Well, as usual, this time of year, the forum gets quiet, so I'll post what I have happening. I bought an engine from Chris P last fall and am in the process of swapping it in my Camaro so Chris can have my take out to build. I'll, also, be swapping from the pg to 4 speed, although that phase won't be completed at this time. I'm just throwing it all in to get it off my floor for the REAL work to start in a week or so. Much of the back half of the car will be replaced for rust repair.
The 4 speed will need to come back out and get "rebuilt" before the car can be driven. The main case is severely cracked and all the internals need to be swapped into the replacement case.
BLyke said
Dec 28, 2018
Looks like you will be able to keep busy all winter!
more ambition than brains said
Dec 28, 2018
Most of us in this hobby are "pollinators" we flutter from one project (flower) to another. AAAAAnd we have lots of flowers. (projects) It is genetic!! Go Mitch Go!!!
Karl
Lost in the 60s said
Dec 28, 2018
more ambition than brains wrote:
Most of us in this hobby are "pollinators" we flutter from one project (flower) to another.
The Chevelle is STILL waiting for the miracle of paint to appear on it, so I moved out of the shop....got way too many other things to do.
When the engine I just removed was installed, it was a "group" effort with the Camaro club. The motor mounts on the engine that came with the car were still the flat, non-locking style. I had these locking mounts on a shelf, so told the "boys" to use them, while I was doing something else. There was about 6-7 washers taking up the extra width, so I cut spacers from a piece of 3/8" bar stock to use, instead of balancing all those washers again.
Got all the parts swapped over and the engine/trans sitting in the bay again.
67ss said
Dec 28, 2018
Did you remember to replace the valvet cover gaskets? I’m excited to hear it run.
Lost in the 60s said
Dec 28, 2018
67ss wrote:
Did you remember to replace the valvet cover gaskets? I’m excited to hear it run.
No, I swapped the valve covers and will get new gaskets with my "list" of other needed parts.
Do you know of a rubber rear trans mount that doesn't disintegrate in a couple years from oil ???
Lost in the 60s said
Dec 29, 2018
Well, last night I realized I had my head up my derriere by putting the 4 speed in the car...I SHOULD have returned the pg to hold the engine and left the 4 speed out so I can swap cases when ever...
So today, I went backward for an hour, but now have things in the right order. 4 speed back out and pg back in.
Chris, your core is ready. Let me know when you want it.
Camaro pushed forward to make room for the Silverado drop kit install.
Larry Lucast said
Dec 29, 2018
Look at all that shop space looking for something to fill it.
Lost in the 60s said
Dec 29, 2018
Larry Lucast wrote:
Look at all that shop space looking for something to fill it.
About the second week of January, there will be pieces of that Camaro all over the floor...
Next week, I will install a 2"-4" suspension drop kit on my truck. Tired of having to jump up like a munchkin to get in it. It sits that much higher than my 2000 did for no obvious reason.
jim larson said
Dec 31, 2018
I have a 70 Muncie case in the garage. When the guy from lakeVillegas’s rebuilt my 4 sp, he replaced the case with a 66 Muncie case. A previous owner had flipped the shaft for some reason and the rebuilder said it would leak if the shaft was installed correctly. Since then I think I have read that they can put in a new type of seal. It’s collecting dust, you can have it if it would help you out.
Lost in the 60s said
Dec 31, 2018
jim larson wrote:
I have a 70 Muncie case in the garage. When the guy from lakeVillegas’s rebuilt my 4 sp, he replaced the case with a 66 Muncie case. A previous owner had flipped the shaft for some reason and the rebuilder said it would leak if the shaft was installed correctly. Since then I think I have read that they can put in a new type of seal. It’s collecting dust, you can have it if it would help you out.
Thanks Jim, I do have another case too. Hopefully, the shaft was never driven in from the front on this one. There is/was a guy out near the East coast somewhere who used to bush the case to eliminate the leak there, but I don't know if he is still doing it.
jim larson said
Dec 31, 2018
Another guy on TC has a process where he shrinks the hole to make the shaft fit tight (DZAuto or something like that. He sent me photos and instructions. I wonder if I still have them. The case I got from the rebuilder in lakeville leaked, he used J B weld to repair, still leaked. I then drained and cleaned the area throughly. I bought some special sealant for aluminum used for aluminum in sealing airplanes. It appears not to leak; but I still have that rear main leak, so don ‘t know for sure.
here is a thread on TC showing the process starting at post 4.
-- Edited by jim larson on Monday 31st of December 2018 09:04:33 PM
Lost in the 60s said
Jan 9, 2019
Finally got back to the Camaro today. I installed most of the stuff for the engine swap, just to get it off the floor and tables.
Then I pushed the car into position, and put it on risers and jack stands.
I wasn't sure how far I wanted to get involved today, so I just started with spraying all the fasteners with JB 80 to aid disassembly and removing the e-brake cables. That went well and I ventured to the lower shock bolts. They spun right out. The brake hard line to flex hose argued a little, but eventually came loose and the next thing I knew this happened in an hour...EVERY bolt came right out without a fight. This is a CA car and it is very clean underneath.
Seems I'm quite "committed" now...
Torque box for the front spring mounts...
Frame rails.
Fuel tank and trunk floor facing forward.
