Brakes - Part 1 - 12/16/2007

I'd call this a continuation, but I haven't done anything at all on this car in over a year, so we might as well get a fresh start! I acquired a new spindle correct for the car to go along with the new bearings, rotors, and pads. I also started tear-down on the 455 from my Lemans in preparation for the machine shop work.



Quite a dirty motor.



Complete '73 intake setup with '78 Olds carb and '79 Olds 403 idle solenoid throttle bracket.



Stripping it down.



Everything is coming along nicely though.



Intake is completely stripped and ready for sandblasting.



Valley pan after intake is removed. Wonder where the screw came from and how long it has been there...



Valve train. VERY clean inside (I take care of my engines!). Stock '73 B-body cam is TINY. Note the cast '5 5' indicating a 455...



Turn it upside down to get all of the oil out and get to the crank throws.



Get the block drains out while we can. VERY corroded and gunky after 35 years of buildup.



Driver side block drain removed.



Crank throws. Bearings aren't wobbling on anything, but I still have a "clunk clunk" sound that occurs when starting for the first time, indicating a potential main bearing problem.



Oil pan with no baffle since it is from a '72 motor with windage tray (bad idea, don't be a moron like me).



This spindle was quite muddy and nasty, cleaned it up decently. No show car here.



The safe way to remove the old spindle: jack for support, loosen all 3 bolts, and then use the pickle fork to separate them all. Sounds like a cannon going off when it lets go.



Instaled and cotter pins put in place (tighten these down GOOD).



More shots of the installed cotter pins and tightened down nuts.



Rotor is instaled and caliper put on. Unfortunately the caliper is not cooperating in returning the piston back inside and the o-rings are seized on the guides, so I am going to just replace them rather than deal with potentially sticking calipers.

Well, 3/4 of the brakes are done. Should be simple to get the remainder done. And of course I need to pull the transmission and get it gone through and then get the 455 to the machine shop for a rebuild.

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Last updated January 29th, 2008