Hey All, I've had to work some overtime to pay for the massive rust repair bill I received! The restorer is a craftsman, and the work he had to deal with was fiddly, precise & difficult. He did a great job. I have attached before & after photos. I am now the proud owner of a 55 year old rust free Poncho. I can deal with all the other stuff, but having a rust free old car is like shedding your clothes and running along the beach naked without a care in the world. When the cops turn up, have flower necklaces ready to put around their necks and show them photos of your car. They'll understand.

This may interest some former Pontiac plant workers: I disassembled the passenger bucket seat today and found a slip of paper inside the vinyl. It mentions the car's body code and what looks like colour & trim options. A far cry from today's computer generated build sheets & barcode scanners. I have found a few trinkets in the car since I started pulling it apart: a ZigZag cigarette paper box, some quarters and what appears to be food stamps. The previous owner probably spent his weekly wage filling the tank with gas, then had to resort to stamps in order to eat!

hay fitzy looking good mate 👍 

well done and worth every cent of that extra work you had to do to pay for it

the naked running on the beach/ flower chain thing  has got to be a standard Pontiac lover thing!!

just dont let ya missus catch ya doing it🙄 

Edited July 17, 20205 yr by 64 kiwi boni

6 hours ago, Fitzy said:

!

26657281 = 2-Pontiac Motor Division  6657 - Body style - Grand Prix   281 - Trim - Black vinyl interior

A49 - Custom Deluxe Seat Belts, w/ retractors 

D33 -  Vanity visor mirror

Not sure if the last item starts wtih a G or a Q.

If it a G82 - 4.56 Rear axle. I can't find a Q82 - but a Q RPO usually refered to the tires to be mounted on the car.

 

I'm with Kiwi - your body man did outstanding work.

 

Edited July 17, 20205 yr by Frosty

Yeah Fitzy, looking good!

Thanks Guys. The restorer actually made those floor panels in his shop, including the swage lines.

Thanks also to Frosty for decoding that slip of paper. True to form, car has retractor seat belts, black vinyl seats and a visor mirror, but according to the code stamped on the diff housing, it's a 2.73,  which I will much prefer to the 4.56. I thought a 4.11 was the lowest ratio available.

Anyway, big shipment from Ames is still being assembled and I'm expecting it about end of August. That shipment completes the car's parts requirements, then it's just a matter of saving some more dough so that it can go to the exhaust shop, upholsterer and trusted mechanic. I will attend to all the remaining fiddly stuff and shall post photos as it progresses.

Hey Kiwi, my missus is a Kiwi (grew up in Hamilton) and if you reckon I should keep the beach thing quiet from her, she's the one I'm running after!

2 hours ago, Fitzy said:

Thanks Guys. The restorer actually made those floor panels in his shop, including the swage lines.

Thanks also to Frosty for decoding that slip of paper. True to form, car has retractor seat belts, black vinyl seats and a visor mirror, but according to the code stamped on the diff housing, it's a 2.73,  which I will much prefer to the 4.56. I thought a 4.11 was the lowest ratio available.

Anyway, big shipment from Ames is still being assembled and I'm expecting it about end of August. That shipment completes the car's parts requirements, then it's just a matter of saving some more dough so that it can go to the exhaust shop, upholsterer and trusted mechanic. I will attend to all the remaining fiddly stuff and shall post photos as it progresses.

Hey Kiwi, my missus is a Kiwi (grew up in Hamilton) and if you reckon I should keep the beach thing quiet from her, she's the one I'm running after!

hehe good on ya fitzy, 

yeah i will keep it JustA with us mate 👍

mine you those Hamilton chicks are said to be a bit wild!!!🙄

 i remember in my early days going to a few Hamilton night clubs that, well let just say where pretty rauchy

i chick that sticks in my mind was like 20 years older than me back in the day, and hell she wanted to take me home ! 

i wasnt soo keen back then !🙄

they called them cougars!, old women after young guys! 

Edited July 18, 20205 yr by 64 kiwi boni

You can order your build sheet and a reproduction factory window sticker from Pontiac Historical Services. Money well spent in my opinion. They can tell you how the car left the factory and what dealer it was shipped to.

As for the gear ratio - Pontiac had low ratios but, assuming your car was built with a 4.56, I can see why someone would change it for a taller, more petrol friendly gear. As I said too, that assumes that RPO was G82.

Edited July 19, 20205 yr by Frosty

Hi Frosty, from the look of my car I don't reckon ANYTHING has ever been touched, so am assuming it's current diff is original. I actually got underneath it, in neutral and turned a wheel and counted the prop shaft turns relative to a full wheel turn. It looks to be a bit less then 3:1, so the diff code would appear to be correct.

