yours is looking great!!!
heres my new color and it was i was looking for

[IMG][/IMG]

more to go tonight also....

 

i've been told by a car show judge (and a car appraiser) that Rustoleum Satin Black is the same mix as GM Chasis black. Alot cheaper too.

 

kevin: It is looking really good! Your progressive is impressive, even though it may seem slow to you at times.
Noticed your new GM labeled upper and lower radiator hoses in the photos. Where did you obtain yours?
One of the things I have noticed on 73's over the years is incorrect top rad. non GM hoses that rub on the alter. bracket, top of radiator, etc.
My GM parts catalog shows upper rad. hose to be part # 368685 for 73 to 74 models; #355347 for 73 to 76 lower rad. hose
Thanks,Patrick

 

I'm almost out of beer, so I must be close to being finished

After another night of working on this thing I am almost ready to install the engine.
The dash is put back together
Spent $100 on new hoses, hose clamps, fittings, and fluids yesterday.

Everything that will be painted, has been painted.
The engine, headers and accessories have been trial fitted, and after a few more modifications this evening it looks like everything will actually fit together and line up correctly.

Beer store tonight, pick up the engine hoist in the morning, and hopefully get the 383 where it belongs tomorrow afternoon.

If anyone in the North Dallas area is free tomorrow and would like drink a few and help turn wrenches I would appreciate any help I can get. Just IM or e-mail me for directions.

Patrick,
I don't remember the part numbers on the hoses I've got, but they came from Volunteer Vette.
I'll compare those part numbers tonight and see if they are what I have.
I used to have a Gates upper hose on it and I remember that I had to put the hose on it backwards to keep it from rubbing the alt. belt. Hopefully this one will line up better.

 

Kevin: If and when you have any energy left from your marathon work weekend give us an update on your project!--Patrick

 

Marathon is an understatement!!!

The engine is in!!!! :
I had to beat on the headers to make sure they cleared the frame and the steering box.
The headers now clear everything and are installed
Everything is hooked up except the plug wires

I had a friend come over on Saturday and give me a hand getting the engine and tranny into it, and it only took a little over an hour to get that done.
Budman78 and his friend stopped by this afternoon and helped me beat on one of the headers for a while.
Thank you guys for the help

At this point all I lack to be able to start the thing is to stab the distributor, run the plug wires, fill everything with fluids, and put the sidepipes on it (Although Budman would probably disagree with the part about the sidepipes).

I am going to try to get the baffles installed into the sidepipes tonight before I pass out, and hopefully be able to start it tomorrow evening.

I took some pictures yesterday, and will take more tonight, but I can't upload them because I left the cable for my camera at the office.
I will get them up sometime tomorrow though.

 

Both DVG73 and I had a good time. I'm still grinning after you fired up the R/C plane with the jet engine. Damn the was cool. Now just strap two of these on the luggage rack and go.




The motor is going to be a screamer.

 

[IMG][/IMG]
well here it is on the fire wall, i went with gloss black on the frame.... still painting frame area although i'm almost done.... tape will come off in a couple of days

 

Pics of the progress!!

This is a shot of the stand-offs I made for the AC compressor bracket, the bolts actually line up better now than they did with the stock ram horns on it.










After posting last night I got a second wind and dove back into it with force!
After a lot of grunting, groaning, and cursing I was finally able to get the driver's side sidepipe installed.



Engine is finished, and fluids are in!!



Please disregard the ugly plug wires and looms. I have a nice set of blue MSD wires for it, but so far I haven't found a wire loom that I like, so I didn't want to install the nice wires until I was sure how they will be routed.





Battery has been hooked up, and the electrons seem to be flowing through the new wiring harnesses correctly.

I could conceivably install the passenger sidepipe this evening and crank it up, except for one more minor problem.
I have to change the receiver/dryer (actually a VIR) before I can charge the AC, and last night I realized that the only access to it is now blocked by the passenger side header so that header will have to come off before I can charge the AC system. I really don't want to pull that header again, but it would make a lot more sense to do it now while I have all the tools out and everything is still clean under there.
It is most likely that tonight I will just get the passenger sidepipe fitted, then go ahead and pull everything back off so I can get access to the VIR. That will mean that Wednesday evening will be the earliest that I will be able to hear this thing for the first time.

 

really nice and fast work!

 

Kevin: Outstanding work! The engine, engine compartment and firewall area all really look good! You have done alot of quality work in a short amount of time. Keep going; you are nearly finished.--Patrick

 

Thanks to both of you for the help.
After you left I was able to get to Home Depot before they closed and get the bolts I needed for the valve covers and as you can see from the pics I made some real progress after that.
Unfortunately that header that we beat on, installed, and re-installed 5 times will have to come off again so I can get to some AC components.

