64 LeMans

[Andy H]

1 hour ago, JUSTA6 said:

Wow, glad I'm not that close to OPG.  Do they rent rooms too?   Nice haul.

For you or me? I only have 45 min down there, cheaper to go there than to pay for shipping 😁

 

[JUSTA6]

11 hours ago, Andy H said:

For you or me? I only have 45 min down there, cheaper to go there than to pay for shipping 😁

 

From the Mitten state, it's quite a road trip to save shipping.  I am about 45 min from NPD Mich.

[Frosty]

Justa remember JUSTA, we are close enough to NPD to be dangerous too!!!

I don't think twice about jumping in the pickup and doing a parts run. If I'm real lucky, Indymanjoe is home, and and I can stop by his house and Ponti-yack at his place.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Frosty

[64 kiwi boni]

5 hours ago, Frosty said:

Ponti-yack

love it haha

[Frosty]

Justa call me Chief Ponti-Yack!

[64 kiwi boni]

3 hours ago, Frosty said:

Justa call me Chief Ponti-Yack!

frosty as a baby/chief Ponti-yacker ... hehehe😋

Edited February 23, 2021 by 64 kiwi boni

[Frosty]

8 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

frosty as a baby/chief Ponti-yacker ... hehehe😋

Yakety Yack! Don't talk back! 

[Andy H]

Yeas we all like to Yakety Yack sometime , i used to get my dose on Saturday mornings at the do nut shop in HB but not during this last year.

Parts runs can be fun and they usually happen after a lot of time spent in front of the computer figuring out who has the best price, best stuff or best shipping.

Started to work on the "small" rust holes in the passenger side floor pan ( the only ones in the whole inside floor) and they of course grew when i started to weld,so i decided to buy a patch panel and cut it down to what i need because i didn't feel like making one with all the beads in it.

A new panel from OPGI was $110 and i thought it was a bit hi for the little piece i actually needed ( about 12"X12") so i figured out that most of the GM A body's are the same and i have a place called Truck and Car shop just 5 min from the house that sell Chevy parts and they had one for $65 for a 64 Chevell but the down side was that i had to stand outside for 2 hrs to wait for my turn to buy one, but they usually have the parts in stock so it worked out.

[64 kiwi boni]

8 minutes ago, Andy H said:

A new panel from OPGI was $110 and i thought it was a bit hi for the little piece i actually needed ( about 12"X12") so i figured out that most of the GM A body's are the same and i have a place called Truck and Car shop just 5 min from the house that sell Chevy parts and they had one for $65 for a 64 Chevell but the down side was that i had to stand outside for 2 hrs to wait for my turn to buy one, but they usually have the parts in stock so it worked out.

Oh super smart move well done mate 

10 minutes ago, Andy H said:

but the down side was that i had to stand outside for 2 hrs to wait for my turn to buy one, but they usually have the parts in stock so it worked out.

Your a true petrol head Andy.... i would stand outside a parts store for 2 hours to get what i need for my car too. 

big middle finger to covid-19 !!!

[Andy H]

Got a few things done today, got the push rod for the brake master threaded and cut to size with the 3/8" to 5/16" adapter from Mac master Carr installed.

Mocked the disc brakes up and had to grind the corner of the spindles of a little so that it cleared the caliper and then starting cutting the piece out of the passenger floor that needs replacing, hopefully i will get the floor finished tomorrow.

[Andy H]

Obviously i did not get the floor finished the day after last post, wishful thinking🙄, some thing about working on the daughters room.

Engine block back at the machine shop, could not get the oil galley plug in the back behind the freeze plug out and now since it is there i decided to take some of the deck, have been going back and forth with this if i should leave it or take some off.

Pistons are between 0.030" and 0,040" below deck and from talking to a friend and researching online it seems it should probably be 0.030" and 0.050" clearance to the head and the gasket is about 0.040" so they are going to take a little over 0.030" of the deck, this should help bump my compression up a little more and also help with the squish so there is less chance of pinging/detonation.

Got the brake master painted and installed.

