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These are the pics of the Malibu trunk and the 15" rally sport wheels. The trunk was full of old dried out tar and it was difficult to rip out of it. I have since cleaned up the floor and shot a coat of rustoleum on it to preserve it somewhat.

OK it's been a month since my last post and it has been way too hot in the garage/ driveway to get anything done on the cars. I swapped distributors in the 1970 Malibu so it now has HEI and used a relay off the factory resistor wire with a fused link that runs from the horn relay for easy starting and reliability. I have been having a problem with the points getting crapped up every time the car sits. I'm just sick of it. It now appears I have a ground problem as my parking lights are staying on when the battery is hooked up. I feel the only way to fix this car the right way is with a whole dash swap and new wire harness. I put the 14x7 RS wheels back on it and put the SS wheels on the gray.. er, primer spotted gray car. I need to figure out what the Malibu is worth so it can be sold and allow me some funding and room to work on the other car.

I feel ya. Looks like it may be a cooler weekend. Goodluck

Well, I got the 400 back in and running with an HEI distributor and got new collectors, two and a half inch tube, and a set of Thrush welded mufflers to get some sort of exhaust system on the car. I was going to get a set of tailpipes bent up but I think I'm just going to throw turn-downs on it for now. I bought another set of Bendix wheel cylinders for the rear and I'm going to bleed the brakes again since the pedal seems like it has gotten spongy again. I dug out a Torker II intake manifold and Carter carburetor along with a 650 cfm Holley. I also have a Performer RPM intake manifold with a Quadrajet rebuilt by Edelbrock with electric choke I'm thinking about throwing on. I wish I upgraded this car to HEI a long time ago. It completely got rid of the hard starting problem and it doesn't feel like it is hesitating when it is cold like it did. All this time I have had this car with the 400 and wanted to put in a 454. I pulled the 400, had the 454 sitting in the car and then decided to sell the car so went back to the SBC 400. Funny thing is I just wanted to sell the car and make room to get the SS in the garage but once I got everything bolted up and running again I feel like I want to keep them both. I don't know what to do anymore. I should just sell it while it is on the road but people seem to want everything for nothing. I listed the car locally for $3,500 as a roller, $4,000 complete as-is or for $5,000 for the complete running and driving car along with all the extras like new interior kit, some sheet metal and the 12 bolt rearend I was going to save for a spare. I got the 10 bolt open 3.08 rear in it now and planned on setting up the 12 bolt with a 3.55 ratio to swap into the SS if I felt like making some long trips and for cruising but not having to take apart the 4.10's that are in the car now. I even threw in a set of factory front disc brakes complete with original hold-off valve and an L98 350 that needs a hone and fresh bearings and rings. I can't believe the ridiculously low prices people are throwing at me. I know it isn't a show car and I know it has rot but I had a guy offer me $2,000 for everything and it sounded like he wanted me to deliver it too! I had guys offer to trade all sorts of stuff but worst of all is when I take the time to make a detailed ad with everything listed and explained and they ask the same questions that has everything in the ad! I'm so disgusted trying to sell this car I think I just need to park it in a friends garage for a few years. I think Grumpy and Mrs. Grumpy give me some hope that I'll be able to pull off having his-n-hers- Chevelles! She isn't one for originality of the car and the car she would like wasn't available in 1970. To tell the truth, I think her 2011 Camaro has spoiled her. I guess I'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, I got the welder set up again and cleaned up enough room in the garage to open the doors on the car while it is totally inside. Its been a while since that was possible.

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I installed a Bosch relay and used the screw from the firewall gutter to hold it to the firewall. I used the blower motor ground screw and a piece of 12ga. wire to ground the relay, and used the original resistor wire that went to the coil + terminal to power the relay. I did it this way so it could easily be returned back to points and I wouldn't have modified anything that couldn't be easily undone. I also ran a 12ga. positive wire from the relay back to the horn relay so I had power at the point the alternator charges/senses voltage at. (note- in picture throttle cable is broken and return spring is removed. I am aware of this. This has since been repaired and was in the installation process)

Also note wrong size radiator in second picture due to original being stolen while car was behind my old shop.

That is so sad ! But on a brighter note, it looks like you are moving forward. I look at those pics and think back to what I started with. I can't wait to see more as you progress.

I agree you are moving ahead. Just take it one step at a time.

