greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
I've already replaced it with an oil temp gauge. If I knew about that before, I would have definitely considered it. Thanks for letting me know though.
My '75
- Thread starter greg75vette
- Start date
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
Jeff,
Sorry I keep forgetting to respond to you every time I write in here. The story is I sold the A arms to MYBAD79 last year.
I have pretty much everything else if there is anything else you're interested in. Just let me know.
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
Quick Update:
Well it has been entirely too long since I've posted here OR worked on my vette. I haven't touched her since September. Truth is I haven't been around and haven't had time. I've been traveling for 5-7 weeks at a time for work (lost the whole fall last year which would have been great for vette work) and the fiance has been out of work due to her back for almost exactly a year now. On top of all that, I have a wedding coming up in 2.5 months.
As the weather improves slowly, hopefully I'll get more opportunities to get more done. Fingers crossed...
Well it has been entirely too long since I've posted here OR worked on my vette. I haven't touched her since September. Truth is I haven't been around and haven't had time. I've been traveling for 5-7 weeks at a time for work (lost the whole fall last year which would have been great for vette work) and the fiance has been out of work due to her back for almost exactly a year now. On top of all that, I have a wedding coming up in 2.5 months.
As the weather improves slowly, hopefully I'll get more opportunities to get more done. Fingers crossed...
mrvette
Phantom of the Opera
Ouch! sorry to hear that about your gal there, back bones are a PIA....
:gurney::hissyfit:
you all been slammed pretty bad with weather this year, take a year just to melt the damn snow....we had two WICKED months of cold here, lost a ton of plants outside, but then it warmed up by Feb....and we been fine since...maybe move?? 1000 miles south?? warmer weather helps with attitude much less aches and pains....and cost of living....
:hissyfit::drink:
:gurney::hissyfit:
you all been slammed pretty bad with weather this year, take a year just to melt the damn snow....we had two WICKED months of cold here, lost a ton of plants outside, but then it warmed up by Feb....and we been fine since...maybe move?? 1000 miles south?? warmer weather helps with attitude much less aches and pains....and cost of living....
:hissyfit::drink:
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
Alright so I'm finally back into the game and I've made some headway here and there that I'll be posting once I have some shots.
I've been concentrating on the wiring lately (see this thread and this thread) and I finally decided I needed to check out my original wiring before I get too far into new wiring. There's been this distribution panel on the firewall since I bought the car I actually thought it was stock for the longest time. I never knew what it did until today... I also had a plug for a radar dectector through my center air vent. Never traced that either.
Turns out, they're connected... Here's the shots:
This the distribution block:
All the wires spliced to other segments (but never crossed) and lead to a hole below the fuse block on the fire wall:
One wire lead off to the radio and the antenna raise/lower switch. Two of the wires in the above shot spliced into the plug in my center vent. The other two (black and red) went down along the frame rail and into the battery box:
Look at that nice bolt and nut connection on the positive. Nice, right? I thought so. So the black and red supply the power to the antenna switch, radio and the plug through the distribution block. Nice quality work there. I guess it's the same guy that wired up the radio with wire nuts... To the PO defense, he did have an inline fuse...
So I pulled all that crap out and I'll rewire the antenna switch and radio for constant 12V power. The good news is, the dash and engine harness were untouched.
The more I dig, the weirder it gets.
I've been concentrating on the wiring lately (see this thread and this thread) and I finally decided I needed to check out my original wiring before I get too far into new wiring. There's been this distribution panel on the firewall since I bought the car I actually thought it was stock for the longest time. I never knew what it did until today... I also had a plug for a radar dectector through my center air vent. Never traced that either.
Turns out, they're connected... Here's the shots:
This the distribution block:
All the wires spliced to other segments (but never crossed) and lead to a hole below the fuse block on the fire wall:
One wire lead off to the radio and the antenna raise/lower switch. Two of the wires in the above shot spliced into the plug in my center vent. The other two (black and red) went down along the frame rail and into the battery box:
Look at that nice bolt and nut connection on the positive. Nice, right? I thought so. So the black and red supply the power to the antenna switch, radio and the plug through the distribution block. Nice quality work there. I guess it's the same guy that wired up the radio with wire nuts... To the PO defense, he did have an inline fuse...
So I pulled all that crap out and I'll rewire the antenna switch and radio for constant 12V power. The good news is, the dash and engine harness were untouched.
The more I dig, the weirder it gets.
Just came across your build. coming along, Now I see what you ment when you said just trying to get the running swap. Mine is almost all back together now, down to wire conections, fluid, and run some new fuel lines. I also need to figure out the clutch master cylinder firewall bracket. Not sure If I want to fab one or buy one. Good luck man. just get it done and running on the cheap and upgrade the small things later.
