1960 Biscayne

[JWall]

Very Nice.
A cool car is getting even cooler!

[Mello Mel]

any updates ?? i was looking forward to the inspiration ...... i too have one that is a long term project.

[Zoomin]

Hey Mel, thanks for checking in. I confess that I am intimidated by the talent that many of the guys in here have. I have a difficult time hooking up something like this Ride Tech system when others are fabbing their own parts and wiring harnesses, so I appreciate it when people find what I am doing of some interest.

Before I post any pics, let me explain what my plan is (as of this moment). I want to get this suspension put in place and new wheels for the summer cruise season and then put a new engine in it this Fall after the Lone Star Good Guys.. I should have my lift by then and can go to town detailing the underside of this rascal. I may also re-do the interior depending on time.

I finally got all the rear suspension bits in place - Strong Arms, upper link, panhard bar and Shockwaves. When I took it down off the jackstands I thought the new bumper stops would only allow it to go down so far, but it turns out it bottomed out on my jack, so it's back up on jackstands now while I work on the front.

I know this pic looks like something off the Titanic, but it's just dirt. In the above posts I described how the bag mounts didn't fit right. I talked to Ride Tech about it and they said everything would line up when the suspension had weight on it. I looked at it again and I just wasn't comfortable with it, so I took the left side bag mount off just to see what was not right. Well, the instructions say mount the stud through the hole in the upper spring mount. I did all this by feel before, and for some reason I decided to get a flashlight and see if there was some crud up there that was preventing it from seating right. I found something, but it wasn't what I expected.



Note in the first pic where the stud (with the nut on it) is in the bag mount, and look at the location of the hole in the spring pocket. Once I drilled a new hole in the center, everything lined up perfectly. No mention to check for this in the instructions or by the Tech Staff.



Here's a pic of the bag mount and the new bump stop. Nice pieces.





Old and new trailing arms:





Old and new panhard bar and upper arm:





And here's a picture of what 60 years of accumulated dirt on the front upper arms looks like:



Cleaning all that crap off revealed the car still has the original ball joints in it, and they are in amazing shape considering.

[mcbassin]

Looks like some very nice parts Steve. Those ball joints must very good to last that long.
Looking forward to more pictures.

[screaminchevypickup]

^^^^^ Yeah what he said!!! Looks good Steve..
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[67c10rustbuket]

Nice '60 ! I love these old cars, I have a '59 2 dr wag that I am going to build after my truck is on the road. can't wait to see this one with some big wheels and aired out!

[Mello Mel]

I'm glad to see your plugging away at it, i have a 60 Bel-Air also and it needs total restoration.... but i love your car and always wished i had started with something as nice.. Keep up the excellent work you are doing great as far as i can tell. to be honest it is nice to see a real world installation by someone who is an enthusiast... not an expert.

[Zoomin]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looks like some very nice parts Steve. Those ball joints must very good to last that long.
Looking forward to more pictures.

The rubber boots were still soft and pliable. Not much play at all in the front end.

Originally Posted by screaminchevypickup

^^^^^ Yeah what he said!!! Looks good Steve..
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Thanks! I can't knock these things out like you can, but I actually have a blast giving it what I can. The fun is in the journey more than the destination.

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Nice '60 ! I love these old cars, I have a '59 2 dr wag that I am going to build after my truck is on the road. can't wait to see this one with some big wheels and aired out!

Another 6 - 8 weeks and I should have some pics for ya. Stay tuned.

Originally Posted by Mello Mel

I'm glad to see your plugging away at it, i have a 60 Bel-Air also and it needs total restoration.... but i love your car and always wished i had started with something as nice.. Keep up the excellent work you are doing great as far as i can tell. to be honest it is nice to see a real world installation by someone who is an enthusiast... not an expert.

I learned the hard way about what to start out with. I lucked out with this car. I bought it on fleabay, nothing other than pictures and a phone call with the owners son. Fortunately, he was as honest as he came across and the car was just as described.

I hate paint jail with a passion. I'm teaching myself how to paint too. Based on some of the characters I've come across, you don't exactly need a chemistry degree to paint - just a lot of patience and the nads to try.

[Secret Squirrel]

Originally Posted by BlazinC5

I think ya messed up on loading the pic Squirrel. lol try again. Even though I know what she looks like... I wanna see more...

Ok Bro you learnd me how to do this! Here is my wife's Frankamino. I have an update ... turns out it has a 78 Camaro Sub Frame and a stock rear (55 Bel Air).

I finally was able to get the wife to dress up for Halloween, all I had to do was buy her a car. Who knew? I think she loves that car more than me, maybe teaching her to shoot was a bad idea.

I replaced the current steering shaft (crappy rubber rag joint) with 93-95 a Jeep Cherokee U-Joint shaft. Very responsive steering now. Because of all the custom fab on this car the shaft married up to the gear box at about a 30 degree angle. I ripped two rubber rag joints and finally had enough. Sweet mod and it is a lot safer. Next - going to be changing the shot rubber bushings on the control arms (front/rear) to poly.

Wife gets mad at me when she can't drive her Hot Rod, so I'll need to hurry!

