My 76/77 Buick regals going to the darkside!

yeah when my car was tubbed out the guy used mono leafs from a Nova... it’s got 4.56 gears now. Sorry to side track the thread...

I do love this thread and I have a 75 Regal cruiser as well!

 

Im glad you love the thread. I actually have two identical threads going but one is on a Diymobileaudio site. I am doing a full sound quality audio system in this car and those guys are patiently waiting for me to get to that phase.

 

So peeved! What the hell is the purpose of paying for quick shipping if the product is not shipped out until 4 days later. I even called to make sure it was in stock.

I would have been able to redrill the axle this weekend and put the wheel spacers on with wheels to test fit but the damn drill kit was shipped out 4 days after I ordered it. I have everything else though.

 

Frustrating I know. Post a link to the audio thread I love that stuff too!

 

https://www.diymobileaudio.com/threads/1976-buick-regal-tribute-car.339226/page-10

 

I think I have decided what wheel and configuration I an going with. My original wheel choice was Way too much $$$ and not available in 5x4.75. After looking all around, I found a wheel that looks like the factory wheel but is bigger and billet. I am going to try to go with 20x10 wheels all round. with the 5.5 backspace, I will have to make sure the additional 1 inch on the inside of the front wheels will not rub. The good news is that the annoying 3 inch front and 4 inch fender gaps will be cut down to 1 inch front and 2 inch rear. I will then select the widest tire that will fit on the front and rear. I am not a fan of the stretched tire look so I am hoping to get at least an 11inch wide tire on the 10 inch wide wheel. that way I will have a little protection for the wheels and get that look of the old matchbox cars when I was a kid. I am 100% going with white lettering on the tires. The kits are not that expensive and I have loved that look since I was a kid.

I may go with the polished version of the wheel and spray satin ceracoat black to make it look more like the factory wheel. I already have the ceramic black from when I ceramic coated the headers. I may choose a gloss black too. That would look killer.
Billet Specialties AC39025 - Billet Specialties Legends Series Speedway Titanium Wheels with Polished Lip

 

And in other news... I have received my axle drill kit so I went out and bought the conversion u joint, 1/2in lugs and lugnuts. Also pictured are the 2inch and 1.5inch spacers that came in.

 

Looking good!

 

Exciting!!

I have finally figured out what I want to do about rear control arm ears that exist on the GM 10 bolt rear but not on the explorer rear. I have just purchased a couple of weld in Johnnie joints that are the same dimensions as the factory GM bushing. This will allow me to utilize my factory control arms for now. The plan is to replace my factory control arms eventually with fabricated adjustable control arms but for now, I do not feel like dropping the $500 that I will need in parts to do the job. I want that new rear end in NOW and do not want to wait any more time than needed. This will help me in a few ways.

- First, I can take my time picking out the exact parts for the final config. Hell, I have been looking at detroit speed control arms and I really like their design.I may choose to buy those instead.

-Second, this will have added freedom of movement with the rear end as it is.

-Third, I only have to spend the $124 for the parts with 2nd day shipping in order to get this thing going instead of over $500 plus more time.


So once the new bushings are here, I will make some simple gussets and weld to the bushings which will then be positioned on top of the rear end with the pinion set to where it needs to be. Once the axle is positioned correctly and the pinion is set, I will tack weld and then full weld them in.


So what will be the added benefit? by raising the rear control arm mounting points by about 2 inches, I will get improved instant center. This should greatly improve the traction by forcing the tires to plant down instead of raising up (squatting). The added benefit is all about the traction! It should make my rear end look pretty fancy too with more gussets. LOL!


here is a photo of the johnny joint.

 

Thank you much

 

After staying up far too late, I was able to accomplish two more milestones. I removed the 2nd short driveshaft from the 4.10 axle and successfully drilled 1 axle and rotor together. Tomorrow I will drill the other set and remove all old studs before pressing in the new studs. At that point, the axles can be re-installed and I can start re-assembling the axle. At some point in time I have to degrease and paint though. Probably once the upper control arm mounts are welded on.

 

Got tired and decided to take a drive instead of doing a bunch of work. I did get my new lugs pressed into one of the axles though.

 

Both axles are drilled and I decided not to drill another rotor. Since the rotor gets centered by way of its very tight fit on the center bore, I decided that the simplest method to get the rotor holes to fit the new lug pattern is to drill them bigger. It takes just a couple min to drill each rotor oversized using a step drill bit. This way, I will be able to just buy rotors for a 2001 explorer, drill them out and install very quickly.

I mounted a complete axle with the spacer and everything fits super snug with no issues.

My Johnnie joints came in too. I am now ready to start getting this thing painted and in the car. I need one more $4 adapter for the brake lines but everything else is good to go.

 

Cool! Your built reminds me of a fellow with a 73-77 Pontiac... he also did a LS and its turbod. These cars are very good, lots of people underestimate them!

 

I call them "The forgotten years". The EPA neutered the engines and many were destroyed at wrecking yards. There are damn near no parts for the body made these days. I love this car and the emergence of LS Swapping has given this car a new life.

One thing is for sure, these years are making a comeback. I have finally started seeing more of them on the streets. There is an amazing black monte carlo near my home. I love that thing.

Got any pics of the pontiac?

 

no I don’t have any pics, he’s on a Facebook group for turbocharged vehicles. I created the group but I got my account deleted for speaking the truth about politics. The group is called “turbocharged muscle cars and trucks”. Cant accept people into the group anymore as I’m blocked.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/643143299211400

 

Welded the two johnnie joints to some 3/8th straps. The plan is to cut them to the same angles as factory gm diff ears but I wont know the angle until I remove the gm 10 bolt. I just do not know what exact position that I want to put them in so right now (top or front of the diff) so I am not yet going to cut them.

 

Well that aint going to happen for me then. I am in the crowd of folks that believes that facebook is doing the devil's work....I refuse to join. SO I guess I will never see that pontiac then. Prefer to not talk about politics. That never ends well. It just is not worth it.

 

absolutely, agreed on all levels! Nice fab work I need to get practicing. My skills are at the beginner level but I have the tools....

 

Just do it!

There are two tools that I desperately need that would change the game for my car and fabrication work.

Lathe-so fricking many times I could have fabbed and modified parts. I find myself wanting and needing one more each day.

4 post car lift-No brainer, I am tired of laying on my back to work on cars. Especially in the winter. I also want to use it as a spray booth. I have plans drawn for a collapsible spray booth to mount under the lift.