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  Jeff's World Tour - Project Chevy March 2009 (2)

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So I finally got rid of the Buick that was taking up my extra space and brought the truck home to work on it. The first project was to get lights working on the rear so I could drive it home. I spent a couple hours working on it in the storage lot and was able to get turn signals and taillights working but no brake lights. For the drive home I just pulled the headlight switch out every time I hit the brakes so at least SOMETHING would light up back there. (And had SWMBO follow me in the Jeep so if I got rear-ended the repair bills would all be mine.) Fortunately it's only about 4 miles and a half-dozen full stops. Had a Big Nervous moment 5 blocks from home when the city cop a couple blocks ahead of me suddenly whipped a left turn and got on the brakes hard. Thought for sure he'd pull out behind me after I passed. But, no; he had other business to attend to.
Adding tall valve covers required more thought than I anticipated. The alternator had to move WAY over, which necessitated a longer belt, and some vacuum lines/wiring had to be re-routed.
Powder coated chrome valve covers came from TJ's Powdercoaters on eBay. Hold-downs, t-bolts and heavy-duty steel core/rubber valve cover gaskets came from Camarovettes on eBay. great seller, highly recommended. I think instead of an open element air filter I may build up a dual snorkel unit. Also, the alternator pivot bolt fouled the belt in its new position so I had to shorten the bolt almost a 1/2 inch..

Had a couple of good work sessions over the weekend and managed to get all the lights working. The brake light switch was stuck in the open position - it took longer to get it out than it took to open it up, repair it and put it back together.  A couple hours under the hood resulted in a much smoother looking and running vehicle. New valve covers and hold-downs plus a lifter adjustment. There were a couple of tappets that sounded like solid lifters instead of hydraulic.

Cleaned the carb and figured out that there is a manual choke (how quaint) which reduces the starting procedure to about 3 steps and 45 seconds instead of ten steps and 2 or 3 minutes. Think I'm adding 'Electric Choke' to the project list....

Changed the oil and filter. The oil was black - I mean BLACK - and seriously thin so it had obviously been in there too long. I'm almost afraid to drop the transmission pan but I need to take care of that before I consider driving her.

Plugs don't look too bad, considering the previous use of the truck, but they'll be part of the HEI upgrade along with new wires.

It looks like the rear main seal is leaking, big surprise there, so that's another fun project.  I do so love the old rope seals. Not.

I think the adjustment mechanism on these suspended seats is both seized and missing parts. There is a handle on the P side that is bent and just hanging loose so that gives me a pretty good clue how to fix them. I was thinking of a diamond tuck when I reupholster but I kind of like the stock pattern so I may just recover the seats as factory stock. Probably not in black vinyl, though......
This door sill needs replacement, along with part of the floor pan. the other side isn't as rotten.   The options label inside the glovebox is 95% intact, maybe I'll get lucky and find a build sheet when I pull the seats out....  

Spent significant time on the cleaning of the interior. This was by far the nastiest vehicle I have ever purchased and I've had some rattling crap wander into my driveway over the last 25+ years. I've bought cars straight out of the wrecking yard that didn't require this much cleanup.

Once I got the rotten seat covers off I fond the the backs of the seats aren't too bad, there is a significant tear on the P side, but the seat cushions are toast. Which I knew already just based on the condition of the seat covers that were in there. Found the other half of the seatbelts - there was so much dirt built up on the floor that they were actually buried.

I bought an electric door solenoid kit on eBay for less than $120 including shipping. It's all new in the box so it was a pretty good deal even though it will be awhile before I'm ready to install. It's an 8 channel remote so I can have some fun with it.

Including initial price, title/registration and all parts purchased to date I'm now in this project just a scosh over $700. Add $180 for 6 months of storage and I'm probably upside down for the time being.

       
       

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