Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

SShink · 3K+ Club

1971 Heavy Chevy Stanitization

69SSConv · Active Member

Looks good. Excited to hear about the progress through the winter.

more ambition than brains · 1K+ Club

Make it YOURS!
(as usual)

Karl

Lost in the 60s · President

I have a rubber eraser wheel you can use to get the heavy chevy off the hood, since you, now, moved the grille to a Malibu status.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
I have a rubber eraser wheel you can use to get the heavy chevy off the hood, since you, now, moved the grille to a Malibu status.

Thanks Mitch.

The Heavy's had the chrome grill trim too though. The PO hadn't installed them.

Lost in the 60s · President

SShink wrote:
Lost in the 60s wrote:
I have a rubber eraser wheel you can use to get the heavy chevy off the hood, since you, now, moved the grille to a Malibu status.
Thanks Mitch.
The Heavy's had the chrome grill trim too though. The PO hadn't installed them.

Everything I've read about them said the grilles were blacked out in '71 and had only side trim in '72 ???

hkgmillette · President

I like the way the grill looks with no center emblem. Very unique look

dashboard · 2K+ Club

I also like the grill trim. Have you thought about blacking out the headlight surround.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
SShink wrote:
Lost in the 60s wrote:
I have a rubber eraser wheel you can use to get the heavy chevy off the hood, since you, now, moved the grille to a Malibu status.
Thanks Mitch.
The Heavy's had the chrome grill trim too though. The PO hadn't installed them.
Everything I've read about them said the grilles were blacked out in '71 and had only side trim in '72 ???

The base 71 Chevelle grill was unpainted with a bowtie in the center.

The Heavy was painted black with 'Accent trim' and no bowtie emblem.

The Malibu grill was gray with Accent trim and the bowtie. Mike Sabbys is like that.

So lots of combinations.

Larry, I'm finding most 71 HC's headlight trim is left chrome, but I did find some vintage ads that show 71 with them blacked out. In 72 they were blacked out across the board for HCs.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

What was the cars production date?

Lost in the 60s · President

Many "sources" of info on the www with conflicting info from most. Hard to believe any of them anymore.
I tried to search info on Team Chevelle and that site is so butchered now, I can't find anything.
The only, somewhat, consistent info I find is that the HC was a mid year '71 introduction with running changes until the '72 production and they seemed to have settled into a more predictable pattern of build specs.
Build it the way you want it. I'm with ya on the bright trim and prefer that, also, anyway..

Larry Lucast · Active Member

A close friend of mine bought a HC for his wife. She loved it until she totaled it. In their driveway! I never did hear how that was possible.

BLyke · 1K+ Club

Larry Lucast wrote:
A close friend of mine bought a HC for his wife. She loved it until she totaled it. In their driveway! I never did hear how that was possible.

Perhaps a chain saw was involved?

Have a friend who miscalculated just how tall a tree was

SShink · 3K+ Club

BLyke wrote:
Larry Lucast wrote:
A close friend of mine bought a HC for his wife. She loved it until she totaled it. In their driveway! I never did hear how that was possible.
Perhaps a chain saw was involved?
Have a friend who miscalculated just how tall a tree was

I'm going with ball peen hammer!

Chad L in the club had a neighbor with a cool early 60's two door, and the previous owners wife went to town with the ball peen. It was horrible.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

A large cast iron fry pan can do a lot of damage too. I watched a Marine bride destroy her husbands (also a Marine) brand new 300ZX in less than 90 seconds. Every panel, all the glass, and light fixtures.

jim larson · 2K+ Club

Looking great Stan. Was it available with all engine options?

SShink · 3K+ Club

jim larson wrote:
Looking great Stan. Was it available with all engine options?

Thanks Jim.

This is from the Heavy Chevy registry regarding engine and trans options:

The Heavy Chevy could be ordered with any V8 engine except the LS5, 454 cubic inch V8. The Powerglide transmission was only available with the 307/200hp engine while the two 350 engines (L65 & L48) got the Turbo-Hydra-Matic 350 and the 402 engine (LS3) got the Turbo-Hydra-Matic 400 and all were column-shift units along with the standard 3-speed manual transmissions. The optional manual 3-speed and manual 4-speed (M20 wide ratio) was available behind any of the three optional V8 engines as a floor-shift unit but no consoles were available in the Heavy Chevy since that would require bucket seats which were not an option.

