Well I'm back & wrenchin on the 64

[Tom Bryant]

Isn't life and car restoration fun?

 

[vigman]

Another couple of WINS~

So the clutch linkage hasn't been " right " since I got the car....
When she was at J&D I had a new " slightly better than stock " clutch, TO bearing, pilot bushing and all that....

Going down the road.. the clutch pedal would vibrate under the dash.. really really annoying..really LOUD...
I would use my foot to lift the pedal UP to make it stop...

Last week, I ordered the bracket that attaches to the clutch pedal.... It came in yesterday..

This morning I found EVIL under the dash..
The original bracket ( pedal to clutch rod ) was still there BUT.. the pin ( at some point must have sheared ).

The original owner did the following mods...
PUT a big bolt ( american ) in place of the pin and a nylock nut ( metric ) to keep the clutch rod from falling out.. about 4 sizes to big.
The PO opened up the hole in the clutch rod to .48
Welded a reinforcing tube over the clutch rod ( I guess it must have bent some time in its life ).
Rigged up a spring to go from the bottom of the dash to the top of the pedal as a pull spring ( way to loose, didn't do the job at all ).


I opened up the hole in the clutch rod to .50 ( so I could use a Mr Gasket tranny shifter sleeve, bushing & clip )
Cut a piece of brass tubing to make up the diameter difference between the NEW pin on bracket and the Mr Gasket bushing, used nice stainless washer so the clip had something to land on...
Lubed that all up and used new stainless hardware to attach the pedal bracket to the pedal.
I didn't have the " correct spring " to go from the firewall to the clutch bell crank but I have something VERY close... ( Shhhh it's a Ford part ).

Re assembled all that, did the free play adjustment,lubed everything up and the clutch is 20% easier to operate..
Test drive..SMOOOOOOTTHHHH shift better....and NO MORE RATTLES! YESSSSSSSSSSSS!
( side note here the car was running JUST under 180 and it was about 70 outside.)...

On the test drive I was so pleased... the cabin noise was MUCH quieter...
BUT
Went over a small bump and heard a series of KLUNKS...
It came from behind the passenger seat...
Back in the driveway, popped the hood to let it cool....and put the new squirter feed hose in.... thinking about the klunks....

Mind you I have NEVER opened up the tool stash area, behind the seats, since I have had the car....
Is that piece under the carpet, wood ?

I found the following in the tool stash:
Spent fire extinguisher
Hydraulic bottle jack ( extended ) so it's a useless rust bucket
And a X style lug wrench ( metric ) all unsecured... all junk...
Out that all went.....

I also did the following kludge...
The top hose for the cooling system, I could never burp properly since the HIGH part of the upper hose is 3-4 inches higher then the Harrison overflow...
This to me , would suggest . I do not have all the coolant I could have in the system...

So I found an inline radiator cap / overflow vent style for 1.5 inch hose.. installed that, then added enough coolant to fill the top hose and then some...
Starter the car with the additional cap off.... a few more big bubbles... an bit more coolant, capped it off... let it idle up to temp 165~.
The cooling system built pressure, no leaks... and off for another test drive...

Not a miracle cure.. but the car is now running ~10 degrees cooler....

Next moves:
So I still dislike the clutch push rod setup so ordered the hemi joint version..
The brake booster is original, and starting to make some weird hissy sounds when cold ( that's on order )...
While I'm doing all that, I believe a new set of pedal bushing are in order ( lots of lateral play in the pedals )....
And when I put in the new wiring harness, I disconnected the " always hot " line going to the stereo... which is a total P.O.S.
BUT I do have a super nice set of 6X9's that I can have installed on the tool cover, behind the seats...

So now I'm going to prime the squirter system & see if that's all better now....

Mike

 

[vigman]

Squirter fail

Worked 2X then fail......
just going to add a universal pump in for now & when I rebuild the wiper motor we will revisit it...

