Well, a friend came over today with a decent digital camera and I finally have some good pictures to share. Over the last couple of days I painted the block and installed the water pump, ps pump and alternator along with all the pulleys and brackets. Still lots of work to do but it's starting to look like a rolling chassis, almost.

Craig

 

That is VERY nice, Is that paint or powdercoating? It looks real smooth & shiney.

 

Very nice!!!!

 

Thanks guys , it has not been easy. All the red is paint and not powder coat. I did the calipers with VHT brake&caliper paint and the rest is ace banner red, about 3 coats wet sanded between each coat and clearcoated. All the black is POR-15, even the red parts were first coated with it. Picky stuff but I like it

Craig

 

Wow! :shocked: There's someone who's got the detailing disease worse than Cali j/k Looks awesome.

 

Hey Craig this is Ken with the Yellow 81..
The last time I saw your car was maybe 2 years ago at the Sonic Burger..Man you have made some progress since then ... It is looking good...
I am enjoying Retirement and these West Virginia Corvette Roads...
Later
Ken

 

That is looking great. The red and black make for a nice contrast. I also love the fact that you are going fuel injection. Looking forward to seeing more pics. Keep up the good work.

 

Man, That sure looks awsome. How long have you been rebuilding. Did you POR15 the whole frame. Great looking vette. Thanks for the pics. Vince

 

Beautiful, beautiful job. I love the contrast also.

 

Man, do I wish I had your patience. Looking awsome!

 

Fantastic! Did you make a color scheme plan before you started or are you taking things one piece at a time?

PS, I think the red upper control arm linkage is a great look/detail!

 

Thanks Jughead . No disease, just lots of time on my hands.

Ken, it is good to hear from you. Don't you miss the Tucson summers? I could send you some canned heat . More like 2 1/2 years. Don't know if you know but I lost the wife to cancer last year - the car has been my therapy

Thanks Eddie, I wasn't sure at first but as I did pieces I liked it more and more. I had the car running briefly, when Ken last saw me, but never got it running right because of fuel pressure issues. When I converted to EFI, I also installed the performer centerbolt heads, GM H.O.T. cam and 1.6 roller rockers. DD2000 shows 455 horse and I can't wait to feel it

It's taken about 2 1/2 years so far Vince and I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I sandblasted the entire frame and all pieces to be painted, prepped with Metal Ready and coated with POR-15. I try to do everything myself but sandblasting a frame is something I will NEVER do again. Between the months and months of hard work, burning up the compressor and rebuilding it, getting sand everywhere and the mess I had to clean up it is something that I would pay to have done in the future.

Thanks Norval. If the chassis has taken this much time, I can imagine how much work the body will be. I am going to prep and paint it myself and I know there and many, many hours waiting for me there.

Craig

 

Wow! Awesome job. I'd be afraid to drive something that purdy!

I'm sorry to hear about your wife.

 

are you missing the cross shaft bolts that hold the bushings in place? There should be bolts, a buig washer and a spring washer there so the bolts don't turn loose.

 

that motor is IMMACULATE. fantastic job. that red paint is so wet. i also por-15 everything in my eng compartment, the frame and the shell 12 yrs ago on my vette when por-15 1st came out and it's still there just like when i put it on, no peeling. awesome stuff. congrats on awesome job

 

Thanks Brian! I know I'll be talking with you later when I have to replace my rocker channels, you did a good job .

Farm_Kid: Just took things one at a time. I was going to do it the other way around (red frame, black stuff) but decided on this way. The red frame would have been more work than I wanted to do.

Thanks 79ls1 and also for your kind words.

Twin_Turbo: No, just haven't installed them yet. Did the washers in red and feel they need to dry a little longer before I use them. I have new grade 8 bolts that I am going to use. I stuck to that throughout the chassis, If it needs to be strong I used grade 8 and stainless everywhere else. There are lots of things that have to be completed. You will notice that the valve covers and thermostat housing are not bolted down either

Craig

 

That looks awesome. I cannot wait to see the finished product!

 

I love the edelbrock efi!

If i didnt have a numbers matching engine. that would be the route I would go!

 

 

I can't wait to see it done either
The one thing I did not like about the ProFlo is the hand held control module. The pop buttons and unlit lcd screen are a drawback so I am writing a windows program to control the ECU. I'll make it available for free to anyone on this Forum that would like it. More on that later in a future thread

Craig