I know about PHS and have been tempted, but that money needs to be diverted to other stuff right now. A few years from now as I sit in my rocking chair, overlooking the Ponderosa and sampling my moonshine, the money I save on a set of new teeth can go to PHS.

Hey Kiwi,  that's funny. My Olde Girle is not the sort to have ever been eyeing off the young men in nightclubs...so I believe, anyway. Having said that I believe her number is scratched into the wall of the local Hamilton phone box with "for a good time, call..."

She's put up with a lot since we've been together. The Poncho is my last indulgence and since pulling it apart, bits of it have migrated into the house to the extent that the spare room is now the "Pontiac Room." I keep assuring her that once the stuff from the States turns up, I can simply put it all back together. No, she doesn't believe it either!

2 hours ago, Fitzy said:

Hey Kiwi,  that's funny. My Olde Girle is not the sort to have ever been eyeing off the young men in nightclubs...so I believe, anyway. Having said that I believe her number is scratched into the wall of the local Hamilton phone box with "for a good time, call..."

She's put up with a lot since we've been together. The Poncho is my last indulgence and since pulling it apart, bits of it have migrated into the house to the extent that the spare room is now the "Pontiac Room." I keep assuring her that once the stuff from the States turns up, I can simply put it all back together. No, she doesn't believe it either!

Oh man i am so jealous!! you have a room in your house that your aloud to put car stuff in

 my boss would skin me if i tried to bring a 64 front bumper inside!

10 hours ago, Fitzy said:

Hey Kiwi,  that's funny. My Olde Girle is not the sort to have ever been eyeing off the young men in nightclubs...so I believe, anyway. Having said that I believe her number is scratched into the wall of the local Hamilton phone box with "for a good time, call..."

She's put up with a lot since we've been together. The Poncho is my last indulgence and since pulling it apart, bits of it have migrated into the house to the extent that the spare room is now the "Pontiac Room." I keep assuring her that once the stuff from the States turns up, I can simply put it all back together. No, she doesn't believe it either!

867-5309??????

On 7/19/2020 at 3:10 AM, Fitzy said:

Hi Frosty, from the look of my car I don't reckon ANYTHING has ever been touched, so am assuming it's current diff is original. I actually got underneath it, in neutral and turned a wheel and counted the prop shaft turns relative to a full wheel turn. It looks to be a bit less then 3:1, so the diff code would appear to be correct.

I know about PHS and have been tempted, but that money needs to be diverted to other stuff right now. A few years from now as I sit in my rocking chair, overlooking the Ponderosa and sampling my moonshine, the money I save on a set of new teeth can go to PHS.

You are probably right, the handwriting on the paper is not the best.

On 7/19/2020 at 3:20 AM, Fitzy said:

Hey Kiwi,  that's funny. My Olde Girle is not the sort to have ever been eyeing off the young men in nightclubs...so I believe, anyway. Having said that I believe her number is scratched into the wall of the local Hamilton phone box with "for a good time, call..."

She's put up with a lot since we've been together. The Poncho is my last indulgence and since pulling it apart, bits of it have migrated into the house to the extent that the spare room is now the "Pontiac Room." I keep assuring her that once the stuff from the States turns up, I can simply put it all back together. No, she doesn't believe it either!

....and yet she’s permitting this. Damn it man, tell me your secret! PLEASE!

On 7/19/2020 at 5:44 AM, 64 kiwi boni said:

Oh man i am so jealous!! you have a room in your house that your aloud to put car stuff in

 my boss would skin me if i tried to bring a 64 front bumper inside!

Reminds me of one of Jeff Foxworthy’s lines: If your wife has ever said “Come move this transmission so’s I can take a bath!”, you might be a redneck.

16 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:

867-5309??????

How do you know Jenny’s number?

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

You are probably right, the handwriting on the paper is not the best.

....and yet she’s permitting this. Damn it man, tell me your secret! PLEASE!

Reminds me of one of Jeff Foxworthy’s lines: If your wife has ever said “Come move this transmission so’s I can take a bath!”, you might be a redneck.

How do you know Jenny’s number?

Hey Kiwi,  that's funny. My Olde Girle is not the sort to have ever been eyeing off the young men in nightclubs...so I believe, anyway. Having said that I believe her number is scratched into the wall of the local Hamilton phone box with "for a good time, call..."