THIS is the major reason for the rebuild..Salt air rusted thru the rear window channel, got in the trunk and destroyed the floor. There is also the usual rust around the rear wheel openings and the tail panel and right rear quarter have been sectioned in from a rear end collision early in it's life. All of these things will be removed and replaced.
BLyke said
Jan 9, 2019
Looks like a "good canvas" to start with, and by MN standards nearly "rust free".
Looking forward to the build
more ambition than brains said
Jan 10, 2019
Just needs a little "dingin"
Remove front clip, stub frame assy. Rotisserie time!
Just a little "project creep"
67 is my favorite year.
-- Edited by more ambition than brains on Thursday 10th of January 2019 07:33:28 AM
Lost in the 60s said
Jan 10, 2019
more ambition than brains wrote:
Just needs a little "dingin"
Remove front clip, stub frame assy. Rotisserie time!
Just a little "project creep"
67 is my favorite year.
-- Edited by more ambition than brains on Thursday 10th of January 2019 07:33:28 AM
Nope, just put a new engine in it, "tweaked" the headers and sent them off for Cermachroming. This car will be on the road this summer...
Yep, '67...only year Camaro with vent windows and no side lights...
-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Thursday 10th of January 2019 08:09:18 AM
more ambition than brains said
Jan 10, 2019
Let's see, Fuel line, Brake lines to booster, unplug wire harness, ground wires, etc. Eight bolts for front clip, plus 4 hood bolts if desired. Six? on stub frame.
Then when the floor is done it does not have to come apart again. Just sayin.
Love Ya, Man,
Karl
Lost in the 60s said
Jan 10, 2019
Cabin floor is 98% good. I will weld up a few pinholes, but it really is very clean. I could replace just the center drop of the trunk, but it has old crash damage in the right rear corner, so I'm installing a 1 piece. Rockers, cowl and firewall need nothing, but stripped and paint. I don't see this car ever getting a rotisserie restoration by me.
Lost in the 60s said
Jan 13, 2019
Only original drive train component left on my Camaro. 3.31 12 bolt open, assembled January 24, 1967. Build date on the trim tag is 3rd week of Feb. As far as I can tell, this axle and spring assembly have never been out of the car in 51 years...
1 piece trunk floor and left frame rail. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the frame rails on this car, but I bought a '68 floor for the staggered shock arrangement and the rail is different to accommodate that. After looking this over closely, I wish I had bought the '67 floor and could leave both rails alone. At the time I bought this, I was thinking the frame rails were rusted...
After removing all the exhaust hangers and looking closely, I found a kink in the right rail from the old hit in the right rear corner. I measured the 2 rails at the shackle mount to the floor and the right side was down 3/32 from the left. Maybe not an issue and that could be just the floor, but I wanted to tap as much of the kink out as I could.
I cut a hole in the floor over the kink with the plasma and proceeded to tap and pry on the damage. The inner rail was kinked inward too and I managed to get it all fairly good. I may work on it a little more after the floor is completely removed. Now the right side is 1/32 higher than the left...
I also removed the center tail panel brace and trunk latch, but the camera decided to die right then. After working a while longer and getting started down the 1,000 spot weld road, the battery had recovered enough for this pic. Gonna have a little work on the inner wheel house too, but nothing major.
Lost in the 60s said
Jan 15, 2019
I started drilling the spot welds on the right frame rail by leaning over the tail panel. After a half hour of that uncomfortable position, I decided to remove the center of the floor to stand in the trunk. I was trying to leave the floor as intact as possible, to see how the 1 piece was going to go back in, but the reality of laying in the trunk to drill spot welds wasn't very inviting.
Much easier to get the spot welds drilled out and the right floor and drop cut out with the plasma. Lots of junk in the drop.
I was happy to find the bumper reinforcement bracket in there.
Lost in the 60s said
Jan 23, 2019
Been picking away at the Camaro. I drilled out the spot welds for the back seat yesterday, all bunched up behind the bucket seats. Today, I took the buckets, console and carpet out. MUCH better for working in there and less things for sparks to damage.
All the grey is epoxy I put in there 12 years ago to fill rust pits. this is the worst of the entire floor. I'm going to replace this pan.
The other side has some pits. I'll see if I can salvage enough of the left side to section this area. If not, I'll make a piece. I'm not going to buy a whole pan for a small section.
This is the factory "traction bar" plate under the right side of the rear seat. About mid year of production Chev tried this as a way to reduce the crazy wheel hope these cars had. All the SS and Z28 cars got this bracket, but since mine was built with a non-posi rear and a powerglide, it didn't get the under floor bracket or bar..:(
These studs would hold another plate underneath that the bar would attach to.
All the 12 bolt axles got the bracket for the bar. I will get the under floor plate and a bar to complete the missing pieces. I'll also go to a 3 leaf spring to help eliminate spring wrap and hop.
Onto butchery... I cut windows in the tail panel to drill out the spot welds holding the inner structure to the frame rails.
Once that was done, I got out the plasma....gawd I like that tool...
I was going to follow the outline of the tail panel, but the trunk drops are strange on this car and curve all the way around to the back and I didn't want to cut the one on the left yet. I will use as a template to rebuild the right side that is badly misshapen from a few crashes...
Between the spot weld drill and the grinding stone, I managed to get the tail panel off without too much damage to the quarter panel flange. I may end up replacing this q-panel too, but for now I need it as an example.
