I got the final remnants of my parts car removed and taken to the scrap yard, sold most of the rest of the parts, and boxed up what I wanted to keep. That was a big one-year-long distraction. My 1961 LeSabre is at the upholstery shop getting some some stuff fixed so I have plenty of room in the shop. So yesterday I decided to start chipping away at the long list of things I have been wanting to install, fix, or improve on my 1967 GS400. We will see how much I get done before winter's over. THE LIST Install tilt steering column (from parts car) Get self cancelling turn signals to cancel Flush cooling system & diagnose overheating problems Install rebuilt carb Touch up engine paint Install smog pump Sort out heater hose lengths Get seat belts restored Re-plate and reinstalled original brake booster Plate hood latch Flush brake system Electronic ignition in distributor Install correct hose clamps Install greenline gauges Install correct mirror *Forgot a couple of things: Un-install transmission shift kit Install correct transmission oil pan Replace sketchy looking transmission cooler lines ** Forgot one more thing: Install re-chromed front bumper from parts car. I already fixed a leaking hose for the convertible top. As these things do, that project expanded into "might as well get the seat belts fixed while I have the back seat out" type project. So I boxed up the belts and am sending them to Ssnake Oyl (how'd they ever come up with that name?) to get the buckles restored and new webbing sewn in. I included a couple of seat belt labels out the parts cars to replace the originals that were missing. I will get them shipped out after Christmas shipping mayhem dies down.
I started by removing the manifold for repainting. Before: The picture shows the carb that's going to go away. Its correct for a '67 but is for a 49 state automatic car and my original carb is for a California car with automatic. I was running this carb while my original was getting rebuilt. You can also see the repop booster. The stamped "triangles" on the face of the booster are pointier than the originals. You can tell them apart if you know what you are looking for. I also have a new radiator cap shown in the photo. The car has had some overheating issues. So I drained the cooling system so I could fix some of the hose clamps. The original radiator cap looked like this: You can see that the top flange is cracked. Might explain the overheating.
OK so this is where things start to deviate from the original plan. That didn't take long. A couple of the engine harness connector looked like they had melted. Must have been a small fuel fire with the previous owner. The switch-pitch switch was still making clickey noises when actuated but looks like a roasted marshmallow. Compare the switch from the parts car to the one below it from my car: So I am going to swap parts from the parts car switch/lever assembly onto my car. Might as well paint or plate the metal parts while I am at it, right? It looks like the throttle link that clips onto the carb was originally zinc plated. I can't tell how the lever assembly that the switch-pitch switch is mounted to was originally finished. Might have been zinc plated, maybe black phosphate. Does anyone know?
While I was scratching my head on the correct finish for the switch pitch lever I decided to tackle something else. I removed the incorrect driver's side mirror so I could bolt on the correct NOS 1967 mirror that I bought a while back. Not so fast. WRONG MIRROR: HOLES LEFT OVER FROM WRONG MIRROR: Plenty of freaking holes but none of them line up with my NOS mirror. I am guessing that big hole in the middle means that a remote mirror was installed at some point. I have a '67 remote mirror around somewhere, I will have to dig that out and see if it fits. Previous owner put new door panels on the car and there isn't a hole for the remote mirror escutcheon so who knows. One of life's little mysteries. I may have to stay with the fugly incorrect mirror for now.
I really like the 67 body style, the color on yours is cool too. It seems that as old as our cars are, in many cases there have been several restorations, modifications and remediations that leave one scratching one's head and wondering - just what were they thinking, or what was this originally supposed to be? I find that the detective work is part of the challenge and almost as satisfying as the mechanical work.
Stacy, I see things under the hood I can advise you about. It's actually pretty good under there. I'll send you a PM.
I sand blasted the intake and some of the brackets today: After sandblasting: Rinse to make sure to get any sand out before paint: Ready for paint. Not sure if you can tell from this angle but it looks like someone ground clearance for a different carb just to the right of where the choke stat goes. I believe this is the original manifold for the car, which was built in September of '66. Manifold date code =G22 which would have been July 22. I got enough paint on the manifold to keep it from rusting; I will come back and hit it with a few more coats before I call it good. I squirreled away a half dozen cans of Krylon Buick red before it disappeared. It isn't an exact match but it's what my valve covers are painted with and I don't want to repaint them.
I applied a little paint stripper, steel wool, metal polish, and elbow grease to the power steering cap. It was painted black. I see how this goes now. Now I can see how bad the paint looks on the power steering pump itself.
The devil is in the details aint it?? Looks great so far. I know some guys are nuts about that red paint. Id use some zinc primer, the reglar' ol' red as a base, then cover with the "squirrel red". I use the Rustoleum Cherry Red and it looks good. Nice 'n bright! One question is, what are you using in the parts washer? Will it freeze? I use #2 diesel and a gallon evaporates every year plus it stinks. ws
It's some kind of non petroleum-based stuff from Northern Tool. A 5 gallon buckets costs about $70. I know because I had to buy some yesterday to replace what had evaporated over the past year or so. It doesn't stink though. Not sure if it will freeze. My garage is heated so I hope to never find out. I keep it at about 48 degrees when I am not in there working.
