67 GTS 4-Speed: Daily Summer Driver

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carfreak6970 said:
Went home this past weekend and got a little work done on the GTS. More attention was on one of dad's cars that we finally got back after 3 or so years trying to figure out where that car stands, but hey, progress is progress right?

I got the trunk light switch installed (thanks @DARTGAME!), but didnt put power to the system to try it out.

I got the harness for the console tac made and partially in. I got it stung into the right areas just need to push the terminal into spot "J" on the bulkhead connector for wire T11. Need to add the connectors onto the tach and then the console would be ready for install.

I created the harness for the ignition light with the map light harness I got. I got it laid into place and started to drill when I couldnt find the map light switch... MAN I WAS/AM PISSED!! cant believe I lost it, I sure as hell it turns up sometime soon. All these new electrical components were either sitting in or on the car and I do not know why this switch wasnt there. I am the only one that works in that garage... With the ignition light I have to drill into the chrome surround for the ignition switch but also carve out some of the bracket that holds it on in order for the light to pass through. No big deal, just short work of it all.

But, I figured out how I am going to wire in the reverse light dash indicator. Just piggy back off of wire B2 that comes out of spot "F" on the bulkhead connector.
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I need new lenses or complete fender mounted turn signal indicators as mine aren't perfect. Any extras laying around or insight on where to get them? My lenses aren't in the best of shape. It's the little details that matter as you know.

Appreciate any help y'all can give.

Also....I have a copy of my build sheet, but don't know where to go to get it decoded. I am curious as to which hubcaps my car came with. I have searched high and low to no avail.
 
EmDoubleYou said:
I need new lenses or complete fender mounted turn signal indicators as mine aren't perfect. Any extras laying around or insight on where to get them? My lenses aren't in the best of shape. It's the little details that matter as you know.

Appreciate any help y'all can give.

Also....I have a copy of my build sheet, but don't know where to go to get it decoded. I am curious as to which hubcaps my car came with. I have searched high and low to no avail.
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I do not have any extra fender turn signals for the 67. Best option I can give you is posted in the wanted section, and looking through the parts car/exterior parts for sale on this site. You could contact Stephens Performance out of Alabama, they may have something. You could also try WildCat Auto Wrecking out of Oregon.

When it comes to decoding a build sheet many people go to Galen's Tag Service. It is a paid service, but you could also just search broadcast sheet decoder and find options that way. Another way is to look at the data books on hamtrackregistry.com for 67 and match the codes up with the information there.
 
Well this past weekend I went home to work on the cars for a bit. And!! good news! I found the Map Light Switch! Apparently I put it in with the box that had the other remaining parts for the dash board... Dont know why I didnt look there before. But I was able to finish drilling the dash for that switch. I also drilled the dash for the reverse light indicator and connected that to the purple wire that goes back to the reverse lights.

I also got to install the ignition light. I installed the wiring last time but once I was playing around with it the last time I was in I noticed the bracket securing the chrome ignition switch surround had to be modified to get it to work. I got that done and tried to install everything but noticed I wasnt able to get the ignition switch securing nut on. Which is when I realized I need to have the bracket for the ignition light between the chrome surround and its bracket, instead of between the bracket and ignition switch. No big deal, got the chrome surround drilled and everything is back in.

I got the steering column bolted in and noticed the studs that were to mount the column bracket to the underside of the dash were installed wrong. Got those corrected.

I was able to get the tach wired up, shifter handle installed, and column installed! Couldnt stop there so I mounted the seats in and got the steering wheel and horn ring on. It looks sweet!!

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So I just need to get the spring pin in for the column, fuel line to fuel pump rubber line installed, tires on the car, shocks, put the coolant back in, bleed the brakes, add steering fluid in, finishing tighten the exhaust, check fluids in trans and rear end and we should be good to go!
 
I did not forget about this car! lol I finally carved some time to get some work done to this. Another vehicle in the garage is going elsewhere to get work done so that opened up more space to rearrange some things and to get this car out of the back corner so I have more room to work.

I did get shocks for it and installed. I noticed some of the nuts were missing for the rear so I need to get them. While back there I was able to finish tighten up the exhaust.

I did get a time delay for the ignition light I put in as well as the courtesy/map light that I did not have.

I did get a spring pin installed but I was not able to install the spring clip that keeps the whole coupler together... I ran out of time but I may run into a clearance issue with the headers. While I was trying to get the spring pin in I noticed I may have the pitman arm clocked improperly. The steering gear input shaft and steering wheel are all keyed and I believe those were installed properly, but I think the pitman arm can get clocked in 90 degree increments. The wheels barley turn to the left.

