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Wow, what a train wreck for a "restored" car. Must have been a "trailer queen, show car" resto. All those lose fasteners could have been dangerous on the road. With the body bolts "lose" maybe it's a good time to just start over with the mounts and check for needed shims ?? Seems likely no one checked, or added any.
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Next up I decided to go through the wiring harness assemblies. The front two harnesses (engine and lamp) appeared to be new, but slightly messed up (figures). The dash harness was chopped up while the original rear harness showed signs that Bubba was there. So I decided I could fix the two forward assemblies, but the rest were FUBAR.
Because Bubba the Electrician was in the front harnesses. I needed to fix those, uh, modifications and add my own. In almost all of the hot rod builds I do, I take out the unnecessary electrical components and slim down the harnesses. It looks better plus there's less of chance for it to burn to the ground. So I unwrapped the two front harnesses, fixed the Bubba repairs, removed circuits (in particular the bulky Transmission Controlled Spark and ECS solenoid system) and re-wrapped the respective harness. FYI, those devices worked in concert with a lean carburetor and late ignition timing to reduce emissions. Since I won't have a lean carburetor or retarded ignition timing, I can delete them. It also makes for a much cleaner engine compartment. FYI, the idea here was to redo everything and make it look like it came that way from Chevrolet. This is the "before" of the engine harness... https://i.imgur.com/IMm85t7h.jpg Some parts of the harness included this type of, uh, repair. https://i.imgur.com/Llghfbgh.jpg Another "repair" was this candidate for a dead short. https://i.imgur.com/Ws4BxFih.jpg Opening the harness is easy. I used a pair of sharp electrician's scissors to cut apart the wrap https://i.imgur.com/qJSSYEPh.jpg When I found the circuit I needed to eliminate, I'd trace it back to the fuse box plug. Then with a little needle nose pliers, I push down on the spade wire terminal. This allows it to release so you can pull it backward from the fuse box plug. https://i.imgur.com/v08HThWh.jpg When putting the harness back together, I tape it every few inches. That keeps it tight. FYI, 3M Super 88 is costly compared to Chinese stuff, but it is exceptional electrical tape. https://i.imgur.com/nh5CjFuh.jpg Then I used harness wrap (vinyl tape without adhesive) to re-wrap the harness. This is exactly what Chevrolet used way back when. https://i.imgur.com/ajJVM7Nh.jpg Aside from fixing the Bubba repairs, this mess is what I removed. FYI, I also removed the stock evaporative emissions canister and engine compartment hoses (not show).... https://i.imgur.com/xgCYubCh.jpg Here's one of the slimmed down harnesses... https://i.imgur.com/zPoQ06Kh.jpg Here's a look at some of the revised engine compartment wiring and plumbing. Strange fact: Chevrolet eliminated the headlamp washers on most '71's (like mine), but they kept the hoses. I removed the headlamp washer hoses from the inner fender and re-arranged the hose and wire pack...I think it looks cleaner... https://i.imgur.com/rA62EXKh.jpg Having fun, but this was a little bit gruelling |
Doing all that modification and repairing others mods is really time consuming. Been, there done that. When I got my '66 Chevelle it had a late model Gen V engine and the owner had rewired the entire engine and headlight wiring with ONE roll of Red wire....:shocked: I still have over 20 ft of it. It comes in handy for splices and other things...:cool2:
I was online this morning looking at AAW for a complete "update" kit for my Camaro... what a friggen shock ! The prices have gone up a lot since the last kit I bought and since mine is an rs car, that harness is a separate purchase with an additional cost of $200. Gonna cost about $1,200 for complete system. Glad you were able to save some of what you have. |
L-O-L on the headlamp harness! And yes, I sure do understand the cost of harnesses today. If anyone is contemplating the purchase of a harness, hang on to your wallet! The dash harness for my car was $785.27 while the tail lamp harness with rear fibre optics was $474.23. The power window harness (I did a conversion to power windows with OEM style parts) was $247.99. If I wasn't able to fix the front harnesses, and had to pony up for the headlamp (with fibre optics) and the engine harness, it would have been another $1,000 or so!
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The finishes on the car look nice. It reminds of a car I had one time that spent time in different restoration shops. The left hand didn't know what the right hand had been doing, so a lot of things were over looked.
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Great observation and very true with regard to this car. As I understand it, the previous (and original) owner farmed out a bunch of stuff and then he filled in with the rest. To me it looks like where he took over is when the trouble started! In fact, he is a prolific poster on a Corvette forum so I can pretty much track the way it went together. I'm delighted with the paint, the finishes on the chassis, the chrome and the stainless. They are all of show quality. I think in the end, it will be a beautiful and fun car. I just can’t get discouraged…it really bites when I find more foul ups.
