Dargo
Super Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2004
- Messages
- 5,981
- Location
- S. IN
- Tractor
- Jinma, Foton, TYM, Belarus, Yanmar, Branson, Montana, Mahindra and maybe some green and orange too.
I just had to post a pic of what I've been working on and spending all my money on for the last 5 years. This is a complete frame off restoration of a '62 Biscayne. Every single nut and bolt has been either replaced or polished and clear coated. The entire frame and all suspension parts were powder coated to match original colors. The body was the easiest part. I went all the way from Indiana to New Mexico to pick up this car since it had no rust. It was painted back to the original Roman Red, except this time with a clear coat top.
The underside of the car is every bit as nice as the top side. Also, all of the interior has been replaced with original NOS materials. The powertrain was the only place where I deviated from stock. The 70k mile in line 6 cylinder (that ran like a well oiled sewing machine) was taken out and stored on a shelf. I was going to make a 409 clone, but after driving a fellow collector's 409, I thought the 409 was actually pretty weak on power. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif So, in went a 502 cubic inch GM performance crate engine with a few modifications to up the hp from the original 502 hp. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Of course, since it gets hot where I live, I had to add a Vintage Air A/C system. Which, I discovered, created hundreds of extra hours of work to get a radiator designed and fitted with the appropriate fans to keep the beast cool. My original high performance aluminum radiator wasn't big enough. (anyone need a hot rod radiator? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif) Hey, it's only money; right?! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
A 3500 stall convertor was added to a built turbo 400 transmission and the frame was professionally tied together and the carrier bearing eliminated. I then took a 12 bolt rear end from a '69 Chevelle and went through it completely. I raised the gear ratio from the 4:11's to a more reasonable 3:73 posi trac. That was mated to a set of Strange axles and a custom made 4 link rear suspension was finally added to keep the power to the ground.
Since I couldn't find a company that would reasonably make a set of "original" looking wheels (to allow me to keep the perfect condition dog dish hub caps on the painted steel wheels), I put on a set of American Racing Torq Thrust D chrome wheels that are appropriate to the era. Then a set of 6" BF Goodrich tires on the front and 13" ones went on the back. Quarter times will not be forth coming since the car will blow the rear tires out at will, and I'm not going to invest in a set of slicks. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
I know it's not a tractor, but I've spent untold hours (and really untold dollars) on this project. I have a few more things to do before I'm ready to take up a guy at a magazine for a photo shoot. At this point, I just had to get it rolling and enjoy it a little. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
The underside of the car is every bit as nice as the top side. Also, all of the interior has been replaced with original NOS materials. The powertrain was the only place where I deviated from stock. The 70k mile in line 6 cylinder (that ran like a well oiled sewing machine) was taken out and stored on a shelf. I was going to make a 409 clone, but after driving a fellow collector's 409, I thought the 409 was actually pretty weak on power. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif So, in went a 502 cubic inch GM performance crate engine with a few modifications to up the hp from the original 502 hp. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Of course, since it gets hot where I live, I had to add a Vintage Air A/C system. Which, I discovered, created hundreds of extra hours of work to get a radiator designed and fitted with the appropriate fans to keep the beast cool. My original high performance aluminum radiator wasn't big enough. (anyone need a hot rod radiator? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif) Hey, it's only money; right?! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
A 3500 stall convertor was added to a built turbo 400 transmission and the frame was professionally tied together and the carrier bearing eliminated. I then took a 12 bolt rear end from a '69 Chevelle and went through it completely. I raised the gear ratio from the 4:11's to a more reasonable 3:73 posi trac. That was mated to a set of Strange axles and a custom made 4 link rear suspension was finally added to keep the power to the ground.
Since I couldn't find a company that would reasonably make a set of "original" looking wheels (to allow me to keep the perfect condition dog dish hub caps on the painted steel wheels), I put on a set of American Racing Torq Thrust D chrome wheels that are appropriate to the era. Then a set of 6" BF Goodrich tires on the front and 13" ones went on the back. Quarter times will not be forth coming since the car will blow the rear tires out at will, and I'm not going to invest in a set of slicks. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
I know it's not a tractor, but I've spent untold hours (and really untold dollars) on this project. I have a few more things to do before I'm ready to take up a guy at a magazine for a photo shoot. At this point, I just had to get it rolling and enjoy it a little. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
