69 GTO Build

[andrewb70]

Finally finished adjusting the trunk gaps!

This close up shows how low the drivers side quarter was, brought it up level using my truck jack.

Attachment 113012Attachment 113013

Had to cut and move the end of the drivers side quarter to bring it up level with the trunk lid. Also a vertical cut to make the gap right.

Attachment 113014Attachment 113016

Passenger side gap needed to be tightened up, a few cuts and a slide hammer got me there.

Attachment 113021Attachment 113024



Final result worth all the cuts and metal splinters!

Attachment 113025Attachment 113026

Keep that a$$ clean man. If you want functional, buy a new Z28...LOL

Andrew

[ekmxryda]

Keep that a$$ clean man. If you want functional, buy a new Z28...LOL

Andrew

Haha yeah still on the fence on the spoiler, I have another trunk lid that I can experiment with and test things out when I get the urge.

[ekmxryda]

Erik,

I gather you're doing something special with the clutch pedal geometry? The bolt in kits use the stock clutch push rod hole on the pedal, so you must be doing something else?

Andrew

Yeah the lack of room from widening the inner fender kept me from doing the usual angle. Wildwood wants a pedal ratio of 6:1 so I am making another simple pivot link inside the fire wall that I can tune to get the right travel.

[Fastmonty]

Eric,

Fantastic job with aligning the trunk gaps... I didn't go to that extent, so I have slightly pinched gaps at the lower end of the trunk lid. It looks uniform so I didn't change it. So, on to bigger and better news... got the engine on the dyno. This dyno is a Water Brake dyno. My assumptions for power were way off, but, the good news is, It fired immediately. And, I'm getting 575 lb ft of torque. (HP was 500). We could have bumped it up more by leaning it out a bit, but I wanted it slightly rich for street use. (Air Fuel ratio of about 11.9) As requested, here are a couple of videos... one is the first fire, with a known good Carb (Holley 850). The second video is of a pull with my carb, a heavily modified Demon 750, which outperformed the Holley.

First Fire
https://youtu.be/9FFBpQSIN3U

Dyno Pull
https://youtu.be/WlpBZ1mUrGY

You'll notice some smoke on this run... I found an oil leak from the valley pan, which dribbled down to the oil filter and onto the headers. I have since fixed that issue.

Next step is to get this thing back into the car... need to negotiate the time, with the wife. Ha, ha...

Talk soon, Mike

[ekmxryda]

Mike, the dyno run sounds impressive! Its going to be fun to drive with all that torque!

Planning out my fuel cell, made up a SolidWorks assembly to help make sure a 22 Gallon will fit in the space I have.
I want to sandwich the trunk floor with 1.25" square tube (grey tubes) should be strong when I tie in the original fuel tank brace. Then use 1" square tube (blue) to build the rest of the cage. Bottom will have 14 Gage CRS plate to seal it away from the elements. Will make a bolt on sheet metal top cover so just the fill plate is visible. Looking at Fuel Safe with the surge tank, I modeled the 25.5" x 17.125" x 13.75" but an ATL tank will also fit with shims.



A always I would love to get some help from everyone to keep me on the right track, might duplicate this post onto the Fuel Cell thread.
Plus if anyone has a slightly used 22 gallon fuel cell they want to sell...?

['71cutlasluvr]

Looks good Erik. I am envious of guys like you that can do body work. Sincerely.

Andrew

+1! I agree whole heartedly Andrew. Way beyond my skillset. Nice job Eric. Always a pleasure to see your handiwork.

['71cutlasluvr]

Thanks Andrew and Wayne! I appreciate real body guys even more now, it is so much work.

Made some good progress mounting the Wilwood clutch MC on a filler plate too.

Attachment 113046Attachment 113047

Got it tacked in place for now. Made sure to lay out the clutch pedal linkage in Solidworks to make sure it all worked out before welding it in.

Attachment 113048

Playing catch up again Eric. Sorry. Nice job on the Clutch MC filler plate... as always.

['71cutlasluvr]

Eric,

Fantastic job with aligning the trunk gaps... I didn't go to that extent, so I have slightly pinched gaps at the lower end of the trunk lid. It looks uniform so I didn't change it. So, on to bigger and better news... got the engine on the dyno. This dyno is a Water Brake dyno. My assumptions for power were way off, but, the good news is, It fired immediately. And, I'm getting 575 lb ft of torque. (HP was 500). We could have bumped it up more by leaning it out a bit, but I wanted it slightly rich for street use. (Air Fuel ratio of about 11.9) As requested, here are a couple of videos... one is the first fire, with a known good Carb (Holley 850). The second video is of a pull with my carb, a heavily modified Demon 750, which outperformed the Holley.

