Hello all! New guy here with a 1961 Pontiac Laurentian four door I just acquired. It is a pretty basic car - 261cid six, 3psd manual, no power brakes or steering. Bought this is a family classic car as well as I plan on driving it on the 2018 Beater Challenge - a cheap car rally through Alberta and BC. I've done it before in a lousy K-car and a hail damaged Civic but wanted something with character this time. (car did not come with the Impala SS hub but rather a stock set of partial caps).
With that in mind I bought this almost barn find Laurentian. It has been off the road since 1981 and from I understand I am only the third owner. It does run well enough to get on and off a trailer but the water pump bearing is shot so don't have a good idea of how it runs for a longer time.
I bought the car from middle of nowhere, Alberta so the body is really solid. Just a tiny touch of rust on the rear arches.
Towed it home over the weekend. No brakes which made loading and unloading a little exciting!
Interior is in usable condition.
Headliner is not great and some issues with the cloth inserts in the seats.
Engine was degreased to get rid of the worst of the grime.
Came with a spare radio in case anyone is looking for one. I was told it works but haven't tested it.
So far I have only cleaned and started assessing the car. And and fixed the glovebox.
The initial plan is to fix the water pump. It has a bad bearing. New ones for the smaller 235cid seem cheap and common. The search seems to indicate the water pumps are the same between the 261 and 235. Can anyone confirm this before I order?
Then tackle the brakes. Not sure if it is worth trying to convert to a dual circuit master cylinder or replace the stock one. I could try filling and bleeding but it has been sitting a long time. Then take a look at the shoes.
Clean gas tank. Currently running of a bottle with some gas in it.
Anyone have a source for a workshop manual?
Ideas on water pump source?
Also an odd question. How does the oil bath filter come apart? I've removed the butterfly nut but the lid seems stuck on. I want to swap that oil out in case I got any water in degressing the engine.
Welcome from Canada's east coast. Your spare radio would go in a '64.
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
With regards to the master cylinder, I have converted in the past a 57 Pathfinder with a dual reservoir master cylinder that was originally from my 69 Camaro. You will need a proportioning valve as well. Change over was pretty straight forward and if I recall correctly I had to trim the pushrod otherwise it bolted right in.
I am pretty sure you will need a 261 specific water pump. I cannot remember the difference off hand but when sourcing a spare water pump for my 1955 261 the part numbers were not the same as a 235. That looks like a good sold project.
I'm sure they can help you. If not, any "good" auto parts store will have a listing for it, and access to a pump. I don't know where you are, but if all else fails, contact me. I've worked in auto parts since 1976, so I even sold a few of these pumps way back when!
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
norontcan - wow that is the twin of mine. Better condition paint wise. That white roof is rather sharp looking as well. Something to think about for mine. Thanks for sharing.
Visited the scrapyard and got a set of almost brand new tires in the right size. They attached to some later GM rims but I can swap them over. Later.
Got my old water pump off. Needed to measure the hub height as there are a few different ones. Its 5 1/4" if I measured it correctly. I measured from the top fan hub surface to the water pump mounting surface.
A hardy welcome aboard from Milton, Ontario. Looks like a fairly solid car to start with. I always thought the 61's had a real sharp looking front end. The oil bath has another wing nut on the bottom of the bowl, held to a bracket on the manifold. After that you will see how it all comes apart. The mesh is cleaned, the bowl is cleaned and then refilled with oil. Never over fill because of the mess. I converted mine years ago because i do not like the mess of oil. Check out the photo. Good luck with your fine 61 and enjoy C.P. Cheer. George
Thanks all. I've bought a replacement water pump but haven't put it on yet. Needing things to warm up a bit to flush the old coolant out.
Did a little work on the arm rests which were nasty. Purists look away. Although I am not sure what was on there is original either.
The arm rest are seriously nasty looking plus they sure don't feel great. But I'm aiming for the beater rally so basically no budget room. So ...
Off it comes
Arm rest is just wrapped in vinyl type fabric. Not sure if its original but the colour did match.
Metal base, rubber like core and fabric outside
Donor material from dumpster diving = free.
Wrap and glue one side at a time.
Not perfect. Looks a little better in person but zero cost repair (I had the glue sitting around and the material was dumpster dived). Looks more brown in the photo but it is really dark. Practically a black. Did all four.
-- Edited by Dave7 on Friday 5th of January 2018 11:04:03 AM
I bought new shocks for the Pontiac. The old ones were are not in bad shape but they are old (late 70s) so worth replacing.
The job is super easy in theory. Unbolt the top bolt and two at the bottom. Slide shock out, slide new one in and re-bolt up. The top of the shock mount on the driver's side. Nut is 9/16" but the middle needs to be held in place. A 1/4" wrench works. The driver's side on came 98% of the way out before seizing solid. Likely some bad threads at the top.
Some work with the angle grinder and its off.
Bottom of shock mount - two 1/2" bolts and the shock slides out.
New one bolts in without too much trouble.
Passenger side went super smooth thankfully with no seized bolts.
