Fitzy's GP is back!

[Fitzy]

Oh, this is just the beginning of the New Age. Every time someone kills themselves by misusing some sort of consumer product (like using a toaster as you're having a bath) we all get dragged down to the lowest common denominator. That's why when you pull out one of those little moisture absorbers when you unpack a new purchase, it advises you not to eat the contents. Gee. I was really looking forward to chowing down on 'dessicant.' Oh well - chicken again.

[Wrongway]

Wait! You mean I cant make and eat my toast in the hot tub over there?!?! Well hell, I guess I'll justa keep my butt parked right here then! Next thing they'll say not to stick my scissors in the wall pull to make sure I have power!

[Fitzy]

Sorry fella. Nanny has spoken and is watching you.

[Fitzy]

It is with some relief that I post this: no, car is still not registered so it's not that.

I picked it up from the mechanic today, drove to the nearest servo and chucked a few litres of 95 octane in to get me home. I wanted to report that the leaking brake booster (now fixed) was indeed the source of the vacuum loss that prevented the TH400 from shifting. On my particular car, the booster and trans modulator both feed off a common source point on the inlet manifold. This was on my mind as I pulled out of the mechanic's premises and onto the road and there it was - the auto shifted seamlessly into 2nd & 3rd, in fact it's gotta be one of the smoothest autos I've ever driven. Then I hit the highway and she ran like a train - silky smooth, effortless, sounded sweet and drove straight & true. I was home in 20 mins and she's back sitting where she should be: under the carport safe at home. 

Now I play the waiting game and hope that the relevant government departments do their thing and issue me with a new 17 digit VIN.

So, to Kiwi - my auto now works perfectly. I genuinely wish you a similar happy outcome with yours.

[64 kiwi boni]

12 hours ago, Fitzy said:

It is with some relief that I post this: no, car is still not registered so it's not that.

I picked it up from the mechanic today, drove to the nearest servo and chucked a few litres of 95 octane in to get me home. I wanted to report that the leaking brake booster (now fixed) was indeed the source of the vacuum loss that prevented the TH400 from shifting. On my particular car, the booster and trans modulator both feed off a common source point on the inlet manifold. This was on my mind as I pulled out of the mechanic's premises and onto the road and there it was - the auto shifted seamlessly into 2nd & 3rd, in fact it's gotta be one of the smoothest autos I've ever driven. Then I hit the highway and she ran like a train - silky smooth, effortless, sounded sweet and drove straight & true. I was home in 20 mins and she's back sitting where she should be: under the carport safe at home. 

Now I play the waiting game and hope that the relevant government departments do their thing and issue me with a new 17 digit VIN.

So, to Kiwi - my auto now works perfectly. I genuinely wish you a similar happy outcome with yours.

Thats Great news mate!!! all your hard work has paid off!!!!! good old bloody turbo 400 aye!!!

[Fitzy]

Thanks mate. I was a little 'on edge' as I was driving home because I haven't done enough road testing to ensure it's reliability but it just loped along without any fuss. It was only after I read your comment about all my hard work that I realised that the way the car drives is indeed due to my input. It's easy to start to forget the toil from the last 2 years because I did so much, but here we are and the end of the journey is almost in sight.

An extra note: this is my second engine rebuild and I went to the trouble to have both engines dynamically balanced as part of their machining. Yes, it costs a bit but it's worth it - the smoothness is palpable and really adds to the driving pleasure. So, if you're thinking rebuild, get the bits balanced. Well worth the effort.

As far as the Turbo 400 goes, it's my first experience of one and it's absolutely silky smooth. At some point in the future, I will install a moderate shift kit to sharpen the shift points and save wear on the clutches.

[64 kiwi boni]

Yes mate , it’s easy to forget the years of careful rebuilding of all those parts that make the car reliable ! 

I was justA like you the other week taking the 64 on a real drive ... down side was the boss wouldn’t stop talking and I was trying to listen for noises and focus on how everything was behaving !!! 

I have had a turbo 400 behind a 454 in my second 56 Chevy , I hammered that car and the 400 never failed 👍👍👍🍻

i sooo agree with your thoughts on balancing 👍👍👍

the small block 400 in my hq Holden Ute is fully balanced and that motor justA wants to rev soooo easily!!

