Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Lost in the 60s · President

Andrew's '71 Chevelle

Lost in the 60s · President

With the engine/trans and front suspension in the back of the truck and the trunk of the car full too, the trailer sat too low to get the tongue jack on to drop the trailer. I had to back up onto a couple pavers to get the jack on.

Way easier for me to unload the engine.

We had a heck of a time getting the car to roll at his place and I had to PULL it off the trailer...something had to be binding in the rear wheels. After I got it on the floor and jacked up the axle, the right rear would barely turn and had a scraping sound. He had mistakenly installed a front drum, which is wider than a rear, and it was scraping on the backing plate. I left the drum off for now and the car rolls easy.

Pile of parts from the truck.

And the trunk too...

SShink · 3K+ Club

Looks like it's in good hands now Mitch.

Lost in the 60s · President

Yesterday, after I took everything out of boxes and sorted the parts, I got the engine/trans assembled and went to drop it in the chassis for weight and the pan wouldn't clear the crossmember. I tried for an hour to get that engine in there and finally called Andrew and asked if it was the same pan as when he removed it. Nope, an add on. I measured the sump and compared it to others on-line for Chevelles and the sump is 3/4-1" too far forward and not curved on the corners to follow the crossmember, so I removed it today and he is bringing the original pan tomorrow. I also have a new gasket coming in the morning as someone got overzealous with the silicone and I don't trust this to seal.

I also called in an order to Summit for missing and rusty mounting bolt replacements.

I got the control arm bolts from Summit this morning and proceeded to install the uppers. As I was inspecting the lower brackets with the new bolt, I came across 1 hole that was hogged out, so I cleaned the paint and rust off and welded a heavy washer on to keep the bolt from moving. No small feat, as I had to nearly stand on my head, leaning over the crossmember to get part of it.
Then I went to NAPA for the new pan gasket they had shuttled in and guess what ??? NO gasket. Someone forgot to either put it on the truck, or leave it when they got there. So tomorrow morning I get to make that trip again, because it finally showed up after a few phone calls from the counter-person.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Maybe a dumb question...but is the frame mount 180 degrees reversed? Looks like if you flipped it around the other way, the engine would move back from the cross member about the distance you need?

I'd have to look at an assembly manual or pics of a BBC Chevelle to know for sure.

Lost in the 60s · President

The bell housing was already jammed tight against the firewall. The left frame stand has a different bolt pattern so they can't be reversed.

How's date weekend going ...

Lost in the 60s · President

Big thanks to all the guys who helped on Andrew's car yesterday. We made some very good progress, despite spending time looking for parts and chasing for one I didn't know we needed.

Ready for the engine/trans

After the oil pan and pick up screen change.

-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Sunday 8th of October 2017 01:38:15 PM

more ambition than brains · 1K+ Club

Great work.

Out of town till this a/m.
Plus still have one trailer to unload and racking to complete.

Lost in the 60s · President

I went out this morning to clean and organize from the chaos Saturday and found this. I went to pick the old suction screen out of the drain pan and there was the bolt that held the screen to the oil pump....

So, 10 minutes later, I had the engine back out and the pan off. Yup, that's were it belongs...

OK, now we can go forward again. Actually a very minor step back for all that was done on Saturday...

Time to put the headers on, so the dolly had to get out of the way. I had it on jack stands but it needs to be waaaay high to get the left header started in place. This is just step 1.

It won't clear the steering shaft, so I put the right motor mount bolt in, short chained the left side of the engine and lifted it about 2". The header fell right in.

Then, of course, the engine shifts to the left doing that and the left motor mount bolt hole is way off, so I short chain the right side and pick it back up. The left bolt slid right in.

There was about zero clearance with the new stainless brake line on the right, so I had to reform it enough to get some space.

Most of the rest of the time was spent under the car, installing the trans mount and shifter linkage. The exhaust was a battle, as it is too long and rubs on the rear axle which made getting the collectors to go in place a bear, but I prevailed. I then installed the oil pressure tube, clutch cross shaft and the pre-filled oil filter. I need to fabricate a bracket for the dip stick that is missing. The bracket holds the tube from coming out of the pan with the stick, and this tube is too loose to not have that bracket. Otherwise, it really doesn't look much different from above, yet.

