Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!

[olredalert]

----Wow,,,frosting on that cake!....Bill S

[Mr70]

Nice Jake!

[Postsedan]

Well done my friend

Dan

[BJCHEV396]

Very nice Jake...job well done!

[RPOLS3]

---EDIT---- (solved the pushrod issue....)

I decided to start taking things apart to begin the drum bake conversion part of the project. Before I started blowing the lines apart and rendering the car undriveable (rather than just bolting the booster back on) I wanted to make sure the new master cylinder would bolt on. I wasn't sure what I would find with the aftermarket conversion with the power booster and the dual circuit master cylinder. I was able to un-bolt the master cylinder without cracking any of the brake lines and move it forward enough to remove the power booster to mock up the new master cylinder. Good news is that it fits. I was worried about the second set of studs coming through the firewall but in referencing some under hood shots of survivor 62 409 cars from MCACN, that is the way it is suppose to be.

I realized that the power disc conversion eliminated the passenger side line that runs front to rear and replaced it with a front to rear line on the drivers side. Hoping that is an easy fix with just ordering the correct lines and they can be installed with the body on the car. Seeing the correct master cylinder bolted to the firewall gives me some motivation.

[olredalert]

----Wish there was a way to keep that front to back line from being coiled up for shipping. If I can be of any help with Inline Tube (if that's the direction you are going) I'm happy to help. They are only about 25 minutes from my house....Bill S

[RPOLS3]

Originally Posted by olredalert

----Wish there was a way to keep that front to back line from being coiled up for shipping. If I can be of any help with Inline Tube (if that's the direction you are going) I'm happy to help. They are only about 25 minutes from my house....Bill S

Thanks for the offer Bill - I ordered the line from Showcars. If it is like the one for the Chevelle from Inline, it comes gently bent in half in a larger box, so once straightened out you can't tell.

[RPOLS3]

Progressing on some smaller items this week.....

I had to get the guts of the rebuilt master cylinder installed so I dropped that off at my buddy's shop and he did that for me Monday. Picked it up yesterday and installed last night. He is also installing the new bearing races and bearings in the restored hubs. I got the proper front to rear brake line ordered and should have that in a few days.

Tracked down some original bench seat trim brackets - as my interior guy said the reproduction ones weren't right when he was doing the seats and couldn't install the trim as a result. The originals do look slightly different so hopefully they should work. Sandblasted them and got them painted correctly so they are ready to go - I have an appointment for first week of April to get that done.

I didn't like the way the trim around the driver's side door handle fit and was able to get that fitting better - not much adjustment but much better. I polished the interior chrome on the two doors - armrests, inside door handle and both window cranks - so they look new. No pics of that.

Scope creep has set in again......

I took off the drivers outside mirror to polish it and it was a bit more pitted than I could polish out so ordered a new one - should be here this week.

The air cleaner snouts have gotten beat up a bit over the years and the driver's side one was massaged to clear the power brake booster and master cylinder since it stuck out so far. I dropped the air cleaner assembly off this morning at a friend's to get that straightened out and re-painted the correct gloss black. I am going to pull the radiator and fan shroud to get them repainted correctly as well - then I can touch up the core support as well.

Goal is to get the old brakes off this weekend and prep for the drum installation in the coming weeks. Our weekend schedule is getting full so I'm trying to get as much done in the next week to get ahead of things. April will be here before I know it.

[BJCHEV396]

The devil's in the details....great job!!

[RPOLS3]

Made some more progress today......decided to dive in full bore on the drum brake conversion.

Jacob decided to come home for a visit and he didn't get any work assignments today so he was able to help a bunch. Dad would be over the moon ecstatic knowing his grandson was helping turn wrenches on this project.

We were able to get both disc assemblies off along with the requisite bracketry and related. Also took off most of the brake lines (I ordered all new stuff) with two exceptions. Didn't take the front crossmember line off as I need to spend some time strategizing how to do that with limited access to the fittings on the driver's side - and I still have some challenges with the front to rear line (a la the Chevelle project a few years back......). Whoever installed the disc conversion kit did some bubba engineering to the front to rear line. I have the new line here. I was able to get the front half (it was sectioned into 3 pieces vs. 1 and crossed over the transmission to go from the passenger side to the drivers side ) of the old line removed but need a fresh mind to figure out how to get the rest of the rear section out and install the new one piece line. I haven't had to cut anything yet and I think it can be done - just not today......

I will need to spend some time cleaning things up before any reassembly (30 year old restoration showing its age) but was able to mock up the driver's side backing plate assembly to make sure everything lines up - and it does. So once I figure out the brake line challenges it will hopefully come back together reasonably quickly.

If anyone needs a compete and good functioning front disc brake conversion kit I will be listing it for sale soon.