Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Dave Seitz · Mega Poster

RE: My 66 "renovation" project

jim larson · 2K+ Club

Keep it coming Mitch. This is the first 2 page post I've seen of this site.

Lost in the 60s · President

Dave Seitz wrote:
Let me guess GM made sure you got the bonus amount of seamsealer on your car.

Actually, it was very conservative and nicely done, except at the end where they wiped the extra off the nozzle in an area that didn't need any.

Lost in the 60s · President

I finished welding in the access hole I made and prepping the firewall today. I painted it with the Grey paint I bought for it and now I don't like it....

I like the Charcoal Metallic that I painted the inside better. Guess I'll be going to Checker in the morning for paint... biggrin

Pics tomorrow night.
I also located a pair of original frame stands for the engine, so I will have them coming this week. Once I get them, I will order the correct Lakewood motor mounts from StreetSide in KC.

jim larson · 2K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:

I finished welding in the access hole I made and prepping the firewall today. I painted it with the Grey paint I bought for it and now I don't like it....
I like the Charcoal Metallic that I painted the inside better. Guess I'll be going to Checker in the morning for paint... Pics tomorrow night.
I also located a pair of original frame stands for the engine, so I will have them coming this week. Once I get them, I will order the correct Lakewood motor mounts from StreetSide in KC.

I see according to the lakewood site they make a motor mount for the 68-72 chevelle with a BB. And one for the 66 327; but not the 66 396 engine. What do you make of that?

http://www.lakewoodindustries.com/pdf/muscle_motor_mounts.pdf

Lost in the 60s · President

jim larson wrote:

Lost in the 60s wrote:

I finished welding in the access hole I made and prepping the firewall today. I painted it with the Grey paint I bought for it and now I don't like it....
I like the Charcoal Metallic that I painted the inside better. Guess I'll be going to Checker in the morning for paint... Pics tomorrow night.
I also located a pair of original frame stands for the engine, so I will have them coming this week. Once I get them, I will order the correct Lakewood motor mounts from StreetSide in KC.

I see according to the lakewood site they make a motor mount for the 68-72 chevelle with a BB. And one for the 66 327; but not the 66 396 engine. What do you make of that?

http://www.lakewoodindustries.com/pdf/muscle_motor_mounts.pdf

Very bewildering and I called Lakewood to inquire about it and they had no answer. I asked on Team Chevelle and was told the 24087 will fit a 66. I'm going to wait until the frame stands arrive and measure the width to determine if it will fit. Lakewoods website has that mount fitting a 67 fullsize bb car but not a 66 ?? Could be the locking style wasn't available on any model in 66 and they are just playing it safe by only specifying what it originally fit.

Lost in the 60s · President

Alright.... made a little progress today. I got more Charcoal Metallic paint today and re-painted the firewall. Got the outer fan box painted as well. Couple coats of clear and I was ready to move on to other things...

I cut off the clam shell motor mounts that were welded to the crossmember and cleaned it up with a flap disc.

I also ran the control arms thru the blaster to clean them up a little for bushing and ball joint replacement.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

Coming along nicely..
can I paint some stuff in your garage?
Mine is full of non running crap ..LOL

Lost in the 60s · President

Tony Hoffer wrote:

Coming along nicely..
can I paint some stuff in your garage?
Mine is full of non running crap ..LOL

Sure. I let everything in mine get a heavy coat of dust and dirt so the paint dries in that and I can blow it off later.... wink

I really should put the cover on the Harley, though.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

I have some snowmobile suspension parts to epoxy prime and topcoat with black enamel... waiting on the slide rails to get finished being repaired.

Lost in the 60s · President

Tony Hoffer wrote:

I have some snowmobile suspension parts to epoxy prime and topcoat with black enamel... waiting on the slide rails to get finished being repaired.

Probably step outside for the epoxy spray and back in to dry. THAT stuff sticks to everything.

Chris R · 2K+ Club

Wow. Those engine mounts really are a mess.

Lost in the 60s · President

Mornings progress. Did the final sand, clean and prep of the dash panel and painted it. 3 coats of semi-gloss black and 3 coats of semi-gloss clear. Like chrome, black is impossible to photograph accurately.

I had the pedal bracket ready a couple weeks ago and shot that too with the same Charcoal Metallic as the rest.

Lost in the 60s · President

Afternoon was a little frustrating. I went to install the firewall pad and it wasn't cut out right, so I spent 45 minutes making holes in the right places and then ANOTHER 30 minutes getting the danged thing in. What a PITA to install. Moved on to the heater housing which was another fight to get thru the pad and lined up with the holes, but I eventually won. Cleaned, re-sealed and installed the vents. Installed the pedal bracket and defrost housing. It's starting to look like something on the inside again !!!

