Slowest 1970 Chevelle build!

[Ms Grumpy]

Looks like you are going to have fun.

[Berg]

I got my girlfriend's grandmother's 1985 Caprice yesterday to dispose of... It was in very rough shape with a bad engine and slipping transmission. I was thinking about using the TH200 4R as a core trans to build up for the malibu but ended up junking the car whole. I ended up dragging it across the scales at 3320 lbs and got $501 for it as a complete auto hulk with cat. Hell, that was more than we were trying to get for the car when it was for sale! I did pull the radiator out of it since it was only a few months old and I put it in my Malibu for some increased cooling as well as saved the side post battery cables to put in the car. I'm still debating the 90 amp 12SI alternator conversion for the new car. At this point I figure i'm going to get a new engine harness since mine is hacked beyond recognition. I saved the engine section from the Caprice to splice in but have since decided against it considering the cost of a new reproduction engine harness that plugs into the factory bulkhead connector. I'm going to order a harness with Electronic Ignition and an Electric Choke lead built in. I'm going to leave it set for the external regulator alternator and just use the harness adapters in case I'd like a more original appearance. I also am still caught up over running a large cap GM HEI distributor or using an original style GM points distributor with the Electronic conversion kit. I'm thinking that would look more period correct. Any modifications I plan on making to this car would be able to be easily converted back to original.

[Berg]

Well I got a lot of aftermarket wiring and some gauges that were added onto it over the years. It had a trunk-mounted battery and fuel line with dual Holley blue fuel pumps plumbed up with AN fittings and what looks like 7/16" aluminum fuel line going to a fuel cell in the trunk. I ended up removing all traces of the aftermarket fuel system with wiring and relays and cleaned up more loose ends under the hood. I got rid of a piece of wire strapping someone used as a coil bracket and pulled the wiring out of the holes in the firewall from the remains of an under-dash mounted MSD box. Now that I got everything not original gutted out i'll be able to figure out what is missing. So far I noticed a burnt off fusable link on the passenger side by the headlight wiring, I re-hooked up the factory positive junction block on the radiator support and I found the blue and white leads for the alternator have been cut off about 4" out of the harness wrap. The coil + wire has been cut, the ring terminal is missing off the tach wire, and I found the oil pressure wire under the booster and the coolant temp wire was tucked up into the drivers side fender. I moved the coolant recovery tank back to the stock mounting location for now until I get a new replacement. The original one was used as an isolation block for the + cable coming from the trunk to the battery. I can only imagine what would have happened if the cable terminals got hot and it melted out the stud and hit the frame or engine. Thats all for now, we had a good time playing with the 2011 Camaro this weekend to get anything else done. I'll try to have pics to follow up later on this week when I get a new camera.

[Berg]

well I got myself another birthday present to go along with the big one. I ordered some stuff from Ground Up and my order has already arrived. Only took 2 days for the shipping! I'm just glad to have the stuff by the weekend. So far I got new heater and radiator hoses with tower clamps, new battery tray, new alternator brackets with hardware and a set of GM power steering pump brackets with hardware along with a new pressure hose. I got some more little odds-n-ends like the firewall wire gutter and some ground straps, and bought some stuff locally like poly motor and trans mounts. I'm still waiting on my 12SI wiring conversion kit to bypass the external voltage regulator and plug converter. I know I could have just cut the wires and put the ends on them but i wanted to keep the car looking as factory as possible... well maybe with the exception of the MSD 6AL box and the HEI. I really need to get a new camera but the money is better spent on the car.

[Bdubya]

Originally Posted by Berg

So far I got new heater and radiator hoses with tower clamps, new battery tray, new alternator brackets with hardware and a set of GM power steering pump brackets with hardware along with a new pressure hose. I got some more little odds-n-ends like the firewall wire gutter and some ground straps, and bought some stuff locally like poly motor and trans mounts.

No offense, but it seems you're putting the cart before the horse a little bit. Radiator hoses?, alternator brackets? The car needs almost every panel patched or replaced and you're gonna have money tied up in parts that are gonna sit for a long time. What did you get the SS for? I hope it was less than the Malibu. Would have been better off selling the Malibu, saving all your money up and buying one in alot better shape. Part the SS for the Malibu.

[Berg]

Originally Posted by Bdubya

No offense, but it seems you're putting the cart before the horse a little bit. Radiator hoses?, alternator brackets? The car needs almost every panel patched or replaced and you're gonna have money tied up in parts that are gonna sit for a long time. What did you get the SS for? I hope it was less than the Malibu. Would have been better off selling the Malibu, saving all your money up and buying one in alot better shape. Part the SS for the Malibu.

