1964 Catalina Safari Wagon

Where are the updates???

Jake hello?????

 

Hey Dave, thanks for the kick in the butt. My brother just gave me my camera back. He was only going to borrow it for a week. Turned into a month.

I will take some pictures tomorrow and post them. Things you will see. A rebuilt rear end, some rear disc brakes that need to be machined a bit to work, a rebuilt tranny bolted on the engine (outside of the car), new coil springs installed in the rear. It is almost done I can't believe it. It still seems like a lot of work left, but I am definitely in the assemble zone. There may be an issue with the third member that I rebuilt, better to remove it now and deal with it before things get moving too much farther.

If you don't see a picture tomorrow remind me again. I have been doing some overtime to pay for some of this stuff and I am in school and I have kids so I have been forgetting to do a lot lately.

 

Ok guys, finally got some pictures because you wont believe I did anything if I don't show you.

I took the engine out to attach the tranny.





I wish I had taken a picture with the tranny attached it seems, so big and yet it is smaller than the original tranny. As a reminder this is a TH400 replacing a Slim Jim. Anyway, here is a crummy picture from under after the install.



Here is the picture with the engine in and if you look close you might see the missing AC Blower. You are probably thinking I am a genius for removing it before the engine install. Well, my dad is the genius. He removed it quickly with one twist of the cherry picker's hydraulic release.



Straightened the brackets and reinstalled.



In case you doubted my dad's genius. He decided to add a vacuum tube manifold for me. Very cool, now I don't have to deal with broken vacuum lines that go through the fire wall.



The rebuilt rear in installed.



And the moment of truth, the engine installed and ready for more assembly. I added the fan and pulleys to make sure everything is lining up correctly.







If there is anything specific you want a picture of let me know. I think my dad has some pictures of the torn apart tranny.

 

I can't believe how good she's looking and psyched to see all the work you've put in. Can't wait to see final pics. Not sure if I ever showed you this but we used her several times in this video we did last year http://vimeo.com/22898296

 

That is so great to see it all put together.
I showed my wife the video too. Love the music and feel of it. How's the clothes business doing?

 

I hope that RED wire attached to the block is the NEGATIVE!!! Looking good!!!

 

More Updates Hurray:

Rear disc brake conversion was fairly easy.
Minor set back where the Caliper/Backing Plate was to small in the OD. The bearing would not fit through which makes it so the plate wont sit flush on the axle tube.



A little power honing fixed it.





Pulled out the gas tank and fixed the float. The brass was too bad so I ordered a plastic one from a different car. The length was way off but we tested the float in a bucket of water and made sure it would lift everything. It worked. I coated the tank with bed liner. No rust or anything in it.



Took out the front seat. I want to take it to get the foam replaced and the material mended or replaced. It looks like it may need to be replaced, so I may have to find the material.





When removing the seat I had to lift the carpet to get to the bolts. I found this:



I will hopefully have some more pics soon.
I am using a cross member kit, just installed the power steering pump and alternator and cleaning up some rust now that the carpet is removed.

 

J P Stevens was a huge textile company based in Greenville, SC with a stormy labor history and the subject of the movie Norma Rae. Finally gobbled up by a conglomerate then a couple of bankruptcies, not sure what happened to it since then.

I worked for prolly Stevens biggest competitor Milliken and Co, for a couple years right after college in the late 70's.

Enjoying the build thread Mr.! Keep up the great work!

 

That's awesome Mike. I would love to contact Betty and let her know that her work was still around and still in good shape if it weren't for some mold the the other owner.

What did you do for Milliken, if you don't mind my asking?

 

Roger Milliken, a true visionary in the industrial movement and textiles, was known for hiring green kids like me right out of college and training us for department supervisory roles in his plants(he had 70 at the time). We went through a 14 week MOP(Milliken Orientation Program) which included basic supervision principles as well as learning about company history and current operations including local SC plant visits.

I worked 2 1/2 yrs at his KEX plant in LaGrange, GA. It was an industrial business plant that made wiping cloths(not rags or shop towels), industrial mop heads and latex and rubber backed walk off mats. I supervised shift operations in the mat area.

Milliken had 4 operating divisions at the time, Industrial, Automotive, Home Furnishings and Chemicals.

It was a great introduction to the business world for me. I enjoyed my time there.

 

some great work goin on there

be rollin in no time

 

All right Jake, it has been too long without an update. Don't tell me the weather in CA is too bad to work. LOL!!! What the latest?!!!

Dave

 

The weather has been horrible lately. Between 65-70 degrees on average. How can I work in that?

Almost done. I am getting there and I can't wait to finish. It is going a lot slower than I would have liked, but work has been busy and that takes precedence.

There are two wires at the alternator and I wasn't the one who removed them. Does that black wire with the fuse go on the same stud as the main red wire?

Cruddy picture of the cross member.

Kickdown cable and throttle cable attachment bracket. I will be adding the pedal and throttle cable today.

Hole in the floor for a tranny. Sorry Safari.

Hole in the floor for the pedal. The image is rotated.

When finding TDC for the distributor location, how do I do that?

 

That's a nice looking Catalina wagon you have there.:banana:

 

Ha, Thanks. Now I want it to be a nice driving Catalina.