Radiator Install and engine dress up.

I wrote this post two years ago...just discovered the draft whilst checking out a Surface Pro at the Microsoft store. Might as well finally post it.

Last month was the coldest February on record here in CT. I will, and have, worked on the Vette during the winter but I stop when it's in the teens and twenties. It's just not worth the hassle. Anyway, I managed to get quite a bit accomplished the last couple weeks whenever the temps were above freezing.

First, I didn't like the way the engine looked and realized that not having painted the water pump Chevy orange and leaving other brackets and accessories silver or unpainted was just not cosmetically appealing. Hence, another one step back session. I painted the water pump and throttle body Chevy orange, greatly improving the esthetics, but something still didn't look right. it was the silver Sanden AC compressor and brackets. I had painted the brackets silver. I painted them black and the engine and accessories finally looked right. Of, course this was quite time consuming. Plus, with the cold temps, I had to take the parts in the house to warm up to room temp, heat the rattle paint cans in warm water then take them back out to the garage and quickly paint them.

Before with unpainted w/p, throttle body, ac brackets and compressor.

AC  compressor and brackets painted.

Hi guys. It looks like there has been quite a few views lately and there are a few of you following this blog. In the past few months I've finally become a Facebook aficionado. Therefore, I've decided to stop posting here and continue the saga of LS273Stingray there. So, if your a follower, start following us on fb at the LS273Stingray fb page.

Modifying headlight assemblies



The holidays are done and my wife and I got back from our Christmas cruise to the Bahamas so it was time to do a little work on the Vette while the temps in my unheated garage allowed it. My short term goal for this winter is to get the Vette mobile by installing the radiator. First, since it's much easier with the radiator out of the car, I need to re-install the head light assemblies. One of my sub-system mod plans was to convert the factory pneumatic headlight assembly with an electric motor conversion kit. An after market vendor, McSpeed, used to sell a kit that requires the use of '93-'97 Firebird headlight motors, control module and an '84-'87 Vette headlight switch. The kit consists of two of the brackets and the bolts/spacers pictured below. The little L-shaped bracket in the right of the top pic is a stop for the headlight arm. McSpeed went out of business several years ago. However, I bought a kit before they did and I believe, if the chatter on the Corvette Forum is an indicator, it was the last yet to be installed kit until the other day.

 

 



 

One bracket and down position stop - two each required.

Hardware included in the kit. These do one side. Some shimming and/or grinding of the spacers was necessary to align the motors and actuator arms.

 

Much easier to  work on the brackets with the assemblies out of the car. The large round objects are the factory pneumatic actuators and the tubing is what operates the vacuum system. All that is now replaced by...

the Firebird electric motors, the control module and a few feet of 16 gauge wire.



Mock up mounting. Note the shim washer on the top bolt and the lower spacer was ground about a 1/16". I removed, painted black, then reinstalled the bracket.


The pics below are of the final install of the motors. The arms are in place and I replaced the bushings for the three clevis pins in each side (white plastic objects in the pics), essentially rebuilding each assembly.

 

Motor mounted with arm.

Note the L-shaped bracket functions as the down position stop on the top of the arm.

It's 24 degrees in the garage today and will be that way for a few days. The final install of the headlight assemblies on to the car will have to wait.

 

Bumper assembly, suspension tuning, exhaust fitting - most of the heavy underbody work done, for now.........or, "I sure wish I had invested $1,500 in a lift!!!!"

Well, I finally got serious about getting into some of the heavy work. Oh, and learned if you don't have the correct parts, you'll have a hard time trying to get things to fit. As I previously posted, I've been doing feel good cosmetic work, kinda avoiding the heavy stuff.

 

The first thing that had to be done was remove the hood and get all the metal reinforcement plates and brackets riveted to the front clip...very important for an all fiberglass structure that has to bear significant loads...and work I had expected the painter to have done when he put the front clip back on. He mounted the hood w/o the reinforcement plates, etc., etc., etc.

 

In the process of this work, it's become obvious that the painter/body guy, although great at what he does, didn't know all he thought he did about C3 Corvettes nor did he follow my advice and instructions. I told him he shouldn't paint the front clip or try to fit the front bumper cover before the clip is mounted on the car and all the metal reinforcements and bumper brackets are installed. It goes to the final shape of the fenders where they meet the front bumper cover...it is not a metal car!!!!