Jon H · 1K+ Club

Nice catch on the bolt. Too many eyes looking at too many things at once and sometimes you miss the obvious.
Looks like you also got a bunch more accomplished....nice work.

AK · Active Member

Wow. Huge THANKS to all that showed up to help with my '71. Jon, John, Larry, Dana, Chris, Chris, and of course Riley and Mitch (forgive me for likely spelling errors on your names).

Thanks to Mitch and Barb for hosting.

It was a fabulous time for me to learn more about my ride, the club, and re-builds - eventually I'll drag my 8 year-old daughter along. Certainly a few rookie mistakes with the rear rotor, oil pan/filter, and missing hardware to name a few, but I learned a lot.

Only thing I can say is that I wished I had joined the club sooner! Looking forward to learning more and helping others with their projects over the years to come.

Lost in the 60s · President

Good to see you on the forum, Andrew.
I haven't gotten anything done since Monday. Yesterday, I went to Le Suer to look at a '69 Corvette and came home empty handed. Not willing to part with Chevelle funds for another project car. Cool Vette, all original 427, 4 speed if anyone is interested.
Today was a crash jam to get the entire drivetrain from my '54 wrapped, packed and strapped on a pallet and up to Central Transport in Blaine. It is on the way to CA.
Tomorrow, I leave for TX and won't be back until around noon on Saturday. Sunday is the swap meet at the Fairgrounds again, so Andrew's car is rather stalled for now.

Lost in the 60s · President

Work on the car has been slow, due to getting sidetracked with various other "things". Monday, I tried to set the front springs up and the right adjuster ring went about 3 turns and stopped. It wouldn't go down either, I soaked it with penetrating oil and tried again Tuesday morning. It did go down about a turn, but seized again and after attempting to get it to move, I had the little holes for the tool, that now looked like a pretzel, all elongated. I called Detroit Speed and got NO where with them sending a new ring, so I called The shock supplier, JRI Wed morning and they overnighted a new ring that I got Thursday morning. I already had the shock out, had bought a thread file and recovered the galled threads on the shock barrel, so once the ring was here, I put it all back together and things are working much better.

I then turned my attention to installing the driveshaft. I had noticed it had rust on the slip yoke so grabbed a piece of scotchbrite and started cleaning it. I quickly realized it looked like someone had held it against a bench grinder. I found one in Newport at Wheelco that I picked up this morning.

Driveshaft finally found its home. I greased the u-joints, cleaned and sealed the diff cover and added the left over lube from the trans fill, almost 2 quarts for now. The gear ratio is 3.31

Went on to replacing all the rubber hoses for the fuel tank and evaporative canister. Some of these had holes in them and could have leaked gas.

Tuesday, after I gave up on the spring adjuster, I installed the water pump, ps pump and alt on the engine. Thursday, I also threw the core support on but am waiting for a new fan shroud. Its coming along but in fits and starts. I'm hoping by next weekend I can have Andrew bring the sheet metal out and install that. I should be starting it up next week for the engine break in and have it ready to go home around the first of November.

Lost in the 60s · President

Got the fuel tank hardware and put that in. It is a new tank and I discovered it was too wide, as I was attempting to tighten the mounting bolts. The sides were binding on the frame and I then remembered the factory tanks had the side flanges bent up about 45°. With an assortment of tools, I was able to bend the right side flange up enough to get the tank to seat against the trunk floor.

I then fabricated the mounting strap for the dipstick tube. I started with a flat piece of sheet and formed it to simulate my original one. Once it was shaped, I drilled 3 small holes to weld it on.

AK · Active Member

Looking great Mitch. Thanks for helping with supplier sourcing and correcting my orders. Had no idea about the gas tank. Extremely fired up to put the front end together soon.

