Hi All,

I just started two weeks of vacation and wanted to see what all I could get done on my vette in two weeks. I pulled the body a few weeks ago and today I pulled the engine, transmission, tank cover, gas tank...(no tank sticker ), most all of the rear suspenssion. Then only thing left attached is the Passenger side Trailing arm.. The nut is off the bolt but it won't come out... wiggle shake bang still nothing.. so I moved on to drop the Differential and the 4 bolts in the crossmember are good and stuck and rusty... So I bathed them all with PB blaster for the night and will hit it again in the morning.

To Do:
I hope to get the frame completely stripped down, sand blast it, weld on a new frame mount #1 PS and both #4's, POR-15(if it gets here fast enough..I just ordered it and the frame mounts) then assymble the new suspenssion.. minus the TA's as I am sending them out. I'm sure I will end up with a little down time waiting for parts and Paint, but we will see how it goes.. here are a few motivating pictures so far


The Lift



The Transport back to my house




Alignment Shims on the left TA



A little progress... Hopefully I will have a naked frame tomorrow... then I'll build a tent to do the sand blasting...

For every one else working on your winter projects enjoy and Cheers

 

Bryan,
What an aggressive start! You did more in a day than most do in a couple of weeks. Gee, 2 weeks off at Christmas, hmmm.....wouldn't be a teacher by any chance? I got 2 weeks at Xmas for 35 years whether I wanted them or not.
Looks like you'll be done with your resto in that 2 week time frame. Just go a little slower on the reinstall so you don't cause yourself any problems. Keep us posted with lots of pictures. That's entertainment for many of us who can't do this stuff anymore. I'll be watching closely. and Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!!!!!
Duane

 

Great progress so far...Keep up the good work!
I have to ask though..... When I did my frame off about 5 years ago I had the frame sandblasted and powder coated for about $400.00.
Has the price gone up so much that most of the guys I hear of now are going with POR-15?

 

Well the 2 week time frame matches up, but I'm not a teacher. I'm in the Navy, I just took the time off now. Although that is what I plan to do when I retire here in about 14 years

As for the cost of Sandblasting the lowest I found was $350 (blaster and materials cost me $150) and for Powdercoating the lowest was $450 (POR-15, chassis top coat, metal ready and marine clean was $150)... I checked out a 6 different places in two near by citys and couldn't find it cheaper..

So all in all I have saved $500 to go to other parts of my project... like SS fuel and Brake Lines

I wish I could have found a place to do it all for that cheap!

 

I guess prices have gone up. Either that or maybe it was cheaper in Detroit 'cause they may get more work from the auto parts suppliers.
Anyway, I'm sure the blast and POR-15 done at home will look just fine!
Keep up the good work!

 

I hope the POR15 turns out. I've read up on other posts about it, so I feel pretty confident in it.

Well I didn't make as much progess today as I wanted. I got a late start, then my brother came over and we spend more time talking then working. I did get the Differential out and the crossmemeber, but the left TA is still stuck. I tried shaking the TA while I played with the bolt which will not move... even rotate. I used a breaker bar on a socket wrench and sheared off the bolt head. I still cannot get the bolt out and TA off...




Given the shape of the Shims I figured I could wiggle them out and give a little more play room, but can't get them to budge as of yet.

I moved on the the front end and have the right side worked on and I'm stuck at the lower Ball joint... I'm not sure how to get that off



I'll search the forums and look in my repair manual again, but it wasn't too clear.

Thanks for the Support!

 

I wound up having to use a sawzall on my ta bolts...Whatta job!!!

 

Here are some videos of removing the steering knuckle:

http://s413.photobucket.com/albums/p...0923115803.mp4

http://s413.photobucket.com/albums/p...0923120456.mp4

http://s413.photobucket.com/albums/p...0923121104.mp4

 

Sly_vette If that is the case I guess I have an excuse to buy a sawzall now A few years a go my wife said I can have what ever tools I want, but I can only buy them as I need them... man I love this vette project...

