Minor update, sandblasted my steelies yesterday and had them painted. Also took a photo prior to that with the trim rings and spider caps to get an idea how they'll look. Also have just about all the parts I need on hand or en route and will soon be pulling the engine/trans. Decided to clean up and paint it before installation as well as do gaskets, timing chain, etc (all the usual tune-up stuff). Only parts left to get are just general maintenance items like plugs, belts, a water pump, battery, and fluids.
I do like that look and considered it but it ended up being a cost-based decision to go with painting the stock wheels.
This comment hold no weight, but I remember my dad's friend having a 1950-60's Biscayne that would run stupid times on the 1/4. I think low 10s? N/a. Its been maybe 2 years since I saw it.. I'll have to ask my dad again. Anywho, good luck with the build!!
I think you'll be happy with the decision to clean and paint everything. I was in that same vote of leaving it patina or repaint all the stuff. I'm overjoyed with the results of going that extra distance. I'm sure you will be too. Looking forward to seeing this car.
Well, the body is staying as is for now but I'm sure it'll be painted sometime in the not too distant future. First just focusing on the mechanical and cleaning/painting everything under the hood. Doing a little work on the interior too but nothing crazy. Only body work I'm doing now will be patching a few rust spots in the floor. When I do paint the whole car it'll need a new pair of fenders, 3 or 4 more rust patches, and new trim. Add to that the usual cost of a full respray and it's way more than I want to or am able to put into it right now. The goal is to give it a little more muscle and a little more style (questionable though it may be). Then I'll most likely just enjoy driving it for a while until I have the cash, spare time, and shop space to spruce up the body.
A guy in our car club has a 68 Impala. He did a body off "resto" a year or so ago that included a new, bigger motor as well as painting the whole frame and just getting the rolling chassis up to speed and a little nicer looking. Then just put the body back on as is. Pretty funny when he tells people about it, as if they don't understand what a budget is.
Good couple days for parts. The new headers were delivered yesterday, got my wheels back and made a trip to French Lake Auto Parts today. Picked up some dash trim, a brake pedal and pivot shaft from an auto Impala and some window trim from a '64 LeSabre to hold my headliner in place and add some shine to the door frames. Also got the serape blankets today that will serve as my seat covers.
Win! https://www.zazzle.com/blessed_virg...s_rosary_car_air_freshener-256546103798836017 Or you could go dis route?
Well, I probably should have expected this but I'm not doing so well with keeping this a "budget build." Ended up adding to my list new carpet and an entire stereo system with a Custom Autosound radio (retro OEM style with modern features), a bluetooth adapter, speakers, and antennas (dual angled rear-mounted). Had to start from scratch because it didn't come with anything from the factory. Now trying to settle on an exhaust, pretty sure I'm going with a pair of old-school Smithy's and have a local shop bend all the pipe for me. In all should be around $350 for the whole setup. Counting everything I've got into it so far, the driveshaft work that'll need to be done, and the general maintenance stuff to come my guess is I'll have a total of about $4k into it including the purchase price. Still not that bad I guess.
Pretty excited about finally having a radio in it though, and the new carpet is sorely needed. Here's what it looks like now... You can see here how bad it's faded... And this is the new stuff... It's a lighter shade than the original color but I wanted to have a little contrast. The original carpet was the same color as the seat vinyl, kick panels, and door trim. Just way too much of that dark turquoise. The lighter color still matches the rest of the car nicely, plus the headliner is a lighter blue too. With the new carpet, sweet Mexican blanket seat covers (which I'm also using as an accent to cover the rotted door trim and package tray) and the dash trim it'll be like a whole new car inside.
You should have serape'd the floors too!? lol Excellent progress my friend! Should be no problem getting this thing to NSP for the history cruise!
Original exterior and refinished goods inside... big thumbs up! I love that. Budget is just a budget. You can make more money.
Finally making a little more progress with the mechanical side of my build. Dragged this monstrosity out of the weeds today (literally) and started getting it ready to pull the engine. Depending on my family and work schedule, hoping to get the engine on a stand tomorrow or maybe next weekend at the latest. Then the fun begins with extensive cleaning/degreasing. It definitely needs some attention...
Got nearly everything ready to pull the engine today. Still need to unbolt the mounts and driveshaft, otherwise it's ready to come out. Also struck a deal with a friend for an aluminum intake, a set of "camel hump" heads, and to have him work over the old Quadrajet.
Got the small block and trans pulled Friday evening, spent what little free time I had over the weekend getting it cleaned up. Engine isn't too bad but there was a very tough layer of mud/grease/possibly manure on the trans (old farm truck). Other than being dirty though everything looks pretty decent. Should be able to start disassembly this week, weather permitting. I'm also still adding to the parts list, seems almost every day I think of something else I'm going to "need." Few recent ones were a smaller distributor with an external coil for firewall clearance, a Comp cam and new lifters to match the other engine mods, and a few more interior components.
