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062809 Car show at Findlay State Park in Wellington. I
have about 150 miles on the car. Needs several adjustments but
runs & drives fine..
062709 Car won't start. Rolls over, won't fire. Wiggle
the distributor wires & it fires up. Take it for a test ride.
It stalls & won't start. Long story short... the module in
the new Summit HEI distributor , that I just bought, was no good.
Took one out of another HEI dsitributor I had & the Car is
running again. What a PITA. Got it running in time to take it
for the maiden cruise in at Brunswick, Ohio.
MILEAGE on clock when restoration complete: 24,810
062609 Got the nose chrome. Then we worked on the intake.
Had it on and off four times... couldn't get the holes to line
up. Finally figured out the gaskets were to thick. Got a set
of Fel-pros & the intake went right in. Passenger seat &
that side of the car is together & the car is ready to drive.
062509 AM/FM with Sirius is hooked up. Tape player &
gauges are installed and working. Got the 2 1/2 "mandrel
bent exhaust put on today only to find that there was an intake
leak. The wrong gasket got installed on the right side. Intake
is out, cleaned and sitting on the bench. Re-install tomorrow.
Still no chrome. Still need to put the passenger seat together
and get it installed.
062309 Front bumper installed... Gaps are within GM tolerance.
Stll no chrome for the nose...
062109 My brother helped me put the hood back on it today
and I took it for it's first drive. Still need an exhaust but
I got about 3 miles on it... I've been waiting a long time to
do that....
062009 Came up one
hose short to complete the AC. It's assembled but we have to
wait till Monday when I can get the right size hose to charge
it.
061909 New HEI distributor is installed. Car is running
& driveable. Haven't driven it yet because the hood is still
sitting on the roof. Should be able to remedy that tomorrow when
the AC guy comes & we get it hooked up & blowing cold.
Chrome guy still has my grill surrounds and an excuse every Friday
when I contact him for the parts. Probably gonna have to use
my 72 grills for awhile...
061809 PCV valve installed, Carb parts, accelerator brackets
and the cable all installed. Air Conditioning wire harness and
oil pressure switch wireing is repaired & dummy light is
working.
061709 Carpeting, console, shifter and drivers seat all
installed. New foam and springs on the seat make all the difference
in the world. It's like sitting in a new car.
061609 Dragged a 1971 Lemans Sport home today for parts.
No rear-end, no front tires, body came off the frame when I dumped
it off the rollback. Pretty ugly.... But, I have scrounged the
PVC elbow for the manifold, the accelerator cable ( it was like
new), some window cranks, front seat screws. Some wireing and
some plugs... Well worth the effort.
061509 Home from the
HotRod PowerTour & the GTO is back in the rear garage.
Turnsignal problems are resolved & all the lights are working.
Rear valance installed.
The lower AC dash & duct work has been installed.
Mounting bracket on the console for the 8-track player manufactured
& installed.
Flywheel, torque converter cover painted & installed.
New carb & accelerator brackets located & installed.
Major issues to address:
Front door panels, carpet & seats.
Exhaust System.
Find the correct length accelerator cable & get it installed.
Install Distributor.
Air Conditioning plumbed & filled.
Install enduro front end.
Wire Radio & 8 track to the rear speakers in a manner that
prevents them
from feeding back into one another.
060309 Fired the motor tonight.. Gonna need to get a new
distributor, as we had some timing problems, but it's running...Leaving
for the HotRod Magazine Power Tour Monday so the car gets a break
for a week while I am gone. Plan on driving it in two weeks..
060209 AC is mocked up.. Gotta get the
motor running before we can charge the AC
060109 Motor is plumbed & ready for distributor.
Gonna fire it Wednesday evening. Rear interior and seat are installed.
AC is mocked up. Drive shaft installed, trans lines installed.
Power steering is done. Rally wheels & Radial TA tires are
installed (275/60-15's rear, 245/60-15's front). Wheel bearings
have been cleaned and repacked. New Brake cylinders on the rear
wheels. Windshield wiper motor installed. Problems with the turn
signals that will have to be worked out.