 

I gave him the factory Assembly Instruction Manual (AIM) and a copy of the Dr Rebuild catalog (it has great diagrams - it helped me rebuild the steering column) along with all the reinforcement plates and bumper mounting brackets. Why is this pertinent? As I have done the work illustrated below, the installing of the reinforcement plates and the alignment of the fenders to the mounting brackets has caused the fiberglass fender panels to flex and cause stress cracks in the paint and the bumper no longer lines up perfectly. The final shape of the front of the car is not determined until all the metal parts are attached and aligned. There is now glass work and touch up painting in the future.

 



 

 

 

Metal reinforcement plate for the hood mounts radiator mounting bracket riveted in place. I had to get a new one for the right side because the old one was cracked.

A critical reinforcement piece.

'73 was the first year for the federally mandated 5 mph front bumper and this was GM's solution - throw a plastic bumper cover over a bunch of collapsible, crunchable metal brackets.

The large round section of the bumper support/bracket system is the vacuum storage tank for the pneumatic head light system.

Re my comment above about the correct parts. The part in the upper center and left is the bumper support bracket that attaches to the frame and where the large bolt is, to a collapsible u-shaped bracket that then attaches to the inside of the metal inner bumper is the correct '73 part. I ordered new ones because the old ones where slightly damaged in a front end hit. I wanted new ones - thank God I didn't scrap the old ones. Well, the new ones are for, unbeknownst to me, '70 to '72 brackets for the old chrome bumper and about 2" longer than the '73 brackets. You can imagine my frustration until I figured it out. Plus, I don't know if I still have the receipt for the wrong parts!!!
 

The metal inner bumper. The fiberglass bumper cover is not yet installed.




SUSPENSION ADJUSTMENTS

 This is the ride/performance adjustment bracket for the Vette Brakes and Products (VBP) Performance Plus suspension system. The 4 lb fiberglass transverse spring replaces the front coil original suspension system. The stock A arms are also replaced. The ride performance is adjusted by moving the bracket along the 4 holes. All the way in is a soft GT ride and all the way out is max autocross handling. They are set to next to max perf/stiffness. I added locking washers to the four mounting bolts for obvious reasons. The locking washers are actually for the inner primary to engine case mounting bolts for Harley big twins.

The rear spring and adjustment brackets.

Phone camera flash reflecting from the CT Classic Vehicle plate. After market LED back up and tail lights

Even managed to line up the exhaust system. This is the MagnaFlow 3" system for the C3. Obviously, not the correct rectangular tip. 

Slowly getting back into the project.

I haven't done any heavy work on the Vette since the it came home. I went through most of the parts to re-familiarize myself with them and get back into focus on the project. Most of want I've done is feel good work - enjoying having the Vette back with the body done and painted - mostly cosmetic stuff.

 

I ordered one American Racing Equipment Torque Thrust Original (TT-O) in 17x8 to test fit. I always wanted to run the TT-O in 15x8 but they don't fit due to lack of clearance with the calipers. They were old school mags for drum brake muscle cars after all. Well ARE came out with them in 17x8 and they are designed to clear the calipers. The test fit worked, I ordered three more and a set of Nitto 555 in 255/50/17. Then I got a set of spinners from EBay and installed them. I have a set of red crossed flag decals for the spinners on order.

 

 

Now to sell the wheels and tires I had on it. I did sell the gold honey comb GTA rims and tires. I'm pondering whether to keep the stock rally wheels. I got a set of C5 ZO-6 calipers and rotors from the painter. They need 17" rims to run on a C3. 17" ers are better for the suspension system that's on the Vette so I might as well run the ZO-6 brakes and get rid of the rallys.

 

 

I cleaned and installed the CORVETTE letters on the rear of the car. Cosmetically, they're a little rough, but keeping a few original items on the car may be nice. I also had two crossed flag emblems for the gas door. I stripped the paint, used Testors enamel modeling paint to repaint them and installed one of them.

 

Faded, old paint.

After paint stripper.



Repainting in progress.

Finished.



