New to the forum

Hey fellas. Im new to the forums and just sayin hey to my fello 3rd geners. I have a 68' and it needs alot of love. So If anyone has 2 cents, dont hesitate. Also any advice on some things I may incounter.
Im going with a bulletproof (If there is such a thing) smallblock 400 with a high rise alum. intake, 750 carb, HEI dist. and ceramic headers. I plan on some big money aluminum heads once the body and interior are finished. I have a 4 speed trans for it and the guy who had it before me just put bran new dual exhaust on and never ran it so im kinda stoked about the first fire. First on the list is pulling front sub fram out and having it blasted the powder coated. Cutting back the firewall for an HEI, also cutting and welding new metal for my heater core. It was originally an A/C car but I have a core form a 71 non A/C. Anyone done this?? Take a look and tell me what you think. Thanks. Matt:D
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/1609/68nova011kp0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/9335/68nova012lk4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Welcome to the site,your ride just needs a little TLC!It actually looks pretty solid and a good platform to start with.If your not sure on anything try a search or just ask,we'll be glad to help.:yes:

Looks like you have a lot of work ahead of you but it also sounds like you got a lot of good stuff with it. The fenders look to be 70-72 not 68/69. Did you get the complete interior with it. Is it a factory stick or auto shift?

Where abouts in Kansas are you?

The fenders I belive were off a 70. My pops picked them up for $100. The interior was pretty well shot. I saved the back seat and the seat belts everything else is trashed. So yea i have alot of work and money spending ahead of me. I pulled the front sub frame from a 71 because the guy who had the 68 before me cut the **** out of it to make a the hood and fenders fold forward. I forget what thats called. The rear end it also from a 71. Im keeping an eye out for an affordable posi carrier. The 68 was originally an automatic car but the 71 was a 3 speed so i robbed the peddals and few other things. I also am planning on swapping over to front disc brakes sometime not sure when. I need to do some more reasearch on that. thanks for the input:D

Welcome. Now get off the computer and get to work on that car!!! :D

you shouldn't cut your firewall for an HEI distributor! they suck. they will sometimes cut out and leave you stranded somewhere and at above 4500 they can miss fire too. the modules always cook out. thought i'd give you the heads up beforehand. your better off with a stock points distributor than HEI crap. if it were me i would invest in MSD part number 85551 or get a stock points distributor and put the electronic conversion in it for very cheap. M&H and petronix all have a coversion kit... saves the firewall from being chopped up too!

Talked to my roomate and you have changed my mind on the distributor. I forgot how much smaller the MSD billet dist. were. I still have a problem with my firewall being set up for a an A/C heater box. I have a Non A/C heater box from a 71 wich is diffrent. I want a heater and not any of the A/C hoses to block off. The plan is to smooth out the fire wall once i get ahold of a welder. Does anyone know if the 68 A/C box and the 68 NonA/C box are the same or diff?

glad i could help you. you won't regret using a MSD dist, there great! and smaller which saves the firewall from being smashed up. doesnt matter what year the outer boxes are the a/c heater box and non a/c are different. just use all the non a/c components and also you can take the firewall metal out of the non a/c car and weld it in place where that big hole is on your car for the a/c. you can do a really nice job if you take your time... cut it the same on both cars and then butt weld it in place on your car to make a really nice job. you can use calico's (hard to spell the name of those welding clips) from harbor freight to hold the metal in place while butt welding it. after your done it will look like a factory none a/c car. just take pictures and measurements of the non a/c car before you cut anything anywhere so afterwards you can look at it incase you need to when placing it on your car. remember, measure once, measure twice and a third and then cut only once. that will ensure no mistakes.....hope i can help :)

I was afraid you were going to say that, its the same thing my pops told me to do. I guess its not a huge deal while im at it i can smooth out the rest of the firewall and move my wiper motor under the fender. Thanks for help bro

Welcome to the site. It's always nice to see another 68. I'm in the process of doing a 68 Acadian Pro-Touring car. Check out my build thread to see the progress. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask.

As for your air conditioning and heater issue, why not do what I'm doing. Smooth the entire firewall so it looks better. Then get a Vintage Air Gen IV air conditioning set up. It has air, heat and defrost all built in and you don't have to worry about having a box at all as it fits under the dash and you just run the lines through a bulkhead.

Oh and the things that bigdaddykane is referring to are not calicos...they are cleckos. You can get them at several different places. Here's what they look like:

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/KeywordSearchCmd?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&N=0&Ntt=cleeko&Ntk=all&Nty=1&D=cleeko&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallany&Dx=mode%2Bmatchallany&searchTerm=cleeko

Mike

hey Mike , i wanted to ask you, have you ever seen the other type of sheetmetal holders for butt welding? there like square and have like a wing nut on them to tighten down on, know where to find them? what did you use for butt welding? thanks

Eastwood makes some. I have a set of them, they work okay. It wouldn't take that much to make them. Here's a link to them: http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1159&itemType=PRODUCT

I know I saw another company the other day that was selling these also, just can't remember who it was. They're pretty expensive for what you get. I haven't done a whole lot of butt welding to need them yet. I just like buying tools. You can also get magnetic copper pieces to go behind so that it makes a smoother butt weld. I ordered one of them too.

hey Mike
which do you like to use better? the cleckos or the square ones with the wing nut? i think i like the square ones better but i also have not used the cleckos myself... have you? let me know, thanks

Welcome!! 68's are great!! Getrdone!:yes:

Welcome to the site! You have a great project car. Yes, it's going to take a lot of work but its also going to give you a lot of fun.

Those are definitely early fenders. They didn't have those little buttons to mount the side moulding that the later 3rd gens used. Weld up those little holes, grind off the weld, tap them in a little, hit it with a little glaze, they're going to be slick!:yes:

Dave

Dont have to cut anything
I have a 68 Smallblock, and it has an HEI and wasnt touched
ill send pics if you want, and as far as cutting out at 4500 thats a new one on me

Save your cash for other stuff


Steve

i would still put a points dist. w/electronic conversion kit or an MSD dist. since it has the right size diameter dist cap on it instead of HEI.....