Fitzy

Hey Wrongway - thanks for the photos. Your dashpad looks excellent. Your car had the same deterioration that mine had - steering wheel, dashpad, well everything really. I see the subtle differences between yours & mine due to their different vintages. I always wanted to change that silly vacuum guage into a tacho and am wondering how hard it would be to find a tacho face of a similar size that would squeeze into that chrome housing. Hmm...I'll do some research. Anyway, can you tell me did you reskin that pad yourself? If so, if there's anything that's going to cause me extra special grief, can you let me know? I suspect that the entire procedure is going to be one big spot of grief!

Today I was hungover. Nothing to do with NYE, just a catchup with a mate who I hadn't seen in a while. Lordy, why do we never learn? Anyway, I was determined to keep pushing on with the interior fitout, so through my bleary red eyed haze, I bumbled through, head pounding, nauseous, sweating like a whore in church. Enjoying a lemonade right now... Anyway, it was time to stop ignoring the issue of the dash pad. A joint in the US wanted US$2000 to supply me with a dash pad. As usual, I'm sure it would have been a superlative job, but 2k??? Now, if you're not aware, the 65 GP (and others no doubt) have a sculpted padded top that not only contours down the sides to blend in with the dashboard, it also has a soft bevelled edge at the top where the driver's head is supposed to contact it when those ancient drum brakes don't stop you in time. Yes, I could have let an auto trimmer do it, but there's nothing left at all of the old pad, so I would have had to micro manage their work to ensure they were getting all the shapes right. I thought "I can do this." So, I purchased some very high density foam (flotation grade that goes under the seats in a dinghy) and set to work slicing & shaping it as best I could. You can actually sand this stuff (carefully) so as you can see in the photo I've got the rough beginnings done. I should point out that I will cut the holes for the demister vents. Tomorrow, I can start sanding it and bevelling the outside edges where it meets the windscreen. I figure I can fill any imperfections with fibreglass resin before I let the trimmer do the final skin. Knowing me, I'll probably do that too! I'm proud to say that I've only outsourced one job since I've had the car, and that was the rust repairs.

One more - today was 'dashboard reassembly day,' so as you can see I polished up all the bits & pieces and bolted it all back together. However, as I was gently hammering home the slotted bezels that locate the radio control shafts, the little fluoro orange needle that tells you what frequency you're on fell out! Now, that radio was full of ratshit, dust & rust when I pulled it out, so it was pointless to think it was ever going to work, but I wanted to keep it in the car, so I discarded the vast majority of it and what is left is simply the face - just to keep up stock appearance in the dash. So, after I'd finished hammering, I deftly put the tiniest amount of clear adhesive on the back of the needle and located it on the face. It looks perfect, but of course if anyone fiddles with the controls trying to hear something, all they'll hear is me screaming at them to "DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!"

I'm on a roll...I decided to do my footwell trims before beer o'clock. Here's a hint: the factory ones have a sewn edge to prevent fraying but modern auto carpet is polypropylene, so after I neatened my cuts I resurrected the ol' Creme Brulee torch and melted the edges to prevent fraying. Nobody is ever gonna look under there, so I reckon sewn edges are overkill. Another coupla hundred bucks saved at the auto trimmer!

The fruits of my labour today: I made myself a trunk carpet, a trunk divider and a rear parcel shelf. I then applied the Ames supplied walnut veneer replacement kit to dash & console. Trimming the walnut prior to fitment was a sweaty, panicky procedure. One slip of the carton knife and off to the doctor but even worse, one trashed walnut veneer kit. Fiddly, intense work. Is that a refreshing beer I can smell?

I actively encourage anyone to continue to throw ideas at me, because if you can find 14 x 6 in a 5 x 5 AND at the right price, let me know. Believe me, 14" 5 bolt wheels just don't exist. And here's a reminder of how good the Torqs will look. You just need to imagine the pictured vehicle as longer & lower, and with heavily 'patinated' paint. I guess another reason to steer away from the Cragars is that they are predominately a 'muscle car' wheel, whereas the ol' GP is a little flabby to be called muscley! Oh dear, I can hear the keyboards tapping already - let the comments begin.

