Steve, I had the same thing with the Christmas tree fasteners when I put the new windshield cowl to firewall/hood seal on. I found that by warming them up and a little oil did help. Whether or not this is a correct way of doing it, it did help out. I am glad the lock cylinder is progressing. Perhaps warming it up too and tapping on the body with a plastic mallet gently to shock the oil deeper into the mechanism will bring results. I used to do this procedure on lock cylinders on cars that were driven in salt belts (taxis) and the procedure was usually met with decent success. Regards, Howie.

 

steve, warm them up a little, dip them in trans fluid or synthetic oil. use a 1/4 inch extension with a squared off end. maybe one with a screwdriver handle and push it in.
might take a little turning and pushing, but they will go in.
by the way i have the c-pillars and ash tray door ready for you.
just call if you need me to walk you through it
thanks jsfry 847-508-5090

 

Thanks for the tips guys, I was able to heat them a little with a heat gun then starting them through the hole.Then my wife would pull the tip on the ouside and I tapped then through with a rubber mallet. Got the firewall insulation, inner heater box,A/c box,recirc. chamber in the right kick panel installed.

The rear lock cylinder still not freeing up yet after soaking all weekend. The key goes in and out good and feels like it is getting closer. I flipped and am soaking some more. Here are some pics of the progress.

 

I'm just an old kid who still builds models and there is a paint I use to imitate metal finishes that can be buffed when dry. It looks very real. Is there any product similar for the resto industry?

http://www.testors.com/category/1456...r_Enamel_Paint

 

Nice work Steve. Did you machine the new assemblies for turn, tilt and gear select yourself? That billet look is impressive.

 

Allan, They are e-bay pieces they look pretty good for the price. I sent out the POA valve and expansion valve today for the A/C so that will be back in a few weeks. Also picked up the crank,rods,pistons and bearings for the engine. Lots of work to do just have to find the time.

 

Gawd what a beautiful project!!

 

Thanks for the comment on the car. Been working on liitle stuff lately. Have almost all the pieces for the engine so may start that this weekend. Need a couple of dash pieces before I can paint it and put it back in, Will post some more pics this weekend.

 

Guys, What can be done with the anodized aluminum trim around the windows? Can it be polished? I was thinking maybe powdercoated since this is a modified car. I have decnt pieces but have marks and small scratchs in them. Thanks

 

Should be able to polish it back to new. I'd try that first before PC. One 'trick' that was mentioned on another thread. Use the shiny side (only) of some aluminum foil and lots of water to rub down the surface of the trim. It should buff up better than it is. That will give you a good idea of how much it will take on the polishing wheel.

 

Thanks Allan R I will try that but this anodize is pretty tough stuff. I have another question. Does somone have a picture of the tail gate wireharness routing around the hinge? I took pictures but still am confused. You know a picture is worth 1000 words. Thanks

 

Was able to get started on the engine this weekend. Got soft plugs installed,primed the block. Still trying to figure out the rear gate harness routing. Here are some pics.

 

Steve...I have several photos of the harness hinge area....PM me your e-mail, I will send. I don't want to shrink them to lose clarity, so I'll send over a series of separate e-mails....also, let me know what you end up with doing the anodized side trim. I assumed I could sand and polish.

 

Thanks Erik, With the pics you provided got it figured out. It makes sense now. Back to the engine now.

 

On those anodized trim parts, what I've found is that pretty much nothing 'works', once the anodizing is compromised. And, to make matters worse, in order to have them anodized again, they need to be stripped of the remaining anodizing, which makes the process more intensive/expensive.

Stripping and polishing the aluminum brings only so-so results, after many labor hours I may add, ask me how I know.

Powder coating would require they be stripped too, fyi...

Your options are to either paint what you have the way they are, maybe after some minor surface prep or send them out for refurb.

Why the heck did GM pick & choose which were made from stainless and which were anodized aluminum!?!

Wouldn't it be nice if someone invented a machine, like those home gutter-making things, that pumps out trim? Heh-heh!