052409 My uncle, my
brother & the neighbor came over this evening & we got
the engine & trans in the car. Went in pretty smooth. Just
gotta get it running, get the interior in & put the front
bumper on..
052209 Power steering & alternator, with all brackets,
motor mounts & ram air exhaust manifolds installed.
051809 Motor is home & painted.
051609 Motor guy called today, shortblock is together...
Should be ready for pickup Monday. We got the window fuzzy's,
the rocker panel moldings & the wheel well moldings installed
today. Spent some time putting bolts in that the body shop over
looked, & lining up some panels.
051209 Front dash paint
is finished. Headliner is installed and looking good ( and after
watching the install I can tell you, it is not a job for amateur's
). Seats are re upholstered & ready for install. Rear brake
drums have been blasted and painted natural iron color. Spatter
paint in the trunk is complete, as is all the trunk wiring except
the electric trunk release. Tailight housings & lens are
done..
051009 New left front caliper on the F250.. leak is fixed.
On the GTO I have installed the rear bumper, headlights, turn
signal lens in front and the mirrors. Painted the rear deck and
the top of the dash. Pulled the rear wheels, cleaned the wheel
wells and sprayed with rubberized undercoating. Sprayed half
the bottom of the car with Ford semi gloss black motor paint.
050909 Car is home, less the front bumper, which they
will be repainting.... Had the brakes go bad on the F250 while
towing the car home... Made the ride a little more tense. Use
the trailer brakes to stop and drove real slow.
050409 Car is painted
and the vinyl top is installed..
050109 A lot has happened since the last post. We were
gonna change the rear seal but, upon taking the motor apart we
decided to send it to the machine shop for a tuneup. The motor
& heads are at Wakeman Power. Crank will be turned, rods
checked, pistons nerled, new valves, some minor head work &
reassembly of the short block. Supposed to have it back today
but it wasn't done... Wednesday I should have it...
Legendary interiors has
delivered the vinyl top, headliner, package tray, seat foam,
seat covers & carpeting. Ames & PY have also been making
regular shipments to my garage, to include new rear bumper, body
side molding, tailight splash guards, etc. Got everything piled
up & ready to go.
Got a call the other day
from an interior shop. Told me they had a 71 GTO coming in for
seats & invited me to come have a look... Quezal Gold, just
like mine, different interior (sandalwood)... At least the guy
didn't put the black vinyl roof back on it. That makes two 71
GTO's that live within about 8 miles of mine... prior to 8 months
ago I never saw one at a cruise night... This year there will
be three that I know of...
Paint on the car is cut
in, the fenders & doors rehung & the car is all masked
off & sitting in the paint booth. First real coat of paint
goes on tomorrow. Another 10 days or so & I should have the
car at home...
041409 Went to replace
the rear main seal today... Checked the main bearings while we
were there... They need to be replaced. So instead of having
the motor put back together today, it's in more pieces today
than it was yesterday. Gonna need a crank kit... headed to the
local machine shop in the am... Got sniped on the bid for the
date code correct block & didn't win it on ebay...
040809 Motor & assorted pieces have been painted the
appropriate pontiac blue and are curing in a very warm garage.
040609 Motor is in primer & ready to paint . Pulleys,
brackets & misc are also painted & ready to put back
together... RA exhaust manifols, rear bumper, rocker panel molding
& clips, seat piping, exhaust pieces and a bunch of other
neat stuff arrived today from Ames. Also got the headliner from
legendary. Body shop has trunk & front fenders in primer
with the doors and front & rear valance getting prepped for
primer today.
040509 Bid on a date code correct 455
short block on ebay.
032309 Darren from A&D Coating Removal, Mobile Soda
Blasting (Cell Phone 419 571 3966), New Washington, Ohio
at the body shop today to media blast the car.... It's done,
the car is completely naked now...
031709 Ordered the interior & top from Legendary.
Four weeks delivery time...