That's funny. Yeah, the sneaky migration of parts into the spare room was a long slow exercise and I think she's just given up. The car sits under our big carport at the entrance of our dwelling (actually a converted shed in the bush) so any visitors who make it past the shotgun blasts are forced to admire the car as they attempt to enter. Once I steal all their money, they are allowed one glass of home brewed beer and then told to never return.

To my credit, I keep everything in the Pontiac room neat and orderly and everything that goes in there is clean so, you know, I'm not completely evil. Note the windscreens on the bed - a great excuse as to why nobody can stay the night!

Fitzy, that is funny bro. When i got my bike back in 2003 the deal was that if we bought it i had to stop building cars in the house lol. I had came home from work to my wife one day. She wasn't exactly happy and was limping a little. I had a set of big block ford heads setting on the floor in the dinner room. She stubbed her pinky toe on one. What i think really set her off was that she said she had tried to pick it up and throw it, but she couldn't lift that old cast iron head. lol

11 hours ago, Fitzy said:

That's funny. Yeah, the sneaky migration of parts into the spare room was a long slow exercise and I think she's just given up. The car sits under our big carport at the entrance of our dwelling (actually a converted shed in the bush) so any visitors who make it past the shotgun blasts are forced to admire the car as they attempt to enter. Once I steal all their money, they are allowed one glass of home brewed beer and then told to never return.

To my credit, I keep everything in the Pontiac room neat and orderly and everything that goes in there is clean so, you know, I'm not completely evil. Note the windscreens on the bed - a great excuse as to why nobody can stay the night!

My little eye spies a AC oil filter! Made in Michigan or Mexico? That is the question these days.

I loved Wrongway's story of his wife's stubbed pinky toe. Imagine being a fly on the wall and sniggering at the torrent of language that must have ensued, and then watching her as she attempted to pick up one of those cast iron monsters. She probably burst into tears, and then plotted her revenge. What staggers me is you had heads in the dinner room? I'm on your wife's side there - I would have burst into tears too!

Kiwi's suggestion of going to my local spring shop is also funny. Up my way, it's all about lift kits in 4WDs. Having said that, I have contacted King Springs (about 2000km south of me) and they may be able to fabricate a set. More overtime coming up!

I am a purveyor of quality goods Frosty, that filter is from Ames, is made in the US (I just checked the box) and is shorter than a regular one to clear the Doug's headers that I am waiting on. Good to see at least SOME things are still homegrown. Just about nothing is made in Australia anymore and is a source of national disappointment. Once we dig the last ton of iron ore out of the ground, it's Goodnight Gracie for us.

Let me tell you an imported oil filter story. Many years ago, I was driving my little $500 1968 Renault 10 around the country, an epic trip. Don't forget that Australia is the same size as north America. I changed the oil in Perth and fitted a cheaper oil filter. Halfway through a 300km stretch of desert my oil pressure light came on. I switched off the engine immediately and coasted to a stop - the El Cheapo filter had let go and spewed oil everywhere. I eventually hitched a ride on a Greyhound to the Sandfire Roadhouse and bought a respected brand Ford filter that I knew would fit. I never forgot that incident and will never go cheap again on vital components, if I can help it. It's the flood of cheap Chinese crap that's destroying global manufacturing and the thing is that it doesn't have to be cheap & crappy. They can manufacture quality, but nobody wants to pay for it.

By the way, that little Renault lasted for 300000km whilst in my possession and never let me down. I eventually rolled it and it still went, but a bit bent. The cops eventually pulled me up, declared it to be unroadworthy and I had to say goodbye to it. I regret it to this day. I'd still be driving that tough little car.

Yeah Fitzy, I felt bad about her toe but she was just so cute fussing on like she did lol. We hadn't been married long and the transition from being single and having car parts in the house to being married and NOT having car parts in the house took a while. I think the big one was I took the rear end out of a 1966 Lincoln Continental. I spent 2 days cleaning it in preparation to put in under my Lincoln. Since I didn't have a garage back in those days I had no place to store it. I came up with what I thought was a great idea. So a friend and I carried the rear end into the spare bedroom and stood it up in the corner. Buddy, I'm talking rims, tires, leaf springs and all. I popped an old TV on top of the tire so you could watch it. Yeah my wife TOLD me when she got home from work how that really wasn't the greatest idea and hinted to how if it wasn't removed tonight that I would probably be sleeping on the Continental seats I moved in there also! Bless her heart lol, I was a gearhead race guy and she was patient lol. 

And yes, that really DID happen! 

