Blake Noble

I believe the 305 H.O. had a Corvette 305 cam with a Camaro Cross-fire V8 intake, specifically.

Pssst ... get someone to make more performance parts for 305s. Cutlass: $3,000 to buy, roughly about $3,200 to mildly restore. Monte: $2,200 with about another $3,000 to mildly restore (after all is said and done). I paid for the Cutlass working part-time and selling a few other things that I no longer needed (an ATV mainly). The Monte was paid with savings. I know where quite a few pre-1972 cars are at, and for a cheap price. They do need some work, but nothing incredibly serious. Old, cheap cars are out there for my generation to buy. You just have to really look for them. Additionally, I have two friends that own classic cars. I have a friend with a '66 Mustang (that now has a fresh 302; it cost $4,500 and the body is in great shape) and another friend with a '71 Cutlass Supreme (came from the factory with the 455 Rocket; this cost $2,500 with some mild rust, which my friend repaired himself). Import tuners were a fad. Just about everything my generation (as a collective) likes is a fad. I don't like to say it, but my generation is probably going to be the most shallow yet. No surprise here. I guess I'm the last of an endangered breed then. I can only hope that, by some chance, it can change.

Now, don't be so quick to stereotype. I believe my purchases speak for themselves.

Evening news (His post count ... what?! It's over 9000!?)

Dan Rather (over 9,000 posts! $h! yeahr!)

What's up with all of the car accidents lately? First my Firebird, then redtruck's Silverado, now CSpec's Saab. Is The Curse back again? My gut tells me the insurance company might go with "totaled." Insurance companies always go with the cheapest option, just keep that in mind.

Shameless plug is shameless.

Thank ya, sir. I can't wait to see what kind of reactions people will make. ... Well, those who might know but not know enough, anyway, if I'm making sense. GM could have done it for all of twenty-bucks in engineering costs. The stock Monte SS headlamp buckets just have to have a small piece of metal taken out that goes in between the stock sealed beam headlamps and they're good to fit. I'm located in Berea, about thirty minutes south of Lexington. It would be great if you could make a stop somewhere nearby. And I would be interested. I'm also in the middle of an agonizing parts hunt right now, so any connections would be that much more beneficial. I think I shot you a PM a few nights ago to see if you knew someone that could get me in touch with some parts (instrument cluster, interior trim), but I can't remember if I hit send or save or if my internet connection was crapping out on me when I was trying to send/save it. I can be in Richmond in 10 minutes. If you would want me to check it out for you, just let me know.

Someone has very good taste. If I had a '69 Camaro, this would almost be exactly how it would appear.

Yep. The bulb sockets have two contact points that make contact with the printed circuit on the back of the cluster. The right turn signal bulb socket actually popped out today when I was replacing all of the bulbs (I should mention that it never worked though, not even after replacing the bulb and before it popped out).

Wonderful ... just wonderful. I just love '80s electrical systems, let me tell you. Especially the ones they stuck in G-Bodies. Well, luckily I might have a car on the way to pick clean for parts. I made a call earlier and a guy in Richmond has a junkyard with an '83 Monte incoming. He also has a '78 I'm going to check out tomorrow, just in case there is something from it I can use, although it does not have a instrument cluster. My fingers are crossed that the '83 has a blue interior ... and that it's an SS as well, but that's probably asking for wayyyy too much.

I hate that something like that had to happen to your Silverado. That's a shame. As for upcoming incentives, there might be a few rebates coming up to clear lots of any left over 2009 inventory. Since CFC didn't really move any trucks, I'd expect any incentive programs to mostly apply to them.

The list of what GM did in the '50s, '60s, and '70s would eclipse that list I'm sure. I'm also sure that the impact that they had would also make what you listed look pretty pathetic in comparison, with the exception of direct injection. To name a few that come to mind first, in no particular order: -MaxTrac traction control -Airbags -"Manumatic" transmissions (e.g. AutoStick; the '70 - '72 Cutlass had a dual gate shifter that functioned exactly the same) -The first production turbocharged engine -Electronic circuit integration/digital microprocessor engine control -Engine control systems with OBD codes -PCV valves -Anti-lock brakes

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm getting stumped. It has to be either a bad dimmer switch or, god forbid, a bad printed circuit on the back of the cluster.

That, and a strange anomaly has been appearing after you edit a post.

Anyone want to explain why that after I post something I get a blank screen (it looks like that after I make a post, the site tries to redirect me to the main forum index, rather than the thread I posted in) or why that after I edit something the whole post goes blank? The posts still go through, but it's starting to get annoying.

Well maybe I don't need a new speedo and tach after all. I found the temp/fuel/volts/oil center gauges out of a '84 Cutlass Supreme Calais today, used their needles on my gauges since it turns out they are different after all, and hooked everything back up just for fun. I tested the new instrument lighting not only to find out only one bulb is getting voltage and illuminating, but that my tach jumps up about 500 more rpms and my usually dead temp gauge springs back to life and reads 200 degrees. My fuel, volt, and oil gauges, which normally work fine, just die. Maybe it's a bad dimmer switch?

I'd like to know what the author used as research material.

The pioneering and innovative spirit of GM during the 1960s and 1970s were what made GM a leader. GM needs to find that same spirit again. (Yeah, yeah. I know about the Volt. But what about other neat and innovative features on other GM models?)

I'm glad to see that it was in good shape and taken care of.

Nice Passat, sir. I hope you have many carefree miles with it.

Something I didn't realize earlier: there isn't anything to indicate what gear you are in on that modified cluster. This is where I'm going to get creative. I was planning to do a 3rd-gen Camaro center console swap eventually, so that I could relocate the parking brake, since that needs to be fixed anyway. The 3rd-gen Camaro console would also maintain a factory appearance. Why not do this now? I wonder if the console in automatic 3rd-gen Camaros had gear indication or if it was placed elsewhere?

Now, now. Let's not be bashful or secretive. I believe hentai qualifies as fetish porn too. Kidding aside, congratulations on the new job DF.

Why did I click on this thread? Now I'll cry myself to sleep tonight. Okay, not really. But still.