jfa.series1

Sid - not sure how you have installed the MSA muffler, but this is what worked well for me. All tucked up and barely visible from the rear. Hope this helps. Jim

Check your area for local references - typically look for a good independent with foreign cars on the lot. Watch out for the chains that will pad your bill with unneeded extras.

FWIW - the part in your hand is called a steering knuckle. If you have both of them off, be sure to keep track of the side they came from as they are a left side and right side item.

I know nothing about auto painting other than what I observed at my painter's shop, but here is one caution: as you expose the bare metal, oxidation will set in immediately. Its not going to rust right before your eyes but you need to be aware of this if your sanding is extended over any significant amount of time. You probably do want to get down to bare metal to removel dead paint & primer that may lift off later. You will also want to get some experience with skim coats, filler, and high-build primers to smooth out dings and irregularities. I'm sure others with experience will provide some guidance for you in this area. Good luck.

That would be assault with a tootly weapon!

That's a nice piece of work. Thanks for posting.

I tapped the clock power for a constant on.

I suspect she knows you only too well!

With a really good base car as a starting point (no rust, no busted engine/tranny, ...etc.) you can easily drop an additional $10-15k into a resto effort - and that is with you doing most of the labor at no out-of-pocket cost. Buy the very best starting platform you can locate and afford. The San Mateo car posted above already has a lot of updates, might just be that starting point. A plane ticket down there and drive back to BC might be a good investment!

That San Mateo car looks like an excellent value, great starting point for any further updates.

Abosolutely freaking wierd! What - a really dumb Monte Python ripoff? I did enjoy the brief Cajun music soundtrack.

+1 on the FIAMM duals. I've had them for many years and never had a difficulty in making my presence understood. Perhaps you find yourself behind too many zombie drivers totally tuned out of the world and focused on their texting.

A 160 deg. thermostat really doesn't allow the engine to get up to optimum operating temps. The OE replacement unit is 180 or 190 depending on which supplier you are looking at. With that slick new 3-row cooler out front I recommend you switch to the higher temp. unit. Been there, done that, glad I did!

Very nice tip. Thanks for posting!

Also 41 3/8" across the rear lip.

If I recall correctly from making patches to fill the A/C line openings in my inner fender, the Z body panel thickness is about .030 - .032". So, measure the thickness of the donor panel you are considering. Another consideration will be the rigidity of your donor metal - can you easily form the curves for your patches? An option might be to visit a junk yard and obtain a scrap body part that can be cut and formed to shape. It will probably be within a couple of thousandths of the correct thickness.

If Detroit continues to tear down all the abandoned properties, there will be a lot of "return to nature" to see. Get out the shotguns boys, dinner may be closer than you think.

When it comes time time to re-align the doors, it will be much easier to do at the door pillars. If there are shims installed, be sure to mark them as to what hinge to go back with.

The issues with the PRP door weatherstrips is only one of the most well-documented topics on the forum. Remember - the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Switch to Nissan OE, Vintage Rubber, or possibly Kia Sportage.

That could be a rip-roaring bargain, and then again... perhaps not. Resto paint jobs with little/no body work often start at $5-7k and easily get up to $10-12k, sometimes more. They are usually down to bare metal with multiple layers of skim coat to fill and sand out body shape imperfections and dings, sometimes multiple layers of high-build primer - all with hand sanding between layers. Add in body work and panel replacement due to rust and more $ get into the costs.

Oh crap! You had to go and spoil the surprise.

The speaker wire is buried in the bundle running along the right side rocker and disappearing into the dogleg. Check your parking-brake and find the button switch under the handle. There should be a single wire attached to it. The switch goes to ground when the parking-brake handle is lifted, this turns on the light on the dash. As a test, ground your mystery wire with the ingnition on and see if the brake light on the dash comes on.

Wow - all that fun in just one month of ownership. Welcome to the club, looks like you will fit right in with those swaps. Lots of members in the Houston area so watch the forum for their posts and to get your networking going for parts and other needs.

Hi Wade, I see you went with a classic 'Vette and not the P-car we discussed - and a substantially lower investment. Looks like a fun project awaits you. At least the drive train is solid, everything else is just details. Little or no potential for tin worms. Have fun. Jim

There's a lot to be said for K.I.S.S. Why make something so overly complex? Just for the sake of doing it? I don't get it.