? about Day 2 mods...
 

I'm thinking of doing a few mods to my '70 LS6. I'm thinking of Cragar "SS's", Hooker headers, finned aluminum covers, maybe a Sun tach (car has factory gauges), and aftermarket gauges. What else would have been "typical" mods? I'm thinking of using period parts if possible. Is there a way to tell when aftermarket parts were made?

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Whitetop to the rescue.......

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Hychev just Daytoooed his '70 'velle. (How's that for Gray Baskerville style chingo?)

Have not seen the end result but based on what he has bought it will look good. Most speed parts have been revised by the manufacturer over the years. Best to pick up old mags from the era and see what is correct.
I still like the old style Lakewood or NMW bars and finned rear end covers.
Dave

Please no fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror, dice valve stem covers, moon eyes or clay smith woody pecker decals please... some of the most overdone and not correct mods there are.

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[ QUOTE ]
I'm thinking of doing a few mods to my Hooker

THATS MORE LIKE IT!!!!!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] ------ [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif[/img]

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Hey Dave,Did you make it to the GM Nats in Carlisle? I saw a nice set of NMW orange Bars for a 68-72 A-body in the box $150.......A great "day two" start! I hope someone here bought them,they were nice..........Pick up a few old mags (65-78)and look at the ads,find the next swap meeet and start searchin.You won't find "day two" parts at the store anymore. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]Anyone see the new SW "classic" gauges yet?Another interesting attempt to cash in on their old product line... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif[/img]

Steve [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

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Steve
Did not make it to Carlisle but made it to Butler. Picked up a whole box of old mags 80+. Have some listed now on ebay under nfifty15 (hint, hint)Lots of Yenko, Baldwin, Harrell stuff with more to be added to ebay this week.

I still pick up some day two stuff at older speed shops now and then. I know of several old shops that have tons of old stuff but the owners won't part with it.
Dave

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Don't forget HI-Jackers(can you put those on a coil spring car?) [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif[/img]

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I am thinking about the ladder bar setup...Did the different mods have anything to do with regionality? I mean was a guy in NY more likely to do something different than a guy on the west coast?

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You bet.
NE and midwest was more drag/straight line orientated. West coast was more trans am, imsa look. What you used for speed parts was also based upon were you resided. Not all cases of course but good indicator. For instance Sun gauges were very popular in the NE and midwest but SW was used more out west.
Guys in the NE were jacking up their cars all around and running huge rear tires while guys out west even back in the early '70's were running fender flares etc.
Check out the New York mags from the era( Hot Cars, Chevy Action etc) vs the West coast mags, Hot Rod etc and you will definetly see a big difference.
Dave

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got to have a Hurst Shifter [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

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Another thing why the cars were different between the coast, and this is my opinion, is the guys in the rust belt east/NE were more blue collar so their cars reflected their drag racing heritage. West coast guys were always of a different tune. Not as blue collar as the east so they tended to be more "refined" (in their opinion)so they steered toward the forgein cars which were not drag raced in their homelands but came from a Lemans/Imsa/Formula one heritage. You know the kind of racing were the male spectators wear a sweater around his neck. i.e. girly man stuff.

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Greg,
As original as your car is, I would leave it like it is and drive it. To me cars that haven't been off the frame "rock". They can only be original once. We still should get both cars together and do a photo shoot.
Mitchell

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greg,
contact tim lopata, he is a genious about date period correct stuff or troy criscillas both from maryville, tenn. these guys have as much kknowledge about date period stuff as anyone i know. tim is copolocaters on this site and troy is ratpack. hope upu will find what you are looking for if not call me and i'll get there #'s.
kh

