87 442 the way they should have been
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Got back in it today finished bolting in the rear so I can take some measurements and figure out some loose ends. The Mopar pinion definitely not going to work so I'm going to fab something up for a bump stop.
Then I decided to turn my attention to the motors. So I pulled a head off the 455 I took out of the car years ago because it kept eating push rods
Come to find it has sealed power coated forged pistons and I know the bottom end is tight. That got me excited because I really can't spend a boat load building a motor right now. So seeing the part number made me happy!
The picture it looks filthy but it's actually very clean I wiped off the numbers with just my finger. I'm not going to use the heads off it however because there just warmed over J heads and I have several other sets B C E G and K but I really want a set of aftermarket heads if I can find some used I will be using some of the valve train components from the J heads however
I am going to be robbing some parts from the 455 I just took out of it also. Like the tornado oil pan and the A-body valve covers possibly the heads unless I find an aftermarket set. After working out just what I want to do I decided to admire some of what I've done.
Then I threw a set of wheels on it to see what kind of backspace I'll need. I think I'm going to notch it and chop the inner wheelhouse
Not my choice of wheels it's just to give me an idea of what I want to put on it.
Then I decided to turn my attention to the motors. So I pulled a head off the 455 I took out of the car years ago because it kept eating push rods
Come to find it has sealed power coated forged pistons and I know the bottom end is tight. That got me excited because I really can't spend a boat load building a motor right now. So seeing the part number made me happy!
The picture it looks filthy but it's actually very clean I wiped off the numbers with just my finger. I'm not going to use the heads off it however because there just warmed over J heads and I have several other sets B C E G and K but I really want a set of aftermarket heads if I can find some used I will be using some of the valve train components from the J heads however
I am going to be robbing some parts from the 455 I just took out of it also. Like the tornado oil pan and the A-body valve covers possibly the heads unless I find an aftermarket set. After working out just what I want to do I decided to admire some of what I've done.
Then I threw a set of wheels on it to see what kind of backspace I'll need. I think I'm going to notch it and chop the inner wheelhouse
Not my choice of wheels it's just to give me an idea of what I want to put on it.
I've been toying with the idea of hurst gold painted centers on old school torque thrust wheels with a polished lip. The car is going to be a dark blue silver 2 tone with the stock 442 strips. I know it looks like color and stripes are a long way off but they may be closer than it seems because I need to edge some things out while it's apart and I will be attending the swap meet at maple grove pa the first week in April looking for wheels. Looks like I need a 15X8 4" backspace 5 on 4.5 for the back and a 15X6 3" backspace 5 on 4.75 up front. I'm horrible at measuring for wheel and tire combos. I plan to bang some of it out next Saturday but Sunday is clean up day at the building. We are moving out of the shipping container we use as a shed and into a bigger one. With the swap meet coming up it's the perfect time to clean house! Saturday morning however I need to start on my new smoker because man's gotta eat and jersey don't have good BBQ.
Here's a picture of the seized 455 that just came out of it
Just because.
Here's a picture of the seized 455 that just came out of it
Just because.
I ordered a couple things and they came in. Hopefully I get do do a little this weekend. Got some umi trailing arm braces and a south side machine frame notch kit. Think I want to do body mount bushings before I notch the frame tho. Maybe I'll roll the frame out to notch it. We'll see I have a lot going on besides this. It's getting hard to make time.
I was digging threw one of the many storage containers my buddy Eric has the other day. Looking for lifters for my 78 cutlass and ran across an energy suspension box. I picked it up and he asked me what's that? It being a new box I just read it and replied body bushings. He said Oh those are G-body take them for your car. Obviously I didn't argue LoL I'm starting to have quite the pile of parts to install on this thing.
Here we go I went down the rabbit hole today. A friend of mine gave me a set of car rollers that go under the wheels of a car so I went out to the building and put them under it. That's when I started looking at the body bushings and decided to try my luck at body bolts. They all came out except the 2 directly behind the rear wheels. Those 2 were rotted to toothpick size but the rest looked like new. Now I'm looking for a used gantry crane or 2 so I can suspend the body about 4 or 5 feet above the frame. I figure that will make it easier to do the frame notch and run all the new plumbing. I'll probably blast the frame and paint it after I do the notch. Like I said.... Rabbit hole that's ok though it will probably end up being the nicest one I've ever had and I've still got the 78 to drive
I think I may be going a little to far down the rabbit hole. I asked my boss this morning if he had a gantry I could borrow to hold up the body. After I explained what I was doing I mentioned a rotisserie. He said he has 2 of them in storage and I can have one! Here we go. Now I'm thinking I need an enclosed trailer because I only have 1 space at the building. That way the body can go on the rotisserie in the trailer while I do the frame and suspension and vice versa. So now I'm working on the secretary at work for the way out of service race car trailer in her driveway that's been used as a shed for many years. Maybe it will all come together.
Since the weekend I unbolted the body we've had a cold front and I haven't been able to get anything done. I've been out there for other things like selling parts and it's been colder in the building than outside. Good news is the landlord is putting in a new heating system. It's not going to make it warm in there like a house but he said it will take the edge off and help enough that the space heater will actually not have to run all the oxygen out of the room. That should be nice but we'll see when he gets it done. Until then I'm just figuring out what I'm going to need when the body comes off. I'm definitely notching it and boxing the center. I want to brace up the rear rails and tie them together but I don't exactly have a plan yet. The nextdoor at globex performance has done them before and said he could show me some tricks. I'm hoping he'll help out with the cnc plasma table and all the other cool tools he has over there but we shall see. First I need to get the body off it. I'm also probably going to get some work done on the 78 first because it's already at work and I'd love to be driving it this summer.
Have you been using the blast rig at all, or will this be the first time in a long time?
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