Tires Make it Tough

Since the last post, picked up the rims with new Cameo Ivory paint on them; and, mounted and balanced the tires. With the encouragement and help of Benji's friend Annie's Dad Greg, another car guy and Harley Engineer by trade, I swapped out the 8-lug drums on the front with the 5-lug hubs/drums that came from a low mileage Bonneville donor car in Colorado. Many thanks go to Jeff out there for the hassle of removing them from a remote junk yard in what sounded like less than pleasant weather. I replaced the inner and outer bearings and races. The spindles on the car looked great. The brakes themselves looked as good as the back. It is amazing how TOUGH the GP looks with the simple steel wheels with the larger 15" tires. Next step is putting the Fabcraft rear sway bar on. Need to find a stick welder for the adapter kit, drill a few holes, and get that puppy on. From there I'll likely replace the worn suspension and steering components up front. Finally, need to find that contact information for the only source of the rear lower control arm bushings. Greg got me thinking that the tire transformation requires a little more heft under the hood than originally planned. It's been said before, but the wheels and tires make a car and provide its character. It is certainly the case here.

On a Sad Note ...

Curiosity setting in, I wondered if Bill & Rusty's Shell (their oil change sticker was on the driver's side door) was still on York Boulevard in Los Angeles. Thought it might be cool to drive the GP there some day when I "take that California trip on Route 66." The guys were certainly responsible in some small way for the longetivity of this car. Maybe somebody would remember the car. Sadly, it appears that their station is no more, and nothing more than a vacant lot in what looks like a declining neighborhood.

bub-BA It Is

Having a few hours in a row to work on an old car is a wonderful thing. Managed to get the front fenders, cowl, and grille all off. Off to the body shop tomorrow night, then off for a nice bath in acid. The metal all looks decent--no hidden cancerous surprises.

The only surprise was a production line wax crayon marking under the driver's side fender that looks like "bub." The Bonneville is named, of course, 'Big Aqua Bonney.' Could never quite get a name down for the White GP--but think I have one now: "bub-BA".

Next up: Getting the dash out, picking up the painted 5-lug rims to get tires mounted, then on to the front suspension and brakes.

More Pleasant Surprises

While the body parts are in process, I thought it would be a good time to work on the rear suspension, brakes, and 8-lug to 5-lug conversion. I've been accumulating parts for these systems for well over a year--some of the stuff is left over from the Bonneville. Whenever something popped up cheap, I picked it up. The basic suspension being the easiest, I replaced the completely worn out shocks with NOS Delco Pleasurizers that I found on EBay for CHEAP over a year ago. I picked up standard coil springs from Eaton Spring about the same time.

To get started, I used a bottle jack on the 4-Post lift to take tension off each spring for removal. Complicating the process just a bit were the pieces of 2X4's that the previous owner jammed into the springs to keep them from collapsing downward. Tension off, the wood came right out. Bottom bolts had easy access and were a cinch. The nut for the upper bolt provided the bare minimum clearance under the body. Thank goodness for an extra pair of hands (and a lot of supervisors) after Easter Dinner--which my wife was not too thrilled about. Funny how all of the men ended up in the garage, while all of the women accumulated around the kitchen table. My Nephew Dave managed to get a 3/4" wrench to hold the nut on each side, while I impacted the bolts below. Once the bolts were removed, the springs were easily taken out. The new ones went in like a snap. Moving to the brakes, I removed the 5 nuts holding the 8 lug wheel on the driver's side (left-handed reverse thread, of course) and tapped off the aluminum drum. Alas, the previous owner had already replaced the wheel cylinders and pads, and put everything together in a workman-like manner. What a beautiful thing!

I test fit the 5-lug replacement drum that a great guy from Colorado named Jeff hooked me up with--and they fit like a glove requiring only minor adjustment. Later this week on to the passenger side. I picked up some 15 X 7 (5X5) Cadillac wheels on Craigslist a couple of months ago that need to be cleaned and painted Cameo Ivory. The front will have 15 X 6 (JJ coded) wheels that are already in epoxy primer. Have to get all 4 wheels to the Body Shop for paint so that I can mount the tires. (Firestone Fire Hawks picked up from Tire Rack last November before the impending price increase--225-15 Front, 235-15 Rear; These are the best tires out there for price and performance, as far as I am concerned). Kids are off of school this week, and I get to watch them on Thursday and Friday. I'm thinking it's a good time to maybe get off the front fenders and cowl to ready for acid dipping.

This car is starting to transform before my eyes. I keep getting pleasantly surprised that is in better condition than I even imagined. A couple of days ago a friend showed me a mid-60's Tempest convertible that he is working on for someone else. On the lift, it's apparent that almost every piece of sheet metal and mechanical system needs complete replacement. While my Grand Prix started out as an ugly sister, she--so far-- has been an absolute stunner under her exterior.