I will hopefully be cranking this thing up on Wednesday evening, if you are free I could probably use some moral support when I turn the key

BTW,
This is the model jet that I ran for them :

 

Had a good time yesterday. Nothing like being an expert in header removal. Bummer that you have to take it back off again, at least it is the passenger side and you don't have to weave it around the steering box. The car looks great with the rest of the side pipe attached. Made me cringe a bit beating on a new header but you gotta do what you gotta do, and definetly no harm done and it sure beats having a rattle. I would love to be there when you crank 'er up but I will out of town. Good luck and I am sure that it will crank just fine, probably better that I am not there considering what mine did on start up. The plane was awesome, very cool.

 

wow looks really nice....

 

Well almost....

Came home from work at about 4:45 today.
As soon as I got home I started fitting the passenger sidepipe, and was happily surprised to find that it was much more cooperative than the driver's side had been.
By 6:15 the sidepipe was assembled with the baffle, dry fitted to the header, and ready to be bolted on, so I started working on pulling the starter/compressor/sparkplugs/header/VIR.
By 7:00 I had the VIR on the bench being rebuilt (I guess all the practice I got with the header yesterday payed off after all).
At this point I quit looking at the time, but before I knew it I had bolted everything back on the car, hooked all the electrical back up,installed the other sidepipe, pulled a vacuum on the AC system, pre-oiled the engine, and re-installed the distributor.
At one point I was sitting in the driver's seat with the key in the ignition, but since I like most of my neighbors I thought better of it.

I still need to install a belt for the AC and charge the system, install the hood, and install the passenger side rocker panel (which needs a little trimming at the front), but I am going to get at least 7 hours of sleep tonight, and hopefully it will not be raining in the morning so I can push it outside and turn that key!!!

 

Damn good job.

 

It had been raining all morning, but right before I was about to leave for work the rain stopped so the anticipation got the better of me and I pushed the car out of the garage for the first startup.
Turned the key and heard the dreaded (by somewhat expected) click click.
So I pulled the Durango over and hooked up the cables, and let it charge for a few minutes, and while I was waiting I poured a little gas into the carb and got the fire extinguisher out just in case.
Hopped in and turned the key again. It almost immediately caught, fired up, and ran for about a second.
So I knew the timing was close enough to start it.
Turned the key again, it turned over for a couple of seconds and then fired up and kept running
This thing is LOUD
But I like it!!!!!

There were no leaks that I could see, and the fast idle seemed just about right. While it was running I kept an eye on the coolant level, and adding another quart of ATF to the tranny so I wouldn't have to push it back into the garage.
Checked the timing, and it was WAY too high (around 35 at idle)
I had just begun sorting out the timing when the rain started, followed closely by pure comedy.
It didn't just start sprinkling a little first, the sky just opened up and started dumping HUGE drops all over my nice new engine and into the open cockpit, and there I was with crap laying everywhere.
So I figured I could just put it in reverse and back it back into the garage.
That's when I realized that I should have put in that last quart of tranny fluid!
So there I was, no gears, rain pouring down soaking the interior and engine and of course there is a slight upward grade into my garage so on the wet ground it is going to be a serious problem to push this thing.
As quickly as I could I shut it off, threw the top up, and disconnected the timing light and jumper cables. After rocking it a few times I was able to get the rear tires over the lip of the garage floor and get the back half of the car out of the rain (not really the half that I was worried about, but at least it was something).
Then I walked around to the passenger side to find out what the crunching noise I had heard over the rain as the car rolled those few feet into the garage.
I didn't find anything except the right rear tire sitting squarely on top of the left horn of my air cleaner
I can probably fix it, so all I could do was laugh my *** off at myself.

Now at least the firewall was out of the rain so I was able to add the other quart of tranny fluid. I started it up again and it went into gear like it is supposed to, and I backed it the rest of the way into the garage.

I now know that it runs,and it drives (albeit only 6 feet in reverse), and luckily nothing burned, melted, or exploded.
After hearing this thing and blipping the throttle a few times I have a feeling that it is going to be a MONSTER.
If this weather would ever clear up I could start having fun in this thing.

I am very happy today!!

 

COOL...congrats on the startup..is this a new motor? did you break in the cam?

 

New 383
Roller cam so break-in isn't really required for it, I just need to get the rings seated and I am good to go.

 

I drove it!!!!

Sky cleared up this afternoon, so I was able to pull the car out of the garage again and get the timing set properly.
Even though the roads were still a little wet I decided to drive it around the block a little just to get used to it.
All I can say is WOW!!!
I like my 383, but I have a feeling the neighbors aren't gonna feel the same way about it.

More pics coming later.