Well, my moving ahead just turned into moving on. I cleaned up everything the best I could on Friday after work. I spent most of the afternoon detailing the dash and working out small electrical bugs like a stuck flasher and a corroded fuse. I got a new ignition switch since mine has been kind of funky since highschool. I cleaned the interior the best I ever have since I have owned the car. I hate armor-all but I wiped everything but the pedals and steering wheel down with it after I cleaned everything. I got all the dust/dirt out of the grain pattern and cleaned the pleats on the seats. I re-stuffed and taped the seams on the front drivers side seat rips and it came out pretty good. I went back over everything with some old clean sweatpants material to take the excess gloss off the interior. I couldn't believe how good the old crappy interior looked. I decided to armor-all the weatherstrip too. In essence I was polishing the proverbial turd but it came out pretty good. I welded up some 2.5" tubes with collectors and welded on a set of Thrush welded mufflers. They look and sound like knock-offs of the Flowmaster 40 series. It gave the 400 a nice rumble. I adjusted the carburetor and took it for a good ride to clear it out. The more I drove it, the better it seemed to get. I went a few blocks down to a street that was just paved not too long ago and spun them up. It left some nice marks in the road. I stopped and jumped on it quick, spun the tires through 2nd gear pretty good. It made me wonder what ever clicked in my head that the car needed to have a big block in the first place. I forgot how fun the car was it has been sitting so long. It felt good to take it out again for a good ride after all these years. Little did I know it would be my last ride. I sold the black Chevelle over the weekend. It has been kind of depressing but I needed to let it go so I could move on to the "new" car. I got pretty close to full asking price and still have a lot of extra parts left over to sell off and recoup some money. I had left my camera in my other truck so I couldn't even get any good pictures of it before it left. All I have is a few shots to remember it by. I am gonna miss that car.

It just dawned on me that I sold my only remaining 8 track player with the black Chevelle...

Oh man Berg. I feel your pain, I am just glad that you took her out for a ride before you said good-bye. Isn't it amazing how we get attached, how many memories are tied up in, and how we miss them when they are gone. And some people think they are just cars.

You know the funny thing is I can never find the camera when I need it and when I do find it the only thing on it is a million pictures of the dog. I like the dog but I like the cars and trucks and boats too! I need a good phone with a camera that I can upload pictures with that way I will always have them. I wish I had a video of the car running or me driving it or something. I become jealous when I see people with them. I guess in the end I still have A Chevelle... just not the car the memories were with but this one will have some of the stuff from the other car so I can pretend it is a partial reincarnation of it. Yeah that's it, I'll just tell myself that!
On a lighter note, I had gotten a set of black door panels from an SS that were replaced with aftermarket ones a few years back. I just dug them out of the garage and finally cleaned them up. They don't look half bad for garbage as far as I'm concerned and they are a lot better than the ones in the car at the moment. I know they'll fit too because they are GM originals too! I'm thinking about buying an aftermarket cowl induction hood with the flapper since I sold my NOS GM SS hood with the car. I wish the guy didn't see it. I figure if I have to buy one anyway I'm thinking of buying the whole functional cowl induction kit. I see some companies out there with the kit mostly complete for around $600. What do you guys think?

Sounds like your taking it well. Everything happens for the best! Youll be making new memories soon.

I got some more stuff coming on the way. It took me a while with other things going on to finally get some stuff taken care of. I got rid of a few more projects and made some more room in the garage. I'm able to fit 2 cars in the 3 car garage! It is an improvement. I'm not even able to fit a car in the middle bay even if everything was out of it because there is only 16' from the back wall to the door opening. It seems like my Chevelle always takes a back seat to projects like baseboard moldings and door trim in the house. I also had a roof leak and a window that was so out of square it was binding up and not able to latch shut. I still have a door to take care of on the back of the garage too and new steps and a patio where the deck used to be. I broke down and got a 3899621 bellhousing for the 11" clutch. I was going to use a 10.5" clutch behind the 454 I'm putting in because of the low power output but had a change of heart. I had gotten a 3858403 housing but I'm going to stack it into the spare parts bin along with the extra 12 bolt rear and spare disc brake spindles. I might end up selling this stuff once the car is together to get some more funding and space in the garage. I ordered a partial trunk pan to take care of the hole and rust around where the cutout was for the fuel cell sump. I ordered a new cross shaft rebuild kit to help tighten up the Z bar. I'm going to weld up and re-drill the holes for the linkage to take some slop out of it. I opted to get as many used GM and NOS parts as I could so I could ensure they'd fit as original. Its going to be a rainy week so I don't see the car getting pulled out for a little while.

Berg, it sounds like you are making progress. But this weather really sucks. I thought it was fall, not spring. I can deal with the cooler weather but the rain needs to go away. It makes it hard to get things done. I can't even pull mine out to wash it cause one minute the sun is shining and the next it is pouring. Hope the weather clears up soon so you can pull your car out and get some things done before it snows.