The good news is, in the rehab, I'm almost out of bolts, parts and pieces that the original owner touched....L-O-L |
More excitement...L-O-L
With the front-end wiring done and the vacuum manifold fixed, I decided to turn my attention to the interior. It was an interesting adventure to say the least :). First things first: I noticed there were a couple of loose wires poking out from under the dash. One I spied was bare. I also discovered what looked like a radio noise capacitor laying on the passenger side floor. In addition, the tach needle was laying on bottom of the gauge. Oops.
Let's back up a bit: Initially, I had planned on a few upgrades (power windows, tilt-tele steering column and a radio upgrade) but as I progressed, it was easy to see the entire interior had to come out. And the previous owner blunders sure didn't disappoint... The front two mounting bolts for each seat were reasonably tight but all of the back bolts were loose -- I'm assuming it was this way because they're harder to reach. When I yanked the seats out, I found the seat belt anchor bolts were loose. One side wasn't even close to tight (see the accompanying photo). Not good. The window glass adjusters were loose – in fact, never tightened or adjusted. Some pieces (electrical) were held in place with duct tape. The carpet was spliced in several spots and “fixed” with duct tape. I found a number of wires were spliced (poorly). The mix included four bare wires, four "amateur" spliced wires (a couple were twisted wire loosely wrapped with electrical tape), several Scotch Lok connectors, one broken connector, a couple of damaged bulb sockets, several missing fasteners, and one "mystery" added circuit that goes to the engine compartment. I also found plenty of missing fasteners. The fibre optic system (which monitors the exterior lamps in an early C3) was "repaired" with, and held in place with electrical tape. At this point, I knew the wiring harness had to be replaced. The repairs were beyond what I wanted to attempt. And I found a mysterious piece of binder twine holding something up in the driver side kick panel vent....Hmmm. I have most of it out here: https://i.imgur.com/ofB3cQqh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/lKy1cu3h.jpg Just about every adjuster was loose on the side windows: https://i.imgur.com/FPPfAkch.jpg This was really alarming: https://i.imgur.com/3V92pQ5h.jpg This was actually one of the nicer harness mods/repairs I found: https://i.imgur.com/B5wwKJrh.jpg This was more normal: https://i.imgur.com/dA3mOgxh.jpg When you don’t have a zip tie, then use duct tape…L-O-L https://i.imgur.com/dv8xR24h.jpg I still haven’t figured out what this is holding. I asked the previous owner, but he won’t respond. https://i.imgur.com/PWnTbJUh.jpg It is pretty much bare here: https://i.imgur.com/cBSz5Q5h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/mLqKi26h.jpg And here’s the tach needle issue: https://i.imgur.com/ZdZenjJh.jpg |
Despite all the BS you found within, it looks like you have one helluva bird cage. As you know, that is a win with a C3!
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Totally agree. It has absolutely great bones. As point of interest, there's a really nice Top Flight '69 400 HP automatic roadster for sale in Portland. Drop dead gorgeous and priced right.....except....the passenger side A-pillar and door jamb is heavily stained in rust red. I don't even have to look at it in person to think it's probably a huge, potentially very expensive job with lots of hidden grief.
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Back at it...
Once the interior was out, I began toiling on the Corvette instrument cluster. Recall the broken tach needle? Part of the tach needle needle had fallen off, so it meant taking the cluster apart. I managed to locate the missing part (inside the tach housing). It wasn't damaged, but in preparation, I bought two reproduction needles from two different sources. As it turns out, both were junk made in China parts (evidently, from the same manufacturer). They were "soft", bent easily and weren't even close to the same mechanical configuration, but worse, they fit too close to the gauge face and during the sweep would get hung up on the face screws (which mount the face to the tach internals). I had to resort to Plan "B": Fix the original tach needle. I discovered they are actually manufactured as two-piece assemblies, so the fix was simple: I used a metal safe epoxy and fused the pieces together. It worked and it’s as good as new!..The accompanying pix have captions....this was really fiddly work and you don't know how many times I put down the tools and walked away.
