Bonne61

8 hours ago, Frosty said:

What? You don't like Fred Flintstone style braking? Imagine that! 

Actually I'm happy enough with the braking performance, given that it is used as a street cruiser. It's just the concern that if that single circuit has a problem, I'm in the hands of the Gods😆

Well, all the parts for the Bonneville have arrived from Butler. I must say their delivery has been fast - both shipments (ordered separately) came in 9 days! I've had Australian deliveries take a lot longer...

The heads are with the machinists, so I guess I'm just waiting on them now🤞 At least I got to see the car today, when I dropped the new rocker gear to the mechanic.

I've also ordered a 71 º (160 º) Mr Gasket High Flow thermostat, which should assist in keeping its cool.

The new headliner from SMS hasn't left the States yet - apparently they're hoping to have it ready by end of this week. I did have someone arranged to install it, but I may just have a read of @64 kiwi boni thread & see if I can manage it myself.

I have a dual circuit master cylinder waiting with my brake guy, who will fit it up with the necessary proportioning valve and piping. That way we'll have a bit of redundancy in the system in case something goes wrong. Don't like my chances of pulling the Beast up with the park brake, to be fair 😬

10 hours ago, Fitzy said:

Welcome to the world of living off baked beans & tap water whilst the car gets showered with gold. We warned you!

So you did - as usual, I never listen to reason.

Although as I've said to my wife...had I have known the time, trouble and expense I was getting into I wouldn't have bought the car and that would have been a damn shame. Despite all of the above, when I get in and drive it I JustA can't wipe the smile off my face 😃

3 minutes ago, Bonne61 said:

Good news - less than 8 days after order placed event, my first lot of Butler gear has arrived (screw in studs, gaskets, etc).

The mechanic already has it  (plus a copy of all the information on the new parts and original rebuild that he may need), so the only thing to slow the process now will be the machining (both the wait and the time to do the work).

All going well my rockers will arrive next week - so everything needed to get it back together again will be sorted.

Who-hoo - fingers crossed Cooly may yet still be on the cards 🤞

Photos, as required...

IMG_9467.HEIC IMG_9468.HEIC

Just now, Bonne61 said:

Photos, as required...

IMG_9467.HEIC 1.71 MB · 0 downloads IMG_9468.HEIC 1.61 MB · 0 downloads

Try again 🙄

Good news - less than 8 days after order placed event, my first lot of Butler gear has arrived (screw in studs, gaskets, etc).

The mechanic already has it  (plus a copy of all the information on the new parts and original rebuild that he may need), so the only thing to slow the process now will be the machining (both the wait and the time to do the work).

All going well my rockers will arrive next week - so everything needed to get it back together again will be sorted.

Who-hoo - fingers crossed Cooly may yet still be on the cards 🤞

10 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

It’s  called shit happens Paul 

Yes it does-although I’d wish it would give me a bit more time to enjoy it in between the dumps 💩

I’m beginning to understand why so many classic car owners have multiple vehicles.

It isn’t out of greed, but necessity 😂

A bit of an update on my progress...

I've changed mechanic (long story), and have a Pontiac Screw in Stud Conversion Kit, gaskets and a Melling 1.5 Rocker Arm kit heading my way from Butler.

Obviously (and expensively🙄) the heads will need to come off to facilitate some machining.

Hopefully with the current wait on machinists time atm, I'll be driving again within the foreseeable future. Not sure if the car will make Cooly this year though, which will be frustrating. 

At least when it comes back to me, all should be well🙏

5 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Certainly sounds like you should go back to your mate and get him to replace all those studs 👍

Paul I expect you replace the valve springs when u did the cam , but did you check valve spring loading in position ? 
justA check that they are all in spec . Your machinist can check this for you 👍

Not sure about the valve spring loading in position, can only presume he did? And yes, all new.

20 minutes ago, Fitzy said:

My turn. The exact same thing happened to my rebuilt 389 but not due to broken stud. Turned out to be a faulty Mellings lifter - a global problem. I replaced the lifters with Johnson HyLifts (from Butler) and a set of Crane roller rockers. As the boys said, I checked all rocker studs, eyeballed the cam lobes and checked the seating of all valve springs. All mine were replaced by machinist and spring heights checked then & by me subsequently. Strangely, the same thing happened prior to engine rebuild on the same cylinder  - I have to assume a faulty lifter then as well.

If you go aftermarket rockers, be sure to adjust valve clearances as per manufacturer's instructions - not the original Pontiac way.

TwoLane's harmonic balancer suggestion makes perfect sense - check that too.

Good advice, thanks.

And yes @TWO LANE BLACK TOP, balancer is all good.

Well for us, it kinda happened by default. Can I say up front that initially, the whole idea came from my Gorgeous wife. I'll bet not many can say that?

