I bought a 65 coupe a year ago. It ran and drove and cost $6500. At that point, I had just totalled my 02 focus and had about $7000 cash from insurance. Picked the 65 over a 98 GT vert that was only $5500 but I'm a mechanic by profession so keeping the 65 driveable wasn't a big issue. In hindsight I overpaid for this car but seeing as how it was costing me $40/day in rentals I bit the bullet and got the best one I could at that time!
Rust, pitted chrome, crappy paint, 6cyl, and a below average interior.
What I've done so far:
New front suspension, everything except springs. This was an immediate need, the front end was so worn out it was unsafe. Spring perch rusted through the control arm, idler arm was about to fall off. I bought 6cyl parts to get me by, what can you do? I'll get springs soon, still havent decided on progressive rate or not.
Rear Suspension. Installed a 3.00 8" rear end along with a set of 1" drop springs, new shackles. I found a 65-66 rear end on craigslist with brake parts and figured this would be cost effective vs. redoing the 6cly drums. I actually bought two rear ends, picked the best axles, and used the housing that had Timken bearings in it, and sold the other, almost breaking even.
Granada front discs. I was going to convert to 65-66 discs, I ordered complete front knuckles from a yard on car-part.com, only to find that car had already been converted to Granada!!! With nobody to blame, I went ahead and overhauled them and installed with csrp conversion tie rod ends. Chevy Monza master and a Granada porp valve.
07 GT wheels. I had trouble finding 14" steel wheels with the right offset, lug pattern, it seems most places just scrap them. I did get one steel rim for my spare ($80 wtf!). Bought these takeoffs on craigslist from a guy who switched to the bullit wheels. They're a bit flashy on this car and I would love to have the V6 wheels with spinners but can only find them in 16" which wouldnt clear my upper control arm. Oh well, they dont look too bad. 1.5" spacers and 235/40 17 Goodyears.
Duraspark Conversion. This one got me from 20mpg to 26 mpg...but I didnt notice any increase in power (on top of my whopping 60hp). Got factory connectors from the yard, and found out the hard way that somewhere along the line, the red and white wires on the module connector switched places. No complaints though, and it is useable in one of my upcoming projects!
General repairs. So far, the car has been very reliable. I had to reinforce the passenger side torque box where the leaf spring bolt goes through, of course I'd love to do new sheet metal but this is a daily driver and I had to keep it on the road. I'll get pics of the repair next time I have it in the air...and a camera at work.
SO. I have a 289 in my kitchen (dont ask) thats about two weeks from being ready. Bought a bunch of parts from a buddy and saved alot of time and money on small things, which I promptly spent on machine work for the short block. I got a truck a couple months ago, which really opens my options on how long I can have the car out of service, but the car is still my primary driver. Heres the build:
.040 over 289 block
line bored, balanced, chamfered etc
Stock crank, rods, Clevite 77 bearings
speedpro hyper pistons & rings
Comp XE250H (fuel mileage was very important)
Tri-state Floo-tek aluminums 2.02/1.60 56cc
Elgin valves
Comp magnum rollers, and all the other valvetrain hardware
Flowtech ceramic 1.5" long tubes
Knock off airgap intake
Pypes 2.5" full exhaust
Since I like the 65 gold/black combo I wanted it to look fairly stock, and I think I've done a good job, with the exception of the headers. The air cleaner and valve covers are sand blasted and ready to paint, intake is black and the heads will be black when I get them back. I'll send them off when the valves come in for a valve job and mill to 56cc. I have one more order to make once I get the parts in hand, should be just pushrods and paint.
Next up is an Ivy/white pony interior. I wanted to keep the cash in hand until the motor is in and running, you never know right? I'll go ahead and weld in a radio patch panel and paint the interior panels, havent decided on using a 66 woodgrain cluster or having my falcon style redone. The wheel may have to wait unless I come across a good deal.
After that is body work. It's pretty rough underneath, core support is trash, floorpans are pretty bad, and the trunk/cabin transition is worrysome. If things go well at work, I'll be ready in summer 2010. Sticking with wimbledon white. When I do the interior I'll get a full assesment of the rust and make a decision on floorpan (full, long) replacement and gear up the backyard body shop.