031209 Kinda dropped
the ball here... been in Florida on vacation. Today the car went
to JC Auto in North Ridgeville for paint. They came very highly
recommended and I have been able to see some of their work. We
have decided on the Black Vinyl over Quezal Gold with Black Interior
(like the car was built). Monday March 23 the car will be in
pieces and the media blaster will be at the body shop to strip
it down. Expect it back in about 5 weeks. Hope to get it done
for the Hot Rod Power Tour.
030909 Picked up the rebuilt carb..
021409 This painter bailed on me as well... Gonna have
to go with a pro..
020809 Got another paint guy. We should be getting started
soon... Went to the GTOAA swap meet in Columbus today. Got a
set of 1971 GTO grills.
020109 Got folks sending
me emails asking about the status of the car... My paint guy
bailed on me & I've been treading water waiting to find somebody
else to paint the car.
122308 Dropped trans
at Ron's Transmission, in Elyria. A customer from my days at
the Harley shop he does great work & always takes good care
of me. New seals, a new filter if needed and a general cleanup
& tuneup. Front seats are in the basement & one is in
parts. I'll be ordering seat covers in the next couple of days.
122008 My brother,uncle
& neighbor came over today & we pulled the engine&
trans. Took about 45 minutes, as expected. Got the headers off
one side but got tired of wrestling with it & sawz-alled
the other one off. Now for some cleaning under the hood before
the car goes out to paint.
121908 Everything is unbolted & disconnected. Tomorrow
morning we should be able to lift the engine & trans out..
120608 Removed the stainless trim & glass today. Painted
some small parts.
113008 Been busy & haven't had time to update the
info... The car is in my garage, interior, shifter, door panels
removed. All stainless has been removed. Today I picked up a
set of new tail lights and a Hurst Dualgate. Hope to pull the
motor & trans this week. Glass comes out this week as well.
Goes in for paint Jan 1, which isn't really that far off. Found
some mud in it that I didn't know about before but all in all
the car is solid...
I was pretty certain that
I was gonna build a 4 speed car. Bought not one, but two Muncies.
Have everything for the switch but the drive shaft & now
I"m thinking I might keep it an auto, at least through the
restoration.
110408 Picked up a 1973 Muncie M-21, a pair of 15x7 Rally
II rims & some other goodies today from another local GTO
guy. Spent some time buffing stainless pieces & sandblasting
motor brackets. Picked up a 71 455 carb on ebay & it arrived
today. Needs a rebuild. Gonna wait till the first snow to start
tearing the car apart.
110108 What's the chances of seeing another 71 GTO in
a township of a couple of hundred people. Pretty good I guess.
Headed home the other day & passed a white 71 headed the
other way. Turned around & followed him to the drive thru.
He's a Chevy guy who got a good deal on the Goat. Nice, numbers
matching, cruiser. Tells me he has boxes of 71 parts that he
will never use.
Long story short, after
a visit to his garage, he no longer has boxes of 71 parts. I
was able to score a complete second set of vinyl top stainless
trim, an air-conditioning compressor with all the brackets and
a 15x7 Rally II rim. 2 sets of hood hinges, fiberglass headlight
piece with all the parts and a ton of other misc parts. What
I didn't get was a tan dash pad, a dash that was cut & the
parts that went to the dash.
103108. Did a little research on the title history and
learned through Ohio BMV that the car had been sold by Ricks
Auto Sales in Kenton Ohio in 1995. Made contact with Rick &
he was extremely helpful. Still had the file on the car &
took the time to scan & send me some documents.
..... I know now that Robert Meyers of Groveport Ohio
owned the car from 1990 to 1995. He sold, or traded, the car
to Hilltop Motors in Columbus Ohio. Hilltop took the car to an
auction in Grove City, Ohio, and Rick purchased it on 050295
for $3165.00. At that time the car was still the original Black
vinyl over Quezel Gold with a solid body and still
had functional AC.