Lost in the 60s · President

Been a lot done since the last update. It is nearly ready to go back home for the winter. After fits, starts, and parts, we got it running today. The water pump leaked from sitting, the fuel pump wouldn't pump from sitting and the Holley leaked like a sieve from the accelerator pumps, so it didn't run long, but it sounds good. Andrew was here for 8 hours and we got all the sheet metal back on. I need to get new pumps for the carb tomorrow and spend some more time adjusting the hood/fenders and bumper. I got the master cylinder painted and bled a couple days ago and the front calipers gravity bled. Still a few hours of loose ends to tie up, but for the most part, in 4 weeks, we took it from bare frame rails to moving under it's own power.

BEFORE

AFTER

-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Sunday 29th of October 2017 07:58:23 AM

-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Sunday 29th of October 2017 08:11:31 AM

67ss · 1K+ Club

Looking good Mitch and Andrew. Hope to see it cruising with us next spring.

Jon H · 1K+ Club

That is progress!
I don't hear it running though.......

Lost in the 60s · President

Jon H wrote:
That is progress!
I don't hear it running though.......

Come on over.....my antique flip phone don't do vids...

Larry Lucast · Active Member

Wow! What a lot of progress.

OscarZ · Treasurer

That's great! Exciting to see another Chevelle getting back on the road!

Jon H · 1K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
Jon H wrote:
That is progress!
I don't hear it running though.......
Come on over.....my antique flip phone don't do vids...

You are baiting me about the antique in your shop but I am not going to bite!

Lost in the 60s · President

I replaced both accelerator pumps and float bowl gaskets today...no more gas leaks. Zip tied the wires and cleaned up the engine bay a little. Installed the battery tray. Under hood is done except for adding brake fluid while bleeding them.

After almost 2 hours of pushing, shimming and bending parts, the hood will shut with somewhat decent gaps. The left fender and hood are aftermarket and the fender needs to move out at the front but that will require either bending the core support bracket or drilling out the holes, neither of which I got involved with today.

more ambition than brains · 1K+ Club

Once again, AMAZING!!!!

Maybe I should kidnap you, lock you up on Farmington with food, water and tools

Karl

Larry Lucast · Active Member

What a job in just a few short weeks. If Karl doesn't kidnap you, maybe I will.

Lost in the 60s · President

I had a lot of help the first Saturday from club members and last Saturday from Andrew with the sheet metal.

more ambition than brains · 1K+ Club

Many hands make light work.
With the right amount of people, in the right place, at the right time amazing things happen.

Karl

Lost in the 60s · President

more ambition than brains wrote:
Many hands make light work.
With the right amount of people, in the right place, at the right time amazing things happen.
Karl

Maybe we should have the Bow Tie brunch at your new shop and put a couple cars together...

Lost in the 60s · President

Well, fun with Andrew's car has come to an end for this year. Still LOTS to do next year...complete Detroit Speed rear suspension swap, tunnel repair at shifter, correct bucket seat brackets, and a complete wire harness for the entire car. Shouldn't take more than a couple weeks...

I had my expert brake bleeding partner help last night and got the last item checked off the list. All ready to load up.

I had to back it out and turn it around, so may as well take a "spin" around the block to make sure everything is good...

I took it easy as, the diff is a quart low, but as I turned back onto my street, I had a twitch in my right leg that seemed to push the throttle down a little further and I can attest the lope in the cam isn't just there to sound cool. It had no problem breaking traction with those T/A's from a roll in first...

All loaded up and snug in the shop, out of the crap weather coming. I hope the forecast is right for tomorrow and the roads are dry.

AK · Active Member

Big thanks to Mitch for all his work and help getting my Chevelle put back together it was torn down to the front frame for the last two years and looked quite sad sitting in my garage much much better now fired her up for my daughter to hear the other day

deyllan · Member

Cool project. Good luck. Can't wait to see the outcome.

Lost in the 60s · President

Andrew's car is back

He came over today and helped me get the dash out. That is a job in itself and easier with 2 people. It's now on a table and ready for eager volunteers to rewire.

After he left, I continued to dismantle the car to do a floor repair.

