So I'm a car guy, my brothers not, my dad's getting old. He never got to finish this project, always working on other peoples cars on the side or adding onto the house or whatever my mother wanted next etc. He can't finish his current project now that he's retired and this (He's building a 53 Chevrolet pickup since my brother totaled his 51 25 years ago)

I'm pretty good, and I do sheet metal fab work, BUT I don't know this older suspension stuff for shit. McPherson struts are one thing, this ugh... and he's already messed with it changing the hell out of the caster so I duno there.. but now it's mine.

Engine: 1966 Pontiac 230ci OHC inline 6, came from a 66 LeMans Sprint 6. 203-207hp
transmission: 3 speed (from the LeMans)
Rear end: 67 Impala
Frame: A model


This is it being rescued from where it's sat since he was about my age...


Here's my father




I'll update with a few more pictures here in a bit. Anyone in Georgia know of a "hotrod" shop that knows what they're doing with suspension? Or sources to read, learn etc?



Drivetrain is there, what it needs is breaks, steering, and pedals. I do not want drum brakes, fuck that. So figuring out what all I'll need to do to convert it to disk, I can make brackets easy enough but i'm not sure where to start on these yet. And I got to locate a coolant leak that's coming form an odd spot, between the engine block and the transmission, it was dropping off the flywheel? My father can only guess when he rebuilt the engine so many years ago he didn't replace a freeze plug between the block and trans and it rusted out???

New home

That is different, looking forward to seeing where this goes.

That's a hell of a project

I've been around this stuff since I was 17.  Scrap that existing suspension.  Looks cobbled together.  Check out Fat Mans fabrications for proper suspension.

Keep us updated on this.

That's because it is! 40 years ago the internet wasn't a thing, and he had a lot less money he was throwing together scrap and junk.

I guess I'd be looking at something like http://www.fatmanfab.com/product/1928-1934-ford-independent-front-suspension-ifs-kits-7 OR if I wanted to keep it looking more traditional in design https://totalcostinvolved.com/products/1933-1934-ford-dropped-axle/ either way it's going to cost around $2200. I don't have that to spend right now. So I'm sure this thread would get archived before that update. Now what I can do is start taking stuff off and cleaning it, going over that Q-jet and make sure it hasn't junked up. I'll just start throwing a few bucks to the side every paycheck until I have enough for the new suspension, seems these kits come with disk brakes and everything so it's really not a bad deal. If I recall correctly, and he remembers correctly, it's a 34 pickup chaise. Luckily the rear end looks well enough done I don't think I need do anything but add the shocks, and look for the parts to convert it to disk brakes. It unfortunately wasn't a 67 Impala with positraction. Oh well, once it's on the road I'll worry about it being a one wheel wonder.

P.S. This by no means is going to be built to be a "nice" looking car. I don't have the money for that, nor desire. I just want it derivable, with disk brakes, little bit of a home made body, lights and good to go. Basically a rust free rat rod, even though he refuses to call it that... I'm thinking some tubing and sheet metal, for shoulder height body work, and a roll bar, with some sort of bikini top, but who knows. He has side pipes for it too, but they were kind of back in a corner behind a lot of stuff so I told him I'd grab them another time. This REALLY makes me wish I had a TIG welder at home, nothing like the Miller Syncrowave 351 I have at work, just something that ran off 220v and could do a good job between 15-170 amps otherwise I'm going to be taking a lot of stuff to work, back and forth...

ETA: I keep seeing some 32 Ford chassis pictures though that look like they have that hump in the back this does. Is it possible this is a 32 car chassis and not a 34 pickup?

Look at guys like Speedway and a few others .  If you have to farm all of that out you will spend a fortune that you will never recover . Do you have a body ? The rear would probably live just the way it is . The old stuff like that is popular right now in an older state and not modernized . Got to HAMB.com and you can read for days

Nah I don't have a body, I was planning on just taking some tubing, and sheet metal and making something, just because it would be the most economical solution I can come up with. I'll check out HAMB just pulled up the forum.

What ever you do DO NOT swap to a different powertrain

That ohc poncho 6 is the difference between concentrated badass and another ho hum hackjob rat rod

Oh it's staying,  he wanted to do something different. Had a 327 from a 67 camaro sitting next to it ever since I can remember but never wanted to put it in it, he told me when I was a kid "everyone puts a SBC in these". I agree now that I'm older. I'd love to later once it's built save up for some custom rods and lower compression pistons and do a blow through turbo setup on it...talk about different.

OP, go check out photos of the Red Baron show car from the '60's. Has the same inline 6.  Keep it!  Everything else is vanilla.

