Peter Preus, '65 Crown V8 Monza - Ridgefield, Connecticut
1965 Monza bought from the orginal owner about 1973. Installed Crown kit shortly after that. Drove the car briefly with a 283 mule motor, then it sat in a shed for 20 plus years.
Like many members, I've had my Corv8 forever. When I was in my twenties in the 70's, the vision was for it to be a twin turbo hot-rod. After I restarted the project in 2004 my vision had changed. The goal is now to have a "sweet piece" something that's comfortable, fun to drive, and won't kill me. Like a fool, I've redone everything so it's taking forever. I hope to have it completed in another 5 years, but time available and money will determine that outcome.
Like many members, I've had my Corv8 forever. When I was in my twenties in the 70's, the vision was for it to be a twin turbo hot-rod. After I restarted the project in 2004 my vision had changed. The goal is now to have a "sweet piece" something that's comfortable, fun to drive, and won't kill me. Like a fool, I've redone everything so it's taking forever. I hope to have it completed in another 5 years, but time available and money will determine that outcome.
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My Monza is now 59 years old and came out Minnesota; land of road salt. As a result, I get to cut out a lot of rust and make patch panels. The following 4 images show How I was able to handle a tricky area with a lot of curves. I ended up using 4 separate pieces and used the body to form the individual metal strips against. It was a picky process that took about 10 hours, but I'm happy with the result.
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8-14, Peter's new purchase that will help him to finish the car!
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September, 2015 Project Update
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Here's the first rough assembly of the front end of my Monza. I'm pretty happy about the way it turned out. it looks like I have to move the driver's side suspension ahead .095" and the passenger side suspension back .095". Ok for a guy in his basement.
February, 2016 Project Update
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Here you'll find 4 photos for the website. They show the process I used for attaching my rear suspension mounting points to my rear subframe. The first two show positioning brackets on a home-made surface plate. It's 3/8" plate I scraped so it's within .003" flatness. The next two show the brackets tack welded to the subframe. Here's hoping I got my sums right.
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June, 2016 Project Update
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Here are some more build photos. The first photo shows the cage for the fuel cell as it stands now. The last photo shows the rear of the chassis as it stands now.
January, 2020 Update
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I've finally been able to retire and have made some progress on my Vair. I dynoed the engine and was gratified to find out that it made 475 HP at 6100 RPM.
I've gone completely wacky and fabricated a serpentine belt drive. Space is at a premium with the Crown conversion and I couldn't find anything that kept my air conditioning compressor and my power steering pump down low. This was not a trivial exercise and I don't know if the belt will stay on at 7000 RPM.
I've gone completely wacky and fabricated a serpentine belt drive. Space is at a premium with the Crown conversion and I couldn't find anything that kept my air conditioning compressor and my power steering pump down low. This was not a trivial exercise and I don't know if the belt will stay on at 7000 RPM.
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August, 2020 Update
A little eye candy. I got many of my transaxle, and shifter parts Cryo treated then REM ISF finished. A big shout out to Mike at Stonebridge Cryoscience. I gave you parts, you gave me back jewelry.
The serpentine belt drive I fabricated was starting to rust. I wanted it to look "factory" so I had it yellow zinc plated. I'm pretty happy with the result. Additionally, I got my exhaust parts back from Jet Hot. They were expensive, but they gave me a great result. It looks like the project is on hold for a little while. The boss lady says we're moving. the bad news is that I need to find a new shop and move everything. The good news is that I get a new shop... |
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December, 2020 Update
I just got my bumpers back from being rechromed. They aren't perfect. There's some minor pitting and some faint sanding marks, but you have to look really closely. It was a choice between paying $700 for repo bumpers or having the originals rechromed for $1150. I think I made the right choice. Sure is spendy though. I can't imagine what a vintage Cadillac would cost!!!
December, 2024 Update