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
I'm glad you found my slow-as-balls swap :bullshit::lol: Yeah I could make excuses all day long, but at the end of the day, it's not complete and I'm not thrilled. However, time is the big enemy these days. I have pretty much every part and tool that I need for this swap minus the driveshaft, exhaust, intake and a few misc pieces. Everything else is bought and sitting in boxes or is in some state of worked on. There's a lot of my swap that isn't listed here, because it simply isn't done enough for me to feel comfortable to post up yet.
There will be a big update soon with 2 things that were a real pain in the ass for me to do.
As for your master cylinder, I had good luck so far with the my GM 85 1 ton. It was about $35 at autozone new, but probably cost $125 all said and done to get it installed.
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
Big Update
So, I've been doing a lot of work on the old girl lately. Where to begin...
The Crossmember is done! To me, this is one of the biggest hurdles. I wound up getting pretty frustrated last year with this part and it just put a bad taste in my mouth. Turns out that where I left it, it just needed a little more trimming and it fit! :lol: However, I wound up removing so much material, I had my local guy weld up the 1/4" plate I made to bolt in on the bottom and also add some 2" angle iron to the rear of crossmember to get some strength back. I may have to revisit it for the parking brake pulley bracket to be moved. The bracket clears, but the cord might want to rub on the driveshaft. I'll worry about relocating it when the end of the job is reached. I think it came out nice! :yahoo:
The trans mounting position is adjustable as well. The transmission can slide to the passenger side a little more and I made shims to raise and lower the mount. I'll worry about all that once the driveshaft is in...that's another story outlined below.
With the crossmember in, I was able to seal up the gaping hole in my tunnel. I used my sweet fab skills and belt this out of sheet metal with basic tools:
Not bad, right? She's a little lumpy (a ball peen will do that) but she fits like a glove. There is one section I had to bang out for clearance to a clip 'glassed into the tunnel protruding out. It's a clip for the batt cable, I believe. You can see the clearance I made on the bottom right (just below the shifter hole) on the plate.
Installed:
I also made a few decisions with what to use for the fuel system.
I decided to buy a new '74 tank and modify it. I found Tanks, Inc. through another suggestion (don't remember what suggestion) and they had a repop tank for $100! It's a quality piece and looks awfully close to a GM repro tank. I had the same local welder weld my Vetteworks Fbody fuel pump adapter bracket to the tank. This allows me to run a stock fbody pump with built in sump and sending unit. The sending unit is essentially useless for me, but the sump is a nice feature. The only drawback with this direction so far was I had to buy a '74 sending unit, filler neck and I'm still trying to find a cheap enough fuel cap. The prices the fuel cap and neck cost are ridiculous!
For fuel lines, Injectors Plus (Jsup) hooked me up with the majority of what I needed. I went with Teflon hose for all flex connections and bought SS hardline (mcmaster-carr) to route along the frame. All the connections are either black or silver, since they are the most neutral and you really don't see it as often as red and blue.
I also bought enough flex line to make the pressure power steering hose. I might also make the return hose, but I'll have to see.
So far, I've only done a little with the fuel system:
It may not look like much, but it's something! The tank is complete minus the cap (still need one) and cap rubber surround (have it, but not installed). She's almost ready to be dropped in.
Notice how the fuel line return is sticking straight out? It still hasn't relaxed. It's that stiff! I plan on making a bracket to go from the hose to the fuel tank bracket on the side. The rest of the fuel system will be completed soon. It's next on the list.
Another big decision that was made was what cooling fan to run.
I decided on going with a new Doreman '95 Ford Taurus 3.8l 2 speed single 16" fan on Amazon.com for $90 (Advance and Autozone wanted $160 :crutches
Why? I couldn't use dual fans. For whatever reason, I don't have the clearance between the UCA knuckles (VB&P's) and my (sort of) stock copper radiator. Only about 1.5" between the core and the knuckle bolt.
No worries. The Taurus fan fit, but I still had the trim the bottom for clearance to the sway bar.
I wired it up similar to jsejlowe's thread. However, for mine, I added a 40A type I circuit breaker and a 5A fuse for the trigger source power. The LS1's ECM has two fan leads which will ground out when in demand. If I was savvy, I would redraw the diagram. I could in MS paint is requested.
All of the fan wiring was mounted to the shroud on a back plate. The only wires coming in are the 2 from the ECM, a ground to the frame (cleaned off some of the POR15 and repainted after the ground was installed) and power off the Alt.
Notice that there is only one bracket on the bottom of the fan? No longer. I added a second after this shot. I ran out of time the day I was making the others.
