Making progress, slow but sure.

It's been almost six months since my last post and a lot has kept me from making steady progress. Had some problems with the one-off electrics and wiring harnesses and the usual project blues; sometimes you just don't feel like working on it. You guys with projects know precisely what I mean.

However, the most significant issue was my Mother's situation with her worsening metastatic melanoma. She's had it since early '08 and it spread to her lung and toward the end, to her brain. She was diagnosed last October with 6 - 12 months to live, went through radiation treatment, and another surgery after which she was basically home and bed ridden. Of course, I spent a lot of time traveling to visit her at least weekly. and didn't realize it at the time but her impending death affected my attitude. She passed quietly early on the 4th of May. Kudos to my sister for moving in with her and being Mom's primary care provider for over three months.


So, now that I'm about finished with her affairs and my spirits are picking up, back to work on the Vette. To look at the car, one wouldn't think much work has been going on. However, I have been working on a lot of small sub-systems that I'll cover further in this post.

But the big news for today is, "IT'S ALIVE AGAIN!!!!". I just got the wiring harnesses back from VettAid and with it the car is now functional. This start up is the singular event that, at least psychologically, for me is a significant milestone. I now know the custom, one-off wiring harness, security system being integrated with the ECM/harness works and I can get on with all the mechanical/electrical sub-systems checks.

This first clip shows the key less start system. The fob unlocks the doors (when I retro-fit later model power door locks) and disarms the security, allowing the circuits for the ignition and computer to function. The toggle switch on the gauge cluster turns on the ignition and the light on the push button starter on the steering column lights. The starter button replaces the factory key cylinder. The toggle switch also turns off the ignition. The video cam used to take this clip picks up static from the fuel pump so there is only the sound of static instead of a sweet sounding exhaust. 

This clip was taken with my ancient digital cam, but you can hear a bit of the exhaust....and the tired groan as  I climb out of the car. Gotta get this car finished before I'm too old to get in and out!!!! This is the fourth start up since I began this project, but the first with the motor, frame, and the body all together (at least most of the body). The first two are on video clips earlier in the blog. he third was a few months ago, but I had to bypass computer by using a jumper wire on the fuel pump relay to get the car to start. That was one of the small glitches with the security system.

Although there is a lot of work left, to me this is the home stretch, the "light at the end of the tunnel"!!!

I wanted to post this event today because it is such a significant milestone. However, I have worked on a few things since the last post; some are, rebuilding the original and then a later model steering column and modifying the factory seat tracks in order to install the C5 seats, etc. - pictures at 11. I will update this post with details of that work.

BACK TO WORK ON THE PROJECT - MORE TO FOLLOW!!!

I'm finally back on track and am drafting a new post to cover the few things I have worked on in the past several months. Stand by!!

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!!

Back on line....hot summer, delays on the electronics, out of town trips, and just plain old fashioned procrastination...

There have been several comments since my last post....I've had a slow down for various reasons. I've been adding new requirements on the internal electrics that VettAid has been working on.  In all fairness to Jody, it has been a long wait, but the mods and retro-fits that he and I have discussed have caused him to take longer than we both anticipated...and, a lot of the interior re-assembly work depends on what holes in the firewall I'll use and which ones need to be filled. I was on the road for most of Aug and about half of Sep. I've also been gone the last couple weeks. Anyway, here's some of the small items I've been working on:

1. Mounting the fan kit to the radiator.

Fan kit mounted on radiator and radiator in mounting bracket.

Universal brackets supplied w/kit. They'll be trimmed down once the radiator is fitted and mounted.



Drilling holes for the mounting bracket bolts through the upper and lower radiator cases.  



Cutting the bracket spacers from round stock.

  

Spacer fitted between bracket and radiator casing.

OCC with their multi-million dollar equipment ain't got nothing on me.....I hand made two more brackets to mount the fan kit since the kit only came with four and I wanted the bottom two corners firmly attached and the kit's brackets are too thick to fit in those locations.





The following pix show the radiator/fan assembly mounted temporarily w/clamps, boards, and a huge twistee.

Now that I have the ECM and harness back, I'll be ready to install all the interior firewall mounted assemblies and do a test start and run to check radiator/heater hose integrity, brakes and pwr steering, AND clutch/tranny.  When VetteAid gets the modified dash harness and new gauges to me, I'll be able to test them. I might even be able to roll the car in and out of the garage and THAT will be the first time this car will have moved under its own power since before I owned it.

Anyway, here are some more pix to show that I haven't been completely idle the last several weeks

Water temp and oil temp sending units. The LS2 ECM uses the factory temp sending unit so a separate one had to be installed for the gauge - same for the oil temp and pressure.

Drilled and tapped into the oil bypass cover.

Water temp sending unit drilled and tapped into P side of water pump. The square fitting on the right is for the coolant vent line from the heads.

I did some experimenting with the the C5 seats and determined that they sit too high,





 so I cut these stock risers on the C5 seat tracks off, but they still sat too high.

I then removed the factory seat tracks from the P side seat and bolted on the stock C3 seat tracks. They will fit well with some minor mods. I'll have to drill new bolt holes to mount the C3 tracks to the C5 seats and drill new mounting holes in the floor board. That works for the P seat, but the D seat is power and the motor/mechanism assemblies hit the hump in the floorboard, restricting the pwr seat movement and the seat still sits too high. So, on the D side, my options are to use the C3 tracks and not have a pwr seat (which was the whole point of buying the seats) or cut the  hump in the floorboard and fabricating new seat mounts.  I'll decide on that and provide more pix of the C5 seat install in a future post as I get them installed.

