'65 Coupe Resto-Mod and '68 Full Custom Restoration

[vito]

rbryce1,

Do you have a BB? Can you post a pic of the serpentine belt system after install?

Thanks

Cheers

Vito

[rbryce1]

Finished another segment of my restoration. Here is a link to my site for those following.

http://www.suncoastcorvette.com/forum/v ... m.php?f=31


P.S. I'm really glad this portion is over. I have never eaten so much fiberglass dust in my life, even with the best respirator available! Now I can get back to some real assembly stuff! But there is still the exterior to finish (damn.)

[rbryce1]

Big day yesterday. Moved the frame back home from my storage unit, removed the engine and transmission and reset the body back on the frame. Will complete the body to frame alignment this week and get ready to re-install the tilt nose. After that, it goes to John Jamison in Charleston for finishing body work. I trust myself for the structural repairs and rough in work, but I know when to turn it over to the pros before paint. (Sure wish my neighbors would replace their fences like I did!)








You can see the side pipe headers better in this photo.




Engine removed and the body in the air. I used the two electric hoists attached at the rear of the door openings to raise the body, weighted down the front floor area to make the entire unit front heavy and used a 1 ton chain fall attached to the two #1 body mounts with a tow strap to control the front to rear tilt angle.










Body down!






While it is in Charleston I will be installing the Serpentint Belt System on the engine and working on the new doors. Will post more photos of the alignment, as well as the work on the engine and doors.

[MaineVette]

That looks great!

Any concern about the body shop being able to fully paint the lower portion of the firewall and underbody with the body dropped on the frame? Do they plan to lift the body at the paint shop?

How did the body leveling go? Any reason why you're re-leveling the entire body, or are you referring to just the nose section?

Also, what's the scoop with the orange fuel feed/return lines?

[rbryce1]

That looks great!

Any concern about the body shop being able to fully paint the lower portion of the firewall and underbody with the body dropped on the frame? Do they plan to lift the body at the paint shop?

No concern. They will be painting from the bell housing forward, which is easily accessible. The rest of the underside and rear wheelwells I have covered with a material called Gator Guard II, which I will show in my next update. It is pretty much the same as Rhino Guard, the material they spray into truck beds. It went on great, looks black and shiny and is HARD AS A FLIPPEN ROCK! Will not chip, I'm certain of that.

As far as painting with the frame in place, they have a coating they spray over everything that will not get paint. It acts like a combination of grease and soap. Paint will not stick to it and water washes it off. They apply that, then cover that with plastic, paint and then wash it off. They also have auto lifts to paint under the car without lying on their backs. They have a lot of experience doing this, as well as restoring NCRS and Bloomindale cas, and I trust them completely.

[rbryce1]

How did the body leveling go? Any reason why you're re-leveling the entire body, or are you referring to just the nose section?

I have not yet done the final leveling of the body. The nose alignment is actually performed seperate from the body alignment, but shimming may come into play there as well if necessary. Right now the body is sitting on the frame with 1973 rubber body mounts (not the aluminum 1968 mounts) without shims inplace. The bolts are in place, but not torqued. Once I get the engine compartment painted, the engine put back in and the roof and doors on, and some ballast to simulate the weight of the interior parts, then I will be doing the alignment and shimming. The whole purpose of shimming is to get the body gaps even, and with the doors out, it doesn't make sense to do it now. I am re-leveling the entire body because:

1) I am installing 1974 doors instead of the original 1968 doors.
2) I want to try and get as perfect a body gap between the fenders and doors as I can.
3) I do not trust GM to have done it correctly in the beginning and
4) there has been so much time off the frame, I'm not confident that the original alignment even means anything now!

I will also be posting the process I went through to align the body. I understand it is easy, but takes a lot of time and patience.

[rbryce1]

Also, what's the scoop with the orange fuel feed/return lines?

Eventually I am going to install Edelbrock Pro-Flow Electronic Fuel Injection. I need a 3/8" fuel line and a 5/16" return line for the FI unit. The stock fuel lines are 3/8" and 1/4". Since the 1/4" is too small to use (according to Edelbrock), I installed 2 3/8" fuel lines. I painted the fuel line red and the return line yellow to help tell the differrence, as tracing them through the body would be a PITA later with the body in place.

[MaineVette]

Ahhh... I see. Makes sense just as long as you don't get your colors mixed up!

[rbryce1]

Well, tomorrow I start the install of the steering column. There are only a few small variables I may need to overcome. Installing a 1975 tilt-telescopic steering column in a 1968 dash that use to have a 1968 standard, non tilt, non telescopic steering column, using all 1975 steering column mounts, brackets and supports, going thru a modified 1968 firewall using a 1975 firewall connection plate aligning with a 1968 rag joint on a 1968 steering box bolted to a 1968 frame in which the 1968 body has been mounted to the 1968 frame using 1973 (much thicker) rubber body mounts should really not be a problem, right? ............

RIGHT! ............


All this so I can tilt the flippen steering wheel out of the way, say what, 3 fricken inches. YA GOTTA LOVE IT! Wish me luck guys!

[vito]

rbryce1

I know of someone with a 72 that your tilt will fit with in with no mods.

Good Lucks

Cheers

Vito