Project HP 69 S/S Skylark

Discussion in 'Race 400/430/455' started by Graham, Feb 18, 2006.

  1. Graham

    Graham Registered User

    Other Side Still hot..
     

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  2. Graham

    Graham Registered User

    Rear Complete.. :TU:
     

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  3. Graham

    Graham Registered User

    Pic of Transmission cooling lines I had made today.. Cooler to follow & splice in.
     

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    Last edited: Mar 22, 2006
  4. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    Wow, every time you show another pic I am surprised! Nice!
     
  5. Sportwagon400

    Sportwagon400 Well-Known Member

    Looks great man :TU: :TU: :TU: :grin: The only thing I can see that i would question is why run the trans cooler in the rad I would run a seperate trans cooler and not even go in the rad ... It just adds heat to the cooling system


    Call me I am going to Portland April 6-7-8-9 you can come along if you want ..

    Ken K
     
  6. Todd69GS

    Todd69GS Silver Level contributor

     
  7. Graham

    Graham Registered User

    Thanks, I kinda figured that would come up. The tranny lines were plumbed in that way initially as a tranny cooler hadn't arrived yet and I had to get the whole set up commissioned. Havent drove the car yet but it will definitely have a stand alone tranny cooler before it hits the streets.

    Ken, I appreciate the Portland offer. I wish I could make it but unfortunately its crazy busy at work here and I was asked to work some extra days during that timeframe, or I would have gone. Also, I'll call you next set of days off and maybe we can swing that auto trade. :TU: Graham :)
     
  8. Graham

    Graham Registered User

    Rear end pic..
     

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  9. Todd69GS

    Todd69GS Silver Level contributor

    Wow a tilt wheel too. Going fast with class for sure. :TU:
     
  10. Jeff Kroeger

    Jeff Kroeger Active Member

    tilt wheel & trans. temp

    Yeah......tilt wheel AND power windows too ! That Graham is One Lucky Dog !

    Trans. coolers: The above posts recommended bypassing the radiator and using a stand alone cooler. I'm not saying this is wrong at all, while the theory behind it is plain to see.

    My GS was a 4 speed so I don't have a ton of automatic knowledge. However, I used to tow My car with a '69 SportWagon ( 400 / Turbo 400 ) and the cooler I planned to add seemed a bit small. So I called AMMCO transmission and talked to an old timer who had been there 25-30 years. He told Me that if You bypass the radiator that You're missing out on so much cooling there to begin with and defeating the purpose. That add-on coolers weren't designed with enough capacity to cool the entire trans. More or less saying that auxiliary coolers are just that....auxiliary or "supplementary". I also wonder how many cars are out there with the cooler not on the return line, as it's pretty senseless to cool the fluid before it hits the radiator. I think You'd be surprised. Now, I've seen PLENTY of "race only" cars running a seperate trans. coolers, but they have time to cool between runs. And every car has it's own set of variables. Again, I'm by NO means saying that these guys are off track.......I'm just adding My experience.

    In essense, I'd say that if You're going to run a stand alone cooler, then make it the biggest one that You can find. Also...it's clear to see that You've put a lot of work into Your car not to mention the serious cash outlay, a trans. temp gauge surely wouldn't be a bad idea. With a trans. temp gauge in place, You could find out for Yourself which is best way to go. Also, an oil temp would be good as well since Your oil temp will rise before You'll see it on the water temp. As to where to mount them ? I'll have to leave that up to You. I didn't like external gauges on My '69 but had no choice then to mount the oil temp. & press. on the hood. ( 4 other gauges plus a tach on the inside ) You have a 'glass hood so I know that may close some doors. You can put one 2 5/8 gauge just to the right of the parking brake release.

    Anyway..that's My three cents and hopefully I'll talk to Ya soon.
    Jeff
     
  11. Todd69GS

    Todd69GS Silver Level contributor


    Jeff is right. I just assumed that you would be going with a large stand alone cooler. You should always run a large cooler if you plan to use it alone. B&M has a very nice plate design cooler that uses AN fittings. Sometimes when you get into the larger heavier duty coolers they will use AN ports.
     
  12. Kelly Eber

    Kelly Eber I'd rather be racing

    You are not seriously thinking about using that tach where you have it mounted are you?

    You need to get that thing up where you can see it and the track at the same time. A lot can happen during the time it takes to look at the tach.

    I guess if you just go by the shift light and don't look at the tach that would work.
     
  13. 69GS400s

    69GS400s ...my own amusement ride!

    ....You guys missed the A/C, Rear Defogger, and Speed Alert !!!

    LOOKing GREAT Graham !! :beer :TU: :beer

    Ohhh - and I think you'll like this

    http://www.itnnetworks.com/a/bigburn8.wmv
     
  14. 69GS400s

    69GS400s ...my own amusement ride!

    ...A Clock too !! :bglasses: ...correct floor mats

    Do you need a '69 Shifter ??
     