Very cool!

Thank you. That's cool. The idea of it without all the theme stuff, that I'd like!

What part of Ga. are you in ?

Franklin county, you?

The frame, front suspension, and cowl are from a Model A.

Coweta . I know a guy in Heard county in the sheet metal business , if you can draw it he can fabricate it . He does a lot of stainless work .

I agree keep it looking like shit aka RatRod style but have bright aluminum or other shiny metal colored suspension components and disc brakes.

For me, I'd ditch that pontiac in-line as to me that no different than having a in-line 4 cyl in there from a pinto.  Ok it's different but nobody will care.  A budy has a T-bucket with a pinot 4 cyl and thinks that awesome cause it's different.  I told him it's different but not awesome, awesome would be swapping in a Buick Grand National 3.8 turbo.

For you OP, I suggest a 99-02 LM7 5.3L Chevy truck engine ONLY install a carb conversion on it.  It will looking fucking amazing sticking out of that thing and people will have to do a double take as to if it's an LS engine or not.  

I appreciate the offer.


Meh, don't get me wrong I like the GM v8 swaps, but ever since I was a kid I wanted to see a turbo on this inline 6. Which means blow through carburetor, custom rods, custom pistons etc. better ignition to prevent blow out, lots of heat mitigation modifications since the intake and exhaust manifolds are practically bolted together. Those got to separate, probably have to do a air to water heat exchanger because there's no way a FMIC is going to go on it, so lots of work... but would be pretty damn cool IMO. If it blows up, then i'll look at swapping a GM drivetrain in, first though got to get the front suspension straightened out, breaks, floor, something of a body, steering, lights, registration, drive it

I've built that exact setup. People do not do that. You seem way way more astonished by LS motors than anyone else. To the rest of us they're rather old hat beyond BIG power applications which this is not.

An LS is almost as boring in a hot rod now as a tree fitty.

Keep a SOHC in it! You don't see them around anymore. Most people have never seen or even heard of one. And it looks like the good one. Dual exhaust 4bbl version.

Elementary my dear Watson

Vs

OH you installed the engine out of a Chevy truck.......  ........ how original

Oh yeah, that 6cyl isn't going anywhere. And if anything ever happens to it, I have other plans, still wont be a V8. (turbo 4cyl!)


Still trying to figure out the correct parts for the disk conversion, I may end up having to just call speedwaymotors, they have the parts, just not sure which to order LOL. I also have to figure out where I'm putting the fuel tank, and get the metal from work for the floor.

The N/A 2300 from a Pinto will make over 250 horsepower and turn 10,000 rpm with some mods obviously but with the stock crank and rods . They will do an easy 600 with a turbo . Just because it is not a LS does not mean it will not make horsepower .

Already done.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to get the transmission disconnected and get a better look at the coolant leak.

You're farther along than this guy!

Update: Drive shaft, transmission, bell housing and starter are out, I can see the faulty freeze plug now.




GUILTY!!!!

Small update, my father gave me some more stuff, w00t for the stick welder, bread box full of different filler rods, and NIB old "vintage" gauges.

I guess I get to see if a TIG welder can weld with a stick welder It's an old PennCraft machine, has a range of 20 to 230 amps.




Blurry pic then back in box.



I guess I get to see if a TIG welder can weld with a stick welder

I have that Red Baron  hot wheel from the 70s!

Would you be willing to trade for it? (I have a few nice NIB die cast muscle cars)

Yeah the way they're building the body by running tube and then a skin over it was what I had planned to do, Not sure if I'm going to have the rear square or try to sort of curved rear, I work in a sheet metal fab shop but we don't use English wheel's or anything so we can't do compound curves, (we can do curves with press's and dies just not compound) Or well one or two of the real old guys can somewhat do compounds but I sure as hell can't! And they're not big pieces they do it on. So that will be a big limiting factor.

Not much progress today, straightened up the shop some, bagged and labeled a couple bolts, removed the pressure plate and clutch disk. Couldn't get the flywheel to budge, so I'm going to have to look for some sort of puller I guess or build one.

Tap the fly wheel with a hammer along the outside edge on opposite sides and around the edges . That will usually loosen it

I sprayed it with some Liquid wrench and waited an hour, came back and put a piece of a 2x10 between the flywheel and grabbed a fairly good sized ball peen hammer and worked my way around it going from one side to the opposite, once I got it where it would wiggle pretty easily I grabbed my pry bars again and wiggled it off. Glad I thought to put a piece of wood on the floor for it to fall onto as I had no way to wiggle it off and catch the thing at the same time. Felt like it was 25-30lb!