Lost in the 60s · President

dashboard wrote:
A large cast iron fry pan can do a lot of damage too. I watched a Marine bride destroy her husbands (also a Marine) brand new 300ZX in less than 90 seconds. Every panel, all the glass, and light fixtures.

Wow !! I wonder if his stray tale was worth that ...

SShink · 3K+ Club

More cosmetic mechanics on the front and rear end of the HC.

- Painted the front turn signal buckets silver

-Painted the space between the turn signal trim body color as it came from Chevy

-Replaced the rear stop and reverse lights with new lenses that have LED's

-Turned the golf cart into a paint hanging stand

The LED lenses are from United Pacific, and have the direct plug in bulb connector, so no wiring them in.

Next project will likely be tearing into the steering column to tighten up the bolts in the tilt mechanism, which my research shows this is a common problem.

jim larson · 2K+ Club

Looking good. Thought you might want to know, there was a guy who works on Tilts that has a shop right near S & M electric in Blaine.

Larry L referred him to me.

BLyke · 1K+ Club

"-Painted the space between the turn signal trim body color as it came from Chevy"

Looks Good Stan,
What did you do to prep the chrome to take the paint?
I'd like to do the same when i get around tp buying some new trim and lens's

Lost in the 60s · President

jim larson wrote:
Looking good. Thought you might want to know, there was a guy who works on Tilts that has a shop right near S & M electric in Blaine.
Larry L referred him to me.

VANZ AUTO located at 9197 Davenport St NE

The detailing is a major improvement.

more ambition than brains · 1K+ Club

Is that VANZ'S new address?
I think he is moving from where he was.
He did the column for the White Elky.
Still has two others he is doing for us.

Karl

Lost in the 60s · President

more ambition than brains wrote:
Is that VANZ'S new address?
I think he is moving from where he was.
He did the column for the White Elky.
Still has two others he is doing for us.

Karl

I believe so, wasn't he on Xylite, by S&M ?

Davenport is on the west side of the airport.

Larry Lucast · Active Member

Yes Van moved. I don't know if that is the correct address, but his phone is:(763) 780-9080.

SShink · 3K+ Club

BLyke wrote:
"-Painted the space between the turn signal trim body color as it came from Chevy"

Looks Good Stan,
What did you do to prep the chrome to take the paint?
I'd like to do the same when i get around tp buying some new trim and lens's

I used a green scotch Brite pad and degreased them before taping them off.

You might also be able to find some red vinyl tape that matches and cut it to size. I did that with the white 71 I had a few years ago.

BLyke · 1K+ Club

Thanks Stan,
Was thinking something like that would work.

bowtie · Secretary

Van is still around, but no longer at that location. I just talked to him last week.

He's still doing work, but dropped the business location.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Looks really nice Stan. Painting the inner portion of the light fixture in chrome makes a big difference in light brightness.
I’ve started using an adhesion promoter on plastic and chrome parts. Jury is still out on its effectiveness. I do notice the paint lays out better.

SShink · 3K+ Club

I mentioned the tilt steering column slop of about an inch in any direction, and that this is a well known GM tilt column issue over the past few decades. Well, I'm now much more intimate with the internals of a column and could probably tear down the top side and rebuild it in an hour or so now. Lol

Hardest part of the project was getting the two pivot pins out of each side that are pressed in. Of course there's a special GM Tool PN 0U812 that's made of unobtainium, so I became a You Tube mechanic and found what a guy put together with a screw, a few washers, and a nut to make a pulling device that actually worked.

I also got to learn how to pull the ignition cylinder, which was actually easier than expected once I figured out the release trick kind of like a headlight switch pull knob release.

There are four bolts that hold the swivel ball mount onto the column that work loose over time that cause the problem, and every one of them had backed out at least 1/4 inch and were only finger tight. Some cleanup and red thread locker and it's back together and rock solid.

This is one of those projects that are intimidating at first, but if you keep everything organized when disassembling and take lots of pictures, it sure helps.

