I have been helping out my pal Dave down at his garage on his 1969 Corvette, which he and his brother have had off the road since about 1975. It is a 11:1 350 hp/390tq small block with a 4 speed and side pipes. We have been putting the engine back together and are in the process of getting it running. Together with our neighbor Gary, we almost had it, but we flooded it. We pulled the plugs and are going to try a different carb, and hopefully we will have it this week.
I stopped by to see Tommy "Lawn Dude", and to check in on his progress with the 80 Malibu wagon. He has decided to clean up the rear end and do a little back-half, including new mini-tubs, a new fuel cell and some sheet metal work on the race car. During the winter off-season, he will also add a few new bars to the roll cage, including a halo hoop to the front roll cage. We also talked about re-painting the car "Blitz Black"...just need to get the body work done first and find a garage big enough to paint the wagon.
I reached out to my pal John to see if I could sandblast a few parts over at his awesome garage. I'll have to throw a pic up of the garage artwork next time I get a chance. He has a HUGE sand blasting cabinet that I'm using to clean up a few of the smaller parts, such as the hood latch and bumper brackets. I might even try to fit the front core support in there and see how that comes out.
I think that I have finally finished all of the sheet metal welding now, including the new rear window channel. I now have to finish all the rest of the mock-up, and make sure the panels fit, the gaps are aligned, and start hammering out any other dents and dings. If the weather was warmer, I'd be able to shoot some epoxy primer on it, but I guess I'll have to wait.
No, I'm not talking about the classic movie, Zach and I have been creating the patch panel for the rear window of the 66 Chevelle. It may have taken a lot of test fitting, but I think we got a nice panel piece to fit, and I almost have it welded completely in. I ran out of welding gas...figures. Tomorrow I am running down to IWS to get a new tank of Argon/CO2, and will finish up the last major patch panel on the car. The photo here is just what was cut out, prior to the new piece. I have a few small pieces yet to do, they shouldn't take long.
Tommy stopped by to tell me about Marc's amazing wheel stand at the Englishtown Mean Street Top Street Shootout last week....check this out. The announcer said it was the best wheel stand he has seen this year.
Now that I have most of the welding done (I still need to tackle the rear window), I started to mock-up the body panels and all the large pieces. I needed to make some room in the shed anyway. The new hood has taken me a bit of time to get aligned,as well as the fenders. You figure this 45 year old Chevy has been off its frame and apart for nearly 16 years, and I know it had it's share of fender benders. Surprisingly, the most difficult thing about putting the bumpers on was trying to find some 7/16" bolts and nuts. Other than that, the bumpers fit to the frame without much of an issue. The front bumper has a bend or two, but they are both going to be replaced anyway. I even took the fuel sending unit out of the tank, and installed the gas tank. I'll replace that now, because I know it isn't going to work if I don't. Finally, I removed the rear 1/4 window on the left side, which will need to be cleaned up and installed later.
Wow, there was a lot of work to do on the left fender! I started this morning by continuing on the same fender I started on Thursday, by repairing a few small patch pieces before I got to the lower fender patch. I welded on a new nut for the missing front core support, and then cut out all the rust and inner brace work that was rotten. The photo shows just the rough fender welds on the patch panel, I later ground them smooth and started to work on fabricating the inner brace work. I also had to tap a few screw holes on the body that the fenders mount to. That fender has been on and off probably 10 times today! I still need to weld up the brace and trim it up a bit so that it fit perfectly...hopefully tomorrow.
I've been making progress on the 66 Chevelle over the past week or two, but I haven't taken many photos. I got the left quarter panel on, the drivers door fixed and have moved on to the left fender. I swapped one of the 71 Chevelle's 18" Coys on to see how they would look....not too bad. The backspacing is good, although the rear sits a bit high due to the extra lift from the anti hop bars on the top trailing arms. I might have to shorten the springs or remove the Lakewood pieces altogether. I also cut the left quarter to match the wheel moldings so it would look nice.
I pulled the driver's side window out so that I could weld up the holes in the door, but left the passenger's side glass in for now. I also noticed that the fender emblem holes were not the same, obviously someone swapped in a fender from another car, but Zach helped me weld up the old holes and carefully measure and drill out new holes. When I finish this last fender, I'll finish drilling out the screw holes for the wheel moldings (only did the left rear so far) and then on to the last weld....the rear window.
