Got the gauges and tach installed. Hopefully get the engine in this week. Sent from my E6910 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Back in '66/'67 I bought a '63 LeMans with a 326 and 3 or 4 speed (old memory, can't remember s*&t). That car was a runner, and I ran it hard. It had tri power when I bought it, but it couldn't get it to run right, so I put a single 4 barrel on it. Came home one night and parked it in the carport. During the night I heard a loud 'bang', but didn't know what it was. Next morning went out to go to work, started it up, hit reverse, let out the clutch....and nothing!! WTF???? Finally determined that the "rope" driveshaft had broken just forward of the transmission, leaving just a stub sticking out of the trans!!! Learning curve ahead. Not bad to work on, but could not find a new driveshaft ANYWHERE. Found 4 cylinder shafts, but they were 5/8" dia vs the 3/4" shaft in the V8 models. Found quite a few broken V8 shafts though. At the time I worked in Engineering for a machine manufacturer that had about 30 Engineers and about 150 VERY knowledgeable and talented machinists. I started asking around for repair advice, thinking we could make a replacement. I finally connected with one machinist who thought we could combine two shafts into one if we did it right, and knew some of the details of the original. Being young and innocent, I decided to call Pontiac Engineering. Surprisingly, I managed to get connected to a Drivetrain Engineer who was sympathetic to my plight and found the project interesting. Since Pontiac had stopped producing these shafts for replacement, he got approval to help me out. Over a day or two, he managed to research what I needed: material, heat treat, etc. and called back with what I needed to know. His suggestion was to get a 4 cylinder shaft (5/8") and marry a stub of it to the long portion of the V8 shaft. We wound up cutting one 5/8 "shaft right where it tapered down from the transmission input shaft to the 3/4" shaft diameter (they both had the same input shaft diameter), and the other shaft at a point closer to the trans. Turned a 'pin' on one shaft and bored a hole in the other, shrunk them together, preheat, weld, controlled cool, weld area machined smooth, heat treat, etc. and shot peened. It ran straight as a string and last for many years (I sold it and lost track of it for a while, but a guy I knew bought it a few years later). Last I heard (5-6 years after the repair) it was still going strong. The most astonishing thing to me was the factory design specs on these shafts was that the 5/8" shaft was designed to twist 3 1/2 times in its length, and the 3/4" shaft 7 or 8 (bad memory again) before failure!! You can't push a rope, but you sure as hell can twist it. Pretty amazing engineering!
Forgot to mention, a 3 1/2 diameter tach fits perfectly in the dash where the clock would go (right side of the instrument panel)
Well the engine is in. Working on finishing up the clutch linkage and exhaust Sent from my E6910 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
For some reason when I attach some pictures they post sideways and sometimes regular. Frustrating Sent from my E6910 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I had a 63 Le Mans and put a 389 in it from a 63 Bonneville. So long as the trans-axle was in good shape you were good to go. You had to use your brains driving it though because it wouldn't take any abuse but you could still drive it fast just no speed shifting or any of that BS. I never did any of that anyhow.. Out on the twisty's, that Pontiac was a good handling car. I put four 15 x 7 wheels on it with four 235/60r15 Pirelli P-7 radials. I had a friend who worked for Pirelli and got me some or there tires with very small blemishes. I set the front end up with 4 degrees positive caster, half a degree of negative camber, 1/8 - 1/8 toe in and man did that baby Pontiac go. The transaxle was a great idea. I remember how well that car took turns. It felt like it had a pivot in the center of the car that helped it go around the turn like a train car. That 389 had lots of balls and had a low heavy tone. The car looked and sounded like something special. It was Dark blue with a lighter blue interior. I put duals on it with Corvair turbo mufflers. I wanted to put Douglass SS glass packs on it but I used to take my mom and dad to work in the morning and they didn't like all that noise.. It was hard not putting your foot into it but I had visions of trans axle parts all over the road and I needed that car for transportation to school and to take my girlfriend (now wife) out.. I remember an older mechanic at the Pontiac dealership suggested I use a qt. of GM EOS in the trans axle. He said this would really make winter shifting so much smoother.. I never tried it... He also used to put it in standard and posi rear ends... I dont know, it doesn't sound right to me. Wouldn't the zinc speed up clutch wear in a posi rear end? I always wondered about that..
Aggressive driving in sharp corners can yield some surprising results with that rear axle ! Nice looking car !
Yes, better for our viewing pleasure. But now @CGkidd has to act as a contortionist to finish his workup under the dash.