Projects '52 Catalina Super DeLuxe Custom Build

New bearings and seals were installed. Got them from NAPA for like $30ish bucks.

The Camaro Central mono to multi leaf adapter kit with additional insulator pads and shock mount plates


Axle is upside down but I only used the one insulator pad on the top of the leaf spring over the locator pin.

 

7/16-20 Serrated Wheel Studs - .472 In. Knurl, 1-1/2 In. Length for the '67 Camaro axle
Speedway rear disc conversion. Paper directions are trash. It does say at the top of the directions to watch their Right Stuff installation video. Definitely do that. (EDIT 2/1/21 DO NOT BUY THIS TRASH KIT. Had to replace with Master Power Brakes kit)

I used the thinnest of the 3 spacers available. The outer brake pad did not fit at all with the thickest 1/4" one supplied.


Time to put the cover back on and clean it up. Looking forward to pulling out the old axle now that I have this assembled. I feel like I wasted a lot of time and money on this mono leaf axle because I wanted the 2.56:1 gear ratio and 60" width. If this just would have been a '68 or '69 it would have had multi leaf perches setup already. The mono leaf adapter kit in whole cost me a stupid $203 plus tax. It didn't help I had to drill out and re thread a broken bolt in the dif housing. That was a nightmare, especially after the easy out broke in it but it got done.

 

Sounds like a normal day in the shop to me 3 steps fwd and 2 back but you got it done and it looks great. What MC are you using with the discs in the rear?

 

So I'm planning on using this firewall mounted dual diaphragm MC with a 1" bore from Speedway. I have to remove the heater box from its original position but it will be well worth it for the power brakes.

 

Started to remove the rear axle. The top shock bolts into the frame came out way easier than off the leaf mounting plate and since I'm trying to remove the whole axle and would like to sell it in one piece it works just fine. I ran into a little issue with the rear shackles though. After removing the center bolt, I thought there would be enough movement in the shackle arm to wiggle out the leaf pin but it doesn't budge at all. I'd like to reuse these shackles because its quick and free to get the new rear end installed. Will hopefully get these apart and reinstalled with a new axle tonight!
That space on the right side of the rolled leaf part was already there, you can tell by the rust. I haven't moved anything yet.

 

The rear leaf shackles just took some heat and popped right off with a few dead swings. Got the axle removed. Also, removed the gas tank. I picked it up and what sounded like a pound of rust was sliding around inside. I also noticed these pin holes everywhere. I ordered a replacement tank (Tanks Inc. Fuel Tanks B1-C) yesterday from Summit. This car has the 13.5" offset filler neck. I also ordered a new sending unit off ebay. I paid extra for this unit because it is specifically for my period of Pontiac and I didn't want issues with the gas gauge or fitment down the road. Just incase this ebay link expires or whatever it was listed as "1949-1954 Pontiac gas/fuel tank sending unit Stainless Steel" seller was "tomsclassic".

 

Next I lightly wire brushed the crusty rust off the underside to prep it for POR15. I figured this was the time to do it while the rear axle and gas tank were out.

 

POR15. What a mess. You're supposed to apply two thin coats within 2-6 hours of each other so you don't have to sand in between. I did about 3 hours and it was still tacky which is a good thing. So as you can tell, there were spots I couldn't reach with my foam or bristle brush. This was also a really challenging application while laying on my back. It was hard to get a thin coat but also my car absorbed so much POR15 that I ran out of my first application with half the quart gone while there were a lot of spots left to apply it to. When I realized I was getting to that low point, I finished the areas that made sense with the axle and gas tank out and will come back for the others later. At this point, I'm going to move on from coating and start installing the axle and gas tank so I can hurry up and get out from underneath this Chieftain and put it on the road.

 

Did you get any on you, that stuff is tuff to get off your skin?

 

^^^This--got some on me doing a 40--had to wear it off!

 

Oh definitely, Ha. I had a tyvek suit, double gloves, bandanna on my head, around my face and eye protection. Prob was, with the brush I kept flicking drops at my face, and my tyvek suit kept riding up my arms, I have it all over my wrists, I luckly got the black freckles off my face with some scrubbing. The wrists didn't come off fully. Have some on my hands from grabbing my shoplight to put it away too. That stuff is brutal. Liquid tar.

 

If you have any drips on the concrete floor it will lift off some cement when you scrape it off after it dries!

 

Great thread Nik! I am really enjoying it. These old Pontiacs are a blast. Keep posting!

 

Sweet project. That brake and spring setup looks nice

 

Got the sending unit. Looks awesome. Tank arrived too. Its primered, going to paint it black this afternoon.

