'66 Pontiac Resto-Mod Update

[wmhjr]

Jeff, a couple but they're not great. I'll post them a bit later. I have not fully installed as I want to install the new floater caliper brackets while the back plates are still off. I'm expecting the brackets in the next day or so.

[wmhjr]

Here are some pics following this weekend from my phone. Quality isn't as good as my normal pics.

First, here's the finally installed oil cooler and thermostat in front of the mounted radiator. Please disregard the sloppy wires hanging - I had to clip some ties and have not tidied everything back up yet. Also, I have not yet secured the oil lines permanently (ties, clamps). They will be a little cleaner also.





Direct side view of axle, retainer, SET20 bearing and seal. Note that seal is not yet pressed into housing, and that the backplate (parking brake and caliper bracket) are not installed yet. Axles will need to come back out, parking brake/bracket assembly put on, and then axles back on and seal pressed in. Note the much heavier thickness of the retainer plate.

[ccracin]

You've got plenty of room in there. Let's mount a tranny cooler and rear end cooler just for good measure! Nice job. To all those out there that have not seen this in person, these pictures do not show how much room Bill is NOT working with. This was an amazing puzzle to figure out. Very good work!

[wmhjr]

Thanks, Chad. So long as it holds up and the grills fit in there and the bumper still goes on without interference (should according to my measurements, but you never know) - I'll be very happy. Hopefully you'll see it tonight!

[ccracin]

You're slacking here. We need some updates! Don't hold out on us, we want to hear about road tests, parking lot speed stop practice, and what you did to get the oil over 215 to see if the thermostat and cooler work. C'mon!

[wmhjr]

Ask and you shall receive - at least partially.

It's not on the road yet because of two issues. First, delays that the floating calipers were shipped to a non-existent address, which I discovered when UPS sent me the tracking info and I noticed that the destination city was wrong. Took an extra day or so to get them. Then, the brackets are still not available from Wilwood, however Mike at Wilwood arranged for me to get some from Heidts. Did the offset measurement, however after getting the brackets and finally getting the calipers, discovered something was wrong with the setup. I still don't have an answer for how it happened but the spacers were wrong. Had to machine spacers to mount the brackets (which I could not start to even think about until the calipers arrived). Final result is that they are on, and the line brackets are on. However, that's when I realized that I really needed 90 deg -3AN flex line connections due to clearance. So, those should arrive today and I plan to bleed the brakes tonight. Here's how it looks now...





The grills and bumper are installed again. The bumper was a massive PITA, because of how I was forced to run the oil lines. It was a chinese puzzle. Drivers side bumper brackets stayed on. Passenger side angle bracket mounted to the bumper, frame bracket mounted to the frame, and kind of try to fit it together and then break all the bones in your hand to get nuts tightened on the bumper bolts.





More to come.....

[wmhjr]

There is another modification shown here. Anybody guess what it is?

[ccracin]

Pick Me, Pick Me, I know what it is!

Looking good Bill. Most would never imagine what you have gone through to make this all happen. On a new car to boot, isn't racing fun? I told you it was a form of brain damage!

[wmhjr]

Thanks, Chad! I have to be careful. Not much brain matter to start with.

[wmhjr]

Last night I got the following done.

Got the new 12" flex lines with 90 degree -3an fittings on one end, got the brakes on, and bled. It was too late to fire up the beast and test drive it. I'm a little uncertain as it seems as though there is a bit more travel in the pedal now. Just have to drive it and see how it responds.

One thing that we discovered through this process - if you got both wilwood floating calipers and these brackets from Heidts, you probably want to check to insure that the setup is correct. Turns out that the offset discrepancy I had was because Heidts has been using a different caliper which is designed for a thicker rotor than the wilwood .81" that I'm using here.

Totally disassembled my fuel delivery system including filtration, regulator, lines, etc. Cleaned them and reassembled in hopes of eliminating my very minor leak.

Have a late work meeting tonight so I won't be messing with it, but hope to test a bit tomorrow night.

[wmhjr]

Well, good news and bad news.

The good news. Rear brakes and pedal modulation seems quite good. I'm no longer worried about the pedal travel, though I have still not had an opportunity to really put some side load on to test the knock-back performance improvement. This weekend I went to one large parking lot but it wasn't empty (though it's in the middle of nowhere). I refuse to push the car if there is any risk to other people or property. Engine and oil temps were great - even when I deliberately kept the car in a lower gear to keep higher rpms to kind of force it - though again, no real "track" kind of pushing going on.

The bad news. Oil leaks. One on the output side of my oil regulator - not exactly sure where, but had to remove the bumper again. And on the oil line coming out of the motor - small leak. I'm sick and tired of the oil leaks. Brand new, perfectly installed, and tight fittings. What in gods name do I have to do to get rid of oil leaks?????? I'm about to coat the entire friggin systm of lines with JB weld! (just kidding).

