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To be clear: I am not stuck on the issue of 'originality'. My post was meant to allow the OP time to decide which direction he prefers BEFORE doing much swapping of parts. Then, if "originality" is the direction decided, there is nothing LOST yet.
If 'originality' isn't the chosen direction of the OP, he can remove worn original parts and replace them with aftermarket "swappers" if he want's. Just realize that any REAL factory original parts have decent value to those who really get into the 'original' world, even if they are well worn or damaged. So keeping those parts...rather than exchanging them...might be advisable.
My only concern was to make the conscious decision on how to go forward, before 'originality' was lost.
Since the car is in original shape for most everything except the short block, I am fully aware of what it represents. It's not my intention to lose that but in this case, it also has to fit a budget.
This discussion is not new. It will be debated as long as these cars are found and their outcome decided.
I do appreciate the contributions from you guys. I really do but as much as I know that what we do here, will be our choice, good or bad, we'll perform work that maintains as much value to this chassis as currently possible. We're not going to please everyone and that's fine. Not our intent to reach that unattainable goal but neither are we allowing any more disrespect to the car on our watch. It'll be ok.
Best part: I am having fun...!
Oh, Walt. FYI, I did contact LoneStar yesterday and we're enjoying a dialogue on what may happen. They are a fascinating place.
After contemplating how far do we want to go in maintaining subsystem components or replacing said componemts with rebuilds or new pieces and also keeping the budget on a projected trajectory, a decision was arrived regarding the calipers.
The originals are scheduled to be rebuilt w/SS sleeves & associated hardware then returned.
Thanks to War Bonnet's caliper casting list and GUSTO to determine that ours fall into that second design category.
I continue to juggle priorities, making time to work on this car. I tend to work alone and rarely have any companions, outside of my laptop playing music videos from youtube.
Have had success removing all of the calipers and the front wheel hubs. The original calipers were catalogued and have been shipped off to be rebuilt with stainless steel sleeves and upgraded O-ring sealed pistons. Hope to have them back in approx two weeks.
Meanwhile, there's a lot of western states mud, dirt, and gravel to clean off various parts of the underside. Not my favorite part of the process; transferring all that crud off the car and onto the surrounding environment, including myself but it must be done to assess the condition of the associated components.
The upside is that all of that grease and oil has protected the bare steel or iron pieces from forming any rust. It's very rewarding to discover that the large majority of this platform will be returned to service after a good cleaning and lubrication, where applicable.
Unless deemed necessary, I'm also not painting anything. Parts of that decision are the budget and the clock but I believe that the car will show its age better in a more natural state.
Again, I'll let the car speak for itself. Doesn't need my help because it's a '68 427 with a 4-speed. Pretty awesome, all by itself.
I also placed an order with the good folks at Willcox to replace some worn or missing hardware. Small stuff mostly but legitimate for the car. Hope to see that shipment arrive in about a week, if they are not on back-order.
You may recall that I suspected the power steering pump had been over-filled and spilled onto the drivers side of the front crossmember. Notice the contrast on the lower A-arms and the stain on the x-member. Haven't cleaned the power steering ram tube, either but I will.
The bearings in the wheel hubs are in great shape. They were adjusted within spec and turned freely before disassembly.
After final washing in traditional busted-knuckle-garage parts cleaning solvent (gasoline), they will be repacked with disc-brake supported grease, reassembled with a new inner seal, reinstalled on the spindle and adjusted to spec. Forgot to lay out the flat washer; it was still in the bottom of the parts wash bin (large steel coffee can).
BTW, I've never seen that spiked and spiraled gizmo that was inside the grease cap found on drivers side. The pass side didn't have it. Is that OEM? Purpose?
Can't see that the rotors are in need of any real work. After cleaning the hubs of old excess grease and dirt, the rotor faces will be dressed and prepared for the new pads.
I have started cleaning around the ball joints, A-arms, and spindle mounts. Also cleaned up around the end of the PS control valve and hoses. Looking better already.
I still have a ways to go but all things considered, I'm feeling good on the progress. Have to clean and sort the contents of the two plastic crates that came with the project and attempt to return the fasteners from where they were removed. I hope that they are all there; we'll see. It's a puzzle but one I'm enjoying putting together.
It quite unusual to see these on a vehicle. Most of them end up destroyed or tossed because few have seen them or know what they are for. I believe that '68 was the last year they used them.
Front Wheel Static Collector
GM Part Number: 7276494
Front wheel static collector, (2) rqrd. per car.
Years: 1963 - 1968 photo courtesy Paragon Corvette Reproductions
After reading dillon14's question on ID'ing rally wheels here, it got me to review the wheels on the '68 as well as the white '72. What was learned on the red car was yet another twist from its past.
Seems that along with the vinyl covered roof panels and the doors non-standard rear-view mirrors, the wheels, seem not to match.
Those wheels decoded as 8" units with the same, matching date code. Each one is stamped with:
K 1 1 7 (stem) 20 AZ
Here's photos from one:
Each one has been painted black over the original argent (?) silver shade. They also have red overspray in crevices to complete the bubba look.
I found it interesting that the set of four that the car sat on, are stamped on the same day of manufacture. The spare tire is yet to be identified and hoping that it will have a more correct coded wheel to match the cars build date.
I'd like to dismount the tires so that the wheels can have the paint stripped off and restored to silver.
Couple of questions: 1) what is an effective paint stripper that doesn't require a haz-mat team to be present and 2) are the wheels coated with primer before the color coat?
I could media-blast the paint but trying not to alter any code stamping therefore, using a liquid stripper. Are there environmentally-friendly products or are they all harsh, to be effective?
The mounted tires are vintage copies from before 1976 or 1977 (I think), whenever the tire industry changed to metric designators.
The brand is one that I'm not familiar with, either:
In contrast, the wheels on the white car have a slightly different mix of manufacturing dates but within that car's build date of Oct.13, 1971:
K 1 1 9 (stem) 20 AZ (3 examples, 1 as spare)
K 1 1 9 (stem) 21 AZ (1 example)
K 1 1 9 (stem) 18 AZ (1 example)
One last disappointment for the day was determining that the perceived original ignition coil has been rendered useless after someone had twisted the positive-side post into spinning endlessly. The nut had been over-tightened and when that individual attempted to remove the lead, broke the internal winding connection. That, plus it leaks oil.
Rats.
A bit of good news for the day is that the UPS tracking # reported that the calipers have been received by the rebuilder. Looking forward to hearing that those castings are within spec to be reworked.
Time for sleep now. More soon. Thanks for stopping by.
After reading dillon14's question on ID'ing rally wheels here, it got me to review the wheels on the '68 as well as the white '72. What was learned on the red car was yet another twist from its past.
...
Each one has been painted black over the original argent (?) silver shade. They also have red overspray in crevices to complete the bubba look.
...
One last disappointment for the day was determining that the perceived original ignition coil has been rendered useless after someone had twisted the positive-side post into spinning endlessly. The nut had been over-tightened and when that individual attempted to remove the lead, broke the internal winding connection. That, plus it leaks oil.
...
Time for sleep now. More soon. Thanks for stopping by.
New wheels from a dealer were sold in black. A friend had his 4 rally wheels and tires stolen from his car in 1974 and the insurance agent told him to just go to Chevrolet and buy new ones (plus trim rings and caps and tires). They all came black (almost a primer like finish) and he decided to leave them that way instead of painting them argent. One way to tell if they were sold over the counter is to check the back sides for any hint of argent. If there is none, these were very likely bought as replacements from the dealer and just not painted.
In the past coils, like many industrial transformers were filled with Polychlorinated biphenyls a pretty nasty carcinogenic chemical also used in Agent Orange...
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were formerly used as transformer oil, since they have high dielectric strength and are not flammable. Unfortunately, they are also toxic, bioaccumulative, not at all biodegradable, and difficult to dispose of safely. When burned, they form even more toxic products, such as chlorinated dioxins and chlorinated dibenzofurans. Beginning in the 1970s, production and new uses of PCBs were banned in many countries, due to concerns about the accumulation of PCBs and toxicity of their byproducts. For instance, in the USA, production of PCBs was banned in 1979 under the Toxic Substances Control Act. In many countries significant programs are in place to reclaim and safely destroy PCB contaminated equipment.
PCBs and mineral oil are miscible in all proportions, and sometimes the same equipment (drums, pumps, hoses, and so on) was used for either type of liquid, so PCB contamination of transformer oil continues to be a concern. For instance, under present regulations, concentrations of PCBs exceeding 5 parts per million can cause an oil to be classified as hazardous waste in California.
Be careful handling a leaking coil and by all means dispose of it, don't leave it around where little ones can handle it. It may not contain PCB's, but don't take a chance.
In the past coils, like many industrial transformers were filled with Polychlorinated biphenyls a pretty nasty carcinogenic chemical also used in Agent Orange...
...
Be careful handling a leaking coil and by all means dispose of it, don't leave it around where little ones can handle it. It may not contain PCB's, but don't take a chance.
Good luck... GUSTO
The backs of the wheels haven't been cleaned so they may yield evidence that argent has not been applied.
If there's information towards my wheel paint questions from those of you experienced in such matters, I'm all ears. Thanks.
PCB's?! Holy moly... a long time ago, I read how they were used in power-line transformers and Agent Orange. Nasty stuff and very dangerous.
For whatever reasons, my shop hasn't hosted anyone younger than 25 y.o. in many years but will heed the caution.
You're a welcome source of GM and C3 fact-oids, GUSTO. Keep us informed because I'm enjoying learning these lessons.
Didn't get enough time with the car this past Monday or today (Tue) but I did get really dirty during the time that I had, cleaning the front axle and steering linkage components of old grease, oil, dirt, and gravel.
It's no fun to lie on cold concrete or simply being on your back and having all the crud being scraped off raining down, on its way to the floor. Ugh. (This is where having a lift would pay huge dividends, if I had access to one.)
There are several "before" images of these pieces in posts #48, #54 and #64 of this thread.
Though the accumulated weight of the gunk that was scraped or wire-brushed off didn't amount to more than 2.0 lb, the appearance factor went up dramatically. Things look much improved.
Check it out:
Steering linkage components were a greasy mess but look almost fresh now:
I did not finish cleaning the front crossmember yet but there's not a lot left to do.
I also removed the remnants of the OEM heat shielding that was attached to the firewall and tunnel area. I did not realize that there are 3 parts to the tunnel set; one section on the drivers side and another section over the passenger side, joined by overlap at the top of the tunnel by the retention clips and the third section is what surrounds the transmission and shifter assembly.
You can see the original 3rd section surrounding the transmission area after I removed the decayed pieces from the forward portion of the tunnel. I wired the shifter control rods up, out of the way after I escaped the long one from tearing my shirt while I rolled around on my back.
After removing the pass-side front shock and cleaning off the coating of oil and dirt, I'm confident that these are OEM. Just the shade of grey-blue on the tube, tells me that these are likely original.
Original, like the ball-joints in the A-arms as well as the tie-rod ends. Really, everything that I uncover seems to be OEM. A veritable time capsule of dated pieces.
They do not show signs of failure or excessive wear and if removed, will be reinstalled. I can't believe what luck I have found in original parts and pieces throughout this project, so far. I'm fascinated by all of it.
The shipment from Willcox arrived Tuesday, too. I will rebuild the distributor soon with the new shaft and gear drive for the tach. The car was missing its fuel cap and now that issue is resolved. I also received the new trans-tunnel heat reflecting section but may not use it if the original can be cleaned and reused.
That's it for today. I'll be back after a day or three with more photos.
Stay tuned...