Good move mate , and when I have to do my 389 I think that’s what I will do too 👍 

[Wrongway]

Congrats bro! Super happy she's doing well! 

[Fitzy]

Thanks Wrongway - it was a satisfying drive despite me being a little nervous regarding it's reliability. In fact as I was driving I would occasionally scan the dash for the oil & temp lights and right then & there I felt inspired to install those guages I purchased months ago. Since I have time off work and the car is going nowhere, I shall get that install happening along with the Pertronix ignition this week.

Here's a pic of the guages simply sitting loose in their fascia. As we're all aware, installing anything modern that's visible inside the car is always fraught with danger - you really want to avoid the jarring 'sore thumb' look of a modern addition but I think I pulled it off with these Bosch guages from Amazon - they seem to blend in pretty well.

[64 kiwi boni]

i would do the same but i really dont want to know what my oil pressure is!!!!

[Fitzy]

I get it - don't worry. Sometimes, ignorance IS bliss. You don't really have oil pressure concerns do you? Don't worry - we're due to visit NZ in September. She can fly home after we have a look around and I'll stay back and we'll rebuild that dinky little 389 of yours. Well...not really but it's a pleasant thought. 

Which reminds me - can you recommend good accommodation in Taupo?

[64 kiwi boni]

10 hours ago, Fitzy said:

I get it - don't worry. Sometimes, ignorance IS bliss. You don't really have oil pressure concerns do you? Don't worry - we're due to visit NZ in September. She can fly home after we have a look around and I'll stay back and we'll rebuild that dinky little 389 of yours. Well...not really but it's a pleasant thought. 

Which reminds me - can you recommend good accommodation in Taupo?

not too worried about oil pressure, it will be low as the motor is no where new! hahaha.

there is lots of lake front places that are really nice and not expensive.

do a google surf and i can tel;l ya what any one is like..... having said that they are all clean and tidy some are way newer than others 

[Wrongway]

Here's where I put mine bro. My old eyes needed a bit bigger gauge's 

[64 kiwi boni]

1 hour ago, Wrongway said:

Here's where I put mine bro. My old eyes needed a bit bigger gauge's 

that looks cool!!!! and chrome i like that looks factory

[Fitzy]

They DO look good, especially being chrome.

Wrongway, can I ask how you went about fitting the oil & temp lines to the engine? I'm assuming they are mechanical gauges (like mine.) I want to retain the temp & oil lights in addition to fitting the gauges. Now, I see there's an adapter that lets you plug both into the oil filter housing - that seems straightforward, but what about the temp? There's lots of talk about using an adapter that plugs into your radiator hose. The gauge's sensor needs to be immersed in the flow of coolant, so using a threaded adapter for the inlet manifold doesn't seem to be the way to go. What did you do? 

[64 kiwi boni]

25 minutes ago, Fitzy said:

They DO look good, especially being chrome.

Wrongway, can I ask how you went about fitting the oil & temp lines to the engine? I'm assuming they are mechanical gauges (like mine.) I want to retain the temp & oil lights in addition to fitting the gauges. Now, I see there's an adapter that lets you plug both into the oil filter housing - that seems straightforward, but what about the temp? There's lots of talk about using an adapter that plugs into your radiator hose. The gauge's sensor needs to be immersed in the flow of coolant, so using a threaded adapter for the inlet manifold doesn't seem to be the way to go. What did you do? 

oh i would be interested in this too 👍

need pictures wrongway !!!

[Wrongway]

Glad you guys like them. So for the oil line I ran through a grommet in the firewall and to the pad that the distributor sits on. Next to the hole that the distributor goes in there is a plug for an oil line. The fitting that come with the gauge threads in perfect. I'm sure you also know this, I personally would not use the plastic line that comes with the oil gauge. I had a custom S10 years again with A-pillar gauges and the plastic line popped on me while driving. Sprayed oil all over the windshield. Justa mess, since then I always use the copper upgrade line. It's hard to see where the line goes in but it's right in the area of the circle.

For the temp, again I went through the grommet and under the intake to the front of the engine and plugged into a temp bung. On this intake there is a bung on each side off this intake.

As far as an adapter. I actually used one until I installed my headers. With the headers on this engine I had no room for an oil filter. So I have a filter relocation kit on the car. At that time I moved the oil gauge line to the distributor pan for a cleaner look.