  15. Jeff Kroeger

    Jeff Kroeger Active Member

    many replies / many people

    Totally reminded me of when we got married in the 69 GS 400 Conv in 2000! Thanks for the advice and support guys. Graham

    Graham ! If I would've only known that You were lookin' to get married............I would've married You just to be closer to the KEYS of Your sweet ride so I could swip'em for a moonlight spin after Ya go to bed. lol - jk

    Todd69 GS : Hey.....thanks for the "Jeff is right. I just assumed that you would be going with a large stand alone cooler...........".
    In general, I think it's important that credit goes where credit is due. Also, I'll be the first to it point out if somebody has a better idea, concept, etc. than I. It just felt good.....as moral standards seem to get weaker with time. Thanks Again.
    Also......somewhere down the line I'd like to start an album of '68-'69's and Yours being a convertable would be a great place to start. I bought My '69 in the summer of 1978 and have only seen two '69 converts in real life. One was in a boneyard 11 cars high ( stacked ) and was a Stage 1 also. That explains why I got special permission from the yard owner to go up after the heads. The other was a VERY clean medium blue - automatic car, but the owner put in this stupid looking 3" chrome tubing roll bar which just ruined the looks of the car. Anyway......

    Kelly Eber: You brought a very important issue to the table. Yeah, the tach is console mounted and out of direct view. The question is, what's being done about rev-limiting. I had a 4 gear car and used a MSD 3 step rev-limiter which I truley loved. I milled the front & rear sides of My shifter handle and mounted electric drill trigger switches to control the 1st & 2nd steps. The 1st and front with My fore finger, the 2nd with My thumb. The 3rd of course is the total of final rev limiter. Although, in a auto-trans car a 2 step limiter would be just fine. The 1st step for burn-out r.p.m., the 2nd for total. For the small amount of extra money to buy the 3 step, it's hard to resist. ALSO a neutral gate lock-out would be good. The "stock car style" way of doing this would be a hasp to hinge over and block the neutral gate. Then flip it out of the way to go into neutral,reverse, & park. Graham.....You're dealing with the same elements that I did before. I wanted to KEEP My factory options and features current & in working order. HOWEVER.....when building a street-strip / race car, the factory options become very diffuct to retain. One example of Mine was the steering back drive which locked the steering wheel AND the shifter. With My new ( at the time ) Hurst Super Shifter III, which mounted high on the tail housing, the back drive had to go as forming the 3/8 rods to accomodate the new shifter could easily become very involved. I guess the bottom line here is that I'd hate to see Ya accidentally over-shift going from 2nd to drive and then end up in NEUTRAL, under a load with Your foot on the floor.....without a good rev-limiter.
    Laters, J.
     
    Last edited: Apr 6, 2006
  16. Jeff Kroeger

    Jeff Kroeger Active Member

    Graham......
    About mounting electric drill trigger switches to control a multi-stage rev-limiter.......I had a solid steel shifter handle to mill the sides & mount these. You on the other hand have a factory "U" shaped shifter handle which is die cast and very brittle. You would probably be "OK" to drill it, but the radial pressure from tapping it may crack or break it. I think the screws I used for mine were #8's. That's just to fit the hole in the switch... the actual drill uses internal cast-in "pins" that locate the switch and then it all gets sandwiched together.

    I know from My own experience that find a good quality & selection can be tough today. You might be best to start the same type of place that I did ( electrical supplier ) and see what they have to offer in momentary switches.
    Good Luck, Jeff
     
  17. Todd69GS

    Todd69GS Silver Level contributor

    This is how we mounted ours. A small alum. bracket on the tach and holes drilled into the metal behind the dashpad then bolted it up. Not a lot of places to put a 5" tach and I didn't want it on the steering column.
     

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  18. Todd69GS

    Todd69GS Silver Level contributor

    Graham have you ever considered using a Hurst quarter stick or something similiar and modifying it to fit into a stock console. I know it wouldn't be correct but it would look cool to have a race shifter mounted into a stock console and it would give you the reassurance of not putting the car into nuetral while you are racing and shifting.
     
  19. Graham

    Graham Registered User

    Todd, Thats a very good idea, I'll look into that.
    Nice job mounting that tach, yea its tough finding room in the '69's.
    Jeff, good ideas, and by going to a different style shifter, that switch may already be incorporated.
     
  20. Todd69GS

    Todd69GS Silver Level contributor

    Well it would probably take some modifying of the console since the stock unit is a horse shoe type shifter. What if you entirely took out the section where the stock shifter goes and made up an alum., or sheet metal plate to go in its place. Then you could slot it in the middle for a Quarter Stick or something similiar. You could paint the plate to match the console and it would look very clean.
    Maybe check out www.chevelles.com since the Chevelles used the horse shoe shifter as well and maybe some of those guys have done some mods to theirs.
     

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