This weekend is the 35th Annual Fall Englishtown Swap Meet & Auto Show, so Tommy and I spent the day in the rain looking for good, wet deals. I was able to score 4 dollies to roll the Chevelle around for only $40...an excellent deal. I also picked up a bunch of parts for the 66 that I ordered from Ground Up.
It also is the Barrett Jackson auction live from Las Vegas. I'll see if I can find some time to watch and play along with the Hagerty Fantasy Bid, and maybe get lucky.
I fixed the 71 Chevelle's rocker arm last Sunday (it took a while to find a parts store that had a rocker arm), but the electric fan was bothering me. I felt it was vibrating too much, which is how it rubbed a hole in the radiator. So, I purchased a new 16" fan from Jegs, and it seems much smoother now. The car has plenty of power and drops down in passing gear and goes real nice now. I just made sure the cable was adjusted when I was under the hood installing the new rocker arm.
I stopped by Tommy's this evening, and he reminded me that this was Drag Week...how did I forget that? BangShift.com has been posting lots of videos, and I hear that Hot Rod will be posting live video. I did find this video I liked...
I came home from dinner with the family last night in the 71 Chevelle, to the sweet smell of coolant in the air. Seems my radiator and the fan shroud rubbed together and made a little hole.... so I spent most of today trying to find a radiator repair shop open on Saturday. Luckily, Jim's Radiator Service in Point Pleasant was able to fix me right up, and before long, I was back on the road. Thanks Jim!
But no, the story doesn't end there. We drive on down to Sonic for a victory dinner, and on the way home there comes this terrible sound, backfiring through the intake. I limp it home, and tear into it, only to discover a broken exhaust rocker arm, snapped in two. Seriously, and I was only doing like 30 mph. I can't seem to catch a break today...so I'm going to bed and will deal with this tomorrow.
Here is actual proof that Zach was working on the Chevelle! Of course it was a staged photo, but he did help me align the quarter panel so that I could weld it in. Thanks Zach!
I found this video, Depth of Speed, and thought you might enjoy it. Josh Clason takes us to an American automotive mecca and the Bonneville Salt Flats. Land speed racing has gone hand in hand with Bonneville as many travel to Utah in hopes of setting the next great record. But beyond the competition has been a strong degree of camaraderie where the ultimate goal lies beyond the record books.
So I finally got back out to work on the 66 today. Tommy stopped by and helped me mark off the quarter panel on the driver's side, and I was able to cut out all the rust. The new panel looks as if it will fit nicely, although I first have to create a few outer wheel house edges to replace the rusty original. I'm not buying a $85 panel that no one will ever see, when I can fab and weld in some new steel. I have most of it finished, and even POR-15'd it to protect it.
Zach and I went over some of the molding pieces, and determined that the rear window molding is good, the front has dents in 4 of the 5 pieces....damn. That's about $150 if I can't fix it. We also decided to fill in the holes on the rear valance instead of using the rear emblem and moldings....it just looks cleaner. See here...
It has been an absolutely crazy week here, and it all started off with a simply little oil change on the 71 Chevelle. As you may or may not know, they have recently removed zinc from most engine oils because newer cars do not require it like my old small block Chevys do. So, I purchase a $20 bottle of special zinc oil additive, 5 qts of oil and get a K&N filter from the local parts store (at and amazing discount of only $2.43!) So, I'm feeling really great about getting a high-tech filter so cheap and getting my "special" oil and treating the Chevelle right.....and then the filter craps out and I get a 4 qt oil slick all over the driveway. I am so aggravated I throw the filter and dent the garage door.....what an idiot. I spent most of the day cleaning up the huge mess which looks like the Exxon Valdez ran up my driveway. You think a oil spot is bad, try 4 quarts. Not to mention that I needed to go and purchase more oil, another filter, and try to find more zinc additive because I still needed to do an oil change.
So, next day or two of cleaning the driveway, results in me filling all the cracks and re-sealing the driveway. I'm feeling good that it is starting to look good (I even get a neighbor asking me who re-did the driveway and if I could fix hers). You know how it always seems to rain just after you wash your car, and you figure that you're jinxed.....well no sooner do I seal the driveway and we have an earthquake. Seriously, an earthquake in New Jersey? No damage to the driveway though, and a few rain free days would be great to help it cure. Of course not, we have the hurricane Irene heading straight up the east coast this weekend, and know I know it's all because I spilled oil in the driveway. Gotta be a connection.