 

[vigman]

For the finish

Got the radio working again... that should have taken 5 minutes.. it was removing the additional 20 feet of un-needed wires....
and removing the Stewart Warner volt meter.

I gotta say the 2 4" speakers in the dash ( replacing the 6X9 ) and a dash cover on top... doesn't make for HI-FI..
the " head unit " is a kenwood and does have the ability to drive a stereo amp.. and there is MORE than enough room
to stick a small amp behind the stereo...the cassette adaptor to jack in my iPod almost makes usable.

The good news is I found the yellow ( 12 ga ) wire that ran to the back for the B/U lights... slight problem
You have to heat up that line ( +12 ) to make the lights work ( and yes they do, and no it's not a stock harness W B/U lights included ).

If memory serves, the switch at the tranny grounds out, when reverse is selected, so some additional " custom " wiring will be in my future.

 

[Tom Bryant]

It seems like every old car I have ever bought had several feet of old unused wire under the dash someplace. Some of them still hot because the tach or whatever they were hooked to was long gone and the wires left behind.

Tom

 

[haganml]

Thank you Vigman (Mike) for the running dialog of your trials as you bring that Roadster back. I have the same trip in my future for my 65 Coupe. Judging by the B-A-ugly modification to the headlights your PO did you may have a few more surprises waiting! Good Luck going forward! Nice looking Roadster you have there!

 

[vigman]

Today we go into battle

And a confession...
To save $$$$
I'm back driving my Honda Insight doing to-from work loop...
It's not to reduce my " carbon foot print " nor any form of tree hugging.. it's plain & simple being CHEAP..
It's ugly, it's paid for & it's averaging 54 MPG with 224K on the chassis & 80K on the engine & tranny..
When I filled up it was 4.79 for REGULAR at the CHEAP GAS STATION, Yikes.
It cost me 26 bucks to make the loop for the week, 4 and 1/4 gallons... VS 125 + for one of the " cooler " cars...
So more CHEESE for Vette toys....
( feels like I'm driving a soap box derby car though )...
Ahh the deflated ego....


On todays list...
Brake vac booster
Pedal bushings & lube
Correct clutch return spring
Heim joint clutch pushrod linkage
and
Squirter ELECTRIC pump... ( till I get my wiper motor rebuilt ).....

8:30 AM 82 degrees-Bills done no honey doo's

CHARGE........

 

[Mac]

I'm not a fan of the hydrid as a concept and I suspect it's just a stepping stone in development of better products but it's hard to argue with +50 MPG when my daily driver doesn't get half of that...

-Mac

 

[vigman]

And report

Pedal bushings were OK.. ( cleaned & lubed ) the pedal assy is just worn out so I'll live with the lateral pedal play. ( MEH )
Booster in + new SS hardware (WIN)
Broke brake light switch on install ( Fail )
New clutch linkage in... semi win,,, I need to make 1 piece of custom hardware..
The top of the rod shaft hits the bolt head @ full push...
I'm not 100% pleased with the quality of this linkage.. it does feel way better.. I just hope it doesn't start bending..
ran out of steam so squirters tomorrow....

It sucks getting OLD~

 

[navy2kcoupe]

....

It sucks getting OLD~

Yea, but the alternative to getting older, REALLY SUCKS!!! :L
Just think about how much fun guys like me are having reading the thread and
wishing it was us doing the work and making the posts!
Andy

 

[vigman]

Stop / brake light switch replacement

Auto Zone Duralast
Part Number: DR496
Alternate Part Number: SLS-64
7 bucks

Now mine failed because the STAMPED tin P.O.S. nut chewed into the plastic threads... on the nose of the switch.
AND the nut bent....

The switch is 100% and I was able to clean up the threads... but with out good nuts.. well.. need I say more?

So at least the autozone was has real ( pot metal ) hardware...

So part of the morning attack plan...

And thanks for all the kind words about the post!

Mike

 

[vigman]

Wrong, wrong worng

today didn't go well

So the new clutch linkage.... the adaptor that fits in the clutch fork shifted and I lost about 2 " of pedal.... BAH maybe my fault.. but still BAH!