[Secret Squirrel]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Welcome Squirrel!

Your Biscayne sounds like an interesting project, for sure. I'd love to see some picx when you get a chance.

Thanks

Pics posted,

Do you still have the stock upper rear control arm? The rubber bushing was toasted so bad the inner shaft was slamming the metal sleeve with every bump cracking it and the control arm bushing housing.

The poly bushings just slips into the original rubber sleeve (no press needed)

Could have it welded, but I'd like to replace it.

[Zoomin]

I bet you get a ton of looks with that, and i like the security system you have in place!

I'm keeping all the parts in case someone ever decides to put this back to stock. Get the RideTech part - link
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[Zoomin]

PS - I was notified the wheels shipped yesterday, supposed to get them by the 15th.
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[Secret Squirrel]

Thanks for the link, I'm not too worried about stock parts since it is already "majorly modified" so that will work out great.

Yeah the car gets lots of looks, you see everyone from 80 year old ladies to 20 year old gearheads drooling.

My wife loves the way it drives, but I worry the engine is a little to hot for her abilities LOL. Something not right about her 60 ELKY being faster than my muscle cars!

I would love to slap on some rims like you have picked for your 60, but my wife likes the ones that are on it (retro 5 star) plus she sanded them all down and repainted them with rattle can specialty wheel paint.

I try to get her out there in the garage with me as much as possible, it helps that this is her car so she loves to be involved. We both agree the 80s style extra cab slits need to go, we are going to replace it with a custom window that matches the factory dimensions better.

[Secret Squirrel]

Few more pics for ya'll

[BlazinC5]

Originally Posted by Secret Squirrel

I think she loves that car more than me, maybe teaching her to shoot was a bad idea.

I think your safe for now Bro. If she put up with ya for this long and ain't shot ya, She's in it for the long haul. But if she does start showing signs, Tweek her sights to the left a bit and always run to the right.

It's good to finally see the interior of the car. Looks pretty nice. Even got a redneck flare with the CB and the antler handle. But I kinda like the window slats on that car. You don't see that pretty much anywhere.. I say leave them.

[Zoomin]

It's real cool she gets involved like that.

I think the slotted windows go with the wheels she likes. Cool project, Squirrel.

[Zoomin]

Well, good news, bad news today. Good news is the wheels showed up today. Took them in to Discount Tire where the manager and I have a good relationship, but he wasn't there today.

Bad news is two of the wheels got boogered up. When I got there I suspected something was up because no one wanted to talk to me, then finally the Asst. Mgr came over and confessed what happened. I did not have to say one word - he immediately said that they are going to replace the wheels. I have a funny feeling the Manager is going to crap when he finds out what those wheels cost.

So a minor delay of game on that front, which is OK because I still have to install the front Strong Arms and ShockWaves, and get the Air Ride all set up.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Well, good news, bad news today. Good news is the wheels showed up today. Took them in to Discount Tire where the manager and I have a good relationship, but he wasn't there today.

Bad news is two of the wheels got boogered up. When I got there I suspected something was up because no one wanted to talk to me, then finally the Asst. Mgr came over and confessed what happened. I did not have to say one word - he immediately said that they are going to replace the wheels. I have a funny feeling the Manager is going to crap when he finds out what those wheels cost.

So a minor delay of game on that front, which is OK because I still have to install the front Strong Arms and ShockWaves, and get the Air Ride all set up.

OUCH! Steve, that sucks. I cringe at the thought when I get some new wheels for my project. I have heard this happen to other guys. I figure the tire shops will make you sign a waiver soon saying they aren't responsible for damage.

[Zoomin]

I'm happy to say that the folks at Discount Tire stepped up and took care of things, without any hassle at all. They genuinely felt worse about it than I did and really went the extra mile to make sure I was happy, so a big tip of the hat to those guys. I'll definitely use them again.

Here's a sneak peak of how the wheels look on the car. It's boxed in so I can't get any good shots of the side of the car. Keep in mind the car is up on stands all corners until I get the front end work done and the air system set up.

[mcbassin]

Those wheels are gonna make this car pop!

[Zoomin]

Thanks Mike! I'm like a kid at Christmas right now.

[screaminchevypickup]

I like!!!! A lot!!!! Discount tire off 240 done the same thing to me not to long ago!!
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[Zoomin]

Got some work done this weekend. I pulled the passenger side suspension and installed the StrongArms and ShockWaves. I must've cleaned out 5 lbs of dirt, wire-wheeled the frame and spring cups, then painted to freshen things up. I also painted the Ride Tech parts an hammered silver. After paying a bunch of money, I thought it would be nice to be able to see them.

The front end coming apart:



Before:




After:




The old and new pieces:




I was going to re-use the original brakes and spindle for now and replace them later when I swap the engine out, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I ordered a brake and front end kit from Performance Online, won't be getting that until the end of the week, most likely. Until then I get to repeat the process on the driver side.

[mcbassin]

Looks like some high quality parts Steve. Looking forward to seeing this ride soon hopefully.

[screaminchevypickup]

Looks good Steve!!!
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