sweet build

brakes
 

still working on getting the rotors and calipers installed...
thanks for your interest!
danny

axle shafts
 

the flanges on the rear axle shafts were almost 6.5" in diameter, but baer specs a max dimension of 5.9" for proper fit within the rotor.
the machinist turned them down with his lathe yesterday.
it looks to me like there is enough material behind the wheel studs for this to work alright, but i'm certainly not an expert.
does anyone have any input on this one?
thanks so much for your help.
danny

This is going to be a sweet build!

I was wondering. :)

rear brakes
 

here are a few photos of the rear brake install...
thanks for your interest!
danny

Subscribed, this build is looking awesome. Love to PT GTO's.

thanks!
 

guys, thanks so much for your interest!
danny

waterpump
 

this is flowkooler high flow waterpump #1622

engine paint
 

pontiac blue

Great updates!

engine paint
 

today i pulled the masking off

Looking good. Remember it's all in the details. Can't wait until you get to exterior paint.


Roger

here's a few photos of recent progress...

thanks roger!

check this out...

C => March
12 => March 12
8 => 1968

hahaha!
happy birthday!!!

headers
 

installed headers yesterday.
this product is manufactured by doug thorley.
3 primaries, 3" collector, ceramic coated, 3/8" flange, good fit, etc...

headers
 

here are a few photos of the install.
thanks for your interest!
danny

that motor looks like its missin a couple cylinders.nice detail on your build

Looks good Danny.
Keep the updates coming.

I'm with Tony! Nice!

brake plumbing
 

guys, thanks so much for your interest in this project!
recently i've been trying to get the rest of the brake line plumbing knocked out...
it's 3/16" DOT rated nickel brake tubing i can shape easily with a simple bending tool or by hand.
please let me know if anything looks screwy.
thanks a lot!
danny

brake plumbing
 

finished up plumbing the brake lines in the rear...

chassis
 

many of my friends have been asking about this project, so before i left the shop tonight i snapped this shot and sent it out...
thought i'd share it here as well.
danny

serpentine conversion
 

i have been thinking about this idea for a long time, but i'm starting to feel like i'm floating in uncharted territory.

these are all 6 groove serpentine pulleys.
i still need a plan for including an auto tensioner and/or idler pulley.
i still need a plan for spacing out all pulleys to alignment.
do any of you guys have experience with "do-it-yourself" serpentine conversion systems?
if so, i would be very thankful for your input.
also, where else might i look to find information about this kind of modification?

of course, i still have all the original v-belt pulleys so if this serpentine conversion idea doesn't work out i can just reinstall the original system.
please feel free to share your thoughts... thanks!
danny

serpentine conversion
 

all the accessory pulleys are now aligned.
i used an assortment of crude washers and sleeves to get them into place.
from here i can calculate dimensions and order one-piece aluminum spacers from aluminumspacers.com...
the water pump pulley lined up to the crank pulley with 3/16" of spacing behind it, the alternator needed about 11/32" of spacing and the power steering pump required about 15/32" of spacing.
hopefully, nothing got pushed too far forward.

now i need to determine where the belt tensioner pulley will have to go, and how i might have to shape a bracket to mount it.
i have found various resources online which cover the basics behind this kind of modification.
there seem to be various opinions about whether or not power gains are possible with a serpentine conversion, but to be straight up... i'm just hoping i'll never have to fiddle with the v-belts again.
please feel free to chime in with your comments at any time.
thanks for your interest!
danny

Great job on the belt set up.

The car is going to be sweet.

Great idea on the belt conversion. The setup looks very similar to the accessory layout on a LS Corvette. The only issue I see with what you are doing is that the water pump pulley is often smooth so the belt can wrap around it on the driver side so you get more belt contact on the balancer. Can you get a Pontiac water pump set up for reverse rotation? You'd need that if you swap to the smooth WP pulley.

serpentine conversion
 

thanks for sharing your comments guys!
i really appreciate your interest in this project!

the flowkooler high flow water pump #1622 was the best choice for matching up with the mounting pattern on my old school pontiac timing cover.
the impeller in this pump is described as being bi-directional.
however, the backing plate arrangement controls the direction of coolant flow through the housing and this was originally designed for a clockwise rotating pulley.
could problems with coolant flow be encountered by reversing the pulley rotation? i don't know...
my impression is that it would be best to maintain the original direction of rotation at the water pump.
yes, to make this serpentine conversion work i must find a way to get enough wrap on all the pullies.
any other thoughts out there?
thanks for your input!
danny

transmission
 

this is the muncie 4 speed transmission from my mother's black goat.
it was rebuilt by Young's Gear and Drivelines of Fairbanks.
the shifter is in south carolina right now being refurbished by Hurst.
this is really just mock up stage: i haven't yet installed the flywheel, clutch or pressure plate.
the hydraulic throw out bearing and clutch master cylinder upgrade kit from Mcleod Racing should be here this week.
always moving forward...
thanks for your interest!
danny

clearance
 

the doug thorley headers extend about 1.5" below the oil pan.
i do not intend to hug the ground too close with this car.
the lowering springs i installed in the front suspension came with a pair of SPC spacers for each side which can be placed under the spring seat to adjust the height of the front suspension.
they are not installed at this time, but they're on-hand if i need to bring the ride up a little bit in the front.
the alignment of the header collector outlets with the transmission crossmember looks promising.
thanks for checking in on my progress!
please feel free to share a comment if you have one!
thanks,
danny

moving forward
 

it's time for another big step!