Used the stone to grind off the spot welds to remove the last of the trunk pan weld flange from the drop. It was tight to get the drill in and this way I don't drill into the drop at all.
BLyke said
Jan 23, 2019
Looks like a productive day in the shop!
Lost in the 60s said
Jan 25, 2019
The right lower quarter and tail panel had obvious bondo applied. This is the same side that the quarter skin was installed, along with 3/4 of the tail panel replaced...it is seamed in the left tail light... Obviously, the car had been hit in some manner again later and Henry Handyman just filled the dent with bondo...
This piece is very near 1 INCH thick...
The camera battery decided to die right here, so I didn't get "in progress" pics of the next steps. I pounded out the dents in the quarter and tail panel to relieve any stress before I cut out the rest of the junk. You can see the remnants of the original tail panel that they just beat back out of the way to install the replacement panel.
The elliptical piece is the trunk drop that no one attempted to straighten when doing the original repair.
Thankfully, when I cut the rest off the quarter, nothing shifted or sprang from tension.
The new valance panel clamped in place. Fit right in...
I was concerned about the flange angling up at the back, instead of following the frame rail.
Comparing it to the original, it should angle up.
It even follows the original, left drop profile nice enough.
BLyke said
Jan 26, 2019
"Henry Handyman just filled the dent with bondo..."
Hi Mitch,
You may have just identified the PO of my 71?
Lost in the 60s said
Jan 26, 2019
BLyke wrote:
"Henry Handyman just filled the dent with bondo..." Hi Mitch, You may have just identified the PO of my 71?
Oh, there are far more than just 1 Henry Handymen around. My car came from California.
BLyke said
Jan 28, 2019
Do they reach it in a class, or is it something thy come by naturally?
Lost in the 60s said
Jan 28, 2019
BLyke wrote:
Do they reach it in a class, or is it something thy come by naturally?
You know the saying..."you can't make this stuff up".
I don't think they can teach this level of "bodywork" in a class either, it has to be a natural talent..
more ambition than brains said
Jan 28, 2019
"They sold me the product, must not take any knowledge or skill"
All trades suffer from this consumer concept.
Lost in the 60s said
Feb 21, 2019
I was hoping to get right back on this after I returned from TX last week, but between the weather and my son's car needing repair, I still haven't touched it.
The new floor and right q-panel should be here tomorrow or Monday, so I need to get past the distractions and back on this.
Lost in the 60s said
Feb 27, 2019
Saturday, I got the last piece of the old trunk floor out.
New floor came yesterday, but I haven't done much this week except plow, snow throw and shovel friggen snow...:mad:
Her... honey, I think it's too big to go in... Me... relax sweetheart, I'll get it in...:D
Seems the hinge bracket and inner wheel house on the left are in the way
Took care of those 2 pesky problems.
She has wide hips, so needed still more room for those to slide in.
And there we are. It's OH SO CLOSE. I really wanted this to drop right in so I could feel like I accomplished something today, BUT,
For some danged reason, they put a rounded hump in the middle, like it's for the tunnel, but it's not. That flange needs to be flat... I am not ready to install it anyway, so when I take it out, I'll find a way to flatten it and fit it again.
BLyke said
Feb 28, 2019
Looks like a lot of progress, step by step with a few course corrections and you will get it.
Derek69SS said
Feb 28, 2019
I'd have a hard time going that far in a Camaro and not mini-tubbing it while I'm in there.
Lost in the 60s said
Feb 28, 2019
Then I would need the spring re-locator kit to move them inboard as well. This could turn into a complete, years long snowball, for all that could be done and I want this as a driver again this summer, so.. it all goes back stock. I have 255 tires under it now with clearance so I'm good with that. 8" wrinkle walls fit nicely, if it needs to get serious about traction.. I'm many years and tens of thousands of dollars behind you guys already to get serious about auto-crossing. Knowing myself, I wouldn't be happy being in 15th place out of a 20 car field...
I do have a complete Global West front suspension for this car, that has been sitting in boxes for about 6 years now. That is the subject of the March tech session. I want that, and the power disc brake conversion, on the car this summer too.
Lots of work and major changes scheduled and already underway. Hopefully all this will be completed by mid/late May so it is on the road again, after sitting for 3-4 years.
Then it will be time to get Andrew's car back for the final floor replacement and seam sealing/paint/carpet...
What is this "retirement" thing people speak of...
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 8, 2019
There has been slow progress on the car the past couple weeks.
Once I pulled the floor, I flattened the hump in the center.
Threw it back in and started fitting it. I clamped the rails to it and saw I needed to do some trimming of the rail flanges to get them to fit in the recess at the rear.
Got the front edge to sit under the cabin floor and the side lining up with the wheel houses pretty well.
I borrowed a set of chassis gauges from Centerline and got the floor/rails centered with the rest of the body and noted where I needed to tweak the fit better.
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 8, 2019
I marked the frame rail flanges and gave the floor the plug weld hole measles.
Drilled 56 holes and punched another 52 with the air punch. wheel house flanges sanded and weld thru primered.
I was thinking it was close to sliding back in but remembered it didn't come with, or have attached, the shock mounts, so I dug those out from my previous floor and got them set up to weld on.