Here's the before. As you can see, part of the tach needle isn't there. https://i.imgur.com/ZdZenjJh.jpg Found it! It was floating around inside the housing. https://i.imgur.com/fJ2kZNqh.jpg Original needle on top, junk made in China reproduction on the bottom. Chinese part looks right but that's about it. https://i.imgur.com/D2V1YOyh.jpg Because of the horrible quality, I decided to try and fix the needle. The needle itself is actually manufactured in two pieces. That meant I could fix it. https://i.imgur.com/kSsvpf0h.jpg While I was at it, I swapped the tach face for one from a high performance (solid lifter) Corvette. The difference is the redline. https://i.imgur.com/5JHsy7Uh.jpg Done. Somehow, the odometer rolled back to zero too...Don't know how that happened...L-O-L …I thought since I will have touched every single fastener in the car, the odometer should reflect that. In truth, I wasn’t happy with the speedo face in this picture since the screening didn’t match the tach. Apparently, the gauges fade over time, so I took it all apart, bought a new speedo face to match and installed it (not shown here). Repros are supposedly made by the original equipment supplier. They look great. https://i.imgur.com/crEkTMUh.jpg Tools of the fiddly trade...L-O-L. medical hemostats are lifesavers when it comes to fat fingers and tiny parts... https://i.imgur.com/mPBMfoJh.jpg The park brake handle in the Corvette was really gouged up. I figured...hmmm...easy switch. But with this car, it was a little job that took a while... You can't just replace the plastic on the handle. You have to replace the entire handle. No problem, although it's another fidgety Corvette job. But when I went to take out the original handle, one of the four 5/16-inch bolts was really tight (odd for this car). I managed to get it out. Sure enough, the threads were piled up. I removed the old handle, fixed the threads (fortunately there was enough material to make everything happy) and swapped out the handle. I’m glad I did because I had to go under the car and release the cable from the equalizer. Oops. Joe Restorer forgot to the tighten the nuts on the equalizer. :) Here's the old handle. It had a lot of scuffing and bruising you just can't see here. https://i.imgur.com/qfJR4C4h.jpg This is the new handle assembled on the park brake mechanism... https://i.imgur.com/c9QVoQDh.jpg Aggravation...L-O-L. You know when this is out, there's always trepidation. https://i.imgur.com/8s6L2a2h.jpg Fixed the fastener too... https://i.imgur.com/6fynwnAh.jpg Installed...Next! https://i.imgur.com/9ua1qzdh.jpg |
Now you can redo the silk screen on the tach face for a 7500 RPM redline:naughty:
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I actually spoke to two outfits who silk screen Corvette gauges. Both told me it was easier and less costly to buy new faces...One of them told me they stopped doing C3 tachs for that reason. So...that's why I bought new faces.
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Removable Transmission X-Member
Accomplishing a transmission R&R on a C2 or most C3 Corvettes with a stick is a royal pain in the you know where. To remove the gear box, you have to first remove the driveshaft and shove it out of the way. Then the shifter stick has to come out (and sometimes, the entire shifter). Next you remove the bolts to the bellhousing. The transmission is pulled back, rolled over on its side and then slid back toward the rear end assembly. From here, the distributor should be removed and then you allow the back of the engine to drop on a jack while you point the transmission input shaft in a downward angle. If you’re lucky, the input shaft clears the hole in the bellhousing and the trans can come out without smashing into you. In some cases, the bellhousing bolts have to be loosened to get more room. Grrr….
Here’s the stock setup: https://i.imgur.com/l1ubUQ5h.jpg The entire reason for this Gong Show is because automatic transmission Corvettes have a removeable transmission crossmember. Stick shift Corvettes do not. It’s an extremely common issue addressed on various Corvettes forums ad nauseam. I decided I’m way too old for all of that. Plus I work alone. My Shepherd Teddy won’t help :), so I searched for various options on building a removable crossmember. There are several good options. But in my case, I didn’t want to weld anything on the car. So that limited me to two choices. I copied one that I saw on several different C2 Corvettes. It borrows a bit from a vintage Mopar setup. But it does require a lot of cuts (13 of them in my case). First things first, I marked out my cuts with a white paint pen. There’s a lot of cell phone camera distortion in both of these photos (the vertical lines are actually at 90-degrees): https://i.imgur.com/LYi4BIQh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/EKZKNdBh.jpg There’s not a lot of room under the car, particularly between the frame and the floor pan. I used a compact air saw along with an air powered die grinder and some 3-inch cutting wheels to slice and dice the crossmember. I used up my fair share of saw blades and cut off wheels. It was definitely a long "pucker moment" cutting this thing out....L-O-L: https://i.imgur.com/TeK6zJbh.jpg This is the cut-out piece. I made up some plates out of mild steel to fit: https://i.imgur.com/6JnN12Uh.jpg Since I don’t weld, I took them to town and had them welded to the crossmember: https://i.imgur.com/qJvDoUVh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/5XufvXzh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/4GaY5LNh.jpg Next I put it back up in the car and checked the fit. It was extremely tight. I had to use a dead blow hammer to install it and a pry bar to get it back out. Getting it to fit nicely, but still allow it to come out took quite a bit of time. Once it finally fit cleanly, I marked and drilled the eight holes necessary to mount it. Finally, I painted it semi-gloss black: https://i.imgur.com/frDmxlGh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/4oNLaNnh.jpg Here it is in the car. There are four 3/8-inch grade 8 bolts holding in place, plus it’s in double shear so it’s not going anywhere. I’m really (Really!) happy with how it turned out. https://i.imgur.com/a1oOWt1h.jpg |
Power Window Installation...
It was my plan from the beginning to install power windows in the Corvette. Since the interior was out, it was a pretty straightforward task, but there were a few, uh, learning moments…L-O-L
I purchased a complete power window kit from Corvette Central. It uses mostly US made reproduction copies of OEM parts (I’m not sure of the motor source). In terms of fit, it was great. The backorder time was brutal, but it eventually arrived. In the photo below you can see the differences between the crank up setup and the PW system. https://i.imgur.com/W2VBGcNh.jpg The console part of the install equation was easy-peasy. Pretty much a plug and play job. I could have used the repro non-power window console that came with the car, but it was just easier to buy a new console with the switch holes already opened up. I treated the console to a new park brake slide while I was at it. https://i.imgur.com/dKOdT9Hh.jpg Installing the mechanism in the door was straightforward, but I made a dumb mistake. I forgot I hadn’t installed the upper window stops when I went to test the setup on the driver side door. To compound the dilemma, I had a made up a jumper harness for the PW motor. I used a red wire and a white wire to go to a shop battery. But…which wires connected to yellow and to black? The window can work either way. So naively I moved forward. Ooops! I picked the wrong color mix...L-O-L. The power window regulator shot the works right up out of the top of the door and with it, the spring exploded out the big opening in the door. Lucky for me, the spring missed me, Teddy, the Corvette and my pickup truck. It took a bounce off the garage door and ended up underneath my truck. So, I took everything apart (again) and re-installed the spring. This can be done by clamping the body of the regulator in a shop vice and manually cranking the spring back into place by way of the main arm. It’s not difficult but you have to be wary: That spring is under a lot of tension. Getting the window installed is another challenge. You basically have to drop the front end of the glass in first (the window is almost at a 90-degree angle in relation to the door), align the front roller and then work your way back with the glass. Sounds easy enough, but this part of the assembly took some teeth grinding and a few choice cuss words. The reason is, there’s precious room for the rollers at the top of the door. https://i.imgur.com/Hqnv5GUh.jpg Next, there’s rubber wire conduit that must be installed between the door jamb and the door. I initially thought it could be maneuvered into place by hand by opening the door all the way. Not so fast Buster! I searched the internet and someone suggested I might be able to accomplish the install by fishing it into place with a section of twine. After an hour or so of playing with that notion, I decided to do what I swore I wouldn’t do: Remove the door. Because I work alone, I had to come up with a MacGyver arrangement (there are some specialty tools for this job that attach to a floor jack but I don’t have them). I used some moving blankets, a jack stand and a cherry picker to hold and maneuver the door while I installed the conduit. Here’s a little tip (no picture available): Instead of scribing the hinge mount bolt locations inside a door, simply spray them with a contrasting color of lacquer. No one will see the paint when you’re done and it’s way easier than scribing around a washer in a tight location. https://i.imgur.com/8LYxTt1h.jpg This is the rubber conduit I’m referring to. You can’t see it here, but it has a molded index pin on the door jamb side, so it can only go in one way. https://i.imgur.com/MWRz8WYh.jpg Next up: Carefully slide the door back into place and before it’s all the way home, pop the conduit into the door. https://i.imgur.com/VOkpGG1h.jpg All of that to get these two wires inserted into the door… https://i.imgur.com/rqvbs6Uh.jpg This is the finished conduit install… https://i.imgur.com/UgdmcXQh.jpg The gaps and alignment on both doors were the same as before… https://i.imgur.com/1CAweqeh.jpg I installed new window fuzzies (wipes) and re-used the OEM stainless molding. Once that was done, I adjusted the windows. It’s not a difficult task, but I did remember to tighten all of the adjustment hardware…L-O-L. And as a preview, you can see I installed Hushmat in the cockpit. I’ll get to that next. https://i.imgur.com/tq1LYawh.jpg |
Wow, lot of work to get that rubber boot in. You should be able to just wipe any aerosol spray paint right off with a rag moistened with lacquer thinner. I use SEM guide coat, only because it's here and is very easy to wipe off.
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Good job on the removable cross member. All the vintage race guys perform the same conversion on C2 and C3 manual transmission chassis so they can remove their transmission easier.
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Good idea on the thinner, but in this case the respective fasteners are all inside the door. No one will ever see them. And yes, this has proven to be a challenging, extremely labour intensive build. Plus the costs have turned out to be higher than expected because I’ve had to replace so many parts. But in the end I’m ultimately responsible for buying into this project and I believe it will end up being a super nice hot rod. :)
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I love watching you work!! Did the r and r of my power windows on my '66, tight and methodical are the operative words for sure. The cool thing, both the C2 and C3s use a very sturdy mechanism and ample motor so when they're adjusted correctly they work very well. Your switches have to have much more room for the harness than the C2s, which are crazy tight.
