Last Indian

15 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:

Not implying you need to do more work,  but those Pontiac letters on the rear would be waaay  coool  if they lit up like the Ol Fieros???  Already have the exhaust going on.  Justa sayin......... I wouldn't change a thing.  The exhaust made me smile, that turned to ...... What if??????  Cause I've always thought it would be sweet to have the lit up Pontiac in my rear spoiler on the Sunbird.   I used metal in the spoiler for strength when I was building it.  Messed up my chance to cut in the letters.

Funny you should say that buddy! I looked at doing Justa that when I started this whole concept, but decided against it finally because there is no real support for that portion of the cover. Just three flimsy plastic arms/brackets that are part of the cover that attach to the impact bumper. I felt if I cut away all that material in the letters, and then cutting loose the outer corners and then reattaching them, that the area would just be very weak and floppy and might put to much load on the corner areas. Still, I may revisit it this winter. I have a couple of ideas as to how I might support and actually strengthen that area, while still being able to back light it.

12 hours ago, Youngblood21 said:

The rear end makes this kind of grinding noise when going about 5mph or in reverse. Maybe wheels barring? U-joint? Also at a speed around 35-60, has a slight shaking I’m front end. Checked front and rear suspension, no leaks but grease inserts caked in grease. Left front strut mount broken. Rack has a slight leak as well. Anyone know what this could for sure be? Or have any recommendations on what to look for? 

3 hours ago, Frosty said:

U-joints might be my first suspect. I would take the car to a shop and have the rear end totally inspected. 

The front end shake could be bad tires. Inspect your tires and see if you have blemished or deformed tires. Perhaps you have broken a steel belt in one of them. I had that happen and had a horrible shake. The fact that the left front strut mount is broken means the car is seeing stress forces it was not designed to handle. Has the car been in an accident that you know of? Any street racing or drifting? How many miles are on the car?

I would agree with Frosty about the tires & U joints. You could also have a bent rim or improperly seated rim. The grinding noise could also be brakes or a tranny gear.

On 6/4/2019 at 9:11 AM, TerryH said:

Hi guys I am trying to replace my window trim felts and running into a problem. took the door panel off and rolled the window down to get to the felt.And I tried to loosen the screw that I thought would let me lower the window more to get to the screws but would only come down maybe 1/8th more. They say it should of came of came down as it was suppose to be the screw for the window stop.I felt all around and couldn't feel any kind of stop .Anyone have any tips on where it might be or rhe best way to get the window down another 1/2 inch or so..

Thanks Terry

I believe at the bottom of the tracks that the window hardware runs in there is an L shaped bracket that has a piece of rubber on the foot (horizontal portion) of the L shaped bracket. That bracket has a bolt that you loosen to adjust it or remove it. 

On 7/3/2019 at 12:16 PM, Frosty said:

 

I'm with JUSTA on this one. Simply a stunning job all the way around.

Thank you! Saw Lucy on the Great Lakes page, really looks great! Everything oriented the way you wanted it to?

Welcome, like JustA said, nice GTO, and trust me he knows first hand! He he has a beautiful “66” as well!

Welcome, you’ll find a lot of info here.

Well I’ve gotten most of of the back cover done, still a little detail work left. The PONTIAC lettering on the lower portion of the cover still has to have gold inlays.

This is the current modified rear cover. No wheels sticking out past the rear cover fender area. The original cover is at the last picture. This shows how much the rear fenders stick out past the cover.

Also installed the new Indian Head

Original cover.

On 6/10/2019 at 11:49 AM, Frosty said:

Here are more photos from the Dust Off.

Here is the typical post-show group photo. L-R - JUSTA66, JUSTAG6, ENVY, LUCY

I am very excited to show off some new bling on Lucy during the show. This new bling is courtesy of Mr. Last Indian and his mad fab skills. I have a new "Jury" grille badge and I've added a new arrowhead/indian head next to my Pontiac. They both make the front end really pop. I cannot thank Last Indian enough for everything he sent me. Now that I've unveiled the bling I will share the rest in another thread.

 

Winner of the Survivor Class Award - an unrestored yet drivable 1928 Pontiac - complete with a rumble seat

I thought this was prettiest car at the show - a red, perfectly straight  '59 Bonneville convertible with a triple color interior

A pair of nice G8s

How about some Solstices?