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Greg Whitetop is right in that I am doing a "day 2" theme on my car. A couple of suggestions are if you are going to do it at all IMO you are completely defeating the purpose unless you run bias ply tires and a vintage battery or in my case a Battery Topper. Most people can't deal with a set of old style tires because they "think" that it will give them a crappy ride. I can tell you from driving on them for a few thousand miles now that it is just a myth about the bad ride. If most people don't like the ride with them they shouldn't drive a muscle car in the first place. If you want a comfortable ride drive a Lexus. Another thing is like whitetop said use parts from the period of the time frame that you want to accomplish. Dont use parts that were big in the mid/later 60's on your 70. Parts from 70-75 are cool IMO. I must say that most people use magazines to judge what would be "correct". I only use them as a guide. Only a handfull of cars made it into magazines compared to the millions of american muscle cars that had different things done to them that were not in mags. Ask guys in your area what them and people they knew were using to hop up their cars. For instance nobody I asked used SW gauges but ran with the Sun in my area. Like whitetop said it is a regional thing. If you look at my car I wanted NOTHING on my car to tell you it was past the 70's. Everything from style, parts, decals, licence plates, and even floor mats must be time frame correct. If you do it do it all the way. Attached is a pic of my car.

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I know that I ran a set of Thrush headers on my 70Z with appleince(sp) glass packs.Oh yea and a USA1 plate.

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I am running the standard size Wide Oval tires and 14X7 Cragers for the front with Mickey Thompson Indy Profile S/S L60 15 meats with Crager 15X8 for the rear. the car has a nice rake from the tires and I also have a set of Gabriel Hi Jacker air shocks for the rear.

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The engine compartment isn't really done up that much. You can't change the air cleaner if you want to keep your cowl induction. I added headers, battery topper, finned valve covers(fake so I have been told) and a orange blade flex a lite fan.

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Here is how the flex a lite fan looks.

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An interior shot.

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Sun tach

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I recently bought a NOS set of Sun 2 5/8 gauges.

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Decals are a nice touch

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More decals

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rear of car

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I have a set of early style lakewood ladder bars that I restored and have brand new hardware for. I am debating if I will put them on the car. I would have to re think the muffler set up (maybe glass packs?) and drill into the frame. I don't know if I want to do that. I also have this Grant style steering wheel and NOS vintage Superior red metal flake rimmed wheel I am debating on installing.

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Now Frank day 2 would include an 8-track player. Let's see what would go in there.... Black Sabbath, Led Zep, Yes, Styx those are the ones I remember laying around my house. Oh yeah, Andy Williams. Wait! That was in my Dad's Cadillac. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

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[ QUOTE ]
Another thing why the cars were different between the coast, and this is my opinion, is the guys in the rust belt east/NE were more blue collar so their cars reflected their drag racing heritage. West coast guys were always of a different tune. Not as blue collar as the east so they tended to be more "refined" (in their opinion)so they steered toward the forgein cars which were not drag raced in their homelands but came from a Lemans/Imsa/Formula one heritage. <font color="green"> You know the kind of racing were the male spectators wear a sweater around his neck. i.e. girly man stuff. </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif[/img]

Whitetop, are ya jabbing that fork in any particular direction?

-Seattle Sam

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Seattle Sam
[ QUOTE ]
Girly man stuff

[/ QUOTE ]

Lemans is in France, run by the French right? Case closed. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I'm going to admit I can't stand Formula One etc. The noise those cars make sounds like a Singer sewing machine at full pedal plugged into a 240 volt wall socket.

To each his own though. That's what makes this country great.
I admit I probably put my foot into my keyboard sometimes too much but that's me.

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Yeah, whitetop, those F1 motors really spin fast. Sounds like a bunch of attacking mosquitos! Shifting gears like they are playing a video game, with those paddles on the steering wheels. I like the sound of the early Ferrari V-12's though!

By the way, your car looks great Frank! I like the shrunken head... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

-Sam

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Frank install the red wheel!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img] is it the one I showed you? and I hope you sprung for the BigFoot gas pedal also!!
If it was my rig the ladder bars would go on for sure, very period correct, by the way where did you find the correct yellow for the bars, I need to do my traction bars for the '67.

See ya Bud. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

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When we bought our '69 L78 car, it still had the Stewart-Warner tach and gauges, and Hurst shifter that were installed by the original owner. The headers weren't the originals but stayed on the car as well.
Cragar SS Mags as well as Keystone Classics were quite popular back then. Chromed reversed rims were a low cost alternative. I ran chromed copies of the 15X7 rally wheels for many years. My first mags were Fentons with black spokes and polished bead edges. Some people even tried the Holley three barrel carbs without much success.

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[ QUOTE ]
If you do it do it all the way.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you going to grow sideburns and wear bellbottoms when you drive it? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif[/img]

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Darren I am serious about music that is played in my car. Vintage classic rock and Motown is all that gets play in my ride!