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And hey I get it on the C2 consoles. You are so right on working on these old Corvettes. Thank you for the comps! I certainly appreciate it. W |
My attempt to beat the heat...
With an early Corvette, there’s a lot of heat and noise transferred to the cockpit, so my plan was to reduce it if possible. I chose Hushmat as the initial step (I’ll use the OEM style rubber and jute insulation that goes under the carpet as well). Hushmat is a dense rubber material with a foil backing. They advertise the kits as “pre cut” for specific applications. L-O-L.
Here’s a picture of the front floor kit for a 1971 Corvette: https://i.imgur.com/43RO6zDh.jpg The stuff is definitely thin. This is the thickness pre-installation: https://i.imgur.com/UDgfQpOh.jpg When installing it, you have maneuver into place like this. Note the overlap and wrinkles: https://i.imgur.com/Hj5IFJch.jpg Another thing you have to keep in mind are seat belt holes, seat mounting holes and so on. The floor should be clean, and in my case, it was virtually perfect. https://i.imgur.com/hrbwdRuh.jpg A Sharpie is definitely your friend. And speaking of sharp….The foil can (and will) regularly slice your pinkies when you’re working with it. Keep band aids on hand! I ended up using mechanic’s gloves while working anywhere near it. https://i.imgur.com/kIQWJiBh.jpg Hushmat cuts easy enough. I used a set of straight cut aviation shears for the job. They cut it like butter. https://i.imgur.com/CHbCcc4h.jpg The back side is designed to peel off. In order to make it manageable, I found you have to remove in smaller chunks. https://i.imgur.com/E1zR2bOh.jpg The mat has to be manually “molded” into place. You can buy a roller for the job, but I used a couple of deep sockets as well as a big round punch for the job. In addition, a soft face mallet works wonders. This passenger floor pan is nearly done: https://i.imgur.com/HM5dFPYh.jpg Here’s the finished job. It turned out well. FYI, it’s possible to line the doors, but the door panel fit is tight on these cars, plus the area inside the door is very difficult to access. I likely won’t line the doors. https://i.imgur.com/pzXWiMsh.jpg Next....Rear wiring. |
Rear Wire Harness
The next task was to install a new rear wire harness (tail light and rear portion of the car). I used a Summit Racing brand harness, and it's a great quality product (absolutely zero fit or component connection issues). I believe it is made for them by M&H Electrical Fabricators. I won't post all of the images I have because it's not really a difficult task.
An Assembly Manual along with a good wiring diagram are your friends here.... I started at the bulkhead and fed the wires forward: https://i.imgur.com/kdj0P9Fh.jpg The tail light hook up and back up light hook up is pretty simple. The harness attaches to the top of the rear lights and the grounds are daisy-chained. I'm really fortunate the car is so (SO!) clean. It sure makes working on it easier. https://i.imgur.com/sk2kFyEh.jpg There's a lot going on with the license plate lamp. Keep in mind this car has fiber optics so I had to take that into consideration. How I did this was to take the lamp out, add the wiring (and ground) and then reinstall. It was easier. https://i.imgur.com/QtRmX5gh.jpg I found a tiny amount of dielectric grease on the fibre optic boots makes them easier to install. https://i.imgur.com/3ZjuIpLh.jpg Compared to some of the other locations at the back of the car, hooking up the gas tank sender was dirt simple: https://i.imgur.com/5zEKwQsh.jpg On my car, the main ground for the tail lamps is on the antenna ground. https://i.imgur.com/n1jLhA0h.jpg Here's the wiring that runs across the seat bulkhead. Again, this is all super easy. https://i.imgur.com/2dLtfAzh.jpg Another pair of wires goes to the courtesy lamp. It’s not hooked up because my example was boogered up. https://i.imgur.com/NoraOphh.jpg When I took the car apart, I discovered the threads for the passenger side door ajar switch were piled up. Lucky for me, a tap took care of it. You can't get a full swing with a T-Handle on the tap so a little crescent on the tap is the easiest option. https://i.imgur.com/xeDS94sh.jpg And here's the new switch installed...(same of course on the driver side).... https://i.imgur.com/AUzR747h.jpg Another section of harness goes forward, past the park brake. This is for the fiber optic lamps in the console: https://i.imgur.com/fsOb1uuh.jpg The main harness routes forward alongside the door sill. I had to fix the pair of clamps. Mine were hammered flat. I opened the clamps up and hammered them over a small deep socket to get the shape back. https://i.imgur.com/6QdNuXeh.jpg |
Outstanding work Wayne. Keep the pics coming when you can. Your craftmanship is top notch.
