Category Archives: Overhaulit

Come along for the ride in this 100-part series as we take three class cars – a 1965 Ford Mustang, a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette and a 1970 Plymouth – and overhaul them into dream rides!

Overhaulit Part 21
You can restore a car a thousand times,
but it will be . . .

Overview

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Description

Original just one. Decisions, decisions. It would seem that there really aren’t all that many when restoring a vehicle. The road map is right there in front of you. If you realize that it’s only original once, then you can never, ever get back to original. What really matters, then, when it comes to a restoration is that it looks brand new and, for the most part, correct. For the most part?

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Overhaulit Part 22
The right stuff

Overview

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Description

Starting with a restored car has a number of benefits when it comes to a project like this. Now, you could put a half-finished car in the garage or go out and buy a totally finished car with the intention of carrying out modifications to improve the driving dynamics. Improving a finished car has a couple of key advantages, not the least of which is saving time. Cars are fun to work on – usually. . .

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Overhaulit Part 23
Powder keg!

Overview

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Description

The boiling point is reached as a botched wheel order forces us to take matters into own hands, with powder coating to make it right. I can see that he’s telling me all about power coating, since his lips are moving, but no words are coming out of his mouth. They’ve been replaced with the ringing in my ears. It’s not the first time Marcel Allain has slammed together two hollow aluminum cylinders – the kind used to carry oxygen – to show just how tough their powder-coated finish is. And it won’t be the last. Here he goes again . . . uh oh.

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Overhaulit Part 24
Made of mettle

Overview

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Description

Good bones.
You’ve heard that phrase a thousand times, but when you’re pushing 400 horsepower through a 50-year-old car, it had better have great bones, because that’s what holds the whole thing together. Looking at a bare frame, it’s fair to say that we’re committed to this project, so we need to be able to think through and handle whatever comes our way.

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Overhaulit Part 25
The Watt’s up?

Overview

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Description

This is a huge deviation from the original leaf springs – century-old technology, by the way – but changes that bring the ride and handling quality ahead 50 years while providing the right stance and infinite adjustability. Second time around, it’s perfect.

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Overhaulit Part 26
The Domino effect

Overview

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Description

Building 1,000 horsepower power means bringing the rest of the car along for the ride. The first engine was built 10 years ago and while 449 horsepower from our 6.0-liter (360-cubic-inch) engine was completely satisfactory back then, especially given the stock nature of brakes, chassis and suspension, it’s natural that the engine would evolved as the goal of the car evolved using newer and better technology that became available.

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Overhaulit Part 27
Braking zone

Overview

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Description

We’re betting that a safety upgrade won’t hurt the value or appeal of our 1963 Corvette one bit. When you’re restoring a rare and expensive automobile, there’s always the question whether to upgrade it. And if so, how, and with what. The value of our 1963 Corvette is in its originality, or at least in its original appearance. But that means skinny reproduction tires, heavy manual steering and drum brakes all around. So, what do you do?

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Overhaulit Part 28
Looks great, but does it work?

Overview

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Description

It’s the moment of truth after redoing the rear suspension for the second time. After spending plenty of time and money trying to make the stock leaf springs work, we gave up and took it all out. That’s OK as we’re more than pleased with the result. No rattles and no shakes, but the ride is way too stiff and a tire is still scuffing the inner wheelwell when turning into uphill driveways.

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Overhaulit Part 29
The cost of cool

Overview

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Description

“Custom” sounds like a great word, but it comes with a price, and not just dollars. When you start down a road where you’re not only building an engine, but doing something that isn’t very common, you might want to rethink it for a couple of reasons: it’s going to be expensive, it’s going to take a long time and there’s always the chance it might not work all that well. . .

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Overhaulit Part 30
Eye buy

Overview

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Description

Ordering parts with our appetites instead of our brains. “I want THAT!’
Have you ever been at a restaurant – practically starving – and ordered something that sounded delicious only for it to be massively disappointing? Who hasn’t. Well, this is the automotive equivalent of that. Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs.