Rookie's First Restoration Attempt...

[stinger12]

Here are some pics of the paint gun I bought a while back - I forgot to post pics of it. Mike used it with me when I was down in Dallas. Pretty much top of the line devilbiss gun (GFG-670). I figure that if I'm going to lay the paint on my car, then I have to have quality tools to get the job done. I also bought a monstrous air filter for my airlines - don't want any contamination on my vette

 

[stinger12]

Had an extra steel plate in the garage and decided to finally make that bearing support plate (for setting the endplay). Too bad I didn't have this when I rebuilt my arms originally - I'll use it the next time I rebuild them I guess.

 

[MYBAD79]

Had an extra steel plate in the garage and decided to finally make that bearing support plate (for setting the endplay). Too bad I didn't have this when I rebuilt my arms originally - I'll use it the next time I rebuild them I guess.

You're still young so there's a chance you might be rebuilding the bearings again before you retire ... if rebuilt correctly you should be able to get 100K miles of service out of them..... :1st:

 

[stinger12]

Had an extra steel plate in the garage and decided to finally make that bearing support plate (for setting the endplay). Too bad I didn't have this when I rebuilt my arms originally - I'll use it the next time I rebuild them I guess.

You're still young so there's a chance you might be rebuilding the bearings again before you retire ... if rebuilt correctly you should be able to get 100K miles of service out of them..... :1st:

Lol, thanks Karsten. I might be rebuilding a set of arms for a forum member pretty soon, we will see how it plays out. I've got to call him sometime tomorrow to talk to him about the rebuild.

 

[mrvette]

Yeh, I was made aware of all the 'special tools' for those t-arms back 15 years ago, so I had the vette shop, club guru replace it all with new back then...been maybe 150k miles since then, still rolling, I check them every now and then but that red grease he loved still slick, I suppose....

:banghead:

 

[stinger12]

Yeh, I was made aware of all the 'special tools' for those t-arms back 15 years ago, so I had the vette shop, club guru replace it all with new back then...been maybe 150k miles since then, still rolling, I check them every now and then but that red grease he loved still slick, I suppose....

:banghead:

This tool is not necessary for bearing setup, you can also use a vice - it just makes it kind of fool proof for the person setting it up. It keeps everything sturdy.

 

[Twin_Turbo]

Instead of fixing it to the bench with one of those carpenters clamps, why not weld a section of square tube or another section of steel plate on the bottom so you can clamp it in a vise?

 

[stinger12]

Instead of fixing it to the bench with one of those carpenters clamps, why not weld a section of square tube or another section of steel plate on the bottom so you can clamp it in a vise?

That was actually my original plan, I just haven't got around to doing it yet...maybe when I have some more time in the next couple of days.

 

[stinger12]

I bought an engine core so Mike can start building me my engine. Apparently it came from an l-82 corvette and is a 4-bolt main with cast steel crank. Got it for real cheap. Mike still needs to verify that it is a 4 bolt main. Hopefully I can get the short block for it built in the next few months. It would have cost too much money to send my engine down to Dallas, so we decided to pick up a used core. Got some pretty sweet valve covers out of the deal too apparently.

 

[js292]

You did all the other work by yourself but your farming out the engine? There's nothing to rebuilding one if you have a decent machine shop local.

 

[stinger12]

You did all the other work by yourself but your farming out the engine? There's nothing to rebuilding one if you have a decent machine shop local.

I just don't have the time to research how to build one, what to ask a machinist, what to do, what not to do...you get the idea. I drove myself crazy when it came to rebuilding my differential and trailing arms - and that was dealing with a few thousandths. I don't trust any machine shops up here to do the work for me...I'm paranoid when it comes to stuff like this. I can't build the short block anyways - most of it requires machining by a shop. I thought about this long and hard before I made the decision, and I am glad I am doing it this way. This will be the one project that will be out of my hands and in someone elses. Mike does incredible work, and has built a ton of these things. I am redoing absolutely everything else on the car - even my own bodywork and paint. The one thing I won't be doing is the engine...which is no big deal to me. I have the rest of my life to build one, and one day this one will be needing another rebuild as well.

