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Just switching gears a little to my seats. I finished up my Vintage Air, but I'm not ready to install my dash yet as there are a cpl more things in want to finish under there. I decided to move to getting my interior ready. I welded elevator bolts to my floor pan to use as studs for my Recaro seat brackets. My intention was to use my friends rear bench as a temporary setup until i could have my rear bucket setup installed. My intent was to use my friends old rear bench, but a '68 Chevelle rear seat is wider due to the armrest configuration. I ended up starting on my plan for the rear seats sooner than i expected. I also took the time to trim and install my rear carpet.
With some advice from by buddy that does interiors, I built this base for the new rear seat. Here is one of the rear seats as it will sit before my friend completes the upholstery. He will build filler between the seats and and both sides when he does the upholstery.
Do you have any more pics and progress on the rear seats as that is what I am considering doing in my 65 also
I actually changed that setup. The base wouldn't drop low enough for anyone needing to sit back there. Even though the stock rear bench is taller, the springs give way when you sit. This base doesn't move, so it was to high even for my better half and she's 4'11. The solution is to pull the cushion off of the seat base and also cut a hole in the wooden base, then use webbing to support the cushion. The hole with the webbing will allow the butt portion to sink when you sit on it.
I found a GTO rear seat for $100 and chopped down the back and welded it back to fit. This is my solution for now...
Last edited by csouth; October 15th, 2017 at 06:06 PM.
I have been fighting it, but I think that's the right call. I have a lot of research to do.
I probably would have the 455 in my car right now if it didn't get stolen. I was never opposed to the idea of an LS in my car though.
If you have any questions you can always hit me up....
So I spent today building my new door panels, the originals were warped from moisture. I had to buy new mounting hardware. It was a tedious process, but I think they give me a good base to start with. I'll wrap them once i come up with a final design.
Haven't posted in a while, had a couple of small things to do like moving my motor forward slightly. I got a FAST102 intake for a good price and I didn't like the way it sits right against the firewall.
I also took a real basic rout on the door panels for now. I padded and wrapped them in a plain black, finishing the setup off with handle and window cranks from Clayton Machine. Still not sure about the door handle position, but it will due for now.
Last edited by csouth; June 8th, 2018 at 10:36 AM.
You have so many great parts on this car! Everything i did to my 71 you have done to your car with better parts! I absolutely love the way mine rides and drives now, so you will no doubt be impressed. Get those last details done and drive!
You have so many great parts on this car! Everything i did to my 71 you have done to your car with better parts! I absolutely love the way mine rides and drives now, so you will no doubt be impressed. Get those last details done and drive!
The last few details are the ones that are killing me .....
I know all about that. My tanks inc tank leaked at the sending unit even though I used the appropriate sealant with their supplied gasket, my driveline had some vibration once I got to 60 that only got worse when I did the 2” drop. That was fixed with a CV driveshaft. My junkyard 6.0 didn’t have as much life left as I had hoped so I got a new forged short block. All in all it took 2 years after getting it running to get to where I am now, which is a dependable car that I can let my wife take on a 100 mile trip without worrying... even though she won’t until I add air conditioning. Truth is, it never ends but it’s a fun journey.
I know all about that. My tanks inc tank leaked at the sending unit even though I used the appropriate sealant with their supplied gasket, my driveline had some vibration once I got to 60 that only got worse when I did the 2” drop. That was fixed with a CV driveshaft. My junkyard 6.0 didn’t have as much life left as I had hoped so I got a new forged short block. All in all it took 2 years after getting it running to get to where I am now, which is a dependable car that I can let my wife take on a 100 mile trip without worrying... even though she won’t until I add air conditioning. Truth is, it never ends but it’s a fun journey.
I had to move my engine forward after I purchased my driveshaft, so I may be in a position to need another one. The drive shaft shop and Bowler Performance both told me to drive the car first and I would know between 50-60mph if it was too short. If you don't mind me asking, how much does a CV driveshaft run?
I'd have to go looking for the receipt to be sure, but if I recall it was $850. My car had a vibration starting at 60mph and got really worrisome by 80. I had the original shaft shortened and balanced for the swap and then had it re-balanced one other time. No amount of driveline angle adjustment got rid of the vibration, and when I lowered it 2" there was no denying that I had to bite the bullet and get a CV shaft made. Now I can cruise interstate speeds of 80 smooth as glass at about 2500rpm.