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Quite certain you proved your high level of craftsmanship and attention to detail with Plain Jane. What you are doing with the Corvette only furthers the evidence of your commitment to excellence.
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Little Fixes...
I’ve devoted some time to little fixes on the Vette (and boy howdy are there enough of them…L-O-L). Here are a few…
First was the swiss cheese job on the passenger side door sill. There are four screws in the sill plate but in this case, way more in the sill! I’m guessing previous owner couldn’t get it where he wanted so he just drilled away. Note the goop around the one hole. I'm guessing it was stripped out and this was the fix. https://i.imgur.com/LcSNkz2h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/O0t5Su7h.jpg Although this is all hidden by the sill plate, I couldn’t live with it, so I pondered a fix. I could have glassed them in but then it occurred to me that I could also use two-part marine epoxy (it is used to fix holes and leaks in fiberglass boats). It was simpler and probably just as effective. Once I filled the holes, I just gave them a quick dab of touch up paint. https://i.imgur.com/mFthZJeh.jpg I’ll redrill the sill plate holes when I’m installing the carpet, but if there’s an issue, I’ll use this as a fix. It’s a plastic wall anchor from Home Depot. https://i.imgur.com/l8Lnlcnh.jpg A simple job here. I installed the back console reinforcement. Installing the back bolt in the console is a pain. It goes in through a hole in the seat bulkhead. I might try installing the bolt backwards (with the threaded portion sticking out) and then using a nut on it. We’ll see. https://i.imgur.com/ZI9wFLih.jpg I think I might have mentioned I needed to change the hood release…Here’s the new one. Removing and detailing the pedal pads and pedal trim is on my to-do list. https://i.imgur.com/UpvHI9Gh.jpg Next up, I reinstalled the door water shields with fresh 3M strip caulk. https://i.imgur.com/cCEMDhbh.jpg I removed the charcoal fuel cannister. I’ll use a vented gas cap instead. By the way, the charcoal cannister takes up residence on the backside of the driver inner front fender. I’m using that spot for the MSD box. https://i.imgur.com/lsV6gkjh.jpg I plugged the vent line. I see in this photo I forgot to remove the clamp. I’ll add that to my to-do list. https://i.imgur.com/dz1etBEh.jpg Up top, I had no need for the bundle of excess hose that went from the charcoal cannister to the intake manifold. This cleaned up a good size mess on the firewall. https://i.imgur.com/eWz7rwSh.jpg Stole this photo from the Corvette forum (by the original owner). Note the battery cable. Grrrr… https://i.imgur.com/ZSCnUOFh.jpg Here’s my fix. It’s just a big heat shrink: https://i.imgur.com/8HJZNOxh.jpg While I was down there, I tied back the yellow wire that goes from the starter to the coil with a stainless zip tie. I bundled up the yellow wire on the top side by re-wrapping the harness with the wire inside. don’t need it because the car is using an MSD box. https://i.imgur.com/n471KbIh.jpg Meanwhile, upstairs, the ignition switch wire that normally goes to the coil will be routed to the MSD box. The only two wires on the coil for an MSD system actually come from the buzz box. https://i.imgur.com/o53reDHh.jpg A couple of the bolts holding the brake line in place were stripped. I fixed those. You can just see the fix in the back of the clamp. I use a small v-shaped piece of stainless safety wire in the hole. Then the fastener is screwed in. The safety wire takes up the “extra” space and the fastener can be tightened. By the way, that’s not rust you see. It’s a bit of spilled old coolant from the original engine. https://i.imgur.com/IBASLvLh.jpg Moving back a bit, I added a missing clamp to the fuel lines. LS6 Corvettes do not have a return line, but I’m going to use a pump with a return. I found my old LS7 conversion on the LS6 would boil the fuel and vapor lock on a really hot summer day. Pumps with a return (rather than dead-heading) tend to keep the fuel cooler. I believe every little bit helps. https://i.imgur.com/UaNUdflh.jpg Done for a while (aside from a couple of little things on my to-do list). Basically, I’m out of parts. I should have an order from Zip in a week or two. So….tap-tap-tap..L-O-L |
Sale???