I f#$* hate freeze plugs!


Got tired of fighting it in the humid heat and came back inside for a glass of tea...got to brew it first but I'll make some and enjoy a glass and go back out later when it's cooled down. Might as well attack them all I guess so I'm not doing this to the other two later on. I was trying to get the whole thing to come out rather than have to bang out the center and then mess with the ring/side of the plug. But it's seeming it will be easier to just bang around the inner edge and "rip" it around until the center is tore out and get the ring out then.

As previously covered the engine is cool as shit!

The trans however is not. I'd seriously entertain the notion of a 5 speed swap. Nobody will see the trans and it will make the end automobile far more drivable

If I figured up the gear ratios correctly, at redline  you would shift from 2nd to 3rd at 80-90 mph depending on the year this Signaw was built, I know it's a later one, and 3rd would take you to 155mph if it had the aero to be able to cut through the wind and pull it's self there. But it wont, yet have either lol. My father was telling me if he wasn't mistaken a 5 speed from a C10 should bolt right up to the bell housing for this thing though so that would be cool.

Still got to get that damn ring to collapse or push in...it's not wanting to budge!

But with more gears and an overdrive you can have a much lower final drive gear ratio and have a snappy bottom end AND freeway fly. With a 1-1 top gear you can't have both.

Yes I know 3 gear's isn't optimal, but I'm working with what I have for now to get it moving under it's own steam, I'll make improvements down the road. The things going to be very light anyway so I don't think it will have any problems accelerating, my biggest concern was highway driving which unless I'm wrong somewhere, with a 3.323 rear gear, 1:1 3rd, 13" radius rear wheel the engine should be around 2900 rpm @ 70mph, and that's acceptable for now. Down the road I'll get a 5 speed and a rear with positraction. Right now, getting the engine ready again, front suspension sorted and disk breaks, and steering are the priority, followed by floor, body and gauges.

OST.
Another vote for "Keep the OHC"
But, I'd lobby for a 4 or five speed instead of the three speed.

Do the 5 speed now

The hydraulic clutch will make your fabrication life 1000x easier.

That infernal clutch and external shift linkage will dictate a lot of how your build goes in terms of layout. The 5 speed will gain you much more freedom to build everything around it.

Or if you really wanna make your life simple slap a 200r4 behind the 6.

Trans cooler/ tv cable and a lokar shifter DONE!

My father has offered me a 400 turbo or 350 automatic if I wanted to go that route. Still 3 speeds but both would offer a taller 2nd gear than the Saginaw. Just seems wrong to out an auto in it though. Would probably make it simpler though and easier to drive. Aw damn it I wasn't even considering it and now I'm weighing pros and cons.

Any reason I couldn't rig up a master and slave cyl for this shift fork? That's what I was thinking about doing as I really didn't want to mess with linkage on a clutch pedal assembly.

Didn't need to do the cutting with the saw blade, ground off the end of the flat head screw driver I was trying to NOT have to do that too.... to get a more blunt end, and beat it in, squished it a bit and pulled it out. You might see a little ding on the cyl... Kind of missed the edge a bit on one of those swings... skipped off the rim of the plug and into the bore. *FUC!* cyl walls are like 1/4" thick cast iron though so that didn't hurt it, but scared the shit out of me for a moment... Apparently my father didn't add antifreeze 40 years ago... so now I'm thinking I should replace the others before they fail. As well as I should probably get a new timing belt and not try to use the 40 year old one for well anything.



Anyone expecting to see a crap ton of progress on this thing, hahaha I hate to disapoint you but with a wife, and 3 young kids, and on a budget. Yeah that's not happening, it will be 30min here, 1hr there, sort of thing with a few hours on the weekends if I feel like getting up before everyone else to work on it.

While a manual would be more entertaining to drive looking at "the big picture" and all the fabrication you have ahead an automatic gives you a lot less to worry about making work


The greatest risk on a project like this is stalling out and never finishing. Keep the build simple and easy, get it on the road and THEN tackle wants over needs. For this car a manual transmission is a want not a need

I want the box the gauges came in. And I think a 5 speed would be easy enough. Not as easy as an auto but not that hard.

PM if your serious.

So, decided to go with the slush box, and according to my father the turbo 350 is more than enough for that straight 6, so if I want I could use the 400, but he didn't see the point if I was going to leave it naturally aspirated. Especially since the 400 is bigger and heavier. I figured since this is moving at a snail's pace going simple would at least help. Besides I got to much on my plate as it is and not enough $.