Love the details!!!

3.90’s....... what tire diameter? I think top loaders came in close and wide ratio...? What trans?

Ryan

Sweet, beautiful detail and amusing commentary. You should have your own restoration show on Discouvery Velocity.
Paul

I agree, Dave we need to speak to someone to get you your own show..... LOL

Rich

:Can-I-Have-It:

Outstanding

Hmmm.... you know? If I get my own T.V. show, I may lose the respect you guys have for my work! :worship: Assuming you all actually HAVE respect for me, that is. :dunno: HA! You know? I've said some funny stuff and that right there is pretty darn funny! :grin:

Moving on, the rear axle is all buttoned up and bolted in. Brake lines, and even the original vent hose which showed a factory marking. Some dash parts going in, and the engine now has the fan/ clutch and lift hooks installed. I'm waiting on the smog system to come in too. My car had it originally, but Bullitt did not. I want the underhood to be 100% stock so I'm installing it. But, I'll be gutting the pump and the head ports are blocked off, so it'll be a dummy system... like me! :thumbsdown::grin:

Ryan, G70 Bias Plys.... think the diameter is 28.5". Those are what McQueen mounted on his car. Stock RUG for 68 390 GT is a wide ratio. :3gears:

Really nailing down the Hero Car look with this wheel/tire combo. I'll paint the spokes just a little darker to mimic the unpolished Magnesium of the originals. And if anyone has a set of originals in the Ford bolt pattern...... gimmie!!

Cheers
Dave

I really hope to visit you one day to see how the heck this restoration thing is done:-)

PS: Wide ratio and those tires and 3.90’s will be so sweet!!!

Ryan

I would watch TV if you get a show!!

Ryan

You're doing a great job on your car, Ryan!! Keep at it!! We'll have a spare room once the new house is done. Ship that Olds down here and we'll spray the funk on it!! I'm pretty good with a brush!!

Cheers
Dave

Looking spiffy Dave. Real nice look and attention to detail!!!

Alrighty.... New brake shoes, wheel cylinders, hardware kit... and a big packet of Band-Aids for when the spring installer thingy slips and I cut myself:rolleyes2: You know? Sometimes I feel like Bob Ross putting all these inspection marks on the chassis.:biggthumpup: "We're going to take some Crimson Red... and then some Cobalt Blue.... and we'll take our fan brush here.... don't be shy..... and just add a happy inspection mark on the end of that balljoint. Don't be shy, just use your favorite fan brush and add that happy mark. There..look.... didn't that just make you so freakin' happy....The mark is... why aren't you.. YOU FREAKIN BASTID!!??":rolleyes2: O.K.... this humor might have been lost on the younger people, but if your laughing, you watched PBS as a kid too!:tongue:

All the brakes minus the booster and master cylinder are in and ready to go! Sometime this month the engine and transmission will go in which will free up some much needed space in this tiny rental shop.

Eric from Vintage Musclecar Parts redid the carb and test ran it on a [gulp] Chevy:hmmm: So I'm not quite sure it'll work when I install it on this Ford!:tongue: Fantastic job Eric!!

More to come....

Cheers
Dave

Excellent work, as always.

Brush or roller, same price :-)

Ryan

Moving right along, what with all these birthday distractions and what not:laugh:, we move into my favorite part of work when I was a kid: BRAKE TIME!:burnout: Yes they are spelled differently, but the result is the same.....stuff stops! So what we see here is Ford's way of letting you know that not only can they screw up power steering, but brakes are also thrown into the "intern designed" group. :thumbsdown:
What goes on the inner fender below the master cylinder is a complex assortment of tubes, with no less than nine attachment points. What doesn't go here is your hand with a wrench when it leaks. After the 790lb 3ft wide Bigblock gets wedged in here.... along with a power brake booster the size of a cantaloupe.... there's no room for nothing! So brake bleeding comes first to ensure no leaks.

And since we're into all things messy, it's SMOG time too! Here's the complete system ready to go. Despite its complex looks, it's really not that complicated to install. The pump goes on and the rest goes...... well..... all that stuff attaches to the pump!:hmmm:

Since I'm gutting the pump and rendering the system useless, the heads are already blocked yet I need to mount the tubes. So how's that going to work? Simple. Cut the tubes and weld them to the plugs! Add a little Ford corporate blue paint and nobody knows the difference....but I ran out of paint so the touch up has to wait. Always something

Cheers
Dave

Sooooooo close!! :burnout:

Cheers:beers:
Dave

Thank you for letting me be a part of your project Dave. :)

Yes Sir, Eric! Thank you for the excellent work on my carb! I should be ready to fire it up soon. Meanwhile, I bled the brakes and as you can see here, everything but a wrench can go in this small little spot. So best to figure out the leaks now before that Mauritania anchor of a propulsion unit goes in :cool2:
So were there any leaks? I'm happy to report.....YES! All but one fitting leaked! :biggthumpup: Wait.... that's the wrong thumbs up. Actually, it's not. I knew it was going to happen so I wasn't disappointed when it did! :rolleyes2: Damn stainless lines....
I'll figure that out when I get back from this trip. Sometimes it's best to just walk away and let these things fix themselves. Sort of like going on a commercial break. Come back, "Hey, remember that whoositz that wasn't jiving with the statafrat? Amazingly.... it's working now! ":smile: So I'm taking the Millennial approach on this and blaming everyone but myself and expecting compensation and a trophy for my troubles. Hmmmm.....well.... maybe I'll just fix it when I get back. Or fly Mikey down! :biggthumpup:
After mounting up the steering wheel, I noticed a gap... like a step down... between the diameter of the hub and the diameter of the column. Since Steve (we were on a first named basis:tongue:) had the same wheel on his, I pulled out my vast Bullitt picture inventory and low and behold..... same gap! That lighted area on his that is right at the emergency flasher switch, and looks like an aluminum band, us sun glare on the column from the shade of the dash.... look just to the other side of that. I mean.... come on! Such authenticatedness I'm even striving for steering wheel crappy gaps! It's such a nice wheel that it's a shame to leather wrap it. Gotta fix that gap between the Convenience panel and the instrument bezel. Not liking that alignment. I can now hook a battery up and test everything! More to come....

