Nice trade for the ammo. I got a .357 for my "ex" wife. That was the best trade I ever made.
Gray Man, Inc.
- Thread starter DRIVEN
- Start date
This followed me home today.
It doesn't work very good. A previous owner had done a few YouTube upgrades. Now I get to rabbit hole and find out what he did wrong.
Also finally did brakes on the Smell Camino. Replaced all 3 brake hoses as well since the fronts are 44 years old and the rear one is 56. They were probably due.
The reason for the age discrepancy on the hoses is that
The spindles and brakes (and sway bar) are from a '78 Trans Am WS6 that my wife's uncle parted out forever ago. There was a company that went by H-O Racing, then H-O Enterprises that sold custom ball joints that made this swap possible. The advantage, aside from disc brakes, was the taller spindle height. The result was a better roll center which completely changed the handling, as well as lowering the vehicle about 1.5 inches. Believe it or not, this thing corners pretty good.
Anyway, I traded uncle Ted a label printer for all the front-end parts and just bolted them on. Didn't even take the time to repack the wheel bearings or slap in a set of new pads. Today it finally got some attention.
It doesn't work very good. A previous owner had done a few YouTube upgrades. Now I get to rabbit hole and find out what he did wrong.
Also finally did brakes on the Smell Camino. Replaced all 3 brake hoses as well since the fronts are 44 years old and the rear one is 56. They were probably due.
The reason for the age discrepancy on the hoses is that
The spindles and brakes (and sway bar) are from a '78 Trans Am WS6 that my wife's uncle parted out forever ago. There was a company that went by H-O Racing, then H-O Enterprises that sold custom ball joints that made this swap possible. The advantage, aside from disc brakes, was the taller spindle height. The result was a better roll center which completely changed the handling, as well as lowering the vehicle about 1.5 inches. Believe it or not, this thing corners pretty good.
Anyway, I traded uncle Ted a label printer for all the front-end parts and just bolted them on. Didn't even take the time to repack the wheel bearings or slap in a set of new pads. Today it finally got some attention.
I remember doing that swap on a buddy's Chevelle back around 1987/88 when I was in Dallas.
I only became aware of it when my dad bought a '64 El Camino in around '97 and it had a bunch of H-O stuff with it. Springs, sway bars, and the conversion ball joints. Someone spent quite a bit of money on those parts. I probably bought my ball joints in '05 and the business was semi-defunct by then.
Was planning to do final assembly yesterday. Stator cover and related components done.
Cleaned and greased the kick lever pivot. Painted it and the front engine mount.
New piston, slipped on the cylinder and head, installed the timing components, adjusted the valves, and installed the covers.
When it was time to install the flywheel/rotor I realized that there should be a thrust washer against the crank gear that I neglected to order.
So now we wait for the mailman. Again.
Cleaned and greased the kick lever pivot. Painted it and the front engine mount.
New piston, slipped on the cylinder and head, installed the timing components, adjusted the valves, and installed the covers.
When it was time to install the flywheel/rotor I realized that there should be a thrust washer against the crank gear that I neglected to order.
So now we wait for the mailman. Again.
Glad to hear that all these old obscure parts are still out there to be found. You're assembling the GXP version of this bike...
Sucks on the washer but nice progress nonetheless.Was planning to do final assembly yesterday. Stator cover and related components done.
Cleaned and greased the kick lever pivot. Painted it and the front engine mount.
New piston, slipped on the cylinder and head, installed the timing components, adjusted the valves, and installed the covers.
When it was time to install the flywheel/rotor I realized that there should be a thrust washer against the crank gear that I neglected to order.
So now we wait for the mailman. Again.