Last edited by Dustup7T2; 04-05-2017 at 02:31 AM.
Reason: add text
The Riverside tire was marketed by Montgomery Ward stores. You notice the MW on the sidewall. I think they are all out of business now. Used to be a higher priced general merchandise store that also had a tire and auto repair shop.
Do you plan on driving the car with those original shocks? Don't think that's a good idea. I'm sure the seals in those tubes have turned to mush long ago. Doubt that there will be much damping from them...or, if there is, that it won't last long.
If you plan on trailering the car around, then using the original shocks is no big deal.
The Riverside tire was marketed by Montgomery Ward stores. You notice the MW on the sidewall. I think they are all out of business now. Used to be a higher priced general merchandise store that also had a tire and auto repair shop.
Firestone manufactured some of Montgomery Wards tires for them, including a version of their infamous Firestone 500 radial that was caught up in the huge late 70's recall.
Hi Rescue,
I remembered that when I ordered the new one. I am truly fortunate to have this treasure in my shop.
Your eyes aren't playing tricks either; however it happened, the tank is offset to the passenger side.
I plan to revisit that by loosening the tank straps and center the tank's opening. Before moving, I will search for the tank sticker (fingers crossed!). That would be a huge discovery.
Andy, thanks for identifying the tire retailer. I haven't thought of Monkey (sic) Wards in so long that I failed to consider them as the source. You da Man! GUSTO too, for his continued knowledge that Firestone was the manufacturer. How about that?
I don't know how long these shocks will stay on the car, 7T1v. Since safety is the top element in returning operation of the car, if these OEM units are found to be out-of-spec, they will be addressed then.
Due to a erratic schedule, I worked off and on with small successes over the last several days. Performed more engine bay/suspension cleaning. Here, I made progress on removing more layers of hardened oil and dirt from the steering box and Pittman arm.
I need to finish cleaning the engine x-member and around the A-arms. Dirty work.
Last night, I took a break from laying on my back and rebuilt the distributor. I was extra careful disassembling it, considering the "uniqueness" of several pieces.
Inspected each part for any distress and happy that none found, other than the tach drive gear being out of spec. Prepared the new distr parts received from Willcox to be installed.
One screw holding the vacuum advance canister refused to budge. Sprayed the trusty PB Blaster around it. Warmed the cast iron housing with heat too but no joy. The fastener is for a flat-blade screwdriver and I didn't want to bugger the screw's head, putting the big arm to it. The canister tested functional so I chose to leave that fastener alone, for now. Plus, I was time-conscious.
Cleaned and inspected each piece. Lots of old, dried up assembly grease in the housing's cavities was removed. It more resembled dried chicken fat but the housing is very clean now.
Here's a comparison of the old and new drive shaft. On the original, note the missing material on the tach drive gear. Reason for this entire exercise.
The reassembled unit looks ready for its next life as a functional spark distributor and tach-drive reporter, with its new gear set. It turns so sweet now.
I'll return to the front suspension in the next post. I plan to have the wheel hubs cleaned and finshed for reinstallation then.
I received a call last Friday morning that the updated original calipers were completed and being shipped here from Texas, the same day. I hope to show them soon after arrival here, maybe tomorrow or Wed.
Meanwhile, there's still plenty of dirty work left to do. The shifter is coming out next for a clean, inspect, re-lube and reinstall. The transmission is waiting for cleaning, too.
It's fixin' to get more exciting... so stay tuned.
That wear in the distributor drive gear is bothering me. The cam gear drives the distributor...but also attached is the oil pump (on the bottom end). The distributor takes very little effort to rotate it; but the oil pump can have significant load.
When you get down to it, you want to disassemble that oil pump and check it out carefully. Either it is binding up (and you should see scoring, etc on the inside face plates), or the pump is generating excessive pressure (broken psi reg spring?). SOMETHING has caused excessive loading on that distributor shaft gear. Very unusual for a car with that few miles.
03-21-2017, 05:58 PM
