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Posts posted by Last Indian
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9 hours ago, Bonne61 said:Thanks for that-I’ll chase the vacuum solution.
As for fuel pressure-prior to this issue the pump (Holley mechanical) was working perfectly. Also, if it was fuel pressure wouldn’t it deteriorate rather than improve as the revs/speed increased, due to poor delivery?
In general that can be true, but I have seen a hole in a diaphragm leak at low speed because of the slower movement of the bellows/diaphragm, but not at higher speeds. Because the speed of the diaphragm movement is enough to overcome the supply issue, for a while anyway, but over time the hole will deteriorate & get larger.
If by chance the issue is electrical, & I doubt it is, it could be either + or - issues. Sorry, but if you are running a 12 volt system with a 12 volt coil you better have 12 volts at the supply side of the coil when the engine is running & somewhere in the neighborhood of 30,000 volts or more coming out of it. Otherwise you have problems, but they would not be intermittent in the way you described.
The issue sounds like fuel, which can be caused by a vacuum leak. Which puts you on the lean side of fuel& can even cause missing & backires!- 2
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3 hours ago, Bonne61 said:Hey @Frostyand @64 kiwi boni,
Thanks for your replies-fuel filter is clean, carby has been stripped & cleaned, base gasket is new, plugs (BP5S) were replaced, & have since been pulled & checked a few times now (I even swapped the them over in case that might highlight something), points look as new (as Is distributor, rotor & cap), there is no arcing or witness marks inside the cap or on the rotor, the vacuum lines from the brake booster & distributor vacuum advance are both in place & secure.
Anything else I could be missing (no pun intended)?
Ok, a couple things. First is it a miss or is it a stumble/ hesitation? They can seem similar, but the causes are very different. I would tend to agree with Frosty. Your description sounds more like a vacuum leak. Why? A miss doesn’t go away. Doesn’t go away on a power increase usually. But a vacuum leak can be like that! You need to get a can of spray ether. Than methodical check your intake gaskets & the carb gasket. There are a lot of variations in carb gaskets & I have seen a lot of carb gasket leaks that cause havoc to people because they never suspect that gasket. Also I would suggest checking your fuel pressure. Just because you replaced it doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem with the diaphragm. I have seen new fuel pumps have a small hole in the diaphragm.
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Great find Ringo! Kudos for the build! Always glade to see younger guys pickup the torch, to continue a God given gift!
Everyone’s approach may differ, but the results are what count & that’s what makes each of us unique. The young fella did a great job!
I’m way to old to start such a project like this now, but I had mulled this conversion 20 years ago! Mine was a little more straightforward, as things were different than & I’m old school. I was going to gut the whole floor, starting at the firewall. Cut it off at the rockers & at the backend of the trunk floor, as I did with my “69” & “74”. Build a full frame to fit with a configuration that would house a small block V8 & a 700R4, with a Jag independent rear end. Dump all the computer crap rewire the car. Keep the inside with the same interior, & we’re all good! But in the end I decided to build a FWD ground pounder since I had already done the whole full frame/floor etc. etc. thing twice before.
I also felt it was, for me, a bigger challenge to build a better FWD, with better weight distributed, superior handling/cornering performance & a facelift that tweaked that tasty muscle car look that only lasted for the length of the seventh generation GP.
I do have to agree that folks just don’t view any of the FWD cars in the same light as RWD cars no matter how aggressive they look & no matter how well they perform. The 1997-2003 Grand Prix was a throwback design to the “60’s” coke bottle look & the last, at least to date! It had one of the most aggressive looks of any FWDs with just a little work they could look just plain nasty. Remember this Pontiac & only Pontiac had a supercharger! The GTP’s performance rivaled most of the V8 performance numbers being produced at the time. While the 7th generation GP sold well, it has never been able to hold a candle, in most folks opinion, to the G8! Which is amazing if you look at just the statistics. And yet how many of those folks actually saw a G8 up close & personal? Actually drove one? To actually critique it’s handling & performance? Few! Since only 38,159 G8’s were ever built! In both years of production it never even came close to any of the previous year GP numbers & both years saw large quantities of unsold G8’s left in inventory.
My daughter bought a 2008 G8 GT V8, I drove it, worked on it & while she loved the car, she had never owned any car with that type of power, so of course it would impress! Yet even she had to admit that the 2001 GP that she owned before it she liked better! Had a much nicer interior, a more muscle car look & when she drove the Indian she admitted it handle better, was nearly as quick up to about 60, had better brakes & was hands down more comfortable.