Bud that is the wheel that you tipped me off to. Thanks again. The big foot pedal is a little......well my father had a 1963 Impala SS back in late 69 and he had that pedal on along with lepoard skin interior and the cat where the eyes shifted when you made a turn that sat on the back package tray. IMO tasteless to say the least! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Seattle Sam thanks. You wouldn't believe the compliments that I get on that darn head. The way I look at it is I am a head hunter on the prowl when I drive that thing!

Chris I can't believe that you said that!!! I was thinking the same thing just today. Sometimes when I take my car out I dress in my dads old Zansabelt pants with an old Banlon shirt and the Big Motha brand stack shoes! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] I wish I was around back then to have a cat like this in the car as well.(my pops is the guy with the stacks on. See attachment)

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What do you guys think about glass packs and how would they sound? Were glass packs being used in the 70's? I know they were use often in the 60's. I see alot of mags and old pics of guys running header mufflers. I really don't want to do that. If I do glasspacks I could install the ladder bars. Any feedback on this?

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hvychev,
I ran with ladder bars for awhile----kind of hard on the rear lower control / frame connecting point for everyday use.--Try graphite impregnated bushings in your boxed control arms--or Hotchkis has a nice rear complete/partial suspension package--a little pricey, but they are built very well--IMO.
Glass packs--used a bunch back when my hearing was better- now I could probably run open headers and have to lift the hood to see if the engine is running--but I did like the sound back then--if you go that route try to get a glass pack that claims to give you a deep mellow sound.----Don't plan on making any quiet getaways!!!-----JoeG--- [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

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Groovy clothes. I like the shirt[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif[/img]

When I was in high school in the late 80's people still used glass packs because a local muffler shop sold them cheap. They are very loud and get louder when they blow out. They pop and crackle when you let up on the gas. They are about twice as loud as chambered exhaust.

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I donít know about glass packs, I was never a fan of them, There were a ton of Chevelles running around here with ladder bars,I dont recall anybody have trouble with the muffler clearance?? most guys were running the "Turbo Mufflers" in the 80's and exiting in the corners or straight out the middle following the gastank contour,

Frank ,ok you donít have to drive with the Bigfoot gas pedal but stick it on with a little masking tap at the next show and watch the people talk about your car, I bet more people will get a kick out of seeing one again in a good way, besides when have we seen a nice clean one like that??, I think Joe Dirt was running one??? I am sensing you passed on the foot?, you better call him quick and get it coming your way [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

Bud.

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This is a 375HP turbo 400 car I purchased about a month ago it's going back factory, sorry you day two guys. The car blew the 396 in 1972 and sat till 74. It then got a small block, Thrush side pipes,Keystones, air shocks with on board air pump, green flex fan, Weind finned valve covers. This is how the car looked when I received it a moth ago still with only 30,000 miles. The owner only put about 5 thousand miles on it the last 30 years. http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-.../375hp3963.jpg

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Frank, We used a lot of header mufflers.It might seem a little ratty now, but you could go to the track and take them off quick, and also they would not interfere with the ladder bar set up or big tires. We bought many a chambered exhaust mufflers from GM and welded hooker collectors onto them so we could just bolt them up. Those mufflers are too expensive to do that now, but a cheap set of Thrush mufflers would work fine. We used them too. The orange fan looks good. I just bought a green one for my 1969 Z. Put the ladder bars on, they look perfect on a coil spring car. In the old days we would wrap our fuel line with aluminum foil to prevent vapor lock. We thought it worked???? How about a set of air bags? You can preload one side more than the other for better bite.It is fun to hunt down the period dated stuff. Good luck! Sam [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

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Frank..they still make Sansabelts !!! I wish there were still Banlons !!! I used to sell Cherry Bomb glass packs when I worked the counter at a local parts store ! The next big thing definitely was the Corvair turbo mufflers....exiting in front of the rear tire...I had a 64 Wildcat set-up like that ! Cal-Custom made the big foot gas pedal along with the dimmer swith little big foot ! Had those on my first car...65 Impala SS ! could only afford a set of Rally wheels back then for the Impala...don't forget the garter and use lemon Pledge on your seats too !