76_Ray THANKS for the video, it really helps seeing it done. I guess I really did just need a bigger hammer after... I told my wife and she didn't believe me

I think i'm going to hook back up the top part to give it stability while I the bottom out of its joint.

Thanks again!

 

The quick way is the wrench called by some the "Hawaiian Blue Tip" or just plain torch. Burn the bolt on each side of the TA and it will come right out. You won't hurt anything if you are careful and dig all the excess dirt and mess out from around the mount area. Air line will blow the trash out and then cut the bolt.

Sawzall will do it but slow and subject to break blades--adds to the aggravation!!

 

Today I got the rest of the frame stripped down, minus that stubborn passenger side TA. I went a bought a cheap sawzall, but the blade was too short to reach... I re-bathed it in PB blaster and hammered it and shook up the shims the best I could... I'll get a longer blade tommorow and cut it out of there.


Thanks again 76_Ray for the videos, it helped and gave me re-assurance in what I was doing.



I bought the lumber today to build a frame for my blasting tent

Tommorow To Do:
Cut out TA
Build blast tent
Degrease frame
Go get welder
cut off both #4 mounts and PS #1 mount
practice welds on scrap cross member (its been about 5 years)
Hopefully weld on the mounts (a buddy is coming over with some home brew... so we might get side tracked)

According to the tracking site the POR15 and mounts should be here in the morning!

 

Make sure you buy a few good quality blade for the sawzall. I can't remember the name but I think I found something like a "Rescue" blade to hold up the best. And where gloves...I DO remember that I busted a knuckle or two on that job!

 

You need a lift and a torch. I have videos of how a torch helps if you need to convice your wife.

I'm glad the videos helped.

 

I applied heat to the one side for a while then on the bolt itself on the inside on each side of the TA to no avail...I'll try again.. a little longer this time then give it a

 

I applied heat to the one side for a while then on the bolt itself on the inside on each side of the TA to no avail...I'll try again.. a little longer this time then give it a [/QUOTE]

Heating it won't do it--you have tp cut the bolt off on each side of the TA mounting bushing where the bolt goes through. Those bolts freeze solid in the bushing and you have to cut them. Take the shims out so you have access to that part of the bolt and then cut the bolt off and the TA comes right out.

 

Thanks for the Tip RIO... it is still stuck in their for now... I only worked on it for 30min today and moved on... I got one shim out... it is still locked up tight. I'll try to pry on them some more till I get full access to cut it away...

No pics today garage is a total wreck, but I hand wire brushed then entire frame and degreased it, when out and got a welder and practiced with it for about an hour till I got my groove back... then I built the tent frame for when I do the sandblasting...

My frame body mount supports came a little to late today to do anything with them (9:30pm) I will attack those in the morning!

I was just wondering if anyones knows... How much POR15 does it take to cover the frame and suspension parts? I searched the forum and I came up with 1quart a few times...but others recommend the gallon... thats a big difference! I bought a quart of the POR and of the chassis top coat... looking at it now.. it doesn't seem like much... what do you think?

Also... what tips do you have for preserving the inside of the frame rails? I have heard of some oiling them. I thought of spraying the POR in the rails, but I would need some sort of flexible wand... any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

On the POR 15 --I used some for the floors on my 77 and a little sure goes a long way. Have not done a frame so I don't know how much to do a frame but on my floors it covers very well and wear latex gloves you can't get that stuff off your hands. Lacq. thinner will not cut it once it sets up on your hands.

 

+1 on the quart size. It goes a long way.

 

If I remember correctly, Eastwood sells a really neat product for coating and encapsulating the inside of the frame. It has a flexible hose nozzle for getting inside and covering everything. Check them out online to find the product. Good luck and keep the pictures coming. Merry Christmas to all!
Duane

 

Thanks for the reassurance on the quart

I will check out eastwood and see what they have to offer.. I also have heard about some wax product and might try that... I deffinatly do not want to use motor oil as others have done... I want this to be as clean as possible...

Would it be benificial or detrimental if after treating the rust to weld shut the holes in the frame/then ones that came from GM... I would think this would simply keep moisture out, but could this just trap it in... not allowing it to air our and dry?

And.... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!