Now for the engine covers. The following pix show where I had to trim the C5 engine covers to clear the AC pump, AC box on the firewall, and the brake booster box on the D side of the firewall.

The pix show them rough cut for initial fitting. They are nicely trimmed now.

The custom Russell hose heater hoses and the step down/up solution where they attach to the stock 3/4" and 5/8" hoses.  They are not clamped in these pix; when they are they will run along the frame and will not be close to the headers.



 Comment to Clint: Sorry, I know I owe you an answer to your last comment. I haven't broken the code on how to answer comments.  So, I'll try again and if it doesn't work, I'll do another post.

There have been several comments on the blog over the last few weeks. So.....

I have a post in draft that will bring the blog up to date. I haven't been completely idle, but I haven't gotten as far as I had hoped. So, bear with me while I work on the draft update. Mo' to follow.....




Aging Special Forces Warriors.
L-R: Jay Massey, me, Al Davis, Eddie Gleason

  BTW, My name is Carl. Here's a pic of some of my buds and me at Barrett-Jackson in Vegas on 22 Sep. For those of you who don't know, I'm a retired Special Forces Soldier (that's a Green Beret for those of you who don't know the difference; not Ranger, not Seal, but Special FORCES - not any other Special Ops unit you may think that it means) and those are fellow retired SF Soldiers.  We were in Vegas for the SOA Reunion.

As work continues, I can now say that, with the exception of the engine block and heads and the tranny, I have dissassembled and/or inspected and repaired/rebuilt every sub assembly on the car.

This post is in draft and will have continual updates until a major task is accomplished.

(They all seem major, though)

While I've been waiting for VetteAid to finish the custom speedo/tach/gauge kit with custom modded dash/AC/wiper motor/engine compartment wiring harness, I'm been working on stuff at the rear of the cabin, cleaning/removing old carpet backing and glue, etc.  I need to wait for the new harness set up before I install the firewall insulation, pedal assemblies, steering column,etc. since the new harness configuration will eliminate the need for some, if not most, of the holes in the fire wall. Once all this is done, the front of the cab can be assembled to the point the car can be started, driven back and forth in the driveway/garage, and systems checks can be conducted.  Meanwhile.....

Repairing/rebuilding the steering column; sleeve needed repainting, required the disassembling of the steering column.  I already had the column out of the car, so it was that much easier to partially disassemble it.  It needed a new lower bearing retainer and cap and it looks like it might need new components for the ignition switch rod. 

VettAid is adding to the interior harness an alarm w/fob that will disable the computer and activate the alarm. It will also replace the ignition key with a push button starter and a hidden power/kill switch.  The push button starter replaces the factory ignition lock/starter on the column and the hidden power/kill switch will be....well, that's for me to know. This also replaces the factory alarm so I filled in the alarm switch hole in the rear of the body and I don't need the new ignition lock and other replacement/repair parts I've ordered.  I don't have power door locks, so I'll still have to use a key to unlock/open the doors.  However, the system allows me to add power door locks later if I want.

While the gas tank is out and I could access it, I patched the holes in the rear cabin bulkhead that a previous owner (PO) had cut into them in order to mount speakers. It was a stupid idea on his part; the back of the speakers were exposed to the elements.  I will mount rear speakers in home made brackets - mo' to follow.

One of the speaker holes w/fiberglass patch curing.  View is from where the gas tank mounts.

Installed the e-brake handle yesterday.  I had already installed the new front and rear cables way back when I assembled the suspension.  Of course, new e-brakes came with the new VBP rear training arms and spindles/bearings.

Got the gas tank installed and the fuel pump (FP) test run yesterday....but not after another 2 steps forward - 1 1/2 steps back episode.  In the earlier post on building the gas tank/fuel system, I show how I installed the F-body FP. What I didn't detail was building the wiring harness for it. Since the '73 had a mechanical FP, there is no power/ground lead in the rear body wiring harness.  So, I built one by connecting wires to the pwr and gnd leads on the female connector and placing a bayonet connector on the end of the pwr lead and a ring connector on the gnd lead.  During some of the test starts the old connector needed to jiggled to get a positive connection, so I bought a new GM/Delco connector and rebuilt the wiring harness.  If you've removed/installed a C3 gas tank, you know there is some difficulty getting the bolts at the rear of the hold down straps started.  Outside of that, it's a fairly simple task.....but, when the car is only 18" off the ground because you don't have a lift AND it's about 85% humidity at ~90°.  Anyway, somehow I managed to hook my elbow on the ground wire, separating the butt connector in the pretty wiring loom I built, which, of course, was located on the top of the tank, requiring the tank to be dropped again, AFTER everything was connected and tightened up...AAARRRRGGHH!!

Reply to comment by Anonymous:
Thanks,
Well, I'm no where near being pathfinder. There are dozens of guys who have done this before me. A couple of them were instrumental in helping me get started and guiding me through my initial steps. If you haven't yet, you should check the Corvette Forum. In the C3 Tech section is a sticky that has a ton of info. Here's the link:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-tech-performance/1765292-who-out-there-has-actually-swapped-an-ls1-ls2-ls6-into-their-c3.html

Yes, I need to start vendor/parts list. I've been meaning to do it...and intend to.....

On the "shoulda dones", I'll try to back track and update some posts with that info. I do explain in a few posts in this blog. I really did intend to document my work in more detail with pix and notes, but the way I am, I start working and forget about stopping to write and take pix. There have been so many times that I've said, "Damn, I shoulda taken pix!!".

I'm going to be out of town for a few weeks and I'm still waiting on the VettAid custom guages/dash harness/security system/electric start/etc. before I can do anymore major work.