I ran out of time and wasnt able to get the fuel line to the fuel pump connected. With the stuff mentioned above about the pitman arm, I still need to get the coolant in and check other fluids. Which should be simple to do since I need to raise it up again to get the new tires on and to align it. I have a few small things to install (fuel line clips, speedo cable, oil pressure sending unit, P/S belt and misc small things) and I should hopefully be Comfortable (fingers crossed) to take it out for a drive!
 
Joe Mc said:
...not that the 383 was a bad engine. The poor 383...
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383 engines need to breathe and really do well if they can turn some RPMs.
Bolt ons, 750 CFM carb, a good solid lift cam, and stronger hardware (rod bolts) with a 3.90 or 4.10 ring and pinion gearset and watch out!
My friend did less than those mods on his Pistol Grip 4 speed 383 70 Roadrunner, but he did go with 4.10 gears and man-oh-man it was a terror on the street!
 
so got a little more work done to this over Mother's day weekend. Between other car work and festivities I didnt get much done, got the rear shock washers and nuts installed, the door key locks installed, and the rear tires on!! they look pretty spiffy!

tire 1.jpg


tire 2.jpg


I hope to get a little more time in the next month or so to wrap up the last couple things to finally get this thing out for the test run!
 
This weekend I got a little stuff done on the car. Most my time was focused on a carb swap and tuning issues with the charger. But I was able to get the speedo cable installed, found the correct P/S belt, Got the battery installed, got the front tires on, Pitman arm is clocked properly, steering couple is pin and clipped and the fuel lines are all connected! Just need to add coolant, check the fluids and it is ready to go! now all I need is time.
 
So it has been a long time coming (7 years) but this past weekend I finally got the car on the road!!

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I tried to get it started up the saturday of Carlisle but wasnt getting gas. First I thought not enough was in the tank but comes out that fuel pump wasnt working and the closest place that had one in stock was 40 minutes away!! Thankfully my mother went to go pick it up. Surprisingly I did not have any issue with the starter engaging the flywheel like I did in the past, I was happy. But after the fluids were checked, steering system bleed and the car in front of the garage door a down pour came through... So sunday was the day! then it wouldnt start, the battery was dead... So robbing the battery from the charger I got it started and out on the road. It needs an alignment bad, theres a lot of unfamiliar noises, some sporadic clucking that I think is clearance issues with exhaust or clutch linkage but otherwise was okay. Ran hot, but I guess that is expected as I try to dial and run everything in. All four forward gears work as does reverse, so Id say it is a win!! Now is just honing it in, adding trim that I didnt install yet and hopefully enjoying it!!

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This past weekend I went back to where the car is to get a little more wheel time and address some issues. I made the signal wire from the bulk head connector to the coil and pleased to announce the console tach works!! pretty dang cool!. I tightened up the belts and re-routed the fuel filter line so it wouldnt hit the belts. I raised the front end a bit and fixed a brake leak I was having at the right front caliper. I bled the brakes and the pedal feels great and consistent.

Engine temps still creep up on the road, but I guess that is expected on a newly rebuilt engine. I saw I have some clearance issues with the Z-bar and the header. Not to sure what I am going to do about that. I also felt a steering clearance with the headers as well. I have a spring clip holding the steering shaft coupler together and that clip is hitting the header. So I am going to have to remove that. Over the winter I may try and eliminate that coupler all together for a more common joint, I hope there is a how too on here.

Other than that the car ran good. I think I am getting a little back fire through the pipes at moderate throttle, so I will try to tune it and check the dwell.
 
Been a while, but really didnt get much done to the car. It was a major push to get another car I am working on painted, running, steering and stopping so it could be moved out to where I am in Pittsburgh to be finished up for the driving season next year. Which means when I go back to the familys place I will now have time to crank out some much needed work on this car (and the other ones).

I was able to get a little bit of driving in this holiday weekend as I was getting the car ready to be winterized. It is still backfiring, enough now to piss me off. I am going to make sure I got the firing order correct and the timing set properly, but I have an opinion that I may not have degreed the cam properly... Its not hard to check, but I need to find the cam card... Issue being that it is from crane cams and they are no longer in business. So if anyone has access to their cam card 683801 please let me know. I can still get some specs from summit, but I think there is more there. Ill have to check my records to see if I have it somewhere. But other than that there is a laundry list of smaller issues to get worked out like lights, leaks and adjustments and such. But it is currently washed and waxed sitting under a cover waiting for work and driving!

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carfreak6970 said:
So it has been a long time coming (7 years) but this past weekend I finally got the car on the road!!