7 hours ago, Fitzy said:

I loved Wrongway's story of his wife's stubbed pinky toe. Imagine being a fly on the wall and sniggering at the torrent of language that must have ensued, and then watching her as she attempted to pick up one of those cast iron monsters. She probably burst into tears, and then plotted her revenge. What staggers me is you had heads in the dinner room? I'm on your wife's side there - I would have burst into tears too!

Kiwi's suggestion of going to my local spring shop is also funny. Up my way, it's all about lift kits in 4WDs. Having said that, I have contacted King Springs (about 2000km south of me) and they may be able to fabricate a set. More overtime coming up!

Fitzy, king springs are 👍 i have them under the hq ute. 

And they were not expensive mate 

Got mine in a bulk order from castlemaine rod shop, Rods a good bugger !

 but since then i have used my new spring shop in Rotorua, when i built the mk1 cortina i had them make new leaf springs for the rear and custom coil overs for the mk2 escort front struts i used, then i used a escort sway bar, heated it up, bent it to where i wanted it and gave it too them to properly heat treat.

Edited July 30, 20205 yr by 64 kiwi boni

13 hours ago, Fitzy said:

I am a purveyor of quality goods Frosty, that filter is from Ames, is made in the US (I just checked the box) and is shorter than a regular one to clear the Doug's headers that I am waiting on. Good to see at least SOME things are still homegrown. Just about nothing is made in Australia anymore and is a source of national disappointment. Once we dig the last ton of iron ore out of the ground, it's Goodnight Gracie for us.

Let me tell you an imported oil filter story. Many years ago, I was driving my little $500 1968 Renault 10 around the country, an epic trip. Don't forget that Australia is the same size as north America. I changed the oil in Perth and fitted a cheaper oil filter. Halfway through a 300km stretch of desert my oil pressure light came on. I switched off the engine immediately and coasted to a stop - the El Cheapo filter had let go and spewed oil everywhere. I eventually hitched a ride on a Greyhound to the Sandfire Roadhouse and bought a respected brand Ford filter that I knew would fit. I never forgot that incident and will never go cheap again on vital components, if I can help it. It's the flood of cheap Chinese crap that's destroying global manufacturing and the thing is that it doesn't have to be cheap & crappy. They can manufacture quality, but nobody wants to pay for it.

By the way, that little Renault lasted for 300000km whilst in my possession and never let me down. I eventually rolled it and it still went, but a bit bent. The cops eventually pulled me up, declared it to be unroadworthy and I had to say goodbye to it. I regret it to this day. I'd still be driving that tough little car.

Fitzy I started my woring career at AC Spark Plug many many years ago. Even then, counterfeit Chineese knock off products were a problem. I saw fake AC filters that were simply stuffed with old rags. Fake plugs where the eletrodes would separate once you opened the box. I can totally relate to your story about quality parts. Good for you! Makes you wish you could figure out a way to under mine their economy.

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

Fitzy I started my woring career at AC Spark Plug many many years ago. Even then, counterfeit Chineese knock off products were a problem. I saw fake AC filters that were simply stuffed with old rags. Fake plugs where the eletrodes would separate once you opened the box. I can totally relate to your story about quality parts. Good for you! Makes you wish you could figure out a way to under mine their economy.

Ahh, there is! Don’t buy anything made in China or built in China or parts made there and assembled here! Dah! 
Now look what you did! You got me started! Dang!

1 hour ago, Last Indian said:

Ahh, there is! Don’t buy anything made in China or built in China or parts made there and assembled here! Dah! 
Now look what you did! You got me started! Dang!

Been standing in the same line for many years.  Finally have a real President that stands up to the bastards and reset the trade agreement.

3 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:

Been standing in the same line for many years.  Finally have a real President that stands up to the bastards and reset the trade agreement.

Copy that buddy! All the tree huggers and touchy-feely don’t hurt my feelings, so call liberals drove this country straight into the ground! Trump may not be great, but he’s 1000 times better than any democratic in the past 100 years! IMO!

Edited July 30, 20205 yr by Last Indian

Okay, now that we've bashed the Chinese let's get back to business...

King Springs want $900. EatonDetroit will be about the same, so I'm deciding what to do.

I'll need a spring compressor to get those front springs out. I've never used one but from what I've read you are dicing with death! Any tips on how I might live longer whilst compressing those giant springs, apart from paying someone $100 an hour to do it for me? I've also ordered a front end rebuild kit. I'm going to need a ball joint separator, a pitman arm puller, some biceps...mind you, one hour's professional labour rate will pay for all that. Believe it or not, I bought that car to give me something to do in my spare time. My 'spare time.' Let's all ponder that for a moment. What was I thinking???