-

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I honestly didn't know that there was anodized aluminum on the car? Which trim pieces are they? I'll try researching this, now I'm curious. From what I remember about anodized metal, it will never rust. But I'm not sure about whether the protection is just for the surface, or whether the whole metal structure is molecularly (is that a word?) different?

 

The belt reveal mouldings standard on Supreme, optional on "S" are anodized aluminum as well as the headlight bezels and the thin mouldings around the grille mesh of the 71 -72 442s. That's all I can think of. There maybe some on the 71 & 72 "S" grilles. Others may think of more. It's a good trivia question. Since your a fellow Canadian, I spelled "moulding" the Canadian way.

 

Ok, so it's a preparation / protectant to create a very hard surface layer that won't let the aluminum oxidize. Found some interesting sites and information. If the aluminum has an anodized surface, most of the sites recommend sanding with emery cloth, then refinish with zinc chromate (to bite/bond into the aluminum) and then paint.

Found this site which promotes a cleaner/restorer for anodized aluminum. Sounds labor intensive (like restoring a 70 VC isn't? ha ha ha) http://www.everbritecoatings.com/aluminum.htm

This one from the AACA suggests you can strip it yourself and finish, also suggests sending the parts for re-anodizing. They say the plater will strip the old surface before re-anodizing. Do you have a plater closeby who can verify that? If the part has pits, I think they can use the same copper build as the chrome process to build to an even finish, but am not 100% sure. http://forums.aaca.org/f120/how-rest...gs-169252.html

I found this at Second Chance Garage that describes a very simple way to 'de-anodize' worn trim parts. Definitely worth a read: http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/665.cfm

 

Thx, that would explain why they didn't clean up very well when I used that trick for stainless (polish with shiny side of aluminum/water). Now I can play with some of the info I just learned on the web!!

"Moulding" is kind of the same as "colour" and "Zed". In grade school I remember we had to use proper [British] spelling because we were all subjects of the Monarchy at the time. Every Monday morning we had to go to the gym and sing "God Save the Queen" and recite Psalm 23. Pierre made that go away. We also had to know and abide by all the grammar/phonetic/spelling/punctuation rules that no one know or care about today; or we'd get our knuckles rapped. Yikes! That tells you how old I am...I'd bet that 99% of the people I speak with wouldn't know what to do if I said to 'conjugate the verb: "go" ' Not that it's important.... If it was, I would have learned Latin or something

But just to let you know that I did go to school and take notes, your, you're, and yore are all homonyms. I think you meant to use 'you're' in reference to being a fellow Canuck. I must have PMS today. Sorry bout dat...

BTW, we both know what that means, but my wife would tell you PMS means 'P'utting up with 'Man' 'Shit'.

 

Thanks for the links Allan, I may tr stripping the anodized and polish. It ahs to be like a aluminum wheel and if I keep on it once in a while it should stay nice.

Set the crank in the engine and file fit all the rings. Tommorow I will assemble the rods and pistons astart installing them.

 

You're welcome. Hope you don't mind being the test guinea pig doing this. Really looking forward to seeing your results.

 

This week progress waa getting the roof rack stainless back from the polisher.

Started assembly of the engine and got the crank and the pistons installed. Everything fit good and will install and degree in the cam next. I will be running it on my friends (BTR) dyno when done. It should make around 450 HP and 600 ft lbs all at low rpms. Here are some pics of the progress.

 

Steve, this should be the hottest tow car in existence. I will be getting in touch to see this in person when summer hits....I'll be making my annual jaunt to Rochester probably in August....

 

Yes, draino will strip anodizing, as will easy-off oven cleaner. Both you have to be careful with. The only reason to strip it yourself is if you're going to attempt to polish it. Because the grade of aluminum is low, they won't polish out like a set of billet wheels would, FYI. If you plan on having them refurb'ed, don't bother stripping, the place you send them will strip them.

I'm guessing all the side windows have anodized moulding, and maybe the bacK? Windshield trim is probably regular a-body stuff, and is most likely SS.

.

 

The Vista progress is really looking good.

