putting it together

[69MyWay]

Ah,...........now the fun begins. I have started putting the 69 back together. Because I am changing so many things, this is a global approach. In other words, I can't just put in the wire harness, or gauges, or brakes, etc, it all has to be done in careful thought of the other systems I am squeezing in.

So far,

Headlights with electric actuators in.
pedals (we put new rubber on them and they are so nice)
hydraulic clutch master cylinder
steering column (converted to tilt and tele)
power brake booster
throttle pedal and cable (used a 79 cable and 69 pedal)
inner a/c box Vintage Air
rough wire harness stretched the length of the car.
brakes
springs
A arms etc.

So far, the worst job on the whole car was installing the power brake booster. It has a shaft with about five threads that comes out of the back and screws into a clip that is pinned to the upper part of the pedal. You only want to do this with the steering column out. One person just does not have enough hands (thank you Nikki).

We have been looking for the little things frist. For example, the brake, clutch, and throttle pedals, the rubbers that go in the inner fender openings above the a frames, and the rag joint that goes between the steering box and column. None of these are very expensive alone, but they add up over the long run.

So, I am just kind of rambling here, but also trying to give others an idea of the planning and time involved in one of these projects.

The fuel injection was shipped to Summit on 11/16 and will be here in a week or so. I must have that to complete the wire harness integration.


One major screw up to mention. I should have laced the main battery cable back into the car when I had it on its side. Now, I have to figure out a way to get under the car, measure, and reach past the drive shaft, trans, etc. and feed the cable and clip it to the floor.



Enough now, more later.

 

[Eric]

...None of these are very expensive alone, but they add up over the long run...

Geez Chris, ain't that the truth. You've got one heck of a project going. And to think, I get frustrated with my semi-restoration while I have just a itsy-bitsy fraction to do compared to what you have on your plate. With all of the documentation/photos you've made along the way, this sounds like a Corvette Fever feature in the making.

Thanks for keeping us all up to date!

 

[69MyWay]

Here is the pics of the recent additions.

Note on the firewall how I mounted the hydraulic clutch resevior. It is going to be a tight squeeze to put fluid in, but at least it is up and out of the way. I put that 3" x 3" aluminum plate behind it for a rugged look. It will also match other plates that I will be putting here and there. You can barely see the hydraulic master cylinder just to the lower driver side of the brake booster. Very tight squeeze.

Note the modern style fuse panel with push in fuses. I have my work cut out here.

I think Rob is going to yell at me for posting these HUGE photos. I may be pushing my luck, but if I edit them down to post faster, that permanently edits them down in Photo Point. I did that with the clutch conversion and it really messed up the quality of the photos.

Rob, just say the word and I will only post the http if that is better.

Chris

 

[69MyWay]

Notice how nice the fresh rubber inserts make the engine bay look around the a-frame. These things were only like $11 and make it look like brand new inside.

 

[redmist]

Chris can you talk to use a little more about that hydraulic clutch conversion. Sounds like a great idea just wanted to know what is involved.
Thanks.
I've decided to keep my old fuse panel but bought an auxilliary 7 fuse (3 hot, 4 switched) weatherproof panel and wiring from painless. I'm going to mount in in the engine bay to take care of the Fans, fuel pump, A/C, Headlights & auxilliaries, guages, MSD.

 

[69MyWay]

Hydraulic clutch

Pete,


No worries. The master cylinder is from a 1985 chevy truck (about $45 from the local discount store). The ball stud on the pedal that you can see in the under dash picture above came from Napa for about $20. They have others of different styles. I knocked out the stock clutch rod pin and just bolted this straight through.

I got a 5/16" fine thread die and threaded the clutch rod after cuting it to a good length. The master cylinder fits in the same hole as the stock clutch rod. I then made a backing plate of 3/16" aluminum and drilled to 3/8" holes and bolted it on with grade 8 bolts. The resevior is straight from G.M. at about $15 for all (cap, rubber filler, and resevior) for a 1985 Chevy truck.

From there I will be running a quarter master hydraulic release bearing. However, you could easily adapt a standard slave cynlinder (1985 Chevy truck) to your trans and viola, hydraulic.

The only problem I see is that the clutch pedal will be sitting closer to the driver than the brake. This is really no big deal as you have to operate it with your left leg only anyway. A good trade off for the old clunky rattle trap stock linkage.

 

[69vettester]

:cool

 

[garin1]

Chris,, have you ever considered moving the battery to the front?

I thought about doing that on mine but not sure where to move it

 

[Bullitt]

Hey Garin1, why do you want to move the battery up front? I might move mine to the passenger side (jack location), because some acid had eaten through the bottom of the battery compartment. I don't like the battery sitting behind me anyway. I might install some remote battery posts in the engine compartment for ease of jumping, if need be. I just need to find a good place that's not too far from the starter. --Bullitt

 

[Black Thunder]

Chris... all is looking great & each piece is bringing you a step closer to having it done. can't wait to see the injection unit installed myself.......John