I’ve mentioned this to a couple of folks from the forum, and I wasn’t 100% sure about this, but I am now, so here goes:
I really (Really) miss my old Nova Plain Jane. I have serious buyer’s remorse. I would like to build version 2.0 based upon a first gen Camaro. Unfortunately, I don’t have the budget to build two cars at once. Old Corvettes like this are limited with regard to how much power you can feed them and still keep the IRS (even an upgraded one like this car has) and keep them looking more or less stock or Day 2. There are other things that get in the way of producing big power (header choice, exhaust sizing, cooling, etc.). Yes, I could cut it up to handle big power but it wouldn’t be much fun to drive. So…. I’ve decided to put my Corvette up for sale as soon as it’s complete or as a very comprehensive roller (basically, less engine and select components). I’d prefer to sell it sooner as a nearly complete roller. Thus far I have gone through virtually every piece of the car and fix (or I’m in the process of fixing) any of the mistakes on the car. The car itself is incredible (just look at the pix!). I believe it could very well be one of the nicest C3’s on the planet. No secret though, the build cost has been steep. Bottom line: It will be (very) expensive to buy but it will be a super nice, fun car. So, if you or someone you know is interested, please send me a PM. And by the way, I’ll keep posting progress and build info on this page. Thank you. Wayne |
If you haven't sold the original engine/trans, put them back in and make it a driver. I believe it will sell much quicker.
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I don't have the engine and even if I did I wouldn't do it for various reasons.
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No Shortcuts...
https://i.imgur.com/ItgrjFoh.jpg
I had a very recent conversation with someone over my Corvette sale and this came up. And it’s a legitimate question and concern: “Now that you might sell it, will you take some shortcuts in the build?” And the answer is definitely a big No! If I did that and I didn’t sell the car, it would constantly bother me. A good example of sticking to the build plan (and not cutting any corners) is this: I needed to run wires from the MSD box to a source of power. There are several options available (for example, the alternator, the Corvette horn relay (don’t laugh….GM used it for darned near everything on old Vettes), the starter and the battery. There’s a catch though. MSD boxes need clean power. The alternator is out because it makes “noisy” power. And I suspect the horn relay is a big stretch too. I’ve always run the boxes right off the battery. It’s the best possible location. The battery in a Corvette (behind the driver seat) is a long way from the driver side inner fender (where I’m mounting the MSD), so I had to go up in wire size to 12 gauge. A practice I’ve used from my race car days is to use MIL Spec wire – Tefzel to be exact. The jackets on these wires are thinner than regular auto parts store wire. That means the bundle is smaller. The wire is slightly stiffer (due to the Tefzel jacket). That means it is actually easier to route. The wire is far more resistant to heat. You can test it with a heat gun and see the difference. An average heat gun will discolor and melt the jacket on automotive wire rather quickly. Not so with Tefzel. It has a rating of 150-degrees Celcius (300 degrees F). It’s also much more abrasion resistant. But it has a downside. It’s definitely not cheap. I bought two 10-foot lengths for the project from Aircraft Spruce & Specialty. By the (short) time it arrived, the bill in Canadian dollars was $165. As you can see, I’m certainly not taking any shortcuts (I have plenty of good automotive wire on hand that now cost me nothing…not $8.25 per foot...including freight and tax…L-O-L). None-the-less, here’s the good Tefzel from Aircraft Spruce: https://i.imgur.com/emzcszUh.jpg I wrapped the wire with harness wrap (it’s non-adhesive): https://i.imgur.com/j3ga220h.jpg Next, I punched a hole in the seat bulkhead and installed a rubber grommet. FYI, I typically use a sharp step drill bit to finish the hole. Unlike a regular drill bit, it leaves a nice clean, round, burr free hole. Then I tied it into the OEM harness bundle. https://i.imgur.com/wSH6z8jh.jpg From here, I ran the wire alongside the antenna cable and the rear harness (at the rocker sill), and zip tied it all together. Down the road, I’ll run it through the firewall in an existing hole. What I did on Plain Jane was to route the MSD power wire through one of the carpet grommets (cut the end off of the grommet). I’ll do the same here. That way you don’t have to drill any extra holes. https://i.imgur.com/6A1hER4h.jpg And speaking of extra holes…I used another carpet grommet hole for this -3AN bulkhead fitting. Old Corvettes usually have a plastic (small block) or copper (big block) tube for the oil pressure gauge. I’m not into that ….L-O-L. So I’m converting the gauge to accept a -3AN line. It will hook up to the interior side of the bulkhead fitting while the engine side will accept another -3AN line that routes to the an engine oil gallery. FYI, I use -3 line instead of the common -4 line for one reason: It makes the gauge much more responsive. Just more old racer tech…:) https://i.imgur.com/zwwydeQh.jpg So there it is…I’m not cheaping out or cutting any corners. Next up….waiting for my order to arrive from Zip with more parts… |
Another round of fixes and re-restoration
Some parts arrived (some didn’t…backorders again…) so I was able to get more done on my Corvette.