67ss · 1K+ Club

Sorry Stan I have that tool for pulling the pins. Did lots of those columns in the 80’s and 90’s.

-- Edited by 67ss on Monday 18th of January 2021 08:21:04 PM

hkgmillette · President

Awesome Job! Keep that picture showing the parts you took off. An item that broke on me was the ignition switch gear. There are 2 different ones. If I recall, the difference is the number of teeth on the gear. There is one that is readily available at auto stores, etc. The other is harder to find and cost is much higher. I had the hard to find/higher cost one. Ugh!

dashboard · 2K+ Club

Stan, should I just bring my steering column to you? Chris aside from the ignition switch are there any big differences between a 65 and 71?

BLyke · 1K+ Club

Way to dig in and get it done.
I replaced the ignition switch/lock and found the on line video's helpful

SShink · 3K+ Club

67ss wrote:
Sorry Stan I have that tool for pulling the pins. Did lots of those columns in the 80’s and 90’s.

-- Edited by 67ss on Monday 18th of January 2021 08:21:04 PM

No worries Chris, I should have put out an APB to find one. Although I will say I only stripped out one nut since it wasn't hardened enough, so my home made tool worked o.k.

67ss · 1K+ Club

dashboard wrote:
Stan, should I just bring my steering column to you? Chris aside from the ignition switch are there any big differences between a 65 and 71?

Kevin, I have not done a 65 tilt column to know how different they are.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Spent a couple of hours in Jr's Garage this morning doing some investigation work on the 71.

I started her up and let it run for a bit to get the engine nice and warm, then pulled all the spark plugs, wired the throttle open, hooked up the battery charger, and did a compression check on all 8 cylinders.

The compression ranged from 140 to 160 psi, and most were 150 psi. Cyl 4 was the 140 psi one, so a bit low, but within the range of the others so not going to worry about it.

The plugs all looked pretty good other than a tad rich, so happy with that also.

I also pulled the passenger valve cover to identify the heads, and interestingly they are '71 heads so now I'm wondering if it's the original engine. I wiped the paint off the block pad on the front passenger side, but no numbers are stamped other than there is a faint 'T' towards one end. I'll have to pull the AC brackets on the drivers side to see if there's any numbers on the other block pad.

Otherwise, the heads are 3978387X which according to Mortec.com are a 1971-1972 75 cc either 1.94/1.4 or 2.02/1.6 valves, and also used on '71 350 c.i./330 HP LT1 engines. So, nothing high compression, but they are so clean I'm guessing they've been gone through at some point, and hoping they have hardened valve seats to burn unleaded gas.

Now onto a similar CAC project that Bruce just started on his '71 as I'm going to pull the rear air shocks, springs, control arms, and install the same F41 factory handling package. Hopefully the bolts aren't seized either.

Lost in the 60s · President

Head was cast 1/29 1971. What is the build date on the trim tag ?
The exhaust manifold looks like it's from a truck. I believe all the car engines would have had smog tubes on them by '71.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
Head was cast 1/29 1971. What is the build date on the trim tag ?
The exhaust manifold looks like it's from a truck. I believe all the car engines would have had smog tubes on them by '71.

See pic. I'm not sure what the build date is.

Lost in the 60s · President

SShink wrote:
Lost in the 60s wrote:
Head was cast 1/29 1971. What is the build date on the trim tag ?
The exhaust manifold looks like it's from a truck. I believe all the car engines would have had smog tubes on them by '71.
See pic. I'm not sure what the build date is.

The 04E is the build date... April, 5th week

Your trim and paint codes are interesting. It started life as a triple Green car. 731 is Dark Jade vinyl interior. 49 is Antique Green paint and G is Dark Green vinyl top.

I can't find any info on if the HC's had vinyl tops to determine if it started life as that.

The Jan 29 head seems like a lot of lead time for the most popular engine in Chevrolet's history to be sitting around waiting for the end of April. There are no engine application codes with T in them. I suspect the block may be from a truck. You could try spraying a dusting of dark paint on the pad and brush lightly with a very fine scotchbrite pad to see if shadows of other letters/numbers will appear.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

I’m testing old brain cells here. Was something stamped on the oil filter boss? Lucky you with the lift and no headers it would be easy to check.
The Tonawanda engine plant in Buffalo New York did stamp “T” on engines.
Or the mystery could be under that bracket.