Stop light switch failed in 4 hrs ( stuck on the ON position ).

BUT did take the GF out for a nice ride and breakfast, that went great...
so after a nap.. going back out there to see WTF!!!

Mike

 

[vigman]

Ok progress

Original stop switch in ( with auto zone hardware )
That's back working...
I did have 1 brake light out, but it wasn't the bulb..
The 3 spot welds that hold in the backing plate W the socket broke ( corroded ).
So the ground, didn't.

A cheap and dirty fix... drill out the weld, tap for 6/32 and put a flat head screw in.. so brake lights , turn and all that working.

Not gonna deal with the clutch linkage today... just to MIFFED~

 

[vigman]

It's the weekend.. so it's time to pick up that wrench

I wasn't feeling that great so I took a couple of days off.. Yesterday I had my son go below and straighten out the clutch linkage..
Ok I was a dunderhead and didn't install the linkage going to the clutch fork correctly... the bracket is bent in such a manner that it fits through the split in the fork and keeps it's from pivioting..
I mounted the bracket on the OUTSIDE ( like it was an extension of the fork WRONG ) So when the bolt didn't have enough clamping force it slipped, and I lost 2" of pedal..
NOW it's mounted so it's 90 degrees and fits through the slit on the fork.. there is a bend in the " bracket / adaptor " so even if the bolt loosens up you do not loose any pedal...
I still am not 100% happy with the design, as you start to apply pressure to the pedal the fork SLIGHTLY cocks ~ 20 degrees till both fingers contact the throw out bearing...

This behavior doesn't happen with the stock lower push arm... so I think it's back to mad science lab... the stock lower arm is to long so there is ZERO free play and that for a clutch system is bad!

Oh and the rant continues.. the " kit " should have included ( for the bracket that attaches to the top of the clutch pedal) a button head allen for the top mount bolt.. Using the stock hardware, the top bolt rubs the upper rod when you push the clutch all the way in..
That is fixed as well.... now.

The brake light switch issue still remains.. the " duralast " replacement switch is a piece of JUNK.. I did find an OEM switch on E bay, so that's going it today.
The current problem ( brake light's, current, ohms law hahahah ... sorry ) is the lights sometimes stay on because the pedal doesn't QUITE return to the same spot by a 1/16th or less.. but the " duralast " switch is really hair triggered...


Now some COOL NEWS
I found a full set of front bumper support brackets on E bay for less that 200 shipped.. and they are FACTORY..
I was so happy with that deal I bought the pass side front bumper so in about a week I will have front bumpers on the car...
( probably since 1966 ).

 

[Mac]

E Bay to the rescue again! That does sound like a good deal for the brackets!

-Mac

 

[vigman]

Never wait for the glue to dry.....

So today the brake light switch is FINALLY a done deal...
So I thought I would work on the Drivers side kick panel since the carpet was coming loose from the panel..
So far so good... carpet pulled back, area's cleaned glue on , clamps on ... and wait for dry time ( 2hrs )...

I put some various bit back in the 64 box.. and found a new clutch pedal cover.. installed that.. looking good..
Pulled out the electric pump and sat down to think about that,, the pump has to be kept wet and under the water ( wiper fluid ) line in the rez..
Ok so as long as I mount it lower then empty.. siphon action will do the trick... but where to mount the pump?
AH HAH... I'll mount the pump to the bracket that holds the rez on it's bottom.. with that plan in hand ( which is on tomorrows list ) ....

I started fishing for all my new chrome factory screws so when I put the kick panel back it wont have all the funky mis matched hardware...

I looked at the clutch linkage ( again ) and realized I did another STOOPID... the heim joint goes on the BOTTOM of the bracket not the top..
DOH! ( on tomorrow list )..

1 hr left...
So I thought I would find out once and for all what I really have under the hood. I KNOW what the guy told me, but maybe he didn't know... time to get the facts..

