You won't believe this but this all started as just a quick radiator and radiator support replacement and now I have the engine and tran out. My goal is to make the car as reliable as possible and make it look good. It is a 76 vette. I am replacing the seals on the engine and the power steering. Also new water pump, belts, engine mounts, spark plugs/wires, radiator/support, fuel pump, dust shields, rebuilding the carb., and power steering hoses. With the engine out of the way I can paint and get to more things to clean up. I don’t want to do this again anytime soon so I want to do everything right the first time. While doing this I came up with a few questions.

1. What type of cleaner/stripper can I use on the fiberglass to prep for painting and what type of paint should I use?

2. While I have everything out of the way what else should I fix/repair/clean?

3. I got this intake manifold when I bought my 75 vette. I was thinking of putting on this one. It is clean but the metal has been deteriorated in one spot (picture). Will it still seal well or should I get it milled?

4. Should I put a new timing chain and gears in it or would it be fine with what it has? It has 85,000 miles on it.

Also if anyone has pictures it is always greatly appreciated.

 

that intake manifold looks like it has never been used. i would contact edlebrock as that almost looks like a casting flaw. i have never heard of a manifold "deteriorating"

but even if you use it I would just use the gasket and a layer of the correct permatex to make sure it seals.

since the engine isnt going in right away though give them a call about it first

 

that thing has been used. bead blasted and then painted, it can be repaired, but you could probably find a new manifold for what it would cost to repair it properly....doesn't hurt to take it to a machine shop.

 

.......Post your progress pictures often please....Now I know what the floor will look like under my Vette eventually....

 

I'd get a new intake. There's no way a thermostat will seat the way it is now. And new ones are cheap enough. Timing chain & gears are a must. That chain is a little longer now with 85k on it than it should be.....

And if you're as crazy as I was you can fill & smooth the firewall. I took out the washer fluid jug & all the hose with it to clean things up. I used bondo to fill gaps & holes. Dupli-Color engine enamel was my choice for paint. I sprayed 3 coats of primer & 3 coats of gloss black, sanding each coat but the last with 400 grit. Should be alot easier for you with the motor out.....






This pic shows how the bondo filled everything real nice...


Here I drilled a hole & ran the wires that are all over hell into the cowl & brought them back out above the blower motor...


And in the end.......

 

looks like you have alot of work ahead of you!! keep the pics comming

 

It looks like that manifold had a machining step omitted during manufacture. The recessed lip for mounting the thermostat is missing. It would be an easy machining job for a repair shop...but it might cost as much as the manifold. You could try to stick a stat in there and put a standard gasket on top. Then put the inlet housing on [dry fit test] and see if the housing will seal OK. If it pulls down enough to squeeze adn seal with the gasket, it should still work, even though it is mis-machined. You will have to be the judge on whether to use it or not.

Generally speaking [on the engine compartment], body surfaces get painted with semi-flat black paint (same as interior/door sills/etc.). Engine accessories/components (fan, A/C compressor, frame, etc.) get painted semi-gloss black. Nothing gets painted flat or gloss black on a Corvette [at least, nothing that I know of]. If you have bare metal parts that are to be painted, shoot them with zinc chromate first; that will etch and bond with the metal for a more durable paint job. That goes for the block and heads, too. If you want to paint the exhaust manifolds...and have them last...have them shot/bead blasted, clean, wash, dry them; then shoot them with a couple of coats of Seymour Cast Blast cast-iron color ceramic paint. After drying and installing on the engine, the heat from the exhaust will cure the paint and turn it into a ceramic coating. You could just have the manifolds ceramic coated by a vendor, but that will be much more expensive. Clean all of your wiring off and coat all of the plastic coated wiring and rubber hoses with Nu-Vinyl polymer protectant (check internet for sources). There is nothing made that is better for vinyl interiors/plastic/rubber than Nu-Vinyl. Have fun! Now...get to work!!!

 

SEVNT6....That's a Nice clean look. Hiding the wires is a great idea.One I will eventually copy from you....Great job with the bondo too.....Smooooth ...

 

You're looking at factory black out. You should not need to strip anything. A power washer will work wonders. Simple Green or something similar will clean up the rest of it. Krylon semi-flat black.

Depends on what you find.

Why not? It'll be much easier to do it now then after the engine goes back in.

 

Thanks jeff79'........ Another hide I did was to run the vacuum lines for the headlight doors under the brake booster. I also removed the stickers on the firewall & air cleaner base....



And 7T1vette is right about semi-flat. I went gloss because I thought it would make the chrome stand out a little more........

 

My God Sevent6 that is one hell of a job you did; I can't beleive you did all of that with the engine still in the car.

 

Very Nice!!!!

Mike

 

Since you've come this far, why not freshen up the motor and give it a new coat of paint?

There is a lot that you can do in the engine bay that will make that freshly built motor jump out at you.

Beside the blackout of the inner fenders, you can clean-up & paint your booster, detail the wiper tray, re-route the vacuum lines and tidy up your wire harness.

Then you can start into the bling treatment!

Good Luck

 

Thanks David.... Yanking the motor would of been the smart thing to do. I had to hold the spray can upside down & give short squrits to get to some areas.....

1976 corvette........you should have a much easier time with yours.....

 

I have started on mine, this is the last leg before the body goes back on the frame. I got the headlight area and front nose started, working back to the firewall now, what a bloody mess.

 

It kind of starts the "While I'm at it!", everything is more accessable now than it will ever be, go for it!

 

Thanks everyone for the advise and pictures.
I am putting a fresh coat of paint on my engine to help those 180 horses stand out more. I almost have everything out but I am getting stuck up on the brake booster. I can't even find the 4th bolt. Even if I do get the 4 bolts on the fire wall off I don't know if I will be able to tighten them enough with such little space. Has anyone here taken off the booster and was able to reinstaul it with everything in the way.

 

That intake could have used a sacrificial anode to stop the corrosion that ate the ridge away that holds the thermostat steady, probably never changed the anti-freeze , or not often enough. What happened to it is a normal chemical reaction. Good luck in the rejuvination, SEVENT6 gives us all something to strive for, wow what a gorgeous job he did. Peace,,,Moosie

 

Man you guys are alright...............thanks Moosie.....

This is a classic case of if I can do it you can do it too. This was the first time I ever worked with bondo. No bodywork experience for me of any kind. And if that first pic was better you could see I didn't know what the hell I was doing!!... WAY to much bondo means WAY to much sanding. It was a real trial by fire all the way.......