View attachment 1715957635

I tried to get it started up the saturday of Carlisle but wasnt getting gas. First I thought not enough was in the tank but comes out that fuel pump wasnt working and the closest place that had one in stock was 40 minutes away!! Thankfully my mother went to go pick it up. Surprisingly I did not have any issue with the starter engaging the flywheel like I did in the past, I was happy. But after the fluids were checked, steering system bleed and the car in front of the garage door a down pour came through... So sunday was the day! then it wouldnt start, the battery was dead... So robbing the battery from the charger I got it started and out on the road. It needs an alignment bad, theres a lot of unfamiliar noises, some sporadic clucking that I think is clearance issues with exhaust or clutch linkage but otherwise was okay. Ran hot, but I guess that is expected as I try to dial and run everything in. All four forward gears work as does reverse, so Id say it is a win!! Now is just honing it in, adding trim that I didnt install yet and hopefully enjoying it!!

View attachment 1715957636
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The car looks great!
 
With the one car that was taking up much of my time now at my garage I was able to dig deeper into the running issue with the GTS. I found out the fuel leak was not from the accelerator pump gasket, but from the fuel inlet. So after tightening up the line and the fitting it is still leaking... So I may see if I have another one and see if that will stop the leak entirely. It stopped greatly, but it is still there.

I was able to get some exhaust hose so I could route the exhaust fumes outside of the garage which helped a lot while I was trying to dial it in. I got it running pretty good at idle with 12-14 inHg, 700-750 rpm and 15 deg BTDC. any less initial timing than that you can hear it want to backfire out of the tail pipe while revving. So I will check the cam degree, shouldnt be hard since I was able to find the Cam Spec Sheet for 683801!! happy I found that since I believe crane cams is no more

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So I ran into some issues on understanding what I was looking for, and how to actually get there. Which was detailed in this Degreeing thread. But needless to say I got it spot on to the cam card! given that I dont believe I was understanding my timing set properly I cant say for certain I was even close before, but I do know that it is in there properly now! Only got the engine partially together before I ran out of time.

I did get a little work done to the interior. I got the rear arm rests in as well as the window cranks and got the packing shelf in. I got the washer bottle in but for what ever reason I did not get new nozzles. So I will probably get those at carlisle this summer. I also got the horns and horn relay installed. I got new mirrors for it and I am just waiting for the drivers side to get here so I can get the door cards on.
 
I was able to get the engine mostly together the last time I was in. Didnt get much time due to a family event but the engine is together. Just need to hook up radiator hoses, add coolant and hit the key!! hopefully everything works out well!

I was able to get a little more work done to the interior. I got new door mirrors for the car, so I drilled the passenger fender and got both of them installed. I installed the plastic lining on the inner doors and got the door cards, arm rests and bases on! Looks pretty sweet. Also tested out the new horns, they work as well.

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I also got word that the radio is done!! so I get to get that in and the rest of the restored dash trim!
 
last weekend I was able to get the engine buttoned up and put fire too it. It sounds nice but I still got it to backfire here and there...

after some talks it may be that the push rods are a little too long for the motor. The block was decked and the heads were planned as well. I never measured the cam to compare the lobe circle to see if it was bigger than the original cam. but I got a tool to measure what the rods should be, and documentation that came with the cam that suggest the lifter preload. If the push rods are too long I may have to get new push rods or see if just installing shims would work.

So hopefully more information soon!
 
Okay, this past weekend I was able to go home and get the zero lash measurements. Then today after work I was able to use a height gage to take some measurements of the rods and these are my numbers:

The base lengths of the rods and their respective places:
383 Base measurements
1I8.5612I8.553
E8.559E8.547
3I8.5534I8.552
E8.554E8.549
5I8.5626I8.555
E8.554E8.552
7I8.5628I8.549
E8.562E8.549
Average
8.554563​
Max
8.562​
Min
8.547​


The measurements I took with the rod measurement tool that would take the rods to the zero lash:
383 Rod Zero lash measurements
1I0.092I0.092
E0.085E0.088
3I0.1254I0.07
E0.075E0.061
5I0.0866I0.1
E0.078E0.083
7I0.1258I0.084
E0.08E0.075
Average
0.087313​
Max
0.125​
Min
0.061​

Then here are those values combined to get the rod lengths that will get me to zero lash rod lengths:
383 Zero Lash Rod Lengths
1I8.4712I8.461
E8.474E8.459
3I8.4284I8.482
E8.479E8.488
5I8.4766I8.455
E8.476E8.469
7I8.4378I8.465
E8.482E8.474
Average
8.46725​
Max
8.488​
Min
8.428​