..... Rick had the car for a month. He
gave it a tune-up, a new AC belt, a compression check (125-up),
new axle bearings, shims, and a new headliner . He sold the car
to Darin McCullough of Ada Ohio on June 17,1995
for $4500.00.
101308. Replaced hi-blow fuse on the firewall
as one of the tabs was broken off. Didn't affect the heater motor.
Changed the fuse in the line near the alternator & brought
the fan motor to life. One less thing to worry about. Ordered
all the weatherstriping .
101008 replaced the hose on the two gas-tank vent lines.
Both were rotted away and leaking. Installed new rear shocks.
Cleaned & painted the dual snorkel air cleaner & inner
fenders semi gloss black.
100908 4 speed conversion is sitting on the shelf. Trans
looks like a fresh rebuild.
100708 Bought a complete 4 speed setup with clutch assembly,
flywheel & everything else I need to convert the car to a
4 speed. Driving up to New York in the morning to pickup the
parts.
100608 PHS came today... This is one of 534 original
455, automatic cars (there were no 455CID 4 speed cars built
in 1971). It is fairly well optioned
100408 I've put about 300 miles on the
car. Drives great. Had the pin that holds the shift linkage on
the trans come out, which disconnected the shifter. Found out
the car has no neutral switch as I had to start it in drive to
get it home & make a repair. New belts & radio mounted
but not wired yet. Makes plenty of heat on the low setting..
Need to find two 15 inch Rally IIs so I can put some new tires
on it..
100108 50 mile drive today. Stopped &
saw my body & paint guy. He's gonna get me a cost on painting
it. Got one speed on the heater working, Blown fuse. Soaked the
switch with electric contact cleaner. Found a 72 Lemans AM-FM
stereo buried deep in my parts. It's marked "Tested &
works 100383". Hooked it up to a 12-volt converter &
some speakers. It works... Need to get it installed..
093008 Put the exhaust system on it today. 3" pipe
off the headers into 3" flowmasters then into a turndown
dump. Sounds good. Fixed the front turn signal sockets. Trunk
is done & dry. Took it for it's first long drive (20 miles).
Drives well. Trans shifts are tight. the 12-bolt posi works.
092908 Got the title, plates & insurance.. Refinished the
inside of the trunk, installed new sockets for the left rear
turn/brake lights, topped off all the fluids, painted the jack.
Sept 28,2008 Trunk cleaned, sanded & primed.
Left rear taillight disassembled. Some interior cleaning.
Painted jack bottom & air cleaner lid.
Saturday Sept 27, 2008. Fixed the header gasket &
cut the exhaust off. Running open headers now.. Took the alternator
in for test & it was shot. It has been replaced with a rebuilt
from NAPA. I noticed that the motor has
the newer mounting brackets for alternator & power steering
but has the older heads so they are not compatible.
I threaded a long bolt & manufactured a mount that should
work. Topped off the brake master cylinder, added a quart of
oil to the motor. Tightened up the bolts on the trans pan. New
wiper blades. Ordered PHS Documents.
Friday Sept 26, 2008. Trailered the car home & took
it for a short ride.
Thursday Sept 25, 2008.... Got the call, the car is mine.
Wednesday Sept 24,2008 Went & looked at the car.
It's been sitting for a while & the owner had to throw a
battery in it before we could start it. Fired right up. Drove
it around the block & liked the car. The exhaust is shot
and the left header gasket is blown. Generator light stays on.
Heater does not come on. Clock in dash does not work. Tires look
pretty old. Made him an offer. Said he'll let me know.
Monday Sept 22, 2008 made the call. Learned the the
owner purchased when he was 16, he did some body work & painted
the car. Drove it through high school. Used it as a pizza delivery
car. Wife, kids, house & other priorities caused him to offer
it for sale. We've all been there.
Sunday Sept 21, 2008 Gotta love my wife. She spends
time on line looking for GTO's for sale. Found several
she had me look at even though I wasn't really in the market.
Told me she found a 71 GTO on Craigs list & forwarded the
link.. She encouraged me to call on this one.
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