So far the 71 Chevelle is nice and dry inside, hurricane Irene is going to be my true test. I need to get back to work on Zach's 66 Chevelle.
I was just reading Hot Rod magazine, and saw a small article featuring a 66 Chevelle. Tony Grzealakowski's 66 is featured on the Advance Body and Color web site, and I thought I'd share the Flickr here.
The 71 Chevelle has been driven daily for the past year, and although I continue to work out the bugs, there was one that really annoyed me. The front carpet was wet. Now I know I sealed up the windshield well, and even the fresh air vents, but this was really driving me crazy. Ii crawled under dash, and it was not leaking from the windshield or body seams. The problem was the door sill plates were draining into the car, not out. Every time I tested for leaks in that area, I had the sill plates removed to see better, and once I tested with them in...WOW, here came the flood. I think it is a combination of weatherstripping angles that are making for my "perfect storm". I removed the new carpet and am drying it out in the sun, and will keep an eye on it over the next few rainy days. I also applied some dum-dum tape under the sill with a better drainage system that should keep the floor nice and dry. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
My pal Tommy gave me this link for a classic "B" movie.... Drag Strip Girl. When hot rodding was viewed as a major public menace, it became the focal point of movies. Parents were scared as hell of the "hot rod problem" and would have rather seen their daughters locked in the basement as opposed to riding around with some greasy haired dude in a gow job. This movie plays on all those social fears and does it with some over acting, odd dialogue, and low budget fun.
Most of last week was spent working the metal of the passenger's side of the '66 Chevelle. I built a few patch panels for the door and quarter panel, as well as filled up the whole in the fender where the antena once was. I even rebuilt the inner fender brace and preped up the patch panel for the lower fender....I just have to weld that on. I tried to clean and fill in any tiny areas on the inside and then applied some POR-15 before welding in the new metal. That should protect it for a while.
I have been working on the right side quarter panel this week, making a few small patches and this lower patch panel. It should look nice, at least better than the old patch that was there before, which was simply pop-riveted on top of the old rusty metal. Unbelievable. I would have done more, but the weather has been very hot, so I only put a few hours in each day.
As I wait for Top Gear to start up season two, I've been watching the new Speed TV show, The Car Show. Adam Carolla and panelists Dan Neil, John Salley and Matt Farah team up for this new series in which everything in the automotive world is fair game. I've enjoyed it so far...but I don't think it will last.
Tommy and I went to Englishtown Raceway Park this week on invitation to race during the July 20, 2011, 41st Annual P.C. Richard & Son Summer Motorsports Spectacular. Tom win's the first round, but a flat tire left us unable to compete.
I replaced the old lower windshield frame on the '66 today, and it came out real nice! I welded it from the bottom, so there are no holes to fill and no leaks when we install the glass. Then I POR-15'd the frame and under the dash, as well as the inside of the window A pillars. We test fit the glass and it fit perfectly. The cowl is still a little bit off, so I will continue to work on that next time.
I also sanded the firewall and cleaned up the trim tag. I've been sanding the entire car over the past few days, and there is almost no paint left anywhere. It's time fro some more metal work!
I noticed the other day that the electric fan in the '71 Chevelle wasn't running, and the motor was definitely hot enough. I checked the wiring, the fan, the relay...ended up being the thermo-switch in the head. So after a useless catalog search at the local NAPA, I just ordered a new one from Jegs. I also hot wired the fan to run with the ignition on, so I wouldn't overheat,, but then noticed it was still working intermittently. WTF! I replaced the relay, thinking that HAD to be it...nope. Only thing left at this point was the ground wire, so I moved it, and that seems to have done the trick. The new thermo-switch came today, so I swapped it in, and I think that we are back in business. I also stopped at Inman Auto Parts and picked up a set of 1979 Cadillac El Dorado rear brake pads for the '71 Chevelle, which eliminated the annoying rear caliper clicking.....for now.
I stripped most of the paint off the '66 Chevelle, and found a few holes where someone used a dent-puller on the drivers door and fender. I'll have to weld them up properly. Just a little bit of paint stripping left to do on the roof and trunk areas. The doors, fenders and quarters are done and ready for the DA.
