Chevelle project update

[Shovelrick]

Shit, a new 2023 is $60k+. Even 2014s wtih similar miles are going for 20k. I only paid 26 with 22k miles in 2015.

Meanwhile I'm busting ass to make the same as I made when I bought it. Thanks Joe, you idiot.

Going to have this for another 10 years at least

Around 2019/20 my friend and son of guy I worked for about 10-11 yrs 199?- 2004ish had a 2014 F150 eco 4 door with all the goodies even a thing in the tail gate that folded out for a step up and a handle the came up, he was trading it back because payments were too much with his wife’s brand new Bronco so told me I could have it for $45K what he owed he bought a nice used Jeep Wrangler, I still have my 1 owner plain Jane 09 Ram

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

Shit, a new 2023 is $60k+. Even 2014s wtih similar miles are going for 20k. I only paid 26 with 22k miles in 2015.

Meanwhile I'm busting ass to make the same as I made when I bought it. Thanks Joe, you idiot.

Going to have this for another 10 years at least

I hear ya and feel your pain.
Stupid thing is an F350 is the same price as an F150!

 

[Andy69]

Got the brakes working. They may need more attention at some point but once I replaced the one way valve I got some decent power assist.

Moved on to the horrible screeching sound at low idle. The commutator in the old alternator was bad. It was all torn up and I suspect that was the source of the screeching through the whole rpm range. Went away when I replaced the alternator.

Still does it at low idle, under 1000. It’s intermittent, like a rotating something is making contact once per rotation, but only at low rpm. Traced it to the torque converter flex plate area of the transmission. Great.

 

[cheveslakr]

Is it your inspection plate resonating?

 

[Andy69]

I haven’t put it on yet. It’s a plastic universal replacement and doesn’t fit very well so I need a different one.

 

[Andy69]

Forgot to put the remote door release rods in when I put the doors together. What a pain. Took me an hour and a hAlf to get one in. First I put it in wrong, then I put it in right but thought it was wrong and had a hell of a time getting the clip off, then it turns out it was the wrong one anyway. Finally got it and working and ran out of daylight. Left the door panel off so I can put the side view mirror on.

None of this has been any fun.

 

[Andy69]

This is the part where it's a lot of little loose ends that take a while foir each thing. I've been getting an hour or two a day except for m-f last week when I was out of town.

Tonight I figured out where the power top pump was leaking and fixed that. Got a good lift now.
Yesterday I put the foot plate on where the carpet meets the firewall on the driver side and then attached the trim panel under the steering column
Saturday I attached the remaining duct for the AC. I was having trouble figuring out how to route it.

For every item I take off the to do list, I put 3 on.

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

Getting closer to being done, always takes a while to get the bugs out.

 

[Andy69]

Worked on lights today. Courtesy lights werent working. Bulbs were blown, so I replaced them and they blew again. Turns out they were the wrong bulbs. Got the right ones but the passenger jam switch is too short.

Had no brake lights either. Traced it to the turn signal switch. I get power going in from the brake switch but intermittent power going to the brakes and turn signals. I think the turn signal switch may have an issue. They are working now but may not continue to.

I'll be very happy when I no longer have to squeeze my fat old self into the driver footwell to work on the damn wiring.

 

[Andy69]

Working on the exhaust today. It was sitting too low. Managed to get the left side up under the body more. What a wrestling match. The down part of the down tubes is too long so it hangs down below the cross member. Thornton recommended using the Jegs down tubes for manifold exhaust but I may need to have something custom made if it becomes a problem.

Going to do the right side tomorrow

 

[kmakar]

I've had issues before like you mention and have had to get shorty headers to fix the issue with new downpipes made.

 

[Andy69]

I've had issues before like you mention and have had to get shorty headers to fix the issue with new downpipes made.

I was looking at it again from the side and it doesn’t look as bad. It’s still low in the front but it’s about even with the oil pan.


On another note, I got the exhaust squared away. It was a bit of a wrestling match but I’ve got it tucked up nice and tight.

 

[Andy69]

Replaced the radiator with a new aluminum affair. It’s really almost ready for a drive around the block to get it up to temp and see if it behaves.

The problem is it’s stuck in the garage. I can get it out the back through my single overhead door but the yard is closed and no way to get it around to the front. I’ve got two other cars plus all the stuff I bought from the estate in June.

Decided to do some rearranging and went to move the convertible into the yard. No response fron the starter so I put the charger back on it thinking it was dead but the battery has a full charge. Jiggled the shifter around and the starter hit but immediately everything went dead. Blew a fuse I guess but now I’m going to have to do some sleuthing .

 

[JohnC]

Well thank stinks.
What radiator did buy? I heard good thing about champion and got one for my C10. Ill
Need to get one for the Malibu too

 

[kmakar]

Replaced the radiator with a new aluminum affair. It’s really almost ready for a drive around the block to get it up to temp and see if it behaves.

The problem is it’s stuck in the garage. I can get it out the back through my single overhead door but the yard is closed and no way to get it around to the front. I’ve got two other cars plus all the stuff I bought from the estate in June.

Decided to do some rearranging and went to move the convertible into the yard. No response fron the starter so I put the charger back on it thinking it was dead but the battery has a full charge. Jiggled the shifter around and the starter hit but immediately everything went dead. Blew a fuse I guess but now I’m going to have to do some sleuthing .

Neutral switch not lined up properly, or is it connecting intermittently?

 

[Andy69]

Well thank stinks.
What radiator did buy? I heard good thing about champion and got one for my C10. Ill
Need to get one for the Malibu too

Bough the Champion they lits as fitting the Nova. It has the exact same dimensions as the one I took out. I just had to cut the mounting pads down a bit since the old radiator was round and the new one was square.

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

How is the car coming along?

 

[Andy69]

Haven’t touched it since I blew a fuse or whatever it was last month. It’s more or less ready for a road test once I fix that, but there is no rush since I can’t get the car out of the garage without moving a ton of stuff around. I have to rearrange the cars such that the Chevelle is on the side with the overhead door that opens to the driveway and my other two project cars are in the shop area. Normally no big deal except I still have two spots full of parts from the estate I bought in June. All that and I still have my ST sitting in the driveway.

Never thought a 24x40 garage would seem so small.

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

Haven’t touched it since I blew a fuse or whatever it was last month. It’s more or less ready for a road test once I fix that, but there is no rush since I can’t get the car out of the garage without moving a ton of stuff around. I have to rearrange the cars such that the Chevelle is on the side with the overhead door that opens to the driveway and my other two project cars are in the shop area. Normally no big deal except I still have two spots full of parts from the estate I bought in June. All that and I still have my ST sitting in the driveway.

Never thought a 24x40 garage would seem so small.

Was it Gallagher that said we need bigger houses to put more stuff? Garages are the same way. Mine is one project away from a coordination disaster.

 

[Andy69]

Hopefully today I’ll get the garage rearranged. I need to move the 7 and the CRX into the work area and the convertible into the area behind the driveway door. Most of the work now involves road testing.

About to order the parts for the 7 from Caterham and Meteor. Upgrading the 30 year old Bilstein dampers to modern double adjustables with matched springs which should improve handling considerably. I got an email from Caterham regarding the aluminum side panel and apparently it’s a “custom order”, which means bend over.