1966 Polara 880: The Build So Far, or "Bring Money".

Started a project a few evenings this week: piping in some tunes.

I approached this upgrade on a budget. A Retrosound system would be ideal, but I feel the cost for one of those systems is not ideal for my needs. It all started with a pair of 3.5" speakers I've had kicking around for the past 20 years or so that were too small for everything else I've owned over the years.

With that, I bought the cheapest Bluetooth radio I could find and went about making a new glovebox insert to mount the radio.

20220812_194848.jpg

20220813_184641.jpg


I thought about painting the inside with a hammertone paint, but decided it would be best if the inside were upholstered. Here are the results:

20220813_211454.jpg
20220813_211510.jpg


I'm happy with how it turned out, and it looks a lot better than the old decaying liner.
 
I decided the old speakers had to go. One would crackle every now and again, and that just won't do. To rectify that, I did the right thing and bought the best $40 speakers that had 1 day shipping Amazon had available.

Pictured below are photos of the speaker plate that I didn't include in the last post, as well as the new ones.

20220815_185104.jpg

20220815_185220.jpg

Lanzar VX320: When *Quality* Matters.

20220815_185744.jpg


The sound quality is actually not terrible. Good, in fact. 80 watts peak each, the old Pioneers were only 40. Hopefully they last. If not, I won't be heart broken. I have less than $100 into this stereo setup.
 
Wow, has it really been 8 months since the last update? Well, yeah. Not much has happened, really. The only notable updates are the additions of a new AVS2 800 cfm carburetor, a pressure regulator, and I also rerouted the fuel lines to keep them farther away from the engine.

20230425_154908.jpg


20230425_154921.jpg

20230425_154932.jpg


Also, took the time to add a bumper sticker. I'm generally not a fan of them, but on this car, it seems right.

20230425_155013.jpg


The only political endorsement I'll ever make. :lol:
 
Last edited:
Here's the latest:

20230523_152631.jpg


20230523_152605.jpg


20230523_152739.jpg


It's just about where I like it. There's a few things left I'd like to do, such as gears & a posi, an electric fan, and maybe a shift kit.
 
This update has been a long time coming. Honestly, I haven't done anything to the car since my last post other than drive it and enjoy it for the past year and a half. I've put thousands of trouble-free miles on the odometer, but now it's time to do something about the stub frame.

It's been repaired in the past, and has been showing signs of corrosion around the torsion bar mounts since I bought it. I purchased a mint stub frame this summer, so now the tear-down begins.

PXL_20241223_213514934.MP.jpg


PXL_20241223_213557299.jpg


PXL_20241223_232719836.jpg


I was somewhat dreading what I would find underneath, being a southern Ontario car, but the only surprise to greet me was solid, original steel. The inner fenders were the only signs of past butchery, as they were welded and seam-sealed together. Other than minor rot inside the driver's fender, and a bit of bubbling on the bottom of the passenger side fender, they are perfectly fine.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top