According to the information I got with the cam I am suppose to have .020-.060 preload on the lifts. Which means I need add those preload values onto the zero lash rod lengths:
383 Zero lash Rod lengths plus .020 preload
1I8.4912I8.481
E8.494E8.479
3I8.4484I8.502
E8.499E8.508
5I8.4966I8.475
E8.496E8.489
7I8.4578I8.485
E8.502E8.494
Average
8.48725​
Max
8.508​
Min
8.448​

383 Zero lash Rod lengths plus .060 preload
1I8.5312I8.521
E8.534E8.519
3I8.4884I8.542
E8.539E8.548
5I8.5366I8.515
E8.536E8.529
7I8.4978I8.525
E8.542E8.534
Average
8.52725​
Max
8.548​
Min
8.488​

I looked on comp cams website and they do have the 5/16 push rods that fall between the averages 8.527-8.487. Those sizes are 8.500 and 8.492. Does all of this make sense? am I going in the right direction?

and in other news! I was able to get the radio installed in the dash but realized I did not have the rear radio bracket... so I have to modify one I just got on ebay, but I also got the rest of the dash trim installed that was restored by instrument specialties. Looks pretty awesome!!

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I got the Push rods on order and unfortunately they did not come in before I went home last weekend, so no run time was done on the car. I did get the radio bracket on the back of the radio so I dont need a piece of wood holding up the radio.

I finished installing the speakers and got the wiring strung up to the back of the radio, just need to connect it all. During that process I installed the wind lace in front of the rear interior side panels. Verified the dash lights work, but my ignition light isnt working and my map light switch controls not only the map light but the dome light on the roof, so I need to look into that a little more. It did work before (I believe).

Turn signals arent working, but I never made ground wires to connect to the light housings. So I hope I can do that, get the push rods in, and wire up the radio for next time I am in!!

every little bit helps get one step closer to the finish line!
 
I FINALLY got the new push rods in. I measured everything up and put them in their respective areas. Upon first start up it was stumbling and backfiring, needless to say I was a little more than pissed. It wasnt until I looked under the hood that I saw the front of the carb was soaked in gas, loose fuel inlet connection. After tightening that and an oil change I started it up again and at idle and reving I didnt hear anything...

However, I took it out on the road and I did hear something that sounded like a "rattle". Before there was loud "bangs" I heard and a friend said it sounded like a back fire (which started me on this whole push rod thing), which the push rods were too long for what I have. I have not heard that same sound on the test drive. however, I do not know if I measured it properly and I need a different length? What I do know is I need someone more knowledge than me to be around when the car drives off or rides with me to give me some ideas. this "rattle" sounds like it could be coming from directly under the car? It does have either a lifter tick, or an exhaust leak, but that is not the sound I am hearing...

other than that the engine gets hot and stays hot, which I am attributing that too it needing to be broken in. I did do that cam break in procedure awhile ago, but I would be surprised if I have over a 100 miles on the engine.
 
After Chryslers at Carlisle I decided to take all the cars for rides, including this one... Well go to take it out for a ride again and it is backfiring again! Brought it back in the garage and found the carb was leaking YET AGAIN at the fuel inlet. I have no idea what the hell is wrong with that carb, it just does not want to stay running. I had enough so I swap it out with a 71 440 Standard AVS carb. Got it fired up (no leaks) and while I was trying to set the baseline I has hearing some nasty noise coming from the passenger side valve train. So instead of taking it for a drive I took off the valve cover and found this:

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Now I just want to push the damn thing off a cliff!! always something preventing this car from being driven. I walked away for the night and by Sunday Morning a new friend came over to help me figure **** out. Thankfully it was not as bad as I thought. It appears to him I installed a push rod wrong, where the push rod was not in its cup and caused the rocker to split.

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So I just need another rocker and lifter and should be good to go, right? WRONG. I guess this issue was a blessing in disguse because upon further inspection it was found that the valve keepers were not installed properly on some valves which could have dropped a valve and boat anchored the entire engine!! cant catch a break with this thing... at least the reworked radio sounds awesome!
 
Life is really busy... but I was able to finally look into adding in the lifter, putting in a new rocker and rocker shaft, reinstall the the keepers and be good to go! well that didnt exactly happen. As I looked into the keepers, I noticed I had 4 groove and 2 groove valve stems. Looking into it further it looked like everything was installed right until I started to notice differences between stock 906 heads and the ones on the car. The retainers didnt look the same and the gap on the keepers for the intake valve was about double than what was on a stock 906 head. The differences are pointed out here. So I learned a lot about valves this weekend.

As I looked through my receipts I noticed that I ordered did not end up on the heads. I initially ordered the wrong stuff way back when and I guess the machine shop used what ever they had on hand. So not knowing what they used I believe it would be best to just get new valve retainers and keepers and be done with it. So on to source those components in hopes to actually get the car on the road, reliably
 
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