I went the same route on my '70. Couldn't be happier! Keep up the good work! :TU: I don't remember if the rubber hose to caliper hard lines came with mine . . . did your set come with those? I just looked at my chassis manual and it says my car is supposed to have them . . . I guess I'll have to look in the morning, even though I know it's gonna bug me all night long!
Hutch- Yes, the small line that hooks the rubber line to the master cylinder came with my set. Inline Tube seems to do it right. I had minor tweaking on some of the lines, but most were right on. Randy
Getting ready to install engine and trans this weekend. That will be followed closely be the new Gardner exhaust system. Standby for updated pics. The bodywork is in progress at GSJoe's. More rust than we thought- isn't that always the case??
Looking forward to seeing those pics. I did a search on the Gardner Exhaust. http://gardnerexhaust.com/1971-buick-exhaust-system.html They don't list prices. What did your system cost roughly ? Also I see they have some good looking repo N-25 Exhaust tips.
Randy, In looking over the pictures I saw that there was some rear crossmember braces like you get with the F-41 package. Is that something you added or were they already on your convertable?
Michael- those braces were on the car when I got it. I assume they were original to the car, although I have no way to know. Thanks for looking.
Randy, Looking good . Mike the braces from the crossmember to the rr control arms are on all big block cars to ontrol rear wheel hop.Joe:3gears:
Well, I finally ran out of excuses and installed the rebuilt 400 engine and T-400 transmission, both numbers-matching to the car. I actually got tired of moving the engine stand around the shop, so I decided to move it to its' permanent home. With the help of my lovely wife- and an old coffee table, the long-planned install went off without a hitch. I picked up the freshly-painted trans with my engine hoist and put it on my custom, 1970's era coffee table/trans support table (hey, whatever works). I installed the torque converter (after filling with 1 qt. Wolf's Head Dex III). I made sure the converter was seated all the way on the shaft and the 2 tabs were engaged. Next, I rolled the engine stand as close to the trans as possible and picked the engine off the stand with the engine hoist. That made it easier to maneuver the engine to mate the trans. (Note- this is the first time in about 15 years that the original engine and trans have been mated as the car had a replacement 455 in it when I bought it). Once the 6 bolts were torqued, I picked up the entire package and we rolled the chassis under the hoist- I left the chassis on the wheel dollys- made it much easier to position it exactly where we needed it- leaving the engine hoist stationary. I intalled the rear trans mount to the trans first (much easier to bolt it to trans this way) and dropped the rear mount on the crossmember, hand screwing the bolts from underneath. This held the rear in position while I lowered the hoist. The engine mounts dropped right on the frame pads-- 'like butter' as Pauly says. I still need to torque the converter to the flex plate and torque the engine mount bolts. Next, I'll measure for the driveshaft shortening that must be done to fit the 8.5, 10 bolt 3.42 rearend. Then, I'll install the original-style Gardner Exhaust system that's sitting in the boxes waiting patiently to make cool sounds. With a few other odds and ends, that will complete the rolling chassis. GSJoe is expertly fighting his way through the bodywork on the body shell at his shop. I'm still lacking a left, rear wheelhouse to complete the bodywork. If anyone knows where I can get one, PLEASE IM me. Thanks for looking and following my build progress- it's been a blast so far. Randy
Richard- the system was about $729 plus $100 shipping- it's really nice- great quality. Great people to deal with. I got the 2 1/4 front and 2 1/2 back sizes- all stock system. Randy
Thanks, I'll keep them in mind. I have a long ways to go yet for exhaust. The engine install looks great.
Randy now thats another reason to keep her ......numbers matching car that is..... Sorry we couldn't get over to help busy weekend and finally went back to work.Still want to show my son Adam what you've done someday.
Update. I pressed out the driveshaft u-joints in preparation for new u-joints and driveshaft shortening. Since the diff yoke is a little longer on the 10 bolt rearend that's in the car now (vs. the 12 bolt that was in the car when I got it), I need to have about 1" taken off the driveshaft. There's a local place that does the work- but I need to wait until the body is back on the chassis to get an accurate measurement for the shortening. In the meantime, I'll media blast and prime the driveshaft. Next step is the exhaust system install- pics to follow. Randy
The exhaust looks good too! Stock appearing as well. I had the opportunity to stop over and meet Randy and check out the progress. Everything is new and looks great! Pleasure meeting you and great job!
Update. I finally installed the Gardner exhaust system in the chassis. I got 2 1/2" exhaust pipes to the mufflers and 2 1/4" tail pipes. It fit perfectly the first time- great quality in the pipes and hangers. Everything is as original. The packaging was great- heavy duty boxes, everything completely wrapped in plastic sleeves. They are a first class company to deal with- their product is great. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a stock-style exhaust. Their prices are a little higher than some others, but well worth it IMHO. This completes the chassis assembly. Kinda sad as I really enjoyed working on the chassis. I'm waiting for Joe to complete the body panel repairs and paint the body. I was fortunate to find a rear wheelhouse that he needed to replace the rusted-out one. That should be the last piece of that puzzle (I hope).ray: In the meantime, I'll start cleaning up interior components so the reassembly will go quicker. The bumpers are already rechromed and the I had the radiator re-cored, so it's ready to install. Randy