The weather has been a drag. I ordered another oil pan today because I didn't like the first one. I got a 5qt gold zinc coated one from Summit. Lets see how this one fits. I ordered the thick gasket set with it like it said also. I also ordered a pit pack bushing kit in nylon for the shifter to take any slop out of the linkage. While I was at it I ordered the correct serpentine pulley for the 12SI alternator to match the crank and water pump pulley set. I'm probably getting ahead of myself but I have been doing so many other projects that I sprung for a cheap fitted car cover to keep the crap off the car if its in the garage or if I have to put it out in the driveway and it rains. I plan to register it and have it on the road before the snow hits just so I'll be more easily motivated to work on it in the spring. I don't see much happening over the winter unless I save up some money for seat foams and new seat covers and headliner and package tray. I need to move a little faster on this car than I did with the other one.

At least you are making progress ,I stopped by the bodyshop to see my truck still in piles and pieces but it will be nice one day before long .

Flash, one of my trucks is the next project. I have to do something with my 84 Blazer. It is my first truck and not worth much to most people but I have major sentimental issues with this vehicle. It has been good to me and taught me a lot along the way. It has been a a test rat and saved a few lives. Its done countless recoveries and got me to work, school, and everywhere else you could think of. It was also my prom limo and saw more action in its history than than I should admit. That truck deserves a medal, let alone some fresh metal. I'm always collecting new parts for it for the big resto I have planned. That'll take even longer than my Chevelle project.
Speaking of project progress, I removed the window moldings around the back window and windshield and cut the windshield out of the car. Someone glued in the window moldings with silicone,caulk, and some form of monkey snot instead of cutting the glass out and fixing it the correct way. I'm up in the air over doing the roof skin or just bending up some window channel patch pieces. I feel like the skin may save me a lot of overhaul. I figure if I'm going to need a passenger side rear quarter maybe I should just do it at the same time as the roof. Anyone have any input/experience?

I found my camera and uploaded some pictures of progress. Still have to get a new oil pump screen. Its the only thing keeping the engine from going in the car at this point. Keep in mind I'm not doing a restoration on this car, I'm just trying to make it a nice period-correct weekend driver. Right now I'm focused on getting the powertrain sorted out with brakes, suspension and then comes the body work. I just cleaned up the stuff inboard of the frame rails and brake booster. I'll finish off the heater box and outer portions of the firewall when I pull the fenders.

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I got a rebuilt master cylinder and sprayed it with cast blast to keep it from rusting. I clear coated the top cover and hold-downs with a high temp clear to help preserve it. I painted the steering shaft with the same paint. It seems pretty durable and it looks like it belongs that way so it is good enough for me. That is the original brake booster I took off and cleaned up. It is in good condition so I didn't feel the need to replace it. The brake lines with the exception of the line from the distribution block to the rear brake hose are in good condition so I cleaned them up where they needed it. I got new wheel cylinders for the rear and will do the calipers when I rebuild the front end. I'll clean up the A arms when I change the springs and bushings. While I had the column out of the car I cleaned up the end and changed the base plate for the 4 speed. I got a reproduction from Inline Tube. It fit OK, some of the holes were slightly off but nothing that couldn't be made to work with ease. The new replacement gasket on the other hand left something to be desired. The holes are punched off by around 1/8" to 1/4" off and the hole for the column to pass through is too small. The hole for the 4 speed knockout could have actually been a little smaller but It'll do for now. It turns out I got the wrong Z-bar when I bought the clutch linkage but that's what happens when you aren't totally familiar with what you are dealing with. At least the piece is a genuine GM, looks to be maybe for a 73-77 Chevelle, El Camino, or Monte Carlo piece. The rest of the hardware was correct. I had to grind down 2 welds on the frame from where a chain was used to hold the engine down. I guess it was cut away when the previous owner went with Moroso solid motor mounts. I'll be running Energy Suspension poly motor mounts with an internal locking design so I don't have to worry about needing any kind of chain or cable. I'd like to clean up the wiper motor a little more in the future but it isn't really a priority at the moment. I know it looks like hell.

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I noticed a small crack in the dash carrier right below the column when I removed the tach that was mounted on the column. It isn't anything I'm going to bother replacing the dash over, I just know it is there. I found 2 wires on the ignition system that were tapped into for a toggle switch and a push button. I have since removed all non-factory wiring and fixed wiring. Once the engine is in I will be adding a new oil pressure gauge just to keep an eye on things but I'll cross that bridge later. On a better note, I realized that my FM stereo is also an 8 track player! I thought I didn't have one anymore when i sold my black car. I guess I get to keep all my 8 tracks now!

Here is a shot of the frame bracket for the Z bar, or Bellcrank, or whatever you'd like to call it.
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Here is a picture of the 454 I've been tripping over in my garage. Right now the car is taking up 2 bays of a 3 bay garage.

I forgot to mention that I took out a whole milk crate full of wiring, switches, relays, and buttons that has been added to the car over the years.