Put the old farm truck back in its resting place today and pulled the Biscayne up to the garage. Doesn't sound like a big deal but it actually took some effort. The truck had to literally be dragged again by chain and I had to limp my V8 S-10 out of the way (bad trans). Put a new battery and some fresh gas in the Biscayne but it just didn't want to start. There wasn't any fuel getting to the carb so the pump and/or lines must be gummed up. After trying for a while I ended up just pouring gas directly down into the bowl so it'd at least run for a minute or so, which was enough to move it. Also lost most of the brake fluid somehow and it took a LOT of pumping to build pressure back up after filling it (no power assist). While it was running though it sounded as smooth as ever. Kind of a shame to drop in the small block but that six is weak, plus the sound can't compare to a cammed V8 with glass packs. After I finally got it moved I assessed things a little more and the rust is sadly a little worse than I recalled. You can see in the picture that the fenders are rotted, but that's mostly cosmetic. Worst of it is around the rear body mounts, there's almost nothing left around them. Not sure if I really want to deal with that now, it's been pretty bad there for a while. Didn't seem to cause any issues other than it having a saggy butt. Anyway, point is that I have the Biscayne up where I can work on it so very soon I'll be able to start making some more substantial progress. Felt great to be behind the wheel of it again, even if it was just for a few minutes on my driveway.
Haha yeah, "thrilled." Not only does my bugeye get the garage but I'm taking up her parking space with a dirty old engine. Nah, she's been surprisingly understanding and supportive despite that and the fact I'm spending all my spare money and time working on it. She has almost no interest at all in cars but she knows how much it means to me so she doesn't usually hassle me about it.
Well that's good! And i'm sure that she prefers you doing that(where she can see you),rather than the hookers and blow!?
Sure does. My original exhaust rusted off so I just threw a cherry bomb on there. Not loud, but it doesn't sound anything like a 60's American car should. My 75-year-old mechanic uncle insists that they can sound good if you split the manifold and run duals. "Makes it sound like an old Jag," he claims.
There are a fair amount of sweet sounding 6 cylinders out there. But I approve of the v8, because Merica!!
Oh I agree (and have the supra with the i6) but "you can make it sound like an old jag" is great and all....when you want it to sound that way. A bigass hunk of american iron has no business sounding like an old jag.
Exactly. My uncle doesn't seem to have much regard for what is or isn't appropriate though. For example, he has a '61 Chevy Apache pickup that had a cracked block so he swapped in a 4-cyl diesel out of a '60's Benz. He just happened to have one sitting around the shop and they're reputedly very reliable engines. The truck originally came with (basically) the same engine/trans as my Biscayne so I think that's where mine will be going when I pull it. He's amazingly talented with mechanical work but he's an odd guy sometimes.
Simple problem solving. This one doesn't run, but that one does. Let's put it in here... "Old" people are crazy, right @silver03? Haha.
My dad is wrapping up a build right now that is a little odd as well. 1937 Chevy on a 1991 Ford Ranger chassis with the Rangers 4banger and 5spd running it. lol
Lol, that is an odd build. I actually considered something similar for this '61 Mercedes 190D I have. It's a unibody and the underside is rotted out, so the only feasible option would be to drop it onto a full-frame chassis.
Haven't had much time lately but got a little more done today. Finally finished cleaning up the trans (for now) and got the engine onto a stand. Next step is going to be cleaning up and tearing down the engine. Should make some headway with that this weekend, as well as doing front brakes (drums, shoes, cylinders, and hardware) and putting on the "new" wheels. Really hoping to have time for more, but we'll see how it works out.
On a lighter and somewhat related note, my son had some fun pretending to drive the Biscayne the other day. He couldn't get enough of the horn, lol.
Curious what your thoughts are on seat belts in this classic? Especially with a little one? I know rear lap belts (if equipped) are fine with a car seat, but once the kiddo hits the booster/ actually seat age lap only belts are not recommended.
This car only has 2 lap belts in it for the front seat so I'm not so sure he'll be riding in it at all. Even wearing a seat belt it might not help much aside from preventing me from being ejected. The dash is steel, the steering column isn't collapsible, and the horn ring has a nice sharp edge that's been known to split faces open. So anyway, no I don't think it's generally safe for a kid unless I installed seat belts or make my own safety seat tether points. The only time he might ride in it is just for short, lazy drives in the country and even then it'd be a little risky.
Makes sense. Yikes that horn ring does look like it could cause some damage! I asked because I'm currently wondering the same thing about my 76 Cadillac. It's got shoulder belts in the front driver and passenger, lap only in the middle front and all 3 rear positions. i get to drive so rarely with out children (and especially in summer) I'm trying to figure out some options. And being mine is a Cadillac, there isn't much for available unless I want to go fully custom.
Made some decent progress today. Front brakes are done, wheels have been swapped, and I installed the passenger mirror and rear-mount antennas. Working on cleaning up the engine now, block is about 75% done.