Somebody is going to miss their stash of food...

I'll be installing an original shifter hump from a donor, new boot and correct trim ring.

Back in Black · Active Member

Lost in the 60s wrote:

There was about zero clearance with the new stainless brake line on the right, so I had to reform it enough to get some space.

Heat shield that brake line with something like this:

SShink · 3K+ Club

Back in Black wrote:
Heat shield that brake line with something like this:

I'll have to try that. My trans lines are only about 1/4" away from the passenger side header.

67ss · 1K+ Club

After Andrew, Chris S and I finally got all the rear control arms and braces on at 7 PM Saturday, I was beat and not in the mood to start cleaning the shop. I came back to the same chaos on Monday morning, but most of the tools I would need were already in the area too..

After rounding up parts scattered around and what little there was for instructions, I was able to make progress, albeit slow, on the rear axle conversions.

First, I ran to NAPA for new axle seals and installed them, got the spider gears and 1 thrust washer back aligned and the axles back in.

Then I cut 3/16" off 2 of the T head bolts for the caliper bracket and installed them all with the T against the bracket and mounted the calipers. There were 2 sets of hoses and hose end brackets and without any clear instructions from CPP, it took a bit to figure out what went together, but I eventually figured out I needed to use the solid clip bracket, mounted to the shock bracket with 2 bolts that I had to drill holes for. The first incompatibility of 2 different systems came into play. The bracket holds the flex hose from the caliper (why is this needed ??? can't they just make a solid line for this ?) and I wasn't able to get the bracket far enough forward to align the straight steel line from the hose to the center distribution block on the axle housing. I modified the hose bracket to fit behind the coil over lower mount and then formed the axle brake line to remove it from running right thru the spring. Other than the e-brake cable, the left side is assembled. Now to do it all again on the right today. Should go quicker than 4 hours, as the first side is always the "learning " side.

Lost in the 60s · President

Well, the right side did go quicker today...3 hours, but I also attached both e-brake cables and the hard lines to the distribution block on the diff, which was a bit of a chore by itself.

I hadn't taken good pics of the flex hose bracket interference with the lower shock mount yesterday, so I did a better job today. The bracket on a standard shock/coil install would have been fine, but it stuck out into the area where the new shock plate mounted, as seen here.

The opening for the flex to hard line is very close to the axle and inline with the hold down tab before needing to move it.

In a normal install, I could have mounted it with the 2 inside holes.

Here is how far down and forward it gets pushed by the shock bracket.

Once bolted on, I bent it around more than the other side and got a better angle for the hard line.

By the instructions, the park brake has to be functional to adjust the piston out, so I ordered more parts to get that working too.

AK · Active Member

An absolutely amazing amount of work done. lot of progress thanks Mitch and Barb for hosting.

great advice and help from very experienced people, and even a few part swaps occurred/ are in progress

Thanks again everyone!

Lost in the 60s · President

Today was slice and dice day. The floor on the left side had considerably more rust damage than I was willing to ignore, so Chris P. picked up a left pan at Auto City and brought it to his work in Roseville today where i got it from him. I removed the rear seat and set up a better spark tent to avoid anymore forest fires.

I cleaned up the area to be removed and marked the spot welds to drill out and the shape to cut.

I cut most of it with the plasma but used the cut off wheel at the rocker and over the braces.

Used the cut out as a pattern and then marked the cut 3/4" wider for overlap.

I first trimmed the edge to fit the rocker and then screwed it down to mark the braces from underneath.

I blew plug weld holes thru from the bottom, along the edge of the supports and located the rear seat mount and seat belt nuts. Pan is ready to go in.

Then I cleaned up the supports some with a 2" grinding disc to remove the loose scale and dirt and sprayed a very heavy, wet coat of Eastwood Rust Converter to dry overnight.

AK · Active Member

Looking great, Mitch.

