March 26th, 2007
The following pictures are of the Chevelle as we got it back to Don's shop on the 20th of March.
Please ignore the beer bottle I left in the battery tray in this next shot :-)
As you can see the paint is awesome. We have been installing trim on the car for a few days. It can only be described as a bugger of a job. All of the trim is aftermarket parts and NONE of it fits. I have spent three hours on a single wheel well trim piece. The trim is flimsy and has to be shaped, fit and drilled. The emblem posts were short and the speed nuts didn't reach them. This necessitated grinding down the speed nut heads to get them on.
We put the gas tank in on the 23rd. It was difficult and a real two man job. I wedged myself under the car on the creeper and held it in place while Don pulled the new straps in place.
We put the gas tank in on the 23rd. It was difficult and a real two man job. I wedged myself under the car on the creeper and held it in place while Don pulled the new straps in place.
March 27th, 2007
We did not accomplish as much as we wanted today. We made a Trip to Orangeburg SC to pick up the Cragar SS wheels and tires but they were delayed. I plan to go tomorrow and pick them up. We did install the trunk lip gasket and installed the front grill trim. The front of the car is shaping up nicely now.
The pictures below show the wheel trip that was very difficult to install. It is after market trim and it is not made very well.
Here I am installing the third set of trim. By this time I had it down to about an hour. The other rear wheel would have taken 30 minutes if I had not broken the drill on the very last hole.
March 31st, 2007
We have had a great couple of days since the last update. This large folder contains a receipt for everything we have purchased for the car.
We have had a great couple of days since the last update. This large folder contains a receipt for everything we have purchased for the car.
We have the new wheels installed on the front and temporarily in the back in this series of shots.
The main project for the 31st was to install the rear disk brakes. To do that you have to pull the axels. We should have made this decision when the body was off the car early in the project. At this point Don had to open the rear end and pull the gears to allow pulling the axels.
This is the back plate and a flat spacer that came in the rear disk brake kit. The kit came with no instructions so we had to wait until True Connections in California opened for business.
And the answer was... it goes in back, behind the brakes.
This is a shot of it all bolted on to the axel.
Don is now fitting the calipers and checking the brake line setup. I went off to buy a shorter brake line while the paint dried on the caliper. I painted them black because they show through the wheels.
We are installing the spark plug wires in the next two shots. These are high temp wires due to the close clearances to the headers. The wires are now in the Zoop's wire looms and await termination in the distributor.
April 2nd, 2007
Yesterday we assembled the stainless braided hoses for the A/C and other engine components. These hoses are not easy to assemble. KEEP the end wrapped, it will unfurl and form hundreds of needle ends, slide the nut over the hose (this is key or you will go nuts). If you mess up and end up with a hose with all the wires splayed out wrap it up tight just behind it and cut it off with a cutting wheel. Then take a knife and deburr the internal diameter of the hose. Unwrap the tape and slide the brass ferrule on under the braid. The lubricate the connection end lightly and slide it into the hose. It does take some pressure. Be sure you make the end of the hose square to it will seal against the "O" ring in the fitting if it has one. Then securely tighten the nut. Now you need to take an air hose and blow the hose clean. (I ended up having to buy lines made custom done by a place that builds these. The ones you see me making here LEAKED. They were good for about three months and then you had to refill the system.)
Yesterday we assembled the stainless braided hoses for the A/C and other engine components. These hoses are not easy to assemble. KEEP the end wrapped, it will unfurl and form hundreds of needle ends, slide the nut over the hose (this is key or you will go nuts). If you mess up and end up with a hose with all the wires splayed out wrap it up tight just behind it and cut it off with a cutting wheel. Then take a knife and deburr the internal diameter of the hose. Unwrap the tape and slide the brass ferrule on under the braid. The lubricate the connection end lightly and slide it into the hose. It does take some pressure. Be sure you make the end of the hose square to it will seal against the "O" ring in the fitting if it has one. Then securely tighten the nut. Now you need to take an air hose and blow the hose clean. (I ended up having to buy lines made custom done by a place that builds these. The ones you see me making here LEAKED. They were good for about three months and then you had to refill the system.)
April 3rd, 2007
Yesterday afternoon we moved the car out of the garage and turned it nose in to give us better nighttime lighting to finish the engine wiring and hose fit up. With the exception of the interior we are fairly complete. The entire interior is in hand and ready for installation. The rear end appears a little low in these shots because we had not put air in the air shocks. We did that right after we got it back in the shop.