Lost in the 60s · President

Tonawanda is all big block. Small blocks were built at Flint and had a V or F with 4 digit date after that. The application code is 3 letters and all cars started with a C. Trucks with a T

I don't think they stamped on the side of the block at Kansas, but who knows where the engine came from. Seems the block has been decked and most of the stampings are gone, or very faint. Casting number and date codes on back may help, but the 350 blocks were pumped out very quickly and used on all lines.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

I stand corrected. Interestingly millions of GM engines were cast here in Defiance at GMs Central Foundry . Today they only cast aluminum blocks 2.0, 2,5, 4.3, 5.3, 6.2L and components.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
SShink wrote:
Lost in the 60s wrote:
Head was cast 1/29 1971. What is the build date on the trim tag ?
The exhaust manifold looks like it's from a truck. I believe all the car engines would have had smog tubes on them by '71.
See pic. I'm not sure what the build date is.
The 04E is the build date... April, 5th week
Your trim and paint codes are interesting. It started life as a triple Green car. 731 is Dark Jade vinyl interior. 49 is Antique Green paint and G is Dark Green vinyl top.
I can't find any info on if the HC's had vinyl tops to determine if it started life as that.
The Jan 29 head seems like a lot of lead time for the most popular engine in Chevrolet's history to be sitting around waiting for the end of April. There are no engine application codes with T in them. I suspect the block may be from a truck. You could try spraying a dusting of dark paint on the pad and brush lightly with a very fine scotchbrite pad to see if shadows of other letters/numbers will appear.

This isn't a true HC. It became a sort of HC clone when the previous owner had it painted and put the decal kit on.

I have found a couple of spots of the original green paint, but someone in the past obviously changed the interior to black. Like a lot of 50 year old cars, this one appears to have had a 'life' of changes.

I'll keep looking for other signs of original drivetrain parts. It's not a big deal if none of them match since it's a plain jane Malibu, just kind of a cool factor if they are.

Lost in the 60s · President

Green became a very popular color in '68 and carried thru the '72 models. MANY of them have been changed, both exterior and interior since then, as preferences have changed too.
The Blue is a great color on these cars, and if you do the Pearlescent White interior with it, it will be a knock out.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Rear suspension is done!

BMR 1" Lowering springs (They are red, but after I put one in, I had to paint them a hammertone silver)

Boxed control arms

7/8" rear sway bar

New shocks

New brake lines since I found the drivers side was pinched in a bad way. I've only driven the car from the front driveway to the shop, so guessing that rear brake wasn't doing much if anything.

The old rusty hardware fought me some, but I overcame it.

The top of rear wheel opening is now 25.5" to the ground, which is where I like them to sit. Interestingly, both sides are exactly the same which I've never had happen on any of the Chevelle's I've owned.

Front end is next for the disc brake conversion, new bushings in the control arms, and the matching 1" lowering BMR springs, a 1.25" front sway bar, and once things warm up I'll go over to U Pull It near my house and grab another Jeep Grand Cherokee steering box for the swap.

Oh yeah, since Bruce posted about his Chevelle has the control arm braces, I looked and sure enough my '71 has them as well. I'm not sure where the theory about only 12 bolts having them, but the '72 vert I restored also had them. I think it's kind of hit and miss, or as someone said...with the lives these 50 year old cars lived, who knows if someone added them or if it came with them originally.

dashboard · 2K+ Club

That’s going to level out turns. And the best part, all done standing up, thanks to your new lift.

Chris S · Active Member

Is the avatar your next project???

SShink · 3K+ Club

Chris S wrote:
Is the avatar your next project???

Maybe???

That one is a real 71 Heavy Chevy literal barn find in Nebraska that a buddy of mine looked at today. I'm 'helping' him out because he's mostly a Camaro guy.

SShink · 3K+ Club

dashboard wrote:
That’s going to level out turns. And the best part, all done standing up, thanks to your new lift.

That's for sure Kevin. I did have to play with how high I put up the lift working over my head, but that's a first world problem.

Spending the extra money on the roller jack paid for itself already. It made it so much easier, and I even used it to press in the control arms so saved me using the BFH.