I'd have to go looking for the receipt to be sure, but if I recall it was $850. My car had a vibration starting at 60mph and got really worrisome by 80. I had the original shaft shortened and balanced for the swap and then had it re-balanced one other time. No amount of driveline angle adjustment got rid of the vibration, and when I lowered it 2" there was no denying that I had to bite the bullet and get a CV shaft made. Now I can cruise interstate speeds of 80 smooth as glass at about 2500rpm.
Ok, just wanted to be prepared mentally in case I have to bite the bullet..lol Using the tool from Tremec, I was able to get the driveline angles within range, but I won't know anything for sure until I hit the highway...
Between cutting the tunnel to get your trans in the right place and the lower pinion location on your 9" there is a good chance you will get away without needing a cv. I had 2.9 deg down at the trans, but after lowering my driveshaft was 1deg up from trans to pinion which made my front operating angle 4 deg and my rear angle was the opposite direction it should have been.... I couldn't avoid it in my car but you should be able to dial in a regular u joint shaft.
Between cutting the tunnel to get your trans in the right place and the lower pinion location on your 9" there is a good chance you will get away without needing a cv. I had 2.9 deg down at the trans, but after lowering my driveshaft was 1deg up from trans to pinion which made my front operating angle 4 deg and my rear angle was the opposite direction it should have been.... I couldn't avoid it in my car but you should be able to dial in a regular u joint shaft.
I hope so.... Did you have adjustable upper rear arms? I was able to use that to dial my pinion angle in, so maybe that will help.
Yes, I have UMI Performance adjustable roto-joint uppers and non adjustable roto-joint lowers. All sorts of adjustability but there was no winning with the geometry i had to work with.
Yes, I have UMI Performance adjustable roto-joint uppers and non adjustable roto-joint lowers. All sorts of adjustability but there was no winning with the geometry i had to work with.
Not to hijack your thread, but here is mine as of yesterday. My daughter firmly believes she is going to talk me into letting her have "Stella" as her first car. She loves the sounds and smells that come with old cars. One of her favorite things is spending time in the garage handing Dad tools and pretending she's driving. Pretty good kid.
Not to hijack your thread, but here is mine as of yesterday. My daughter firmly believes she is going to talk me into letting her have "Stella" as her first car. She loves the sounds and smells that come with old cars. One of her favorite things is spending time in the garage handing Dad tools and pretending she's driving. Pretty good kid.
Just a quick update... Had some road time this summer and car runs good and is getting better the more I drove it as it should with the Holley. I did encounter an issue with my suspension due to the floater housing and the wide z06 calipers. Based on how close the caliper was to the frame, it would press the caliper against the rotor at compression. I ended up pulling the floater and selling it on another forum. I purchased a new Moser semi-float and rear parking brake kit from Kore3. I had the housing powder coated satin black along with my air intake tube. I also finally powder coated my calipers. When I bought the calipers, they were priced with the understanding that they would need to be powder coated. I decided on the Prismatic Illusion Blueberry. Next is getting the calipers reassembled and back on the car.
Congratulations on getting it out on the road. Too bad about the issues you had with the rear, but sounds like you are on the homestretch. Hope its living up to the expectations you had at the beginning of the project.
Congratulations on getting it out on the road. Too bad about the issues you had with the rear, but sounds like you are on the homestretch. Hope its living up to the expectations you had at the beginning of the project.
It seems like I'm always thinking of something I would have done differently along the way, but I'm enjoying it....lo Yeah, it turned out to be a financial loss from what I had into, but I needed it as soon as possible.
Originally Posted by garys 68&72
Very, very nice work. I hope everyone appreciates the work and detail required to do EVERYTHING on a car like yours.
Thanks Gary its been a long journey and I'm sure you can understand having done 2 cars. I'm looking forward to next year and hitting some shows...
Noticed you are running MSD plug wires with heat shields. Keep an eye on them.. I was running the same setup and burned 3 out of 8 plug wires to varying extents. Thought i had an exhaust leak at my headers but the sound was spark arcing through the dried and cracked silicone to my headers. My dyno tune was done with those wires that i found out a week or so later were cooked. Ended up ordering angled ceramic Accell wires, but with my dougs headers i have 1 that wont fit so using one of the good MSD ones there temporarily until I find a better solution (it'll probably end up being permenant).