 



My friend, Todd, came over yesterday in his '82 Collector Edition and helped me remove the hood. My first priority for major work is to work in the engine compartment and every thing else I can do with the hood off. These are:

1. Clean and paint the fender wells.
2. Remove and rework the water pump and other accessories. I'll explain the why as I post on each task. Besides, it will give me more room to paint the fender wells.
3. Install the headlight mechanisms. I'll be replacing the factory pneumatic system with electric motors.
4. Rivet in/on all the metal reinforcement plates in various places in/on the front clip that the paint shop guys "forgot" to do. Don't ask - I'm too pissed to talk about it.....
Etc., etc., etc.

It's alive again!!!!

It started right up after a year of inactivity. I've been going thru and re-categorizing the parts. Actually, re-familiarizing myself with them.

 

No radiator so just test started for a few seconds.

The Prodigal Vette

Well, well, well, the prodigal Vette returns. After a year at the body/paint shop the Vette is back in my garage. Not too much to post here - just letting anyone who's still following that I'm back in the game and will be working on the project in the coming months.

First in priority is sorting out parts piles that I've been neglecting and getting the garage organized for work. Next - get the radiator and battery in and wiring installed so it will be running and can be moved round under its own power. Windshield, interior, headlight assemblies (if you know C3 Vettes, you know what a task that is), yada - yada - yada, ad nauseum.

Oh, in case I haven't mentioned - the paint is freakin' awesome. The pix do not do it justice.

The first three pix are outside Miguel's garage while we were waiting for the guy who had Miguel's trailer to show up. He was stuck in traffic in NJ. So, we called his regular tow guy - he was home already, it was late, and he didn't want an extra $100. We finally got a tow company to flat bed it to my house, getting there around 11:00 pm.

L - Alex, Miguel's son. R - Miguel.

Safely home in my garage.

Stand by for updates.

It's Still at the Painter - and it's a long story, so don't ask.

YES, it has been a long time. It sucks when you give up control of your project. It's happened twice; once when I had VetteAid build the remote lock, alarm system, instrument package, electronic start, etc., and now by deciding to let the pros handle the rest of the heavy body work and paint. At least in the former case my car stayed in my garage and I could do sub-system work. However, now, my car is completely out of my possession and control. 

I won't get into all the gory, and boring, details of why my three week paint job is into its ninth month. Suffice it to say that if it weren't for the quality of Miguel's work and his perfectionism, I'd have taken my car back months ago.

Anyway, I thought I would post a few pix of the progression of this phase. First, how the Vette looked after the professional media blasting, prep for paint, paint, and finally the paint after buffing. The front clip is still being worked on; there was a lot more fiberglass work on it than we first anticipated. Next, assembly of all the body components then delivery back to me for a lot more work.

Front clip after media blast.

Main section after media blast.

Ready for paint after meticulous minor fiberglass repair and body prep.

Miguel working his magic.

Before buffing and wet sanding

The three pix above are after buffing and wet sanding. The Vette is in Miguel's personal garage. It's there temporarily since he had issues with his very greedy landlord and is relocating to a new building. The Vettes in the background of the first pic are  Miguel's toys. Note the reflections from the ceiling, garage door opener, lights, etc., in the paint.

Miguel assures me I'll have my baby back by the end of the month. It's been so cold here I wouldn't have been able to work on it in my unheated garage, anyway. Previous winters I've been able to work in the garage during mild days; mid 30s and up. It's been in the teens and low 20s. I took off my Ranger Tab years ago and the Green Beret in me is too smart to be uncomfortable when I don't have to be and there ain't no per diem ;) .

"Project car at the paint and body shop limbo"

There's finally something worthy of posting. One reason is the car has been in the "Twilight Zone" of project cars, the paint and body shop, and the other is that I allowed my personal and part-time work travel schedule get out of hand for the last few months.

The paint shop has been a drama, to say the least. The shop's primary fiberglass guy, who was the primary guy for my car developed, well, let's say issues and went awol quite a bit...and my travels kept me from staying on top of it. After cutting his cousin/employee slack, the cousin disappearing...and further delaying my car, the owner has been working on my car himself.

Anyway, i just got back from a Wounded Warrior Cruise in the Caribbean with my wife and finally some progress:

....still needs wet sanding and buffing. The front clip will be finished and painted, the Vette will be assembled. Well, the body anyway. I still have a lot of assembly and some fab when I get it back. I think it's safe to say that I should be driving it this spring.