Here it is installed and wired:
Now don't worry. The wiring looks messy, but it will all be wrapped. :flash:
The Throttle cable is all but finished. I bought a Lokar LS1 cable to use since the stock one is about 1.5' too short. MN-Brent over on the other forum in his build thread, outlined how he adapted his pedal end of the throttle cable using the original plastic cable end with the Lokar cable.
Worked like a champ :friends: My problem actually lies with the water pump. I had Josh @ Custom Image modify it back in March of 2010, but only really had it installed with the throttle body recently. Of course there was a problem...
:goodnight: I talked to Josh and sent him the pic. For whatever reason, he moved the tap too close to the TB. Oh well. I sent it back and he's taking care of the problem. No trouble at all. He should have it by the end of this week so I should have it towards the end of the month. No worries there I have plenty to do.
The last big thing I did lately was tackling the scariest part of the build for me: wiring :crap::bullshit:
I had most of the stuff sorted out, labeled, etc, but just couldn't get on it. It just never clicked. Luckily, doing research on how it all works together, it just finally fit together in my thick head.
This past weekend was birthday. My requested present? Leave me the
alone and let me do some Vette work 
I had 2 half days and a full day out of the 3 day weekend. One of the largest consecutive time blocks I've had on the Vette in years! I actually have about 85% of all the wiring done! All that is left for the under the hood wiring is to connect the engine fuse box to the starter and wrap all the wiring. That's it! All of the leads that need to come into the cab are in and ready to go. However, I won't do the interior wiring until the fuel lines are done. I want the wiring fresh in my head before the start up so I may find a wiring issue quicker, if one arises.
Here's some shots:
In the last few shots you can see the computer and fuse box mounted to the fender. This seemed to be the best location to keeping things simple. Also, after these shots, I further cleaned up some loose wires and took off some of the labels. The cool part is, only one is hardwired from the engine harness to the vette. All of the others are through GM plugs or can be disconnected at the sensor. So if I ever have to pull the engine, I could leave the wiring harness on and just unplug it at the fuse box(except for the lone wire). Don't know how much of a benefit that is, but I think it's cool
In actuality, Only 7, that's right 7, wires feed the engine. That's everything and one is a ground! It's funny how many wires there are and only 6 connect the engine harness and computer with the rest of the car.
So that's about what I've done since getting back into things in the beginning of August. Not bad for a month...
However, there are some issues I've found. Right after I finished the crossmember, I was laying under the car and noticed the diff was leaking. I knew it had a little bit of a leak, but thought it was at the cover gasket. Not so. I can now see it was coming out of the passenger side yoke seal. :hissyfit:
After some deliberation, a few emails and phone call, I decided to have the diff built up by Gary (gtr1999) into one of his Super 10 bolts. He'll also be going through my T/A's. This is something I always planned on having him do, I just didn't want to do it this soon... I was hoping to get a couple of miles on the swap before then. The plan is to pull the diff at the end of fall.
The diff issue has also changed my plan on the Driveshaft. I was going to have the stock one modified, but now I'll be getting a new one built up (chrome moly or Al, not sure yet) to match the diff. This will essentially leave me with only the 1/2 shafts being the weak link, but will be fine until the engine is built up.
So what's left for the near future?
-Fuel lines
-Tank install
-interior wiring (gauge wiring to old wiring and new wiring from the engine)
-Tunnel insulation
-New Console top plate since the shifter is relocated.
-Send off Diff and T/A's to Gary
-driveshaft order to fit the rebuilt diff
-Install the Intake plumbing (waiting on water pump)
-Install water pump lines
-Make/ install power steering lines
-Some other Misc. Odds and ends
I'm getting closer!
So, I've been doing a lot of work on the old girl lately. Where to begin...
The Crossmember is done! To me, this is one of the biggest hurdles. I wound up getting pretty frustrated last year with this part and it just put a bad taste in my mouth. Turns out that where I left it, it just needed a little more trimming and it fit! :lol: However, I wound up removing so much material, I had my local guy weld up the 1/4" plate I made to bolt in on the bottom and also add some 2" angle iron to the rear of crossmember to get some strength back. I may have to revisit it for the parking brake pulley bracket to be moved. The bracket clears, but the cord might want to rub on the driveshaft. I'll worry about relocating it when the end of the job is reached. I think it came out nice! :yahoo:
The trans mounting position is adjustable as well. The transmission can slide to the passenger side a little more and I made shims to raise and lower the mount. I'll worry about all that once the driveshaft is in...that's another story outlined below.
With the crossmember in, I was able to seal up the gaping hole in my tunnel. I used my sweet fab skills and belt this out of sheet metal with basic tools:
Not bad, right? She's a little lumpy (a ball peen will do that) but she fits like a glove. There is one section I had to bang out for clearance to a clip 'glassed into the tunnel protruding out. It's a clip for the batt cable, I believe. You can see the clearance I made on the bottom right (just below the shifter hole) on the plate.
