[boostmaster]

Good News; my PHS packet arrived today... Not sure if I'm very thrilled with spending $65 bucks for such limited info... Most of it was already a known quantity... Oh well... Live and learn. At least I can confirm that the engine is numbers matching so, I assume the rest will be as well (I'll double check of course)

I guess the big part now is to figure out how much body work needs to be done...
Any body experts here? I can post some ugly pics.

[Blue1967GTO]

The PHS is a great value - it confirms and proves what you actually have. Chevy guys would pay a fortune for such knowledge. Even if the only thing it did was confirm your matching numbers that is worth more than $65 for that alone.

Looks like you do have some body work ahead of you. No matter how bad it looks it's always twice as bad after it's taken apart. Don't ask me how I know...

[boostmaster]

We've played around with a few cars but this one is the first 60's car we've tried.

We're still mulling over how to build. The only thing that is 100% certain is that lots of body work needs to be done and we're contemplating blasting or dipping the body to make sure all the rust issues are address properly the first time- (ie: the ONLY time)-- I won't do this twice.

[boostmaster]

Here's a few pics:

Where can I find a new steering wheel like this one? I've looked at the py and ames catalog. No perfect match.

Take a look at custom body work in the rear quarters.... Nice huh? (Gives new meaning to "custom")

Also, do you think the trunk can be saved?

[boostmaster]

After reviewing my PHS materials I wanted to post what is supposed to be there to see if maybe some of you guys might be able to post a pic of what I'm supposed to have or what these items are supposed to look like:

1. Radio push button and manual antenna- radio is there, antenna is broken- (what does this antenna look like?)
2. Air Cleaner Dual Stage Heavy Duty- all there
3. Custom Foam Cushion- front
4. Seat Belts- Custom front and rear. - They were silver with raised coach emblems on the buttons (they were trashed so I threw them out) Catalogs say a different model is supposed to be correct (anyone have info or any pics?)

5. Deluxe Wheel Discs (have no idea what they should look like)
6. Deluxe steering wheel (mine is cracked all over and the catalogs don't seem to have a replacement)- any ideas?
7. Power steering- all there from what I can see
8. Glass, Soft ray -windshield only (is this the green tint one?)- mine is missing
9. Tires 7:65 x14- white (I'm assuming white walls?)

Color is S S (Champagne Gold/ Gold Interior - I'm guessing the carpet too?)
Trim is - Z15 (not sure what this means)



All I've got so far. If anyone has ideas, pics, links etc. please post... I have spoken with the body shop and the rest of the gutting begins tomorrow!! I'll be taking lots of pics...

[boostmaster]

So, we managed to get a little bit of work done today... Really quite a pleasure- no rusted bolts, nothing stripped or damaged, no fighting, even with the exhaust...Everything is coming along smoothly.
Even the exhaust looks like it's stock and in decent condition...
Hopefully we can have the rest of the electrical, dash and trim out tomorrow...

[Andre]

Please go and get your seat belts out of the trash. You will need them for cores if you want to run original looking seat belts. Send them to me if you don't want them.

[fyrffytr1]

There are people here that do steering wheel restorations. The tinted windshield is green at the top. Best price on it is at this site: http://www.autocityclassic.com/
Here is a scan of the deluxe wheel covers from the Restoration guide. Even though it is for GTO's, this guide would be a good thing to have as it helps with a lot of the little details like what gloss paint to use for different parts.

[boostmaster]

Andre: The seat belts are gone already. Only had the rears And they were really trashed. They seemed to be rusted solid and were stained with who knows what especially considering the mess we pulled out from under the rear seats. I hate throwing stuff away as I always worry that it's the one piece that I won't be able to find again... But these belts were nasty.

fyrffytr: As for the resto guide, I do have it along with every other book I could find. As par for the course, it is my experience that the service manuals are only helpful once in a while ad that they are usually useless with "real world" instructions. For example, we removed the lower rocker trim yesterday. We knew it had clips but didn't want to push or pull to hard and bend the delicate trim. After reviewing all the books for a preferred procedure I ended up using a 2x4 lengthwise and tapping it gently to pop the trim off. Worked perfectly!

Anyway, thanks for the heads up on the wheel covers.

