|
031611 Painted steel wheels & dog dish hubcaps are
installed and the OEM 8-track is installed & working. Now
we need a good couple of rains to get all the salt off the
roads so I can take it around the block.. Bowling Green
POCI Nationals & Dream Cruise in Michigan on the
agenda this year.
011611 Quit
writing when I started driving... This car has trophied
in every show it was entered. To include a first in the
stock class at the Tri-Power Nationals in Norwalk Ohio,
Top 20, Summit Racing BOP Show, Best Paint & Bodywork
, NorthCoast POCI show as well as being driven 1600 miles
on the HotRod PowerTour in 2010. .
Having just
reviewed this log I need to add that the non numbers
matching 455 that was built for the car was removed and replaced
by a correct YC code, 1971 455 with date code matching heads
& intake, freshly built. ( All the date codes on the
motor match each other. The motor was built about one
month after the car.)
Currently
working on four wheel vintiques steel wheels, 2 15 x 7
& 2 15 x 8. They will be painted to match the car and
I will be running poverty caps this summer to change up the
appearance of the car. Also waiting on the arrival of the
correct OEM 8-track bracket so I can install the OEM 8
track.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
062809 Car show at Findlay State Park in Wellington. I
have about 150 miles on the car. Needs several adjustments but
runs & drives fine..
062709 Car won't start. Rolls over, won't fire. Wiggle
the distributor wires & it fires up. Take it for a test ride.
It stalls & won't start. Long story short... the
module in the new Summit HEI distributor , that I just
bought, was no good. Took one out of another HEI
dsitributor I had & the Car is running again. What a
PITA. Got it running in time to take it for the maiden
cruise in at Brunswick, Ohio.
062609 Got
the nose chrome. Then we worked on the intake. Had it on
and off four times... couldn't get the holes to line up.
Finally figured out the gaskets were to thick. Got a set
of Fel-pros & the intake went right in. Passenger
seat & that side of the car is together & the car is
ready to drive.
062509 AM/FM with Sirius is hooked up. Tape player &
gauges are installed and working. Got the 2 1/2 "mandrel
bent exhaust put on today only to find that there was an intake
leak. The wrong gasket got installed on the right side.
Intake is out, cleaned and sitting on the bench.
Re-install tomorrow. Still no chrome. Still need to put
the passenger seat together and get it
installed.
062309 Front bumper installed... Gaps are within GM tolerance.
Stll no chrome for the nose...
062109 My brother helped me put the hood back on it today
and I took it for it's first drive. Still need an exhaust but
I got about 3 miles on it... I've been waiting a long
time to do that....
062009 Came up
one hose short to complete the AC. It's assembled but we
have to wait till Monday when I can get the right size
hose to charge it.
061909 New HEI distributor is installed. Car is running
& driveable. Haven't driven it yet because the hood is
still sitting on the roof. Should be able to remedy that
tomorrow when the AC guy comes & we get it hooked up
& blowing cold. Chrome guy still has my grill
surrounds and an excuse every Friday when I contact him
for the parts. Probably gonna have to use my 72 grills
for awhile...
061809 PCV valve installed, Carb parts, accelerator brackets
and the cable all installed. Air Conditioning wire harness
and oil pressure switch wiring is repaired & dummy
light is working.
061709 Carpeting, console, shifter and drivers seat all
installed. New foam and springs on the seat make all the
difference in the world. It's like sitting in a new
car.
061609 Dragged a 1971 Lemans Sport home today for parts.
No rear-end, no front tires, body came off the frame when I
dumped it off the rollback. Pretty ugly.... But, I have
scrounged the PVC elbow for the manifold, the accelerator
cable ( it was like new), some window cranks, front seat
screws. Some wireing and some plugs... Well worth the
effort.
061509 Home from the
HotRod PowerTour & the GTO is back in the rear garage.
Turnsignal problems are resolved & all the lights are
working.
Rear valance installed.
The
lower AC dash & duct work has been installed.
Mounting bracket on the console for the 8-track player manufactured
& installed.
Flywheel, torque converter
cover painted & installed.
New carb &
accelerator brackets located & installed.
Major issues to address:
Front door panels,
carpet & seats.
Exhaust System.
Find the correct length accelerator cable & get it
installed.
Install Distributor.
Air
Conditioning plumbed & filled.
Install enduro
front end.
Install aftermarket 8 track until I can
find an OEM to replace it with
060309 Fired the motor tonight.. Gonna need to get a new
distributor, as we had some timing problems, but it's
running...Leaving for the HotRod Magazine Power Tour
Monday so the car gets a break for a week while I am
gone. Plan on driving it in two weeks..
060209 AC is
mocked up.. Gotta get the motor running before we can
charge the AC
060109 Motor is plumbed & ready for distributor.
Gonna fire it Wednesday evening. Rear interior and seat are
installed. AC is mocked up. Drive shaft installed, trans
lines installed. Power steering is done. Rally wheels
& Radial TA tires are installed (275/60-15's rear,
245/60-15's front). Wheel bearings have been cleaned and
repacked. New Brake cylinders on the rear wheels.
