1966 Coronet Post - MAXIMVS III

[theman440]

My buddy Thad is building a '66 2-door sedan also. He texts me pics of his progress almost every day - he's blazing thru it, scoring needed parts, repairing rust, body work, paint, engine work ETC. I joke that he must be poppin' cross-tops to progress that fast but you appear to be progressing faster than he is!

 

[Snook]

It's moving along faster than I thought it would.

Hit a snag yesterday when I started putting the rear end together. I share part of the blame with goober on this one, as I didn't measure the rear before I started ordering parts. I pulled my new Dr. Diff axles out and they are 2"+ shorter than what came out of the rear. I thought I got the wrong axles but it turns out that goober swapped in a 71-74 B-Body housing in place of the 66-67 housing - the 71-74 housing f2f is 57.75", while the 66-67 is 54.25". Whoops, I got the right axles for a 66-67 rear which I thought was what I had. Luckily a bud knew where a 66 8-3/4 housing was and I picked it up this AM, so I didn't lose too much time but spent more $$$ but that's OK. I'll start putting the 66 rear together here in a bit, so I get to do the same work over again (painting, cleaning, etc). Considering on the cobbled up state I got the car in, I should have measured and verified everything - there's nothing left to replace now as this makes a complete swap of parts for good ones.

I listed the 71-74 rear. Non suregrip 489 punkin and axles in the for sale section if anyone is interested.

snook

 

[Snook]

I decided to go with a rear disc brake setup from Pirate Jacks, the only thing I could salvage from the original rear drum setup was the backing plates and e-brake cables. The Pirate Jack disc setup was $370 complete with free shipping. Even comes with right length e-brake cables for my 66 B.

snook

 

[Snook]

I was getting ready to buy the parts for my 489 case (non-suregrip open) when I stumbled on a good deal for a new complete 489 punkin with a powerlok suregrip, Richmond 3.91:1 gears for $400, so that saved me a bunch as the powerlok alone was $400+.

snook

 

[Snook]

Car was out of paint a few hours ago, those guys did a hell of a job. That WW1 single stage laid down real nice almost looks like a B/C paint job. They will finish the bottom this upcoming Monday and mount the S/S scoop and quarter extensions (tail light housings exterior. Here's a few pics.

snook

 

[theman440]

Looks good.

 

[Snook]

Some pics of the mocked up front end, wheels & tires going on and engine pic (covered up for now – work in progress though).

snook

 

[Snook]

Mocked up front end is complete; correct 8-3/4 66-67 housing is done. These will be installed over the next week and it will be a roller and headed home for the long task of completion.

snook

 

[Snook]

3.91's with a powerlok suregrip and Dr. Diff axles with 2" screw in studs.

snook

 

[Snook]

Looks good.

Thanks

snook

 

[Snook]

Took the front end, rear end and wheels/tires down to the shop today - 3 trips. They had the Coronet outside baking in the sun, will be there through tomorrow and then it's hammer time. Here's some pics of the car sunbathing on the rotor:

snook

 

[Snook]

I should rename the car "Grand Adventure". Every time I look, I've sunk another grand in it.

snook

 

[Snook]

Car is moving right along, the guys are doing a great job. Front and rear ends are in and the wheels/tires are on the car. Some pics...

snook

 

[Snook]

more...

snook

 

[Snook]

Anyone need some 6 cylinder torsion bars? These rea coming out.

snook

 

[Snook]

Oh yeah, undercoating is done too. Car should be good for a LONG time now...

snook

 

[Snook]

Car will be home this next Monday and then the real work begins.

snook

 

[Snook]

Stripped the old dash for junking (was cut up for an aftermarket radio, bondo in dash pad holes, etc, etc) and found an ancient bag of pills stuffed into the vent. Hazmat city, hosed it down and everything pretty much disintegrated. Out to the curb it went. Also stripped the nice dash I got for painting Dark Blue Iridescent (metallic) and found that the ash tray was never used, Shocked me with that one. Anyhow, the good dash is ready for paint along with the speaker grill (nice - I was amazed) and ash tray face. The radio and A/C controls are in really nice shape but the dash pad is TOAST - literally; that AZ sun for the last 54 years will do that.

snook

 

[Snook]

It's funny because the same thing happened (bag o' pills) when I picked up a 70 RR in 78.

snook

 

[Snook]

Finally home...

snook