My Intro with my '61 Biscayne Flattop

BSL409

BSL409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 6
jparello said:
Well.. I basically sorta forgot about this forum after returning from overseas.. So, here I am finally.. I am just gonna put up some pictures of the car which I took back in October when I was passing through Iowa.. The car is still at my dads shop and hopefully in a few months I'll be driving it back to Illinois.. I just need to find a truck to use to haul back my '62 Falcon as well..

Just for a narrative with the pics.. I spent some time beating on the rear valance panels which came out real nice.. I also pulled the rear one-piece bumper for re-chroming.. It's done now and looks perfect.. I straightened out the far passenger side tail light panel as well while I was at his shop.. It looks much better now.. Anyway, here are the most recent pics..

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I have a new ful pan for the trunk well, just needs to get welded in..

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Click to expand...

Like the look just the way it is Bad A$$ !! All tho you could use a W in there
 
jparello

jparello

Well Known Member
Well, here is a bit of an update fella's.. I drove the '61 for it's first real shake down today.. Drove it for about 60 miles or so to a show in Mundelein, IL where it was very well received--although the crowd was small due to the threat of rain. But, after all the roof insulation fell down on me during the test drives today after setting the TV cable--it felt pretty good.. Loud as HELL in the passenger compartment without any rear seat or sound deadening material in the car.. I have to do something about that... I also believe my rearend is "walking" side to side a little when taking sharp left and right turns due to the posi.. I think that this thing really just wants to go straight until that can be corrected down the road..

But, here are some pics and shameless video's for ya!

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DonSSDD

DonSSDD

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
Did you get any questions about when you were going to finish it? Its a cool car the way it is, restored it will look like lots of cars.

The posi, did you do some figure 8's in a parking lot after adding posi fluid, to lubricate the plates?

Don
 
jparello

jparello

Well Known Member
Don--
I did hear some of those comments--and eventually (long time) I'd like to do it--especially since a 5-speed would bee cool to put in... And a comfy interior... Maybe not though-maybe this will be always my one "rough" toy??

Figure 8's??
Is that the way to make sure the fluid is on everything??
 
jparello

jparello

Well Known Member
.....well, there is a guy near me with a 348 with 3 deuces on Craigslist--someone wanna buy it and dornate it for my '61??
 
DonSSDD

DonSSDD

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
jparello said:
Don--
I did hear some of those comments--and eventually (long time) I'd like to do it--especially since a 5-speed would bee cool to put in... And a comfy interior... Maybe not though-maybe this will be always my one "rough" toy??

Figure 8's??
Is that the way to make sure the fluid is on everything??
Click to expand...

Yup.
 
jparello

jparello

Well Known Member
Well, I fixed the rear axle seal leak--that was fun.. Bought a new tool in the process as I did not own an axle puller.. Took it for a cruise from Salem, WI to Gurnee, IL for the local Friday McDonalds get-together.. I kinda liked the snotty remarks I got from the "purists" with their shiny paint... If only they knew.. :-)
 
jparello

jparello

Well Known Member
Well--the sweet ride WAS sweet.. Just sour now..

Last week the carburetor told me it needed a rebuild when the needle on the secondaries clogged up and caused fuel to gush from the vent.. I'm prettttty certain it had been doing this for awhile as the accelerator pump for the secondaries had also started leaking from the diaphragm.. So, i rebuilt it and slapped it back on the big block today and it started off and was running wayyyyyyy better than before as fuel was being metered correctly. Unfortunately--I didn't think to drain and refill the oil.. Without thinking of the oil being thinned out--I took it out for a drive (about 2 miles) after it warmed up. Throttle response was awesome compared to before with NO flat spots in acceleration. Well--after the first mile--something started knocking so I turned around and went back to the garage. By the time I got back, it sounded like a hammer was going full bore in the front of the engine.. I was hoping it was just a valvetrain issue due to the sound seeming "high" in the en-gine. Well, I pulled the valve covers and saw nothing wrong there. I went to pull the oil pan after draining the oil and found it will not come off without taking the engine completely out of the car. So-at this point- the engine has to come out.. Pretty certain the bearings on #1 and #2 are going to be the problem--either way, looks like the car will not run down the road again this year..

Anyone want to donate a 409 and I'll do it right this time?
 
jparello

jparello

Well Known Member
Here's an update guys...
Engine is at the shop and I've been working along with the machinist on it.. I also had the 700R trans re-done with a 2500 stall and everything was made "right" for the car. The 454 ended up being in fair shape--but the only thing being re-used is the block with main caps, intake manifold, carb, and exhaust.. All internals are brand new.. I also swapped out my peanut-port cylinder heads for a pair of '71 Rectangular Port LS6 heads which I got for a song.. Those are going to be done tomorrow (New valves, hardened seats installed, 3-angle job, new springs, retainers, guides, etc..) The block went .020 over and a new (used) crank was used as it was discovered that the 3-4 rod bearings had spun as well as the #4 Main bearing during my mishap.. Luckily the block was undamaged during my "mistake". I am replacing the cam with a custom grind and all valve train components are new as well.
This engine should put out between 430-450hp and will be confirmed on the dyno before leaving the shop (hopefully not enough to break the rearend..9" upgrade will be down the road most likely..).
Either way--I'm hoping to have the engine done this week, or early next week with plans to drive to the Iron Invasion..
As of right now--the comp ratio is looking to be 9.63:1 so that some pump gas will be able to keep the engine alive still..
I'll try to keep this updated..
 
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