Windshield wiper motor installed. Problems with the turn
signals that will have to be worked out.
052409 My uncle, my brother & the neighbor came
over this evening & we got the engine & trans in
the car. Went in pretty smooth. Just gotta get it
running, get the interior in & put the front bumper
on..
052209 Power steering & alternator, with all brackets,
motor mounts & ram air exhaust manifolds
installed.
051809 Motor is home & painted.
051609 Motor guy called today, shortblock is together...
Should be ready for pickup Monday. We got the window fuzzy's,
the rocker panel moldings & the wheel well moldings
installed today. Spent some time putting bolts in that
the body shop over looked, & lining up some panels.
051209
Front dash paint
is finished. Headliner is installed and looking good ( and after
watching the install I can tell you, it is not a job for
amateur's ). Seats are re upholstered & ready for
install. Rear brake drums have been blasted and painted
natural iron color. Spatter paint in the trunk is
complete, as is all the trunk wiring except the electric
trunk release. Tailight housings & lens are
done..
051009 New left front caliper on the F250.. leak is fixed.
On the GTO I have installed the rear bumper, headlights, turn
signal lens in front and the mirrors. Painted the rear
deck and the top of the dash. Pulled the rear wheels,
cleaned the wheel wells and sprayed with rubberized
undercoating. Sprayed half the bottom of the car with
Ford semi gloss black motor paint.
050909 Car is home, less the front bumper, which they
will be repainting.... Had the brakes go bad on the F250 while
towing the car home... Made the ride a little more tense. Use
the trailer brakes to stop and drove real
slow.
050409 Car is painted
and the vinyl top is installed..
050109 A lot has happened since the last post. We were
gonna change the rear seal but, upon taking the motor apart we
decided to clean it up a little. The motor & heads will
be redone. Crank will be turned, rods checked, pistons
nerled, new valves, some minor head work & reassembly
of the short block. Supposed to have it back today but it
wasn't done... Wednesday I should have it...
Legendary interiors has
delivered the vinyl top, headliner, package tray, seat foam,
seat covers & carpeting. Ames & PY have also been
making regular shipments to my garage, to include new
rear bumper, body side molding, tailight splash guards,
etc. Got everything piled up & ready to
go.
Paint on the car is cut
in, the fenders & doors rehung & the car is all masked
off & sitting in the paint booth. First real coat of
paint goes on tomorrow. Another 10 days or so & I
should have the car at home...
040809 Motor & assorted pieces have been
painted the appropriate pontiac blue and are curing in a
very warm garage.
040609 Motor is in primer & ready to paint . Pulleys,
brackets & misc are also painted & ready to put back
together... RA exhaust manifols, rear bumper, rocker panel
molding & clips, seat piping, exhaust pieces and a
bunch of other neat stuff arrived today from Ames. Also
got the headliner from legendary. Body shop has trunk
& front fenders in primer with the doors and front
& rear valance getting prepped for primer
today.
040509
Bid on a date code correct
455 short block on ebay.
032309 Darren from A&D Coating Removal, Mobile Soda
Blasting (Cell Phone 419 571 3966), New Washington, Ohio
at the body shop today to media blast the car.... It's done,
the car is completely naked now...
031709 Ordered the interior & top from Legendary.
Four weeks delivery time...
031209 Kinda
dropped the ball here... been in Florida on vacation.
Today the car went to a bodyshop in North Ridgeville for
paint. They came very highly recommended and I have been
able to see some of their work. We have decided on the
Black Vinyl over Quezal Gold with Black Interior (like
the car was built). Monday March 23 the car will be in
pieces and the media blaster will be at the body shop to strip
it down. Expect it back in about 5 weeks. Hope to get it done
for the Hot Rod Power Tour.
030909 Picked
up the rebuilt carb..
021409 This painter bailed on me as well...
020809 Got another paint guy. We should be getting started
soon... Went to the GTOAA swap meet in Columbus today. Got a
set of 1971 GTO grills.
020109 Got
folks sending me emails asking about the status of the
car... My paint guy bailed on me & I've been treading
water waiting to find somebody else to paint the car.
122308
Dropped trans
at Ron's Transmission, in Elyria. A customer from my days at
the Harley shop he does great work & always takes good care
of me. New seals, a new filter if needed and a general
cleanup & tuneup. Front seats are in the basement
& one is in parts. I'll be ordering seat covers in
the next couple of days.
122008 My brother,uncle & neighbor came over
today & we pulled the engine& trans. Took about
45 minutes, as expected. Got the headers off one side but
got tired of wrestling with it & sawz-alled the other
one off. Now for some cleaning under the hood before the
car goes out to paint.
121908 Everything is unbolted & disconnected. Tomorrow
morning we should be able to lift the engine & trans
out..
120608 Removed the stainless trim & glass today. Painted
some small parts.
113008 Been busy & haven't had time to update the
info... The car is in my garage, interior, shifter, door panels
removed. All stainless has been removed. Today I picked up a
set of new tail lights. Hope to pull the motor &
trans this week. Glass comes out this week as well. Goes
in for paint Jan 1, which isn't really that far
off.
