More goat pics
DE 66 GTOPosted by Don Dillard Sat, January 19, 2013 16:41:14- Comments(0)//shopprojects.highway99hotrods.com/#post9
Dave’s GTO project came into the shop after having been in a couple of other places and getting stalled for various reasons. Body work had been done and it had a fresh paint job but, it was still mostly disassembled. The body was on the rolling chassis and a fresh tri-power 389 was strapped to the pallet it was shipped on.
The first task was to intall a Tremec TKO500 5-speed transmission. This included floor modifications to accommodate the floor shifter in this previously automatic equipped car. Then with the engine installed we added a complete dual exhaust system from Pypes. With a lot of attention to fit and detail this makes a great exhaust system. We modified a new core support to house an A/C spec radiator. Next up was to run the engine through the cam break in procedure.
About this time Dave gave his car a long hard look when it was parked next to Jared’s freshly painted Olds and we agreed that the body work under his fresh paint job wasn’t quite up to current standards. That’s a nice way of saying it was as wavy as a stormy sea. The only way to correct the problem was to start over so, we stripped it to bare metal and started over. Since he also wasn’t overjoyed with the previous color selection, we also picked a new color to give the car a richer look. Instead of the previous blue/green metallic it will now be a maroon metallic currently used on Cadillac Escalades.
Once we got all the paint and bondo stripped of it was apparent we needed to replace the tail panel and there were a couple of other body pieces missing that we needed to source before painting the car. With the body work and block sanding nearly complete the plan was to paint all the jambs with the body panels off the car, re-assemble it, do the final block sanding, and then spray the entire exterior of the car. I was preparing to spray the jambs of the fenders when I noticed this damage on the engine compartment side of the fender. I had to do a quick patch and repair before painting the jamb.
We’re building this 29 coupe for Jared’s mom, Carolyn. Quite a bit of work had been done on the car long ago but, none of it was finished and mush of it will have to be re-done. The chassis had 4-bars front and rear. The front axle was too wide and had 40 Ford front brakes. The rear was set up with coil over shocks and a Dana 44 rear axle. The body already had a Bitchin Products firewall installed and the top was chopped and filled. Unfortunately, the top was filled with a flat piece of sheet metal and covered with lots of body filler in a futile attempt to create the compound curve needed for the right crown.
I found a few shots on the camera that have not been published. These show the work that has been done on the rear tail lights and bumper. Also a few comparison shots with Ron Cole's stock bodied 40 deluxe coupe.
We got another stalled project in the shop to finish. Jim's Cobra kit has been in the local high school's auto shop since 2007. He just had the body painted recently so, it's time to get it done. The Factory Five kit is usually designed to use a Fox body Mustang as a donor car. This one has a few departures from that plan. It already has a 427 side oiler, a toploader 4-speed and a nine inch rear installed. Along with Wilwood pedals and master cylinders. Most of the kit's tin has already been riveted in and the steering is hooked up. That's about it, the rest will be up to us.
Ernie built this truck himself over a 17 year period. He just got it going recently and brought it into the shop for a gear change. The small block Ford and C4 combo was singing pretty good at freeway speeds with the 4.27 cogs in the Jag rear end. We swapped them out for a set of 3.08 spicer gears and now he can enjoy the tunes as he cruises down the highway in independently suspended comfort. You can read more about it in the December 2012 issue of NSRA's Streescene magazine on page 54.