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10 hours ago, notallthere said:Furnace guys will be herre on the 15th for a ceiling mount. I will install my 60 gallon compressor and the hoist had to wait for a year for the concrete to cure more. Drywall is going up.
Probably to late, but one thing I did when I built my shop & expanded my garage was to plumbed 1” black pipe from where my compressor is located into the attic. Then make drop downs inside each wall with air chucks connections. out of the drywall. This way I don’t have to drag a hose all over the shop or garage. I can just make a connection close to where I need it.
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Looks electrifying! Sweet!
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On 10/20/2023 at 5:43 PM, cowboydanny said:Just the inspiration I need to see to get working on my 31 4 door. Thanks for sharing here for us all to follow along.
Ohhh yeah! 31 can inspire! No doubt.
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When it’s fun, it’s not work!! That s- - - s fun!
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6 hours ago, Ringo64 said:
Do you know some Pontiacs which were not available/sold in the USA? Thought we'd play a fun little game and list some Pontiacs we know of which were not available here, in Pontiac's home market.
Few I can mention:
- Pontiac Laurentian: A full-size car that was sold in Canada from 1955 to 1981. It was essentially a Chevrolet Bel Air with Pontiac styling cues.
- Pontiac Parisienne: A full-size car that was sold in Canada from 1958 to 1986. It was based on the Chevrolet Impala and was marketed as a more luxurious version of the Laurentian.
- Pontiac Firefly: A subcompact car that was sold in Canada from 1985 to 2001. It was based on the Suzuki Cultus.
- Pontiac G2: A subcompact car that was sold in Mexico from 2006 to 2010. It was based on the Daewoo Matiz.
Yeah, there were several others, the sunrunner, the sunburst & the Acadian. The problem was all of them except the Parisienne & Laurentian were not GM cars! They were, IMO, the beginning of GM’s downfall. And in GM’s defense they were not alone! Ford & Chrysler were right there with them. I would like to explain further, but big brother wouldn’t like it!
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14 hours ago, Frosty said:
Thanks Last Indian. I talked to a car builder friend of mine today. He said there was a local guy who did this work but sadly he has passed away quite some time ago and the shop is closed.
Frosty I understand that & sad to hear about the man. Obviously it would be the simplest if you can buy them in the proper backspace.
Yet presuming you can’t you can still accomplish this. If you lived in this area it would be a snap, as I know quite a few machine shop owners personally that I used in my working days for LZ. But since you don’t there are a couple ways you can still get this done! You may have to do some research or looking though. Most of this you could accomplish on your own. You would need a grinder, a big rubber mallet, a magnetic base that is used for a dial indicator & a dial indicator. Also a GM front spindle with the hub & bearings installed that has the right bolt pattern + some lug nuts.
You would also need a way to attach the hub assembly to a bench or mount it in a large sturdy vice, & you need someone who can Tig weld. I can explain this procedure further if needed.
An other way, there’s a Machine service company in Oxford Michigan that could possibly do the work or direct you to where you might go. Casemer tool & machine. They have some manual lathes. In particular Clausing/Nardini. If these lathes are 17” they would be capable of holding those rims. In this instance, steel rims usually run pretty true, unless the rims are bent, they can turn the rims on the lathe & cut the welds out. This procedure usually works the best for having the best results of removing the weld without introducing on the center hub or the ring. Once the center hub is free & removed ring can be cleaned up. Any excess weld can be machined out to make it a clean finish. Then the center hub can be relocated. If they have welding capabilities the center can be indicated true with the proper backspacing, tacked in place on all the attaching points. Then remove for complete welding.- 1
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On 10/12/2023 at 2:06 PM, Frosty said:
I was stunned to find out that the Wheel Vintques company that I purchased a set of Rally IIs from, is actually managed or owned by Coker Tire Company. I sure didn't see that coming. I need a pair of 15x8 with a custom 5.5" backspacing but I can't find anyone online (so far) that will do custom backspacing.
Frosty, can you buy the Rally lls in 15x8 but just in the wrong backspace? If you can, you might consider buying them. But first you need to find a good local machine shop. One that does machining, fab work & welding. They can grind away the weld that attaches the hub to the ring. Then they can reset the hub in the ring to the desired backspace, check it for running true, tack weld the hub to the ring, recheck & then weld it up. After that, take the rims have them checked for balance. Any out of balance issues can be resolved by adding the weight needed, in steel, than again tack weld that weight in place. I have built several sets of rims over the years this way. I have actually done this, but split the ring. Added a rolled ring in between the two halves to widen the rims. Than rewelded the hub where I needed it.