Along the way I'll be doing some roller suspension mods (thats the fun stuff), and get better about finding time for the swap meets. Luckily I have an awesome girlfriend that tolerates me dumping money and time into this black hole.
Rust, pitted chrome, crappy paint, 6cyl, and a below average interior.
What I've done so far:
New front suspension, everything except springs. This was an immediate need, the front end was so worn out it was unsafe. Spring perch rusted through the control arm, idler arm was about to fall off. I bought 6cyl parts to get me by, what can you do? I'll get springs soon, still havent decided on progressive rate or not.
Rear Suspension. Installed a 3.00 8" rear end along with a set of 1" drop springs, new shackles. I found a 65-66 rear end on craigslist with brake parts and figured this would be cost effective vs. redoing the 6cly drums. I actually bought two rear ends, picked the best axles, and used the housing that had Timken bearings in it, and sold the other, almost breaking even.
Granada front discs. I was going to convert to 65-66 discs, I ordered complete front knuckles from a yard on car-part.com, only to find that car had already been converted to Granada!!! With nobody to blame, I went ahead and overhauled them and installed with csrp conversion tie rod ends. Chevy Monza master and a Granada porp valve.
07 GT wheels. I had trouble finding 14" steel wheels with the right offset, lug pattern, it seems most places just scrap them. I did get one steel rim for my spare ($80 wtf!). Bought these takeoffs on craigslist from a guy who switched to the bullit wheels. They're a bit flashy on this car and I would love to have the V6 wheels with spinners but can only find them in 16" which wouldnt clear my upper control arm. Oh well, they dont look too bad. 1.5" spacers and 235/40 17 Goodyears.
Duraspark Conversion. This one got me from 20mpg to 26 mpg...but I didnt notice any increase in power (on top of my whopping 60hp). Got factory connectors from the yard, and found out the hard way that somewhere along the line, the red and white wires on the module connector switched places. No complaints though, and it is useable in one of my upcoming projects!
General repairs. So far, the car has been very reliable. I had to reinforce the passenger side torque box where the leaf spring bolt goes through, of course I'd love to do new sheet metal but this is a daily driver and I had to keep it on the road. I'll get pics of the repair next time I have it in the air...and a camera at work.
SO. I have a 289 in my kitchen (dont ask) thats about two weeks from being ready. Bought a bunch of parts from a buddy and saved alot of time and money on small things, which I promptly spent on machine work for the short block. I got a truck a couple months ago, which really opens my options on how long I can have the car out of service, but the car is still my primary driver. Heres the build:
.040 over 289 block
line bored, balanced, chamfered etc
Stock crank, rods, Clevite 77 bearings
speedpro hyper pistons & rings
Comp XE250H (fuel mileage was very important)
Tri-state Floo-tek aluminums 2.02/1.60 56cc
Elgin valves
Comp magnum rollers, and all the other valvetrain hardware
Flowtech ceramic 1.5" long tubes
Knock off airgap intake
Pypes 2.5" full exhaust
Since I like the 65 gold/black combo I wanted it to look fairly stock, and I think I've done a good job, with the exception of the headers. The air cleaner and valve covers are sand blasted and ready to paint, intake is black and the heads will be black when I get them back. I'll send them off when the valves come in for a valve job and mill to 56cc. I have one more order to make once I get the parts in hand, should be just pushrods and paint.
Next up is an Ivy/white pony interior. I wanted to keep the cash in hand until the motor is in and running, you never know right? I'll go ahead and weld in a radio patch panel and paint the interior panels, havent decided on using a 66 woodgrain cluster or having my falcon style redone. The wheel may have to wait unless I come across a good deal.
After that is body work. It's pretty rough underneath, core support is trash, floorpans are pretty bad, and the trunk/cabin transition is worrysome. If things go well at work, I'll be ready in summer 2010. Sticking with wimbledon white. When I do the interior I'll get a full assesment of the rust and make a decision on floorpan (full, long) replacement and gear up the backyard body shop.
Along the way I'll be doing some roller suspension mods (thats the fun stuff), and get better about finding time for the swap meets. Luckily I have an awesome girlfriend that tolerates me dumping money and time into this black hole.