 

So I wasn't thinking/didn't know better the original Pontiac sending unit wouldn't fit correctly in the universal tank. Looking at it now it's obvious. Anyway, ordered up new universal sending unit. At the same time, I figured I'd go all in and bought PTFE Steel braided 3/8" fuel line and -6 AN fittings to match. Original 5/16" fuel line didn't look too bad but I figure I'd remove the line as a variable while I'm already messing the way tank and sending unit. I hear the PTFE line will last the lifetime of the car.

 

Gas tank is in. So is the rear axle. Whew. So happy to have the rear end installed minus the new fuel line which is coming Monday and I haven't ran brake lines yet. Hangers that came with bands from summit were way off. Original on the left, Summit in the middle, hardware store on the right.


Wire brushing and POR15 underneath on the front half today. Then into the engine bay with degreaser, scuff pad and flat black spray paint. Then the motor gets dropped in. Onward!

 

That’s a really nice body, going to be a great driving car.

 

Nice build with lots of sensible mods.

 

After weeks of searching locally I pulled the trigger on some wheels from Summit. I got them already and they look super sweet. I am pleased with the quality. 5/$515.35 total with tax and free shipping. I also ordered 2.5" white wall tires 205/70R15 from Calli Tire and Wheel. They were $148 a pop on quality radials. It was the best price and quality for my budget. They are shipped and should be coming any day now. 5/$915 total with no tax but shipping.

 

Figured out why my car smelt moldy. I'm sure there's more to the smells in the cabin but getting this out significantly helped. Yes, that is an under seat heating core! I'm planning on still using it.

 

My workspace for a couple hours yesterday. I took some time to figure out how to get the heater box off the firewall and when it was done I was sad to see my defrost and heater knobs on the dash go with it. I was originally planning on removing this, going Vintage Air and putting a power brake booster in its place but now with the under seat core and this core looking so good I kind of want to keep it original . I think I can fit a 7" booster or just ditch the booster and go manual disc/disc MC on the firewall next to the heaterbox.

 

And of course....This happened to my Tacoma too while parked on the street living in an apartment a couple years back but it was in my cabin filter, a HUGE nest. I am soo happy I took this off haha. She was packed.

 

So since we are talking about Firewall and Brake Master Cylinder I thought I'd show someones setup that was shared with me. THIS IS NOT MY CAR. I'm just showing another way to do this if someone is interested. Either from Speedway or Summit. I believe it is a MBM universal part kit.

 

Were you planning to retain the original gas gauge?
1) 6 volt
2) really low resistance range (0-30 Ohm)
3) it works backwards (low resistance is empty tank) Edited, it was late when I wrote that

It can be rewound to work with newer senders, it's just a pfaff.

Phil

 

Hey Phil! Hope you're well.
I am planning on utilizing the original gas gauge.
1.) If it uses resistance, which doesn't need a current to read, I shouldn't have to worry about my 12V battery to 6V right? Shouldn't the wire from the sending unit just connect to the back of the fuel gauge and make it move?
2.) I picked up this 0-30 OHM sending unit on Summit. It should replace the original unit utilizing the 0-30 Ohm range.
3.) Good to know.

 

No, connecting it direct to 12V will set fire to the gauge. Ask me how I know. I
used a little 12-to-6 step down converter (made by Drok, bought on Amazon, search "drok 6v dc converter") to power mine.

That sender from Summit will work correctly with your gauge though. Connect it directly to the gauge as the original sender was hooked up.

Phil

 

HA! That doesn't sound good. Ok, so I didn't touch anything up in the dash in regards to the fuel gauge and new sending unit. I just took the wire off the old sender and put it on the new one. I'll leave it there.

I will lookup that step down converter now. Did you install one of these on every gauge then?

 

No. The fuel sender unit cannot handle much current so I rewound the fuel gauge as original and put a step down converter.

The temperature gauge accepts a hard to find sender so I rewound the gauge for 12V native and also to accept the resistance curve of a late 60's Chevy C10 sender (couple bucks at AutoZone).

Oil pressure in the 51 is a mechanical bourdon gauge so that's a non-issue, but the ammeter measures about 35 amps from zero to the end of the scale.

Edit: those little converters pack a decent punch, one would do both the fuel and temperature gauges. That would be good because they're sensitive to voltage fluctuation, which that converter would resolve, and act as a voltage stabilizer.

Buy two and use the other to run the clock.


Phil

 

Picked up my front disc brake conversion kit from Autocity Classic in Isanti, MN today. $500 buckaroos. I was very lucky in that the drums just pulled off by hand. The four bolts holding on the drum backing plate unscrewed no problem. Degreased and cleaned up the spindles and tie rods. I set out the materials to assemble, looked at the spindles, the materials, the spindles....then went inside to drink beer for the night. No instructions, I had to call and they seemed to know the order off the top of his head on how to assemble it so I will start tonight with what I retained so far.