This Solstice belongs to Marge Sawruk - the late John Sawruk's wife. She bought it from current POCI President Larry Crider. I am going to have funny teasing Larry about this.

A '74 Ventura Sprint !

Time for G6s

This one is owned by JUSTA's daughter -- JUSTAG6! Way to go girl!

 

Looks really good buddy! I don’t get much time to peruse so I’m just seeing this for the first time! So things oriented on the grille ok? Looks like it did. All of you guys have your cars looking good! 

Got one step closer to finishing the Indian for this year with the back cover & splitter.  Another week or two then it should be done. The splitter had to be raised about 2” because it sets so far forward when coming in or out of steep areas it would scrap the bottom edge. In reality it sits no lower than the air dam on my Buick, but that air dam is only a foot forward of the front tires. The splitter sits about 3’ forward of the front tires!!

What Ringo said! Whatever the market will bear, but that said it won’t bring much, sorry!

I like the “97”-“03” GPs a lot, they even had a lot more potential than most folks realize if modified correctly. Still as a rule they are not sought after as a collector car, at least not yet. As a rule the aftermarket versions by SLP or MPD bring the most money, some as much as $20,000. 

IMO, with the exception of the obvious high end collector cars, if you by a car for investment purposes you probably can do better elsewhere! I have always bought cars because the please me in design & function! At the end whatever I get out of the car when I sell it is a plus, but that’s just me!

On 6/17/2019 at 4:46 PM, Frosty said:

The Pontiac Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio? I would be up for that - except that is the weekend I am leaving for Hilton Head Island SC. Dang it!

http://www.pontiacnationals.com/

Yup! Those Nationals, but who wouldn’t prefer sun, surf, warm breezes, and the company of a fine lady! I’m sorry what were we speaking of 🤔!

On 6/12/2019 at 6:48 PM, indymanjoe said:

You guys and your fancy pics LOL NE Ohio isn't that far Last Indian Us Michiganders should plan a trip to visit. Or if ya want a place to stay visit us for the dream cruise and you can stay at our house. BTT

On 6/14/2019 at 11:39 AM, Frosty said:

I am up for that.

Me too! As I’ve said before I really don’t do car shows, but one thought is the Nationals are in the beginning of August!?

On 6/13/2019 at 11:45 AM, Ringo64 said:

We'll see how the longevity of this cleanup goes. If it does go back, I"ll have to try Meguiars 👍

A couple things as a little FYI. One other thing that works really well is Happich Simichrome and a very soft cloth, followed up with Meguiars Ultimate polish. But, since you have done some restoration to the lens one other thing you might consider is getting some Black Magic tire wet and apply this the the lens. This product is basically silicone. Apply a thin coat and just leave it to dry, which it really won’t dry very well. After a day wipe and buff and reapply. After 3 or 4 applications you may notice a decrease in any hazing that was still there. Then every few weeks always apply a wipe coat to both headlights, this will help kept them clear. It’s also great for door and trunk weatherstripping.

12 hours ago, Frosty said:

That's the great thing about this forum. Not all of us know everything about every ride or every nut and bolt. We all chip in worth collective knowledge and experiences.

Let us know what you end up deciding to do, oh, and pictures please!

What Frosty said! And pictures please!

23 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:

Drumroll please.... LOL was waiting for you to chime in on this one.  Remember your words of wisdom to Joe in another thread.  Have to admit, I would like to read about your suspension tricks to accomplish duel patches from a single spinner.   BTW    Thank you for the awesome arrowhead that matches my turnsignal.  Has found a new home on my console in front of the shifter.  Frosty's JURY logo DEMANDED a ton of attention.  I'm sure I speak for him when I say we couldn't be prouder to display your artwork. 

Hey buddy! Pictures please!

Another one of my many projects over my 40 years with LZ was a live axle test for GM, Ford & Chrysler. This was were we built rear axles put them in a car and ran them to test limited slip or in the day positraction. In the beginning of the design there were some challenges to say the least.