Was not happy with the caliper bracket for the disc brake kit i bought, it only bolted up to the two lower bolts for the steering arm and did not use the bolt at the top pad, i decided to machine the top pad down about 0.350" and make a plug that fit in the hole, this put the plug about halfway out of the hole in the back so that the bolt would be recessed down a bit in the front so it wont hit the rotor, welded the plug to the bracket.

Finished fitting the patch panel for the floor, borrowed a tool to flange the edges, painted it with weld through primer,hopefully i get time to drag the welder out next weekend

[Frosty]

Andy - I'm delighted to see that you painted the master cylinder black. A lot of guys paint them gray or go with the gray finish of a replacement master cylinder. Stock Pontiac master cylinders were never gray from the factory. Very nice attention to detail!

[Andy H]

2 hours ago, Frosty said:

Andy - I'm delighted to see that you painted the master cylinder black. A lot of guys paint them gray or go with the gray finish of a replacement master cylinder. Stock Pontiac master cylinders were never gray from the factory. Very nice attention to detail!

Thanks, for the most part i like it pretty plain.

 

[Andy H]

finally got a few hours to finish up the floor, front suspension installation next.

[Andy H]

Got a few hours today and started to assemble the front suspension, had a hard time getting the springs in with no weight on the front end, had three people sitting on the cowl and used a spring compressor to make it happen, all new bushings, ball joints and all the steering components.

tried the to see if i could use the existing bracket for the brake caliper hose but that is not going to happen, it is not going to bend correctly when turning so I'm  going to have to put it in the front of the spring instead and make a new brake line to make it work also had to cut of the little "guide" on the caliper so that i can rotate the hose down slightly so it wont hit anything.

Started to look at all the fittings i need for the new brake lines at the master, brake junction block and calipers and it is going to be a puzzle, four different sizes.

Edited April 12, 2021 by Andy H

[64 kiwi boni]

Nice work Andy 👍

[Andy H]

Got some time to finish the front suspension, almost, still need to make the brake lines.

Anybody else got problems with aftermarket parts that don't fit or look exactly like the originals? Had to make the sway bar bushings fit, way to tall so i had to sand them down on the belt sander at work and then the hole was to small so out comes the die grinder, checked online and apparently a common problem? anybody else?  Inner tie rods/steering rods, originals came with the grease fittings on the end but the new ones that came with the car had them on the back, also a common problem i guess? the "right ones" are available apparently but since i already had these i was able to put a 90` fitting on and i think it will work.

Mounted the brackets for the brake caliper hose in front of the spring, a bit tight but we will have to see how it actually works when i get some weight on the front end.

Finally got time to mock the engine up again after the machine shop decked it and the pistons are now flush with deck so the "best" ones are at zero deck and the lowest ones are 0.010" below deck , the way it goes i guess when you are dealing with stock factory crank, rods and cast pistons.

this should put the compression around 9.2-9.3.

 

[64 kiwi boni]

Yip Andy 

my sway bar bushing had to modified , you will see in my thread how my a arm bushings where wrong, brake hoses wrong , points wrong ... the list goes on ! Haha 

your doing a bloody brilliant job there Andy 👍👍👍

[Wrongway]

Wow, lookin good there Andy!

[JUSTA6]

7 hours ago, Andy H said:

Got some time to finish the front suspension, almost, still need to make the brake lines.

Anybody else got problems with aftermarket parts that don't fit or look exactly like the originals? Had to make the sway bar bushings fit, way to tall so i had to sand them down on the belt sander at work and then the hole was to small so out comes the die grinder, checked online and apparently a common problem? anybody else?  Inner tie rods/steering rods, originals came with the grease fittings on the end but the new ones that came with the car had them on the back, also a common problem i guess? the "right ones" are available apparently but since i already had these i was able to put a 90` fitting on and i think it will work.

Mounted the brackets for the brake caliper hose in front of the spring, a bit tight but we will have to see how it actually works when i get some weight on the front end.