Sarah's '71 Chevelle has been running well......but not perfectly. Ever since I had the Edelbrock carb, it has suffered from a hot start issue. Once the motor is warm and you shut it off and leave it for a few minutes, it needs to crank over a lot before it fires up again. It also smells like a bad fuel leak, and there isn't any leaks! It is like it ran out of gas, and it is very annoying and embarrassing to keep cranking it over, and over and over.
So, I did a little homework (thanks Google!), and came to realize the design of the carb and the ethanol in the fuel lead to "boiling-over" the carb - basically overheating the gas and causing the fuel to either evaporate or spill out into the intake. I installed an Edelbrock #9266 heat insulator gasket which keeps the carb cooler, and this seems to have done the trick. While I was at it, I re-adjusted the transmission kick-down cable, and she now runs great again!
Now that the new engine is back from the machine shop and tucked away in the garage, I have started to strip the paint off the '66 Chevelle so that I can get busy on the bodywork. I am using Captain Lee's chemical stripper on the roof first to remove most of the paint. Then I'll clean it up and go over the whole thing with the DA when I'm done. I plan on doing the quarter panels first, then the windows, doors and fenders....at least that is the plan.
I took a break yesterday to paint an XBOX for my pal Scott, came out OK. I had a tiny bit of "Sunset Orange Pearl" from the Honda left over....just barely enough to cover the game console. Of course I always mix up too much clear-coat and then walk around and look for stuff to clear. I hate that.
I have not blogged anything lately, because I've been busy holding up my end of the Harley paint job vs. small block swap. That is how I acquired the 350 for the '66 Chevelle. Pete had a little accident on his 2001 Harley when he was hit by a deer, and I offered to paint the bike for him. He picked out a real nice blue color, and after some extensive body repair work, we got it painted this past Saturday. I wet sanded down the tank today with 1500 grit so that he could take it to get the "Harley Davidson" air brushed on it. Then I will cover it with a few more layers of clear coat. It has been a lot of work, but worth it. I'll post a pic when it is done.
Meanwhile, over at the machine shop, Bobby has been busy rebuilding the motor. We decided to swap out the heads for some bigger valve heads, and changed the balancer/timing cover to fit the older style engine. Everything is ready, and I'll probably run down and pick it up next week.
I finally got a chance to get back in the garage for a few minutes to ID the newly acquired small block. It is a 3970010 4 bolt 350 (yes, I pulled the oil pan and checked!). The stamp numbers on the pad are V1028TWZ, which breaks down as follows:
V - Assembled in Flint, Michigan 1028 - October 28 TWZ - 1978 350 Truck (K Blazer) 4 bolt block, 165 hp, 4 barrel carb
Now I just need to get it down to the machine shop!
My pal Tommy sent me this link for 48hourcamaro.com The purpose of the 48 Hour Camaro project is to get some of the top product manufactures together and show how "easy" it is to transform a car with their products and most importantly - provide tech straight from the source on how to avoid getting into those positions that can cause a project to run-a-ground. The live video will take place during the week of May 16th- May 18th. Then there will be a entire series of detailed tech videos in full HD that will be released after the build is completed.
Zach and I went to our pal Pete's home on Saturday to pull our donor motor for the 1966 Chevelle. It came from his 1969 C-10 pickup, and is a 3970010 casting. Although it isn't the origional motor from the truck, this high-nickle content block was used from 1969-1980 for 302, 327 and 350 2 bolt and 4 bolt engines. I'm hoping that this one is a 4 bolt, but I'll have to wait to pull the oil pan and find out. A little bit of cleaning, and then we are off to the machine shop.
The '66 Chevelle body is back on the frame! After more than 15 years of being apart, the body and frame have been reunited once again. Zach and I got an early start today by taking the body off the blocks, rolling it outside, hoisting it up and allowing the chassis to roll under it. We did have to let the air out of the front tires to gain a little extra clearance and to keep it from rolling around, and you can see in the photo that I attached the #6 and #7 frame mounts to the chassis. This way I made sure that they were exactly lined up, and once the body was on, I welded them in. The body was lighter that I thought, as Zach and I were able to lift it around by hand. The rear sits a bit high due to the upper control arm brackets, which we may remove if the car does not look right. We also still have the big block springs in it, so those too will have to come out. Before I weld in the quarter panels, I want to hang the doors and front end on to see how everything is lining up. I also want to see how our new cowl hood looks too!