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So here’s the switch setup. I stand corrected there are six hot wires one in, 5 out. Those distributed out from the switch to various components. The real dumb part of the switch that I didn’t take a picture of is the inside rotating cam that depresses the springs you see in the one picture. Which moves a finger tab to make contact with another fixed opposing tab! What happened to just supplying 12 volts to a fuse box? So when you turn on that component there’s power at the source you turned on?!
All purty again!
below the double wire loom on the far side of the motor was original one single bundle. Which was to bulky to run between the valve cover & the redesigned engine mount. So I tandemed the single bundle into two, but specific wires had to be placed in the proper bundles since some would go in one direction & others in another direction. Likewise all the wire looms that run parallel to the core support needed divided & redirected downward as some looped up in the air, as is obvious in the last picture. This all took a lot of work because most of these wire runs are actually formed with a particular curve. Which in most cases means not all wire lengths were equal.
JustA side note. What most folks don’t realize, unless you own one & look close, is all the work involved in the rewiring that had to be done to change over to my redesigned engine mounts & valve covers.- 3
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15 minutes ago, DPEsquire said:
Daniel, can’t blame you, I hate Naugahyde! Hot, makes you sweat, etc. I would rather have cloth under my butt too! Below is an example of a polyester blend corduroy, not the right color just an example! But you might be able find something close. Your other consideration is to buy enough & do the front seats to match. Which might actually be wise. If the backs are that bad how far behind are the fronts? If you did that you could do more of a contrast.
https://www.joann.com/red-stretch-corduroy-fabric/19475565.html -
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Finished the ignition harness a week an a half ago! Talk about ridicules! Needed to order a new Odyssey battery. Mine’s 8 years old, so might as well bite the bullet & start fresh. Lots of cleanup from the coolant flushing, some aluminum needed re-polished, so needed to pull most of it out make it all shiny again. Hopefully I get the battery this week so I can get a little drive time in before the Indian goes up for winter. Did I say WINTER😳!? Oh crap! That means all the indoor projects start!
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On 9/27/2023 at 10:29 AM, Frosty said:Yeah well there weren't exactly any PUMPS out there either to even try to fill 'er up.
No! But there was a lot of air; which is a gas you know!
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20 hours ago, DPEsquire said:
Thanks!
I definitely would want a pro to do the work. Wasn’t sure whether there was any chance of finding a source for the replacement material. Never heard the term “nylon cord,” so wouldn’t even have known what to ask for. The gift of your knowledge is much appreciated.
What I mean by a nylon cord is, its like a corduroy, but made from nylon, which makes it more durable.
If you are trying to only replace the fabric panels due to cost, I understand that. If you are doing it to try & match the rest of the interior that will be hard. I doubt that they make any replace fabric that would match in color. So I guess the question what is your goal? Restoration, resto rod, custom, just fix it? -
35 minutes ago, DPEsquire said:
In short, yes. You can probably find something close, but your best bet would be a car upholstery shop obviously! A regular upholstery shop may be able to help as well. It appears to be a basic nylon cord fabric. So the width of the cord & color will be what you need to match. Doubtful that you will be able to match it close enough to match your front seats though. Your biggest issue will be restitching the new panels to the old Naugahyde. It may look good, but it may be dry rotted at the seams, you won’t know until you take it off the seat. If it’s not I would advise hand stitching the panels! I have done this kind of work before & what happens if you use a sewing machine is it literally acts like a pair of scissors. Because even if you can get the stitch spacing right you will never hit the same needle holes repeatedly. This in turn causes more holes to be pierced along the same line, which in Naugahyde is bad news! Notice when you take the seat cover off the seat that the stitch sequence is about a 1/4” of an inch apart. This is because of what I mentioned.
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20 hours ago, Mats said:
I can only find for 1964 Tempest and GTO. Will they fit?
Sorry Mats can’t answer that question. I would think they are the same basic configuration that you could make it work, but I don’t want to tell you yes & be wrong. I would suggest emailing the companies with that question, they possibly might be able to answer it.
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20 hours ago, JSPitman said:
Hey y'all,
I have a 2008 Grand Prix GXP V8, and for the year I've owned her I've noticed on the freeway she tends to release large poofs of white/grey smoke out the exhaust, but only intermittently.
She guzzles oil, and the coolant is full, so I'm fairly confident she's just burning oil.
After doing some research, it looks like a common issue Grand Prix's of her year have is the displacement on demand system can cause her to guzzle up and burn oil.
Now, I've been leaving that system on because gas costs an absolute fortune, so every drop I can save is a worthwhile expense, but I'm also worried that this bad design for a DOD could be causing damage to the engine. Is that the case?
