Off to the machine shop...

I wanted to get the small block off to the machine shop before the end of the year, and the trans over to ACE, and of course I forgot my camera. Aghhh. I did both today, spending some time down at Fisher's Machine, talking to Bobby about what we are doing with the enagine. He's going to rebuild it with all new parts, keeping only my castings, crank and rods.

Then I went to Ace Transmissions to drop off the Turbo 350. Chris is going to rebuild the trans and get me a better torque converter....the one I had was junk. He is also going to install the kickdown cable, which was cut off the old trans. Probably made passing a real pain in the @$$!

Anyway, the SHC garage has been busy preparing for the Chevelle. I sold my bass guitar last week for $80 in order to purchase a nice used engine hoist for $100 off of Craigslist. It was located in Brick, at Sandy Point Marine, and Tommy gave me a lift to pick it up. I cleaned up the intake manifold, power steering pump, starter, and a few parts. I'll post about them next time, if I remember. I also installed a new bolt hasp and LARGE Master lock to the garage door, just to be extra secure.

Trans Sold...

In order to raise the money for the rebuild of the turbo 350 for the Chevelle, I decided to sell my Muncie M20 on eBay. I had the ad posted on Craigslist and eBay for about 5 days without much success, and then realized how bad my photos looked. No wonder I didn't get much of a response! So I took some better photos, posted them online, and updated my ads to include the trans mount, yoke and Hurst shifter. I really didn't need any of it anymore, so why hold on to it? After less than an hour with the new updates, I got a call and a man named Cole from North Carolina said, "I'll take it". Now I'll take the automatic to Mr. Chris for a rebuild next week.



See how nice I cleaned up the trans and packed it up. I even put a little tag on the trans to remind the new owner to add oil! Now I just have to haul the 85 lb box over to the UPS store tomorrow...agghhhh.

Parts and Planning

Tis the season, to plan your spring build and gather parts. I know that I should be thinking of the holidays...but I can't. It's also the time to work your tail off and save your cash for the spring swap meet, trans rebuild and machine shop work. That's what I've been trying to do lately, work and save for the Chevelle.
I stopped by Fisher Automotive and talked to Bobby about the small block rebuild, which I hope to get down to him within the next two weeks. I also talked to Chris at Ace Transmissions about the turbo 350 rebuild, and placed ads on Craigslist to sell my 4 speed and some extra parts to help pay for it all.
I've been thinking about the engine options...LS1, big block, small block, and have come to the decision to build a nice streetable small block out of my old 350 from the Stingray. I also found a used Edelbrock Performer online for only $60, so I picked it up. A new one goes for $127, and I do't mind spending a few hours cleaning up a used piece that I can get for half price.

Junk in the Trunk...

After a week of little more than nothing, I figured that I should at least unload some of the junk in the trunk of the Chevelle. I was surprised at just how clean the trunk was, and the rest of the body. It won't take too long in the spring to get it cleaned up and painted. The worst area is two small rust holes in the lower corners of the rear window (which is already removed).








The quarters and rockers are pretty good, as are the doors. The entire front end, inner and outer fenders and cowl hood, is new from Goodmark, and still in the boxes.

Vintage Small Block

I was looking at the new (used) small block that came with the Chevelle. Tommy was quick to point out (good eye, pal) that there was some repair work done to the intake manifold under the water neck, which is a vintage Edelbrock Torker. I love those old manifolds. The block is a 1964-1966 283, casting # 3834810. A nice, vintage, 2 bolt block. I have posted a link on the SHC site here (under the Links section) with small block casting numbers.