The lower reinforcement plate on the right side was off enough to prevent the shock from going in, so I had to get the reamer out and make the hole large enough.
OK, we're past that temporary set back, now what ?? The right side mount was drilled but not tapped...
Go dig out the tap and die set and get some threads in the mount. Fortunately, the hole was the correct size for the 5/16-18 tap to thread right in.
I was going to get the welder and be done with this step, but remembered the floor didn't have a strap for the spare tire J-hook, so dug out the old floor to remove that strap and get on the new floor.
Ready to weld on.
I did weld on the mounts and straps and shoot a little paint on. While I was waiting for that to dry for a photo, I got distracted and my short term memory forgot to take a pic...
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 8, 2019
What I was distracted with was the left inner wheel house I cut out. I have a replacement and realized I should be fitting that before I put the floor in and screw it down, as it will be much easier to work under the car, rather than laying in the trunk for that.
This is the part I hate about replacing inner wheel houses. The 2 halves must be run thru a spot weld wheel at the factory and there are almost 100 spot welds in the length of that seam. In the past I tried drilling all those out and ended up with the outer house flange looking like swiss cheese. On the '66 Chevelle, I ground the entire length off with a 3M 1991 stone wheel, to save the outer flange. It worked but good gawd was that a mess of metal shavings when it was done.
Comparing the replacement to this, I decided to leave the flange and weld the new house to it.
I used the stone wheel to grind the remainder of the house flush with the flange and cleaned that with a disc sander.
Cut the new one oversize to fit in place. This will replace the entire weld flange of the house to floor too, now.
It's close, but supper was calling, so I will finish fitting this today.
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 8, 2019
Forgotten pic of the spare tire bracket and 1 of the shock brackets, just to prove I dunnit...;)
After looking at this swiss cheese, I cut it all off. The replacement has all that material on it, so I'll use it.
Sucks this pic is blurry. I kept trimming until I had that sucker right where I wanted it. The rest show that I still retain a little OCD when fitting parts....:D
I made a cut in the area at the bottom of the upper c-clamp to move the new inner to the outside for welding to the original. There was no room inside the car to do a decent job of that.
I gotta say, this piece lined up very well for a repro.
Then I was reminded I needed to weld up the cuts I made in the right frame rail with the plasma....danged fool... I also welded shut all the holes in the side of the rail from past fails with an exhaust hanger. I think the original got ripped out in the crash and there have been a few replacements over the years.
Before...
The 2 holes are correct for the hanger now.
Then I ran the disc sander over the rail flanges to prep them for welding... and called it a day. I did spray a good coat of rust converter on the rear seat brackets to dry.
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 9, 2019
I wasn't going to work on the car today, but with the "big storm" predicted, we didn't plan anything, so I went in the shop for a few hours. Started by cleaning and prepping for the floor install. Yep, every time I think I'm almost ready, I spend another 3 hours getting ready...:drunk:
Decided getting the left trunk drop cleaned now would be easier than with the floor in. Knocked off the big chunks with the long barrel impact hammer with a dull chisel tip and then got down to clean metal with the crud thug and wire wheel.
Then I cleaned inside the frame rails with W&G remover and sprayed cold galvanized coating on the raw welds I had made. I also sprayed a heavy coat of rust converter on the bump stop nut plate and the shackle boss, that were bare steel. The rail itself, was galvanize coated.
Got as much rust as I could off the right inner weld flange, sprayed it with rust converter and let it tack up and then gave it a shot of weld thru primer, along with the frame rail flanges and seat supports.
I used the same process as the trunk drop to clean the entire left inner house before shooting primer.
Flipped the floor over and shot that too.
THEN, it was finally time to drop the floor in, hopefully for the last time.
It lined up with the right wheel house pretty well again, but I think I need to lift the frame rails up a bit. Need to measure...
What I don't like, is the lazy pan to shock brace fitment. The pan should be pressed down tight into that corner to touch the frame. I have a nearly 1/4" gap I can't get rid of. I will try to press it down as I screw the floor down.
Clamped the left wheel house in to see if it fit the floor and dang, I like how this turned out. It took about 3 hours to get that house to fit, but it's well worth it when I see how nice it will turn out.
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 13, 2019
I was having a hard time getting the floor/frame rails to stay centered to weld, so I ended up using a big clamp to pull them over to the left a little. Checked the gauges and everything was in line, so I welded the floor to the rails.
I worked from the back to front, hoping to gain a little slack to pull the lazy pan down to the rails. I did gain a little but needed a few clamps to pull it down tight,
These were fun, laying on a creeper, welding overhead.
With most of the right inner house in the way, I couldn't get more than 1 clamp on and it didn't pull the floor down much. I had to hammer form the rail up to the floor to weld.
All the way across the cabin floor flange too. It's part of the car now.
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 13, 2019
Today, I got the left inner house prepped and installed. Punched 68 holes between this and the body to weld back up.
Another "fun" welding position, curled up in the trunk to weld the top flange. I knew I was very low on gas and sure enough, I ran out with 3 holes to plug. Off to MWS for a new cylinder.
An hour later, I was back at it and got the rest done . This side fit really well.
Moved to the right inner and welded the drill holes. I'll make patches later.
I stopped here, as I have a large gap to the new pan and I don't know if the wheel house it pushed forward from the old crash. I can't pull it far enough to get to the inner house without it distorting the quarter panel, so this will get sorted out later, when the q-panel comes off.
