Well, skitzofrenic66, my mind tends to wander after a long day. Basically, I was 31 miles from work, but when we moved to 47 miles away at the wife's insistence (better neighborhood), I had to do something. the Toyota was the solution. I still have the Skylark.
OK, Byron, it's 4 years later. What happened??? Didja put the Chebby in the "Lark" or not??? o No: Enquiring minds want to know.:laugh:
well damn a lot has happened since all of that noise. i got an email that this thread had been replied to and it loaded and scrolled to the bottom. anyhow, i pulled the buick 350 out, tore it down. sure enough the crank bearings were toast and the crank had been walking like a hitch hiker. so im trolling craigslist and stuff looking to find some crap i found a 455 with a th400 for $500. went and picked it up, fired it on a stand. ran great so i cleaned it, painted it and dropped her in with some TA alum frame pads, motor mounts and hardware. hooked up my unicase th350 and the baby ran hard. i was able to use the stock p/s pump and bracket because it bolted on the same as on the 350. same with the alt brackets. my next upgrade was gonna be a posi cause that big motor wouldnt let that one tire grip :Brow: then shortly after my radiator cap failed, reservoir stayed full and the motor ran outta water going down the freeway with my wife driving it to work....motor seized, tow home, pull plugs. put some ATF in each cylinder and leave it for a few days. it actually freed up the motor!! plugs back in, it fired right up! had a rod knock though. pulled the motor, tore down and it was toast, big time. craigslist find a 430 + 455 from the same guy down south a bit. i go and they are beautiful motors. the 430 he swears runs like a champ. the 455 he wasnt sure of. i paid $100 for the 455 and $300 for the 430. (turns out it was a '67 big port motor :Brow: get them home (he loads then via forklift and with the moving carts attached) and away we go. got home, wired and plumbed the 430 to fire on the crate...damn thing wouldnt fire but i could hear a hissing from around the head. crank again, i see stuff coming out of the head gasket. ugh, get a screwdriver......there are no head gaskets....further inspection found no intake gasket, valve covers hand tight. pulled the heads off. the motor was scrap. 3 blown up pistons....the 455 i got from him had thrown a rod. i payed way too much for that scrap so, im looking for MORE motors on craigslist and came across a '55 pontiac wagon. runner driver, the skylark had to go. put her up for sale and down the road that baby went. i still miss that car some pics of my journey the day it left uzzled: my '55 poncho my '55 and my dads '56
Well, that was a learning experience, huh? Great score on the '55. You only once in a great while even see '55 wagons in Chevy form, and the Pontiac versions NEVER. BTW, just for curiosity's sake I was trying to place where in Nor-Cal you are, based on what little is visible in the surroundings of your pics. If I had to take a stab at it, I would say you're either somewhere in the Santa Rosa/Sonoma County area, or possibly a Sac. suburb like Roseville. Am I warm at least? --Chris
santa rosa hahaha i loved that car and always will but my flavor changed. i used to want nothing but speed and now ive learned to slow down a bit. low and slow is the way to go and the older the better. 50's cars are fun and im still a buick guy through and through but these ponchos are dead sexy and get quite a look from the local chebby guys!
WOW, a lot has happened in your life in just a few short years. I hope you have a ball with your wagon. I'm a wagon-guy, too.o No: Thanks for the up-date.:TU:
455 exhaust http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwUqOstfv0s bored outside a buddies shop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ0AKTjAMME :3gears: :TU: :3gears: :TU: :3gears:
