Bonne61

Hey @Last Indian, how does this sound to you?

Hey @Last Indian, how does this sound to you?

No, it's higher in the heat range

On another note (to be clear, this is something I have ordered READY to do to the car, but have not yet actually DONE😆)... I've been recommended (by a very good source, I believe) to switch from using NGKBP5S spark plugs, to NGKBP4FS. Also, to set the gap at .030" maximum. Any of you have any experience with these? Same source (who has been referred to me as a bit of a wizard when out comes to old v8's - specialises ONLY in carbs and distributors) has recommended some work on the "failed" distributor I have. Says they are a Chinese (of course🙄) copy of a Delco-Remy, and as such will be set up ideally for leaded petrol (as per the original distributor it is cloned from). Says timing advance will range from 6º to about 36-38º, which isn't suited to unleaded. He believes they should be 10º at idle (vacuum blocked), and range to 32º max. Apparently he makes modifications to the mechanical advance to achieve this, with good results. Does this make sense to anyone? I'd like to hear any experience or knowledge you may have on this. TBH since I have an almost brand new sitting at home that is currently useless to me, I'm thinking of getting it done in any case. The new distributor in the car is working perfectly atm (I think, anyway), so I can simply swap over to the other one once it's "tricked" and assess the benefits or otherwise🤷‍♂️ He also says that ideal lead resistance should be less than 1.5 Ohms (mine are all < 1 Ohm) - and if they're greater than 5 Ohm they aren't worth using! Obviously my car is running a standard (non HEI) ignition system, which this information is all specifically relevant to.

No mate, all that is intact. It was just the wide open vent that was the issue. All good now😀

Another small job that will make things much more comfy for my gorgeous passenger... Finally tracked down a passenger side footwell vent for mine. My car was originally supplied with a/c, but at some point in its history a previous owner decided that removal was a better option than repair. All good, however they didn't bother to close up all the holes, so our first winter was a little chilly with ice-cold air blasting into the footwell via the completely open and unrestricted vent ducting. And to make matters worse, when I closed MY vent to reduce the cold air it effectively doubled the flow into the passenger footwell. A few early trips to car meets were completed with my wife wrapped up in a blanket 😆 Anyhow...after a 5 hour round trip to pick up the vent & cable, I spent another few hours cleaning, repairing and freeing up them up. It took a bit of mucking around making it fit because the one I got came from a '64 Impala so the cable length was different. Installed it, got my mate to cut a hole in the kick panel he'd made me to block off that great hole, and Bam 👊 - mission complete. See photos...

Now that's a good plan-just may need to buy some bags of cement, or ask some fat neighbours to help out😆

As so many of you have mentioned sway bars here, I thought I'd post this. K-Mac here in Aus, the same ones that can make my coils for me, also do a front 27mm sway bar for $420, and a rear 27mm (including all fitting hardware) for $480.

I would have, but you know, the price of fuel and all that🤷‍♂️

Bloody hell you fellas - this includes you @64 kiwi boni, don't you know that when people ask for advice they really only want you to validate their own opinions, not actually tell the truth 😭 Ok...firstly, thank you for your experience and advice. Now...I really don't want to go down the route of dropped spindles because, (a) they are all but impossible to source, and (b) when I needed new spindles because the minute I drove the car home I discovered that mine were destroyed, I had to go to the US for spindles, hubs and drums and spent a bloody fortune doing it, so I'm a bit reluctant to spend all that money and time over again. That being said, I want the car to be useable, handle better than it does now (I don't race it, but it has some crazy body roll and where I live is full of roundabouts so I risk wearing out my sill panels😆), not be seriously dangerous on the rare occasion that I may need to do a high speed swerve (to avoid the inevitable dickhead that completely misses a 2 tonne, 6x2m, red car), and finally (perhaps most importantly 🤔) to look way cool 😎 I felt that 2" front and rear was conservative (had initially thought 3" would be good), but I'm hearing that's maybe not the case? I am planning to go with heavy duty coils though, so that should help? Maybe 2"/1.5" may be better, but I worry it won't be enough🤷‍♂️ And, I'm still chasing down shocks so that info is helpful. TBH I've had my share of issues with Dave and had just about decided to bypass him completely and go straight to the US, but I won't make that public in the interest of fairness. Happy to fill in the blanks if anyone wants to ask privately.

A bit of a road trip today with a mate to the first Cars and Coffee for 2024, at Bucks Bakery, Landsborough, SE Queensland, Australia I'll let the videos and photos speak for themselves...enjoy😃 IMG_7613.mov IMG_8958.mov

IMG_8896 (1).mov I've added a clip below of the system working, FYI😊

Ok, so the new 10"x4" speaker from I ordered from Retrosound arrived today 👏 Pulled the glovebox liner back out, crawled back up under the dash, and (other than some minor "relieving" of the mounting holes) fitted the new speaker, wired it up. Boom - the system works. Push in cigarette lighter, which activates the switch, hear a "pairing" beep, start playing music. Perfect! Looks completely original and unmolested, some reasonable sounds coming out of the centre dash speaker, happy days. See evidence below👇 Oh, and one walk around video of the Big Gun just because 😃 IMG_8898.mov IMG_8896.mov

Haha, yes the ground clearance is one my wife has already mentioned. I can do whatever I like for the looks, but if it feels like a race car on the road (ie: she needs a kidney belt for a trip up the road) or I need to take every speed hump at walking pace and 45 degree angle, she will slap me 😭 She's been down this road before 🤷‍♂️ I've been recommended the airbag route a few times, but tbh I can't be bothered with the cost, effort and the upgrades to the electrical system I'll have to do to install them. I am happy to just go down the "old school" route, & put up with the compromises that will come with that.