As for the steering wheel, we were looking at tackling the resto ourselves but it may beyond my limited abilities- especially if we want it to look correct. I went to ebay and found some selling as high as $650! What should a decent resto run? If I'm looking at that much, I may as well give it a shot myself....

BTW, any ideas on the Z15 trim code?

[boostmaster]

More work completed yesterday. Pulled the dash, the doors and some wiring. Still need to finish the wiring removal and the rest of the trim and schedule a trim to the sandblaster... Should be ready to go in another week or two....

Now just need to start sourcing the bits and pieces necessary to put the car back together.

Anyone have opinions on suspension? (besides a $7k air ride set up) I'm wanting to go stock or as close as possible but if there are some improvements I can can make that still appear stock I would consider them...

[fyrffytr1]

PST sells a polyurethane bushing kit that will tighten up the ride. I used KYB Gas-adjust shocks and painted them grey to resemble stock ones. If you decide to replace the tie rod ends make sure you get the correct inners with the zerk fitting in the end of the tie rod. If not you will have problems greasing that joint.
Someone on here said they were going to use a 90 degree fitting in the back of the tie rod. I don't know if they have tried it yet. Maybe it will work but, I don't think there is very much space for it to clear the frame and other suspension parts.
Hopefully the other PYer will chime in and let us know.

[boostmaster]

I plan on redoing all the bushings as everything is pretty well worn. However, after looking at the prices, we were wondering if it would be feasable to upgrade a bit.

My other concern is that if i want to stay 100% stock, then keeping a crappy suspension might be required. So, my though was to see if I could add or upgrade a few items to keep is appearing stock while adding a little bit better handling.

For Example: I have been told by the restoration shop that they own some older cars and that they still maintain the 4 wheel drums and the cars stop fine... Not sure how but, that's I'm working with... I don't even have a brake booster... (Bear in mind this is my first 60's car so my points of reference are newer cars with modern tech)...

[boostmaster]

Finally finished the rest of the trim. What a PITA!! And pulled the door guts off... Yippee. I think that's as far as I'm going to go with the tear down. I'll let the body shop have something to do as well. They should get the car this week and start the sandblasting. I will have them give me back the frame so we can assemble it while they do the body work on the rotisserie. I'll be doing a tear down of the engine today and will start looking for a decent "Pontiac" engine builder that can get the block prepped and ready to go.

Anyone have a recommendation for a builder? Ideally one that is close...

Here's a few pics....

[boostmaster]

Also discovered that this car still has the original exhaust, no holes! I may have to keep it too.

And found that there are some old replacement Sears shocks in the rear with air lines...

Could this be the Superlift option? My resto book says RPO code for this year is 634. I don't see it... Any thoughts?

[boostmaster]

Body is on rotisserie. All the body bolts came off easily! Yippee...
Now comes the expensive part (or at least one of the expensive parts- LOL)

I cannot do body work nor do I have the facilities to even attempt it so it's gone to the experts... I will be doing as much as I possibly can in order to keep my costs in check so hopefully this won't turn into too much of a money pit.

Here's the latest:

[fyrffytr1]

Those look like aftermarket air shocks. I upgraded from front drums to discs without any modifications and kept the old drums in case the next owner wants to go back. My car had power brakes so it came with a booster.
I am pretty sure you can get a kit to add power front discs and it will have everything you need.

[boostmaster]

Resto shop thinks the shocks were used to bolster the worn springs...

My initial plan was to do 100% original. Been kicking around the idea of upgraded suspension and brakes... Pros and cons?

[ERIC AULL]

Pros: readily available parts, nicer ride. Cons: won't be original (which it won't be anyway)....have it your way! Enjoy,Eric

[boostmaster]

I got to thinking about it more when I was removing the old original bushings from the control arms... Those ball joints seem to be riveted in...

I was thinking how much easier it would be to buy them all done...

[boostmaster]

Update: I've been busy with other projects for a while so I figured I should have some update on this one.

This week the car should have been blasted. I go to the body shop tomorrow. I also will be dropping off the rest of the suspension & brake parts to be cleaned up and painted... Hopefully I'll have the frame back shortly - blasted and painted for my suspension and hardlines and then it will be ready to go.

If I have good news tomorrow, I'll post some more pics.