How far should I go with this? I want to do everything in my garage. No outsourcing, i had the wheels powder coated, but thats it thus far. I have new body mounts installed. New bushings on all the control arms, i have new brake lines to install, a new chassis harness. Im indecisive how much painting and stuff i should do. Or if i should just start reassembling and worry about doing a frame off restoration later. Go with the beater look for awhile. Its surprisingly well kept. The dry dust layers kept the rust away.
>>29017209Just slap it back together while you're still enthusiastic about the project
>>29017212Thats what I keep leaning towards. Its structural sound right now. May not be in 10yrs. But most likely would last at least that before needing anything major in regards to rust repair.
>>29017209Buy a fuck ton of wire wheels and sandpaper wheels and hit every spot of surface rust before it becomes structural. That thing looks like it's in great shape given its age. Hit it with some rust converter primer and a 2 coat rattle can paint job and it'll continue to age gracefully. Also check your brake lines, ik it's a bitch to do but if they're turbo-fucked please consider replacing them / remaking new lines (properly flared and tapered, yes it's critical. Going good, stopping better)
>>29017309Im doing nicopp and a hydro boost conversion. But keeping the drums. Got 96 Impala SS rims to go on it. I'm trying to keep it as GM as possible. I got some wire wheels, they have some pretty gnarly paints capable of securing dirty metal and significantly prolonging the process. I painted the control arms, just wondering how far should i go with the engine bay. Frame rails are solid as fuck. Everything is surface rust. Only two bad spots in the trunk and quarter panel. Im gonna put it back together with primer and good paint in critical areas and call it good. Get it on the road to enjoy it. The aged metal is part of the charm. Reviving a throw away car.
>>29017341Gobbless, sounds like a similar condition to my 94 fleetwood brougham. Those imp wheels are wicked, great choice. I've been trying to find a 94-96 Impala ss rear end to convert the drums to disc's. Surface rust is no biggie>How far should I go with the engine bayAs far as your spirit will take you. Personally I'd go ballistic leaving some shit as is after tending to most of the other shit. Body on frame life is just so nice to not preserve. Maybe consider replacing various bushings for the suspension while you have the control arms off for paint
>>29017350I just did all the body mounts and control arm bushings front and back. So shell be riding smooth for sure. LQ9 with a 4L80E, im not sure what rear gear to go with. Currently 2.93 and one wheel peel.
>>29017350
>>29017248>Its structural sound right now. May not be in 10yrsIf it's not an all-weather daily driver that's out in the shit 24/7 it'll go decades before any light rust would need attention so imo don't worry about it rn. Wouldn't paint it rn either. Again imo, cars look better as original unless the paint is totally shot. Which that one's isn't. Reassemble and go have fun.
>>29017392>1972 Pontiac Catalinarando here but if you want to cruise long distances i would keep the stock ratio -- ballparked and assumed 28.3 tire diameter and 70mph came up with 1800 rpm in OD. no point in having the engine screaming down the highway when you have low RPM power to push through the air. conveniently keeping it stock is cheap! lol congrats on having overdrive. 3 speed / no lockups are silly (merely my opinion)
>>29017461also a suggestion if you have a non stock exhaust and straight through type exhaust you may need to counter the drone with a helmholtz or a 1/4 wave resonator. comfy cars will be driven more by owners long term. loud gets old fast. maybe just the old part of my mind talking.
>>29017462I plan on keeping iron manifolds, but true duals, dual resonators and dual mufflers. I want it quiet. Im gonna do some basic rust reformer type stuff in the body mount areas and call it good. I think i can have this ole girl on the road before October. >>29017461I intend to daily drive this thing. I was also thinking about having a custom hitch done so i could tow a small trailer or small camper. Im going for 265/60/17 tires, right around 29.5" diameter. Im wanting it to be a workhorse car.
>>29017455I do plan on driving it daily or semi daily. More often than not type deal. I was gonna try the Rust-Oleum dirty metal primer.
