1965 Caliente Convertible

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poboyjo65
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by poboyjo65 »

I put one on page 2 of this thread, but it wasn't a good pic.I also put a link to one on ebay that has a pic. but here is a better pic of both export brace & the monte carlo bar ;
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Johno

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Joe Travers
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by Joe Travers »

poboyjo65 wrote:
Mon Nov 30, 2020 1:00 pm
here is a better pic of both export brace & the monte carlo bar ;
I see the Monte Carlo bar mounting brackets are bumping up against the front side of the shock towers?
Clearance may be a problem with the HEI distributor? I see you're running the smaller old-style cap for clearance.
Thanks!

JT
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1963 1/2 Custom Hardtop
342 stroker, solid roller, T-10, 3.55 posi

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poboyjo65
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by poboyjo65 »

Joe here is the one I had of the big ole hei dist's ,,,but I hated it for several reasons,mainly its bigness.made the motor look tiny. I had already had to change the pick up coil on it,with not over 10,000 miles on it. had to pull the dist & take it all apart to do it. I thought when I bought it that it would be more reliable but it wasn't ,,,for me anyway,I didnt trust it. so then I was looking at the pertronix, & decided on a similar electronic set up by Crane Cams with the rev limiter & bought a stock rebuilt dist from oreily's . The crane unit was recommended by a member on here as safe with factory style tachs, & it's also a little cheaper than the pertronix.


I got off track,sorry. but by the time i got the monte carlo bar I had already had the smaller dist.so I really couldn't say about clearance .
the bar bolts to the bolts that hold on the outer coil cover on outside of the apron.
except for one hole on each side you have to drill marked with red arrow;
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Joe Travers
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by Joe Travers »

poboyjo65 wrote:
Mon Nov 30, 2020 7:36 pm
the bar bolts to the bolts that hold on the outer coil cover on outside of the apron.
except for one hole on each side you have to drill marked with red arrow;
Many thanks for the photos! Very helpful 8)
I'll have to cross-reference this to the '63, it's a bit different but I catch your drift on mounting location.
If nothing else, this should help other '64- '65 owners. :D

JT
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1963 1/2 Custom Hardtop
342 stroker, solid roller, T-10, 3.55 posi

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Joe Travers
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by Joe Travers »

poboyjo65 wrote:
Mon Nov 30, 2020 1:00 pm
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Revisiting this one, John. Misspoke about the distributor; Duraspark cap, not HEI. Doesn't sit as high as HEI.
When you have time, can you take a measurement from the top of inner fender bracket to bottom of bar?
I would like to install the straight bar if distributor cap clearance isn't an issue.
Thanks man. This picture is very helpful 👍

Joe
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1963 1/2 Custom Hardtop
342 stroker, solid roller, T-10, 3.55 posi

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poboyjo65
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by poboyjo65 »

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Joe T the measurement wouln't be true because I have since moved my bar down about an inch or so to clear the snorkel on the bottom of this fiberglass hood. if you look at this pic on the passenger side vs the one that you quoted of mine you can see that this pic bar is sitting lower on the apron bracket than the pic in your quote.

might find you an old broom handle & cut to fit for a mock up tool. would be easy to build one. but even if you bought one it's pretty easy to move the bar.
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Joe Travers
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by Joe Travers »

poboyjo65 wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2023 2:25 pm
might find you an old broom handle & cut to fit for a mock up tool. would be easy to build one. but even if you bought one it's pretty easy to move the bar.
Good idea :!: Think I can rustle up a piece of 1" PVC.
Looks like top of the original is flush w/ the top of inner fender apron (?)

Joe
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1963 1/2 Custom Hardtop
342 stroker, solid roller, T-10, 3.55 posi

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poboyjo65
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by poboyjo65 »

pretty close to the top,probably enough room to weld it. If I had it to do over I'd just make one . unless I was in one of my lazy streaks like I was in when I ordered that one! :lol:
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Joe Travers
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by Joe Travers »

poboyjo65 wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2023 3:29 pm
pretty close to the top,probably enough room to weld it. If I had it to do over I'd just make one . unless I was in one of my lazy streaks like I was in when I ordered that one! :lol:
One advantage in buying one; see if towers have flexed over time.
Pretty sure straight will fit. Need 3/8" clearance to get the cap off.
Fun fact; my old 750 is a tad taller than the newer 650 DP. Used to have to pull air cleaner to remove cap. Not anymore.

Joe
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1963 1/2 Custom Hardtop
342 stroker, solid roller, T-10, 3.55 posi

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poboyjo65
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by poboyjo65 »

Joe Travers wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2023 3:56 pm
poboyjo65 wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2023 3:29 pm
pretty close to the top,probably enough room to weld it. If I had it to do over I'd just make one . unless I was in one of my lazy streaks like I was in when I ordered that one! :lol:
One advantage in buying one; see if towers have flexed over time.
Pretty sure straight will fit. Need 3/8" clearance to get the cap off.
Fun fact; my old 750 is a tad taller than the newer 650 DP. Used to have to pull air cleaner to remove cap. Not anymore.

Joe
I wouldn't count on the aftermarket being correct. I've heard of guys having to cut & reweld them just to get them on
one advantage of building one is you can put it where you want it the first go around! If I had of known I needed to move cut & reweld both sides I would have just made it from scratch. it's a little more aggravating than it appears because it uses some of the bolts that hold the coil spring covers under the fenders which makes it kinda hard to reach both sides with the fenders on,,,without a helper
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Joe Travers
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by Joe Travers »

poboyjo65 wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2023 4:25 pm
I wouldn't count on the aftermarket being correct. I've heard of guys having to cut & reweld them just to get them on
one advantage of building one is you can put it where you want it the first go around!
If I purchase, it will be from Tony Branda. Egg rolls come in all shapes and sizes.

Joe
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1963 1/2 Custom Hardtop
342 stroker, solid roller, T-10, 3.55 posi

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poboyjo65
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by poboyjo65 »

Does Tony Branda have them for comet/falcon?
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Joe Travers
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Re: 1965 Caliente Convertible

Post by Joe Travers »

poboyjo65 wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2023 5:20 pm
Does Tony Branda have them for comet/falcon?
Nope, looks like AutoKrafter's is the best bet for a straight one made in U.S.

Joe
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1963 1/2 Custom Hardtop
342 stroker, solid roller, T-10, 3.55 posi

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