Finally got time to mock the engine up again after the machine shop decked it and the pistons are now flush with deck so the "best" ones are at zero deck and the lowest ones are 0.010" below deck , the way it goes i guess when you are dealing with stock factory crank, rods and cast pistons.

this should put the compression around 9.2-9.3.

 

Those rubber brake lines need more slack than that.  Have you tried to turn the wheel completely in both directions?  ESP now before you make your hardlines.   Might Justa be the pic, but it don't look right.  Both sides. Drivers side rubber will hit the ball joint shaft for sure N cut it.  That needs to be behind the A Arm and clear from hitting/rubbing on anything.  Pass/side looks too short.  Where are you planning to mount your proportioning valve?  Should be on the frame under the booster.  Not pickin ya apart buddy, trying to save ya some $$ and heartache if the brakes fail.

Edited April 23, 2021 by JUSTA6

[Andy H]

7 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:

Those rubber brake lines need more slack than that.  Have you tried to turn the wheel completely in both directions?  ESP now before you make your hardlines.   Might Justa be the pic, but it don't look right.  Both sides. Drivers side rubber will hit the ball joint shaft for sure N cut it.  That needs to be behind the A Arm and clear from hitting/rubbing on anything.  Pass/side looks too short.  Where are you planning to mount your proportioning valve?  Should be on the frame under the booster.  Not pickin ya apart buddy, trying to save ya some $$ and heartache if the brakes fail.

yeah this is is a discussion me and my buddy has had (he builds cars for a living) and been going back and forth, so the theory is that if you run it this way the hose will just bend not stretch and crunch together when you steer now this doesn't always work as even the OE's don't always do it this way, a perfect example is the later Le Mans with factory disc brakes. so in this case here i decided to try it this way but it is a bit tight but the lenght of the hose is fine since it does not stretch, I have turned the wheel many times when relocating the hose bracket and it works but my only concern is when i get all the weight back on and the car sits at its normal ride height, we will have to see. If i have to run the hose to the original location behind the wheel i will have to get a shorter hose.

i made the brake lines from the junction block to the front wheels today but still need to make the ones from the master to junction block also going to put a 10psi check valve and a adjustable proportioning valve in the rear brake line somewhere but have not decided where yet oh and yes it is going to be manual brakes so no booster at least for now, running a master with smaller bore instead it will be interesting to see how it works.

Critic is always good it might make you think of things you didn't.

[JUSTA6]

5 hours ago, Andy H said:

yeah this is is a discussion me and my buddy has had (he builds cars for a living) and been going back and forth, so the theory is that if you run it this way the hose will just bend not stretch and crunch together when you steer now this doesn't always work as even the OE's don't always do it this way, a perfect example is the later Le Mans with factory disc brakes. so in this case here i decided to try it this way but it is a bit tight but the lenght of the hose is fine since it does not stretch, I have turned the wheel many times when relocating the hose bracket and it works but my only concern is when i get all the weight back on and the car sits at its normal ride height, we will have to see. If i have to run the hose to the original location behind the wheel i will have to get a shorter hose.

i made the brake lines from the junction block to the front wheels today but still need to make the ones from the master to junction block also going to put a 10psi check valve and a adjustable proportioning valve in the rear brake line somewhere but have not decided where yet oh and yes it is going to be manual brakes so no booster at least for now, running a master with smaller bore instead it will be interesting to see how it works.

Critic is always good it might make you think of things you didn't.

Wasn't meant to be critical,  You seem to have er worked out, Thankz for sharing your work.  Ya know we like pic's.

[64 kiwi boni]

Andy , justA cut those center sleeves down on the link will give you heaps more room 

[Andy H]

12 minutes ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Andy , justA cut those center sleeves down on the link will give you heaps more room 

Had been looking at possible doing that before and when i saw yours im like hmmm, only thing is how much space is there going to be between sway bar and steering rod when car gets down to ride height? definitively cut some off when i get that far should give me that extra space i need for my hose.

[64 kiwi boni]

Yes, your steering is at the front mines at the rear of the arms