'70 Vista Cruiser Project
January 26th, 2012, 07:11 PM
#441
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January 27th, 2012, 02:08 PM
#443
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I was curious what you Cutlass looked like and found your for sale ad. Glad to see your keeping it, are you keeping it?. Thanks for your offer of help, I am bring it to the tranny shop monday and keeping my finger crossed!
January 28th, 2012, 05:45 PM
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Finished dissasembly of frame today. Made up final parts list for chassis...being I only get once a week to work on this, we are moving slower than a snail in molasses...we did get some parts in this week. The boxed lower rear control arms and sway bar came in, dropped springs are here, have to pick up upper and lower front a arms from Fed Ex and got a brake dist. block and disc hold off valve along with new line clips from ILT. Hope to be bringing all pieces and frame to powdercoaters next week.
January 29th, 2012, 06:00 AM
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February 5th, 2012, 02:13 PM
#447
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Still working on some degreasing and scrubbing on various suspension and frame parts. This is the worst part of the whole job! We did uncover some factory paint daubs......maybe we put these back......
February 5th, 2012, 08:20 PM
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This frame must have been welded on a Monday or a friday...very sloppy! So, I cleaned up the welds and slag, on the front section....also, took care of the "speed bump rash" on the cross member...
Last edited by ent72olds; February 5th, 2012 at 08:22 PM.
February 19th, 2012, 09:44 AM
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Progress Continues....slowly!
After taking the frame , rad support, top plate, grille/latch support and trans crossmember to the powder coaters last weekend in a sleet storm, I went back to the shop and figured since I was already wet and cold, might as well pull the rear outside and clean it up. Fast forward to this weekend, and I was ready for some fun...well sort of. My bro and I tag-teamed the rear with a couple of drills and wire wheels to get the scale off...came out pretty nice! Was almost a shame to have to paint it...what really surprised me was the number of different color paint markings all over this thing...
February 19th, 2012, 09:55 AM
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For what it is worth, it had the letters "TA" stamped into the right tube...if anyone could tell me what rear it translates to, I appreciate it......by the way, we stayed 'till 10pm last night getting this thing painted! Of course, Spies Hecker etch primer 3255, sealer 8590 and single stage black with matting agent MA100 added...what's nice about this matting agent is you can vary the degree of gloss and it is pre-flexed, making it much more durable and chip resistant!
February 19th, 2012, 10:07 AM
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More Goodies!
We started off the day checking all the new pieces that arrived during the week...much of it came from In Line Tube....have to say, the quality on their stuff if pretty incredible. Fuel line was dead on. Unfortunately, the intermediate brake line was not. I will be sending it back, probably with the old line for them to match up. All other brake lines were perfect. The e-brake cables in stainless are beautiful, but again, intermediate cable was wrong...they apologized(somebody didn't read the highlighted note on invoice to custom make to 113 1/4 inches). I hope it was the same issue with the brake line.
February 19th, 2012, 04:36 PM
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Making good progress on the car I see. Your car is a 350/350 car right? I need to get brake cables but think my intermediant would be shorter with the 455/375 car. I e-mailed inline tube about custom cable and never got a response.
February 19th, 2012, 05:00 PM
#456
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Yeah Steve, a 350/350. I believe your cable would be 101" ....if you call them, they will make it. Human error that I got the wrong one.
February 27th, 2012, 07:40 PM
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February 27th, 2012, 07:58 PM
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This info is avail on page 0-5 of the 72 CSM
http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/membe..._Section_0.pdf
You're doing a wonderful job on the car. Keep up the good work. That axle and diff cleaning reminds me a lot of what I did last year.
February 29th, 2012, 02:34 PM
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Thanks for stopping by Sparky! Good to see you over here...your car and build would be a welcome addition over here!
March 4th, 2012, 10:46 AM
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Finally, the fun begins!
We finally were able to get the assembly of this chassis moving in the right direction. After a couple more hours of cleaning and painting, I started putting the rear back together. Packed the bearings and installed the axles with new backing plate to axle tube seals. When we took this apart, there weren't any seals? On another note, I once read somewhere, NAPA sells , if I remember rightly, a graphite spray or something that you can use to maintain the master cylinder and wheel cylinders or any natural cast steel. Keeps it looking natural and keeps it from rusting. Would be better than painting these items. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, please chime in....
March 4th, 2012, 10:52 AM
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Very impressive Erik. This is the way it should be done, you are fortunate to have the space and resources to do this. Watching the step by step you are doing is very interesting. Howie
March 4th, 2012, 10:57 AM
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The pieces went together with little effort. I did have to rattail any holes in the frame for bolts to pass through. The powder coating is surprisingly thick..
We opted to install the Hotchkis Air Bags in the rear. Being we are dropping the car 2", and going with 17" rims, we wanted to be safe, just in case we need to level the rear for any reason. Putting the bags in the springs was a job in itself...when finished, I thought it looked like a stick of C4 from a Roadrunner Wil E Coyote cartoon....
We opted to install the Hotchkis Air Bags in the rear. Being we are dropping the car 2", and going with 17" rims, we wanted to be safe, just in case we need to level the rear for any reason. Putting the bags in the springs was a job in itself...when finished, I thought it looked like a stick of C4 from a Roadrunner Wil E Coyote cartoon....
March 4th, 2012, 11:03 AM
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Oh I remember stuffing the bags back into my rear springs, and they are a little more densely wound then the ones shown in your pictures. Determination and patience did it! But like Wily Coyote, I thought at times I was going to end up tangled in them. But the outcome made it worth it.
March 4th, 2012, 11:04 AM
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SS brakelines from ILT are pretty impressive, although I have seen the post about someone's recent issues with their customer service. I believe the intermediate line will be short, just comparing it to the original, looks off...but I'll leave that issue for another day! Don't want to ruin my fun right now. We stayed working last night 'till 1am. Wish the shop was closer, we might be able to get more done!
March 4th, 2012, 11:08 AM
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Oh I remember stuffing the bags back into my rear springs, and they are a little more densely wound then the ones shown in your pictures. Determination and patience did it! But like Wily Coyote, I thought at times I was going to end up tangled in them. But the outcome made it worth it.
March 9th, 2012, 03:47 AM
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Looking good Erik!! Did you replace the rear wheel cylinders and if so where did you get them. I rebuilt my originals but may want to get fresh ones instead. It will be interesting to see how your car sits on the lowering springs. I have 18" for my car but am using pretty tall tires so won't be so low. Keep up the good work.
March 9th, 2012, 07:20 AM
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Rear whell cyls....
Looking good Erik!! Did you replace the rear wheel cylinders and if so where did you get them. I rebuilt my originals but may want to get fresh ones instead. It will be interesting to see how your car sits on the lowering springs. I have 18" for my car but am using pretty tall tires so won't be so low. Keep up the good work.