As in, I know its normal for engines to burn oil, and typically such wont cause any problems, but will allowing this much oil to get burned on the daily cause any problems in the long run? (She's my daily driver, so I'm on the freeway and seeing this every day). Aka, would it be worth the extra cost in gas to keep from causing more expensive problems later on? Or is there no real risk in letting her burn oil like this?
I should note I have a tuner, so it's not a big deal to disable the DOD.
Thanks
There are several issues/problems with the LS4 V8. The first to be concerned with is the burning of oil will poison the cat! Causing it to fail, AKA quit working.
What you might consider doing. 1. Replace the PCV valve just as a precautionary measure. In the 5.3 these have been an issue. 2. Do a leak down compression check of all cylinders, not a momentary rotational one. A leak down test tells you a lot more about ring condition. 5.3 are known for having a problem with ring tension.
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9 hours ago, Lar said:
The car is seldom driven in the winter. These days it's driven about 2,000 miles a year. So, it may be driven 10,000 miles in the next 5 years. The front Gabriel struts have about 20,000 miles on them. You're right on the tire size & I assume on the wheel 6.5 width. I've taken a lot of training on computerized engine controls which said don't go to a different diameter tire, because it throws off the computer calculating the vehicle speed sensor & affects the timing. When a car has a drivability problem, the fix may be to go back to the OE tire size. Newer cars may have the capability to be "flashed" to compensate for changes, but I'm not sure if anything is available for something this old? Thanks for all of your effort.
Lar, ok! Thanks for that info. So I realize you asked about advice on struts & we have discussed that, & I’m not preaching, I’m just trying to help you get to where you want to be, so bare with me!
First off I wouldn’t encourage you to change diameter, but not for the reason you mention. I assure you that tire diameter has no impact on ECM control over engine timing. The only relevance of larger diameters would be they can increase load on internal gears by causing more pressure on the fluid film layer which is a whole chemistry thing I won’t go into. That said, wider is a different matter! Still, first you need to address the suspension, not just struts. Struts are just a small part of the suspension! Really!
Struts are nothing but a shock absorber with a spring attached to it! This setup was not, I repeat not an improvement to suspensions! It was a downgrade! 40 years ago 20,000 to 25,000 miles on a set of shocks was considered replacement time! Nothings changed except people pay a lot more money for a strut assembly so they want to get a lot more miles out of it for their money. Sorry it doesn’t work that way. It is actually harder to tell if a strut is bad while on a car. Why? Because most struts fail on just one side of the valving. This usually occurs on the down stroke of the strut, but the up stroke will often actually increase resistance against up movement. This causes an abrupt ride on rough roads at slower speeds. So 20,000 on the Gabriel’s is approaching end of life.
If you have not put the car up & gone through the suspension, all the suspension, you are basically shooting blind as to what might or might not be in need of replacement. If you replace the struts & have a bad lateral bar than the strut will not perform well & may fail even sooner than it should. Your car has aluminum knuckles, do you know their condition? There is actually a dielectric action that takes place with these because GM does nothing to isolate them through gasket separation. This corrosion can be so great that the knuckle will start to crumble under the strut plate as well as other metal attaching parts. I could tell you more but, if this is not what you’re interested in pursuing than there is know point.
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3 hours ago, Mats said:Hi, Im trying to find a retro stereo that looks like the original radio and fits without modification. Is the original radio the same size as the chevrolet from 1964?
BR
Mats
Welcome to FP! One of these two sites might have something that will get you close. The retro sound site is interesting because it offers a retro look with modern options.
https://www.retrosoundusa.com.au/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3101
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20 hours ago, Lar said:
Just under 130,000 miles. Even when all the parts were new, it was a stiff ride. I don't think it has gotten any worse over the years. On the highway it's smooth. It's in the City where almost all of the driving is, that I wish it were better, but I probably just need longer wheelbase & a heavier car. My goal is not to make it like new, I wanted to make it much better than it was when it was new. I was hoping modern technology would have improved shock absorbing performance & maybe it has. Maybe what I get will be better than what it has been since it was new? I was just hoping to find other's experiences with different brands on my specific model of car. I appreciate everybody's input.
Lar, several things here. 1. Do you intend to keep the car long term? 2. Do you drive the car in the winter? 3. & within reason, even if it’s more than you wanted to spend do you prefer to get it right & than done?
I asked this because going back over all you said I perceive that you might consider going back to zero! What I mean by this is all 4 corners of the car impact the ride. You said you replaced the front struts, when & with what? Replacing just back struts will more than likely have minimal effect if you leave the fronts as is. At 130,000 you more than likely have front Aarm bushing issues, unless you have addressed them. I have never seen a front Aarm transverse bushing that wasn’t blown out by 60,000 as one example. So even if you need to wait a little longer to get all that you ultimately determine you need. But this would really only apply if you want the car long term & don’t drive the car in the winter.