Okay, brace yourselves. This will put an end to the discussion. An impromptu decision made me drop in to my local wheel retailer, as it was a 50m walk from where I had parked on unrelated business. I enquired as to the availability of 14 x 6 Torq Thrusts. Yes, definitely available AND "wait a minute," he said. The Australian distributor has a 20% off sale for the next 3 days. I ordered an entire set for $500, landed in Cairns. That's the cost of ONE Cragar shipped to Cairns. So, it's been a bit of a ride and I loved all the feedback - what a passionate topic! Once they arrive (12 weeks) I will ship them to the modifier, chuck on some whitewalls, get some hub rings made up so they're snug & safe, I'll bolt those babies on and post some shots, so we can all then bask in the glow of my nicely lowered land yacht sitting on some nice wheels. Perhaps now I can go back to sleep the next time 3am rolls around.

Hi Frosty, yep - another great looking wheel. I can't remember if I posted this info, but I borrowed a friend's 15" Buick steel rim (5 x 5) and attached it to my car and checked for clearance when it came off the jack. There was about 5mm between the outside of the tyre and the rear spat (everywhere else was fine) but the front was an issue because the wheels would foul the fenders at anything approaching full lock. Yes, I lowered the car so the fault is mine but it's non negoitable - I WILL drive a long, low car! So, I would LOVE 15" wheels because the choices are numerous but I have to have 14s. I could fit a lower profile tyre to help, but you know what? I actually like 14s with 70 series whitewall tyres on old cars - it retains that period correct look. If I went with 15s, I can buy direct drill Cragars and voila, problem sorted. Or Rallye 2s, or Dragways or just about anything. The other issue with 15s is that 15 x 7 seems to be the norm, so once again, even if I fitted 50 series tyres, there'll be clearance problems, and that will include the rear, soaking up that precious 5mm clearance. I need to get those new front springs in to lift the car slightly and I will then reassess. Anyway, I have a fence to erect, a carport to assemble and a shed to build in the interim, so all of a sudden, wheels are gonna have to take a back seat for a little while. The OTHER issue with wheel selection is that buying direct from the US is a problem because anything imported into Oz over $1000 value attracts duty, as I found out when my last Ames order turned up. Once you factor in shipping as well, it's just not worth it. The Torqs can be purchased here in Oz, about AUD$180 each. See, I've got an answer for everything! Laying in bed at 3am thinking through wheel selection is an activity I don't recommend, but it does make me sound like a smartarse.

I had a gander at the Coker site and the Magnums. You're right - lots of nice wheels BUT...they have to be 14" and they need to be a 5x5 bolt pattern. The only wheel I can buy off the shelf in that configuration is a Cragar, otherwise anything else has to be modded, and I'm fairly sure they will only redrill alloy centres and the Torq Thrusts have been deemed to be suitable. So, just like the rest of you, we're all agreed on Cragars being the first choice, but I gotta move on. Anyway, the Torqs are still a fine looking wheel, the backspace is correct and they can be redrilled AND they are about half the cost of Cragars. They're made in China these days, but I suspect the Cragars are too which might explain the substandard chroming that I keep reading about. When are countries going to wake up to themselves and realise that importing countless tonnes of cheap crap isn't the way forward? I remember when Made In Australia was a guarantee of quality and you were happy to pay a bit more for something that was engineered properly and constructed correctly. The US would be the same, I suspect. Job security? Not anymore.

Ah, glorious beer. After consuming a requisite amount I did more research on Cragars. It looks like standards have dropped since the company passed thru several owners. I keep reading about peeling chrome, but what finally decided me was that they can't be balanced on a regular hub mount balancer. I have given up on them and will go back to the Torq Thrusts, albeit with a PCD modification.

I forgot all about the spacer thing. FYI, I removed both front drums and found a set of washers on both sides, but the sets were different side to side, so definitely not factory but someone got it into their head that it was a good idea and put them there. I have since removed them. Still dithering about the Cragars. The rat problem is starting to consume me, and I read someone's similar tale of woe when they stored their Cragars in their garage and a "chipmunk pissed on them," and it wasn't noticed for months. When the wheels were finally attended to, they had started to rust where the offending critter had peed on them. Is this a glimpse of the future for me? Sitting in the carport all night with a travel mug full of coffee and a loaded shotgun waiting for any sort of furry animal to go near the car? I'm mad enough already without waging war on animals. We live in the bush and the critters far outnumber us.