First Fire
https://youtu.be/9FFBpQSIN3U

Dyno Pull
https://youtu.be/WlpBZ1mUrGY

You'll notice some smoke on this run... I found an oil leak from the valley pan, which dribbled down to the oil filter and onto the headers. I have since fixed that issue.

Next step is to get this thing back into the car... need to negotiate the time, with the wife. Ha, ha...

Talk soon, Mike

Hey Mike! Wow! Thanks for the vids. As mentioned, I'm playing catch up again. Notification for these posts never showed. :(

What a screamer! What rpm did the dyno driver top off at? Sounds much higher than it was but just have to ask. Far higher than a stock Poncho motor for sure though. I AM impressed! Congrats Mike. More vids when it's on the street please. Still living Vicariously through you. ;)

['71cutlasluvr]

Mike, the dyno run sounds impressive! Its going to be fun to drive with all that torque!

Planning out my fuel cell, made up a SolidWorks assembly to help make sure a 22 Gallon will fit in the space I have.
I want to sandwich the trunk floor with 1.25" square tube (grey tubes) should be strong when I tie in the original fuel tank brace. Then use 1" square tube (blue) to build the rest of the cage. Bottom will have 14 Gage CRS plate to seal it away from the elements. Will make a bolt on sheet metal top cover so just the fill plate is visible. Looking at Fuel Safe with the surge tank, I modeled the 25.5" x 17.125" x 13.75" but an ATL tank will also fit with shims.



A always I would love to get some help from everyone to keep me on the right track, might duplicate this post onto the Fuel Cell thread.
Plus if anyone has a slightly used 22 gallon fuel cell they want to sell...?

That's a serious looking fuel tank retention system Eric. It ain't going anywhere with that kind of bracing. Very strong and safe looking. You have some computer skills too. Very cool!

g

[Fastmonty]

Eric,

I wish I had a seat of Solidworks... I miss that world. As Gus said, that ain't goin' anywhere.

Gus,

we went up to 6000 RPM... HP peaked at 5700... so, no need to push it past that. The motor is back in it's home, but just finishing off the plumbing, and should have it fired up again this weekend. Need to do some hood polishing before I put it back on... basically areas I can't reach, like the vents in the rear middle of the hood. Tons of dried polish in the grooves...

Talk soon, Mike

['71cutlasluvr]

Eric,

I wish I had a seat of Solidworks... I miss that world. As Gus said, that ain't goin' anywhere.

Gus,

we went up to 6000 RPM... HP peaked at 5700... so, no need to push it past that. The motor is back in it's home, but just finishing off the plumbing, and should have it fired up again this weekend. Need to do some hood polishing before I put it back on... basically areas I can't reach, like the vents in the rear middle of the hood. Tons of dried polish in the grooves...

Talk soon, Mike

Hey Mike,
Sounds like you got a beast there and you're very close to rockin' and rollin'! Wish you all the best in getting everything working right the first time. Must be great peace of mind knowing it has already been dyno'ed and it should be plug and play. I'm so envious. I really miss my big block car and cruisin'. Good luck!

Eric,
Well I'm wafflin' again. Everytime I go out to the garage and look at the stock frame, think about how much cutting/fabbing/welding I must do, and do right the FIRST time, I get cold feet. As I said before, my fab skills are weak and once I cut into the frame, it may be beyond me to make it right. Right now it's worth something since it has been aligned perfectly by a frame shop and the Hotchkiss Extreme suspension and 12 bolt with 3.08 gears and auburn posi with less than 1000 miles is worth something too.

Sooooo, I am, again, thinking pre fabbed chassis. I know, I know. I sound like a politician with all this waffling, but I may be able to swing it next year as I am up for a promotion at my job from level 2 to level 1 field service engineer, and that comes with a fairly hefty pay increase. I won't know for sure until my evaluation at the end of the year, so I will continue to work on the body and reassemble the chassis' suspension into a roller so I can get the body painted if I get that far before the snow flies again.
And since I am thinking about attending car shows around the country when I retire (or perhaps sooner) hauling the 442 in the trailer I purchased for the Miata, I'm thinking a/c again since many car shows are held in the heat of summer. All that work to the body will keep me busy while I'm waiting/working towards that promotion.
So back to the drawing/planning board!

btw: remember all that drainage work I had done last year? It was in preparation for paving our driveway. And as of last week, it is DONE! And it's wonderful. No more dust clouds to ruin my detailing work when I drive up the driveway! No more gravel to rake back into the driveway after a horrible winter of plowing! And water in the basement is a bad memory. Thank goodness for small miracles. I'll resize some pics and post soon.