John D · 2K+ Club

Looking Good!! It's coming together very nicely!

Just to let you know... if you need me and my "Electrical Ouija Board" to come by when it's together a bit more just say the word. While it's cold out my weekends are pretty free.

Lost in the 60s · President

John D wrote:
Looking Good!! It's coming together very nicely!

Just to let you know... if you need me and my "Electrical Ouija Board" to come by when it's together a bit more just say the word. While it's cold out my weekends are pretty free.

The next step inside is to set the instrument panel on some stands and start measuring for the wire harness. There are no ends attached so it can be tailored to fit. I discovered I need a different/better wire crimper that crimps both the core and insulation at the same time. WOW, they aren't shy about charging an arm and leg for those !! I may need to rent one somewhere.

Didn't accomplish anything today but did mock up the brake system to see what else I need. All these parts were bought for my 67 GTO. They're gonna look nice on the Chevelle instead, huh ? I'm relocating the distribution block to the top of the frame for better header clearance and less heat transfer.

Dave Seitz · Mega Poster

I have a good crimper but do live a little ways from you.

Lost in the 60s · President

Dave Seitz wrote:
I have a good crimper but do live a little ways from you.

Yes, I've been up to your place. It would be cheaper to have you ship it than pay for gas....

Lost in the 60s · President

I opened the "SCARY" box a couple days ago and thought I would start sorting out the wiring situation. I soon discovered I was missing the main installation manual. I remember opening the box when it first came a month back, but don't remember if I took the manual out to "study" it. Oh well, without that, I closed it up again and moved on to other things I could do.

I decide to replace the broken lever in the heater control instead.

The lever has a pin that is peened over like a rivet to hold it to the knob arm, so I drilled it off to remove the lever piece.

The new lever came with an aluminum rivet too, so I pryed the knob off and removed the arm to crush the rivet without destroying anything else. The popsickle stick was placed against the face of the control to prevent damage while removing the knob.

I used a center punch to expand the rivet and a pin punch to flatten it enough to hold firmly but not bind. If you notice the left end of the 2 levers, the factory pot metal end is much thicker than the stamped steel replacement. That will become a major factor very soon.

Upon assembly, I test fit the new lever with the 2 plastic spacers they provided and the lever flopped around too much and hit the lever below it. It also popped out of the fan switch arm. I needed to keep adding small washers on top of the lever until all the play was removed to get it to work properly. This took some time and patience, since the main pivot pin had to be completely removed every time to get the washers in...

After some extra time of frustration and verbal venting, it was back together and does work nicely but I wasn't impressed with the replacement part.

Here's the bag the part came in. I don't know if there are other brands available that would be a better match to original.

bowtie · Secretary

wow.

Chris R · 2K+ Club

Where did the replacement part come from?

Lost in the 60s · President

Chris R wrote:
Where did the replacement part come from?

Ausley's, I'm not impressed with most of what I got from them and have returned some of it. I don't think I will be getting anymore stuff from them. Eckler's prices and shipping are higher, so I thought I would give Ausley's a shot but may go back to Classic Muscle. I bought a LOT of stuff from them for my Camaro a couple years ago and got very good service and high quality parts. Seems the saying is true that lower prices bring lower quality.
I ordered different weatherstripping and various parts from Hinshaws last week and they should be here soon. It will be interesting to see what those are like, although I talked to Jim Hinshaw about the stripping and he only sells Metro instead of the Sof-seal that I got from Ausley's. Hinshaws does restorations also and only sells what they find to be the best fit and quality.

jim larson · 2K+ Club

Have only heard good things about Hindshaw. Only problem is poor online catalog.

Chris R · 2K+ Club

I wouldnt blame Ausleys. They dont make the parts, just re-sell them. I have had good luck with them in the past. I agree with Jim. Hinshaws is great for telling you if it fits or not. I would also consider checking Auto City Classic here locally and see what they can come up with. Mike is the guy I always talked to for years about getting 66 parts when I went there years ago. Im not sure if he is still there. It would be nice to see a part before you paid for it. Im not sure ordering from another vendor will get you a different repro part that works. Most of these repro parts are made by one china vendor and you end up getting the same worthless part no matter who you get it from.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

Chris R wrote:

I wouldnt blame Ausleys. They dont make the parts, just re-sell them. I have had good luck with them in the past. I agree with Jim. Hinshaws is great for telling you if it fits or not. I would also consider checking Auto City Classic here locally and see what they can come up with. Mike is the guy I always talked to for years about getting 66 parts when I went there years ago. Im not sure if he is still there. It would be nice to see a part before you paid for it. Im not sure ordering from another vendor will get you a different repro part that works. Most of these repro parts are made by one china vendor and you end up getting the same worthless part no matter who you get it from.