So I drive the '73 Stingray for a few years daily, and have lots of fun with it. Then we decide to start a family, and a two-seater isn't very practical anymore. I end up trading the vette for a 1956 Chevrolet 210 sedan (with a couple of $ thrown my way), which I thought was a great idea. My pregnant wife wondered why I left in the vette and returned in the "taxi". It had the origional inline six and a three speed on the column. I eventually swapped in a 350 and 4 speed, and painted the car bright red.
On Valentine's day, as I am driving home for lunch, I am blindsided by a woman in a Volvo who ran a stop sign. She smashes into the passenger side and sends the car spinning like a top. Luckily the judge was a car guy, and I am able to repair and repaint the car red with a white top. I also throw some fiberglass bumbers and a new 4.10 posi rear into the car. At this time we decide to buy our first home, and the '56 Chevy is the first to move into the South Hill garage.
So I drove my first 1966 Chevelle to college, when I got married, and to my first real job. It was there that I slip off the road one morning and dented the fender. My wife found me a replacement vehicle, a 1973 Corvette Stingray! It needed paint, but was all original and good running L-48 small block with a 4-speed.
I paid to have the car painted sapphire blue, and my 1973 Harley XLCH was painted to match. I read an article on how to clean up your engine bay without pulling the motor, so I pulled most of the engine accessories off and painted and detailed everything...it really came out nice when it was done.
Here is the actual ad that I circled and cut out of the Want Ad Press for the 1966 Chevelle. The seller wanted $4,500 for the car, but I was able to get it for $3,000 in 1989. It had a 350 with a 4 speed, a 12 bolt posi rear and a big block hood. The shifter was not installed correctly, and the lacquer paint job was flat and fading from the day I bought it...but I loved this car. Even when I found out that the rear body mounts were rotted away under the pop-riveted trunk panel, and the previous owner stuffed an entire can of Bondo into the hole to try to repair it...I still loved it. Cleaning the spark plugs of oil and adjusting the dual point distributor every other weekend...I still loved this car. Blowing through synchros in so many transmissions that I couldn't count didn't make this car loose any luster. This car got me to college for the last few years, and to my first job, right up to my wedding. I raced for the first time at the drag strip with this car. Then one day while driving to work, I slid off the road and smacked up the passenger fender. During the early 1990's, it was quite a task to try to find a replacement fender, and there was no online community or EBAY, so I hit the swap meet in search of a new/used fender. After a year or two of unsuccessful efforts, I eventually sold the Chevelle to my friend Cary for $850, and bought my first Corvette. A few years later, I wanted to try to get the Chevelle back and set out in search for it. Car had sold it to someone else, who sold it to someone, and it was reported to be "somewhere" in the town of Metuchen, NJ. So I spent my free time driving around, looking up driveways and in garages and backyards for my old car. Years later, I buy my first home, and after a New Years Eve party at the neighbor's house (Chris from Ace Motorsports) I come to find out that he was the owner from Metuchen, and moved the car across the street from my new home. Years of searching, and it was right across the street from my home...unbelievable. Unfortunately, the years had not been so kind to the Chevelle, and Chris sold it. I also didn't have the funds to track it down....just bought the house. I had to wait 15 years to get another 1966 Chevelle.
Even though spring is officially here...the weather has decided not to cooperate. We have been dealing with snow, rain and the cold here still, and as I wait for a few parts, POR-15 paint and the warm weather, I figured I would post a visual time line of my personal cars. Here is my first car I bought way back in 1986...a 1977 Dodge Charger SE. It had a blown transmission that only ran in reverse, so I was able to get it for $400. It had a 318 c.i. motor, power windows, seats, A/C, and air shocks! I learned a lot with that car, and did my first engine dress-up with some chrome valve covers and air cleaner. I drove this car until we realized it wasn't going to handle my commute to college, so we needed to get something else.
I also bought a 1973 Dodge Charger SE with a 400 c.i. motor for $150 with my pal Eddie. We forgot to get the title however, so we never put it on the road, just beat it up the parking lot of my fathers work lot and eventually gave it away for free. Ouch! By the way, this wasn't going to get me to college either.
My third vehicle was a 1986 Jeep CJ-7 Laredo that we picked up from the owner of the local pizza shop. I don't think that he could drive a manual, so my father helped my out with the quick purchase. We always had a Jeep in the family, and this was a practically new one....and not our last.
