I finished the other corner of the rear window channel this morning, the drivers side lower. It didn't take long at all, and I of course forgot to take a pic.
I figured that I would start on the floor pans, so I removed the rest of the interior to get a better look. The passenger rear floor was not too bad, just a few small holes, so I didn't use the entire pan. I know, I know, the resto-purist are cringing at the hack job, but the rest of the floor, and bracing, and belt/seat mounts etc were OK, and I have to get this done. After all, this is going to be a driver, not a show car. Besides, I can use the leftover piece from the passenger rear to fix the passenger front ('cause I didn't buy that one). Someone tried to patch the passenger front with fiberglass, and when I picked it off today, man - what a rusty, holey mess that is. I don't know if I'll post a pic of my welded floors when I'm done, after all they are going to be under the carpet/car!
I was busy on Friday and Saturday playing with my lathe (I got to remember to take a photo of it) that my pal Jason and his dad gave to me. I cut the belt to separate it from the motor and get it home, and once home realized I need to pull the main assembly completely apart to install a new belt. Not too smart. At least now I know how the entire thing works, because I field stripped and rebuilt it.
I also installed the anti-theft system, which I would love to discuss in detail...however it is probably best to say that I feel pretty secure that no one is going to figure this out. I hope Sarah will!
I finally got around to working on the rear window channel, and decided to tackle the toughest side first. I fabricated up a paper template, transferred it to metal (actually twice, the first was a bit too small) and welded it in. Click here to see the before pic of the hole. I also cleaned all the butyl tape off the glass, and got some major blisters on my fingers in the process. After I do the other side, I can start on the new floor pans, and then I really have to get into the body work.
I transferred the restored brackets to the new pump today, primed it up and now have one-finger power steering. Notice the spacer on the header bolt for the rear pump bracket.
It looks like most of the mechanical systems are good for now, I need to order some floor pans and get started on the body work. I can't believe it is already the middle of June, and if I don't get the body done now, it will have to wait until next year for paint.
I wanted to post this pic of the brakes...just because I like it.
Been busy since my last post. Got the Chevelle running and driving. I had to work pretty hard to bleed the brakes, but eventually got there. The timing was a little tricky, but now that I re-learned the art of ignition timing, I left a few burnouts in the driveway.
The power steering has been leaking from the front seal and flinging all over the place, took me a few days to figure that out. So today I pulled the pump apart, and painted all the brakets, and am getting a new pump tomorrow. All I could find was my phone, so that's why the picture is so crappy, but you get the idea. Tomorrow I'll install the new pump, and torque everything up. I also made a nice little bracket for the rear of the pump where it bolts to the head/header, so no more loose power steering brackets!
Today I got a much needed break in the weather, and went outside to start the Chevelle for the first time. All I needed to do was throw some gas in, the battery and cables, and fire it up. Ok, I'll skip the little part about me having the distributor in 180 degrees the wrong way, because I pretty much new that after it didn't fire right up. I used the hand siphon pump to pull the fuel up to the filter, and had Jimmy help me hit the key while I set the timing. It really was a mouse motor....complete with acorns, a nest and even a little mummified mouse that a came shooting out the pasenger side tailpipe like a shotgun blast when it first fired up!
As I was breaking in the cam, and had the motor purring along at 2500 rpm, all of a sudden it dropped down to almost 1000 rpm and run like crap. I shut it off, thinking maybe I accidentially bumped the distributor and knocked the timing out of wack. After checking everything from scratch again, I found out my brand new Jegs distributor vacuum advance was broken. I tried one from Jimmy, but his was broken too. So I pulled the unit off the 283, installed it and was back in business. I called Jegs, they better send a new one!
The electric fan kicked in when it should have, and although the carb float was a little stuck at first, it all seemed to work out just fine. Tomorrow I should be able to bleed the brakes and throw it in gear, see if I can move around the driveway a bit.
I finished the other corner of the rear window channel this morning, the drivers side lower. It didn't take long at all, and I of course forgot to take a pic.