Installed:
I also made a few decisions with what to use for the fuel system.
I decided to buy a new '74 tank and modify it. I found Tanks, Inc. through another suggestion (don't remember what suggestion) and they had a repop tank for $100! It's a quality piece and looks awfully close to a GM repro tank. I had the same local welder weld my Vetteworks Fbody fuel pump adapter bracket to the tank. This allows me to run a stock fbody pump with built in sump and sending unit. The sending unit is essentially useless for me, but the sump is a nice feature. The only drawback with this direction so far was I had to buy a '74 sending unit, filler neck and I'm still trying to find a cheap enough fuel cap. The prices the fuel cap and neck cost are ridiculous!
For fuel lines, Injectors Plus (Jsup) hooked me up with the majority of what I needed. I went with Teflon hose for all flex connections and bought SS hardline (mcmaster-carr) to route along the frame. All the connections are either black or silver, since they are the most neutral and you really don't see it as often as red and blue.
I also bought enough flex line to make the pressure power steering hose. I might also make the return hose, but I'll have to see.
So far, I've only done a little with the fuel system:
It may not look like much, but it's something! The tank is complete minus the cap (still need one) and cap rubber surround (have it, but not installed). She's almost ready to be dropped in.
Notice how the fuel line return is sticking straight out? It still hasn't relaxed. It's that stiff! I plan on making a bracket to go from the hose to the fuel tank bracket on the side. The rest of the fuel system will be completed soon. It's next on the list.
Another big decision that was made was what cooling fan to run.
I decided on going with a new Doreman '95 Ford Taurus 3.8l 2 speed single 16" fan on Amazon.com for $90 (Advance and Autozone wanted $160 :crutches
Why? I couldn't use dual fans. For whatever reason, I don't have the clearance between the UCA knuckles (VB&P's) and my (sort of) stock copper radiator. Only about 1.5" between the core and the knuckle bolt.No worries. The Taurus fan fit, but I still had the trim the bottom for clearance to the sway bar.
I wired it up similar to jsejlowe's thread. However, for mine, I added a 40A type I circuit breaker and a 5A fuse for the trigger source power. The LS1's ECM has two fan leads which will ground out when in demand. If I was savvy, I would redraw the diagram. I could in MS paint is requested.
All of the fan wiring was mounted to the shroud on a back plate. The only wires coming in are the 2 from the ECM, a ground to the frame (cleaned off some of the POR15 and repainted after the ground was installed) and power off the Alt.
Notice that there is only one bracket on the bottom of the fan? No longer. I added a second after this shot. I ran out of time the day I was making the others.
Here it is installed and wired:
Now don't worry. The wiring looks messy, but it will all be wrapped. :flash:
The Throttle cable is all but finished. I bought a Lokar LS1 cable to use since the stock one is about 1.5' too short. MN-Brent over on the other forum in his build thread, outlined how he adapted his pedal end of the throttle cable using the original plastic cable end with the Lokar cable.
Worked like a champ :friends: My problem actually lies with the water pump. I had Josh @ Custom Image modify it back in March of 2010, but only really had it installed with the throttle body recently. Of course there was a problem...
:goodnight: I talked to Josh and sent him the pic. For whatever reason, he moved the tap too close to the TB. Oh well. I sent it back and he's taking care of the problem. No trouble at all. He should have it by the end of this week so I should have it towards the end of the month. No worries there I have plenty to do.
The last big thing I did lately was tackling the scariest part of the build for me: wiring :crap::bullshit:
I had most of the stuff sorted out, labeled, etc, but just couldn't get on it. It just never clicked. Luckily, doing research on how it all works together, it just finally fit together in my thick head.
This past weekend was birthday. My requested present? Leave me the
alone and let me do some Vette work I had 2 half days and a full day out of the 3 day weekend. One of the largest consecutive time blocks I've had on the Vette in years! I actually have about 85% of all the wiring done! All that is left for the under the hood wiring is to connect the engine fuse box to the starter and wrap all the wiring. That's it! All of the leads that need to come into the cab are in and ready to go. However, I won't do the interior wiring until the fuel lines are done. I want the wiring fresh in my head before the start up so I may find a wiring issue quicker, if one arises. Here's some shots:
In the last few shots you can see the computer and fuse box mounted to the fender. This seemed to be the best location to keeping things simple. Also, after these shots, I further cleaned up some loose wires and took off some of the labels. The cool part is, only one is hardwired from the engine harness to the vette. All of the others are through GM plugs or can be disconnected at the sensor. So if I ever have to pull the engine, I could leave the wiring harness on and just unplug it at the fuse box(except for the lone wire). Don't know how much of a benefit that is, but I think it's cool
In actuality, Only 7, that's right 7, wires feed the engine. That's everything and one is a ground! It's funny how many wires there are and only 6 connect the engine harness and computer with the rest of the car.