@Frosty @64 kiwi boni @Fitzy @Ringo64 @Wrongway

Have asked the question about the spring insulators elsewhere, and now have the answer. 2x insulators for the upper rear springs have been ordered from Rubber The Right Way, in transit as I write. Am still interested in your opinions and experiences (I'm sure you'll have some) on the lowering question above. I've also had recommendations on shocks that will give decent control but a comfortable ride, and KYB's and Monroe's seem to come out on top.

The Bluetooth gear has arrived, and the work has begun. Pretty easy fitting the switch into my original cigarette lighter (just had to grind the edge of the new switch so it seated fully in the chrome surround), and the module was easy too. The speaker pod was another story...the holes in the mounting plate weren't correctly spaced, so I had to elongate them. Problem was, the outer rivets that held the speakers to the plate were in the way. No prob's I thought, I'll just mount straight through the speaker brackets as well and all will be sweet. No such luck - the thin metal tabs broke away, which meant the unit was solid in the dash, but the outside edges of the speakers weren't fixed at all🤦‍♂️ After hours of drilling, filing, and Circus-like contortionism up under the dash all I've achieved is the removal of lots of skin from my head, shoulders and hands, with the now useless speaker pod sitting back on the bench where it started out🤬 Anyhoo, the system itself works well so I'm on the lookout for a reasonable quality 10"x4" speaker to fit and all will be good. Will update including photos when it's all sorted😊

The crazy thing is, the distributor has obviously failed "in service". Prior to that the car was running perfectly, and just need the lifters tightened. And typically - the warranty period is 3 months, and it's been installed for 6! Although to have it running sweetly again is worth the price😄

Well, well gentlemen, we have a winner! The (second!) new distributor arrived from RockAuto while I was away at work 👏 I put it off for a day after getting home, because tbh I was worried that YET AGAIN it wouldn't resolve the problem. Anyway, manned up yesterday & out I went. Checked & double checked everything with the current one just to be sure I hadn't missed something simple but no, it still ran like shite. So, swapped it over, started it up & IT RAN😄. Very well too, I might add...kinda like it always did before it didn't anymore. Spent about 15 mins mucking around with dwell/timing to hit the sweet spot & it is perfect. Starts first time cold, runs at high idle until I kick it down when the "COLD" light goes out, then bumps away very nicely thank you. Cruises very smoothly, acceleration is almost instant, & pulls hard until I thought I probably should stop (a little over 100 in the old scale 😈). Have attached a Fast and Slow idle video for your entertainment. I am absolutely stoked, as this has been cursing me since 24th October... IMG_8847.mov IMG_8846.mov

Wow - mine was Premium 95. Sure was - I've ordered another couple of those o-rings, just in case😬

My idea to repair the rhf window is a success, so hopefully it will stand the test of time🙏 I also got around to removing the fuel sender and adjusting it, so I'll have to wait & see as the tank empties whether it's right or needs more adjustment. Funny story...after finishing the job last night I took it for a short run around the block to try to get the needle to move. No success, so I ran it up to my local & filled the tank (noticing that there was a leak underneath). It took 60l, at a cost of $128. Presuming (correctly, as it happens) the leak was from the fuel filler neck I pulled around the corner, undid the retainer screw & pulled it out to reposition it. By this time I had lost quite a bit of fuel. Driving home (12kms) I noticed I was leaving a fuel trail every time I went around a roundabout or right hand turn. Got home, got underneath & saw that the o ring was sticking out of the joint - obviously the source of the leak. So I pulled it out again, greased the o ring, & re-inserted with care. Seemed all good). The gauge was indicating low fuel, so not knowing where the level was now I went back to the same servo to top it up. 54l ($108) later, the tank is again full😬 So, I had literally spread about 50l ($100) of fuel all over the road in the 12kms to home🙄 Leak sorted now though...🤷‍♂️

Thank you😃 A mate of mine has a spare set of the plates already made up, so once I know the correct hole locations I should be good to go.

Hey there, Back on the seat belt topic, is there any one of you that can give me the correct positions to drill the mounting holes for my seat belts? I've purchased a set of 6x 2 point belts from Morris Classic Concepts in the US (the company are fantastic to deal with by the way, & make a great product!), but would like to know exactly where to drill.

Sorry mate, I didn't explain myself very well. It WAS running perfectly, for 6,000 kms, until it started to play up-that's when this whole process of trying to find out what was causing this problem began, because it started playing up quite suddenly. It certainly isn't running perfectly atm😬

Hi there, Do the '61 Bonnevilles use spring saddles or insulators? If so, top and /or bottom? Front and/or rear? I'm finding it difficult to get an accurate answer out there in Google-Land, and my manual is missing that chapter (of course it is🙄). Also, I'm planning to lower it 2" front and rear - as I want the balance between looking good, still handling ok (not too harsh), and being able to get in and out of driveways without too much trouble. Any information/advice/experiences you may have will be greatfully received. For the record I'm not going with air bags or drop spindles, so it'll all be done with springs and shocks. Car is a cruiser, and is running original 14x6" rims with 215/70's. Thanks in advance.