We started out looking for a "classic car" - didn't have anything particular in mind except we knew that my wife absolutely loved the Elvis-style Cadillac with the big wings, and I really liked the later '66-'67 Impalas. So it needed to be a big US cruiser style (wife didn't want a muscle car that she knew I would try and race around everywhere, destroying parts, licence and bank balance in equal measure😅. Smart girl 🤷‍♂️).

I called for some practicality (if we were going to get one, it had to be something that SHE would be happy to drive as well, as I wasn't just going to play chauffeur (already have a motorbike that only I can ride, didn't want another solo toy!), whilst she admitted that the Impala's I liked just looked like a big Statesman to her, so wasn't that keen.

So...after a lot of searching and miles of driving around to look at a heap of cars, what we eventually found seemed to sit right in the middle of both our wish lists, plus we both loved the car at first sight 🥰

Being a '61 it still had wings (of sorts), plus a whole heap of chrome inside and out, and looked very stylish. For me, it had 6 seats, an auto trans, an adjustable bench seat so all of her 5' could reach the go pedal, and in my opinion had a heap of swagger. Plus it was quite different from everything else we'd seen.

Round 2...

As some of you may remember I had some Bangin' Headlights on pre-order?

I think I mentioned earlier, they're led but at 4300k emit a warm white light that emulates the original sealed beams.

They arrived, so what else to do but install them?

First up, they are a quality product. Australian made (company based in WA), glass lenses, Aus-complied, an EXACT replacement fit for the OEM halogens. Took all of an hour to fit, including improvements to one of the earths, and terminating the high beam plug and leads that are now redundant.

I fitted them with the supplied H4 Splitters, which allow you to run all 4 lights on both low and high beam. As you'll see from the photos that's not needed for lighting power itself, but sure looks cool 😎

Did a short night run to test them - clearly I need to adjust them somewhat, as the CAA have already been in touch stating that I'm making it difficult for pilots on their landing approach 🤷‍♂️ National Parks also reckon I'm mucking up the bats sleeping patterns too

 The difference is absolutely outstanding, I'm sure you'll agree. And at around AUD$150 per light ($560 the set, splitters being optional), IMO they are excellent value. Rated for 8,000 hours, the globes are also replaceable.

Well, well - all done!

The rears were a lot easier, although I had some issues with the length (happens sometimes, I'm told🤷‍♂️).

I'd been advised I would need 60" for the front and 74" for the rear, but this turned out to be incorrect.

After checking around Australia to find someone who could shorten the 74"'s up for me, my wife had an epiphany...why not mix the sets around, see how they work? So, a bit of time and sweat later I had the fronts with 60" buckles and 74" tails, and the rears with 74" buckles and 60" tails. And, that works! Perfectly. All belt buckles sit between the body centreline and the right hip, depending upon occupant size (we're both pretty compact so for us they sit to the right hip. More "normal people (fat bastards, I say😆) they sit more centred. Photos attached.

She's not only good looking, but clever too 🥰

Oh, I found these OEM tags under the seat too, while I was working away. Cool, hey?

Now for something completely different...

A while back I was chasing recommendations for seatbelt suppliers. I was tossing up whether I should buy Australian Complied belts, but in the end I didn't bother as I didn't want belts mucking up my beautiful pillar-free Ponti. And if I was only going to fit 2 point belts, it was a wasted argument because even though the belts themselves would be compliant, fitting them into the outboard seats of my car was NOT🤷‍♂️

Ergo, I went 2 point belts with Aircraft style stainless buckles, that actually look like they came with the car. (Mind you, I'd have rather not had any in it at all, but my gorgeous passenger insisted 😆)

Ended up finding what I needed at Morris Classic Concepts in the US. Sarah (Morris) was very helpful, pricing was really good, and manufacturing and delivery happened in a very reasonable time frame. She assured me that whilst the belts obviously wouldn't comply with our ADR's (we have to have black plastic buckles with red release buttons), they did meet all necessary US Compliance Regulations, and that they had sold thousands of sets with no issues.

The finish and quality is excellent, and she spent a bit time with me going back and forth getting the colour match right.

I've spent the last 2 days (had to carry the job over into Day 2, as the swear jar filled up pretty quickly 🤬) installing the front belts. Just about broke all of my fingers at the knuckles trying to "guide" the things through the seat frame, but in the end it all looks good. Installation was completed to Australian Standard as far as prescribed angles, distances and anchor points.

Once I get over the trauma I'll complete the job and install the rears, at which time I'll post those results also😊

4 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

paul, when you get the spare dissy sorted, can you post what the guy does to it ? it would be a great referance for future 

No worries 🤙

1 hour ago, Fitzy said:

I hope your neighbours aren't shovelling burgers into themselves as they read your posts. Hilarious!

