I was excited to see the UPS delivery of our new Camaro hood springs, so Zach and I headed out to the garage to fix the Camaro. We cut a piece of wood to hold the hood up, then removed both springs. We scuffed up the springs with a Scotchbrite pad and masked up the entire front end before painting the hinges. After we installed the new springs, the hood opens and closes perfectly, and looks great!
We also decided that the Chevelle needed some new plug wires, after our close inspection found 4 bunrt boots. We installed a new set, but this time we put some fiberglass heat insulation boots on at the plug ends. It rubs much better now, and I'm just waiting for a call from my local armature up the road....they are building us a new hi-output alternator.
Feeling guilty about not getting to the garage yesterday, I woke up and immediately remembered the hood would not stay up on the Camaro. Why was that? Hinges look great, springs are new....let's go to Google. There it was, the answer. Apparently the stock hood used a spring with 26 coils, the SS hood required two additional coils for the added weight. I spoke to Michael, and he told me what he had done when restoring the car. I checked with my usual parts supplier, he had only the 26 coil spring, but I did find the correct ones at Rick's Camaro. I placed the order, and found the easiest way to pull the hood springs off here. I have a nice cable with a loop on the end that works perfectly. The plan is to pull off the old springs, paint the hinges, and install the new springs without scratching ANYTHING. Zach and I spent some time this afternoon washing and vacuuming the cars, they all needed it. Then my friend Kelly stopped by and we pulled the 2,000 lbs tree stump to the curb with her bad-ass Jeep and winch. It was awesome! We got to get another Jeep again.
It's been a bit crazy hear the past few weeks. We had Hurricane Sandy, which uprooted the massive tree in my front yard (no car damage..whew), and even our first snowfall. I had planned to take the Camaro for a ride today, but it was cold, and I was lazy, and nothing happened. I watched some car shows, and wished that I was here... the 15th annual Goodguys Southwest Nationals.