Noticed you are running MSD plug wires with heat shields. Keep an eye on them.. I was running the same setup and burned 3 out of 8 plug wires to varying extents. Thought i had an exhaust leak at my headers but the sound was spark arcing through the dried and cracked silicone to my headers. My dyno tune was done with those wires that i found out a week or so later were cooked. Ended up ordering angled ceramic Accell wires, but with my dougs headers i have 1 that wont fit so using one of the good MSD ones there temporarily until I find a better solution (it'll probably end up being permenant).
With headers being ceramic coated, the heat shields and the MSD wires, I'm hoping I will be ok? Those wires have the tips where you can angle them at the plug however you need, I'm guessing the same ones you used? I'll definitely keep an eye out, thanks for the tip.
Last edited by csouth; October 23rd, 2018 at 06:52 AM.
Yup. I had the same thought process. Ceramic coated headers, heat shields and angling the MSD's for some clearance so should be good to go. Someone at a car show warned me and i took it with a grain of salt. Turns out he was right and it did the same to me as it had to him. I am starting to think the wire wraps hold heat in and end up being worse than just the wires by themselves.
Do you have part numbers for the Chevelle frame mounts and Energy Suspension mounts? Did you need to drill any holes in the frame for the Chevelle mounts?
Any issues with the f-body pan? Does your car have factory AC? Wondering if the engine sits far enough forward to clear it.
Do you have part numbers for the Chevelle frame mounts and Energy Suspension mounts? Did you need to drill any holes in the frame for the Chevelle mounts?
Any issues with the f-body pan? Does your car have factory AC? Wondering if the engine sits far enough forward to clear it.
Thanks
My car was a factory AC car, but of course that all has been gutted for Vintage Air. My car currently sits far enough fwd to use low mount AC with the Dirty Dingo braket. My compressor is now low mount because I want to do some other things to the motor next year.
I used the short wide frame stands which would use the Energy Suspension 3.1115G I think. If you want to got low mount AC, stay away from the F Body oil pan. You cannot move the engine off the firewall much from my experience with the F Body pan and I switched mine to Autokraft pan. I would used the Holley setup now if I were doing a swap just because its a complete system, pan and mounts. It takes all the guess work out of the motor position and driveline angles.
If low mount AC is not your concern, the UMI stands and mounts are a nice setup and and they were designed around the F Body pan.
My car was a factory AC car, but of course that all has been gutted for Vintage Air. My car currently sits far enough fwd to use low mount AC with the Dirty Dingo braket. My compressor is now low mount because I want to do some other things to the motor next year.
I used the short wide frame stands which would use the Energy Suspension 3.1115G I think. If you want to got low mount AC, stay away from the F Body oil pan. You cannot move the engine off the firewall much from my experience with the F Body pan and I switched mine to Autokraft pan. I would used the Holley setup now if I were doing a swap just because its a complete system, pan and mounts. It takes all the guess work out of the motor position and driveline angles.
If low mount AC is not your concern, the UMI stands and mounts are a nice setup and and they were designed around the F Body pan.
Thank you
We could probably fabricate a mount for the compressor (truck accessories). Do you think thee is enough room in the back for the original AC/Heater box? I know the holley is a good fit, but it's way more expensive than my 60 dollar f-body pan. I'm hesitant to notch the frame as it has been powder coated.
We could probably fabricate a mount for the compressor (truck accessories). Do you think thee is enough room in the back for the original AC/Heater box? I know the holley is a good fit, but it's way more expensive than my 60 dollar f-body pan. I'm hesitant to notch the frame as it has been powder coated.
There is room for the original AC box, lots of swap cars still retain that unit and some have even hooked it up to the LS stuff. So my question is, do you need low mount AC? I moved mine because I'm going forced induction later and its easier for me that way. You can use the high mount accessories like most people with A bodies do in their swaps.
There is room for the original AC box, lots of swap cars still retain that unit and some have even hooked it up to the LS stuff. So my question is, do you need low mount AC? I moved mine because I'm going forced induction later and its easier for me that way. You can use the high mount accessories like most people with A bodies do in their swaps.
I think we could move the AC to wherever works best. Should be able to create some type of mount for it if need be.
I'm all for saving money, but not at the expense of a powdercoated frame that you gonna notch and rattle can over. the repair. I think you're looking at money and not considering you're time and effort that you cannot get back.
October 15th, 2017, 11:08 AM