My car also has the slightest rake to the front and I reckon a full tank would bring it up even. One day, I'll save enough to fill the tank.

Some of them probably are as we speak 😆

14 hours ago, Fitzy said:

Distributor advance curves are a can of worms. I also like straight mechanical advance BUT vacuum advance is about better fuel economy. I told you about Performance Ignition Services in Melbourne - their reputation is second to none but let's see what your wizard can do.

I'm sure to get some backlash from this (which I invite,) but unless you're driving the thing hard, as long as the advance is reasonable and the timing is sensible you should get away with the factory settings or a modest tweaking. It's too easy to get caught up in endless conversations & opinions. Down the rabbit hole I believe is the modern way to spend hours diving into forums & discussions regarding incremental  improvements to performance. I had to take a deep breath and step away many times!

Oh, nice job on the fresh air vent. Mine work great - heaps of air, not like a modern car.

Yes mate,

I tend to agree. Since replacing the distributor with one that works as it should, and checking all that could/should be adjusted, the car is running better than it ever has.

It starts first time every time cold, I can drive off smoothly whilst it's still "warming up", it idles and cruises perfectly, accelerates strongly from 40mph to 100mph, at which time the car has more appetite than me for continuing (at least until I get the suspension a bit firmer, anyway😳).

And btw I've just refilled for the second time since it's been sorted, and the fuel consumption is around 17//100km, which I feel is fantastic for what it is!

I'm not really chasing anything in particular and no, the car doesn't get driven hard, but thought since I have that distributor sitting around that is useless in it's current state, I may as well give someone a chance to improve it? I have looked into your PIS in Melbourne (thanks for the referral), but as this guy is just down the road I thought I'd give him a go. He has all the tools, equipment and experience (apparently), plus a lot of good reviews from local people.

The car is a cruiser, but the motor has been built with a nod to the performance side...dished pistons, mild cam, shaved heads and block, etc. No drag car, but makes @ 360HP/440 ft/lb so no slouch either😃

1 hour ago, Last Indian said:

Paul, as I said whatever you do I wish you well! That said, it didn’t sound like you were lowering the car so much for looks, but for handling. Is that right? 

If you like the look of the car lowered that’s fine, but if your main reason is to get a better handling car than lowering, 2” will have some impact on body roll, I.E. weight transfer because you will have lowered the CG, but effectively done next to nothing for the RC. Changing the RC is by far the more effective way to increase handling/cornering. 

Remember, most folks think you control the suspension through the sprung weight of the car above, I.E. high or low body, weight of the sprung mass, body bushings etc… that sits on the suspension. That is completely wrong! A suspension controls the movement of the unsprung parts. Upper & lower Aarms, spindles, brakes, tires, rims. Is there an interface? Of course, but that is controlled by the unsprung suspension design, not the other way around. The single purpose of that design is to keep the tires planted on the ground, firmly! All of that said I think, I could be wrong, but I think you want a sweet spot! One that gives you a good ride, but doesn’t make you sea sick in cornering. Those things are controlled at the unsprung level & the only caveat to that rule are sway bars! They are truly that interface! They have virtually no impact on ride comfort from a stiffening standpoint. Yet can, if properly designed & installed, reduce body roll to a barley negligible effect, without changing CG or RC. 

The second most effective way to increase handling is to widen the cars stance. You say you are running 14” tires with 215R70s. So for instance if you were to change to 15” rims, increase the tire to a 245R60 & change the off set by .720, combined with the wider tire x2, you would now have a track width 1.625” wider than you had. That may not seem like much, but at ground level that’s a pretty good impact on cornering. All without really changing much with the car. The biggest impact would be the speedometer, which would read less than 2 MPH slower than you would actually be driving.

Well thank you for that,

You have covered all bases here.

Yes, I like the look of the car lowered (so I can look cool😆), but I would also like to reduce body roll somewhat for cornering too. In saying that, it's a 2 tonne cruiser, so when I say cornering I really just mean "going around corners", not chasing Firebirds up mountain roads. So that too will limit what I need to do.

So from all of the input I've received (plus I used some ratchet straps to pull the car down a bit yesterday, as I have no bags of cement and all of my fat neighbours were too busy eating to help me🤷‍♂️), I'm planning (in the first instance, anyway) to fit a new 27mm sway bar to the front (with decent bushes), and 2" lower coils to the front; 1 ½" lower to the rear (all heavy duty). The appears to be enough bump stop clearance at the front to allow that, ground clearance at the front isn't really an issue, and I can leave it a touch higher in the rear because that should make it just a little better for regular driving.

The car sits all but completely level atm, so a ½" higher at the rear shouldn't spoil that effect (I really don't like the obligatory 80's muscle car high arse end look).

Hopefully these changes should give me the results I'm chasing.