Many things make using an open diff for the purpose of two wheel hookup challenging and rewarding. In general you need 300 hp or hookup may be hard to achieve. You need to know how and what to blueprint for the rear diff, I.E. balance the spider gears and shims as an example. You need to know how to limit axle housing rotation to effect hookup, while tying the axle to the body without limiting the rest of it movement. Leaf spring suspension lend better to this than coil, but both can be done. Also in this particular build drive shaft design will play a role in success. If you look through the internet you’ll find a few folks who have done it. Most people thought prefer to just keep replacing the carrier.

7 hours ago, Frosty said:

Are you looking for a positraction rear end 82firebird? Most 10-bolts were limited slip which means one wheels gets the power and the other didn't. A positraction unit means power is sent to both wheels, thus allowing you to do a two-legged burn out.

Now assuming that you are happy with your present rear end gear ration, a differential carrier change to a positraction unit runs $370-550 from Summit Racing. I am sure you can probably shop around perhaps find a better deal but that gives you a ball park.

It will mean draining the diff fluid, removing the axles, and removing the center section of the rear end. So essentially you are rebuilding your rear end. Now would be the time to change your rear end gear ratio of you wanted to.

 

19 hours ago, 82firebird said:

Hey guys still working on my project, and I need a new rear end so I don’t smoke one tire and get them both to hook up.... do I have to change out the whole rear end or just the gears in the pumpkin ?( don’t know the real term for it). Again this is a hobby for me not a money maker so any help would be appreciated thank you

Well, I have to disagree a little, sorry! A positraction rear end and a limited slip are very close to the same animal for GM, with one difference. GM’s positraction sends almost all of its power to the wheel with out slippage. No slippage full power to both wheels. GM’s limited slip on the other hand only increases power to the better drive wheel in the case of slippage by a much smaller percentage. This has to do with cornering logic & how inside & outside wheel speeds come into play. In the end both will give you two black tire marks only if the suspension is setup relatively correct.

That said so will an open rear end! I’ve said this before! An open rear end will lay two black patches just as well as any, if the suspension is setup right! The purpose of positraction or limited slip is not for burnouts! In actuality that is the fastest way to break a posi or limited slip rear end! If you’re looking just for burnout performance!? Put the money into the suspension & a blueprinted open rear end!

29 minutes ago, Frosty said:

That's makes two of us. I just hope our bad karma with brakes is not contagious Joe!!!! 

Now that you mentioned it Last Indian, the driver's side rear tire did stick a little when I took it off, I had to push the drum back on slightly. I wonder if that is when everything went to hell-in-a-hand-cart?

That would be my guess! I’ve seen it before. That tweek on the drum pulls the shoes or shoe, which pops the spring or adjuster enough to move it out of position. That is why I always use either a gasket between my wheels and the rotor or drum whichever the case may be or anti-seize, painted on the surface of the rotor or drum where the wheel hits, even on the locating hub. It also helps to stop the dielectric action of the dissimilar metals from causing corrosion.

On 6/3/2019 at 8:41 AM, Frosty said:

Okay Sunday was the big day. Lucy gets her new shoes.

Here is the before picture with the dirty stock 14x6 rims - minus the trim rings and center caps. The center caps went on the new rims.

Here she is with the new shoes. The new wheels definitely fill out wheel wells.

My wife, son, and I jumped in the car for a little test cruise once the wheels were on and we didn't make down the end of the driveway and we hear a horrible scraping noise !!!  I am thinking I have some sort of tire rub against something or the rear tires are too close the the fender lips. I get out, nothing obvious. So I back the car up and it's still scrapping! Uggh!

My son said the noise is definitely in the back. So we jacked up the rear end of the car. I took the passenger tire off first, I didn't see anything obvious. I notice that that rear diff didn't spin. Hmmm. I got the tire off and the star adjuster fell onto the ground, it was bent, and partially destroyed!

Then I found a spring embedded next to the brake shoes.

So two trips to two different Autozones later to get a new star wheel adjuster.

I was able to re-use the old spring and the new star wheel and put the driver's side drum back together.

Once the drum was back together, the kid and I tested the drums (we put some lug nuts on the drums) and put the car in gear while on the jack stands. No problems. We put the new tires back on and put the car in gear with it still on the jack stands. No problems. Finally we let the car down, double checked the lug nuts one more time, and went for a quick slow trip around the sub-division. No problems. 

