Recent content by Brian64SS

  1. Brian64SS

    There's no category in this forum called "Heartbreak"

    20 years ago I attended the wedding of my wife's cousin. My wife's Uncle John was the father of the groom. I didn't really know Uncle John but at one point during the reception he sat down by me and asked me about my '64 SS. We talked for 5 - 10 minutes. Two years later my wife attended the...
  2. Brian64SS

    water pump kit

    The water pump seal is the same as a small block's. It's possible to just order and replace the seal and reuse everything else if the bearing is o.k.. I don't like to use a new impeller from a kit anyway that wasn't made to match the housing.
  3. Brian64SS

    ADVISE NEEDED ON ENGINE NOISE

    Thanks for sharing diagnostic tips. The 283 in my 4-door has a rattle like the ball inside a spray paint can that's almost empty. Stethoscope doesn't help me find it. Does a rod knock ever sound that high-pitched? It comes and goes and doesn't seem to related to RPM. Will try the spark plug...
  4. Brian64SS

    Beta users needed for home auto hobbyist software: not a sales ploy

    This seems like a really good idea. I've tried to keep an equipment repair spreadsheet in Excel with a tab for each family car, riding mower, outboard motor and so on. But I always end up with different versions saved to different flash drives and I don't remember which one is the latest to...
  5. Brian64SS

    tires

    How do you know a blowout happened because the tire was defective? There are so many nails, screws, bungee cord hooks and other junk on the road that no tire can hold up against, but somehow it's always an inferior tire to blame when a blowout happens. By the time you pull over and stop, the...
  6. Brian64SS

    Passing of Verne L. Franz

    I'm disappointed to hear of his passing. I used to get into discussions with him on CT and directly through emails. He could have written the ultimate restoration/spotters guide for these cars but thought his knowledge would be used to make clones.
  7. Brian64SS

    At my wits end

    If you narrow it down to the transmission, I have a different suggestion. I wanted the M20 in my '64 to have the correct casting numbers so I bought one off CL and sold the one with the wrong casting numbers that had been working great for 25+ years. Turned out the new one needed synchros...
  8. Brian64SS

    63 4 door value

    I agree. Save every decent 4-door out there. When you're sitting in the driver's seat, the view is the same no matter how many doors it has. More average people like my 4-door than the SS, I think because everyone can relate to a family car. But some people figure owners of 2-doors...
  9. Brian64SS

    First lathe

    When I got the lathe I found a nice rolling steel desk sort-of thing on CL to mount it on. I'm going to put short hooks on the front edge of the desk below the lathe for each tool: the big key, 3/8", 1/2" and 13/16" wrenches used to make adjustments, and the key for the tailstock chuck. Then...
  10. Brian64SS

    First lathe

    Thanks for the interesting reading - I'm learning a lot from these replies. I also never used a lathe but got my late grandfather's South Bend model C9 this summer. It has a plate from WWII riveted on it that states: THIS MACHINE CONFORMS TO THE ORDERS OF THE WAR PRODUCTION BOARD. So far I've...
  11. Brian64SS

    63 Four Door Hardtop

    Thanks for sharing Jim. My first '64 was a 4-door hardtop from '83 - '92. Sold it what I bought the SS. Then 5 years ago got a call from a friend asking if I'd be interested in a 4-door hardtop that was rust free and had been sitting for since 1980 - 35 years! My wife o.k.'d it so now I have...
  12. Brian64SS

    Tire spoons

    I picked up a May Tire-matic from a service station that had been closed for years and was about to be torn down. Right place right time. I only order tires on line now and have changed at least 50 tires using it in the past 12 years or so. It requires using a spoon. I haven't broken an...
  13. Brian64SS

    1963 Sport coupe interchange with Sport Sedan

    62BillT is correct. Nothing from the greenhouse of the 4-door hardtop will interchange with the 2-door hardtop. The vent windows look similar but are different. Of course the 4-door is yours to do with as you choose but I hope you keep it together.
  14. Brian64SS

    Picked up as a parts car, but now thinking rat rod!

    Good things about the 4-door hardtop are it looks a lot like a sport coupe when the windows are rolled down. And in '63 - '64 (and I'm sure back at least to '59) they had completely different glass and the lowest roofs of all the different body styles. They were the models used on the covers...
  15. Brian64SS

    Picked up as a parts car, but now thinking rat rod!

    That looks a lot like the '64 4-door hardtop I picked up 5 years ago. It's even the same Ermine White (mine is half white and half gray primer). Mine was stored for 35 years (1980 - 2015) and has 55k miles. I haven't touched the bodywork he started before he parked it. I just did the brakes...
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