Yesterday afternoon we moved the car out of the garage and turned it nose in to give us better nighttime lighting to finish the engine wiring and hose fit up. With the exception of the interior we are fairly complete. The entire interior is in hand and ready for installation. The rear end appears a little low in these shots because we had not put air in the air shocks. We did that right after we got it back in the shop.
April 6th, 2007
We finished the engine compartment wiring today and have almost all of the dash hooked up! We are now starting the car using the key. The first picture is of the rear package tray and the new speakers.
We finished the engine compartment wiring today and have almost all of the dash hooked up! We are now starting the car using the key. The first picture is of the rear package tray and the new speakers.
Here is the dash just prior to lifting into place.
A new shot of the engine and the stainless hoses.
The dash going in!
Here I am putting the firewall grommets in.
FIRST GAS!
5 gallons, $14! And so it starts :-)
April 10th, 2007
We ran the motor and it is fine... we lowered the car to the ground and found out it doesn't go at all. While installing the dash we got the shifter in a bind and broke a piece off the transmission housing! ARGH. I was doing the tugging so it was my screw up. The dash is a BITCH to get in.
April 18th, 2007
The new glass arrived for the car. Pittsburg Plate Glass still makes full sets of glass for the car with one week delivery. The set includes the vent windows, sides, rears sides, rear window and the front window. The package cost $695.
April 27th, 2007
We have made yet another change. I ordered original Chevelle bucket seats and the console today from True Connections in CA. This does simplify the shifter linkage. We had to modify it to get the headers in.
May 8th, 2007
The seats arrived. These are original seats purchased from True Connections in Riverside, CA. They were very upfront about the condition. We have new foam and new covers for them. Don has found someone to reupholster them and do the interior on site. On the passenger seat is Don's Chihuahua Coco, she is full grown and weighs about 2 pounds. On the left is Patches who adopted me while I was in SC recently. Thats Cocoa on the left and Patches on the right.
We ran the motor and it is fine... we lowered the car to the ground and found out it doesn't go at all. While installing the dash we got the shifter in a bind and broke a piece off the transmission housing! ARGH. I was doing the tugging so it was my screw up. The dash is a BITCH to get in.
April 18th, 2007
The new glass arrived for the car. Pittsburg Plate Glass still makes full sets of glass for the car with one week delivery. The set includes the vent windows, sides, rears sides, rear window and the front window. The package cost $695.
April 27th, 2007
We have made yet another change. I ordered original Chevelle bucket seats and the console today from True Connections in CA. This does simplify the shifter linkage. We had to modify it to get the headers in.
May 8th, 2007
The seats arrived. These are original seats purchased from True Connections in Riverside, CA. They were very upfront about the condition. We have new foam and new covers for them. Don has found someone to reupholster them and do the interior on site. On the passenger seat is Don's Chihuahua Coco, she is full grown and weighs about 2 pounds. On the left is Patches who adopted me while I was in SC recently. Thats Cocoa on the left and Patches on the right.
This is a shot of the back of the seats. Cooa on the left and Spike on the right. Spike is sure he is a doberman. :-)
Here you can see the new seat slides we got from Ausley's.
The shifter mechanism. This again came from True Connections. In addition to repro parts they sell original parts from a well cataloged warehouse. The key part on this is the shift lever itself. They are hard to find.
May 17th, 2007
The transmission is installed and working! Don drove the car out of the garage under its own power. He told me he left two perfect skid marks on the floor... just testing of course. :-)
This photo is of the kick panel area having the sound dampening installed. That's the dimmer switch mounted down on the floor for those of you who do not remember when they were there.
The transmission is installed and working! Don drove the car out of the garage under its own power. He told me he left two perfect skid marks on the floor... just testing of course. :-)
This photo is of the kick panel area having the sound dampening installed. That's the dimmer switch mounted down on the floor for those of you who do not remember when they were there.
Here the kick panel and speaker assembly are being installed. Because we installed the A/C in the dash there is no room for the original speaker that was mounted in the center of the dash pointing up at the windshield.
These next few shots are of the front seats being stripped in preparation for being recovered. The seat frames will be sand blasted and repainted before new foam and covers are put on them.
Here we are out in the yard. In the background you can see Don's Chevelle.
The headliner is starting to be installed
There about 100 temporary clips used to stretch it into place prior to final glue and clamping.
The headliner is starting to be installed
There about 100 temporary clips used to stretch it into place prior to final glue and clamping.