Nice work. I set one of those spring traps with peanut butter and it ignored it. I also set a Nooski trap that remains untouched. I chicken wired my entire engine bay, but left the battery tray accessible and put a throw pack of Ratsak nearby (ALSO ignored) AND placed some dryer freshener sheets (purported to be a rodent deterrent) around the place including on the battery tray. The f@#&ing thing left it's nut remains ON the dryer sheet on the battery tray. I shall try the shoebox method - it's certainly worked for you. As an amusing little side note to add to my tale of woe the other day when I was fiddling with the electrics, after I noticed the chewed HT lead, I wondered if I could still use it, so got my multimeter out to check for resistance. The multimeter wouldn't work, so replaced it's battery, still nothing. I wiggled the wires that attach to the battery and one fell off! I'm starting to wonder if I'm not being gently persuaded to take up an alternate interest, like bird watching or Morris dancing.

I googled rodent car problems and the stories that I found make my situation look petty. Anyway, no sign of any visits last night and both traps are untouched. Kiwi, your story was legendary - what a disaster. It brings home the fact that no matter what we do, nature is there to undo it. If you construct something, or perform earthworks or whatever, Mother Nature immediately sets to work to undo it, through natural weathering or critter activity or whatever. No matter how much we set about destroying the planet, in the end it'll restore itself and we'll be an insignificant annoyance that once happened somewhere amongst the millions of years that the planet has been in existence. Squirrels in the walls! Jeezus, this is the sort of thing nobody needs, especially when you gotta get up for work in the morning. Some unidentified animal started tapping against the wall outside our bedroom at 5 this morning. Keep tapping, I'm reloading...

So, I was fiddling with the GP the other day doing some electrics. But, gotta put the battery in first so I pop the hood and there on the battery tray is a bed of discarded chewed seed shells. Then some movement catches my eye and a rat is looking at me from on top of the inner fender. I startle it and it deftly climbs across the engine and promptly disappears. I brush out the shells and find another collection on the little steel platform on the other side of the radiator, so I clean that up too. Then I mask and glove up, get the compressor going and blow the entire engine bay, with shit going everywhere. So, after fiddling with the electrics and getting nowhere I decide to fire her up coz it's been a while but I want to do a compression test first. I methodically disconnect one by one the HT leads and label them as I remove all the plugs and it's then that I notice that the ONLY item of any consequence in there which I had custom made is the solid core HT lead from coil to distributor, and that f#%&@ng rat has chewed through it. Enraged, I invent swear words that make no sense and yell them to nobody in particular. It's time for war. After the comp test (BTW that old engine appears to be quite healthy, all around 170-190 psi) it's time to fire it up. I reconnect everything and wiggle the low tension wire that feeds the coil and it falls apart in my hand. After I fix that, I crank the engine but it won't fire. I get my trusty syringe (no needle) and carefully fill the front float chambers with fuel to avoid endless cranking. She fires up, but stalls after a couple of minutes. No fuel in carby. I release tank filler cap and hear the sound of escaping air as I release the vacuum. Vent pipe is connected and clear - it's a problem for another day. Anyway, today I bought 2 different rat traps and as you can see from the photo, I always wanted a Rat Rod! Chicken wire everywhere, mothballs in the car, 2 traps set. I hope that thing is dead before I get to it, for it's sake.

Ready for another laugh? I get on the phone and start getting quotes for these gold plated diamond encrusted Cragar wheels. The first dude warns me that they are not legal for use in Australia because of the elongated bolt holes. So NOW I understand what 'direct drill' means, and of course I can't get direct drill wheels in the size that I want. Mind you, there are hundreds of 'illegal' Cragars getting around in Oz, so my newest conundrum is do I run the gauntlet and plead ignorance on the rare occasions that my car is actually on the road, or do I crawl back in my hole and paint my steelies and remain $2k richer??? Honestly, it's a good thing all my hair fell out when I was 25 because it'd be coming out now otherwise!