Cheers
Dave

Ole Kwizz would probably whip up a custom made adapter to cure that problem with the ugggly gap at the steering column. Or just leave it like on the movie car. Different strokes for different folks.

So far it's turning into a cool car, by the way. :biggthumpup:

The millennial approach :-)

Love it

Ryan

Oh, and you are finding why I hate stainless brake tubing. Pretty, but problematic.

----I so agree with you, John.......Bill S

Yep.... they accidentally gave me these so instead of all the headache shipping then back, I figured I'd try them. Always hated them and this just reinforces it! Oh well.... if I can't make them seat correctly.... off they come in favor of the correct steel ones.

Cheers
Dave

----Understand why you used that set, but I always ask guys who actually choose stainless over steel if they are ever going to use their car in bad weather. The answer is always the same; OH NO, Never, its a "very special car"!!! If we are friends I then tell them that they just threw some money away as well as made problems for themselves. The steel lines (of course) will probably out last even the younger guys on this website......Bill S

Great progress Dave. The brake distribution valve(s) look like something from the wheel well of the 737 "A" system hydraulics. Hard to believe only one fitting sealed, but I'm not surprised. Also, thanks for confirming that your car bites back. I was looking for cold medicine the other day and found 4 one-half full boxes of band aids. Mostly used from car and home project accidents.

Anyway, your work looks great. :)

Phil W.

LOL,,Been in the Wheel Well of 747,757,737,787 and now 777, Next will Be 777X. 30 year Boeing Employee,, Hope To Be Done Soon. Awesome Build,,,

The biting will cease this weekend: steel brake lines just showed up so the stainless will come off and go in the recycle bin! Also, finished up the seats so now when the official brake bleeder (Kelly:laugh:) goes for round two of "pump that pedal":shocked: she'll have a comfy place to sit! :smirk:
Can't wait to drop this motor in next week!:biggthumpup::biggthumpup::biggthumpup:

Cheers
Dave

Dan Vasic convinced me to use Steel and I am happy he did!!

Ryan

Moving right along with new steel lines in, and not one leak, I can call the brakes complete!:biggthumpup: The official "Brake Operator Of Bullitts", or "BOOBS" :hmmm:... is the rightful first person to sit in the newly upholstered seats. She's such a trooper! Only a few parts left on the interior left to do, and that's have the headliner gut come out and do his thing. If I did it, I'd be laughed right out of the Stephen's Convention Center by a whole host of people! So... best to let someone else do it. I'll continue to screw up the other stuff:crazy:

Engine ready to go in!

Cheers
Dave

So I used a combination of a few things to lift this Monitor turret up off the ground and guide it into the engine bay that's sized exactly 3/16th of an inch too big to allow it to fit. A 1500lb electric hoist, my 4-Post lift, the help of another set of hands, and several onlookers waiting for the (snap!) [KLUNK] "DANG IT!!". But luckily that last thing never happened:biggthumpup: I had to alter "Jigasaurus" to clear the air pipe on the drivers side, but I'm happy to report this thing worked flawlessly! Perfect angle... perfect clearance....and best of all.... easily removed after the engine is settled in.

It's getting closer! Shifter, clutch z-bar, and exhaust at the end of next week! Waiting on the fuel sender to come back, but I may use a temporary one just to get the car fired off.

Cheers:beers:
Dave

Killer work, as always. Nice job.

.....on course, on glide slope ....... OK 3 wire!!!!

Fantastic!!! Your progress reports make my day.

That's awesome. It's going to be too nice to drive!

I have been told you are either a "Brake Operator Of Bullitts" man or an "Acronym Support Systems" man.... but I have to share that I am able to function as both.

I guess I am evolved :-)

Ryan

In the engine and car shot it looks like the car is saying "lets take this outside" and the engine is saying " I am going to get in your face" .
Best standoff I have seen since High Noon.

Phew. Nice work, great acronyms and a cool car. Got to love it.

Well done my friend.

Phil W.

Thanks for the compliments guys! I appreciate it! I try and make this whole restoration process entertaining since we all could use some encouragement now and then when things go awry with these cars. And in other news, I can’t believe I used “awry” in a sentence!:scholar::laugh::biggthumpup:

Cheers:beers:

Dave

I can use that word in a sentence; "I'd like a ham and cheese sandwich awry"

Dave fantastic car, fantastic commentary, so entertaining reading this post. Has been awhile so I had several pages to read and LMAO....great job!

Wow nice work!.If you were in Ontario I would give you some work.Bob

Thanks guys! Can't wait to get back from this trip and get some more things bolted on. I'll be hooking up a battery to test all the lights and such too. Before I left I gutted my smog pump, so it's all ready to go.

I appreciate the compliments!

Cheers
Dave