May 30th, 2007
We have a new steering column. Because we changed to bucket seats in the front the shifter on the column led us to replace the column with a new one. The experts at Ididit put a lot of time and research into these retrofit steering columns, ensuring a perfect fit. The Ididit retrofit columns fit in the factory location and, in many cases, will put the steering wheel back in its original location. They come with self-canceling turn signals, 4-way flashers, and knobs and handles.
June 1st, 2007
Don has started to install the front bucket seats. He will be welding the rails that the seats slide on next. We are waiting for a kit to arrive to make this happen.
We have the seat covers but are awaiting the arrival of the foam pads from True Connections in California.
June 2nd, 2007
The next two photo's are of the new steering wheel. We bought a wood one to dress up the interior. Don has assembled the shifter conversion assembly but wants me to delay posting the photo's so he can do a how to page to go with it.
July 23rd, 2007
Here you have the old lower control arms, without a sway bar and the after pics with the new boxed lower control arm and the new sway bar.
22 Sept 2007
The interior is now in the car. We converted to bucket seats and a floor shifter. The front windshield and rear window was installed today. The following photos show this. The rear package tray was cut and the rear stereo radio speaker was installed and the speaker grill.
Cutting the rear package tray
Oct 6th
Don has been steadily working on the car since the last update. HE PUT THE VERY LAST PIECE ON IT YESTERDAY!
The following photo's are of the glass and the new vent window assemblies. We had vents but the chrome was badly corroded. Where people put there fingers on things like the locking lever and the frame itself the chrome broke down. I had been looking for replacements but they are all hideously expensive. Just as Don was finishing the glass install I found a set atTrue Connections in CA. They are in the suppliers list They were also hideously expensive but are new.
The vent windows came FULLY assembled, including new rubbers and window channel felt...even the lock handles. Unlike other repro parts....these were a perfect fit and excellent quality!!
The windshield and rear window were installed by a local glass shop, the side windows by Don.
Don has been driving the car to get a few miles on it and realized that it was overheating in stop and go traffic. We had installed an oversize radiator but the fan was stock. Since the engine is nearly a full on dragster it was not getting enough coolant at low speeds. Don installed the electric fan that we had on it at one point and all is well.
Don is taking the car to a car show in Santee, SC tomorrow. It will be interesting to hear what others have to say about it.
We have a new steering column. Because we changed to bucket seats in the front the shifter on the column led us to replace the column with a new one. The experts at Ididit put a lot of time and research into these retrofit steering columns, ensuring a perfect fit. The Ididit retrofit columns fit in the factory location and, in many cases, will put the steering wheel back in its original location. They come with self-canceling turn signals, 4-way flashers, and knobs and handles.
June 1st, 2007
Don has started to install the front bucket seats. He will be welding the rails that the seats slide on next. We are waiting for a kit to arrive to make this happen.
We have the seat covers but are awaiting the arrival of the foam pads from True Connections in California.
June 2nd, 2007
The next two photo's are of the new steering wheel. We bought a wood one to dress up the interior. Don has assembled the shifter conversion assembly but wants me to delay posting the photo's so he can do a how to page to go with it.
July 23rd, 2007
Here you have the old lower control arms, without a sway bar and the after pics with the new boxed lower control arm and the new sway bar.
22 Sept 2007
The interior is now in the car. We converted to bucket seats and a floor shifter. The front windshield and rear window was installed today. The following photos show this. The rear package tray was cut and the rear stereo radio speaker was installed and the speaker grill.
Cutting the rear package tray
Oct 6th
Don has been steadily working on the car since the last update. HE PUT THE VERY LAST PIECE ON IT YESTERDAY!
The following photo's are of the glass and the new vent window assemblies. We had vents but the chrome was badly corroded. Where people put there fingers on things like the locking lever and the frame itself the chrome broke down. I had been looking for replacements but they are all hideously expensive. Just as Don was finishing the glass install I found a set atTrue Connections in CA. They are in the suppliers list They were also hideously expensive but are new.
The vent windows came FULLY assembled, including new rubbers and window channel felt...even the lock handles. Unlike other repro parts....these were a perfect fit and excellent quality!!
The windshield and rear window were installed by a local glass shop, the side windows by Don.
Don has been driving the car to get a few miles on it and realized that it was overheating in stop and go traffic. We had installed an oversize radiator but the fan was stock. Since the engine is nearly a full on dragster it was not getting enough coolant at low speeds. Don installed the electric fan that we had on it at one point and all is well.
Don is taking the car to a car show in Santee, SC tomorrow. It will be interesting to hear what others have to say about it.