Barn Find 442 W30

[Canuck]

Got the intake back from the machine shop and dry fitted and then did another fit with the NOS steel gasket.



Observations of original W30 cars show no paint on the heads on either side of the intake and none on the steel gasket.
It is believed a template was used to cover the intake and other items like the hook, thermostat housing and other small parts were painted as they lay on top of the template.
I have seen engines with no paint on these items to some that had a partial coat. I opted for the latter and painted about 3/4 of the surface area of these parts.



More Nos parts used here.
Balancer
Lower pully
Starter bracket
Fuel pump
Temp sending unit
Coil bracket

Manifolds were media blaster and a graphite was applied, burnished with 000 steel wool, one more coat of graphite applied and then heated with a heat gun to cure the graphite.
Final look is fresh cast iron.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Hit EBay and grab 6 NOS goodies!!

Ryan W31.

[RPOLS3]

Looks great Paul!

[Crush]

Just read this entire thread, you are a patient man! My ADD would be hitting a high point 6 years ago!
Love the story, thx for sharing!!

[L78M22Rag]

Originally Posted by Canuck

The car was in fact a 71, special ordered and sold new through Corner Brook Garage Ltd in Corner Brook Newfoundland. The car is a special order paint code finished in the 1970 Rally Red or closer to Hugger Orange. I had worked in Corner Brook in the fall of 71 and again in 72 and recalled seeing an Orange 442 several times, I was more taken by the stunning brunette driving it.

Any idea whether the stunning brunette also made her way to Alberta? ha ha

Congrats on buying the car. I met Merlin a couple times, and he was very close friends with a good friend of mine. He was a terrific guy... sadly, gone before his time.

[Canuck]

Originally Posted by L78M22Rag

Any idea whether the stunning brunette also made her way to Alberta? ha ha

Congrats on buying the car. I met Merlin a couple times, and he was very close friends with a good friend of mine. He was a terrific guy... sadly, gone before his time.

You might be referring to Al Shannon.

[Calix Lee]

It looks so clean! I can see the progress with this build, I can't wait to see how it goes. Btw, I feel like the HD wheels Spinout series will add style to that classic car.

[Canuck]

over the past 18 months the body has been transformed from a rust bucket ,to a shell and back to a body,piece by piece. My body guy has painstakingly duplicated dimples, changed round nuts to square ones and rebuilt parts to their factory correct locations. Here is a series of photos

















panels were brought to bare metal,ecoated,proved blocked and ready for install. The copper is weld through primer.

[Canuck]

Lots of progress over the summer months. As mark was progressing on the body,I finished getting the engine ready. Some delays were caused by the arrival of some nos parts I had to ad.

NOS oil pan cleaned and ready for paint and install.




Lower part of pan was covered with flat clear and dusted in Olds Blue to replicate factory minimal approach to paint.



Nos short block with factory markings. Paint daubs indicate bearing clearances.



Engine pre dressed to check For fit and checking torque.



Loaded into truck for delivery to resto shop.



June 15, engine and trans on restored frame ready for body drop.

[Canuck]

A surprise development on the history of my car surfaced on FB Friday. The attached photo was posted by a fellow in Alberta of a 442 he owned in the late 70’s. After a few messages We were able to determine that this is the car I am restoring.
His info stated he bought the car through an Auto Trader style ad in 1977 and the car had come from Halifax. He kept the car for a few years and sold it in 1980. He stated the car “ had returned to the earth in a wrecking yard in Blackie,Alberta”
Well it didn’t return to the earth as it was purchased from that wrecking yard in the early 80’s. The car had a hard life as it had a front end hit as well as a motor change before I bought it.


Insurance card from 1979.