If that is the case consider Monroe’s for all 4 corners, be they quick struts or build a set of Monroe struts as I indicated previously. The rest of what to look at we can talk about as you proceed if you want. Than you need to step though tires & rims. Why? As I indicated before, tires & rims account for more than 50% of ride characteristics. Am I correct that you run 16”x6.5” rims?
With 225/50 x16 tires? A little taller tire with a little more width will drastically change your ride & still fit in your wheel well. So if you want to talk about this feel free.- 2
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15 hours ago, Lar said:
I think the 1st 8 to 12 tires were Good Year then after that until now, they have been Michelin. Before buying, I go online to tire rack etc. & see how tires are rated by tire rack and by actual customers that have been driving on them for a while. Thanks for the link.
I will take into consideration, but I wonder if they are really worth $300 "more" for 2 struts compared to Monroe. I wish I could see road test of the different brand shocks, like tire rack offers for tires. I've gone on You Tube, where mostly there are installation videos, rather than brand comparisons. Although Scotty Kilmer did show how a no-name Chinese brand was worse than the originals with many miles on them.In general I would say you are going about it the right way! Michelin’s are far superior to Goodyear, & if you go about in the way you are that’s about the best you can do. In your case I can easily make the argument that the KYB’s are probably not worth it for you. The Monroe’s not Gabriel, would be the least intrusive ride. I would still encourage you to go to someone & discuss building a strut using the Monroe strut, but choosing springs & other components that will actually be higher quality. Those components will have their own warranty.
The other thing that hasn’t been discussed is how many miles are on the car, not the tires or struts, but the car? If you have not gone through the entire suspension ever, meaning knuckles, wheel bearings Aarms, bushings, trailing arms, lateral bars, sway bar links, etc, etc! They maybe contributing to part of the problem & might even be the largest part.- 1
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36 minutes ago, Lar said:
Thank you very much. Looks like one Co. like Monroe or Gabriel no longer offers all the individual parts. They offer the shock, the bellows, or the whole unit. Not the springs & the upper mount alone. If various brands were bought, one Co. would blame the other when they don't fit together. I'm planning on the Monroe 171686 complete unit which is described as having a "premium" upper strut mount. I've owned the Grand Am since it was new. It has never had a comfortable ride. I replaced the front struts & various sets of tires. I don't think there was a noticeable improvement with any of the changes. I understand that the GT1 Coupe is a sportier suspension than a family sedan. I assumed part if not a lot of that was in the strut assemblies. The funny thing is that as I look at the applications, they don't care if it is an SE or a GT or an Alero, or a Chevy Malibu. I'm not changing the rear struts, just to get a better ride. They aren't bouncing, but they are rattling & I just thought I would see if an improvement over OE was available at the same time that I am replacing the rear struts to get rid of the rattle. I appreciate everybody's input.
Not having any knowledge of your skill level I can understand that. So what I would suggest is you look at the attached link to a strut available through NAPA. It is a KYB assembly, but it is an OEM replacement, not a AGX adjustable. KYB’s are a much better unit & will be using their strut mounts, spring insulators & springs.
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/KYBSR4037What tires do you run? Goodyear? Or who?
Any ideas?
in Pontiac Performance Discussion/Questions
Posted
Paul, first off the electrical. Irrelevant of what any of us say, you can find out in 5 minutes how your coil/distributor system works with respect to voltage. That said, what Peter is indicating to you is you have two wires that feed the + side of coil. One is a resistance wire the other comes from the ignition, the other can come from the ignition or the starter, both are acceptable. What Peter indicates occurs is correct. On starting the non resistance wire supplies 12- 9 volts depending on battery condition, ground wire condition, etc. once started the starter switch springs back as he says to the resistance wire. In my earlier post said running, I was rushing not paying attention & it should have been starting. So the point is by what you described as happening something is not right. It’s actually backwards in occurrence of voltage. The 9 volts on starting is acceptable, 6.5 is not, but 9 volts at idle while not what you want should not be causing the problems you are describing. So I still have to question the vacuum leak! While brake cleaner can work to chase vacuum leaks it’s not nearly as effective as ether/ starter fluid. Furthermore grease on the base gasket of a carburetor won’t seal anything. You need a vacuum gage connected to the engine than you chase the vacuum leak & watch the gage. Also don’t assume it’s an engine gasket. It could be a hose or a diaphragm. Do you have a vacuum advance distributor?