On the contrary if you sell crap its your reputation.

John D · 2K+ Club

I think the problem is in the muddling of the definition of two words Reproduction and Replacement.

In my book, "Reproduction Part" would be an exact duplicate of the original part in all aspects - material, shape, everything.

"Replacement Part" would be something that works in form and function, but is not a duplicate of the original.

SShink · 3K+ Club

I've had good luck with parts from National Parts Depot and Ground Up (SS396.com) for the '71-72's.

Not sure how they are for the '66-67's though.

Lost in the 60s · President

When I initially placed my first order with Ausley's I described exactly the front fender patch I wanted and who made it. "Yup, we can get that"....when they got here they were junk, single stamped parts that would only make a good skin patch, not the exactly contoured Dynacorn part that I specified. Cost me $10 dollars to send $90 dollar parts back.

I've been to Auto City Classics a number of times and looked at their stuff. Much of what they have is the same middle of the road quality that the low price on-line dealers have. They can get the better stuff when I request it and I have done that too, but by the time I pay sales tax and drive 110 miles round trip once or twice, I can pay for shipping and have it delivered to my door for the same or less. I just haven't found a good way to get around the high cost of shipping to pick and choose the best parts. I'd like to get everything at once from the same source. Hinshaws may be that source, but like Chris said, their on-line catalog is nothing and they are out of 2010 catalogs and haven't finished putting together the new 2011, so I'm not getting a paper catalog from them to look at and compare either. They seem to be great people but without a toll free number to call, it costs money to pick up the phone just to ask if they have a part, who made it and does it fit/do what I want ?

jim larson · 2K+ Club

Isn't there a guy from the Nova Club that sells the
dynacron sheet metal.? I think he was at Karls last Jan. In the past I have found Classic Muscle and Hinshaws to be the most helpfull to me. Hinshaw is the most knowledgable regarding 66-67. Aushleys does make some of their own parts; but not many.

Lost in the 60s · President

Nightshade, a member on here, is in a Nova club too and sells Goodmark products up near St. Cloud. I got some of the metal for my GTO from him a while back. He doesn't deal with Dynacorn.

bowtie · Secretary

Mitch- Metro Moulded parts is right here in coon rapids if you weren't aware. I fi understand correctly, when they make a part, they try to duplicate the original perfectly but use better materials. Also, they really like to use local cars when producing new things so they can test the fit when it's done. Scoll down to the bottom of this screen and smack in the middle is their ad-click on it to get thier info.

Derek69SS · Founding Member

I strongly recommend Hinshaws Chevelle Parts... it's a small family-owned business, and since he works on these cars too he'll tell you up front if the parts are good or not. He'll still sell it to you, but he'll warn you if the fit isn't up to his standards.

Lost in the 60s · President

bowtie wrote:
Mitch- Metro Moulded parts is right here in coon rapids if you weren't aware. I fi understand correctly, when they make a part, they try to duplicate the original perfectly but use better materials. Also, they really like to use local cars when producing new things so they can test the fit when it's done. Scoll down to the bottom of this screen and smack in the middle is their ad-click on it to get thier info.

Yep, I know who Mike Hinshaw is there and have talked to him about parts. Coincidence that his name is the same as Hinshaw Chevelle parts... anyway, the issue with buying direct from a manufacturer is that it usually costs more than from a dealer. They keep their price close to list to not undermine their dealer network. Jim Hinshaw has a good price on the Metro line and as long as I was ordering other parts as well, the shipping is minimal. Jim is actually shipping a different brand of trunk seal because he hasn't been satisfied with the Metro part for a while and has voiced that to Mike with no apparent change yet. I can see me using Hinshaws more in the future, it's just not as easy or computer friendly as the "big" resources with their nice web sites and catalogs.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Very impressive to see your velle coming back together.

Are you going to be around this week? I need to clean up some bumper brackets and pick up a part for old what's his name. While I'm there if you have any work requiring more than two hands I'd be more than willing to lend a hand or two.

Anything to help a buddy out of the Cars Apart Club.

Lost in the 60s · President

I will be running errands tomorrow morning but will be around in the afternoon, or Wednesday, Jim L is coming up from Lake City in the morning. Might be a good time to stop in and meet him too.

