1964 Catalina Safari Wagon

Here you go son...... a wood stretcher..

 

Thanks for the stretcher Junk. It got to me just in time. I actually didn't notice you had replied again. Oh well.

News on the wagon. It is in Jake's Shop. (That's me).
I am disassembling the front end to take out the engine and transmission. Before you say. "What!!!??? That's fre... crazy. You don't need to take off the front end to do that?"

I know. But I like to do things right the first time. If my engine compartment is going to be empty for a little bit, then I am going to take advantage of it and paint every nook and cranny I can and use tons of that expensive POR-15 snooter recommended. The whole thing is full of oil that shot around when the crank seal was messed up.
Process:
Take a picture before removing part.
Remove part.
Label Part (with a reference to pic number)
Zip lock baggy bolts with label.

Overkill? I want it to be as easy as possible to get this back together.
Anyway, since I am taking pictures of the process I have uploaded them into a photobucket album. I will post some pics for your viewing and allow the album to be available for viewing redundancy. Have fun.

Removed the hood, grill, one head lamp assembly, bumper, upper and lower grill supports, and the hood latch thingy.

Here is the end result of where I am at:


A little bit of original glory hidden?


Headlamp cover with the black paint. My paint code is WCA.


Beware of the snake


Small shot of before:


If there is a picture of something you want to see closer up or anything let me know.

Forgot Album link
Disassemble Front End

 

I like your work ethic, Mr. Read all about the different por15 products. You may want to use one of their prep products before just painting with their paint product. Good work!

 

Yeah. Thanks for the advice. I will be using their Marine cleaner, metal prep and ready, por-15. I don't know if I need por-15 under their chassis paint. I will be calling to ask.

 

Jake:
Looks good so far. Wish the whole car was as shiny as your "hidden glory" !!

When you put the other engine in, that upper radiator hose has to go!!! Too high, wrong application and it is ribbed.

Need to get the correct smooth hose. it helps cool the engine better and will not get air stuck in the top of that arc.

My first Pontiac had that, and I can't tell you how crappy it ran with it.

Anyway, keep the pictures coming.

Dave

 

Here is a link to the dual master cylinder write up. That was the first thing that I did to the car. Some will tell you that the car ran fine from the factory with the one reservoir. My thing is that if they worked so great, why did they change them....

Dave

http://forums.performanceyears.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641491

 

Yeah. I plan on changing that hideous radiator hose. I've heard they don't work that well.

As far as the master cylinder. Already have a dual and a new power boost. They came with my front disc conversion kit.
I am just waiting until the engine is out to make it easier to replace.

Lastly, dang you were up early this morning.

 

67Temp has more energy than a nuclear power plant!

 

With all of the stuff he has gone through for his wagon, and he is still excited to do more, he might be a nuclear power plant.

 

When working on any older vehicle, changing to a dual master cylinder and replacing all brake parts including hoses is top on the list. Nothing else is important if you can't stop! Even bad steering will usually get you aimed close to where you want to go! I'd say number two on the repair list is the fuel system. Especially the lines on an older vehicle that hasn't been used. If the carburator or fuel pump don't work you'll know that. But leaky lines can sneak up on you at the wrong times. Even the newer corn fuels are flamable, in theory.

 

I agree. The first thing I had done after buying the car was getting the brakes inspected. They already had new brake lines. The car isn't going to be driven until the engine , brakes , and other things are done. I am hoping to be done in a month or so.

 

--- With my 1955 Chevy wagon, the last thing I did was put in the front bucket seats. Everything else I'd built before I drove unfinished. Some I never finished after I began driving them.Didn't want that to happen to the wagon. You are doing great. Too many skip the hidden necessary stuff just to add wheels and glitter and drive.

 

ANy progress Jake?

 

Some progress. I have been so busy lately. It's no excuse, but it is taking way longer to do this than I had wanted to. A lot of parts looked ok but were rusted out and I don't want to buy anything I don't have to, so some parts took a lot of elbow grease to get ready for paint. Some are still in progress. Here are some engine pictures.
I have the crank, pistons and camshaft installed in the block and I am cleaning out the water jackets of the heads. They came back from the machine shop awhile ago and now that I am getting ready to put things together I see a lot of debris and rusty flakes floating around in there. So I am blowing the ports with air and using tweezers to try and break up the flakes to get them through the holes.

Just a reminder this is the 1974 400 engine from a Grand Prix.

 

Looking good Mr. Thanks for the update.