BLyke said
Mar 14, 2019
Looks like you are making a lot of progress and "really have a grip on things"
Larry Lucast said
Mar 14, 2019
Oh Bruce!! Grip on things??
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 14, 2019
Larry Lucast wrote:
Oh Bruce!! Grip on things??
I think he was making fun of all my vise grips...
Larry Lucast said
Mar 15, 2019
I think so, too, and he ought to be ashamed. Or proud of his pun skills.
BLyke said
Mar 21, 2019
I think you are catching up to me and may soon pull into the lead. Always like to see your updates as you have been doing these things for a long time and have a bit of repetition going for you.
-- Edited by BLyke on Thursday 21st of March 2019 03:15:40 PM
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 21, 2019
Went backwards today and will continue to for the next few weeks.
We, the club, will be removing the entire front suspension, brakes and steering on Saturday. I WAS going to do that late last week or Monday, so I could paint the frame, but I have spent so much time on flood control and re-direction of excessive runoff around here, I lost at least 3 days, so that didn't get done. Now, surprise.. project creep took over and I am in the process of removing the front fenders to have the inners sand blasted so they can be painted along with the frame. It's looking like this could get full blown out of hand and the engine/trans could be sitting on the floor soon to, so I can paint the whole frame and firewall...
What the heck gets into us...
BLyke said
Mar 21, 2019
Well as long as this is apart, might as well..... and on and on.
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 22, 2019
BLyke wrote:
Well as long as this is apart, might as well..... and on and on.
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 23, 2019
Friday, I pulled the rest of the front clip off.
And Saturday, many club members participated in helping remove the front suspension..... and engine.....and then we went all in and dropped the sub-frame for powder coating too...
Larry Lucast said
Mar 23, 2019
Although there were more "helpers" than places to help, at least we all got a chance to say a small thank you for all you've done for so many of us. That was a good day's progress.
Well, as usual, this time of year, the forum gets quiet, so I'll post what I have happening. I bought an engine from Chris P last fall and am in the process of swapping it in my Camaro so Chris can have my take out to build. I'll, also, be swapping from the pg to 4 speed, although that phase won't be completed at this time. I'm just throwing it all in to get it off my floor for the REAL work to start in a week or so. Much of the back half of the car will be replaced for rust repair.
The 4 speed will need to come back out and get "rebuilt" before the car can be driven. The main case is severely cracked and all the internals need to be swapped into the replacement case.
Most of us in this hobby are "pollinators" we flutter from one project (flower) to another.
AAAAAnd we have lots of flowers. (projects)
It is genetic!!
Go Mitch Go!!!
Karl
The Chevelle is STILL waiting for the miracle of paint to appear on it, so I moved out of the shop....got way too many other things to do.
When the engine I just removed was installed, it was a "group" effort with the Camaro club. The motor mounts on the engine that came with the car were still the flat, non-locking style. I had these locking mounts on a shelf, so told the "boys" to use them, while I was doing something else. There was about 6-7 washers taking up the extra width, so I cut spacers from a piece of 3/8" bar stock to use, instead of balancing all those washers again.
Got all the parts swapped over and the engine/trans sitting in the bay again.
Did you remember to replace the valvet cover gaskets? I’m excited to hear it run.
No, I swapped the valve covers and will get new gaskets with my "list" of other needed parts.
Do you know of a rubber rear trans mount that doesn't disintegrate in a couple years from oil ???
Well, last night I realized I had my head up my derriere by putting the 4 speed in the car...I SHOULD have returned the pg to hold the engine and left the 4 speed out so I can swap cases when ever...
So today, I went backward for an hour, but now have things in the right order. 4 speed back out and pg back in.
Chris, your core is ready. Let me know when you want it.
Camaro pushed forward to make room for the Silverado drop kit install.
About the second week of January, there will be pieces of that Camaro all over the floor...
Next week, I will install a 2"-4" suspension drop kit on my truck. Tired of having to jump up like a munchkin to get in it. It sits that much higher than my 2000 did for no obvious reason.
I have a 70 Muncie case in the garage. When the guy from lakeVillegas’s rebuilt my 4 sp, he replaced the case with a 66 Muncie case. A previous owner had flipped the shaft for some reason and the rebuilder said it would leak if the shaft was installed correctly. Since then I think I have read that they can put in a new type of seal. It’s collecting dust, you can have it if it would help you out.
Thanks Jim, I do have another case too. Hopefully, the shaft was never driven in from the front on this one. There is/was a guy out near the East coast somewhere who used to bush the case to eliminate the leak there, but I don't know if he is still doing it.
Another guy on TC has a process where he shrinks the hole to make the shaft fit tight (DZAuto or something like that. He sent me photos and instructions. I wonder if I still have them. The case I got from the rebuilder in lakeville leaked, he used J B weld to repair, still leaked. I then drained and cleaned the area throughly. I bought some special sealant for aluminum used for aluminum in sealing airplanes. It appears not to leak; but I still have that rear main leak, so don ‘t know for sure.
here is a thread on TC showing the process starting at post 4.
https://www.chevelles.com/forums/33-transmission-driveline/548154-peened-countershaft-muncie.html
-- Edited by jim larson on Monday 31st of December 2018 09:04:33 PM
Finally got back to the Camaro today. I installed most of the stuff for the engine swap, just to get it off the floor and tables.