So that's about what I've done since getting back into things in the beginning of August. Not bad for a month...
However, there are some issues I've found. Right after I finished the crossmember, I was laying under the car and noticed the diff was leaking. I knew it had a little bit of a leak, but thought it was at the cover gasket. Not so. I can now see it was coming out of the passenger side yoke seal. :hissyfit:
After some deliberation, a few emails and phone call, I decided to have the diff built up by Gary (gtr1999) into one of his Super 10 bolts. He'll also be going through my T/A's. This is something I always planned on having him do, I just didn't want to do it this soon... I was hoping to get a couple of miles on the swap before then. The plan is to pull the diff at the end of fall.
The diff issue has also changed my plan on the Driveshaft. I was going to have the stock one modified, but now I'll be getting a new one built up (chrome moly or Al, not sure yet) to match the diff. This will essentially leave me with only the 1/2 shafts being the weak link, but will be fine until the engine is built up.
So what's left for the near future?
-Fuel lines
-Tank install
-interior wiring (gauge wiring to old wiring and new wiring from the engine)
-Tunnel insulation
-New Console top plate since the shifter is relocated.
-Send off Diff and T/A's to Gary
-driveshaft order to fit the rebuilt diff
-Install the Intake plumbing (waiting on water pump)
-Install water pump lines
-Make/ install power steering lines
-Some other Misc. Odds and ends
I'm getting closer!
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
...2 years later
Well, unfortunately, I haven't gotten much more done. I bought my childhood house three months after the last post. Of course I had to do bunch of stuff on that. This meant I finally had a garage, but it became the overflow as we organized everything. Then the yard maintenance kicked in over the summer while I prepped the apartment for rent. That's when the hurricane struck :mobeer: Finally cleaned up from that and got things rolling until January when I started studying for my FE test that was long overdue. Took that in April this year and passed, thankfully. Things are clear now, right? Nope. Wife was now pregnant so I had to pick up any slack and start planning/prepping the house for our baby (plus even more yard work). My Daughter was born on my birthday, Sept. 4th and now things are settling a bit so I can get some done. Do these excuses suffice? I tell myself they do so I can sleep at night :amused:
However, I did get some things done in this time:
How about some pics? Here's what I got back from Gary. Like they were new, better than new!
Works of art and I couldn't be happier.
I ordered a nice driveshaft from Denny's Driveshaft. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a 1330 split trans yoke and they only recommended 500hp or less on a 1310, so I ordered a solid 1330.
Here's a link to the shaft. This means to install the shaft, I have to pull the diff again or the trans/engine. The diff loses! In reality, that's not the worst because it would be nice to get into more places and get some paint down and install some other parts, like the fuel and brake lines. Here's a pic of the shaft:
Here's a link to my fun with U-joints thread: god damn Ujoints
So what does this all lead to? Well, After the half shafts were finished, I was able to install them into the car, thus completing the suspension. I slapped on the tires and set her down for the first time in 2 years.
Not to waste any time, I had some friends come over yesterday to move her into the recently cleaned out garage. It took four of us to get her aligned onto the lift (me directing from the lift, 2 pushing and 1 steering). Now, she's finally in.
It's a lot tighter than I thought, but it'll work. That single florescent bulb won't cut it either. I was hoping to get a little more lighting installed before sliding the vette in, but that wasn't in the cards. Now I can put in a lot more time in and won't be so dependent on the weather. It should also cut back on the surface rust I've picked up.
Sidebar: check out my bumper's disintegration over time. I noticed that once my car cover began to fail the bumper's condition deteriorated exponentially. I did nothing to aid this deterioration except the occasional head smack.
December 2011:
April 2013:
November 2013:
Well, unfortunately, I haven't gotten much more done. I bought my childhood house three months after the last post. Of course I had to do bunch of stuff on that. This meant I finally had a garage, but it became the overflow as we organized everything. Then the yard maintenance kicked in over the summer while I prepped the apartment for rent. That's when the hurricane struck :mobeer: Finally cleaned up from that and got things rolling until January when I started studying for my FE test that was long overdue. Took that in April this year and passed, thankfully. Things are clear now, right? Nope. Wife was now pregnant so I had to pick up any slack and start planning/prepping the house for our baby (plus even more yard work). My Daughter was born on my birthday, Sept. 4th and now things are settling a bit so I can get some done. Do these excuses suffice? I tell myself they do so I can sleep at night :amused:
However, I did get some things done in this time:
- I sent off my rear end parts to Gary at the end of 2011. They came out great.
