1971 Corvette Hot Rod Build

[Arrowsmith]

I haven't posted about my Corvette build for a number of reasons, but suffice to say, I'm back...

A couple of things have changed. My diagnosis of a bad main seal was all wrong. The problem was, the oil pressure gauge line wasn't tightened (at all) at the back of the block. The clutch was wonky because the fork alignment on the release bearing was wrong. I'll dig deeper in the issues the car had down the road. There were a lot of them.

Another change was my idea of using Team 3 ET Wheels. They do not make a 15 X 8 wheel to fit over the Corvette caliper. So the car now has Torque Thrusts on it. Preview (no engine, no trans, no interior):



With that out of the way, here goes:

I forgot how much fun it is to extract a Muncie out of a C2 or C3 Corvette . I think the tunnel is bigger in a C3 like mine when compared to a C2, but it’s still a struggle. Reason: The transmission crossmember is not removable. So the driveshaft, exhaust, shifter, back drive cable, speedo cable, trans mount, etc. has to come out first. Then with a hydraulic jack under the engine oil pan, the trans can be unbolted, slid backward and rolled over as much as possible (side cover rotated upward). At that point the hydraulic jack can be lowered a bit and it’s possible (by holding your tongue just right) to barely sneak out the gearbox. Shifter bolts (big pain in the ass to access) were super tight…but the trans to bellhousing bolts were finger tight. Restored car…Figures!

BTW: I'll show you my removable crossmember mod down the road.