The

" Top Cat " 

Restoration

It didn't take long for me to get the car home before I started ripping things out and throwing things away. I started in the interior and tore up all the old carpeting. I was amazed at the condition of the floor pans as they were in excellent condition. It will make the restoration process much easier. I also pulled the rocker panel trim off and started cataloging all the screws. It must be my obsessive compulsive disorder kicking in but I plan on cataloging all the parts, placing all the screws, nuts and bolts into marked containers and storing everything as I go through this process.

Currently the car runs like crap. I am thinking its a combination of stale gas as well as a carb that needs to be rebuilt. Since its a two barrel Rochester, it should be a piece of cake. I have rebuilt some 4 barrel Thermo quads in the past and they are never much fun. I also found some vacuum lines cracked so those will be replaced as well. I plan on pulling the valve covers and taking a peek inside the covers to see what the rockers look like. The engine sounds great, no loud knocking noises, but oh boy does it run terrible.

I plan on replacing a lot of parts. Since this car is going to be my daily driver, I want it reliable. So the alternator, water pump, fuel pump and other engine components will all get replaced with new ones. I do not want any break downs on the road. When in doubt I plan on pitching it and throwing a new part on in its place.

Check back soon for more pictures and stories as I go through the process of making this car a great driver.  

Engine torn down. I wanted to pull the radiator to have it checked. Glad I did, it was shot. I ordered a new one and its now installed
I took everything off the engine Pontiac had a problem with the rocker studs on their 389. They worked lose sometimes. I found a couple had on this engine and reset them
I rebuilt the two barrel carb and also did away with the old points style ignition A new HEI Procomp ignition system should help it fire on all 8 cylinders :)
I wanted to detail the engine compartment and engine. This was part of the process Bare engine. Water pump, fuel pump, alternator were all removed
I really lucked out on the fuel tank. This is the original and was in great shape. I just went over it with Por 15 restoration paint. This is the area that is located above the fuel tank on the rear underside. It looked just like new. But I painted it over with Por 15
While under the rear I also painted the floor and trunk pans with Por 15. Everything was in great shape and I want it to stay that way The engine completed. I ordered new air filter decals ( originals ) and then assembled everything.
The engine received a new fuel pump, alternator, water pump, heater control valve, plugs, wires, etc. Looks great. Check out how clean the area is to the left by the fan shroud. This car was in awesome shape for its age
I plan on installing a new air con compressor which is why I didn't detail it. The rebuilt carb. I have rebuilt several big Carter thermoquads in the past. This little thing was a piece of cake. :)
A view of the completed engine minus the air cleaner. I do have some work involved in bringing back the upholstery
The upholstery is in bad shape and will need a complete recovering - top to bottom I got quotes on the upholstery work that ranged from 1,500 to 6,000. Being the cheap bastard I am I bought the equipment and plan on doing it myself ( with help from Ally of course ).
This is the new commercial / industrial machine I bought. I have everything setup in the trailer. This is one idea I have for the interior. I would like to take the seats and door panels to a white and channeled like these and use Aqua Marine on the door panels and in certain sections of the seats.