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Can't wait to see the swap... You'll have even more room under the hood once you're done, here's a picture I found of a pontiac motor next to a SBC. Check out that size difference!
I've always wondered, did any Pontiacs for Canadian consumption get Pontiac engines?
Not many of the mid sixties full size cars built here did, you want to see something odd- a dual quad 409/4spd was available in the 1964 Parisienne,348 and 409 engine were installed in Canadian Pontiacs in the early sixties,later 396-427 engines were offered as well but are extremely rare.Here's a link for those who want to dig a bit deeper.
More background on the Bonneville for those of you playing along at home. The front plate still has the original 1967 registration
sticker on it, which is something I'd never seen before. (The cool kids call this #rare!) I believe the hood tach
to be a Dealership installed feature, as it had a date of November 1967 written inside it when I took it off.
(Dude before me wired it backwards. Jackass.)
No rust anywhere. Factory A/C car. Red on red. I bet this thing looked like a fire truck!
The little peckerheads down the street broke the original Bonneville emblems on the front of the car...
I'd planned on removing them anyways ...
One of the reasons that I decided on this course of action was that I had been asked by a friend to install a new
camshaft in his 1958 GMC truck that has a 400 with a 6 pack on it. I did the job, but the whole time I was thinking "Prehistoric!"
I wanted something a little more creative in my car.. and now I have it.
One of the newest toys I'm looking forward to using is the Painless LS Gauge Controller.
It eliminates the need for additional sending units and wiring.
I picked up a Bowtie Overdrives trans and torque converter, but I keep hearing about the Yank converters.
Anyone have any thoughts on that?
The most radical change I'm contemplating (that's funny, considering that I'm switching out the entire drive train...)
is putting a pair of 2006(ish) Chevy Silverado seats in it. The bench is nice, but I'm 6 inches taller than my wife
so adjustment is nice, and lumbar support is awesome. (Had they even invented that back then?)
You hot rod might be cool .. but do you camp out of it?
Last edited by MrTuckTuck; 12-26-2018 at 12:27 PM.
I'm hoping that I can take the VSS signal from the Gauge Controller and run it to the Adapter. (Is that too many items chained together?)
No one makes gauge clusters for these cars, and even though I can use suspension and some body parts from the 1967 Impala, the interior parts are all Pontiac.
I'm keeping the stock AM radio (which still works!) but replacing it with a new unit that I'm going to mount in a custom pod that extends from the ash tray.
I'm hoping that I can take the VSS signal from the Gauge Controller and run it to the Adapter. (Is that too many items chained together?)
No one makes gauge clusters for these cars, and even though I can use suspension and some body parts from the 1967 Impala, the interior parts are all Pontiac.
I'm keeping the stock AM radio (which still works!) but replacing it with a new unit that I'm going to mount in a custom pod that extends from the ash tray.
I'm also a fan of the sweep speedo's.
I know you've already bought some parts, but have you considered a custom gauge set up from Dakota Digital?
I was in the same spot. Whilst I have a 67 Impala, which they make a cluster for, my car is factory right-hand drive and the gauge setup is completely different to the US LHD version.
I reached out to Dakota Digital, they had me send them my gauges/bezel, and they built a system straight into it. Looks perfect, and save for the small digital window for the odometer, etc, you'd be hard pressed to guess it wasn't stock, and it mounts to the factory location. No modifications required.
Best thing I ever did, and whilst a little spendy, worth every cent.
I'm hoping that I can take the VSS signal from the Gauge Controller and run it to the Adapter. (Is that too many items chained together?)
I have the Dakota Digital box in my 72 A-body wagon, (I too love the "big" sweep speedo) it works so smooth, and was really easy to set up. I think you'll really like it. Mine gets it's signal from the 1 wire VSS output on the ECM. You should be able to use the signal off of your gauge controller.
One of the newest toys I'm looking forward to using is the Painless LS Gauge Controller.
It eliminates the need for additional sending units and wiring. https://www.painlessperformance.com/wc/60650.
You do realize that unit will not help you with any of the stock 1967 gauges?
You do realize that unit will not help you with any of the stock 1967 gauges?
Yes, I am aware of that. I've purchased replacement gauges from the Autometer Black Diamond series. The only thing I'm keeping from stock is the speedo.
I'm also a fan of the sweep speedo's.
I know you've already bought some parts, but have you considered a custom gauge set up from Dakota Digital?
Thank you for the pictures, Russ! I was wondering what their custom clusters look like.
That's one of the first design choices I made when planning this car. I called Dakota and they offered to build me one, but it IS a little on the steep side. (This is somewhat of a budget build.........)
I managed to find another cluster identical to mine on Ebay, only paying 15 dollars for it. I figure that I can use my drill, and roll the speedo from the 85000 that shows on it now, all the way to 00000.
In addtion, I believe that I can replace/blend the existing fuel and ammeter with the upgraded gauges. Also, since A/C is a year or two away .... I'm going to use the vent in the dash on the left side, and I'll be able to make
a plate that will allow me to mount two gauges in that hole. I'm thinking I can get it to look pretty clean. If that doesn't work, I can always mount them in the cluster I'm going to make for the stereo.
A little more back story on my car... (This is IT, I promise. No more backwards, only forwards!!)
I really started looking for this car around December of 2012. I know this, because I found this picture below on 12/22/12. It's hard to find art of these cars, and this one is even the color I envisioned using.
I contacted the artist directly about a month ago, and purchased a framed print.. funny how the world works sometimes. I was just reading through Trozfan's Econoline thread, and was a little jealous of his art.
Then, I remembered that I had some of my own. HA!
this car is awesome love the nose. my dad had a 67 catalina with a 400 pontiac, which is the motor that is in my 35 ford rat rod. beauceau torque. love it. thats neat if the hood tach was a factory option, i thought they were just gto.
To the best of my knowledge, starting in 1967, hood tachs were an option on Firebird and GTO. I believe this was a special order only item, as I've only seen them on 3 or 4 other Bonneville / Grand Prix / Catalina cats.
First world problems... my car is 221 inches long, and my garage is 231 inches deep. (The curse of living in a newer tract home.) Yeah, this is going to be a tight fit.....
It's hard to tell from the pile of boxes, but there's an engine, trans, torque converter, headers, carpet kit, radiator and more in this little pile. (and a shopvac, as well. I don't see how that'll make the car faster.. but who knows?)
Thats a really cool rendering. This should be a really cool transformation. Start wrenching all ready. LOL
KWhizz is correct! However, the hardest part of this ENTIRE project is to convince the wife to give up her parking spot in the garage in the middle of winter!
Once that obstacle is mounted, it's downhill from there. (I'm open to suggestions.. how persuasive can you guys be?)
Killing time yesterday, went to do a little window shopping and found a pair of buckets that match my existing seats. YAY!!!!
A little scrubbing and they'll shine like a new penny!!
12-24-2018, 04:41 PM
