TWO LANE BLACK TOP

Elvis isn't really dead..He's hanging out on a secret island in the middle of the ocean...With...Bruce Lee..DB Cooper... Jimmy Hoffa...and their pet Sasquatch....Waiting for the economy to get better...... That is a good looking wheel.....

Personally I like the pontiac Rally wheels the best... I've always liked the Cragar wheels too.....That being said..Also always thought that the ET mags...Don't remember what they were called...(diamond spoke maybe..??or possibly Torque Thrust..??) The 5 spoke ones with the semi polished rim part and the darker rough cast looking spokes in the center...Looked sort of the same style as the cragars but different... One of my friends back in the late 70s had a turquoise colored 68 Tempest with them on it...With Uniroyal Tiger Paw White letter tires....Looked like it meant business even though it had a six cylinder engine....He Also had a Kraco 8 track tape player with Mind Blower speakers..(Anyone remember those)??....Still have my Ted Nugent Double Live Gonzo..8 track tape we played all the time.... Bottom line is...Whatever wheels you like go for it...

They do look pretty well used up....... Next time you change the oil... Use a tubing cutter or some snips and cut open the old oil filter.... Then you will be able to get a better idea of what's in the oil....Don't use a hacksaw or anything like that to cut it open with.... It will leave metal chips or shavings in the filter...And you won't know what was already there and what was put there during the cutting process.......

A Tuned Port...305 (or 350) 5 speed can be a really HOT and economically viable set up with the right selection of parts..... Depending on condition and price.....I would seriously think about snagging it up......

Have you replaced the radiator cap..??? If the cap is no good it will not allow the cooling system to pressurize and will boil over instead....( Very common overlooked problem)...Most the time you can't tell if the cap is bad by the way it looks.... As far as the low coolant light staying on when the system is full...It is more than likely the coolant level sensor ( located somewhere in the tank in the top of the radiator)..they're notorious for not reading the level correctly when they get some age on them...will have no adverse effect on the cooling system other than the light staying on... As far as the cooling fans the temperature sensors (thremal coupling) for the fans are designed to read liquid temperature not vapor or air temp...when the coolant level is real low and there is not enough water in the water jackets for the sensor to read.... The fans will not come on no matter how hot it gets.....(if everything is working properly the fans should come around 220 degrees with the secondary fan coming on around around 224 degrees) Also the fan should come on when the AC is turned on....No matter what the temp is.....

Something else that is definitely worth doing is to pull the injectors out and check is to make sure the O rings on the fuel injectors where they plug into the intake aren't brittle... broken....leaking..ETC..and are in good shape and the injectors fit tight....

I remember that look.... Went for years thinking my name was Dumb Ass... Until I saw my birth certificate one day....... What's ironic about it is....I find myself turning into him more and more everyday......

If I'm not mistaken the original tire..wheel size would be on a placard located in the drivers side door jam....Also one of the three letter codes on the service parts ID label.....also would indicate the tire wheel size it was originally equipped with......

Have the tires been rotated on a regular schedule...?? Can make really big difference in how they wear....

Business 40 thru the downtown area....?? Or 52 just north of Research parkway...??

Try pulling the Idle Air Control valve off and clean it out real good with some carb cleaner.....Also make sure it doesn't have a vacum leak somewhere...It's also very possible the passage in the cylinder head for the Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve (EGR) might be starting to get clogged up...In which case can possibly be cleaned out with a coat hanger and carb cleaner (will have to remove the EGR valve to do that).... Try doing those things before rushing out to buy any new parts......

Very cool car....... Hope to see it out on the road soon... Here in NC.......

All depends on how much your budget is..... And how fast you want to go.....

