1966 Coronet 440 field find

[gdrill]

I've got my console mostly assembled now. Thanks go out to @moparnation74 for the detailed process of doing his! It was a great guide on not ruining the carpet sides! The carpet was from Classic if I remember correctly. It wasn't too bad only requiring slight trimming. Then I got my top plate and door on. They don't line up too bad. Yes I know 66 didn't have a black edging, but the door is from a later version and the plate is really rough. So it looked better with the black distracting the attention! Eventually I will have to replace them. I do not have the wiring for the lights, but I think I can fab something up to work.

 

[gdrill]

Ooh ya.....next, the dash! That will change the car big time.

 

[gdrill]

It has not looked so good ever in it's existence! In my opinion anyway.

 

[gdrill]

Done for the day. It was so smoky here today from all the fires, that are 100 miles away at least, that I had nothing to do but work in the shop. Sounds like a great idea, but it was hotter than hell outside as well! So, needless to say, the shop was an oven. But I probably lost 5lbs and got a whole bunch done! And I'm done. Whew........

 

[gdrill]

Today was a good day. First I installed the steering column I got from member @elephantengine. It was a conversion for the console shift. Then I rigged up the neutral safety switch and reverse lights. 66 has a 1 peg switch at the trans but my trans is a 77 which has a 3 pin sender. So I hooked the neutral line into my system as per normal and then I tied the other two wires into the reverse system under the dash. It looks factory if I do say so myself! That was the easy stuff. Then I dug out and wrestled the headliner. It's the third one I have done now and I'm really happy with it. There is still a couple flaws, but I bet nobody but me will notice! If I ever do a fourth one, it WILL be perfect! It's so hard to get good pics of a headliner because they are so dark and out of the light!

I use this site as my reference for this task.......

http://www.restorick.com/tech/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6

 

[gdrill]

And a job nobody likes.......cutting holes in a brand new headliner! I put a screw in each side during installation so I would know where to start cutting. Then I masked and painted the bezels.

 

[440jimr]

Love those rear courtesy lamps; nice effect when they are illuminated at the same time as the console lamps.

 

[gdrill]

I actually haven't seen that effect! Can't wait too though.
I painted the A pillar moldings and tried out some SEM on the seat belts.

 

[gdrill]

I put power to it today. At first I had a dilemma. My lights and wipers worked, but that was it. No brakes lights, signal lights, Dash lights etc. So I thought back to what I had done and figured the only thing it could be was the plug on the new column. Sure enough I had wired it 180 degrees out. I took pictures when I did it but read the pic backwards when I put it back together! A quick fix and everything works but my heater. Even the radio makes noise, although it has no antenna yet. I'll dig into the heater tomorrow.

 

[gdrill]

I have a set of headpipes I got with my Challenger's original engine when I found it. The guy threw them in with the engine. They were however listed by Accurate Exhaust for an A-body big block with B-body manifolds. The driver side lined right up but the passenger was clocked about 30 degrees out? Maybe it was made wrong or maybe it was listed wrong and was actually for an A-body manifold? No matter, I cut the flange off and clocked it right for me! I haven't welded the runners solid yet. I'm going to wait until I have my driveshaft in there.

 

[gdrill]

Well, I couldn't resist. I have to get a shaft yet so I rigged these in with the plan of them being easily adjustable.

 

[moparjohnny]

Well, I couldn't resist. I have to get a shaft yet so I rigged these in with the plan of them being easily adjustable.

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you are very good at what you do with these cars.

 

[gdrill]

Thank you very much Sir! I truly and humbly appreciate that. I'm not really sure how good I am, but I do love building them. In fact the build far surpasses driving for me! I think I would like to do it for a living, at least for a while. The fun would probably wear off as a job though.

I am hoping to start it up before the weekend is over. I think I am at the point of just adding fluids now. Time to triple check everything!

 

[gdrill]

It fired right up and runs nicely. But the oil pressure was low when warm.

 

[5.7 hemi]

What's low, 15, 20?

 

[gdrill]

LOL, no, main bearings low, 5. It had 20 at idle cold on the run stand when I fired it. That's OK. I gambled on a $350 engine. It has good compression, 125, on all cylinders. I'm thinking mains and she will be a good runner.

 

[5.7 hemi]

Shim the pump with a washer. Could be worth the 15 minutes to try it.

 

[gdrill]

I'll try a couple things first. I will buy a new pump and see if that makes a difference. I will be buying one regardless if I rebuild the engine so it's a good place to start. Then I'll run some thicker oil through it too. This should tell me what it will likely need. But warm engine and low pressure really makes me think bearings.

 

[gdrill]

Shim the pump with a washer. Could be worth the 15 minutes to try it.

LOL, I was typing, and that too!

 

[5.7 hemi]

Great minds think alike! Lol!