Thursday, May 12, 2011
Beautiful Day In NY
The shop corrected the short and it really has been get in it and she fires right up. Looking forward to a little afternoon drive as soon as this call ends.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
She's in the shop
Hard to believe I didn't have my 68 out all year last year, but its at the shop getting inspected... The shop found a short in the left door jam light switch (of all things); the brake pedal went to the floor and new master cylinder on the way. Toyed with idea of disc brakes, but not wanting to dump $1000 this year... also they are going to dig into that tail light socket issue since its up on the rack.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
GTO Hood
Bought a GTO Hood from eBay for $100. It has some rust, but overall not in bad shape for the price -- that coupled with the fact I could do a local pickup saved another couple hundred dollars.
I am not thinking of creating a GTO clone per se, not that there were tons of cosmetic differences between a Le Mans and a GTO, I just think the GTO hood gives the 68's alot more character.
I am not thinking of creating a GTO clone per se, not that there were tons of cosmetic differences between a Le Mans and a GTO, I just think the GTO hood gives the 68's alot more character.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Header Leak
Oh the joys of owning a 40+ year old car... it has been running well and I've been enjoying the car being more reliable but last week it developed a header leak. When I had the exhaust done a couple of years ago, the exhaust guy said they are prone to leak..
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Inspected
This past Spring, I got involved in a little home remodelling project that I thought would take about a month but has drug on now for 4 and is still isn't quite done. The problem has been that it has taken all my time away from the rag top.
Rather than let the car sit in the garage all summer, I had it taken to a shop and had a couple of core things fixed. I had them look the car over, try to stop the tranny and thermostat cover leak.
In the looking the car over, they discovered a kinked gas line under the car, the rear mount on the drive shaft had been "hand crafted" and welded and they weren't comfortable with the engineering, and finally a valve cover leak as well. I said, go ahead and do that and change the oil, plugs and wires -- I just wanted to get it on the road. I guess it was pretty much an adventure down there, trying to get the right parts for the drive train because the engine, tranny and rear-end have become mix and match over the years.
They were able to stop the 3 leaks, its inspected and it runs fairly well -- although it still does have a mild hesitation when you just jump on it.
Anyway, after a few weeks away from home, its back in the garage.... and if it ever stops raining here; maybe I'll get it out on the road...
Rather than let the car sit in the garage all summer, I had it taken to a shop and had a couple of core things fixed. I had them look the car over, try to stop the tranny and thermostat cover leak.
In the looking the car over, they discovered a kinked gas line under the car, the rear mount on the drive shaft had been "hand crafted" and welded and they weren't comfortable with the engineering, and finally a valve cover leak as well. I said, go ahead and do that and change the oil, plugs and wires -- I just wanted to get it on the road. I guess it was pretty much an adventure down there, trying to get the right parts for the drive train because the engine, tranny and rear-end have become mix and match over the years.
They were able to stop the 3 leaks, its inspected and it runs fairly well -- although it still does have a mild hesitation when you just jump on it.
Anyway, after a few weeks away from home, its back in the garage.... and if it ever stops raining here; maybe I'll get it out on the road...
Sunday, March 22, 2009
New Locks
I have lived without having door locks since I bought the car; and so I saw an eBay auction ending that hadn't been bid on yet for a set of 5 repro locks + keys. 2 doors, ignition, glove box and trunk.
Putting them in was pretty straightforward. Of course, I'm jinxing myself because I only had time this weekend to put in 4 of the 5 locks... still have the passenger door to do.
I found the 68 Pontiac Body by Fisher book useful for the doors, trunk and glovebox locks. The ignition lock was documented in the 68 Pontiac Mechanics book.
After having the panel off the drivers side door, I could see that the door itself was in pretty good shape -- no rot holes covered with bondo...
So now the doors match the ignition and the glovebox and trunk match... with a spare set of the early Pontiac keys..
Putting them in was pretty straightforward. Of course, I'm jinxing myself because I only had time this weekend to put in 4 of the 5 locks... still have the passenger door to do.
I found the 68 Pontiac Body by Fisher book useful for the doors, trunk and glovebox locks. The ignition lock was documented in the 68 Pontiac Mechanics book.
After having the panel off the drivers side door, I could see that the door itself was in pretty good shape -- no rot holes covered with bondo...
So now the doors match the ignition and the glovebox and trunk match... with a spare set of the early Pontiac keys..
Monday, July 7, 2008
Electrical Problems
It's been a busy summer and while I haven't had a lot of time to work on the car, I have been enjoying it. In driving it around, I have had several instances where the car would pretend to have a dead battery.
The previous owner had replaced the battery and put a modern alternator with a built-in voltage regulator on it -- the battery is fine and charging system is fine. The cables to the body and starter seems to have developed some corrosion and fail to let enough voltage through to turn the car over.
When the car won't start, I get out, jiggle the negative and positive wires at the body, starter connections and viola. I need to get disconnect, lightly sand the connections, and put some dielectric grease on them to prevent corrosion from building it back up and preventing the starter from turning over.
The previous owner had replaced the battery and put a modern alternator with a built-in voltage regulator on it -- the battery is fine and charging system is fine. The cables to the body and starter seems to have developed some corrosion and fail to let enough voltage through to turn the car over.
When the car won't start, I get out, jiggle the negative and positive wires at the body, starter connections and viola. I need to get disconnect, lightly sand the connections, and put some dielectric grease on them to prevent corrosion from building it back up and preventing the starter from turning over.
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