Then I pushed the car into position, and put it on risers and jack stands.
I wasn't sure how far I wanted to get involved today, so I just started with spraying all the fasteners with JB 80 to aid disassembly and removing the e-brake cables. That went well and I ventured to the lower shock bolts. They spun right out. The brake hard line to flex hose argued a little, but eventually came loose and the next thing I knew this happened in an hour...EVERY bolt came right out without a fight. This is a CA car and it is very clean underneath.
Seems I'm quite "committed" now...
Torque box for the front spring mounts...
Frame rails.
Fuel tank and trunk floor facing forward.
THIS is the major reason for the rebuild..Salt air rusted thru the rear window channel, got in the trunk and destroyed the floor. There is also the usual rust around the rear wheel openings and the tail panel and right rear quarter have been sectioned in from a rear end collision early in it's life. All of these things will be removed and replaced.
Looking forward to the build
Just needs a little "dingin"
Remove front clip, stub frame assy.
Rotisserie time!
Just a little "project creep"
67 is my favorite year.
-- Edited by more ambition than brains on Thursday 10th of January 2019 07:33:28 AM
Nope, just put a new engine in it, "tweaked" the headers and sent them off for Cermachroming. This car will be on the road this summer...
Yep, '67...only year Camaro with vent windows and no side lights...
-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Thursday 10th of January 2019 08:09:18 AM
Fuel line, Brake lines to booster, unplug wire harness, ground wires, etc.
Eight bolts for front clip, plus 4 hood bolts if desired.
Six? on stub frame.
Then when the floor is done it does not have to come apart again.
Just sayin.
Love Ya, Man,
Karl
Cabin floor is 98% good. I will weld up a few pinholes, but it really is very clean. I could replace just the center drop of the trunk, but it has old crash damage in the right rear corner, so I'm installing a 1 piece. Rockers, cowl and firewall need nothing, but stripped and paint. I don't see this car ever getting a rotisserie restoration by me.
Only original drive train component left on my Camaro. 3.31 12 bolt open, assembled January 24, 1967. Build date on the trim tag is 3rd week of Feb. As far as I can tell, this axle and spring assembly have never been out of the car in 51 years...
1 piece trunk floor and left frame rail. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the frame rails on this car, but I bought a '68 floor for the staggered shock arrangement and the rail is different to accommodate that. After looking this over closely, I wish I had bought the '67 floor and could leave both rails alone. At the time I bought this, I was thinking the frame rails were rusted...
After removing all the exhaust hangers and looking closely, I found a kink in the right rail from the old hit in the right rear corner. I measured the 2 rails at the shackle mount to the floor and the right side was down 3/32 from the left. Maybe not an issue and that could be just the floor, but I wanted to tap as much of the kink out as I could.
I cut a hole in the floor over the kink with the plasma and proceeded to tap and pry on the damage. The inner rail was kinked inward too and I managed to get it all fairly good. I may work on it a little more after the floor is completely removed. Now the right side is 1/32 higher than the left...
I also removed the center tail panel brace and trunk latch, but the camera decided to die right then. After working a while longer and getting started down the 1,000 spot weld road, the battery had recovered enough for this pic. Gonna have a little work on the inner wheel house too, but nothing major.
I started drilling the spot welds on the right frame rail by leaning over the tail panel. After a half hour of that uncomfortable position, I decided to remove the center of the floor to stand in the trunk. I was trying to leave the floor as intact as possible, to see how the 1 piece was going to go back in, but the reality of laying in the trunk to drill spot welds wasn't very inviting.
Much easier to get the spot welds drilled out and the right floor and drop cut out with the plasma. Lots of junk in the drop.
I was happy to find the bumper reinforcement bracket in there.
Been picking away at the Camaro. I drilled out the spot welds for the back seat yesterday, all bunched up behind the bucket seats. Today, I took the buckets, console and carpet out. MUCH better for working in there and less things for sparks to damage.
All the grey is epoxy I put in there 12 years ago to fill rust pits. this is the worst of the entire floor. I'm going to replace this pan.
The other side has some pits. I'll see if I can salvage enough of the left side to section this area. If not, I'll make a piece. I'm not going to buy a whole pan for a small section.
This is the factory "traction bar" plate under the right side of the rear seat. About mid year of production Chev tried this as a way to reduce the crazy wheel hope these cars had. All the SS and Z28 cars got this bracket, but since mine was built with a non-posi rear and a powerglide, it didn't get the under floor bracket or bar..:(
These studs would hold another plate underneath that the bar would attach to.
All the 12 bolt axles got the bracket for the bar. I will get the under floor plate and a bar to complete the missing pieces. I'll also go to a 3 leaf spring to help eliminate spring wrap and hop.
Onto butchery... I cut windows in the tail panel to drill out the spot welds holding the inner structure to the frame rails.
Once that was done, I got out the plasma....gawd I like that tool...
I was going to follow the outline of the tail panel, but the trunk drops are strange on this car and curve all the way around to the back and I didn't want to cut the one on the left yet. I will use as a template to rebuild the right side that is badly misshapen from a few crashes...