[wmhjr]

Jim, assuming you're there, I'll see you at RTTH! Oil drips and all!

[Jim Nilsen]

Jim, assuming you're there, I'll see you at RTTH! Oil drips and all!

I am not sure I will make it down there, I really wish I could. The Dragon is so much fun and the group that makes it down there is totally differnet than the northern group. I know Deadcat will be there and I really want to see Payton and so many others.

If it works out at work I might drive down in my Vibe for the autox.

I will be looking to see all of the video and pics of how you do. It's good to know that you got it all back together so quickly. If it is as hot as it usually is down there you will get your chance to see how your oil cooler works.

Goodluck and hope to see ya sooner than later!!!

[wmhjr]

Jim, let me know if you're going to show up.

Anyway, the drama continues. pulled the front bumper, went through all the (brand new) lines and fittings on the cooler and oil thermostat. I've got two fittings (yes, fittings - not lines) on the front that will not stop leaking. Two brand new Fragola -10AN fittings. They aren't leaking real bad, but I'm not on a track either.

And it gets worse. While I took the car for a test drive, I stopped at a friends house - pulling into his driveway. Got out and was inspecting the oil system and noticed a puddle forming under the car. Looks like the power steering box seal let go. It looked like fluid was streaming out of the input shaft seal area. Talked to Tom Lee, and a replacement box will be enroute today. Assuming it all works out, this is a prime example of why pay a little more and deal with good vendors. I called Tom from where I was stopped. Took about 15 minutes to talk to him. Explained the situation, and Toms answer was "well, I don't make the seals but I stand behind them". Tom initially said that if I shipped the box back, he'd get it turned around within 24 hrs - and suggested I send the pump along just to be sure. That would still put me out of business for probably 2 wks due to shipping, so he quickly agreed to ship me another box with a call tag for my box. Hopefully this happens, but regardless it's hard to beat that kind of service. Had I had to wait 2 wks, I would probably have been forced to bail from RTTH, as I have business travel out to the west coast and would probably not have had time to get things straight in time.

Got the car home, put it on the lift, turned out the lights and walked out of the garage. Some days you just can't win.

[Jim Nilsen]

those pesky PS seals, did you feel how hot the reseviour was or know? Mine went out at 265 degrees at the MSC. How hard was it to turn with no power? Mine was like a truck and both hands was barely enough to do it.

Try putting a bit of lube or anti seize on the threads of those fittings to see if you can get more torque on them easier. Sometimes it is that last 3 or 5 degrees of turn with the wrench that makes them go away. I had to do that with 2 stainless brake fittings that were persistant on leaking.

I too can attest to paying more for parts and getting the service that comes with it, that service is priceless when you have/want to make an event on time or not at all.

I will let you know if I can make it to RTTH but right now the chances are slim.

Did you see the video on yt from Heidt's that you and I get a moment, I am still trying to remember what we were talking about? The actions are classic to me talking with my hands,LOL. That event was the best for everyone giving it their all.

Hope you get it all sorted out and the box back in wirh no problems. Do you see a temp gauge for the ps in your future? I pondered it for just a few days and John Parsons made me realize how important it is to know what the ps temp is doing. It seems you can never have too many gauges.

[wmhjr]

Jim, the fluid wasn't too hot at all. I had only been running the car for maybe 15-20 minutes, on the street. I stayed in a lower gear for longer than normal to keep rpms up (trying to heat the engine and oil) but other than that, the steering was actually not pushed whatsoever. No hard driving, hard cornering - nothing. For the relatively few numbers of time that the car gets tracked per year, I don't plan to add a PS temp gauge. But, you never know. If I do, I will likely add it on the external reservoir and not in the interior of the car. Too much work to redo the dash to figure out how to integrate yet another gauge. I'd have to essentially start from scratch.

The car wasn't terrible to turn. To be honest, I was about 4 miles from home, and I really babied it because I didn't want to damage the pump. With a serpentine system, no way to disengage the pump. It's very strange.

For the fittings, they're darned tight. I was actually worried that they're too tight. I'm going to disassemble them again and look for marks inside to see where they are seated (or not). I also have a set of Earls aluminum "seals" (for lack of a better term) that are intended to be used on damaged -AN fittings enroute. If nothing else works, I may try them.

I didn't see the video on Heidts. I'll have to take a look.

[wmhjr]

Jim, saw the video. I think we were at the autox course at that time. Not sure.

Got the steering box out of the car tonight. Also worked on the oil lines (again) and put the front bumper back on. Talked to Gail over at Lee, and confirmed the box will arrive tomorrow along with getting the tracking number. Great people over at Lee. How many companies out there would send you a replacement steering box and a return shipping label immediately to get you back on the road within 2 days - no questions asked?