I have to order a new PCV grommet for the manifold, the old one was cracked and hard. I painted the manifold without all of the fittings installed. Does anyone know what was on a 1967 400 engine originally when it was painted? For instance was the little brass 90 degree fitting at the back of the manifold painted or should it be natural brass, without paint? You can see it was painted in the first photo of the manifold but I am not sure if it was repainted later or it was original. Also - I cannot believe how the connection for the transmission vacuum lines works. It looks like it's just a length of hose with the steel vacuum tube jammed into it at the manifold. I should probably replace it while I am at it. Is it just a short length of hose or is it actually a specially molded part?
The Oldsmobile guys have an acronym for this, MAW (Might As Well). It seems it's a common thing, you start to do something and then you reason that you might as well fix something else while you're doing the thing you initially started. Sometimes, people get carried away. The cap looks better. Don't touch the finish on the PS pump brackets, that's rare to see, and correct. I'm not sure about the fitting finish or what's on my car now. I think the right angle fitting was probably natural, because if no PB that would have been a plug. The modulator hose is not real special, but different than regular vac hose or fuel hose. There's somebody on Ebay who was selling small molded pieces for that ap. Small thing, but the coil studs for the wires should be like pointing at the fenders, straight across. I only mention it because it's probably easier to do now. The voltage regulator cover should say Delco-Remy in staggered words. I'm not really big on worrying about dated parts like that, and personally I prefer electronic regulators, because I drive my cars. But, it's nice to have the right looking cover. You can drill the rivets and use bolts or just swap the cover out. An original cover has the right word style and las I knew repros didn't.
I have a couple of extra voltage regulator regulators, I will just have to paint and swap the caps. I didn't even realize I had the wrong cap on my convertible. Does your car have a dashpot that operates against the throttle lever on the driver's side of the car? Mine appears to be missing. I have one, I either came from the parts car or a 455 I bought for a crankshaft, not sure which. I will have to see if it fits. I figured that out after looking at a photo from a Hemmings article:
Stacey, I haven't had a chance to look my own car over well yet. But from memory, yes...a dashpot like that, red bracket, I think. That's a good pic to see the special piece over the choke linkage on the Qjet. That gas line is spliced. You can see the choke rod I spoke about before on the thermostat, that's how it should be. You are missing the assembly line engine hoist bracket at the front left of the intake. Your heater hose should fall into the clip on the heater box that's empty. The brake booster check valve should be straight.
TPP has the dashpot bracket. Just put one on order. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1967-72-Bu...h=item520759a926:g:ff8AAOSwbVNbSY0m:rk:1:pf:0
Now I'm thinking about that booster valve more, and I remember there was a problem. I think it was that the straight valves have a bigger hole in the booster. My car was messy under the hood and I was on an ambitious schedule of a few months to prep it for the BCA Nats. No time to send the original booster out for plating. Could not get a repro booster with the right size hole 10 years ago. I think I opened that hole for the straight valve to use it.
Yeah the parts car had a 90 degree fitting so I am pretty sure 90 degree fitting is correct. What's the consensus on pipe dope, teflon tape, or nothing at all on the pipe thread fittings that go into the manifold?
A dab of pipe dope (no tape!) and wipe off the excess before you thread it in. The vacuum modulator line has a ring on the trans side and that fits into a fitting that accepts the OD of the trans line with a short rubber tube (sleeve) sealing the both together. The first pic is incorrect, and the next two were just a brakeline fix without the depth ring. The OEM MOD tube was kinked and un-usable. ws
I boxed up the original brake booster to send out for plating and rebuilding. I also sent out the following parts for re-plating: Black Zinc Heater hose routing clips and screws Wire harness routing clip for passenger side valve cover Clip that holds the switch-pitch switch to the mounting bracket Radiator top plate bolts Condensor clip for voltage regulator Zinc Phosphate Throttle linkage (the piece that clips onto the carb from the throttle linkage assemble) Battery cable block sheet metal piece that bolts to passenger's side of engine Zinc Dichromate (Gold Iridite) Master cylinder lid Choke stat linkage Clear Zinc Choke stat housing Voltage regulator screws Not sure if this is 100% correct but it's the best I could determine by looking at the parts and photos online. Let me know if you think I got anything wrong. All of the miscellaneous brackets that mount to the manifold are painted Buick red with the exception of the dashpot bracket which is still inbound from The Parts Place. I am having trouble getting engine paint to stick to the original die cast aluminum thermostat housing. Its got some weird fish-eye spots and the paint doesn't seem to cure all the way. I may have to strip it and start over.
