I've postphones this thread for ages, as i'm still without a proper camera, and the project hasn't really advanced at all.
As most readers know by now, this won't be a flat cap restoration, but more of a backyard axe-and-sledgehammer build.
Anyhow, in the spring of 2014 this beauty came up locally, fresh of the boat from california.
It's a 1971 pontiac lemans with a '68 400 HO engine, th400 trans and a 12 bolt limited slip rear end.
The price was right, and the condition was just right.
I went to take a look at the car and the seller claimed the car was in no condition to drive, and refused a testdrive. He did start the engine for a few minutes though.
A few days later i paid the guy another visit, this time buying the car. He still refused me to drive the car before paying..
Obviously we had to drive the car home, it was only about 100km's after all.
The trip went without any problems whatsoever, the car working fine.
2 weeks after purchasing the car i went to a local 1st of may cruise with a few hundred other cars.
Once again the car working flawlessly, not even overheating despite snail speed cruising several hours.
Early may i got a job abroad for a few months, the missus kept using the car as a daily a few weeks until she calculated the gas mileage, after which she prefered the bimmer..
Here's 2 curse word instagram pictures of what it looked like, with the rims i got with it. Don't worry, these are already gone..
I had planned to refurb the engine and trans over the winter, but as usual, i didn't.
I did rip all of the rat infested interior out of the car though.
I stole the grant wheel out of the camaro, as it's resting at the moment.
I'll get a superior 500 wheel, or something else period for this one in due time though.
I ordered a new floor pan for the passenger side, as per mr. MOT-inspectors recommendation.
Upon removing the floor mat i noticed i should have taken one for the drivers side too, or the whole bloody floor.
I fixed the rest of the holes with pieces of a w124 trunk lid.
I painted the interior scania chassis gray.
I tried painting it with smooth hammerite thinned enough to go through a spraygun, but i would have gotten better coverage trying to paint it with clearcoat tinted with coffee.
Notice the modern raised/flat 5 3/4" headlights, it now has period convex ones.
The trunk got a lick of paint as well. Smooth hammerite. It hadn't dried yet in the picture..
A car of this calibre obviously needs a shifter with a bit more presence than the terrible stock unit.
So i got this of ebay, which i thought would be quite fitting. I think it's some kind of megashifter.
The action was terrible, but i took it apart and now it's acceptable. No, it didn't come with the protective base.
Beacuse this is a racing shifter it has to have a proper mount, as not to rip it out of the floor during spirited shifting.
I think the end product is quite close to what i imagined.
It is also an effective anti-theft device, as i barely know how to operate it myself.
To be continued..
As most readers know by now, this won't be a flat cap restoration, but more of a backyard axe-and-sledgehammer build.
Anyhow, in the spring of 2014 this beauty came up locally, fresh of the boat from california.
It's a 1971 pontiac lemans with a '68 400 HO engine, th400 trans and a 12 bolt limited slip rear end.
The price was right, and the condition was just right.
I went to take a look at the car and the seller claimed the car was in no condition to drive, and refused a testdrive. He did start the engine for a few minutes though.
A few days later i paid the guy another visit, this time buying the car. He still refused me to drive the car before paying..
Obviously we had to drive the car home, it was only about 100km's after all.
The trip went without any problems whatsoever, the car working fine.
2 weeks after purchasing the car i went to a local 1st of may cruise with a few hundred other cars.
Once again the car working flawlessly, not even overheating despite snail speed cruising several hours.
Early may i got a job abroad for a few months, the missus kept using the car as a daily a few weeks until she calculated the gas mileage, after which she prefered the bimmer..
Here's 2 curse word instagram pictures of what it looked like, with the rims i got with it. Don't worry, these are already gone..
I had planned to refurb the engine and trans over the winter, but as usual, i didn't.
I did rip all of the rat infested interior out of the car though.
I stole the grant wheel out of the camaro, as it's resting at the moment.
I'll get a superior 500 wheel, or something else period for this one in due time though.
I ordered a new floor pan for the passenger side, as per mr. MOT-inspectors recommendation.
Upon removing the floor mat i noticed i should have taken one for the drivers side too, or the whole bloody floor.
I fixed the rest of the holes with pieces of a w124 trunk lid.
I painted the interior scania chassis gray.
I tried painting it with smooth hammerite thinned enough to go through a spraygun, but i would have gotten better coverage trying to paint it with clearcoat tinted with coffee.
Notice the modern raised/flat 5 3/4" headlights, it now has period convex ones.
The trunk got a lick of paint as well. Smooth hammerite. It hadn't dried yet in the picture..
A car of this calibre obviously needs a shifter with a bit more presence than the terrible stock unit.
So i got this of ebay, which i thought would be quite fitting. I think it's some kind of megashifter.
The action was terrible, but i took it apart and now it's acceptable. No, it didn't come with the protective base.
Beacuse this is a racing shifter it has to have a proper mount, as not to rip it out of the floor during spirited shifting.
I think the end product is quite close to what i imagined.
It is also an effective anti-theft device, as i barely know how to operate it myself.
To be continued..