We also had a 1976 Camaro at this time that was my girlfriend's (now wife), with the full 1980s theme of window louvers, Cragers, roses and playboy bunnies etched into the windows....classic!
The last car I purchased during the 1980's was by far my favorite, and my first real muscle car. I think I'll have to devote a separate post to my first Chevelle.
The Ace Motorsports Altered has been traded in for a new car! Chris now is enjoying a new, faster ride compliments of a trade he made, and the 505 c.i. big block powered 2002, 240 inch Worthy dragster has completed its test and tune trial run at Oldbridge Township Raceway Park this past weekend. Details to follow soon.....
UPDATE - The dragster ran a best of 8.05 @ 164 mph so far. Chris hopes it will run 7.85.
My pal Jason found this cool clip for me of a 1950's newsreel and a car that was modded by its owner to deploy its spare tire as a tight-spot parkind assist.
It is raining today, and usually I would be bummed out...but at least it isn't snowing! Yesterday, we got a call from Tommy that he was all done with our engine hoist. He has the big block back in the wagon, and it looks good! The hoist has been floating around this winter to a couple of the guys who needed to borrow it. I knew that the front casters were pretty well worn (they looked like the letter "D"), and I realized that they weren't swivel casters. This made it very difficult to maneuver the hoist around because the front wheels didn't steer. A quick trip to Harbor Freight and 10 minutes with the welder fixed the hoist right up with a new set of wheels. Now we can use it to help put the body of the '66 back on the frame.
We also stopped by Pete's to check on the small block he was offering us for the '66 Chevelle. It is a partially disassembled 4 bolt main 350, and still sitting under the hood of his old C-10. Looks like one exhaust manifold, a ground strap, starter wire, motor mounts and trans are the only things holding it in. This should be an easy pull, just need it to stop raining now.
I've blogged before about how I've always been fascinated with cars. I remember watching my grandmother race her 1967 Jaguar, or playing with my best friend Bill and our Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. But I think that my love for the automobile is something much deeper, genetic somehow....and that the same passion has been passed on to my son, Zach. Of course, he had more environmental exposure to classic cars than most kids his age....hell, he had more exposure than most adults. He could identify most car manufacturers, knew all the muscle cars and could even tell you what type of car just passed by the sound of the exhaust when he was in elementary school.
I wanted to post a few pics of Zach, and some of our projects, as we get ready to get back to work on his first car - a 1966 Chevelle. Of course he is no longer this little boy here (he's now 15 years old, and already 6 foot tall and 190 pounds), but he will always be my best friend. Here is Zach behind the wheel of our 1979 Camaro (with a Pat Musi small block). We had a lot of Jeeps, and Zach learned to drive this electric Jeep like a pro. You should have seen his skills!
Zach was always willing to come out and help work on a project car, because he knew that earned him a right to sit in the passenger seat or a trip to the local cruise night.
The pic of the two of us with my 64 Stingray was taken by Tommy, and was the initial start of our friendship. He thought it was cool that Zach came to the cruise night with me, so he took our picture and gave it to us the following week. Tommy and I have been pals ever since! Finally Zach and I are pictured with Jimmy Shine at famous SO-CAL Speed Shop in Pomona, California.
I stopped by to see Tommy "Lawn Dude", and to check in on his progress with the 80 Malibu wagon. He has decided to clean up the rear end and do a little back-half, including new mini-tubs, a new fuel cell and some sheet metal work on the race car. During the winter off-season, he will also add a few new bars to the roll cage, including a halo hoop to the front roll cage. We also talked about re-painting the car "Blitz Black"...just need to get the body work done first and find a garage big enough to paint the wagon.
I think that I have finally finished all of the sheet metal welding now, including the new rear window channel. I now have to finish all the rest of the mock-up, and make sure the panels fit, the gaps are aligned, and start hammering out any other dents and dings. If the weather was warmer, I'd be able to shoot some epoxy primer on it, but I guess I'll have to wait.
No, I'm not talking about the classic movie, Zach and I have been creating the patch panel for the rear window of the 66 Chevelle. It may have taken a lot of test fitting, but I think we got a nice panel piece to fit, and I almost have it welded completely in. I ran out of welding gas...figures. Tomorrow I am running down to IWS to get a new tank of Argon/CO2, and will finish up the last major patch panel on the car. The photo here is just what was cut out, prior to the new piece. I have a few small pieces yet to do, they shouldn't take long.
