Great thread. I am about to embark on the same journey.....except worse. My car was my buddy's and his father's before that since new. My buddy passed in July and I was given the car. It has been sitting in a storage unit for at least 17 years. Rear wheels don't turn (not locked or rusted brakes), hood won't open and neither door will open.


After it was pulled out of the storage unit.

Too cold and snowy to wash her yet!

How she looked the last time she was running and not in storage.

 

Sadly, this is the truth. These parts have definitely gotten more expensive over the years.

My credit card is on fire right now, and I haven't even started looking at the interior parts.

 

Regarding the tach-drive MSD dist --- suggest open it up and inspect closely. Those often form way too much Interior corrosion.

 

Yep. This one from MSD actually replaced a different make/model that couldn't be saved.

 

Welcome to club "C3"................... where you and your wallet will soon part friends & your credit cards will melt on a daily basis

 

I never had any corrosion issues in my MSD distributors and they were all on bbc drag boats.
With that said I know many have had issues so I’ll just add this thought.
The marine MSD distributor caps had a vent that allowed the inside of the cap to breathe but would not allow bilge fumes to enter into the cap.
Maybe those of you who live in wetter climates may want to look into a marine type distributor and cap.

 

Funny story...

I had this same discussion many years ago with my cousin's ex-husband, who was a mechanic for BMW at the time. He looked at me like I had two heads and a learning disability. I obviously had no idea what I was talking about and should immediately find a job that didn't involve working on cars.

It's probably been two decades, but I have never felt so validated as I do at this moment. Thanks OCB!

 

Good call on your part.

I installed an MSD marine system on my last Master Craft competition ski boat.
It was an 84 vintage that I restored.
Marine rated can be used as automotive but you should never use automotive in a marine application.

 

Agree, weird location for the MSD box.
That pollen is the seat foam breaking down. My original seats do it.
Your '73 looks solid to me.
Love the T/A and R/T.

 

I can't do much at the moment, as I'm still waiting on parts. Since I'm at a loose end, I figured I could at least clean up the sill plates a bit.

The plates look rusty, but they're actually anodized aluminum. The rust is from the Chinesium in the aftermarket screws.


Sill plates removed.


Prep is just a little cleaning. I'm using this GP cleaner, as I didn't want to remove the existing finish or hurt the anodized finish.


I masked these plates one row at a time, which probably wasn't terribly efficient, but I didn't have much else going on.


The paint is Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black. It's very durable and sticks to most everything. It does have a little more gloss (30%), but I think it works OK. It's also what I have available today, without going to the store.


Clean, tape, spray; re-tape, spray again.


All good. The plate looks a little shiny at the moment, but the paint should "flatten" out once it's fully dried.


Unfortunately, I'm not ready to reinstall these at the moment, as I've got a bunch of interior "to-do's" and I don't want to have to remove / install these twice. We'll put them somewhere safe and come back to them shortly.

 

I figured I'd also replace the switch for the electric cooling fans. All of the coolant has been drained from the car waiting on a new heater core, so there's no time like the present. Right now, I have to cycle the AC to kick on the fans, which isn't really ideal.

I've had so many failures with these switches I feel like I should be keeping a box of spares. It doesn't seem to matter what brand you purchase; it seems like they're all coming from the same manufacturer.


The new switch is from SPAL and is supposed to be 185 degrees. We'll have to see how accurate this one is.


The switch body is 11/16", the electrical connection is 5/16". The electrical connections tend to get brittle with age and heat; then it's just a pair of pliers and a few cuss words.


A little thread sealant to keep the drips away. The fit is so tight not much is needed.


Easy peasy.

 

Overall, I'm a big fan of the DeWitt aluminum radiator, but my main comment is the location of the coolant drain plug. The way and position that it's located doesn't allow for a radiator petcock to drain off the coolant, so I'm left with having to use an NPT plug.

Needless to say, removing this plug to drain the radiator wasn't particularly enjoyable and it's a messy business, as it drains directly onto the bracket and then everywhere else. Re-installing this plug is so, so much worse. It took me a few tries to get this back in, and I ended up walking away more than once, just to regain my composure.


In an attempt to find an alternative, I picked up a few of these speed drains from summit. Technically, they're still a petcock, but as the name implies, they're "speedier". Unfortunately, these didn't fit in the tight space, so I'm left with an NPT plug at the radiator. I did, however, decide on an alternate use these.


Since I couldn't use these speed drains for the radiator, I went ahead and installed these directly in the block. When I need to drain my entire coolant system now, not just the radiator, I'll be in good shape.

Yes, based on the HO4 sticker shown in the photo, this is a GM crate motor.


Speedier, but it works best when both sides of the block are open, otherwise it will burp, gurgle, spurt, and spray everywhere.