- mounted the diff in the fall of 2012, then measured and ordered the driveshaft
- Had some fun with u-joints and learned how to bend flanges
- finally got the rear suspension in had a roller this past Saturday
- moved the car and the lift into the garage yesterday
How about some pics? Here's what I got back from Gary. Like they were new, better than new!
Works of art and I couldn't be happier.
I ordered a nice driveshaft from Denny's Driveshaft. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a 1330 split trans yoke and they only recommended 500hp or less on a 1310, so I ordered a solid 1330.
Here's a link to the shaft. This means to install the shaft, I have to pull the diff again or the trans/engine. The diff loses! In reality, that's not the worst because it would be nice to get into more places and get some paint down and install some other parts, like the fuel and brake lines. Here's a pic of the shaft:
Here's a link to my fun with U-joints thread: god damn Ujoints
So what does this all lead to? Well, After the half shafts were finished, I was able to install them into the car, thus completing the suspension. I slapped on the tires and set her down for the first time in 2 years.
Not to waste any time, I had some friends come over yesterday to move her into the recently cleaned out garage. It took four of us to get her aligned onto the lift (me directing from the lift, 2 pushing and 1 steering). Now, she's finally in.
It's a lot tighter than I thought, but it'll work. That single florescent bulb won't cut it either. I was hoping to get a little more lighting installed before sliding the vette in, but that wasn't in the cards. Now I can put in a lot more time in and won't be so dependent on the weather. It should also cut back on the surface rust I've picked up.
Sidebar: check out my bumper's disintegration over time. I noticed that once my car cover began to fail the bumper's condition deteriorated exponentially. I did nothing to aid this deterioration except the occasional head smack.
December 2011:
April 2013:
November 2013:
phantomjock
Well-known member
Forgive my ignorance and minor sidebar distraction - who's "Lift" is that?
What are your overall impressions? Looks a lot more secure than using super tall jacks. Is one end hinged, and then you use the floor jacks to lift the other end? If you have a name/link - I'll stop asking questions...
Cheers - Jim
What are your overall impressions? Looks a lot more secure than using super tall jacks. Is one end hinged, and then you use the floor jacks to lift the other end? If you have a name/link - I'll stop asking questions...
Cheers - Jim
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
No worries, Jim. It's a Kwiklift. Basically they're simple ramps that pivot where the 'end boxes' are. There's a black bar that runs across the front, connecting the two ramps. You use a floor jack (needs at least 20" lift) to lift it up and then you kick out some feet that fold under each ramp. This raises the car up 20", which is enough to reach everything comfortably. I believe this model supports up to 5000lb and has held up well to being outside for most of its life.
I bought it used 3 or so years ago and got a nice deal. Unfortunately, they were a bit expensive at about $1300 new and went out of business a year or so ago.
They're a nice option for someone who can't fit a full size lift. I was looking for a scissor lift when I came across the Kwiklift and liked the fact that there's no hydraulic component. Since I knew this would be in the elements for a number of years, that was a huge plus. However, it can be a bit of a pain to get a car on and off by yourself, especially if the vehicle isn't running. I have plans to attach a winch to it to load and unload it. That should make it a one man operation.
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
Made some more progress since the last post, but nothing worthy of a picture. I ordered some 'new' parts
-Replacement gauges (water temp and fuel level) that were damaged in the flood from Sandy
-OBDII port
-Replacement 3 wire MAF with 30k on it out of a GTO. Again, the first one I had was in the flood.
I replaced the gauges in my center console and checked the wiring. I then retraced my wiring steps and where I left it two years ago. I'm glad I kept good, thorough notes. I began lining up and crimping on disconnects to all of my connections between the clusters, the original harness, engine harness and, finally, the new sensors. Did I mentions good notes were key?
I paused when I ran out of disconnects, but I'll pick some up tomorrow. I still need to decide where to put the OBDII port. I think it'll wind up in the passenger foot well, behind the dash and facing down so it's not too visible, but not too far from the driver's reach.
Once the last few disconnects are installed, I should be done with most of the wiring. I need to find a way to ground the engine to the frame and check the starter wiring to make sure I have it correct. Once that is done, the wiring should be complete :yahoo::yahoo::yahoo:
I also almost have the throttle body cable finished. I need to trim it a bit so it looks a little cleaner. That'll be a quick job.
I think I figured out my steam line route and will most likely route it to the heater hose feed. I need some new heater hoses, as well. I have the rad hoses and should be able to install them soon.
I haven't touched the fuel lines all weekend. I'm still not sure what my final route to the engine will be, but I'm getting closer. Once the wiring is done, the fuel lines become critical path.