Now that I have most of the welding done (I still need to tackle the rear window), I started to mock-up the body panels and all the large pieces. I needed to make some room in the shed anyway. The new hood has taken me a bit of time to get aligned,as well as the fenders. You figure this 45 year old Chevy has been off its frame and apart for nearly 16 years, and I know it had it's share of fender benders. Surprisingly, the most difficult thing about putting the bumpers on was trying to find some 7/16" bolts and nuts. Other than that, the bumpers fit to the frame without much of an issue. The front bumper has a bend or two, but they are both going to be replaced anyway. I even took the fuel sending unit out of the tank, and installed the gas tank. I'll replace that now, because I know it isn't going to work if I don't. Finally, I removed the rear 1/4 window on the left side, which will need to be cleaned up and installed later.
Wow, there was a lot of work to do on the left fender! I started this morning by continuing on the same fender I started on Thursday, by repairing a few small patch pieces before I got to the lower fender patch. I welded on a new nut for the missing front core support, and then cut out all the rust and inner brace work that was rotten. The photo shows just the rough fender welds on the patch panel, I later ground them smooth and started to work on fabricating the inner brace work. I also had to tap a few screw holes on the body that the fenders mount to. That fender has been on and off probably 10 times today! I still need to weld up the brace and trim it up a bit so that it fit perfectly...hopefully tomorrow.
I've been making progress on the 66 Chevelle over the past week or two, but I haven't taken many photos. I got the left quarter panel on, the drivers door fixed and have moved on to the left fender. I swapped one of the 71 Chevelle's 18" Coys on to see how they would look....not too bad. The backspacing is good, although the rear sits a bit high due to the extra lift from the anti hop bars on the top trailing arms. I might have to shorten the springs or remove the Lakewood pieces altogether. I also cut the left quarter to match the wheel moldings so it would look nice.
I fixed the 71 Chevelle's rocker arm last Sunday (it took a while to find a parts store that had a rocker arm), but the electric fan was bothering me. I felt it was vibrating too much, which is how it rubbed a hole in the radiator. So, I purchased a new 16" fan from Jegs, and it seems much smoother now. The car has plenty of power and drops down in passing gear and goes real nice now. I just made sure the cable was adjusted when I was under the hood installing the new rocker arm.
Here is actual proof that Zach was working on the Chevelle! Of course it was a staged photo, but he did help me align the quarter panel so that I could weld it in. Thanks Zach!
So I finally got back out to work on the 66 today. Tommy stopped by and helped me mark off the quarter panel on the driver's side, and I was able to cut out all the rust. The new panel looks as if it will fit nicely, although I first have to create a few outer wheel house edges to replace the rusty original. I'm not buying a $85 panel that no one will ever see, when I can fab and weld in some new steel. I have most of it finished, and even POR-15'd it to protect it.
Most of last week was spent working the metal of the passenger's side of the '66 Chevelle. I built a few patch panels for the door and quarter panel, as well as filled up the whole in the fender where the antena once was. I even rebuilt the inner fender brace and preped up the patch panel for the lower fender....I just have to weld that on. I tried to clean and fill in any tiny areas on the inside and then applied some POR-15 before welding in the new metal. That should protect it for a while.
I have been working on the right side quarter panel this week, making a few small patches and this lower patch panel. It should look nice, at least better than the old patch that was there before, which was simply pop-riveted on top of the old rusty metal. Unbelievable. I would have done more, but the weather has been very hot, so I only put a few hours in each day.
I replaced the old lower windshield frame on the '66 today, and it came out real nice! I welded it from the bottom, so there are no holes to fill and no leaks when we install the glass. Then I POR-15'd the frame and under the dash, as well as the inside of the window A pillars. We test fit the glass and it fit perfectly. The cowl is still a little bit off, so I will continue to work on that next time.
I noticed the other day that the electric fan in the '71 Chevelle wasn't running, and the motor was definitely hot enough. I checked the wiring, the fan, the relay...ended up being the thermo-switch in the head. So after a useless catalog search at the local NAPA, I just ordered a new one from Jegs. I also hot wired the fan to run with the ignition on, so I wouldn't overheat,, but then noticed it was still working intermittently. WTF! I replaced the relay, thinking that HAD to be it...nope. Only thing left at this point was the ground wire, so I moved it, and that seems to have done the trick. The new thermo-switch came today, so I swapped it in, and I think that we are back in business. I also stopped at Inman Auto Parts and picked up a set of 1979 Cadillac El Dorado rear brake pads for the '71 Chevelle, which eliminated the annoying rear caliper clicking.....for now.