So I read the tags under the glove
D-13
Style 64 867 4157 Body
Trim 490AB 923 AA Paint

And the Vin
40867 S107XXX


So the engine
Block casting 3914660
Top of block casting 18L149519 TO330HH

So now time to do some digging to find out who's heart is in my heartbeat of America...

 

[vigman]

Hmmmm well not even close on the engine

3914660 casting
General 68-69 Camaro, Chevelle, Nova, Truck...
2 bolt main
Either 210 or 300hp

So this is where the engine was made?

T=Tonawanda
03=March
30=Day
H= Hydramatic
H= Turbo 400 <--- this might be in error
[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD]HH[/TD]
[TD]1969[/TD]
[TD]350[/TD]
[TD]tur 400[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]300[/TD]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]full size[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD]HH[/TD]
[TD]1965[/TD]
[TD]327[/TD]
[TD]s h/p, m/t[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]365[/TD]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]Vette[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]HH[/TD]
[TD]1966[/TD]
[TD]327[/TD]
[TD]air inj. reactor[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]300[/TD]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]Vette
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


Vin
and this is when the engine was put in the car?
First part
1= Chevy ( DUH )
8= 1968
L= Made in Van Nuys Calif ( well at least you made it back to the original state! )

 

[Tom Bryant]

The 3914660 block was a 1968 only 327. HH code was a full size Chevrolet (Impala, Bel Air) with a 327 2bbl and powerglide.

Details for 3914660

[TABLE="class: styledtable, width: 1"]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]Casting Number[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]3914660[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]Manufacturer[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]Chevrolet[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]Category[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]Engine Blocks[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]Type[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]Small Block V8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]Date[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]1968[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]Notes[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]327, 2 bolt[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]Date Added to Site[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #CFCFCF"]2010-12-20 16:51:45 (670 days ago)[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[vigman]

MY 1964, THE MUTT Spec's

Power plant ( the Block )
Out of a 68 Impala /Bel Air ( hey at least it's a 327 )
Casting # 3184660
T=Tonawanda NY
03=March
30=Day
H= Hydramatic
H= Slip N Slide
2 bolt main
Was 210hp

From an OLD John Z post
D13 sez the body build date at St. Louis was 12/13/64.
VIN #107101 (#7101) sez built off-line on 12/16/64
64 867 sez '64 convertible.
4157 sez it was the 4157th '64 convertible body built at St. Louis (body numbers didn't have an "S" prefix until A.O. Smith started supplying their "A"-prefix bodies in January, 1964, with VIN #109678, well after yours was built).
490AB is red vinyl
923AA is red

T0330HH is a March 30th Tonawanda-built 327/300 from a Caprice (not from any Corvette - all 'Vette SB's came from Flint Engine).
18L149519 sez the engine was originally installed in a '68 Caprice built at the Van Nuys, California assembly plant.

NOW
Holley 650 Vac secondaries
Intake ( need to fill this in )
Heads ( on another quest here too..)
Cam ( Who knows...not stock it does have a mild lope )
Distributor ( Well that's a tach drive at least... more looking here )
Headers ( Old skool rust option included )
Pertronics Ignitor
MSD Blaster
MSD coil
HP TBD

The Body
4086 ( 6 is vert ) 7 S ( serial ) 107101
So the serial # started @ 100001 and ended @ 122229
Mine ( According to the Corvette black book )
Ending # for Nov 63 106063
Mine------------------107XXX So someone had a cool Xmas in 1963!
Ending # for Dec 63 108091


Trim 490 AB I Know the top was original when removed ( Black ) the interior has been color changed, was red, now black.
923 AA Paint 5.274 of these were Riverside Red.Then painted orange, now white ).

