Bringing the '65 back to life

[racecougar]

That's a wrap! It might look like we've taken a step backwards, but the intake, headers, and FEAD came off to get them out of the way for reinstallation into the chassis.

[Bomp]

Wow you are making this look easy.

[racecougar]

Thanks Bomp! I don't know about "easy", but we're still plugging along.

We decided to get the brakes knocked out before the engine/trans go back in. A new master cylinder and rebuilt hydroboost unit arrived a few days ago, but it turns out that the hydroboost units do not come equipped with the necessary pushrod, spring, disc, and retainer. Luckily, Dad was able to snag these parts by scrounging around a local junk yard.

We whipped up the necessary mounting plates, as well as a bracket to hang the Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve, and stuck the assembly on the cab today.

[racecougar]

Dad knocked out the lines today (one line not shown here) while I figured out the pedal situation. The lines will get a few tweaks at final assembly, but they're all formed and flared. The pedal required an extension to relocate the hole for the pushrod, as well as a little bump to actuate the brake switch which previously rode on the pushrod in the original location. I'm not sure how well the pedal ratio is going to work out, as that is a heck of a lot of leverage for a power-assist setup (over 6:1), but we'll see how it feels.

Everything will get paint this week, and should go back together one last time next weekend.

[racecougar]

Clockwise from top left: Finished paint and pre-assembly of the brake parts this week. Installed the Wilwood front calipers this morning, then the brake pedal, master cylinder/booster, proportioning valve, and lines. Afterward, we hooked up the power bleeder and bled the system. Finally, we drilled a big hole in the floor to allow the PCM wiring to pass through under the seat.

[racecougar]

Took care of a bunch of "loose ends" today: finished bleeding the brakes, reinstalled the rear wheels/tires, finished up the hole for the PCM wiring pass through, re-routed the wires to the starter and crank sensor, fit the trans dipstick...

It's almost time to stick the engine/trans back in.

[racecougar]

Big time updates: Drivetrain is installed, parking brake mechanism hooked up and functional, headers on, PCM wiring routed into the cab...we're getting there.

[racecougar]

We knocked a bunch off the list today. Intake, fuel rail, throttle body, water pump, and dampener are installed, amp is moved to the passenger side, PCM is mounted in the center, pass-through grommet is fit to the cab, fuse panels, relays, and TAC module are in the process of being mounted and wired...long busy day.

[racecougar]

Dad whipped up a really slick heat shield to protect the brake lines from the header today while I kept plugging away on the PCM wiring in the cab.

[racecougar]

The under-seat wiring is about all wrapped up.

[Ta2Don]

Diggin the progress

[racecougar]

Thanks Don. It might be a long shot, but we're trying like crazy to have this thing cruise ready by this September.


Dad and I hit a swap meet this morning, then he blasted and primed parts while I started on a mounting plate (red box) for the accelerator pedal assembly (blue box). Once it's mounted, I'll have to make a new arm to connect it to the stock '65 throttle pedal.

[racecougar]

Dad had to clearance the frame a bit for the hydroboost pump return lines before installing the driverside FEAD. I bent up some round stock to adapt the late-model accelerator pedal assembly to the original '65 accelerator pedal. It's all welded up and painted, and it should be installed next weekend.

[racecougar]

Day 333: We finished up the FEAD, installed the throttle actuator (though we need to clean 52 years of dust off the pedal), and started working on the fuel system.

[racecougar]

We spent some time laying out the "trunk" today. The box mounting is complete, the fuel tank mounting and supports are complete and painted, and the battery tray has been welded up. Once the battery hold down provisions are complete and those parts are painted, the box will be ready for final install into the bed.

[racecougar]

One battery mount complete and ready for paint. Don't mind the hardware or the junk battery in this photo, it was solely for use during fabrication.

[racecougar]

Fuel tank, battery tray, and tool box are fully installed in the bed. Time to make a list of parts to order and go back to the day job while we wait for them to arrive.

[racecougar]

Shifter Saturday. Clockwise from top left: I wish we would have noticed when rebuilding the column that the lockout tab for Park was wiped out. A little welding and filing later, we have a solid lockout. A Lokar ACA-1800 shift linkage kit with a ACA-1832 rod fit right up after cutting to length and adding a few slight bends.

[Ta2Don]

Great Progress!!!

[racecougar]

Thanks Don. We're working our tails off to get this thing done by September.

Not a particularly exciting day, but progress nonetheless. As we plan to relocate the fill on the fuel tank, we spent the morning whipping up a block-off plate and a new bolting flange. We also assembled the new coil mounts so we can figure out the best location for them.

[racecougar]

Did a little finishing work to the filler block-off plate this week, then wrapped up the fuel tank today. We went with a 400 lph Walbro pump.

[racecougar]

Somebody forgot to lay out the holes for the trim on the front fenders (woops), so we had to reinstall the front clip today. Those holes have now been drilled, and we figured out the new ignition coil mounting locations as well.

[racecougar]

It might be mundane, and it certainly was time consuming; we finished up the coil pack wiring today.

[racecougar]

I didn't get a chance to post this last Sunday (5/7):

We might be hurrying along to get this thing done by September, but we're not about to half-ass anything. The toolbox nameplate was replaced by one of our own doing this morning.

Dad also knocked out a few filler panels for the front fenders and did a little bodywork while I did some wiring and put together a list of fittings and hose ends we'll need to plumb.

[racecougar]

Yay! More wiring! *sarcasm*

We pulled the front outer fenders back off, made a bracket to mount the alcohol sensor, and whipped up a harness that will tie the the PCM area to the interior firewall/cluster.