So, I had the car off the grass and into the carport, and kept working on my lists.One list item was easy:
All new suspension. So the old one had to come off. I started with the front, because if nothing else, I knew the drum brakes up there had to go.
For anyone that says this project didn’t go fast enough, here I am on day 4 or so, and I installed my first brand new parts. Battery cables, because the old ones were… Old. And a new transmission dipstick, because the old one was mangled. Think about that. How does a transmission dipstick tube get mangled? There may be a quiz later. But I installed the new one. Can you spot it?
The original drum brakes weren’t going to cut it (the mustard, that is), so I moved forward with swapping to discs. Ordered brake stuff. Found a deal on a set of wheels, so I bought them. Ordered random other parts like door hinge rebuild kits, things I wouldn’t need for a while…
Rebuilt the rear suspension, such as it is on a car like this. Springs, and shocks. Done
Hacked off those tailpipes, sorry folks. They had to go. Too much drag, or something. No way to get ludicrous speed with those on there.
Started reassembling the front suspension bits, including the largest sway bar I could find. Discovered one screwed up strut rod, so searched for a replacement.
Stripped the top of the motor. Ordered new intake, carb, linkages, distributor, etc.
Installed headers. Had my picture taken with a pile of… crap. Oh, there’s Rache’s old car. Hi, Coupe! Great little car.
I also stared some more at the undercarriage. Staring at things is what I do. I observe, and figure out what to do next. In this case, the front crossmember, under the engine, was oddly damaged. Like it had been clipped on a curb… But no damage to the engine oil pan. Probably explains the relatively recent engine replacement?
Spritzed some paint, installed some parts. The eagle-eyed among you will see the new parts.
So, in the interest of time, and your obvious boredom, we fast forward a few weeks to find some rust
Found the build sheet, or what was left of it, in/under the rear seat.
Then my Wilwood front brake setup arrived. Neato mosquito. Nice kit, designed to attach to the original drum brake spindles.
Assembled that stuff, put it on the car. There are a lot of little parts to assemble, and torque, and safety wire, but it’s a fun assembly project – like really nicely machined LEGOS, or Mechano.
And then, for the first time in 4 months, the car was on its wheels again. Perched up pretty high on those new springs. They were supposed to be 1” or so lower than stock, but obviously not quite… Oh, well.
Also in this particular work spurt I replaced the transmission cooler lines that someone had oddly crafted from soft copper tubing, and installed a new transmission cooler. Also, made a new wiring harness for the engine, since I somehow lost (threw away) the original one.
Now, I like brakes. I think they’re handy. So, I put a little more work into the system. the car was originally a 4 wheel manual drum setup. I worked with the guy from hydraboost.com to craft a custom hydroboost setup. Corvette style master cylinder, new lines, etc., etc. Not cheap, but it sure looks neat! And they work extremely well.
Well, to drive the car, I needed a transmission shifter. Got a B&M Quiksilver ratcheting setup.
Which, of course, doesn’t work with the FMX transmission. Pretty much nothing cool works with an FMX Automatic transmission.
Well, I think Lokar makes a setup, but I didn’t want that. I wanted this, probably because everything I read said it wouldn’t work. So I had to craft some brackets and a lever. Turns out, it worked. Take that!
Somewhere in this timeframe I acquired a set of correct 1969 bucket seats. Bolted one in, and drove the car.
