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Work begins once again. Build is moving about the pace i expected though. Picked up some Grimy 862 heads, should be remedied with some quality time in the degreaser at work. Have 4 broken manifold bolts in them, but also should be easily solved with either the welder and/or the bridgeport. Engine is in process of reassembly as well. Updated the first post with a better, albeit snow covered pic of the wagon
Finally got all my parts in one location. Previously my engine was at one friends garage to use his Run stand, trans was still being stored where i bought it from, and Car was at my Parents Farm. Now it is all in one garage, to be put together at last. Motor mounts are being more of a pain than i imagined they would be. otherwise, hoping to have it running by spring.
motor mounts were a much larger issue than i thought since i bought the car as a roller, i did not have teh factory clamshell brackets, an no one makes reproductions of them for the B body bars. It was a much bigger problem finding something that would work than I thought it would be when this project started. so, making my own seemed to be the easiest and most logical choice.
a little 1.75 x .120 wall Tubing mated to some 1.25 x .120 wall box tube.
Add in a couple Poly bushings and a sleeve. Bought them for Ford Control arms, but they are a perfect fit for this application.
All together now. universal LSX Innovations mount plates, solid SBC Motor mounts then mated to my mounts. Going to get it all in place, then cut my box tube to the correct length and weld to a plate on the frame around the stock location.
Started to remove the factory mounts, Bolts were a pain to get to and since i am not reusing any portion of them, out came the grinder. Instead of cutting the whole nut off, it is much easier to split it like below, then it pops right off and the bolt comes out.
Front end on these Box Body cars is LOOOOOONG. Brought over my other engine hoist, still no luck. Lacked a few inches of being able to slide it all it.
Cue Disassembly of the front end to gain the reach required to drop it all in. Bumper and header panel had to come off just to get the engine hoist in deep enough for the oil pan to clear the Crossmember. Then had to pull the Wiper motor as the fuel rail was hitting it when angling the engine/trans combo in and under the car. Engine alone should come out with wipe motor still in though.
Engine lined up, measured up and mounts trimmed to fit. They were tacked in place after this pic was taken.
All in, where it will now reside for good. It will be back in and out of the car a few more times over the coming weeks i am sure as i have to fully weld the mounts in, as well as ensure fitment of everything else. But its home for now, on its own weight in the car.
Now this is the part that is more than i bargained for. I knew i had to patch the floorboards. Well, pulled the rotten carped out, trans tunnel is pretty thin. So looks like just gonna fab up a whole new front floor pan and trans tunnel while I am in there. I am no body man, but am a decent fabricator, so we will see how this works out.
Got a little carried away with the plasma cutter last night
But it needed it. Both floor pans were pretty rotted, and i had to modify the trans tunnel anyway. so out it all comes.
And the win of the night goes to the driveshaft......bolt in, no mod required. I thought for sure i was gonna have to shorten it. Kinda dissappointed i don't get to now, as it usually makes for a decent how-to and most people don't realize just how easy it is to modify or even build your own drive shafts, even without a big lathe or much in the way of special tools.
Love me a wagon! My dad ordered his one and only new car and had it awaiting delivery when we arrived back from Germany in 1965. Picked up at a dealership in New Jersey -- 1965 Olds Vista Cruiser, black over red with the 3rd seat in the back (facing out the back window). 330 cube, 320 HP ("ultra" high compression, 4 bbl) with a 4 speed manual trans. Wish we'd kept track of that one - had to have been pretty rare. Many a Mustang/Camaro/Cuda/Chevelle was a little embarrassed having a big, black station wagon running neck and neck with them. Looking forward to seeing the progress.
Wish I had a picture. We bought him a Hurst shifter for it - still remember the decal. “Caution - this car equipped with a Hurst shifter. Shift as hard as you like, but don’t break your arm.”
Bit of frame repair and mounted a new trans X-member. Finished pics of yesterdays work did not save for some reason however, so only have a couple "in progress" pics.
Rusty frame secion. Nothing some quality time with a grinder, welder and some scrap steel can't fix
Mocked up in place. Holes were drilled after the frame patch and mounted temporarily. need spacers for inside the frame to keep from crushing it with the bolts, and once i start my exhaust, 95% chance i will have to modify it for exhaust clearance. a bridge i will cross when i get to it.
New X-member out of the car. nothing spectacular. some 1.5 x 1.5" x .120" box tube, and some 4" x 1/4" cold rolled plate. Box was milled to allow the plate to slide into place at the correct length and welded on both sided. Hole drilled in the center for the trans mount, and a large clearance hole on the bottom to allow the Nut and a socket to put it together. Simple, yet effective.
Pretty well at a standstill on the swap. waiting on parts. Picking up sheetmetal Tomorrow for the floors, and placed an order for a ton of parts to help progress the swap along. So in the mean time, did a few piddly things. moved the battery tray to the driver side since that is how my harness is set up. and found out my drivers rear window did not work. Pulled the door panel to find a new one on me. I've seen tracks breaks and gears strip, but never seen a window come unglued from the track itself. Not sure if my fix of simply glueing it back in worked, as the adhesive was not set yet to test out.
Planning on swapping seats, due tot he obvious condition of the factory bench, but figured i'd throw it back in just to see if the bench would even clear with the T56. Surprisingly it does, but with the seat all the way back and just barely. so i might try to find a notched bench to put in, otherwise buckets it is!
was waiting on parts, but picked up some 18ga sheet yesterday. gave rolling my own trans tunnel a shot. i'll have to see if it fits before i call it a success.
at this point, budget has been blown. figured it would be, always is.
was hoping to have a running, ,driving, reliable car for under 5k all in. last count, i am at roughly $5500 into the project and know I still need a tune ($600) and exhaust ($500-ish) plus a few other odds n ends. So, looks like 7k is the new number, not including wheels and tires.
I usually try and get as accurate a budget as I possibly can....Then, double it..
.
(I'm usually a lot less disappointed in the end that way.)
wishful thinking on my part, along with the always unforseen/forgotten cost. as well as some "while i'm in there" things as well The cam swap alone was un-needed, but wanted and cost 1300 or so with cam, springs, pushrods, and gasket kit. then i replaced good parts just for the sake of it. oil pump, water pump, timing chain. no required but worth the few hundred dollars for peace of mind.
initially I was hoping to be in the engine for $1500, but it was a major budget blower at being just over $2500 deep in it alone. (all parts and cost of engine itself included)
once "done", as done as any project ever is, I'll still be under double budget, but much closer to it than original budget for sure.
My attempt at Body work. definitely not my forte, but making it work. doubt i am doing it correctly, but seems to be working out ok. Trans tunnel fit decently, then with a little CAD work (cardboard aided design) was able to cut out the pans themselves to rough shape. have some more trimming to do on the floor of the car, then a ton of grinding. Hopefully can then weld in the tunnel, and do a final trim and fit on the pans. Hoping to attempt to bead roll the pans for some rigidity as well but that is not a tool i own or have ever used, though i am sure i will come up with a way to do it, usually do.
Once the main portion is tacked in, i can then make some filler plates and get all the angles right to fully fill out the pans.
I've never heard that one before, I'll have to remember that.
Where have you been? Actually it's part of the CB (CountryBoy) sector of the SD (ScreenDoor) operating system, a distant (VERY distant!) cousin to Windows.
just a small thing, but modified an old shift **** i made about 5 years ago to work on the T56. just wanted to get something "Done" on it right now lol
01-22-2019, 06:17 PM
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I've never heard that one before, I'll have to remember that. 
