Earlier today I have finally accomplished a major milestone. A journey that has been 14 years in the making. Has seen many changes in my life like buying a house, marriage, losing jobs, divorce, unemployment because of the economy and having to move back home. After finally getting my life in order I took the plunge. I decided to get the original engine for my W-31 rebuilt to Pure Stock Drag Racing specs. Well the day has finally come. Earlier today my engine breathed its first breath while sitting between the fenders of the very car that it started life with when it rolled off that Lansing assembly line in May of 1969 (under the watchful eye of Dave H perhaps?). 100 octane racing fuel never smelled so good. And it sounds AWESOME!!!!!! I am absolutely stoked to say the least. The next step, which will be equally exciting is the first drive. After bleeding the brakes and doing a few minor things I hope to make the maiden voyage this coming weekend. And you can bet your ass, I'll be repaving a small portion of pavement in Aurora, IL!!!!! :laugh: :laugh: :beer I hope to be posting a few pics this evening.
Chris, CONGRATS!!!!!!!! I was there to hear the motor on the stand at Jim's this summer and I was honored you called me today to hear it run in the car. Hopefully my project (what project the reader's ask?) won't take as long Matt C.
No pics here Some box though telling you no remote linking allowed, and you need to upgrade your account?
Congrats, Chris. I was there then, so probably did see it without realizing I'd see it again. What I wouldn't give to have some video of that assembly line and see these things coming down one right after another. I recall one day we were building 70 Pace cars every 10th car. The sounds at the test rolls were awesome. I used to pull cars off the line for random checks for wheel alignment and balance. Usually tried to pick a good one. Also helped with a friend or relatives' car when it came down the line to make sure it got all the special audit checks. I love the smell of Turbo Blue when I start mine. Even if just to move it in and out. You can post pics directly here from your hard drive by clicking the box below entitled "manage attachments". You'll probably have to edit down the size of the file, but that's no biggee. Plan to have this at Martin in the Spring? I think I'm also going to make Atlanta (Commerce) again. Hopefully it'll still be cold enough to require long pants, so I can take that off my checklist for racing.
stupid free website :blast: guess you get what you pay for. Thanks Dave. I'll try to attach pics then. Yep, filesize is way too big. In the meantime, here are the direct links 3rd times a charm??? o No: http://grp442.20megsfree.com/cgi-bin/i/100_0874.JPG http://grp442.20megsfree.com/cgi-bin/i/100_0894.JPG
Chris Very cool :bglasses: Glad to see another Olds. And Dave why do I get the feeling you "high speed tested" my pacecar 34 years ago ou:
Noel, Somehow, I get the feeling that Dave skipped yours and went for the 442 variant. Nothing like breaking a fresh set of tires! :3gears:
Rusty, Yea Rusty you maybe right. But our car is one of the factory 62 cars made with the 455 option :Brow:
Thanks. yep. should have the car ready. I'll be buying the rest of the OAI stuff in the next few weeks, so that only leaves the repro poly glas tires I still need to get. Whether they let me run or not all depends on the "presentable appearance" aspect as I know my car is borderline. Hey, it's an original paint car. Not as nice as yours Dave, but original paint.
Hey Noel, You have any pics of your 68 H/O progress? Well, other than the pics that were on the ebay auction.
Buy your scoops from Mike's 442. He's on ebay all the time. They're a little pricey at $395, but come complete with all the brackets and chrome bead trim already on them. The others (I think from Parts Place) are horrible, and you still have to buy the brackets and the moldings. Typical 20/20 parts. (20MPH, 20 feet away they look good). I think I may have a set of original 69 scoops out in the back garage. Bought them from Greg Godon a coupla years ago. Can't use them on my 68 W30.
The guys name is Mike Siedlik and he is in the Nebraska chapter. Cool guy and has some very cool cars. He has a '67 442, trac-pac car,red, 4-speed, with a set of Hurst wheels. His was done up by Highway 61 and was a limited number car known as the "Hurst Hustler". Their website is the Good Olds Days . :TU:
yep. I know Mike. He's been working on those scoops for many years. I was planning on buying the complete setup from him for $500. At the OCA Nats in Cincy in 2003, his swap space was right by mine. Had his Hurst Hustler there. Thats when I finally got to see the scoops in person. And got to see him stand on them. I would have bought them then, but unfortunately at that time I was unemployed.
The exterior is not very pretty. You don't want to see it. :grin: Actually, months ago I started the "dilemma, to rebody or not" thread regarding my W-31. So here are some pics to look at. The exterior is basically unchanged. I have lowered the rear end, removed the cargo coils and installed a pair of rear springs from my 69 442 parts car. I also have a set of SSII I want to put on. I just like those better than the SSI. In the interior I have swapped out the rear seat with a black one that doesn't have the stuffing coming out. I also put cheapy seat covers over the buckets. The steering wheel in the pics has been replaced with a 68 model. I have a blue 69 sport wheel that will be going on.
I Like it! Chris, I think it looks great. That color combination is one of my favorites. Is the hood stripe blue or black? I agree on the SSII change. The 70-72 SS1's look great, but the 66-69's look goofy without the extra offset on the outer edge. Same goes for the 70-72 SSII vs the 68-69 SSII, but not as bad as the SS1 difference. Tough call on the body, but with the parts car, and a good bodyman, you should be all set. You may want to have him exchange the entire rear clip if it's all good on the oarts car. Inner wheelwells are available as repros otherwise. We did that on a 65 442 convt that got slammed in the back (after restoration) and it really came out great. Splice in at factory weld seams if possible. We used everything from the door jambs rearward, but left the top mechanism and inner sheet metal around the rear seat intact. Probably pretty fast with all that rustout. :Brow:
Dave, I've seen Chris' car up close and personal and have seen his 442 parts car as well. I think he is planning on grafting the whole rear of the car from the parts car to the W31 as you stated. We both cringe at the body shop bill but know that this car deserves a top notch resto. Matt