I try to drain and refill the entire system with new coolant every few years. I've made the mistake previously of not doing it, and I ended up with having to make a lot of repairs and flushing the system multiple times.


Now it's just a matter of getting the new heater core installed and filling the system back up.

 

Why not an allen headed plug for the radiator?

 

No joy.

If I try to come in straight with an Allen key, the bracket is in the way.

If I try to approach it from a right angle, it will bind before the plug is fully out. That would assume that I could install it, but gap is too narrow.

I'm sure there is a way, but as I get older my patience also gets shorter.

 

Darn. If you ever need to take the radiator out again perhaps a street 90 or 45 pointed towards the wheel would give you more clearance.



The door sills look great! I bought new ones but the screws are already rusting too.

 

Look into a set of ball end Allen wrenches. They’re also available with screwdriver handles. They work awesome for tight angles.

For areas where moisture is present except anywhere that a fastener needs high torque or subjected to high stress I always use stainless steel fasteners. They look great and never rust

 

I had forgotten how frustrating some of these repairs could be, regardless of how small.

The door ajar switch on the driver's side was damaged at some point.


I'm not sure what's happened with this switch, as there no evidence of it ever coming into contact with the door.


Holding the post from spinning, the old switch can be removed with a 7/16" wrench. If the post spins, the wire inside can break, and then this becomes another episode of WTF.


While I was able to keep the post from spying while removing the switch, I wasn't able to keep the retainer from moving around, so now it's loose. Great...


Not only is the retainer now loose, but the paint has also chipped off. Great x2...

Now that the paints been chipped off, at least we can see the original color of the car. I'm not sure if this retainer is something that can be replaced or not, but I would imagine they're available.


Once again, there's a parts miss-match. These are not the same switches. The one on the left (New) is sold as a "Door Ajar Switch" for 68-74 C3's; the one on the right (Old) sure looks like something different. The old switch is also tapered, so this task is going to be a no-go.

It looks like there's going to be a second part to this post whether I like it or not.

 

Another thing I’ve done with Allen wrenches to get into really tight places was to cut the end off as close to the 90* bend as possible.
Only leave enough to fully engage the fitting and you’ll be good.

 

One of the mistakes I made previously was using a tube-less dipstick that mounts directly into the block. The idea sounds pretty good, until its hot, the headers are in the way, and the dipstick won't come out under any circumstances. The only way this really ever worked was to get underneath the car and wiggle it out with both hands. Obviously, it was a lot of work just to check the oil, so it didn't happen very often.

The one shown here is a Lokar version. I would not go this route a second time.


I decided to just go back with the GM-350 spec upper oil tube (#3876870) and indicator (#3951576), hoping the headers wouldn't be much trouble. The crate engine came with the lower tube already installed on the driver's side, so that wasn't a concern.

As it turns out, the only real clearance issue here is going to be with the aftermarket wire looms.


The upper tube went in without much of a fuss; it did require some patience and a gentle taping with a brass drift, but it's installed now. A little RTV at the base also to keep it from leaking. I probably need to run a deburring or reaming tool quickly across the top, as it has a bit of a lip from being tapped into place.


Looks like everything is fitting OK, but the indicator is nowhere to be found. This went missing in the mail last week and hasn't been seen since. Thanks USPS.


Part #3876870 for the upper tube? - Check. This package is labeled OER, but also has a "Parts Place" sticker, but was actually purchased through Summit. Small world I suppose...


The indicator finally arrived later this afternoon.


Part #3951576 for the indicator (dipstick)? - Check.


It's a little tight, but I think we're in pretty good shape. We'll put some oil in later tonight.

Big improvement from where we started from. I will likely have oil drips on my spark plug wires, and it's a bit of a dance around the brake booster, but overall, this was a success.

 

I see a lot of waiting in my future. Specifically, I see a lot of waiting on parts.

As promised, I went ahead and ordered a new reaming and deburring tool. I'm literally willing to take on all projects at this point, regardless of how small.


A few passes on the top of the dipstick tube, and we're all set. I had dorked up the top of the tube, just a little bit, tapping it into place. There's one spot now that is extra shiny, but otherwise it cleaned up nicely.


With the dipstick complete, the only other parts I have on hand are a vacuum system filter and vacuum system check valve (for the headlights). I actually have other parts; I just don't have a complete set of parts for anything I need to do at the moment. Seems like everything is on back order.


The vacuum system filter was done and gone a long time ago. It's been held together with electrical tape for the last few years.


The check valve took a second to install. I probably need to replace some of these vacuum hoses while I'm here.


The vacuum filter took another second to install. It's not even 0800am and I'm done here. Considering how many parts I need, I guess I can do some more online shopping.