My '72 Grabber build thread

Lookin awesome! Is that a Mexican block?

Nevermind, just went back and read. Awesome!

 

Hecho en Mexico

 

Finished assembling the cylinder heads today and installed heads and headers on the engine.

 

Rocker studs and rockers installed and valves were adjusted tonight. I also glass beaded the intake and it's just sitting on there right now. I have to get some valve cover gaskets now.

 

Looking Good..........

 

Thanks Mavgrab.

I finally got some time in the garage today. Finished up some odds and ends, got the nitrous mounted up and the carb bolted down. I also cut off the bypass stub on the thermostat housing and tapped it for a 1/4"NPT plug. I got the radiator in but it will probably need to come out because the lower hose fitting is hitting the crossmember. I'll probably oval out some of the holes so that I can raise it up a little bit. I also mounted the MSD box and installed the spark plugs, distributor and spark plug wires.

 

Nice progress! Looks very sharp.

 

Thanks Merc!


I know I haven't posted any pictures here lately but it's not because I haven't done any work. It's because the stuff I'm working on doesn't really deserve pictures. Lot's of little things that mostly go unseen and also some garage cleaning/organizing/throwing stuff out. Most of the work was wiring and modification of the factory wiring harness. And thankfully my buddy Harry has stepped up like the good friend he is and taken that bull by the horns and doing a great job. (Still not worth taking pictures of,,,,, yet) I'm really happy with the way the wiring is turning out and the progress. I know Harry has sacraficed time he could be working on his mustang to help me. Thanks Harry! Well I do have a couple of pictures to post tonight. First is the dashboard all painted and then this little bracket I made for the alternator (which will be powder coated).

 

A much improved dash! ... a lot better than that sun-faded red that it started out as.

 

Here's a shot with the instrument cluster in. Also a pic of the radiator fan.
The cluster is not screwed in because I will likely have to take it out to install the dash pad. The under hood wiring modifications are taking alot longer than we expected but they're being done right the first time so it's worth it. I also picked up a new lower dash at a junk yard yesterday. The new one only has two cracks and only one is in a area where it shows. The one I had already has so many more cracks and a hole drilled in it. I got the lower dash and a few other odd pieces from a comet and all for $15.00 so it was a good day!

 

Very Nice! It's going to look awesome!

 

I really like the color you chose for the dash

 

Thanks, it's the original charcoal color. Looks like an exact match too.

 

Finally got the dashboard back in the car. The wiring took much longer than expected with all of the modifications and repairs that were made. Still not finished but we had to put the dash back in the car to do the last little bit. I can't beleive how bad the dust on the dash shows up in these pictures. This was AFTER I wiped it down because the first pictures looked horrible!

 

John,

Lookin' good ...

I noticed the metal brace for the lower dash already installed. If you put that in the unit first, you will do a lot less gymnastics later. That and the plastic part can be put in together and then just attached to the end brackets.

Regarding the dust showing up ... in digital photography (especially in macro... small items in super-close), it will show everything. It is not friendly at all... they show every flaw... sometimes things your eye will never see. Old school cameras work a bit more like your eyes actually do, and are a bit more forgiving.

Seeing all this stuff you don't want to means you actually have a pretty good camera there and it is set correctly ... good job.