ATB
gus

[Fastmonty]

Gus,

Yes, I'm getting very anxious to get on the street. And yes, the engine dyno was a fantastic decision. No guess work, no timing to mess with, no messing with the carb, and no leaks. Of course, my wife is out of town this weekend, and I have little man. So, no serious alone time with Green Envy. :(

Now that you're waffling on your chassis... I'm going to throw some ideas at you. If you want to save some money, you could do what I should have done. Which is box the existing frame. You and I both have the skills to do that. Then mock up the engine in the frame and take a crack at customizing your headers and mid pipes for the best ground clearance possible. (I removed the header flanges and changed to a ball flange. But, If I were to do it again, I'd also change the location of the two bottom header tubes.)

Can't wait to see your progress!

Mike

[ekmxryda]

Hey Gus,
I agree with Mike, you could box the frame then use the new suspension parts and rear end you already have. If you want to buy a new chassis later on you could always mini tub it at that point.

Mike,
Hope you got to sneak out in the garage for a little over the weekend.


Got the rear seat brackets from the 04 GTO in and the backs cut down. Had to cut, bend and re-weld the frames to fit around the tubs.



Was able to grab factory brackets to make it a little easier.



Once the seat backs were cut and mounted, I fit the bottom of the seat and then marked the position of the bottom lock mount.



Took a 4" section out of the bottom. Need to have the covers reworked to tighten them up.



Need to weld mount points for a modified middle section that will tie into the console.

['71cutlasluvr]

Gus,

Yes, I'm getting very anxious to get on the street. And yes, the engine dyno was a fantastic decision. No guess work, no timing to mess with, no messing with the carb, and no leaks. Of course, my wife is out of town this weekend, and I have little man. So, no serious alone time with Green Envy. :(

Now that you're waffling on your chassis... I'm going to throw some ideas at you. If you want to save some money, you could do what I should have done. Which is box the existing frame. You and I both have the skills to do that. Then mock up the engine in the frame and take a crack at customizing your headers and mid pipes for the best ground clearance possible. (I removed the header flanges and changed to a ball flange. But, If I were to do it again, I'd also change the location of the two bottom header tubes.)

Can't wait to see your progress!

Mike

Thanks for the input Mike. I do have a frame boxing kit from ABC performance as well as the mini tubs. I was heading down the road you suggest but have been reminded that the stock frame would be more valuable along with or without the hotchkiss extreme components for those looking to do a stock resto and need a rust free frame. I think I will concentrate on the body repairs and get it ready first, then make a final decision later in the year. Work has been nuts since I got back from vaca last monday. Worked all weekend. If this is a sign of how the summer is going to go, I'll be lucky to get the body done! If I get the promotion I am working towards, a new chassis will be doable and save me tons of work. Eric once said his roadster shop chassis saved him 2 years of fab, but we all how "committed" Mr. Gusset is so I'm sure I wouldn't save that much time, but I don't have nearly his skills. Yes, I could box the frame fairly easily, but as long as the new chassis is an option, I'm going to hold off and see how the job pans out. In fact, we vacations coming up, I may get a lot more OT, and that would help towards the new chassis even before the possible promotion at the end of the year.

Again, thanks for thoughts. I'm still waffling but leaning towards a full chassis custom built for my 468, th2004r and the ford 9" that are the preferred rear end on most pre fabbed chassis. I also have a posi 12 bolt with 3.08 gears that only has about 1000 miles on it since the rebuild. That may bring a good profit towards the chassis also, but I must keep a basic suspension to mount the body on for paint and body work at my local shop.

Decisions. Decisions.
Can't wait to hear you have your engine installed and your crusin!

atb
g

['71cutlasluvr]

Hey Gus,
I agree with Mike, you could box the frame then use the new suspension parts and rear end you already have. If you want to buy a new chassis later on you could always mini tub it at that point.

Mike,
Hope you got to sneak out in the garage for a little over the weekend.


Got the rear seat brackets from the 04 GTO in and the backs cut down. Had to cut, bend and re-weld the frames to fit around the tubs.



Was able to grab factory brackets to make it a little easier.



Once the seat backs were cut and mounted, I fit the bottom of the seat and then marked the position of the bottom lock mount.



Took a 4" section out of the bottom. Need to have the covers reworked to tighten them up.



Need to weld mount points for a modified middle section that will tie into the console.

Hi Eric,

I'm really liking the GTO seats. Good choice. I may duplicate your efforts on my 442. Have a friend with an '04 GTO and have ridden in it. Seats are amazingly supportive and comfortable. A perfect match to our a-bodies.