Again another snowball in full effect, but I certainly appreciate the effort to make the repairs now given the car is torn down

Thanks Chris P. for picking up the pan.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Mitch, I'll have to make an appointment at the Chevelle Hospital for this same procedure, as I have the exact same rust hole in mine. I'll have to wait until I pull the interior again for some reason.

hkgmillette · President

Update on Andrew's Chevelle

Mitch delivered the car on Thursday. He already had some items wired up so he could have the car move under its own power; Tach, Alternator, Distributor, Starter

With help from Andrew, over the weekend I was able to get the following wired up:
Front turn/parking lights - working
Headlights - Hi/Low are working
Horn - Other connections not in place yet to test it out
Temp sensor - Have not had the car running long enough to build any temp
Heater/AC fan - Other wiring not in place yet.
Wipers/Pump - Heard a click, but no movement.
Dash lights - working
Grounds - Block to frame, Block to firewall

Most time consuming part was the hiding of the wires, like I did on mine. I was going to take some pictures, but you would not see anything.

Surprising item was the rear bumper bolts. I have to remove the rear bumper to install the tail light sockets. The ones in the trunk and by the license plate easily broke free. Hopefully the 2 on the very bottom will be the same.

Next up - dash and interior wiring

Chris S · Active Member

Sounds like good progress Hank.

I was wondering if it made it to your place yet.

AK · Active Member

Once again a big thanks to the club members for the tech session help and special thanks to Mitch and Hank for their planning, part ordering, teaching and direct labor on my car.

The vehicle looks great and is really coming along. What a drastic difference from last year at this time.

I've learned a lot which is also exciting for me.

Lost in the 60s · President

I was talking to the President this afternoon and he reminded me that I hadn't posted any pics of the completed floor work, so here ya go...

I made a new cage for the body nut where it has a dummy mount now. Might want that in a future restoration...

Most of the floor patch welded down.

Bolted the seat mounts on the seat and marked where they needed to be, then welded them down.

Removed the excess material from the donor shift hump and marked the tunnel for further relief cutting.

Seam sealed the hump and floor to toe board seam, that has some rust issues, but is OK for now. I made a small patch to cover a hole I found while cleaning for rust converter. Then buried it all in sealer to prevent water intrusion.

With no operable A/C, I made a block off panel to replace the octopus diverder and gain some room behind the dash.

I also wanted to get a pcv valve in the left cover and all that is available is one with a straight hose end. I couldn't find one with a 90° fitting on top....so I bought 2 elbows to eliminate the need for a hose to go straight up at the hood before finding it's way to the back of the carb.

A piece of copper tubing connects the rubber elbows.

New boot, retainer and correct shift plate bezel and it was ready to go to Hank's. I did take it to Centerline last Tuesday and had it 4 corner aligned as well as the pinion and thrust angles checked/set.

hkgmillette · President

I could post this picture of what my shop looks like

-- Edited by hkgmillette on Monday 14th of May 2018 09:46:23 PM

67ss · 1K+ Club

That's a good look Hank, I think you need another project car for your shop.

jim larson · 2K+ Club

Your getting to be an expert on the mount adjacent to the seat. I might need a repair there in the future. Somewhere in the past a guy put a bolt in that area that was two long and it punch a hole though the floor board.

Lost in the 60s · President

That should be an easy repair, as long as the metal is still there and not cut out/off. Even if it is gone, a small cap over the hole and welded on will fix that.

hkgmillette · President

Update

Car is done.

Working:
Radio
Horn
Power door locks
Tail/running lights
Back-up lights
Blinkers/Hazards
Courtesy/Dome lights

I temporarily wired in a push button switch that needs to be pushed when starting the car. This will be replaced when Andrew gets a clutch safety switch.
Installed a wire for an electric fuel pump, if it is ever needed.

Was told the fuel gauge works.

Andrew did drive the car home.

I know that he was taking pictures this weekend and I think his wife took a video/pictures when he backed it out of the shop. Hopefully he will post them.

Chris S · Active Member

Nice work Hank!

I‘ll bet Andrew was excited to finally drive that car again.

Cant Wait to see the car in one piece, every time I see the car it’s torn apart at Mitch’s shop.