If I had to guess at the RPO list
867 Base convertible
CO7 Aux hard top
G81 Posi ( all ratio's ) BTW where do I find the numbers on the pumpkin?
J50 Power brakes
M20 4 speed ( the ONLY way I know that's original is the top bezel is original is the poor Black paint job with red showing through. )
N40 Power steering
U69 AM/FM ( the original 6X9, was still in there, well the frame was ).
L75 or L76 ( guessing L75 )
Since it had a 4 speed, that eliminated the 250 hp ( with a 3 speed ) I think...
No " special " brakes.. just conventional drums all the way round.
The B/U lights were an add on for the "California special" 6 lights on the back

More digging is required...
So not " special " not unique ( from a collectable.. it was owned by Starlett so & so ) or there's nothing to support that.

The short back story...( As the legend was told to me )
Somewhere in Maine, circa 1966....
There was a guy, who owned a body shop who had a young son ~ 12 at the time.
One day, A " wise guy " pulls into the body shop with the front end banged up..
( Bumpers, headlight's, hood, grille, turn signals.. all the stuff I'm currently dealing with )
The owner stated he had a minor accident with a lady ( he rear ended her ) , and he needed his car repaired.

The Body shop owner, took all the info down and the wise guy walked away.
Bob ( we'll just call the body shop owner that ) started with the estimate, a week later the Bob called & called the number.
Another week goes by.. Bob drives to the address, to find an empty house.

2 years later...

The car has been in his shop in the corner, covered..
Bob gets busier.. and needs the room.
The car is outside for some period of time..
The engine, tranny, instrument cluster,seats and not sure what else all get stolen.
The car is moved back into the shop.

3 years later
The son is getting older and want's the car.
Kid doesn't have much scratch...
Bob does a lien sale and the car become his...
The son " fixes" the car up to the best of his ability...
Somewhere mid Disco era..It's back on the road...
Which explains a great deal of some of the decisions on " style ".
And On the cheap for mechanical....

The son of Bob finds the girl of his dreams.. has a kid.. toy gets sold..
Owner #4 ( best guess, since we have Wise guy, Bob, his son ) has the dream to fix it up...
( Sketchy paperwork starts here )
4 never complete's the reg let alone drive it..
Sells it to #5.. who starts the paperwork process, fails & gives up..

Sells it to #6 Jeff Canfield
Who , like all of us has the fever.. but more importantly a BARN ( well enclosed hugh garage, shop...)

To this point, the car has been in Maine & New Hampshire it's entire life.. not driven much ( based on the lack of rust on the frame ).

To think it all started here....
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com...88-little-help-here-guys-need-mid-year-5.html

So In Feb of 03 the ink dried...On April Fools day 2003 it arrived !

There is only 1 unsolved mystery...
In 03 I took off the drivers side door panel
On the bottom of the door interior was a Card from Corvette Mike ( circa 1970-1980?? )....
Could have been something that someone in the line of owners ordered.......?
Or some how did the car make it back to California in it's prior life?

Now it's Oct 2012 and the real work is just starting.. but I'm sure glad it runs & drives




[TABLE="class: cms_table, width: 100%"]
<tbody>[TR]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

 

[vigman]

Mechanical progress

Windshield squirters.. I OWN YOU...
A Delco universal pump added to the bottom tank bracket ( 8/32 2 places button head allens and a piece of velcro fuzzy to protect the tank )
1 extension of the 2 wires that activate the solenoid down to the universal pump....
I used the old squirter head as the T..
and BOOM I have squirters that have a manly stream...

Not NCRS but very very functional, the only Oh by the way is you have to hold the button in ..
The latch was a mechanical function in the wiper motor sub systems, to make it stay on for a few seconds
GM switched the ground ( momentary push to ground ) .. but I'm so happy...

The kick panel is re installed
I replaced a dozen or so screws with new Mid America interior kit I bought WAY BACK
For the convert top etc etc....

The clutch heim joint is now flipped and there is less cocking as you push the pedal in.. but not as good as stock.

Now I'm looking for a knob for the trip reset cable ( the stock one MEH, not so good )...

So complete's my day with the Bel Air.. LOL

Vig~