dont keep beating yourself up over the money spent so far ... there are no mistakes if a lesson was learned, and from reading and looking at the nova pics, I think you've learned quite a bit. You've got the coolest Buick of all - a '69 GS!!! (Heck ya, I'm Biased) ... keep moving foward, and if you need small stuff, let us know. Quite a few of us 68/69 StepChild Nation Brothers out here to lend a hand :beer
Forget the money you've spent...I tried to come up with a tally a few weeks ago of what I've spent on cars in the 16 years I've been driving...it wasn't pretty, and I don't have show cars to show for it either. my reply to myself? Who cares! Fun in the garage is better than money in the bank as long as you're paying the bills. That car has a frame, and as long as the frame's in good shape you've got a start. The car's going to have some filler, you will make mistakes, but you will learn a ton! Everybody takes a look at their car at some point and says "How am I going to get that thing back together?" You have to go at it and not be intimidated. Like Sean said earlier, buy a cheap car for now and get practicing on metalwork and welding. You don't have to be a pro to get a car you'll be proud of...just learn patience and realize you'll do some stuff over again. My Dad's very mechanical but he thinks I'm nuts the amount of work and money I put into these cars, so I ended up doing lots by myself, making mistakes, and keeping at it. Good luck!
Ryan don't be too concerned with with the $ into your cars atleast you realize it & your young.The money I've spent partying for years(18to26) with my buds, well never mind lots cash anyway. You already have a couple of options so save up & decide then. Good luck with it. Jamie
There is a guy in Yarrow that has a couple of bodies in his yard, I think I might even have his number. Also call Cole Mays 250-376-9330 (Kamloops), he may know of something. There was a decent body for sale on Vancouver criagslist a while ago I'll try to find the number for the felow in Yarrow.
Thanks guys, Yes I've talked to Cole, very nice guy, he has basically all of the sheetmetal i'd need except new rockers, but I don't think you can get those. Really all I'd ask for, is for someone knowledgeable about this type of repair to sit down with me by the car and show me how to do certain things, and explain etc.. So I'd have some inkling of how to start, if I were going to do that. Im not sure what time it is where all you guys live, but i'm just going to say happy new year in advance, and thank you! And your right 69GS400's 68-9's are about as hot as it gets for any muscle car styling period
I think im going to take a breather from thinking about bodies and such, Ill stick with the only good thing on the car, I'm going to start working on the 12 bolt, get it set up with new bearings, clutches, learn how to set up some 3.73's, c clip eliminator, weld the tubes to the housing. That I know will be money well spent as I will use it in whatever gs I have.
Too much gear 3.55 at the most it's a streetcar with tire height limitations.3.73's with a 29.5 to 30 tall tire would be ok if you could fit one in your wheel well.A stout 455 will suck alot of fuel so try to keep the cruising rpm down. Jamie
A word of caution about welding the tubes to the center section.....that practice can warp the housing, which in turn will lead to premature bearing failure. My advice would be not to do it. I've seen a lot of broken rearends through the years and not one single one of them was broken there. With an extreme race car........maybe. But anything less, forget it. Why take a chance on ruining a perfectly good 12 bolt housing. They can be straightened buy a professional but it's an unnecessary expense.
I'm the guy who told Ryan to weld the tubes.I didn't when I was told to more than once ( by someone who had also spun a tube) & when it broke it cost me over $1500 to fix from tow bills to new housing & dr shaft & more this was with a 1.47 -150 60ft on a 9'slick.The new 12 bolt was welded in a jig by a performance chassis shop & cooled properly. Jamie
Ryan i think a mid 1.60 60ft would be quite do able with 3.55's and 275 60 15 MT dot drag radials.The 373 would work well with the 295 65 15 dot but i don't think you could get them in there.Maybe they would fit on a 8 or 8.5 rim but a 68 or 69 guy would be able to tell you.373 would work with a O/D trans on the 275 but your running a t 350. Don't take the street out of your car or it ends up a garage ornament you rarely drive.To much cam, converter,& gear you have a race car you drive on the street.Nothing wrong with that but I don't think that's what your really after. I'm no suspension expert but there is ways to optimise what you are running and they do have trade offs to get your 60 ft down.Softer springs and 70/30 or 90/10 shocks but they can hurt your drive-ability. Jamie
Found a place on Craigslist that may be able to help http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/pts/1542684728.html There in Kamloops lots of sheet metal parts:TU:
I've gone 1.68 with my 3.31's and 1.71 with the 3.08's ... but as others have said you really need to decide what you want out of the car. For me, driving on the highway for hours and hours is a must. For some, being able to cruise a few miles down the street to the nearest/closest cruise spot to meet friends is what they're after. Most street/strip setups are somewhere's inbetween but you're not going to rack up any significant miles with 3.73's. Smiles - Yes :grin: Gears are relatively inexpensive to change both $$ and time wise so my advice would be go towards the middle ground for now and you can go up or down from there if your desires change either way ...
Or go with a 2004R transmission with the tall gears. I've got 4.10's behind mine and I love them. Cruises at 2,000rpm@55mph and 2,450@70, and does 1.82 with a mild 350. Just something to think about.