Here's a rough checklist of things to come:
There's a lot more stuff that'll need to be done, but that's mostly details that aren't worth mentioning or are aren't critical to the project running.
'Til next time...:goodnight:
-Replacement gauges (water temp and fuel level) that were damaged in the flood from Sandy
-OBDII port
-Replacement 3 wire MAF with 30k on it out of a GTO. Again, the first one I had was in the flood.
I replaced the gauges in my center console and checked the wiring. I then retraced my wiring steps and where I left it two years ago. I'm glad I kept good, thorough notes. I began lining up and crimping on disconnects to all of my connections between the clusters, the original harness, engine harness and, finally, the new sensors. Did I mentions good notes were key?
I paused when I ran out of disconnects, but I'll pick some up tomorrow. I still need to decide where to put the OBDII port. I think it'll wind up in the passenger foot well, behind the dash and facing down so it's not too visible, but not too far from the driver's reach.
Once the last few disconnects are installed, I should be done with most of the wiring. I need to find a way to ground the engine to the frame and check the starter wiring to make sure I have it correct. Once that is done, the wiring should be complete :yahoo::yahoo::yahoo:
I also almost have the throttle body cable finished. I need to trim it a bit so it looks a little cleaner. That'll be a quick job.
I think I figured out my steam line route and will most likely route it to the heater hose feed. I need some new heater hoses, as well. I have the rad hoses and should be able to install them soon.
I haven't touched the fuel lines all weekend. I'm still not sure what my final route to the engine will be, but I'm getting closer. Once the wiring is done, the fuel lines become critical path.
Here's a rough checklist of things to come:
- Finish wiring
- decide on fuel line route and install
- re-oil engine, remove spark plugs and fuel pump fuse
- check starter and turn over until oil pressure is registering
- replace plugs and fuel pump fuse for test fire
- drink many beers, regardless of success or failure of test fire
- route cooling lines and fill cooling system
- try and make the dreaded power steering lines and fill that system
- route serp belt and fire the engine for a real test
- drop rear end to install drive shaft
- ???
- profit
There's a lot more stuff that'll need to be done, but that's mostly details that aren't worth mentioning or are aren't critical to the project running.
'Til next time...:goodnight:
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
Spent a little more time this week on Pandora.
-I finished the throttle cable after taking about 8" out of it.
-I ordered a few more parts that I needed.
-Might have my power steering lines sorted, thanks to Karsten in this thread.
-I spent way too long on my starter wiring, and didn't get the car to turn over :cussing: Since I'm using the original charging and starting circuit, I thought this would be easy. One thing I didn't do well during my tear down and is mark or take note of what wire was where on the original starter. Oops.
The first way I had it hooked up, I had the proper + cables to the right lug on the starter, but had the purple starter wire there too. I had a ground on the start lug :skeptic: Second try, I had the purple start wire on the start lug and had the +cables on the right lug of the starter. I did a makeshift ground to the mystery ground wire in the starter loom and double checked my block to chassis ground (sanded the POR15 to get a good connection). Still nothing. I pulled the clutch depression switch plug and jumped it, thinking that was the issue since pedal no longer goes to the floor (my clutch MC has a shorter throw) and again I got nothing. The lights and buzzer in the cab work, but not even a solenoid click. :hunter: So, on a whim, I tried to operate the window...slow as molasses. I think the battery just doesn't have enough charge. At least that's the hope. I don't why I thought the battery would have a charge after sitting for 4 years. Sometimes, I wonder.
I wanted to attack my fuel lines, but didn't have the time. I'll work on them next as the battery charges.
-I finished the throttle cable after taking about 8" out of it.
-I ordered a few more parts that I needed.
-Might have my power steering lines sorted, thanks to Karsten in this thread.
-I spent way too long on my starter wiring, and didn't get the car to turn over :cussing: Since I'm using the original charging and starting circuit, I thought this would be easy. One thing I didn't do well during my tear down and is mark or take note of what wire was where on the original starter. Oops.
The first way I had it hooked up, I had the proper + cables to the right lug on the starter, but had the purple starter wire there too. I had a ground on the start lug :skeptic: Second try, I had the purple start wire on the start lug and had the +cables on the right lug of the starter. I did a makeshift ground to the mystery ground wire in the starter loom and double checked my block to chassis ground (sanded the POR15 to get a good connection). Still nothing. I pulled the clutch depression switch plug and jumped it, thinking that was the issue since pedal no longer goes to the floor (my clutch MC has a shorter throw) and again I got nothing. The lights and buzzer in the cab work, but not even a solenoid click. :hunter: So, on a whim, I tried to operate the window...slow as molasses. I think the battery just doesn't have enough charge. At least that's the hope. I don't why I thought the battery would have a charge after sitting for 4 years. Sometimes, I wonder.
