power steering
 

the original power steering gearbox appears to be in reasonably good condition.
it worked fine and did not leak when i shut the car down for disassembly, so i see no reason to break it open right now.
i'll remove the rag joint when i decide what to do about the steering column and shaft.

i have read about upgrading the internals for a faster ratio, but no one here in town does this work and i do not want to send it off in the mail.
for now i'll just go with the original equipment and keep it in mind for an upgrade later on down the line... once the car is back on the road.
what do you think?
is this a sensible approach given the circumstances?
thanks for your thoughts!
danny

Great work
 

Amazing work, the history of the car is great as well. Cant wait to see the finished project.

steering linkage
 

tie rods and steering arms are in place...

trimmed down the front gussets on the upper A-arm mounts to eliminate sharp contact while front suspension is drooping...

brake/fuel lines
 

pulling the old lines out of cold storage... these are the really fun parts of building a car in alaska in the winter!
danny

brake/fuel lines
 

brake and fuel lines are eligible for retirement... not planning to re-use any of it.
i'll probably just get some straight tube and a tubing bender and see what i can do with it.
danny

That car was really important to your parents. Thank you for sharing real life story. Keep up the good work!

good to see another person from Alaska building a gm A body. keep up the good work :thumbsup:

Great story and progress! You're lucky that your folks drove, IMO, the best looking GTO ever made. In 1979 my folk's family car was a Datsun F-10, ha ha!

RE: your questions....

1- Gas tank. x2 on the black. It'll help hide it...

2- steering. I'd look into either sending that out for rebuilding with a faster ratio- or replace it (new if the budget allows) or if used- then look for a later model box like out of a 90's caprice cop car, etc. There are some articles online that will tell you the specifics of what can be swapped. Car Craft also wrote something on this a couple of years back. With all the suspension upgrades you're doing it'll be worth it to have a faster steering ratio. You'll be happy you spent the time to do this when the car is apart.

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...g_box_upgrade/

power steering
 

the power steering pump and gearbox are both on their way to lee mfg. in california for the 12.7:1 upgrade.
it looks like the whole operation, including shipping, will cost about $1000.
thanks for the solid advice guys.
i really appreciate it.
danny