I fixed the dings and polished all the trim myself when I did mine, by the time I finished polishing a mile of the stuff I got really good at it.
I was even able to repair the door edge guard I turned into a pretzel on the buffer where you couldn't even tell.

The trim on the door frames around the windows is anodized along with the piece that covers the "B" pillar between the doors. Maybe the headlight trim is too??
The windshield and rear side and back window trim is stainless. The windshield does have longer vertical pieces along with the front drip molding than a two door.

 

Erik. That would be fun. Let me know when you are coming up.

 

Yes, the trim around the side windows and between the doors is anodized. I may have to farm out but don't know exactly what I am doing yet.

 

Recieved the stuff from classic auto air for the a/c system and it looks real good. They checked the expansion valve,POA valve and recalibrated POA for 134. The replating of the stuff looks real good and reproduction hosed look nice also.

 

I used Classic Auto Air as well, very happy with everything, would recommend them to all.

Interested in seeing the numbers from BTR, post those once done if you don't mind!

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I will post numbers when I get them. I am a little ways form getting on the dyno. Hope to have the more together in the next cople of weeks. Will have to wait for pushrods once I check the rocker geometry. I have never used the pedestal rockers from sharpe.

 

I'm also curious on more info on the engine build itself, like if you used restrictors in the main oiling passages, the rods you used, cam profile, etc. There may come a time here within a couple years I may build a 455, hence my interest...

.

 

This engine is a basic 496" stroker build. It has 7.1 cat rods,cp/bullet pistons,off the shelf .218/.224@.050 .475/480 comp cam. No oil restrictors,no fancy oiling mods. I am using big valve "E" heads that had some decent porting done to them at one time,harland sharp pedestal rockers.

 

Making progress on the engine. Got the cam installed and degreed in. The cam card wanted installed at 106 and came out at 105.5 which should be ok. I really isn't that hard to do and worth checking. I had 2 timing chain sets and the first one was way out. Some pics.

 

Steve, thanks for the plethora of information, it will come in handy as I gather up needed parts for my own 455 being built up, the pitfalls read about which many other have posted too are helping me to keep my eyes open. I have heard many horror stories of timing gear sets being way off. It looks like I will be selecting an Edelbrock 2152 cam and 7813 gear set to go with the 2151 intake I managed to find. Regardless, I'll have to find one of those degree wheel sets you used to ensure there is no big errors in timing. I'll have to post the question in the forums about the 'likes' or 'dislikes' of the setup mentioned. Nice to see things progressing for you.

 

105.5, with initial chain stretch, will put you on target.

What brand set was way out, and which did you end up using?

Same cam in my engine, and I used a Comp set. Came out .5 off as well, and thought it was the Comp sets most have issues with.

I normally use only Cloyes ture roller in all my builds, I have yet to have one end up far out. Got the Comp in a kit and decided to see how far it was out (which it wasn't).

.

 

The one set was on the engine when I took it apart. Thr second onw is a cloyes double roller set from my race motor when I went to a solid roller. The cloyes is what I used. I don't like wasting stuff and this set was in good shape.

I setup a set of the sharp pedastal rockers and with the stock 9.547 pushrods it will work great.

 

Steve,

Great job so far, can't wait to see it finished. Keep the pics coming!

 

I ended up using the Comp roller tips, but did have to doctor them some. There was like 3 or so of them that the slot was boogered up, and I had to lap all the fulcrums in (some would hang up, so did them all). I should go back and just swap them all for full rollers.

.

 

Made some more progress on the car. Installed the outside door handles,lock cylinders,moldings around the top above the gate,run channel for rear gate glass,weathsrips around the doors and taillight housing and checked to make sure they work.

I am in need of 4 clips that hold the rear mldg on top of the gate. Maybe someone has some extras. Thanks

 

Nice job steve!! I went through all of your postings today after I checked out to see if there were any more postings on the Pace car that I'm doing for my customer. I do have one question... How did you get the car out of the garage when it was on the rotisserie?... it looked like it was higher then the door