Yeah, I'll remove them and check the other front drum. The workshop manual shows no mention of them either. From the condition of the car when I took delivery, I don't think the previous owner would have been proactive enough to go to the trouble of installing 'anti rust' spacers in the drums. If the dude couldn't be bothered removing the soaked piece of filthy carpet that had been sitting in the trunk for years and causing all that rust, I doubt if he was ever under the car - that's apparently my job. On a sadder note, I gently informed the missus that I just need to do one more 3 weeker to pay for those wheels. The silent glare that she responded with was withering enough for me to 'sob' save up for them. Oh, the pain!

I have a tech question. Whilst fiddling about measuring my wheels, I thought I'd take the front brake drum off for a quick internal inspection. I found spacers on the wheel studs. What's going on there-is this normal? I replaced the drum with & without the spacers and it seemed fine either way.

Damn it, I KNOW you're all right. Yes, I'll get the Cragars. I spent the afternoon measuring my existing factory steelies' backspacing and looking at all points under the car for ANY potential interference problems and weirdly, if anything the Cragars are actually going to improve the situation, where my tie rod ends are currently 10mm off the inside tyre sidewall (backspace is 4.33") the Cragars will come with a 3.37" backspace, so I gain an inch on the inside and there is an easy 1.6" to play with between the ouside of the tyre and the fender lip. The car's previous owner has squeezed 215 tyres onto the factory 6" rims and I believe 205s are optimum for that size rim, so there's another 10mm saved if I have to slim down to 205s. Now...how do I tell the missus that I simply MUST do JUST ONE MORE 3 week overtime stint? I can't tell her the truth, obviously! Yep, they're the ones - with the tick.

Hey Everyone, just got back from another insane bout of overtime. So, who wants a laugh? When I took El Poncho out the other day, it's so low at the front that when I drove it out of my carport and onto the dirt driveway, the rain had scoured some of the driveway away and when I dropped off the concrete, the resulting 3" gap caused the oil pan to get pushed up and now I can hear the crank just hitting the pan! It's okay, the engine was coming out anyway. But...it gets funnier. You know I'm mad, right? When I get an idea in my head, I won't let go of it until it's fulfilled. Some would call this 'drive.' I call it low grade insanity. I gave up trying to find Rallye 2 wheels. I MUST have a lead sled Yank Tank but I want that 60s high performance look that only period correct Torq Thrust or Cragar SS wheels can give. In Australia, Cragars are $450 each! They are truly beautiful but, really? 450 bucks? So, I settle for the Torq Thrust D but there's a problem. Because the car is low I am reluctant to step up to a 15 x 7 due to potential clearance issues, but the 14 x 6 Torqs only come in a 120.65 stud pattern. After much head scratching and looking at wheel adapters (no good because they will push the wheels further out into the guards and I don't feel comfortable using them anyway) I wonder if there's a business that modifies wheels. Sure enough, I find a mob in Melbourne that will change the PCD to 127. He does it by drilling out the existing holes and inserts a metal ring in each hole for the lug nut to sit against. Sweet. I study my factory arrangement. Hmm...aluminium wheels are thicker than steelies and I don't reckon I'll have enough thread to use my acorn lugs on the mags with about a 13mm thickness at the mounting point whereas a steelie is only a few mm. So, I reckon I'll need shank lugnuts. So, I contact the Lugnut King (I'm not making this up) who has asked me questions re stud & thread length. I shall measure the studs tomorrow and let him know what's going on. Clearly, I need the modification chap to ensure that the inserts will accommodate a shank nut, so that when the wheels finally turn up, I can actually attach them. Just to throw an additional spanner in the works, the Cragars are available as a 14 x 6 with the correct PCD, but the offset is a little worrying. There's a lesson here, folks. If you're going to modify, do your research and take your time. I know the end result will be worth it, but every time I look at that car, I will be reminded of the dramas I endured getting it to that point. Whaddya reckon, Torqs or Cragars? One 3 week swing of overtime will pay for the Cragars!