Now that the new engine is back from the machine shop and tucked away in the garage, I have started to strip the paint off the '66 Chevelle so that I can get busy on the bodywork. I am using Captain Lee's chemical stripper on the roof first to remove most of the paint. Then I'll clean it up and go over the whole thing with the DA when I'm done. I plan on doing the quarter panels first, then the windows, doors and fenders....at least that is the plan.
I have not blogged anything lately, because I've been busy holding up my end of the Harley paint job vs. small block swap. That is how I acquired the 350 for the '66 Chevelle. Pete had a little accident on his 2001 Harley when he was hit by a deer, and I offered to paint the bike for him. He picked out a real nice blue color, and after some extensive body repair work, we got it painted this past Saturday. I wet sanded down the tank today with 1500 grit so that he could take it to get the "Harley Davidson" air brushed on it. Then I will cover it with a few more layers of clear coat. It has been a lot of work, but worth it. I'll post a pic when it is done.
The '66 Chevelle body is back on the frame! After more than 15 years of being apart, the body and frame have been reunited once again. Zach and I got an early start today by taking the body off the blocks, rolling it outside, hoisting it up and allowing the chassis to roll under it. We did have to let the air out of the front tires to gain a little extra clearance and to keep it from rolling around, and you can see in the photo that I attached the #6 and #7 frame mounts to the chassis. This way I made sure that they were exactly lined up, and once the body was on, I welded them in. The body was lighter that I thought, as Zach and I were able to lift it around by hand.
So I drive the '73 Stingray for a few years daily, and have lots of fun with it. Then we decide to start a family, and a two-seater isn't very practical anymore. I end up trading the vette for a 1956 Chevrolet 210 sedan (with a couple of $ thrown my way), which I thought was a great idea. My pregnant wife wondered why I left in the vette and returned in the "taxi". It had the origional inline six and a three speed on the column. I eventually swapped in a 350 and 4 speed, and painted the car bright red. 
On Valentine's day, as I am driving home for lunch, I am blindsided by a woman in a Volvo who ran a stop sign. She smashes into the passenger side and sends the car spinning like a top. Luckily the judge was a car guy, and I am able to repair and repaint the car red with a white top.
I also throw some fiberglass bumbers and a new 4.10 posi rear into the car. At this time we decide to buy our first home, and the '56 Chevy is the first to move into the South Hill garage.
So I drove my first 1966 Chevelle to college, when I got married, and to my first real job. It was there that I slip off the road one morning and dented the fender. My wife found me a replacement vehicle, a 1973 Corvette Stingray! It needed paint, but was all original and good running L-48 small block with a 4-speed.
Here is my first car I bought way back in 1986...a 1977 Dodge Charger SE. It had a blown transmission that only ran in reverse, so I was able to get it for $400. It had a 318 c.i. motor, power windows, seats, A/C, and air shocks! I learned a lot with that car, and did my first engine dress-up with some chrome valve covers and air cleaner. I drove this car until we realized it wasn't going to handle my commute to college, so we needed to get something else.
We also had a 1976 Camaro at this time that was my girlfriend's (now wife), with the full 1980s theme of window louvers, Cragers, roses and playboy bunnies etched into the windows....classic!
The Ace Motorsports Altered has been traded in for a new car! Chris now is enjoying a new, faster ride compliments of a trade he made, and the 505 c.i. big block powered 2002, 240 inch Worthy dragster has completed its test and tune trial run at Oldbridge Township Raceway Park this past weekend. Details to follow soon.....
It is raining today, and usually I would be bummed out...but at least it isn't snowing! Yesterday, we got a call from Tommy that he was all done with our engine hoist. He has the big block back in the wagon, and it looks good! The hoist has been floating around this winter to a couple of the guys who needed to borrow it. I knew that the front casters were pretty well worn (they looked like the letter "D"), and I realized that they weren't swivel casters. This made it very difficult to maneuver the hoist around because the front wheels didn't steer. A quick trip to Harbor Freight and 10 minutes with the welder fixed the hoist right up with a new set of wheels. Now we can use it to help put the body of the '66 back on the frame.
