Project Pittsbird Almost Done

[Bruzilla]

Just sold the front brakes for $375, so I have $956 to play with. I just bought a used Edelbrock Performer intake for $135, a used Carter HP fuel pump for $30, an almost-new Edelbrock 1413 850 CFM/electric choke carb for $225, valley pan and gaskets for $34, and a set of Accel 8MM plug wires for $38, so that's a total of $462, which still leaves me $494 to support the project.

I'm planning to paint the engine Steelers gold, so I want to use the MP black valve covers, so they're next on my list of things to buy.

 

[HawkRod]

Bru,

This is a fantastic thread, and I salute you for doing this. I am an example of a guy who spent a great deal to restore my 70 Road Runner. I am OK with that, as I wanted a top notch car through and through. You have conclusively shown what a guy with a more limited, but reasonable budget can do. Not everyone can or is willing to spend the big bucks to do a car, and you have an awesome example to prove that!

Hat's off to you for putting together a car that YOU want and that brings you joy - the Pittsbird is great!

Hawk

 

[camtra]

Great thread. Keep it up!! I routinely go to Pittsburgh for Union business. I've been a Steeler/Pirate fan since I was about 5 or 6.

 

[Bruzilla]

I've been tardy in updating this thread, so here's some updates. Here's some pics of the engine as it got pulled from the wagon...

The good news is the engine isn't locked up and seems to have good compression. Bad news is the water pump and carb are shot. I bought a used Edelbrock 1413 800 carb and a new water pump to replace those, so I'm out another $242. I'm also looking at buying all new ignition components, and after looking at the car I see the voltage regulator and a lot of wiring needs to be replaced. Apparently the asshats who worked on my car just disconnected the wiring and never labeled it.

I'm also needing a different oil pan, and I just ordered one off ebay for $89.

 

[BeatersRus]

just started following this thread.
absolutely Love the facts and prices you are including in the build.
i Wish the car mags would have done the same thing all these years,
it would have helped keep the insane prices down on our cars i think.

love the thread the build and the facts.
Thanks for sharing Bru!!

 

[Bruzilla]

Step 13: Drivetrain Upgrade, Part 3

Good Lord I've been slacking. Okay, I got all the parts for the engine, and modified the K member to use the Schumacher mounts. This is a VERY easy process and took about 20 minutes with a grinding wheel and drill.

I also went and bought a used engine hoist off Craigslist for $150, and I plan to sell it to someone else for the same amount, so that's a push budget wise.

I removed the hood and installed the engine and trans as one unit... by myself, which is no fun. One trick I learned was to tie a length of rope to the tailshaft of the transmission, and feed the rope over the transmission crossmember, under the car, and back to you. As you lower the engine/trans into the engine bay, keep pulling on the rope and guide the trans up and over the crossmember. Made the job pretty easy.

What made the job pretty hard was I had put both headers on before install, and the passenger-side header was no problem but the driver's side hit the power steering. I had to stop and pull the driver's-side header off, install the engine, then install the header again - after banging it with a hammer to make it fit.

Another issue I had is going from a small block to a big block with an Edelbrock Performer intake, spreadbore to squarebore adapter, heat gasket, and Edelbrock carb, there was no way the stock throttle cable and bracket was going to work. I had to buy a new extended cable off ebay for $29.

The throttle bracket was a different problem. The Town & Country I got the powertrain from had cruise control, and the bracket for these cars has a second, higher, clamp for the cruise control cable, but even that was too short by about 2". The fix was I cut the tabs that support the bracket off, and made two 2" extenders out of 1" x 1/8" steel stock, and welded the extenders between the tabs and bracket so it is now ugly but two inches higher and functional.

When I fired the engine up, I was very pleased that the new aluminum radiator is working well and the temp gauge sits right where it should. What didn't work well was the two cans of white header paint I put on the headers. Yep, as soon as those headers heated up, that paint was smoking and peeling, so don't waste your money on that crap. I bought two sections of flex pipe from Advance Auto Parts for $20, and used that to connect the headers to the exhaust pipes. This is a temp fix and I expect to pay about $150 to have an exhaust shop make me some real connectors.

 

[Bruzilla]

I guess it's time for a financials update. Before my ill-fated first engine swap effort, I was at about $6,400. For my second effort, I spent $800 for my doner car, and got the engine, trans, 8.75 center, brackets, and FM antenna off it. To date, I've made $1,640 selling parts off the car, so that lowered my overall costs to $5,560.

I spent $557.50 on the front and rear seats, and $459 on parts for the engine, and I expect to pay $150 for the exhaust to get wrapped up, so that all ups my costs to $6,726.50.

 

[Bruzilla]

Step 14: Brakes

I ran into a problem when I went to test drive the car. It had been sitting for close to three years thanks to my criminal repairman, and the brakes were shot. The fluid in the master cylinder looked like red velvet cake mix.

I bought a new master cylinder and booster and calipers from O'Reilly's Auto Parts for $157, and a new set of brake lines for $79 off ebay. I also bought a used proportioning valve off ebay for $12, so a total spend of $248, which boosts my total to $6,974.50.

My biggest problem with this is it's a Helluva lot easier to replace brake lines with the engine out than with the engine in!!! If I had known the lines needed replacing before I installed the engine, it would have been a 30-minute job. Not the case with the engine installed, so always check the brakes before installing the engine.

 

[Bruzilla]

Step 15: Transmission

I was doing some rather aggressive acceleration trials and the 727 failed. I barely made it back home and I suspect it's shot. I knew it was going to be a wildcard when I put it in as it had sat for ten years and I had no idea if it was any good when I bought the station wagon, so I guess I'm lucky it lasted as long as it did.

I had three options: Rebuild the trans, buy a rebuilt one, or buy a used one. In driving these cars since 1979, this is the first 727 I've had go bad, so they are not a high failure rate item, but I knew buying a used one is a roll of the dice, so that left rebuild or rebuilt. The prices I for for rebuilding mine ranged from $900 to $1,300. I found a couple of nice rebuilt ones from project cars that had failed along the way, and they were between $500 and $750. The problem was they were all small block units.

I talked to a guy I know in town who works on these, and he had a rebuilt SB trans for $500, and he said he would swap the BB parts off my trans and basically convert the SB to a BB for $700. That kind of seemed like a waste to me as I could just get it rebuilt for a couple hundred more.

I kept looking on ebay and started moving further out from Jacksonville since the only BB 727s I could find are out of RVs and the tailshafts have to be replaced. I went as far west as Mobile, AL and found an ad for a rebuilt BB 727 with a 2,500 stall converter for $500. The ad had been up for over a month. I contacted the seller and he still had it. He told me he had been working on a 71 Cuda project and the trans had been built for that car, but someone had bought it without the engine and trans and he had decided to go with a 4-speed for another Cuda he was working on and didn't need the 727. Even better, it had been built with a Mancini valve body and shift kit installed, which is about $500 worth of add ons, and a deep fluid pan. So I was getting a rebuilt trans, Mancini parts, and a new 2,500 converter for $500. Deal!

I had to make a 14-hour drive, and burn about $100 in gas, to get the trans, but I got it and am putting it in the car. I am planning on taking the old trans apart and selling the case for $200, the tail shaft for $200 (guys with RV transmissions are snapping these up!), the torque converter for $100, and the dipstick for $50, which will make back $550 and when all is said and done I'll have a top-of-the-line trans at a total cost of... $50.