Anyway, I'm working from home tomorrow, hoping to take the car out tomorrow night. So, I'll be anxiously awaiting UPS, not taking a lunch break or anything so I can try to break free for an hour to get the replacement steering box back in. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[wmhjr]

Getting ready to pack up for RTTH. Still fighting small oil leaks in the plumbing. Driving me absolutely friggin crazy. I've never run into a stupid problem as frustrating as this. I think I've made the same lines now at least 5 times in some cases.

I did spend some time with some front suspension tweaks, looking forward to playing with it on the AutoX. Roll bar and racing seats are back in the car. Have some final issues to mess with tonight, and then pack the trailer and load the car and tools Wednesday night. Work on Thursday will keep me from getting down to RTTH at any sort of reasonable time. I may not get there until mid morning Friday, and if so I'll be trashed with no sleep whatsoever.

[wmhjr]

So, kind of an "after action review" of RTTH. First of all, friggin great event. Run exceptionally well. For the events that were run, you really couldn't ask for more (except just maybe better track conditions at 411 dragway).

Ended up having to work on Thursday, which resulted in being pretty sure I would not be able to arrive early enough on Friday for the Autox school, so I gave up my spot in advance. However, we did get there soon enough that we thought we were OK for the "Dragon Cruise".

The idea for the "Scavenger hunt" was pretty cool - though it probably resulted in making what was about to be a difficult situation a bit more difficult. The weather was crappy, and I had a good friend and my son in the car - we kept having to turn around and backtrack to get pics of items on the list, which delayed us quite a bit. After about an hour, I noticed that my voltmeter showed some kind of funky conditions. Sometimes it would drop down to 10. We decided to keep watching it but continue. Ooops.

My son was the navigator, and when we got to the end of the Dragon on US129 (at the store) we mistakenly turned left rather than turning around. We went about 2 miles. And then the voltmeter dropped to 8, causing us to try and turn around - which is when I lost even enough juice to power the MSD ignition. No tools, no cell signal, no battery power, car can't run, and we're no longer on the correct "route".

Pushed the car off the road and flagged down a guy who ran up to the store (he was supposed to get a cop that was parked there but who had left since we passed) and he ran into a few guys from the cruise. They came back and we thought "maybe" after playing around and jumping the car with jumper cables, I was charging again "slightly", so we started back. The voltmeter stayed at around 11 - for about 2 miles. Then dropped to nothing and the car died. I drifted off onto a pull-off (now we're back on the Dragon), and my buddy and I got a ride back with a couple guys to the hotel, leaving my poor son in my car. That was at around 3pm. We got my rig (Dodge Diesel w/big enclosed trailer), stopped enroute to pick up a replacement 1 wire alternator, and got back to my car at around 9pm. Yes, we took the rig through the Dragon. Got the car loaded back up, drove the remainder of the dragon to turn around at the store, and then drove back - stopping for food. Then went to the Toy Box where at around midnight I replaced the alternator. All is well.

Saturday I installed the DSE shims to push negative camber a bit more and change the toe to slightly out (had been experimenting with this setup at home), but got to the track too late to do the walk through. Went off course on my 1st 2 laps. Doh. The course was very safe, but very challengine. I had particular trouble with the last third of the course. Though I got faster as the day progressed, I didn't fully recognize the impact of gravity (the course was not level) until I thought more thoroughly at the end of the day. Too aggressive into some sections, making me slower than I should have been. Never even checked a single lap time and had no idea where I was until the times were published on this site. During the 1st session, I was loading up in the turns (fuel) so I adjusted my float levels before the second session, which helped dramatically. Turned out that the times weren't quite as bad as I had thought, but I should have been faster. Just bad driving on my part. Like has been said elsewhere - seat time, seat time, seat time. Kyle Tucker in particular rode a lap with me and was very helpful - I just should have concentrated more on his advice.

Sunday for drag racing, I was concentrating so much on how to control my launches that my reaction times were horrible, and I never could get comfortable. The left lane was like a construction zone, with the entire car shaking as it was spinning. Felt like the strip had rumble strips across it. The right lane was much better, but still very very hard to hook. I checked at the conclusion of the event (after awards) and found out that I would have finished 10th but at the VERY last minute somebody bumped me. Funny thing was that I think that's exactly what I did to Bob Bertelson just before I got bumped. Speed stop was very tough. At Heidts I did well, finishing 4th. Here, the surface was tough, and for the first 3 runs (of 4) I was far too conservative. My last run would have been far better, but the front tip of my bumper went through the box, so it was a DNF. Oh well.

Overall, other than the dumb alternator issue, the car did very well. Bill Howell puts on a great event, nothing really "damaged", car performed pretty well considering, and it was a great experience. I really think I should have taking at least a half second off of my autox times without any question. It's courses like this that really show how driving skill and experience mean so much.

[ccracin]

leaving my poor son in my car. That was at around 3pm. We got my rig (Dodge Diesel w/big enclosed trailer), stopped enroute to pick up a replacement 1 wire alternator, and got back to my car at around 9pm.

I'll have to talk to your son, that should cost yah!