I am guessing at least another year, lot's of life gets in the way. Not complaining though, I have 5 kids and even though they take up alot of time they are are what lifes all about.
I did a few more things. First was to modify the seat to clear the raised tunnel and transfercase. I dissembled the seat down to the frame and cut apart the sheetmetal frame in the middle section. I left the top portion so it would still have the spring mounts, then reinforced it with 1/4 by 1 1/2 plate to strengthen it back up. This removed 1 1/8 inches from the height of the frame. Then I put it all back together, stretching the seat cover on was probably the hardest part. I like the seat tilted back more than stock so I turned 2 spacers to put under the front seat mounts. Sorry for not taking pics of the seat mods, but I was done before I thought about it. Needless to say, that little curve in the seat over the trans tunnel that looks so simple was 2 days worth of work.
Last thing I did was to install the throttle cable, gas pedal, and brake pedal. After moving the firewall back and up for the motor to fit I lost the original mount for the gas pedal as well as the fact that the cable would need to be located in a new place to fit and clear the new location of the motor. I moved the gas pedal mount over to the left and made a new spot for the cable to fit. I had to be pretty selective to find a spot for the cable that cleared the motor, since it's so close to the firewall and still mount to the engine properly. The pedals fit nicely and all seems to function as it should. It went really smooth and only took a couple of hours.
You're doing amazing work, Brent! Very cool build, probably my favorite going on right now, and I've been following since the beginning. That thing is going to be a cornering and accelerating monster when you're done. Love the stance with the fat tires on front, very mean looking.
So, it's been awhile and I have done quite a bit. Some stuff took way longer than it should have and some went pretty smoothly. First pic is $, I bit the bullet and bought a fiber glass hood. I spent 2 weeks trying to get an air filter to fit under the hood with the B4B. I cut out the bracing, tried remote setups, drop bases, offset drop bases, all a no go. Finally I went with a stock intake that lowered it 5/8 of an inch. Not much but just enough. I modded the intake by cutting out the plenum area and lowering the divider about 3/4 of an inch. Glad I bought the hood because all the weight I saved is now back on the engine with the intake, lol.
Next thing is silly detail stuff. I really don't think stickers on the center caps look that good, they just look, well, stuck on. I wanted a 3d look and something that could be original. So, I bought several Skylark vinyl roof emblems to use on the center caps. We filled the back of the cap with auto body epoxy to give it some depth, then machined out the center to set the emblem in. Then I used a textured paint and inset the emblem in the hole, 3d and could pass as factory.
With the stock intake I decided to use stock valve covers for the "all factory" look. Painted every thing up, got an air cleaner decal, and it looks pretty good. Yes the air filter is too small around, but it's the right height so I used it for mock up. A new K&N is on the way. The inner fenders are from an Oldsmobile, they used plastic which are lighter and easier to cut. Only problem is they don't properly fit, so a day later, in and out 4 times, lots of trimming and drilling we have inner fenders. Don't tell the Olds guys I butchered a cherry set of inner fenders.
You probably noticed I have the front clip on. Mocked everything up to check fit and build the radiator/fan setup. It all fits very well, I'm quite surprised I got it that close. The car sits very low and looks pretty sick on the ground. I did some cutting and trimming to get the hood scoop inserts to fit properly. It's not quite factory but will be fine for who it's for.
I have an aluminum radiator on the way, but used the factory one to mock up the electric fan. Decided to use fans from an 05/06 GTO, they fit great. Minor trimming and two small bracket tabs is all that will be required to fit. I set it up to drop into tabs on the lower core support and will make two tabs that will bolt to the original radiator hold down right where the fan shroud bolted on.
this is a crazy question... Is there any possible way that you can do a parts list of actually all about component to used to create this masterpiece?
Awesome Project! I also noticed the Sweet Wheels on the other Buicks you have back there! Any other pictures of the cars sitting back there? Or the Size of the wheels and tires? I love the look and stance. Looking at wheels while my Skylark is in for bodywork.
The wheels are 17x9 vintage wheel model 62, with 285 40 17 in back and 245 45 17 in the front. The dog dishes are for a late 70s Buick car.
love when people think out of the box!!!!!! awesome job. Love to see that car eating some cones on a course.
Pssshhh...I've seen better AWD 71 Buick Skylarks. Just kidding of course! Wow man....just WOW! Can't wait to see this thing rip.