Between the spot weld drill and the grinding stone, I managed to get the tail panel off without too much damage to the quarter panel flange. I may end up replacing this q-panel too, but for now I need it as an example.
Used the stone to grind off the spot welds to remove the last of the trunk pan weld flange from the drop. It was tight to get the drill in and this way I don't drill into the drop at all.
The right lower quarter and tail panel had obvious bondo applied. This is the same side that the quarter skin was installed, along with 3/4 of the tail panel replaced...it is seamed in the left tail light...
Obviously, the car had been hit in some manner again later and Henry Handyman just filled the dent with bondo...
This piece is very near 1 INCH thick...
The camera battery decided to die right here, so I didn't get "in progress" pics of the next steps. I pounded out the dents in the quarter and tail panel to relieve any stress before I cut out the rest of the junk. You can see the remnants of the original tail panel that they just beat back out of the way to install the replacement panel.
The elliptical piece is the trunk drop that no one attempted to straighten when doing the original repair.
Thankfully, when I cut the rest off the quarter, nothing shifted or sprang from tension.
The new valance panel clamped in place. Fit right in...
I was concerned about the flange angling up at the back, instead of following the frame rail.
Comparing it to the original, it should angle up.
It even follows the original, left drop profile nice enough.
Hi Mitch,
You may have just identified the PO of my 71?
Oh, there are far more than just 1 Henry Handymen around. My car came from California.
You know the saying..."you can't make this stuff up".
I don't think they can teach this level of "bodywork" in a class either, it has to be a natural talent..
All trades suffer from this consumer concept.
I was hoping to get right back on this after I returned from TX last week, but between the weather and my son's car needing repair, I still haven't touched it.
The new floor and right q-panel should be here tomorrow or Monday, so I need to get past the distractions and back on this.
Saturday, I got the last piece of the old trunk floor out.
I am not ready to install it anyway, so when I take it out, I'll find a way to flatten it and fit it again.
New floor came yesterday, but I haven't done much this week except plow, snow throw and shovel friggen snow...:mad:
Her... honey, I think it's too big to go in...
Me... relax sweetheart, I'll get it in...:D
Seems the hinge bracket and inner wheel house on the left are in the way
Took care of those 2 pesky problems.
She has wide hips, so needed still more room for those to slide in.
And there we are. It's OH SO CLOSE. I really wanted this to drop right in so I could feel like I accomplished something today, BUT,
For some danged reason, they put a rounded hump in the middle, like it's for the tunnel, but it's not. That flange needs to be flat...
I'd have a hard time going that far in a Camaro and not mini-tubbing it while I'm in there.
Then I would need the spring re-locator kit to move them inboard as well. This could turn into a complete, years long snowball, for all that could be done and I want this as a driver again this summer, so.. it all goes back stock. I have 255 tires under it now with clearance so I'm good with that. 8" wrinkle walls fit nicely, if it needs to get serious about traction..
I'm many years and tens of thousands of dollars behind you guys already to get serious about auto-crossing. Knowing myself, I wouldn't be happy being in 15th place out of a 20 car field...
I do have a complete Global West front suspension for this car, that has been sitting in boxes for about 6 years now. That is the subject of the March tech session. I want that, and the power disc brake conversion, on the car this summer too.
Lots of work and major changes scheduled and already underway. Hopefully all this will be completed by mid/late May so it is on the road again, after sitting for 3-4 years.
Then it will be time to get Andrew's car back for the final floor replacement and seam sealing/paint/carpet...
What is this "retirement" thing people speak of...
There has been slow progress on the car the past couple weeks.
Once I pulled the floor, I flattened the hump in the center.
Threw it back in and started fitting it. I clamped the rails to it and saw I needed to do some trimming of the rail flanges to get them to fit in the recess at the rear.
Got the front edge to sit under the cabin floor and the side lining up with the wheel houses pretty well.
I borrowed a set of chassis gauges from Centerline and got the floor/rails centered with the rest of the body and noted where I needed to tweak the fit better.
I marked the frame rail flanges and gave the floor the plug weld hole measles.
Drilled 56 holes and punched another 52 with the air punch. wheel house flanges sanded and weld thru primered.
I was thinking it was close to sliding back in but remembered it didn't come with, or have attached, the shock mounts, so I dug those out from my previous floor and got them set up to weld on.
The lower reinforcement plate on the right side was off enough to prevent the shock from going in, so I had to get the reamer out and make the hole large enough.
OK, we're past that temporary set back, now what ?? The right side mount was drilled but not tapped...
Go dig out the tap and die set and get some threads in the mount. Fortunately, the hole was the correct size for the 5/16-18 tap to thread right in.
I was going to get the welder and be done with this step, but remembered the floor didn't have a strap for the spare tire J-hook, so dug out the old floor to remove that strap and get on the new floor.
Ready to weld on.
I did weld on the mounts and straps and shoot a little paint on. While I was waiting for that to dry for a photo, I got distracted and my short term memory forgot to take a pic...
What I was distracted with was the left inner wheel house I cut out. I have a replacement and realized I should be fitting that before I put the floor in and screw it down, as it will be much easier to work under the car, rather than laying in the trunk for that.