110408 Picked up a 1973 Muncie M-21, a pair of 15x7 Rally
II rims & some other goodies today from another local GTO
guy. Spent some time buffing stainless pieces &
sandblasting motor brackets. Picked up a 71 455 carb on
ebay & it arrived today. Needs a rebuild. Gonna wait
till the first snow to start tearing the car
apart.
103108. Did a little research on the title history and
learned through Ohio BMV that the car had been sold by Ricks
Auto Sales in Kenton Ohio in 1995. Made contact with Rick &
he was extremely helpful. Still had the file on the car
& took the time to scan & send me some
documents.
..... I know
now that Robert Meyers of Groveport Ohio owned the car
from 1990 to 1995. He sold, or traded, the car to Hilltop
Motors in Columbus Ohio. Hilltop took the car to an
auction in Grove City, Ohio, and Rick purchased it on 050295
for $3165.00. At that time the car was still the original Black
vinyl over Quezel Gold with a solid body and still
had functional AC.
.....
Rick had the car for a
month. He gave it a tune-up, a new AC belt, a compression
check (125-up), new axle bearings, shims, and a new
headliner . He sold the car to Darin McCullough of Ada
Ohio on June 17,1995
for
$4500.00.
101308.
Replaced hi-blow fuse on the firewall as one of the tabs
was broken off. Didn't affect the heater motor. Changed
the fuse in the line near the alternator & brought
the fan motor to life. One less thing to worry about. Ordered
all the weatherstriping .
101008 replaced the hose on the two gas-tank vent lines.
Both were rotted away and leaking. Installed new rear shocks.
Cleaned & painted the dual snorkel air cleaner &
inner fenders semi gloss black.
100908 4 speed conversion is sitting on the shelf. Trans
looks like a fresh rebuild.
100708 Bought a complete 4 speed setup with clutch assembly,
flywheel & everything else I need to convert the car
to a 4 speed. Driving up to New York in the morning to
pickup the parts. (ultimately I chose to stick with the
origianl 400 turbo).
100608 PHS came today... This is one of 534 original
455, automatic cars (there were no 455CID 4 speed cars built
in 1971). It is fairly well optioned
100408 I've put about 300 miles on the car. Drives
great. Had the pin that holds the shift linkage on the
trans come out, which disconnected the shifter. Found out
the car has no neutral switch as I had to start it in drive to
get it home & make a repair. New belts & radio mounted
but not wired yet. Makes plenty of heat on the low
setting.. Need to find two 15 inch Rally IIs so I can put
some new tires on it..
100108 50
mile drive today. Stopped & saw my body & paint
guy. He's gonna get me a cost on painting it. Got one
speed on the heater working, Blown fuse. Soaked the
switch with electric contact cleaner. Found a 72 Lemans AM-FM
stereo buried deep in my parts. It's marked "Tested &
works 100383". Hooked it up to a 12-volt converter &
some speakers. It works... Need to get it installed..
093008 Put the exhaust system on it today. 3" pipe
off the headers into 3" flowmasters then into a turndown
dump. Sounds good. Fixed the front turn signal sockets. Trunk
is done & dry. Took it for it's first long drive (20 miles).
Drives well. Trans shifts are tight. the 12-bolt posi
works. 092908 Got the title, plates & insurance..
Refinished the inside of the trunk, installed new sockets
for the left rear turn/brake lights, topped off all the
fluids, painted the jack.
Sept 28,2008 Trunk cleaned, sanded & primed.
Left rear taillight disassembled. Some interior cleaning.
Painted jack bottom & air cleaner
lid.
Saturday Sept
27, 2008. Fixed the header
gasket & cut the exhaust off. Running open headers
now.. Took the alternator in for test & it was shot.
It has been replaced with a rebuilt from NAPA. Topped off
the brake master cylinder, added a quart of oil to the
motor. Tightened up the bolts on the trans pan. New wiper
blades. Ordered PHS Documents.
Friday Sept 26,
2008. Trailered the car
home & took it for a short ride.
Thursday Sept 25, 2008.... Got the call, the car is
mine.
Wednesday
Sept 24,2008 Went &
looked at the car. It's been sitting for a while &
the owner had to throw a battery in it before we could
start it. Fired right up. Drove it around the block &
liked the car. The exhaust is shot and the left header
gasket is blown. Generator light stays on. Heater does
not come on. Clock in dash does not work. Tires look
pretty old. Made him an offer. Said he'll let me
know.
Monday Sept
22, 2008 made the call.
Learned the the owner purchased when he was 16, he did
some body work & painted the car. Drove it through
high school. Used it as a pizza delivery car. Wife, kids,
house & other priorities caused him to offer it for
sale. We've all been there.
Sunday Sept 21,
2008 Gotta love my wife.
She spends time on line looking for GTO's for sale. Found
several
she had me look at even though I wasn't
really in the market. Told me she found a 71 GTO on
Craigs list & forwarded the link.. She encouraged me
to call on this one. | 
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