Here are the Doug's headers: man, they are beautiful. They look like they're stainless steel. I wanted to paint them before installation but am not sure if paint will stick to stainless without serious prep. Anyone know? Another question: I want to use my factory fuse box and am wondering if anyone knows of the existence of glass fuse to blade fuse adaptors. They once existed but all leads go nowhere. As you can imagine, they pop in to the glass fuse cavity but with the convenience of a blade that slots in the top. Look, I'd happily replace the panel for a modern one but it's a job for a sparky and getting the car delivered anywhere at the moment is dramatic and expensive.

So, I contacted Ames to see where my order was. Everything was ready to send except for seat upholstery. No worries, send what you've got, I said. So, the Pontiac Room is now full of all sorts of goodies. With the new fuel sender installed at last, I reinstalled the tank, chucked some gas in and fired the Olde Girle up. I bodgied up the driver's seat with plywood and an old bedspread, chucked on the steering wheel and went up the driveway. Because we live in the tropics, our rainfall is legendary (when it eventually comes) and I have engineered the driveway to divert rainwater into one of our 'dams,' via a series of sculped bunds in the driveway, like speed humps but with a worthwhile purpose. Do you reckon my lowered 5 metre long land yacht was going to make it? Ba-bow! So, I played with the length of driveway I've got which is level and gave the GP a squirt and the bloody thing took off like a scolded cat - goodness me these old Yank Tanks get up and go when they are told to! Anyway, after much hand wringing and sleepless nights it's time to pull that 389 out, inspect the internals, chuck some fresh gaskets, seals and paint at it and while it's out do the steering box and front end (including some nicely lowered springs that I can live with and will perhaps enable the car to actually make it out of the driveway) and can clean up the engine bay. I'm happy with it's old warhorse faded paint but I want that engine bay looking sweet when I raise the hood. So, I will happily post lots of photos when I start the engine pull. Gloves? Check. Hardhat? Check. Bandages and mobile phone close by to dial an ambulance when something goes wrong? Check. Lotto ticket so's I can actually afford a stroker kit from Butler? Check again. I've got the engine gasket kit, full ignition replacement kit, carby rebuild kit and TH400 filter kit. I just need the time, easily the most precious and rare commodity. My headers turned up and they are art. I have to somehow loosen the 55 year old manifold to pipe bolts in order to get things started. Is there a God Of Exhaust Bolts I need to pray to?

Hi Kiwi, I went 2" at the front & 1.5" rear using standard duty springs. No clearance issues EXCEPT for the close proximity of steering knuckle to inside edge of tyre, but I don't think it's anything to do with the new lowered stance. Check under the front of your Bonnie and see how it looks. The standard wheels will not foul the rear spats. Of course, larger wheels may cause issues. I was going to go 2" lower all around but I wanted that slight rake to the front and I reckon a full tank of fuel will probably settle the back down nicely.

After a little research, it turns out that a properly functioning PCV system will not degrade performance or economy and will help keep the engine internals and oil clean, so for the sake of a couple of neat short hoses hidden under the air cleaner, I'll just leave it alone. As always, I appreciate the ideas and feedback.

Thanks Kiwi. This is where I have to hang my head in shame and finally admit that after 4 decades of fiddling with cars, I always knew what the PCV valve did but I always thought the air cleaner actually drew fumes into it from the rocker cover, and didn't act as a source of fresh air to purge the crankcase to send through the PCV valve - I always thought that fumes were sucked in by the air cleaner AND thru the PCV valve. I'll just have to monitor the oil and may modify the air breather in order to help the system. What started all this is that I am a huge fan of clean uncluttered engine bays. I once saw one where the engine was JUST engine: electric water pump, thermo fans, alternator driven from the prop shaft, no steer, no aircon, no wires hidden wiper motor, smoothed sheetmetal and a very clean, nicely painted motor. No bling, all performance.

Hey Kiwi, I just tuned in and this caught my eye. Whilst not an animal person, I am sorry for your loss and wish you a speedy emotional recovery. The beer fridge - well, now it's my turn to get teary eyed. It'll appreciate a beer soaked send off, procured from the new fridge. In fact, I recommend a serious amount of beer over the next couple of days: not just as an emotional crutch, but because it's delicious and will make you feel good...and look handsome.