August 13, 2000

Today I managed, between raindrops, to paint the side pieces that go along the rear seat, along with the headlamp supports, support springs and hardware, for the headlamps.

Finished buffing the chrome door window moldings ( 2 per side ) and mounted them. I then installed the new rubber window channel molding in these chrome pieces.

August 18, 2000

Just picked up my New "FLOWMASTER American Thunder" Exhaust system ( #17119 ) for GM "A" Body '64 - '72. It is a 2 1/2" system that comes with the 30 Series Mufflers ( #52533 ). It even came with the 4 Pontiac Muffler Hangers, and all clamps and bolts. The bolts are for the mounting of the system to your Header pipes and to mount the hangers. They give you 2 options for the tailpipe extensions, straight out or slightly bent downwards. So you can use the unused set, to extend the pipes forward, towards the engine, if you need the extra lenght.

This system was ordered on June 2nd, so it took allmost 3 months to get it, but I think the wait was WELL worth it!! Can't wait to get the system mounted and hear her RUMBLE!!!

August 19, 2000

Well, after 4 hours of work, laying on my back, I now have the exhaust up in place. Started her up, and she purrs like a lion. It has a nice deep tone at idle, around 800 rpm's. I actually had to cut off about 8 - 9 inches of pipe to bolt to the collectors on my headers. Since this quieted the engine compartment pretty good, I heard an exhaust leak coming from the #1 and #3-5 exhaust ports on the engine. Time to fine tune the gaskets!! Luckily, it is only heard slightly under heavy acceleration. But wouldn't you know, it had to be the side that is harder to work on!!! I have no Air Conditioning and the passenger side is wide open, with room to spare!! Think I'll save this fix for a rainy day!

While listening to my exhaust, I noticed my carburator spewing gas!!! I said "What the **** is that?!!" It is a rebuilt Rochester Carb. from Holly. Seemed like the float wasn't working. So, I took the carb. off the car, and proceeded to take the carb. apart. There are 2 screws that are located in the primary jet area. Believe it or not, they used hex allen screws. One thing, however, they drove these screws so tight, they stripped out the heads!! I managed to get these out by drilling the heads off.

The original problem was a piece of metal, preventing the needle valve, actuated by the float, to seal the gas inlet. Reassembled the carb., using the screws from my old carb, and reinstalled it back on the motor. SUCCESS!!! Now I got to listen to my exhaust again!!! Inside the car is relatively quiet. I was surprised! What a Sweet Sound outside the car!!

August 20, 2000

Made some more progress today. I managed to get both headlight supports, all four T-3 headlights, with trim mounting rings and bezels, and the turn signal lamp assemblies, lens, and bezels mounted. I found Frost King makes a waterproof Weatherstrip, 3/8" thick with a really strong self adhesive on one side, for the home. I puchased it at a local hardware store for $2.00. I put this on the turn signal lens, to make the gaskets, and it worked excellent! Lookin' Good!!

September 9, 2000

Well, after being on vacation, and doing the family thing, I am now back to my GP.. Today I was able to clean and buff the passenger side rear quarter chrome and install the new weather strip. Cleaned up all the interior parts and installed the passenger rear interior side panels along with the cloth/cardboard header extension. I used roofing paper in place of the original paper water barrier behind the panels..

September 10, 2000

Another good day! Today I worked on the driver's side rear quarter interior. Cleaned the rear quarter window and installed the new quarter window weatherstrip. Cleaned, buffed, and installed the exterior chrome molding with the new glass channel weatherstrip, the rear header panel, and the upper and lower rear side panels. I also managed to install the rear seat belts and the upper (back) and lower (bottom) rear seat. Cleaned and buffed the rear ashtrays and installed the new quarter window handles.

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