As you can see the engine paint didn't hold up, guess I'll be redoing that when I paint the car. 

[Fitzy]

Perfect - thanks for going to all that effort. On my own engine, I simply use the shorter oil filter replacement to clear the headers. The dizzy pad sounds like a great option and unfortunately I don't have an extra temp bung on the inlet. I saw online that some companies make water necks with a bung just for that purpose, but not for my engine.

I looked at that skinny supplied nylon tubing and wondered do they really expect hot pressurised engine oil to keep getting pushed into that and for it to last? I guess that's why the gauge set was well priced. Where do I source the upgraded copper tubing?

Hot engine oil all over the windscreen! Hilarious to all observers except for the bloke inside the car trying to steer!

Thanks Wrongway.

[Wrongway]

Agreed bro. Running along as happy as could be about 85mph and pop! It got exciting for a few min. This is the tubing kit I buy bro, it comes with the needed fittings. I buy them at my local auto parts store but ebay, amazon or justa about anyplace should carry them bro.

[Fitzy]

Good on you - thanks mate.

So, what did I do to the GP today? Oh, not much. I just toddled around and GOT IT REGISTERED!!!

Good Gravy - what an ordeal it has been. After being fed the wrong information, getting stooged by the engineer who never showed up and being put on a merry go round by the Dept Of Infrastructure, I'm laying in bed early one morning (my favourite time to worry about shit) and decide to forget trying to get the thing fully registered - instead I'll try for concessional Special Interest Vehicle registration. I'm sure this system must exist in other countries too. It's where for a fraction of full registration price, the car is fitted with special numberplates and is restricted as to how it's used. So, to be eligible you need to be a member of a bona fide car club and the car can be driven to sanctioned club events, or to a workshop to be fixed or can be driven within a 15km radius of it's garaged address for 'road testing.' With the price of 98 octane at about $2.50 a litre, this will do me fine. I'm gonna 'road test' the shit out of it! Of course, the way around it is to join several local clubs, see what they're up to on the weekend and then pretend to drive to one of their events, or if I think it's worth it, actually turn up. I'm only home 7 out of 14 days anyway, so this will be perfect.

All I needed was an application form, proof of club membership, the Safety Certificate and proof of purchase. The girl at the Cairns branch of Qld Transport had it sorted in 15 mins and I walked outa there with those plates in my hand and a grin you couldn't punch off. No engineer required. No Australian Design Rules to abide by. Don't have to wear a seatbelt (but of course, I will) flashing stop lights as rear indicators are good, no brake or other engineering upgrades required. They even gave me US sized numberplates to suit the car. I put the fender skirts back on, attached the plates and took it for a 'road test.'

It's DONE. Beer me up, Scotty. Who's a happy little Vegemite? I am.

[64 kiwi boni]

Well done mate  congratulations 

time to now run in that brand new motor!!! 

i expect  lots of pictures    

i am so pleased for you!!! all that bloody work!!! all that stress, all the fulfillment !!!

now go do some skids and post them on fp !!!! 👍

[64 kiwi boni]

What club did you join ????

[Fitzy]

I always liked Parisiennes and I was finally going to buy one. I emailed the Qld Pontiac Car Club and asked them if enough spares were available for Parisiennes. The Club president informed me that Parisiennes weren't 'real' Pontiacs but tarted up Chevys made for export. Any Parisienne owners out there shouldn't take offense to that - I still love them but they were sold in Australia as Pontiacs and charged for accordingly but were actually Chevs in Pontiac sheetmetal. Then I saw the GP and knew THAT was what I wanted. So, I always felt indebted for the Club for swaying my decision. I joined up shortly after buying the GP. The thing is, all the club events are based in SE Qld (2000km south of me - Queensland is a BIG place) so none of their outings are any use to me.

I shall join a coupla local clubs and use that membership to essentially drive where I please, as long as one of their events is close by.

[Frosty]

Fitzy - Congratulations on a job well done mate!!!! 

The labor of love journey has ended, but the journey in the Crimson Terror is just beginning!! I wish you a whole lot of joy driving the old girl around Queensland with the biggest shit eating grin on your face that even a mortician can't get rid of! Well done, mate, well done!!!

 

[Wrongway]

HELL YES! Congrats bud. I'm so happy all the B.S is over and you can enjoy the ol'girl! Why are you still reading this, go drive her!!