Help with my 69 Chevelle 396

[Deaf Bob]

Squirrel on here runs supercharged big blocks and uses the cheap Walmart battery.. If memory serves..
I like a little more.. 7-800 cca for the street..
The flatbed gets the 1000 cca because I often leave my park lights on or my back up lights which are 100W floods.. I pull trailers often..

[Brian28]

Would these be the right ones ? Before it parked I had a brand new set , but now they are rusty on top , I thought I paid 200 back then ,

[SuperBuickGuy]

I was talking with someone they said I should switch it from points to Electric that it's cheap & easy , that I still use the same dizzy I already have , is this ture ? They said I won't have to mess with the points every year

switch to a pertronix kit

http://www.jegs.com/i/Pertronix/751/1181/10002/-1

no need to change the cap, coil or anything but the points.

Thanks for the help guys , yes it's the 4speed manual so would 800cca be a better battery ? I looked at the part store they were around 125 , Amazon has red tops 800cca for 155 , Iv never bought one before becouse there like 250 at the store , so at only about 30 extra doesn't seam to be a bad idea I would think plus I get free 2 day shipping with the prime we have this year

seems like a reasonable deal, but be certain it's a New battery. Optima sells batteries that come back as refurbished that do not have a warranty. They claim idiots buy their batteries and don't know how to recharge a fully dead one - so the battery is 'fine' sometimes they are, but you're betting $155 that it is

[Brian28]

I had a fully dead one before , I couldn't get it to hold a charge , I have one at the house now but when I took it in to have charged it said bad cell

[SuperBuickGuy]

I have mixed results, 3 were fine, 1 wasn't. Though the issue isn't the price, it's what you're getting.... some of the advertisers are really clever in disguising the refurb label - and best of all, you can't ship it back to Amazon because it's hazardous (nevermind they shipped to you)

[Brian28]

Yeah I'm not sure witch one I'll get but for 30 bucks more isn't it a lot better of a battery then a reg one at Walmart

[SuperBuickGuy]

actually - the flooded battery is better in most cases. They last longer, they're less affected by heat and cold, and inexpensive. Gel-filled batteries are good when there's a lot of vibration, the battery needs to be in a place with poor venting, or the battery will be subject to a lot of physical abuse, and they can be put in any position - even upside down. Gel-filled has a problem because the chemical reaction doesn't happen as easily, thus it charges slower, they can overheat, and if it gets very dead, requires a second battery hooked to it to get it to start charging. Size for size, a gel-filled battery also doesn't allow as deep of discharge - which is why there is a yellow top and a blue top battery.

the latest, greatest is lithium-ion batteries because of how light they are.... of course, in a cast-iron, BBC Chevy car it's like pearls to pigs.

[Brian28]

So if I wanted to clean up the car some like getting new parts that are rusty like valve cover , air filter cover or replace my cracked dash insert , is my really only option is reproduction parts ? With those parts to dress the car up nice , will they hurt the car or help the car , Im going to try to get all org as I can , I talked to my dad friend and my dad wanted to make the car 100% correct , so I think I should follow my dad's plan with the car , I see very nice ones for sale on YouTube and they have had to use all reproduction parts , but let's say the oem wheels arnt the same as having re makes but will it make a difference to the car as the value of it , like I have the org wheels that came on the car with org. Spare tire with the org red wall still on it , and they have no marks on them , I was almost thinking about taking them off and set aside to keep them nice and put some wheels and tires on it that's if the tires need to be replaced from sitting , I guess i just want to make sure what I do to the car dosent hurt the car in anyway but also make it all nice agin at the same time ,

[SuperBuickGuy]

Build your car, not someone else's. If someone else gets annoyed at your build, ignore them. It's possible that there are still NOS parts available for your car, but if you plan on driving it - they'll look old soon enough so the extra money and hassle will be simply that.

[Brian28]

On the form I keep seeing the ads for (original parts group ) is that a good place to shop from?

[SuperBuickGuy]

only after they send you sale coupons. the key to saving money with them is coupons followed closely by be sure you know what it's going to cost to ship before you hit the 'buy it' button.

[Brian28]

Is NPD a better place or the same kinda of deal with them as well ? And yeah I would love the car to be as if it was from the dealer ship brand new but I would also love for the suspension , brakes ,wheels and under the hood all up to-date would be sweet as well

[Deaf Bob]

For lightly rusted chrome.... I like Turtle Wax Chrome Polish.. It is thickish.. Rub till it is shiny then buff it.. Be sure to WAX it even tho Turtle sys you don't need to.. Replacing parts.. Holy and bad.. Ok..
Like SBG says.. Build it for yourself!
I get crap about my 57 not being origional.. I do not care! It is mine. 327, 4 speed, Inpala diamond tuck seat (yes seat not "s")
Make the car yours in your dad's memory..
Improve. Like you were thinking brakes.. It removes origionality.. So? What do you REALLY WANT?
Me.. I'd put in a decent cam, intake, electronic ign, good WORKING carb and drive it! Some suspension up grades..
The 57 is a sedan delivery (windowless wagon) so I have a 77 T-bird rear sway bar on it.. Plans are a Trans Am one and a front one that I can find to fit..

[SuperBuickGuy]

better is a pretty subjective term. In resto parts now, generally the more you pay the closer the part is to perfect - this is especially true when dealing with national companies like NPD. Cheap stuff is generally thinner material, and old stamps (which wear and create fitment issues). With all of that said, if GM puts its stamp on the part, the part should be similar to what the factory produced back in the day.

directly to suppliers, I've had great luck with all of them including AMD.

[Brian28]

Yeah it's semi built up , I'm not sure what is all done in side but I know it has a lot more power then other 396 Iv seen , I know it has , headers , exhaust , cam , intake man , holly 4 Barrel carb , the rest I'm not sure , but it use to rumble And get down stop light to stop light , and easily get that ass to come around and dance , that car use to scare the crap out of be but at the same time it was so much fun ,