>>29017209>prep & respray the aprons and firewall>replace booster hopefully you can get a hipo booster >rag joint delete, build a 3/4 uv shaft for it or even convert to rack>poly front lca bushing kit>poly swaybar bushings/end links
>>29017472sweetprobably best to go forth with an auxiliary trans cooler and filter. Our senpai had a '86 burban 350/ 4 speed auto that held up forever. Dad was always keeping an eye the torque converter stayed locked when towing, unlocked converter makes all your heat. I felt the same towing 7k lb in an 06 tundra. trans didnt mind rolling hills and such- just keep that converter locked! think wix hydraulic spin on filter with a remote base added to the cooling circuit . could probably keep it mostly hardline using steel compression fittings and 3/8 steel tubing.Does that car have a swaybar in the back? and a panhard rod ? might help with towing stability (icing on the cookie)i know other folk here suggested poly but they don't necessarily last longer in my experience. they DO transmit more vibration. i had a good time with the rustoleum etching primer. i have wiped down steel with phosphoric acid to passivate surfaces. if you wipe before dries and surface relatively smooth itll leave you a nice dull gray finish.TLDR sounds like you're on a good path.
>>29017309>hit every spot of surface rust before it becomes structuralCame here to post this.Get whatever can of gold or bronze paint thats "close enough" at home depot and seal that steel.My favorite car in my collection is on engine #4.(and im not even talking about swapping some Twisted Wedge heads for some AFRs).But once the cancer sets into the chassis its becomes a completely different ballgame.Yes that car has some custom repairs going on. Luckily I broke my teeth in the world doing sheetmetal so I can run a brake and shrinker/stretcher.But unless youre there already you'll lose interest in a year when shit goes south (fast) so a pre-emptive strike will be your savior on this project.
Ill give a complete rundown....Got the car new years day. Was going to keep it all original, but engine needed expensive work. So i got lucky with a good running LQ9, a 4L80E, all wiring and coolant fans for under $1000. I got new shocks, new springs, new bushings for all control arms, new body mounts, new nicopp brake and fuel lines, new 26gal gas tank, tanks inc pa4 fuel pump, new tie rods, idler arm, center link. I bought a new rear sway bar, was not originally equipped so i need to beef up the rear lower control arms. Im getting a new front sway bar, was backordered or whatever so hasn't shipped. Getting new rotors and drums, 265/60/17 general gmax tires or the Firestone Firehawk pursuit. I finally got the body mounts in last weekend, been busy with birthdays this weekend. But next i should have the front and rear suspension assembled and wheel wells back on. Need the car on its springs to get drive angle right. I might be over thinking the mounting situation. Part of me wants to do something custom so i can leave the accessories in the stock location. That just requires making my own motor mounts, which would be a first for me. Or buy all new accessory bracketry and ready made motor mounts...
Heres a straight on look. Im gonna go ahead and use some rust reformer in a can on everything i can get to.
>>29018399How’s the trunk? I had a 72. The trunk was all JB welded together.
>>29017341>But keeping the drumsif you'te gonna do some hard driving (unlikely but it really is fun) get a bolt on front disc conversion kit. there's a lot of options, especially for gm cars.>>29017461>3 speed / no lockups are silly (merely my opinion)for a daily definitely. it kinda hurts knowing my car could be a bit better even if it only had just a lockup converter.
>>29018760Only one bad spot where mice nested up or used as the toilet. Even then, less than a 6" square of patch work needed, and thats just to go extra past whats actually bad. Bottom of front and rear windshield has some flaking, but still looks decent for 54yrs. >>29018766It has front disc. I think all Pontiacs had front disc standard at this point. The others still had front drum as standard equipment. Could be wrong, but mine has front discs. I was referring to keeping the rear drums because discs in the rear are not necessarily better. By that i mean the investment required for aftermarket rear discs does not give enough performance to justify the cost. If i can find the 96 Impala SS rear end for less than $800, it might be worth it. I could rob everything but the shafts and housing. Theres one in San Antonio for $950 but he wont budge on price.
