Work goes, but with some one step forward and two steps back incidents-!!!!!!

I feel like I'm making some progress this week!


Still waiting on the rest of the custom wiring; security and remote lock/unlock and the rest of the interior wiring from VettAid. Meanwhile I've been installing what I can in preparation for my next test start. This time I plan to run complete systems tests; adjust the clutch, heater and radiator hoses for leaks, gauges, heater/ac controls, etc.

Things I got done today. Okay, call  me anal, but I removed the lower firewall heat shields and lined them with thermal barrier from Eastwood and taped the edges with multi-purpose aluminum tape.. I figure it couldn't hurt and just might help keep some heat out of the cabin:

Heat shield re-installed on the driver side.

...and the passenger side, hard to see under/behind the heater  hoses.  I wire-tied  sections of heater hose around the  hoses where they touch the top edge of the heat shield to protect them from abrasion. Looks sloppy but they will be hidden once I install the heater pump/AC box.

Then I installed the dash harness/fuse box and the engine /headlight/horn/etc.harness. These harnesses are the ones that are stock for this car. However, they've been modified by VettAid to integrate with the LS2 ECM harness, new instruments/gauges and the upgrades/mods (remote security, push button start, retro-fit pwr door locks, etc.).

The dash harness is on the left and the ECM harness is on the right. The ECM is wrapped in bubble wrap and wrapped in blue tape for protection. The ECM and ECM harness is not indigenous to this car. The dash harness is highly modified to integrate with the ECM harness and the new gauges/speedo/tach. It normally would have a number of instrument light sockets hanging off it. They will connect at several places. Jody at VettAid is drawing wiring diagrams for this custom setup.

The dash harness connects to the fuse box and connects through the firewall to the....

....stock engine harness (highly modified).

Earlier this week I got a Motive pressure bleeder and tried to bleed the brakes. The rear calipers bled well. but I couldn't get the fronts to even flow brake fluid. I used the original proportioning valve and master cylinder (MC). Trying to save a few bucks, you know. Brake fluid is leaking from the fittings on the proportioning valve and even after over a day of leaving the bleeder fittings open and letting them gravity bleed still nothing flowing to the front calipers. I have a new valve and MC on order. Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to use the OEM style power booster or install the new Hydroboost unit I have. It will require additional hose making and routing into the power steering system since it uses pressure from the ps pump to assist the brakes.

Two Steps Back:

I wasn't comfortable with the heater hoses I made from the 7/16" Russell fuel line. I don't think they would supply adequate flow and the car designers had to have a reason for using different size hoses, 3/4" and 5/8".  I originally used these hose fittings

and jury-rigged this set up to mate the Russell lines to the 3/4" and 5/8" heater core tubes. I am worried of the possibility of leaks here.

I went to NAPA and got these fittings and used Spectre heater hose in the correct ID.

The blue part of the forward hose clamp housing is touching the inside of the control arm. I  have a feeling I'll wind up removing the housing. Although that's the pivot point of the arm, the squared corner will rotate and scrape the blue collar of the housing.

Temporary clamps until I find some better ones.

A few weeks ago I removed all the chrome stainless trim and molding around the windshield and T-top supports for two reasons. I had seen a little surface rust under the top windshield frame and since C3s are notorious for leaking in this area, I wanted to ensure there was no rust damage under the trim.

Also, I'm considering powder coating all the trim black. Well, who knew the two screws that attach the two outer top windshield frame chrome covers CAN'T BE REMOVED UNLESS THE #^##!%&;*&;!!! WINDSHIELD IS REMOOOOVED!!!!!!!! I thought it was just a close fit.

Guess what, windshields must be designed to tolerate more stress on the surface than on the edges!!!!! The side of the screwdriver shaft applied just enough stress to crack the windshield. So I had to remove it and  NOW I can access all of the windshield frame I want.........!

Short Holiday Update - a symbolic moment or coincidence?

I started the process of reinstalling parts on the day of the winter solstice; a juxtaposition of the end of short days and the start of increasingly longer days with the project milestone of starting to reassemble the car???? Hope it will be truly symbolic and see more progress as the days grow longer.

The usual reasons for delays; parts/systems delays, out of town a few times, serious family illness, and laziness. I decided to pull the motor again while Jody @ VettAid has the ECM harness to modify. He's modifying it to fit the modified dash and engine harness that need to be further modified to accept the remote alarm and push button start system, not to mention the retro-fit power door locks (the early C3 vettes did not have pdl).

So, I got the ECM, dash, and engine harnesses along with the speedo, tach, gauge kit, pwr door harness and actuators, push button start, etc. from VettAid last week. What I've done over the past several weeks, albeit, sporadically, is documented in the pix below:

Engine paint:

Gauge kit: VettAid provides an excellent product. The gauges are AutoMeter SuperComp mounted with VettAid fabricated kit. I really wanted to keep the stock gauge mounting system, but this kit looks factory, the gauges are turned toward the driver, AND the satin aluminum look of the bezels match the bezel of the a JVC stereo I bought a while back.





Clockwise from top left - Water temp, fuel level, volt, oil press, oil temp. The red toggle switch to the left of the water temp gauge is the ignition on/off switch. It's in the stock seat belt light location. The red LED at the 4 o'clock of the oil temp is the security system on light.

Heater box and ECM harness installed:

The clutch/brake pedal assembly and the DBW gas pedal (from a Cadillac CTV-S) installed. The pwr brake booster is also installed.



The VettAid ECM harness firewall bracket, a very high quality, two-piece, laser cut custom product. The original hole in the firewall had to be enlarged to fit the harness through. Instead of rivets, I opted for 6mm hex head bolts. After I finalize the interior work, I'll adjust the grommet so the split doesn't show.



 Next, the engine harness and dash harness, paint the dash panel where the speedo and tach mount, and much, much more!!