Do you still have the thermostat out of it...?? Actually it is important for it to be in place....It key to help get the car up to and maintain proper operating temp.....So the fuel system can go from open loop to closed loop along with all the other related things...(timing injector pulse width trans shift points when the cooling fans come on ETC..) When it is in the open loop condition that means that all the sensors are not talking to each other and is basically running on the factory cold start perameters....(rich condition) all the time..when then check light is on that also sends it into a rich condition..Will also have an adverse effect on gas mileage among other things.... Pretty much what happens when you turn the key on is.. The fuel pump turns on then the butterfly or choke plate or whatever we are calling today....In the idle air control valve...Sets or closes which works like the choke during startup.....when the engine starts and is running... It is in open loop....As the engine warms up to operating temp..The coolant temperature sensor tells the PCM (power control module)... Then the MAF (mass airflow sensor) and the oxygen sensors start talking to each other...then the system is in closed loop then all the related sensors IAT (inlet air temp) idle air control.. The trans sensors...ETC..Are constantly changing the timing...injector pulse width...transmission shift points...According to air temp..humidity...and throttle position.....The thermostat is key to help in making all that happen correctly at the proper time...This is a very basic overview and by NO means a complete or in depth explanation...... Also when the check engine light is on that also puts it into open loop condition (running rich)....takes a few minutes to get the trans fluid warm too....

Would also highly suggest replacing the pins and bushings in the door hinges before attempting to line the up the doors.....Unless they're completely worn out..(holes wallered out and obolonged) in which case you'll have to replace them.........

The actual pwerband of the engine itself will stay in the same RPM range....Might feel a tad stronger on the upper end of the RPM range (possibly psychological)....Pretty much takes about 12 to15 horsepower to actually be able to tell a difference from the drivers seat....Torque (Rotational Force) Is the key ...It's what gets you moving....That is what you actually feel and sets you back in the seat....As Frosty indicated gas mileage is directly related to the right foot..... I like "The Hunt For Red October"...Too...... You're not alone Frosty I feel old too....Heard AC/DC Hells Bells on the oldies radio station the other day......

Only thing you might have to change is the location of the crssmember either forward or backward....It's very Possible could already have the frame predrilled from the factory to relocate it...Also the transmission yoke will have to be changed too...Possibly the length of the driveshaft depending on which tailshaft the TH 400 has...Will also have to have the electric kickdown switch...As the TH 350 kickdown is a mechanical cable...Should be a pretty straight forward swap.....

Did like the 56 Chevy Hood ornament......Rest of it not so much........

Yes.. but give it a few seconds to be sure everything is loaded up good before letting off the throttle.... Can run good for a really long time like that... it's almost normal for high mileage engine to do that. Just don't jerk it around...you will be OK for awhile as long as it has good oil pressure and don't run it hot...

As I mentioned with the throttle and brake thing it is an exellent way to help gauge engine health anyway..... Is it ever going to turn winter or fall even...here in NC...??

Personally I would be extremely weary about putting a supercharger kit on any engine with 200,000 plus miles on it..... That being said...If you do supercharge it....Like Frosty said don't go crazy with the boost...Even then at the very least you will probably blow out the front and rear oil seals...Most blown engines have forged connecting rods and crankshafts...forged pistons with wider ring landings and beefier rings to help control the blowby better with the added cylinder pressure...On a high mileage engine chances are the added boost is going to cause exsessive blow by past the oil and compression rings into the crankcase and as a result the front and rear oil seals will wind up paying the price....Also any slack in the bottom end will for sure show up in a fairly short order..(Rod and Main bearings...Wrist pins..ETC...) One way you can get an idea if there is any slack at all in the bottom end...Is to get someone to hold the brakes with the car in gear..by hand under the hood Open the throttle up just enough to load everything up real good...But don't get the wheels spinning....Then let off the throttle real quick (You will have to listen real carefully)..If You here the slightest clatter at all when you let off the throttle that means the rod bearings are getting loose....

The quad four engine is pretty much a throw away engine..... NOT designed to be rebuilt...GM 3.4 V6 engines and V8 Northstar Cadillac engines among others are the same way....Although they can be rebuilt and make good power if they are done correctly...The cost and man hours...Aggravation.... Associated with doing so...Not mention finding a competent machine shop....Makes them completely emotionally and economically unviable for the average person to do so.......

These are actual GM Pontiac service manuals....Not reprints.... Hope this helps

The Blue Ridge Parkway rocks...Know every nook and cranny from Roanoke VA...to Asheville NC... Definitely a nice drive... well worth doing..... (look at it as pretty much my private road course)