I got the engine in with the correct oil pan so no more hitting the crossmember which is a good thing. I was able to get it together with the new flywheel, clutch, and bellhousing. I chose to go with the Valeo diaphragm clutch and new GM flywheel. This weekend I went to a swap meet and bought an oval port intake manifold to get rid of the low rise cast iron one that is on it. I'm probably going to rebuild one of my Holley 4150's with mechanical secondaries too. My biggest issue was header fitment on the drivers side. I had to pull the steering shaft out of the car and jack up the engine again with the temp sending unit out of it and the oil filter off to get the damn thing in there. The good news about the headers is I know they'd fit in one way or another because I had everything mocked up in the other car before I dropped the 400 back in it. It turns out the Z bar I got for the clutch linkage is incorrect but it shouldn't take much at all to make it fit until I track down the right one. I got the M20 under the car and took out the bolts for the shifter but left the mounting plate on. I'm going to figure out what has to be trimmed from the tunnel for the shifter to clear and then I'll spot weld the shifter hump in place.
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In the second and third picture you can see the 1/8" Tee fitting I put in for the oil pressure sending unit and the tap for the mechanical gauge. There is a small hole in the firewall that I'm going to run copper line through with a grommet. I don't trust the plastic line that comes with gauge kits from chain stores. I figure the factory used copper line for years so I would do the same. Eventually when I get the money I plan on buying an oil pressure gauge with an electronic sending unit so no oil has to be plumbed into the passenger compartment. I originally planned on installing the engine and trans together but ended up instead installing the engine with the bellhousing but the transmission removed. It went right in with little difficulty and I actually had room to leave the radiator if I felt like it. I had plenty of clearance around everything and there is still room behind the HEI distributor against the firewall. Once everything is the way I want it I want to pick up an Accel corrected-cap but I feel I'll probably have to make custom wires to use it. I'll have to see if anyone out there has a wire set with that cap that I like the way the wires are run. After I get the driveshaft and the parking brake squared away I'll be on to doing the wiring with the MSD 6AL box.

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I should have cleaned up the transmission better but it isn't the one I plan on keeping in the car. If I do end up keeping it in there I'll probably do synchros and reseal it. I can't wait to get this thing moving under its own power. The woman enrolled in the nursing program and is taking night classes so it free'd up some time for me here and there after work and I lost my overtime for now so I look like I'm good till December to work on it.
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The power steering lines still had the little metal spring clip and the steering box had the pressure hose holder still in place and I left them in place as original. I'd like to get a new return hose on there but I misplaced the one I had gotten. To be quite honest, I'm missing a good amount of things from my garage. I know I can misplace things time to time but this is above and beyond that. I'm working on that issue now. Other than that I can get a new power steering belt and move along for now.

you missed the closing bracket on your second picture..lol very nice man coming along good

closing bracket? maybe its the 4 hours of sleep I got. I'm still missing it lol. what is it and where does it go and what does it close?

Looks good! That motor is sweet. Coming right along. Are you going to use those stock wheels that I seen on the front in one of those photos?

lol see at the end of this img here you should have a ] to make the image look like this :)
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your welcome :)

haha ohh why thank you. I'm looking for a clutch return spring bracket or something missing in the picture. Its like trying to find waldo.

.....lol.....

No pictures as of right now but I did get some things taken care of on the car. I picked up another hood. I got it because someone sand blasted it and did a good job of cleaning it up but they warped the front of it near the hood pin holes on both sides. Anybody ever re-skin a hood before? I just don't like the fit of aftermarket panels so I'm trying to stay away from them. I'm thinking I might be able to get away with using a shrinking hammer on it until it is close enough to be leveled with high build primer. I gotta find the pics of the new yoke for the driveshaft. I got the trans tunnel in place and shifter in. It is looking like a car again. The rest will probably wait till spring

Glad to hear your still making progress. I will hope for a short and warm winter fo you.

Try toothpaste on the guage lens before you toss it. Seriously, wash it with soapy water first, then polish it with toothpaste on a terry towel.

I know plastic polishes are available, but toothpaste will work in a pinch.

hey thanks for the tip on the lens. I was going to take it out and use 3M finesse-it on it when I get around to it. I have to upload some more pictures when I get a chance. I've just been going crazy with projects lately. I'll have to try the toothpaste on one of my old truck clusters I have laying around. I got the car together and running but am having electrical gremlins with something back-feeding the parking lights when I step on the brake pedal. I'm having a problem with the turn signals too. I'm debating on buying a new harness with blade fuses and rewiring the car from the headlights to the taillights. I pulled the windshield and started cutting rust out of the A posts and around the windshield frame and have realized I'm going to do a roof skin on the car when the passenger rear quarter is replaced in the future. I will tell you guys that 30 mph feels fast when you have open headers and no windshield!