Out back, the gas tank emblem wasn’t right. It was bent (!) and low and behold, the nuts that held it place were filled with body caulking. No surprise…L-O-L. https://i.imgur.com/1mNXzuHh.jpg Once again, the emblem studs were stripped and the restorer figured dum-dum would hold it all in place. https://i.imgur.com/21QLRAwh.jpg The fix was easy with a new Trim Parts emblem. It turned out perfect. https://i.imgur.com/NZElv55h.jpg While I was at it, I added one of those tank filler drip guards (bib). I’ve always had them in my past Corvettes. https://i.imgur.com/syDCG6vh.jpg The sunvisors were next on my list. They were seized, but the fix was relatively simple: Remove them, work the pair of shafts out of the visor, add lithium grease and reassemble. Job done. https://i.imgur.com/AcGispbh.jpg A bigger job was the battery. When I got the car, the battery was held in place by way of the cables. No hold down. But there was a mystery part in a bag that came with the car and in another bag was the hold down and hold down bolt. Hmmm…. https://i.imgur.com/4L3Gbe1h.jpg The mystery part ended up being the reinforcement that is buck-rivetted to the underbody of the car. To buck rivet, you usually need two people. One to hold a bucking bar and another to hammer the end of the rivet with an air hammer. But Teddy my shepherd doesn’t care much for the job and besides, he doesn’t much like the air hammer either. Now what? I figured since this is now no NCRS car, I’d treat it like my past hot rods – hold the reinforcement in place with a couple of button head stainless AN screws on interior side and a couple of AN lock nuts on the bottom side. https://i.imgur.com/mOFxe3Ph.jpg To keep the screws from turning while I tighten them I cover them with a piece of duct tape. Good quality duct tape will hold the screw while the nut is “hit” with a little ¼-inch impact. Works great! https://i.imgur.com/y5rzsggh.jpg I cleaned up the battery compartment and bolted down the battery. https://i.imgur.com/kNWrDoIh.jpg Now I could wire up the MSD power wires. I found a couple of brass battery terminals on Amazon with additional 5/16-inch studs on the top side. This allowed me to wire the MSD box directly to the battery (cleanly). https://i.imgur.com/yz997QTh.jpg Here’s the finished job: https://i.imgur.com/p6wZwxEh.jpg FYI, I highly recommend the Knipex wire stripper shown here. I have a bunch of different examples, but this tool is fast, easy to use with one hand and by design (stripping the wire through the “nose”) gets into tight spots. https://i.imgur.com/kcFfAVlh.jpg While I was there, I cleaned out the jack compartment, added my own “anti-rattle” lime green towel and clamped down the jack and handle. https://i.imgur.com/tUd6Bhjh.jpg On the engine compartment side, some of the heater/cooling system clamps were pretty ugly. https://i.imgur.com/Jp6Q8dRh.jpg I replaced them with fresh Wittek jobs. I installed them in the same spot they came out of. You can see one heater hose is a bit long (on the heater barb). I’ll deal with that later. https://i.imgur.com/QJqAENih.jpg I changed gears and went to work on the dash cluster. I installed a new dash harness as shown below. I discovered the new steel bulb sockets are a royal pita to install. If you work them over too hard or twist them during the install, a tang can break (ask me how I know…L-O-L). The wire harness manufacturers tell me this isn’t uncommon. The reason old sockets go in and out easier is because the tension on the steel insert and tangs reduces considerably with age. I discovered if you put half of the tangs inside the bulb hole in the cluster, a small screwdriver can be used to persuade the others into place. FYI, I broke two of the steel sockets, but they’re easy enough to replace by holding the plastic base in a soft jaw vise and tapping the steel socket home with a small hammer and punch (I used new sockets from a pigtail set). https://i.imgur.com/wBmfbYth.jpg Here’s the face side of the main cluster. (high RPM tach, repair pointer, new matching speedo). I think it turned out awesome… https://i.imgur.com/b1Iglowh.jpg What I’m working on now is the center console. I have the e-brake side done, and I have to install the vent and heater controls on the main console. My “re-restoration” consists of the original main console body along with a lot of new parts. The e-brake console is all new. So far I’m really happy with the way it’s turning out. https://i.imgur.com/yTxX8zvh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/z5yra4xh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/c8ks26vh.jpg Moving right along…and once again, I think you can see I’m not taking any shortcuts. W |
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Looking great Wayne!!!! What hood are you planning to install? |
I believe the sockets are slightly too big too. I've had size issues with tail light sockets as well.
I've, also, run into this with other fasteners from China that are Imperial thread, but the shank of the bolt is undersized and the bolt will skip threads when attempting to tighten it. Then the next set of fasteners, the nut is under size and the bolt is too tight right from the start and I need to run a thread chaser thru the nut. Imperial threads, but incorrect sizing of the corresponding part. |
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Hood? Probably an original air box L88. |
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Had this issue with a Lectric harness, and the common feedback was it was isolated to them, not any other manufacturer. I did my '66 in the car, what an absolute pita!
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