Fixing up a '71 Grand Safari

That's a nice Chevy Caprice. What year is it?


Glad to hear your eye is ok. Not so sure we need the close-up, gory details!

 

I wish you did too! I would gladly let you!

I think we are going to someday get the front of the engine put back on and put in a new distributor and see if thats the problem.

 

It is a nice one! It looks like a '79 Caprice.

 

If you ever have an MRI done make sure they know that you've had metal in your eye. They will do another check before they run you through the machine. I was told that if you have even the tiniest little piece of metal in your eye and you go through it will severly damage the eye.

When I had my stroke they dashed me up to have the MRI, had me on the table, and one of the technicians asked "have you ever had metal in your eyes or worked around metal where this could have happened" to which I said not to my knowledge on the first and a definite yes to the second.

Well, off the table and into another room where an eye surgeon spent a bit of time checked each eye out. Fortunately none, so back for the MRI.

You might want to put a small note with your drivers licence that in the past you've had metal removed from your eye. That way if you are out cold and they need to do anything they know to do a quick check. Just sayin.....

And bummer about the tree, good news that you got the engine delivered. Our equivalent to your AAA is dirt cheap to add my wife to my plan. It was thus a no-brainer for me since if I'm out and the car breaks I know what to do, if she is out all she needs to have in AAA's number. Just what you paid in fuel to go to where she was, and back................

I'll be interested to see what your mechanic puts in your car for a cam, and what he does with the heads. I used a Crane RV grind (we do a ton of towing with ours) an Edelbrock torquer manifold, 600 Edelbrock electric choke carb, sixty over, did the heads to stock config - I understand that Pontiac heads need to be done differently than the usual 3 angle valve grind done on Chevy's. I used stock '70's exhaust manifolds until a fellow with a 1948 House Truck with a 455 Pontiac engine told me he gained significant power and noticeable fuel mileage by acquiring a set of stock type Pontiac exhaust manifold "headers" as used on HO and TA cars in early 70. I purchased a pair and they have made a noticeable difference in power, low end torque is far better, and as for fuel mileage - well, I can't keep my foot out of the throttle to realize any gains there, for now at least.

 

Thanks for the tip about the MRI. I had to get a couple of those done in the last year, so that's really good to know.

The two door Caprice is a 1978. I've had it since I was 16. It was on the backlot of my father's GM dealership in the weeds about to get sent off to the junkyard. It had been used for years as a customer loaner car.

The four door Caprice is a 1979. An old man that was a friend of my family passed away and I always said I wanted to buy his car so his wife offered it to me in 2000 when he passed away. Got it for a little of nothing. It had about 66,000 miles on it when I got it. It now has 72,000.

Brandon

 

No update on the car, I go this Saturday morning to tear it down, but I did FINALLY move my blog over to a new website after the one I was using broke and stayed broke for quite a while.

The blog is about building April's '37 Chevy 4 door, which will be a daily driver. If it helps relate, the last entries have been about The Clam (71 Pontiac).

www.AprilMays37.blogspot.com

Brandon

 

Vetteman when you do that engine, upgrade to HEI you will not be disappointed.

i bet you also find the bearings on the crank are severley discolored and the cam bearings will have chunks/segments missing from the faces! Thats what mine looked like anyways not a mark on the crank or cam just missing face segments like defective bearings or something.It only had 60,000 some odd mi on it too.

Mine has an edelbrock RPM intake and the summit mid range cam and it runs........ purty damn good and PLENTY of power!

 

I got the engine torn apart this past Saturday. It seems that the motor was probably seized with rust at one point. One cylinder was definitely burning lots of oil. It doesn't appear to have been bored and everything was very, very original, except for one head gasket which seems to have been changed.

I spent several hours today at a parts washer cleaning all kinds of brackets and engine parts and all the nuts and bolts to the engine. Hopefully one day at work I can go in early or stay late and use the sand blaster.

I called the machine shop and they said it would be at least two weeks before they could get to it so I may go ahead and rent a storage building for a month so I will have a place to sand the body down and get it ready to paint.

No pictures yet, unless you'd want to see the giant rubbermade tote in the trunk of my car full of engine pieces dripping with parts cleaner. I have the block strapped down to the my dad's small trailer. Hope to be able to get to it to the machine shop one day this week.

I'm going to try to haul the car to work and the guys there said they could help me remove the windshield so I can fix whatever problems are causing the leak in it and then they can help me replace it.

Brandon

 

the factory seal is probably dry rotted do both rear side windows too! these always do that. i did all of mine and all my door weatherstripping and got a GOOD deal on the weatherstripping from a guy in florida! it was cheaper from him from a MAJOR manufacturer than it was from the manufacturer itself!

