walked in the garage it was all lopsided. Still on the lift but it still scared me. So I will always check them from now on. Glad to see you are making progress.

[130fe]

Any idea on where you are thinking about mounting the new PCM?

[STREETFIGHTER50]

Nice work Andrew. Good to see them QuickJacks in action. That driveway is huge!

[andrewb70]

Nice progress Andrew. Your doing some nice upgrades.

Thanks Wayne!

Sorry I couldn't get over to help you but glad the equipment helped out. Promise I will help you put it back in or with anything you need

Ron,
You have done enough! I really appreciate the equipment loan. Everything worked perfectly!

Yes I had the same issue. I made up some 6x6 blocks that fit tight in the pockets on the quick jacks. And also got a low profile creeper. Only problem I ever had was my fault and I did not check the locks. Left the car overnight and next morning when I walked in the garage it was all lopsided. Still on the lift but it still scared me. So I will always check them from now on. Glad to see you are making progress.

I am sure that I will learn better how to work with them, but so far so good!

Any idea on where you are thinking about mounting the new PCM?

There is a little shelf that was built as part of the structure that holds the Vintage Air AC unit under the dash. I plan to mount the ECU under that little shelf. That's where the e67 ECU is currently located.

Nice work Andrew. Good to see them QuickJacks in action. That driveway is huge!

The driveway was one of the great selling points of the house. The garage is only 21x21, but on any nice day, I can just work outside. The driveway is big and flat, which makes life very easy.

Andrew

[ryeguy2006a]

Great progress Andrew! You guys work quickly!

[joeko23]

Andrew, you changing the intake manifold too? Or upgrading to an lsa supercharger?

[andrewb70]

Andrew, you changing the intake manifold too? Or upgrading to an lsa supercharger?

Keeping the intake and no LSA blower for me.

[SSLance]

The driveway was one of the great selling points of the house. The garage is only 21x21, but on any nice day, I can just work outside. The driveway is big and flat, which makes life very easy.

Which in KC is about 30 days a year...

Nice progress Andrew, should buzz right along now that the heavy lifting part has started.

[andrewb70]

Which in KC is about 30 days a year...

Nice progress Andrew, should buzz right along now that the heavy lifting part has started.

I don't mind the heat. As long as there is no rain, I'm good to go.

Andrew

[Peanut1959]

Andrewb70,
I didn't realize you were so close! I'm in Jefferson City.

I've been thinking about having Tallant's handle the build of my '59 Studebaker Lark. It will be quasi-Pro Touring in style.

Do you know anything about their work? Are there better (and/or more affordable rod shops I should consider in the Show-Me state?
Matt
(Peanut1959)

[andrewb70]

Andrewb70,
I didn't realize you were so close! I'm in Jefferson City.

I've been thinking about having Tallant's handle the build of my '59 Studebaker Lark. It will be quasi-Pro Touring in style.

Do you know anything about their work? Are there better (and/or more affordable rod shops I should consider in the Show-Me state?
Matt
(Peanut1959)

Hi Matt,

I am afraid that I am of not much use with recommendations. We only recently moved to the KC metro area and I barely know anyone around here.

Andrew

[SSLance]

Andrewb70,
I didn't realize you were so close! I'm in Jefferson City.

I've been thinking about having Tallant's handle the build of my '59 Studebaker Lark. It will be quasi-Pro Touring in style.

Do you know anything about their work? Are there better (and/or more affordable rod shops I should consider in the Show-Me state?
Matt
(Peanut1959)

I am familiar with the Tallants...both Dave and Dan. I lived in the KC area for 35 years but left about 3.5 years ago.

I'm not sure about the more affordable portion of your question, but if I was in KC looking to have a car built, these would be the first three that I'd check out.


This is Dave's (the Dad) shop.

Dave's Hot Rod Shop
Address: 513 US-169, Smithville, MO 64089
Phone: (816) 532-3600





This is Dan's shop which is the one I assume you know about already.

https://www.tallantshotrods.net/home.html


This is another shop near KC with a great reputation.

Vintage Fabrication LLC






Address: 2419 N Old Atherton Rd, Independence, MO 64058






Hours: Open ⋅ Closes 6PM


Phone: (816) 796-0748

[andrewb70]

The current layout of the dash is functional, but the gauges have a bit of an outdated look.



So to bring it up todays standards, I decided to replace them with Holley analog CAN gauges.



Both the speedometer and the tach will be connected to the Terminator X ECU and all data will go over the CAN bus. This makes installation super simple and clean. The fuel gauge will go in place of the FJO wideband gauge. It is a fully programmable gauge and will work well with the OEM sender that is a part of the 5th gen Camaro ZL1 pump module that I plan to use.

I also received the oil pan baffle kit and a line lock kit for when I want to smoke the tires...:-)





Andrew

[David Sloan]

Getting it done! As far as smoking the tires just put a turbo on it and you can do burnouts rolling 60 / 70 mph! Lol!
Love the updates keep them coming!

[andrewb70]

Getting it done! As far as smoking the tires just put a turbo on it and you can do burnouts rolling 60 / 70 mph! Lol!
Love the updates keep them coming!

If I wasn't so adamant about seeing the shaker scoop functional, I would take the 5.3L from the Cougar and stick it in the GTO with a turbo and drop the 6.2L into the Cougar....LOL

Andrew

[David Sloan]

If I wasn't so adamant about seeing the shaker scoop functional, I would take the 5.3L from the Cougar and stick it in the GTO with a turbo and drop the 6.2L into the Cougar....LOL

Andrew

I get it! I wouldn’t want to change the way you are building the GTO. That car is an Icon! I bet we could figure out how to keep the shaker and still add a turbo! 🤔

[andrewb70]

How does that age old question go?

"How do you eat an elephant?"

We all know, the answer: "One bite at a time."

Yesterday I went to the garage and just started looking around. A project of this size is pretty daunting, but I have to start somewhere. I saw my radiator sitting off to the side and then saw the Chevy Volt fans that I bought last summer at a local JY. So I thought I would see how the two go together.

Here is the set-up I've had on the car for almost 20 years. It is a huge BeCool radiator and dual SPAL fans.



The fans attach with nice little brackets that capture the top and bottom of the radiator core.



Once the old fans assembly was removed, I just placed the Volt fans on the core. I always thought I had 12" fans, but looking at the Volt dual 12" fans, it is clear that mine were either 10 or 11 inch fans.



The bottom of the Volt fans assembly is a little tab that was getting in the way.



I used a saw I had handy and just cut it off.



With the tab cut off, the fan assembly looks like it was made for this radiator. The fit is spot on!



I proceeded to strip the Volt wiring loom to the bare essentials. You can see here a close-up of the round Yazaki connectors for each fan. Each plug has three terminals. There is a power and ground and a small pwm signal wire.



The shroud has many bosses where the loom can be secured for a neat installation.



To mount the fan assembly, I am going to weld some tabs at the bottom to capture the lower tangs, and threaded bosses at the top where the fan assembly will bolt to the radiator.

The reason for going with these fans is that they are absolute monsters. Each fan is rated at 300 watts, which I am pretty sure is triple of what the old fans were. The other reason is that these fans are PWM controlled and there is no need for an external controller. The little signal wires will be connected directly to an output from my Holley Terminator X ECU, and I will program the fan speed based on coolant temperature, A/C pressure, and vehicle speed.

The radiator core is 27 3/8" wide and 18" tall, although I have some caps that protect the top and bottom of the core, making the effective available height 17 1/4" tall.

Andrew