I wanted to attack my fuel lines, but didn't have the time. I'll work on them next as the battery charges.
denpo
Carburated Nihilist
Made me thing of me spending the entire weekend chasing an electric bug.
Crazy how electric work on a car can be frustrating :banghead:.
A missing ground and the whole system does 'funny' things.
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
It's my biggest fear. I don't like wiring, and with all of the tight areas of the vette, it just kills me. Taking out the leads to the clutch switch was loads of fun. Luckily, it wasn't unplugged for long and the wires still had memory. It popped right on.
I'm not a small guy and my arms are too long for my body. That all adds to the difficulty at times. Then mix in a wire gremlin? :surrender::goodnight:
I just hope it is the battery and this is my last wiring issue. Otherwise, it'll be a long, cold winter.
I'm not a small guy and my arms are too long for my body. That all adds to the difficulty at times. Then mix in a wire gremlin? :surrender::goodnight:
I just hope it is the battery and this is my last wiring issue. Otherwise, it'll be a long, cold winter.
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
A quick update: I had an extended holiday in order to spend a little more time with the Baby and take a bit of a rest. I didn't work from Wednesday to Sunday, but that doesn't mean we weren't busy. I have some sort of cold thing I'm trying to beat as well, so the vette didn't stand a chance, really...
I did manage to steal my Father's Battery Tender on Thursday. It took a few days, but the battery did charge. I finally had a moment yesterday to see if she word turn over.
I put the the clutch down turned the key and nothing. I then pressed a little harder on the clutch and got the solenoid to click. Great! that means it must be the clutch safety switch. I pulled the plug and jumped it. I tried the key again. Turned right over!
So, the starter appears to be wired up correctly now, but I'm not sure what to do with the clutch switch. I'll need to make a longer actuator arm or simply just bypass it. I haven't decided yet. The mystery ground with the starter wiring seems to be for the wipers. I had an issue with the system turning off and this wire is damaged. I think heat did it, so I'll trace back to where it is good and rerun the wire to somewhere else. I might run it to where the LS1 fuse box is grounded on the chassis.
So not much, but steps in the right direction.
I did manage to steal my Father's Battery Tender on Thursday. It took a few days, but the battery did charge. I finally had a moment yesterday to see if she word turn over.
I put the the clutch down turned the key and nothing. I then pressed a little harder on the clutch and got the solenoid to click. Great! that means it must be the clutch safety switch. I pulled the plug and jumped it. I tried the key again. Turned right over!
So, the starter appears to be wired up correctly now, but I'm not sure what to do with the clutch switch. I'll need to make a longer actuator arm or simply just bypass it. I haven't decided yet. The mystery ground with the starter wiring seems to be for the wipers. I had an issue with the system turning off and this wire is damaged. I think heat did it, so I'll trace back to where it is good and rerun the wire to somewhere else. I might run it to where the LS1 fuse box is grounded on the chassis.
So not much, but steps in the right direction.
phantomjock
Well-known member
Congratulations on the start up - and thanks for the words on the KwikLift. I'll keep my eyes open for resales. Else, I may end up with a Scissor Jack.
Cheers - Jim
Cheers - Jim
MYBAD79
Moderator
Did it only turn over or actually start ??? Nevertheless, progress is progress.... Hope to see a video here for the actual start and first drive !!!
greg75vette
The Traffic Baron
I need to correct what I wrote. They actually restarted! I found out on CF the other week and forgot to update my post. Here's their new site: http://kwik-lift.com/index.html
Oh no, not a real start. I'm not there yet! I only had the starter wiring hooked up to make sure she can turn over and the battery was sufficient.
-The LS1 fuse box is not powered up yet (just need to slide onto the starter power lug)
-I need to finish hooking up the gauge wiring to the car (about 10 disconnects left)
-hook up the OBD2 port and VATS module
-I need to run the fuel line and power to the fuel pump.
-Need to do an oil change
After those I can pull the fuel pump fuse and plugs and turn her over until I get oil pressure. I'll reinstall the plugs and fuse and try for a test fire. If successful:
-I'll yank the computer to be tuned
-pull the engine harnesses to be wrapped
-mount the dash and consoles since the gauges should be functional
-install the cooling system hoses
-install the PS hoses and serp belt
-reinstall computer and try for a real fire and see how well she runs.
Then I have to pull the rear end out--again--to install the driveshaft. Then, hopefully, she can have her first run. And that's just the basics. I still have a bunch of cosmetic stuff to do here and here :lol:
It seems like I'm so close, but yet I'm miles away. I still hope to have the engine fully hooked up by Christmas, but we'll see.
