Recent content by mark @ old school

I would swap everything possible from left to right to see if the problem moves. Wheel cylinder, shoes, springs, and drum. If the left side still heats up, you're left with the spindle, backing plate, soft and hard brake lines. Good luck!

I just happened to be passing through and noticed this thread. Search "raising x-frame on a two post lift" and in it is my solution for my '61. Further down is my crude drawing of dimensions and material used to make it.

When watching the video on the numbers matching '61 SS, I noticed that the car did not have power brakes which I thought were part of the SS package. Later, the narrator talks about power brakes and steering being part of the package. What's up with that?

R_XII, you say it sticks when you try to dump it with the motor revved up. Does it work okay if you're just starting from a stop at low RPM? If so, the motor might be getting up on the mounts and binding the linkage. Try a torque strap to hold the motor in place.

I read every line of the repair process as if I was going to go out to the garage and do it. How long is the torque wrench that can get you 1000-1600 ft./lbs. ?

Thanks, guys. The big picture of the left arm got it done for me.

When dismantling the front suspension on my '61, it was obvious to me which upper a-arm was the left side and which was the right. Now, a couple of years later, it's not so obvious. Anyone have pictures or another way to ID left and right?

About 3 years ago, I bought a windshield for my ’61 bubbletop from a guy on the north side of Chicago. We spent an hour talking about cars, and he mentioned he was a retired Chicago cop. In this month’s Hot Rod, there’s an article about an original owner ’61 348 Biscayne named The Runaway...

Here you go, Carmine.

Here's pictures of a lift bar I built to use with my 2 post lift and '61 Impala. Note that the picture with the car on the lift was done with the drive shaft out of the car. I added the notch to accommodate the drive shaft later. [/IMG] [/IMG][/IMG]

Getting close. Body is back on and the car moves in and out of the garage under its own power. I'm in the block sanding stage right now.

I used Hotchkiss sway bars, front and rear, and I'm very happy with the way my '61 handles. You can see the sway bar tab on the lower control arm in the last picture.

I'm not a W motor guy, but aren't the timing marks supposed to be dot to dot with the cam gear dot on the bottom?

Don't forget the roof-matching side stripe.

lift bar Here's a bar I made to lift my '61 on my 2 post lift at the trailing arm brackets. The shot with the car in the air is before I had the drive shaft in. The 2 following are after making the modification to accommodate the drive shaft.