 

I figured/guessed correctly on model yrs of Brandon's and April's Chevys.....now I just feel old. Dooh!!

 

Any updates yet Brandon??

 

Funny you should mention that today because I actually just borrowed a heat gun from my work today. I tested it out on the rear driver door and it helps a whole lot for getting that old woodgrain off. The woodgrain in is pretty bad shape, so some of it comes off good, some of it doesn't. In many places the paint comes off with it, leaving only primer. I don't have a plastic scraper so my plan is to go get one bright and early tomorrow and start on it.

I've been talking to my friends and coworkers about the best methods to paint the car. April and I went to the street rod nationals last week and found a green that we think will work well.

The engine shop started on the engine. It's going to be bored .30 over, but everything else will be able to go back mostly stock. My friend's dad found a couple sources for engine parts so I'm going to call him tomorrow to find out all that information.

I don't really have a good place to paint the car. My dad has a barn, so I may be able to hang plastic and tape it off to make a paint booth. It has concrete floors, so that will help. I don't have a big compressor, so I am going to have to see what I can make work with a borrowed compressor. I'm still working out the details, but hopefully something will work out.

Brandon

 

Are you going to have aftermarket woodgrain put back on? I think woodgrain really sets these wagons off and the woodgrain option was fairly rare on these cars, I have seen more without it than ones with it. It would be cool to see it put back on. I know it may be impossible to get OEM woodgrain unless you find a NOS supply somewhere.

The woodgrain on my 72 Chevy Caprice Kingswood Estate wagon is not peeling and looks very nice when polished, but turns white after awhile. I know I would have a hard time finding it, but one time some guy on here had some for sale for a 71-72 Caprice Estate wagon (as the 71-72 had the transparent woodgrain that let the hue of the car show through it some), but he never got back in touch with me. I think that the 1971-72 Pontiac wagons also had the transparent woodgrain and the one on the tailgate actually acted as a reflector as well - when it was in good. I think I read that in a Pontiac wagon sales brochure.

 

Check out the woodgrain subsection and do some homework. There are lots of options, and it doesn't necessarily have to look like wood.

In 1967, AMC issued 3 special trim set-ups for their Rebel wagon.....


Here's the text of a press release:
Public Relations Department
American Motors Corporation
14250 Plymouth Road
Detroit, Michigan 48232
FOR RELEASE AM'S SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1967

DETROIT, Feb. 26 - - Three Rambler Rebel V-8 station wagons with special styling themes for specific locations will be marketed in 23 areas of the United States this spring and summer, American Motors vice president of automotive sales Thomas A. Coupe said today. The three station wagons - - Westerner, Mariner and Briarcliff - feature distinctive side paneling and interior upholstering which capture the flavor of the locale where they are to be sold. "Our objective in producing these unique station wagons is to determine in selected test market areas whether the buying public is favorably inclined toward special identification vehicles, " Coupe said. "These wagons will identify the owners with the Midwest and Southwest through a ranch theme, with the coastal areas through a nautical theme, and with the East through a country and hunt club theme, " he said.

The Westerner is Frost white with simulated natural tan leather grain panels running the full length of the sides from the upper character line to the lower molding. Bold panels of stallion brown vinyl, with a look of richly tooled leather, are used on seat backs and door panels in combination with white antelope grained vinyl to highlight the Western look inside.

The Mariner is Barbados blue with full-length side panels of simulated bleached teakwood planking. Narrow black horizontal stripes in the panels accentuate the contour of the body. Anchors and stars decorate the dark blue suede bolster panels of the seats, which also feature white piping and broad horizontal pleated inserts of medium blue antelope grain vinyl to complement the exterior color combination.

The Briarcliff is Matador red with simulated black camera grain side panels. Black antelope grain vinyl is used on seats and door panels to give the interior a look of luxury.

Each of the special station wagons has as standard equipment a 200-horsepower "Torque Command" 290 V-8 engine, automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, power tailgate window, push-button radio, wheel discs, remote control mirror, light group, electric clock, whitewall tires, special-duty springs and shocks, and individually adjustable reclining seats. Options offered include a 280-horsepower 343 cubic inch V-8, air conditioning, and solex glass windows.

The Westerner will be marketed in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, San Antonio, Houston, Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit areas; the Mariner in the Los Angeles, Portland, Eugene, San Francisco, Seattle, Miami and Tampa-St. Petersburg areas, and the Briarcliff in the Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Hartford, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Albany and Memphis areas.



I always thought a 'leather' look would go well on a big wagon.

 

i looked into woodgrain replacement on mine.lol guess what it's custom city now look up 3m site they have a LARGE selection but be ready to pay out the azz!