1971 Corvette Hot Rod Build

[Arrowsmith]

Hi folks. I had a bit of a run in with a forum member and I think I'm going to take a little hiatus from posting. Take care...Wayne

[lowmile]

We are all pretty much family here, a little dust up every now and then ain't the end of the world. Look forward to you resuming.

[Arrowsmith]

It's been awhile. I'm back....at least for a bit...

I've spent a lot of time waiting for parts, some small, some big. I have a good size order at Al Knoch for door panels, carpet, OEM underlay (not jute), fresh sun visors (I don't like the appearance of the originals), some new interior hardware and so on. Al Knoch Interiors in Texas builds the parts to order. An order like mine, where the door panels are being fabricated on original style fibreboard backing takes approximately 4 weeks from beginning to end. I think it's because I have to get in line. FYI, Al Knoch is the best there is when it comes to Corvette interiors. And since my interior pieces aren't here, I've moved on to other things.

I installed a new MSD Ultra 6 on the bracket I fabricated. I used a conventional Ultra 6 instead of the 6AL because I don't need all of the AL features, plus, the wiring isn't nearly as bulky as the 6AL wiring. Here it is wired up:



In the wiring process, you can see the coil wires along with the trigger wire for the distributor (on a Weatherpack connector). I tried to make this look like GM built it this way (heat shrinks with no bulky plastic crimp connectors):



I went through the original tach drive distributor. I checked the bushings, set the end clearance (it was out by a mile), recurved it, installed an adjustable vacuum advance canister, installed an Accel cap and rotor along with a single Accel point set. I've used old fashioned points to trigger MSD boxes for a long time, and they work very, very well. The points only act as a switch, so they last forever. Plus no condenser is used. The only job of the point set is to tell the MSD box when to fire the coil. "Stone Age Tech"...



The only issue right at the moment is the tachometer drive. There's a nylon bushing for the tach drive cross shaft gear inside the distributor and it's worn. I'll have to replace it, but it's not a big job however I'm waiting on parts. FYI, I prefer ACCEL caps and rotors. There is a huge difference from a high performance perspective. Here's the "nearly finished" distributor:



Since I'm still waiting on parts, I finished the carburetor. It's very (Very!) basic: A Holley 850 double pumper. My setup is simple too: Guess on the front power valve (switched to a 5.5 - Sharpie scribbles on the bowls are the jet and PV numbers); Guess on the jetting (it may well be a jet number or two rich); Install a plug in place of the rear power valve; Up the back jetting six numbers (to compensate for no power valve), Check the shooter numbers; Swap out the brass floats for notched nitrophyl jobs; Eyeball and set the float height; Add jet extensions to the rear; Disable the choke; Set the four corner idle mixture. Done! It should fire right up with fuel in the bowls:




Finally, I installed a set of shallow billet hub caps on the wheels. My preference over the bulbous plastic jobs they're supplied with:



Car is still available for purchase (once the interior is done) as a very comprehensive (and pretty $$$) roller. I've exorcised all of the demons, and honestly, I'm pretty sure you'll find it's one of the nicest chrome bumper C3's on the planet.

[RPOLS3]

Glad to see you back. Thanks for sharing the progress. Looks great.

[napa68]

Glad to see you back around Wayne!

[dykstra]

Agreed! Car is looking great and glad you're back posting. I enjoy your threads.