By "clean up" I assume commandeer the blasting cabinet again ? And "OLD what's his name" must be the radiator top mount.... wink

Thursday and Friday are both unsceduled at this time for anything outside the home but management reserves the right to change schedules or prices without notice.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
By "clean up" I assume commandeer the blasting cabinet again ? And "OLD what's his name" must be the radiator top mount....

You are so darn clever. Wednesday sounds good maybe we could work lunch into the deal. Need me to bring anything?

Lost in the 60s · President

dashboard wrote:

Lost in the 60s wrote:
By "clean up" I assume commandeer the blasting cabinet again ? And "OLD what's his name" must be the radiator top mount....
You are so darn clever. Wednesday sounds good maybe we could work lunch into the deal. Need me to bring anything?

Just the "lunch money"....
Only kidding.......if you have a good 2 stage wire crimper, I would appreciate that.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Not sure what that is, maybe I should have one. Someone post a link!

seagrams72 · Active Member

I like the progress on this project, you don't mess around! The resto is clean and reusing the original parts with only opening the catalogs for the necessities is my style.

What brand harness is that? I put a painless updated harness in, good quality, but no sockets or factory connectors so you have to source those speratley.

I am a Classic Muscle catalog guy myself, great prices, fast shipping, and a 1" thick catalog with full diagrams. The website sucks, but so do 90% of other resto houses, they make up for it with their book of a catalog. Their "cheap" sheetmetal has no visual difference to their "good" sheetmetal when placed side by side, from what I have seen.

Lost in the 60s · President

Thanks !!
The wire kit is from American Autowire. It's a classic update also but has every socket and factory connector included. It isn't cut to length or wrapped which allows multiple uses and add ons, such as hei distributors, stereos with big power amps in the trunk. Full voltage to the headlights and power for electric fuel pumps electric window and power door lock circuits. I'll get into some detail when I get started on it.

Lost in the 60s · President

OK, last Saturday, I finished removing the bushings and ball joints from the right control arms and ran them thru the blaster 1 last time. Gave them a shot of Rust converter and let them sit till yesterday. Yesterday was assembly and paint day. Prothane bushings, Moog ball joints and Global West offset upper shafts.

All assembled and ready for paint.

Today I needed to address the frame issues before continuing with the frame clean-up for paint. I was told by the PO that the frame was "fine". Here's fine...I specifically asked about this area where the front boxed frame meets the side channels. Both sides were rusted thru and weak..... furious

First I fabbed a flat plate to tie the box to the frame rail again.

Then fabbed a piece of angle iron to reinforce the bottom just for safe keeping.

Loads of fun lying on the floor trying to weld under there and not burn myself up in the process. Oh well, got-r-done...here's the left side too.

Guests coming tomorrow so not sure how much I'll accomplish but it's on to the frame clean and paint now... smile

SShink · 3K+ Club

Mitch, those control arms turned out great.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Mitch, really enjoyed the day, Jim, you and me, three old farts talking, playing with cars and there parts. Jim and yourself really are the experts on the 66s that was fun to watch. Your project is moving along nicely

Thanks again for your help cleaning up my parts. Jim I trust you picked up your bride on time. If not don't blame us.

bowtie · Secretary

man I wish I had a blster and time..... it looks great.

Lost in the 60s · President

dashboard wrote:

Mitch, really enjoyed the day, Jim, you and me, three old farts talking, playing with cars and there parts.

I had an enjoyable time as well, Kevin. We need to do it again.

Frame cleaned and in rust converter.

NASTY left lower control arm.

Both left control arms after blasting, frame stands blasted for paint and the bell housing after a bath in the parts washer.

Right brake spindle after an all day project of disassembly, parts washer, sand blasting, painting and clear coat.

Frame painted and cleared.

jim larson · 2K+ Club

Hope my frame looks that good before the motor goes back in. Would be nice Kevin, if you can make it down with Mitch to help with putting the engine back together.

seagrams72 · Active Member

I need a paint stand like like, beats hanging parts from the garage door tracks.

Lost in the 60s · President

seagrams72 wrote:

I need a paint stand like like, beats hanging parts from the garage door tracks.

It's pretty handy. Leave the parts at an optimal level to paint and then raise them up high to dry without smacking your head on them.

Chris R · 2K+ Club

Frame and firewall looks grey colored. Or is this before the black is applied?

Lost in the 60s · President

Chris R wrote:

Frame and firewall looks grey colored. Or is this before the black is applied?

Firewall is Charcoal Grey and frame is a silver that is supposed to replicate bare steel. I don't care for all black engine compartments as it hides details and is dark to look into.