Thanks for all the great pics. Very nice. Great fab job on the brackets, but of course, we expect nothing less from "Mr Gusset"!

I have worked everyday since I came back from vacation as well as being on call. One week off and back on call for a week. A call out pretty much stops everything at home so when we go back to call once a month, I should have more free time to get old konekilr rolling.

Thanks again for the input. Always appreciated.
atb

[ekmxryda]

Hey guys happy fathers day!

Not much going on other than time consuming body work. LOTS of sanding left to do!



Researching balanced 408 stroker rotating assemblies. Any thoughts?

https://www.texas-speed.com/p-1016-t...-assembly.aspx

['71cutlasluvr]

Hey guys happy fathers day!

Not much going on other than time consuming body work. LOTS of sanding left to do!



Researching balanced 408 stroker rotating assemblies. Any thoughts?

https://www.texas-speed.com/p-1016-t...-assembly.aspx

Hi Eric,
And a belated happy fathers day to you too! Hope your kids were good to you and you felt appreciated. My daughters made time to spend with me out of their busy schedules. Had a great day listening to music on my newly assembled Audiophile listening room in my man cave. I was into music and albums long before I became a gear head, so this room was an inevitability. But a costly one.

Kudos on the body work Eric. You just keep pluggin away don't you!! I admire your sticktuitiveness! I can see the rear wheel in the pic. Man they look killer.

I'm not very knowledgable with engines. Took a lot of input from a engine savvy good friend to get the 468 working properly so I'm not one to recommend an engine, 408 or otherwise. I'm sure whatever you decided will be sweet! Good Luck!

Ok, Eric.. you may be Mr. Gusset but I'm the waffle king! I've considered your's and Mikes input on just strengthening the stock frame by boxing and using it for my platform. I have the plates from ABC and the welding will be fun and easy. Just have to be sure I can get the tranny crossmember in afterwards!

Another reason I'm thinking using the stock frame.... we have some rough roads out here to get to the good ones, and many parking lots at cruise nights have speed bumps. I'm getting too old to play around with coilovers everytime I have raise the ride height. Since my 442 will only be a cruiser, I am considering some sort of air ride suspension to smooth the bumps AND allow easy height changes. And I've seen several how-to vids on what frame mods need to be done and they are simple compared to any of the coil over mods (especially for the rear) which require cutting out the rear spring pads. and although a quality air ride suspension is not cheap, it's a LOT less than a custom chassis, and that will free up some $ for a vintage air system.

I swore I would never add a/c to my cutlass due to power robbing and added complexity, but now that the warm weather is here, and again, since I'm getting older, I can appreciated having the comfort of a/c during cruises/car shows and the occasional fun run down the 1/4 mile at lebanon valley dragway in the summer just to see what she will do legally during the two musclepalooza events hemmings puts on each year. If I remember correctly, I think Mike did the vintage air mod so will have to check out his build notes before I start asking questions.

Any thoughts on air suspensions? Of course there is always the big name guys at ride tech, but was wondering if anyone here has had favorable experiences with lesser know company's with the hopes of saving a little cash, or should I go with tried and true ride tech and have a worry free system?

All thoughts appreciated.

Mike, hows that engine coming buddy? I'm jones'n to see/hear that beast fire up in your gorgeous goat.
Fill us in man. And hope you had some quality time with your little guy.

Have a great 4th of july and a better summer.
gus

[Motown 454]

Looking good!

['71cutlasluvr]

Hello All,

Well no more waffling. I am going with the ridetech HQ shockwaves for some adjustability. Purchased just the required front lower strong arms (I have the SPC adjustable upper a-arms and ATS tall spindle already) and the front/rear HQ gm a-body shocks. All brackets required for mounting (mainly in the rear assembly) is included in the kit.

Aside from the front top shock mount hole is only 5/8" (oldsmobile specific I'd guess) and the bushing for the shock requires a 3/4" hole (probably for a chevelle, not sure why the mount hole would be different) this should be a fairly troublefree install which will give me a rolling chassis very soon.

Hope your build is moving along Eric and Mike has his engine running and in his goat soon.
atb
Gus

['71cutlasluvr]

Hi Eric,
Long time no hear but summer is here so I'm sure you and Mike are spending time with family.

I've jumped into the air ride suspension. A few hiccups with the lower a-arm (Strong arm) fitment but here on the forum, help is only a post away and I'm moving forward. Hope to have the suspension in by the end of my 5 day long weekend wed. Then the drivetrain goes in. Need to fire up the 468 since she's been sitting so long. Nothing like the sound of a healthy engine to help motivate one to keep moving on a project.

Hope all is well with you.
Enjoy the summer. No snow to shovel!!

atb
Gus