Finally, we got the wife and kid back in the car and drove it through town and the put the car way. 

Whew!

A one hour changing of tires turned into four hours of fright, worry, relief, and finally triumph. I told Jacob that working on cars always takes twice as long as you planned.

For the record, there is a slight scratch on the inside of the brake drum. Not sure if I am going to do anything about it right away. I do plan to take the car to Tuffy after the Widetracker's Dustoff and have the front end alignment double checked, and I may have the brakes inspected while I am there.

What a day!

Well looky looky! Ain’t them niiice! Have a Frosty one on me!! That’s why you should always carry a boat anchor. On the serious side, did the old wheels stick to the drum at all when you removed them.

1 hour ago, Kurk_Kurk said:

 

 

Yup, i know about the oversized rings. im just worried about boring it over again. I'm already 30 over bore, so what would be next? 40 over? i know i cant go past 60 over, but i feel im cutting it close now. I'd love to see if i can get away with honing because of this. But if i absolutely HAVE to, ill take it to a shop. Thakfully my dad knows a guy that can get the work done really well for a case of beers and $300 

And frosty, you're damned right im gonna build this the right way without any Spectre oil pans or gaskets lol. I'll stomach the extra few bucks and buy some legitimate parts this time around. Im glad im choosing street though, can't imagine how much money i'd be down with a race engine build!

Food for thought!

Here’s the problem with honing. A typical drill operated hone only follows what’s there, I.E. taper, out of round etc. than it amplifies it. You might get lucky, but if not than you’ll have to bore bigger than you might if you started with a block honing machine. If you start with a block honing machine first you may be able to hold the new bore to .010. Giving you just the .040 over. 

Exactly what I ran on the Z, except I ran Kelley’s back than! With a double wishbone and a straight axle they give a great ride & handle great as well!

44 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Lucy's new shoes are in the house!!!! I plan to get them on her this weekend unless the monsoon starts again....

Now that’s a bed of rubber!

On 5/28/2019 at 8:30 AM, Kurk_Kurk said:

And it was going so smoothly. 

While working on the car, buttoning up loose bolts, prepping areas for paints and general placements, he wanted to take a look at the engine, which was sitting on the Engine stand and flipped over. He looked around, asking about the crankshaft and what-not. pointing out a lean oil pickup tube too. It wasn't long before i wanted to show him how tall the engine was going to be with the new carb, intake and etc. So when i rotated the engine to Right Side Up, oil poured out of cylinder 5 spark plug hole. That would explain why there was always a fouled plug and blue smoke behind me. So, new set of piston rings? Nope.

Unfortunately, it got worse once we took the cylinder heads off. We found scoring and deep scratches in cylinder walls all through the block. The culprit? the Damned Spectre Oil Pan. i think it's called a splash shield (?) that cracked and with the vibrations, the seam from the crack rubbed together creating metal flakes in the oil. 

im praying that a simple honing could solve this, since buying new pistons for a new overbore, let alone get it to a machine shop, is not within my budget.

Curtis, just in case you’re unaware, you can buy oversized piston rings in incremental sizes, .003, .005 etc., but you’re going to have to dismantle the engine to hone it. In the end a bare block hauled to a shop and new pistons and rings may be the better choice. Honing can be tricky when it comes to true roundness and a straight bore! More often than not anything more than glaze busting will leave a block out of round and tapered.

Well it was a perfect day to paint! Now I JustA need to wet sand and rub it out! Then back to the splitter work to get that finished after the mods I made!

Well moving ever so slowly, between weather and other demands, but made some progress. Getting fairly close to painting the bc/cc soon, I hope! 

Lyon, as much as all of us would love to see Pontiacs return, I have to agree with the others! It’s never going to happen for all, not just one, but all the reasons mentioned and then some!

GM has no vested interest in a brand other than profit! In the past, great executives made decisions based on vision, profit, growth and instinct! Very few of today’s executives have vision or instincts, sad but true! More often then not they rise to the top for reasons that have little to do running that particular company. For a long time now companies take people who are great at their positions and put them in other areas unrelated to any of their gifted talents. All because they need to grow their people! That’s just plain stupid! That among many other things has caused the demise of American manufacturing, and Pontiac was part of that! 

Then there is the whole never admitting of making the wrong decision!!