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dropping in the gaskets without removing manifolds or down pipe flange worked as I had hoped. Exhaust leak is gone now.
I only had one bolt that threatened to break. I turned it back and forth with a 3/8 breaker bar and dribbled atf into the threads from a little oiler bottle.
test drive today with stock wheels and no exhaust leak was satisfying. I also removed the 1990’s alarm system.
I wasn’t planning to buy staggered tires but I like the look. The tires that came on the rims are ages old so I’ll buy the same sizes again. Looks like 225/60r15 in the front but I’m not seeing a clear chart to convert the vintage size on the back to modern sizes for ordering. It say HR60-15 on the rears that I want to match up. I’m seeing a HR60-15 = 245/60r15 online
Last edited by Greengear; May 2, 2023 at 11:27 PM.
WOW! THOSE ARE OLD!! I haven't seen tire sizes like that in years! Your really taking your life in your own hands driving more than 1 foot on those.
most of us you will find run 255/60-15's.
Which are very close to the optional size used 78 and up.
And looking at these 2 photos, is your car on jackstands??? Sorta doesn't give us a good idea how they look.
Yes it is on jack stands. I drove about 5 blocks at slow speed just to show my friends and all agreed to stick with the staggered. Too bad the white letter tires are so much more I think I'll get the cheaper tires without. white letters.
The pic shows how the corvette logo on the back is missing so I will order that with the tires.
Rag joint replaced,
got the corvette logo on the back,
Fixed the p/s return line with a piece of hose instead of buying the whole assembly. I’ve gotten so many junk quality parts over the past few years I find myself rebuilding parts more/ buying more used oem parts.
Good prices and well worth the drive if you are in L.A. I run the vitour galaxys at all 4 corners in 235/60R15 in my 68. 235s is about the largest I could squish in the front so that's why.
Last few free days Ive been playing with the A/C system. The VIR is really interesting and unusual, access to it is extremely difficult. When I bought the car the compressor was not installed. After finding the right belt and removing and reinstalling the VIR to replace a hose that goes to it I did a short test drive with A/C today so there is hope. Since finding leaks can be challenging I anticipate finding more leaks after I fix the big leaks. The pressure switch is definitely leaking with all the frost that formed.
Also the plastic vents under the dash are missing. I will probably install a VIR eliminator kit as many people have described on the forum.
Ive been driving a few times a week, Connected the air pump in prep for a smog test.
If you werent so far away id be interested in your old aftermarket bumper for my 74... The 80s factory bumpers all had the ugly 5mph crash bumperettes as far as I know.
Are you going to lower the front end?
Those Convo-Pros look amazing all polished up.......somebody will want those as they are making a bit of a cult comeback.......one thing about them is that they are very light.
Are you going to lower the front end?
Those Convo-Pros look amazing all polished up.......somebody will want those as they are making a bit of a cult comeback.......one thing about them is that they are very light.
Jebby
I noticed how light the vintage centerlines are while moving the rims around. They seem to be most sought after when sized for vintage land cruisers. Any forum member in SF Bay Area , I’m willing to part with them cheap. Otherwise I’ll throw them on eBay. Same goes for the dove tail rear bumper cover.
Bumper cover install didn’t go as well as I had hoped.
I used duplicolor and did not clear coat it.
the top corners of bumper cover don’t match up very well and the color match isn’t very good.
The rest of the car is painted poorly so I didn’t want to go to a paint shop for the bumper cover paint.
That said I’ll leave it as is and move on to other projects instead of switching back to the 80’ style rear.
I know fairing could be used to match the oem cover to the body and a better paint job would improve the look but I’m planning to park on the street and drive this car normally, not cover it like my other classics which I babied and kept scratch free.
I think I’ll spend some time on the alignment rack and get the trailing arm shims sorted out next. I set the front toe last week and that helped a lot.
Quick and dirty wheel center and inside spokes repaint. I hit the
bumper-ets too.
I used some plastic plant pots I found lying in my wife’s garden stuff as a mask for wheel centers and taped the front of spoke holes and painted from the back. I used Oreilleys flat black engine paint.
it was a bit disappointing to realize I have a mix match set of stock wheels. I actually got 5 wheels when I bought them on Craigslist. Looks like 2 of one type 3 of another. I only noticed because I needed two different plant pots to mask centers.
when I get into the shop with alignment rack I’ll switch one tire so that I have one style rim on the front and another on the back. I think all the wheels are factory wheels probably just different production years.
The previous owner replaced one side trailing arm bushing but never aligned it. Rear Toe is way off. Ahhhh the shims and that bolt!!!
I'm about halfway done going back to it tomorrow.
More battling the trailing arm
shims. I keep moving shims but not hitting the speciation. At least both side bolts and shims are free and movable now. I think I will order a shim kit. I think I need some different thinner shims to hit the spec. One side had new bushings and was a bit mangled. The other side had probably not been disturbed since 1976. The ancient side still came apart relatively peacefully. I used vice grips and a pry bar to yank the shims.
Last edited by Greengear; Jun 6, 2023 at 10:24 PM.
Got both power windows working and lock on drivers side functioning.
there was a new regulator and inner latch on the drivers side but the rod for lock was missing. made a lock rod that isn’t adjustable and added a door actuator to be connected to something later while in there. I think I’ll do driver only power lock.
With locks and windows working and all the other crap I fixed I was ready for a daily driver or at least a drive to work test. I did a few stops in the dense city and did freeway and stop and go urban traffic.
All good it didn’t smell hot or overheat. Engine was quiet at idle. The 350/th350 combo and total stock everything made it actually pretty comfortable in stop and go traffic. It wasn’t hot weather so that helped everything.