This is the part I hate about replacing inner wheel houses. The 2 halves must be run thru a spot weld wheel at the factory and there are almost 100 spot welds in the length of that seam. In the past I tried drilling all those out and ended up with the outer house flange looking like swiss cheese. On the '66 Chevelle, I ground the entire length off with a 3M 1991 stone wheel, to save the outer flange. It worked but good gawd was that a mess of metal shavings when it was done.
Comparing the replacement to this, I decided to leave the flange and weld the new house to it.
I used the stone wheel to grind the remainder of the house flush with the flange and cleaned that with a disc sander.
Cut the new one oversize to fit in place. This will replace the entire weld flange of the house to floor too, now.
It's close, but supper was calling, so I will finish fitting this today.
Forgotten pic of the spare tire bracket and 1 of the shock brackets, just to prove I dunnit...;)
I also welded shut all the holes in the side of the rail from past fails with an exhaust hanger. I think the original got ripped out in the crash and there have been a few replacements over the years.
After looking at this swiss cheese, I cut it all off. The replacement has all that material on it, so I'll use it.
Sucks this pic is blurry. I kept trimming until I had that sucker right where I wanted it. The rest show that I still retain a little OCD when fitting parts....:D
I made a cut in the area at the bottom of the upper c-clamp to move the new inner to the outside for welding to the original. There was no room inside the car to do a decent job of that.
I gotta say, this piece lined up very well for a repro.
Then I was reminded I needed to weld up the cuts I made in the right frame rail with the plasma....danged fool...
Before...
The 2 holes are correct for the hanger now.
Then I ran the disc sander over the rail flanges to prep them for welding... and called it a day. I did spray a good coat of rust converter on the rear seat brackets to dry.
I wasn't going to work on the car today, but with the "big storm" predicted, we didn't plan anything, so I went in the shop for a few hours.
Started by cleaning and prepping for the floor install. Yep, every time I think I'm almost ready, I spend another 3 hours getting ready...:drunk:
Decided getting the left trunk drop cleaned now would be easier than with the floor in. Knocked off the big chunks with the long barrel impact hammer with a dull chisel tip and then got down to clean metal with the crud thug and wire wheel.
Then I cleaned inside the frame rails with W&G remover and sprayed cold galvanized coating on the raw welds I had made. I also sprayed a heavy coat of rust converter on the bump stop nut plate and the shackle boss, that were bare steel. The rail itself, was galvanize coated.
Got as much rust as I could off the right inner weld flange, sprayed it with rust converter and let it tack up and then gave it a shot of weld thru primer, along with the frame rail flanges and seat supports.
I used the same process as the trunk drop to clean the entire left inner house before shooting primer.
Flipped the floor over and shot that too.
THEN, it was finally time to drop the floor in, hopefully for the last time.
It lined up with the right wheel house pretty well again, but I think I need to lift the frame rails up a bit. Need to measure...
What I don't like, is the lazy pan to shock brace fitment. The pan should be pressed down tight into that corner to touch the frame. I have a nearly 1/4" gap I can't get rid of. I will try to press it down as I screw the floor down.
Clamped the left wheel house in to see if it fit the floor and dang, I like how this turned out. It took about 3 hours to get that house to fit, but it's well worth it when I see how nice it will turn out.
I was having a hard time getting the floor/frame rails to stay centered to weld, so I ended up using a big clamp to pull them over to the left a little. Checked the gauges and everything was in line, so I welded the floor to the rails.
I worked from the back to front, hoping to gain a little slack to pull the lazy pan down to the rails. I did gain a little but needed a few clamps to pull it down tight,
These were fun, laying on a creeper, welding overhead.
With most of the right inner house in the way, I couldn't get more than 1 clamp on and it didn't pull the floor down much. I had to hammer form the rail up to the floor to weld.
All the way across the cabin floor flange too. It's part of the car now.
Today, I got the left inner house prepped and installed. Punched 68 holes between this and the body to weld back up.
Another "fun" welding position, curled up in the trunk to weld the top flange. I knew I was very low on gas and sure enough, I ran out with 3 holes to plug. Off to MWS for a new cylinder.
An hour later, I was back at it and got the rest done . This side fit really well.
Moved to the right inner and welded the drill holes. I'll make patches later.
I stopped here, as I have a large gap to the new pan and I don't know if the wheel house it pushed forward from the old crash. I can't pull it far enough to get to the inner house without it distorting the quarter panel, so this will get sorted out later, when the q-panel comes off.
I think he was making fun of all my vise grips...
I think you are catching up to me and may soon pull into the lead.
Always like to see your updates as you have been doing these things for a long time and have a bit of repetition going for you.
-- Edited by BLyke on Thursday 21st of March 2019 03:15:40 PM
Went backwards today and will continue to for the next few weeks.
We, the club, will be removing the entire front suspension, brakes and steering on Saturday. I WAS going to do that late last week or Monday, so I could paint the frame, but I have spent so much time on flood control and re-direction of excessive runoff around here, I lost at least 3 days, so that didn't get done. Now, surprise.. project creep took over and I am in the process of removing the front fenders to have the inners sand blasted so they can be painted along with the frame. It's looking like this could get full blown out of hand and the engine/trans could be sitting on the floor soon to, so I can paint the whole frame and firewall...
What the heck gets into us...
Friday, I pulled the rest of the front clip off.
And Saturday, many club members participated in helping remove the front suspension..... and engine.....and then we went all in and dropped the sub-frame for powder coating too...