1964 Catalina Safari Wagon

She is definitely coming around to be a beauty again. even better. Nice work.

 

NICE! Looking good!@

 

Thanks Dave, but you can't just stop by and say nice without answering at least one question.

 

LOL!!! I was looking at pictures!!

Doesnt really matter where #1 spark plug ends up as long as it is at TDC on #1.

Best way to do this is with driverside valve cover off.

Using a 1/2" ratchet with a 15/16" socket, slowly turn motor over until the line on balancer lines up with 0 mark on timing cover. If both intake and exhaust valves on #1 are closed then you have found TDC on the power stroke. if one of the valves are open, then spin the motor over one more time. 360* on crank is 180* on cam. Then they should both be closed.

Position the distributor for the best position. I.e. vacuum advance pointing in the correct location. Then drop the dizzy in. You will know that you are on the oil pump rod, when the dizzy is seated all the way in. Keep in mind that the dizzy will trn 15* when dropped in and the teeth of the cam and dizzy gear line up.

Where ever the rotor is pointing is the plug that is #1. Then mark and use that as #1 and then add the rest.

Pontiac's go COUNTERCLOCKWISE.

Firing order 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2.

HTH,
Dave

 

Can you show us a picture of your dad?

 

Ha.

We might see him in a video. I am going to do a video when I first start it up. He is likely to be in that somewhere. He will probably be shouting, "Turn it off, Turn it off! Grab the fire extinguisher."

 

Well, I guess taking charge of the family fire department is somewhat more usefull than getting filmed wearing a lampshade over his head at parties where plenty of high-percentage alcoholic beverages and funny-smelling cigarettes are served (hint, hint)

 

That's one hell of a job you have made on this Safari MrMister.

I replaced the engine and tranny in my old car, a '63 Pontiac Grand Prix, and fixed up the engine compartment, suspension and things like that so I have a hunch of what you have been doing to your car.

 

Yeah it is tough work. But it improves discipline. I don't complete projects, I always start things and when it gets tough I just go on to something else. I am so glad that when the family needs it I can over ride those horrible instincts and habits.

I would love to see some pics of your GP. I love the 60's for Pontiac.

Edit: I just saw the pic of your GP in the other thread. Going through your blog now.

 

Took my measurements on the old front drums to see how much the backspace changed. Wow. The brake guy said it would probably be the same. 13/16" difference.
I couldn't really take pictures of the measurements of the rotors as they are on there. But I measured from where the surface of the drum bearing would be to the new lug surface.





After that I cut out some cardboard and got some flat stock and mocked up how a tire would fit.

 

For those of you who remember I first took this to a shop.
They said they checked the heads and rockers and everything was super clean. Well, I knew they had lied but I finally decided to see how much. This was the passenger side that would have taken a little more effort to open because of the A/C.





Besides the grime, do you notice anything that does not belong?

 

The new mini starter had a stripped stud. It looked like butter.
I ground it off and decided to drill and tap and put a new stud in. Well, there was only an 1/8 " of metal and then it was another stud into plastic that connected to the wires inside the starter. Bummer.
Removed the solder and popped the whole thing out. I machined a flanged bushing, added a groove for a snap ring. Used a terminal ring and soldered the wires to that, added shrink tube. Put some high temp sealer to be sure nothing got in.









After all of this I installed all of this and put the starter in I found the ignition and high amp cable too short. I need to remove the starter to get to the stud and change out the high amp for a longer cable, then add butt splice on the ignition cable.

 

My son helped me make the bushing for the starter. He cranked the lathe a little.

He also helped me paint the battery tray and the gas tank splash shields. I love having my kids along.

 

Gear-reduction starters are cool. When have they made those available and are they Delco's?
The originals would either hang up at the solenoid or the clutches would fail sooner or later. Often, I'd go get a rebuild from a parts store, only to find out that it wasn't better than the one I was replacing

 

http://www.summitracing.com/search?keyword=Mini%20starter&dds=1

There seem to be a lot available, and I love that you can rotate the mounting of the body. I don't know what brand mine is as there is no indicator. I bought mine with the long branch manifolds, the original starter wouldn't fit.