Mcleod:
hydraulic release bearing and clutch master cylinder upgrade kit

Butler:
MSD pro billet ignition kit

RobbMC:
1/2" fuel pickup and sending unit
pontiac mechanical fuel pump w/ 1/4" vapor return option
pontiac gen II mini starter

Hydratech:
hydraulic brake assist unit
cpp master cylinder

Ron Davis:
dual electric fan radiator
master grounding kit

Flowmaster:
2.5" american thunder exhaust
40 series mufflers

thanks so much for your interest in this project!
danny

Awesome project with great updates. Don't know what your engine build entailed, but if you running HP near 450+, I'd also look into running RobbMc's mechanical fuel pump as well. I use his products on all my Buick GS builds. Great products.

rear shocks
 

so glad to finally get my hands on these...
i'm almost finished assembling the rear suspension!

mcleod clutch kit
 

these look like good quality parts.
i'm not sure at this point that it will fit my application, but when i asked about the return policy i was told "if it doesn't fit just send it back."

driveshaft
 

this is the original driveshaft with fresh u-joints and a replacement slip yoke for the muncie.

Attachment 47236

Attachment 47237

thanks for checking in!
danny

the engine rebuilding was done by Rick and Randy at Port & Sons Machine Shop, the most experienced and reputable engine builders in interior alaska.
after they had the motor apart they told me they had never seen a pontiac engine this old in such good shape.
other than boring the cylinders out 0.030" over, it was rebuilt to stock pontiac specifications.
the 1968 pontiac owner's manual shows that this motor as originally designed and manufactured would produce 265 hp.
some of the upgrades i have planned may help produce additional power, but to be straightforward, i don't really have any high powered plans for the car at this point.
however, in the interest of preserving the potential for future upgrades i did purchase the 550 hp rated mechanical fuel pump from RobbMC.
i can tell from just talking to those guys on the phone that i'm fortunate to be doing business with them.
thanks for sharing your thoughts!
danny

robbmc mini starter
 

this looks like a very high quality unit with the added bonus that the solenoid is adjustable through 360 degrees on the housing, so i can put it wherever i want.
these guys also get big props for supplying a very good set of installation instructions.

Attachment 47506

driveline
 

went back through the driveline and got it all put together for good, starting with the pilot bearing...

Attachment 47507

this is mcleod's neutrally balanced steel flywheel.
the ring gear has 168 teeth.
it weighs about 30 pounds.
i ordered the mounting bolts to go along with it but they're 7/16" and my crank is machined for 1/2" fine threads.
thankfully, the holes in the flywheel were large enough to accept the 1/2" grade 8 bolts i bought at the hardware store.
i used a star washer under each bolt, applied a good amount of blue thread locker, and torqued them down to 85 ft/lbs using the conventional criss-cross pattern for a six-bolt flywheel.
after bolting it up i cleaned the friction surface thoroughly with dupont low temperature surface cleaner.

Attachment 47508

this is mcleod's 'street pro' clutch and pressure plate kit.
my bellhousing measures 6.25" so this setup should work fine with the bolt on hydraulic throw out bearing.

Attachment 47509 Attachment 47510

in order to use this hydraulic throw out bearing with the muncie, the diameter of the slider nut on the input shaft needed to be reduced from 2.00" to 1.80"
it was pretty easy to do that with my table mounted grinding wheel.

Attachment 47511 Attachment 47512

got the driveshaft cleaned up with the pneumatic wire brush.
i really like the way this polished steel looks with a little clear coat on top of it.

Attachment 47513

this flowmaster exhaust kit has been very easy to work with.
the mandrel bent stainless tubing appears to be very good quality and it all looks like it's going to fit my application pretty well.

Attachment 47514 Attachment 47515

it's really exciting to see this all coming together!

Attachment 47516

thanks for having a look at my work!
danny

fuel system
 

this is aluminum fuel line tubing.
i ordered the 1/4" line for the vapor return from speedway motors and the 1/2" line from jegs.
it's very easy to shape, but avoid excessive re-bending as this results in work-hardening of the material.

Attachment 47520

robbmc 550 hp rated mechanical fuel pump installed.

Attachment 47521

here's what the fuel line routing looks like on it's way to the rear end.
the cylinder clamped to the frame rail is a 100 micron fuel filter also from robbmc.

Attachment 47522

thanks for your interest!
danny

Coming along nicely Danny!