I also don't have the money to fix my mistakes on an engine build. If there is one thing I have learned from the rear suspension rebuild is that mistakes will happen, and they will cost you money if you have nevver rebuilt it before. I can't risk that with the powerplant.

 

[stinger12]

 

[stinger12]

I got some work done on the vette today. Specifically the brake pedal assembly. Here is what It looked like before I tore it apart...







Just light surface rust as you can see in the pics...nothing major. I will need to replace the plastic bushings and pedal return spring to prevent premature failure once I get this car on the road. I've heard it is a pain to get to once the dash is in place...I'm gonna replace them while everything is apart.

Here are all the parts disassembled and ready to be sandblasted...







Here you can see that I removed the rubber brake pedal cover. I never liked the old look of it, so I've decided to fab up a cool looking functional brake pedal plate out of some steel or aluminum. I think I have some nice checkered plate at work that I could use for this project This is going to be a fun little project, I like doing small custom stuff like this:smash:



I started sandblasting the metal parts late this evening, so I didn't get a chance to get everything blasted. Hopefully I will be ready to powdercoat everything in the next couple of days, then I''ll need to reassemble everything and place this piece back in storage till who knows when. Used the blast cabinet for these parts of course...

 

[MYBAD79]

looks very familiar. Replacing the pedal assembly was one of the worst jobs on my '79.... what a pain .... it seems a lot easier when most of the other stuff is out of the way

 

[stinger12]

Awesome, I just bought a set of rear us indy rims for the rear of the car. I've looked everywhere for a set of ansen sprints, and these are almost identical to the ansens...if not the same. I bought them from forum member AzMotorhead - real nice guy. Awesome price too. Now I have to find a pair for the front of the car...I can't wait to get these mounted, they are gonna look sick!







Will need to polish these bad boys up once I get them - another project to add to the list

 

[stinger12]

First batch is done. The finish turned out great...no contamination in the powder. Its all in the prep work

 

[MYBAD79]

These rims are one of my favorites, 15x10 is hard to find.... the 15x8 for the front are $141 at Summit but the holes look a little different than yours (I think)...



I wish they made these in 17x10 :search:

 

[stinger12]

These rims are one of my favorites, 15x10 is hard to find.... the 15x8 for the front are $141 at Summit but the holes look a little different than yours (I think)...



I wish they made these in 17x10 :search:

I don't like the reproduction american racing ones...they don't have that 3D look to them like the old ones do.

 

[MYBAD79]

The holes are slightly different but other than that what's the difference ? The ones you bought are 10" wide and have a much deeper dish than the 8" wide rims .. do you have a pic of the originals in 8" width ?

BTW, just read that you flares are 4" wide, the 10" rim with for example a 295-50 tire is about just right for my 2" flares. Right now I'm using the stock rims with 295-50 tires and a 2" spacer - with the stock rim and 4" backspacing and the 2" spacer it's still not enough to really fill the fender with the flare..... you have room for 18x12 with something like a 345-35 tire....:sweat:

Have a look at V-twin's car, those are huge tires and I think 12" wide rims... still lots of room....

 

[stinger12]

The holes are slightly different but other than that what's the difference ? The ones you bought are 10" wide and have a much deeper dish than the 8" wide rims .. do you have a pic of the originals in 8" width ?

BTW, just read that you flares are 4" wide, the 10" rim with for example a 295-50 tire is about just right for my 2" flares. Right now I'm using the stock rims with 295-50 tires and a 2" spacer - with the stock rim and 4" backspacing and the 2" spacer it's still not enough to really fill the fender with the flare..... you have room for 18x12 with something like a 345-35 tire....:sweat:

Have a look at V-twin's car, those are huge tires and I think 12" wide rims... still lots of room....

I already talked to Stan, who I bought my flares from. He said these wheels I got will fill up the flares nicely. In fact, he said that he used the same sized rim on the rear of his red/white road race vette.