I'm selling the Malibu. The SS is what I wanted, an actual SS that has colors that are more desirable to me. The sheet metal isn't that big of a deal. I already have the floor pan patch and trunk pan with drop downs. I also have a drivers side lower fender patch and a pass side fender and a set of GM extensions. I also got an SS hood and a trunk lid and rear filler panel already. Most of the stuff I have is GM parts so its no big deal. The Malibu really needs a complete dash swap and harness with the forward light harness and engine harness. I'm sick of piecing wires together and don't have the money to do everything at once. The only real big expenses with the SS car are going to be the roof skin and pass side quarter panel. I'll hold off on the bumpers until I can afford them. I already have a lot of the black interior stuff because I was planning on changing over the Malibu to a black gut.
Besides, why would I part out a genuine SS for a Malibu? that wouldn't make very much sense to cut up a fairly original car. I plan on selling the Malibu and putting the money into this car. I got it for a trade for a rebuildable 454 out of a 1975 Chevy C30 so considering those engines are a dime a dozen I can scrap the car and come out ahead.

[Berg]

Update: The Black car got a master cylinder, a few brake lines and wheel cylinders for safety and to pass inspection. It seems when the car sits for a long time the pedal gets very spongy. I noticed it was wet around the master cylinder piston by the booster. I also noticed a few of the lines looked pretty crusty. I planned on replacing all lines and hoses but I'm on a budget and plan on selling the car so I just used some parts store brake lines and wheel cylinders and a Fenco rebuild for the master. It is nice having a brake pedal again. I swapped the trunklid back out for the one with the repaint and bondo so I can keep the mint one for the SS. I cleaned up the hood hinges and painted them with cast blast and lubed up the contact points with white lithium grease and they have never worked better. I gave a whack on the rivets and it seemed to take the slop out of them too. I cleaned up everything under the hood and am debating on swapping on an Edelbrock Performer with a Holley carb and HEI distributor I have. I'll throw the stock stuff in the trunk for whoever buys it.
For the SS I decided to clean up the 454 and paint it up Chevy Orange. I set up the power steering stuff and the alternator and bent up a new hard line with 2 short rubber pieces and an inline filter for the Quadrajet. I cleaned out the carb and replaced the accelerator pump and gaskets. I gave away my non-EGR intake with my other engine (not thinking) and gave away a used MSD box I had out of a truck that I could have put into the other Chevelle. Oh well. I put the flex fan on and made sure my pulley setup from a 1986 Chevy K30 was good to go. I have a 100 or 105amp 12SI alternator with serpentine pulley and since the wires were cut near the radiator support going to the alternator I used a piece of a harness for the 12SI up to that point. I spliced them and put a piece of plastic wire loom on them for now until I wrap up the harness with tape. I used the regulator bypass so I wouldn't have to cut the factory plug off in case I ever want to go back to the external regulator. The Oil pan I have is a deep sump and the sump is longer than the Chevelle pan so it hit the crossmember. I found a new pan and dipstick with tube and checked the height of the pickup for the oil pump. Installed sending units and dropped in HEI distributor. I slapped a set of Moroso valve covers and air cleaner on it so I don't destroy my MT finned aluminum covers while working on it. The upgrades look clean and don't take away from the originality too much. I also got ahead of myself and put the SS wheels on the car too. I just had to do it. I put the 14" Rally Sport wheels back on the black car and I still have my 15" RS rims in the event I feel like running some nice rubber on them. The roll-arounds are now going on my friends 55 Chevy so he can get it in the garage. I have a busy weekend coming up but I'm hoping I have the time to put on the new wheel cylinders and rebuilt calipers and rebuilt master I have for it. I'll stick the original stuff in the boxes as it all looks to be factory GM original. I'm up to figuring out the transmission stuff now since the car came with a TH400. I'm debating on finding another crossmember for the 4 speed because the TH400 one doesn't seem to line up too well. I also have to change out the yoke to a 27 spline since I have an early Muncie but the driveshaft length itself will be fine. I'm holding off on ordering the parking brake cable kit until the trans is bolted in its final location. In the other car I was planning on running a bench seat with a floor shifter so now I have to buy a new floor hump with boot and retainer to go along with the console shifter. I'm running low on money and time and I'd like to use my boat this summer so I will probably be slowing down again. I'd just like to get it running and driving. It will keep me playing with it and doing all the stupid little things. At this point it is looking like next March or April before it goes in for Quarter panel and roof skin work. I'd also like to strip down the surface rust and shoot it in primer to preserve it.

[Berg]

Here's some pictures of the 454 before it went in. The intake might be changed in the future but it'll work for now. I think it may stay like that until I put a better engine in it. I have been looking for a 396/402 that is period correct and will eventually swap it in. I wish I had more time to work on stuff and take pictures. It takes forever for me to get them posted on line. Sorry for the delay on the project, but it did come with a disclaimer that it would be the slowest build! While I was at it I decided to clean up the dash a little. The dash pad itself has seen better days but the carrier is very clean. I'm thinking about polishing the original lens to see if I can take the yellowing/scratches out but I may just end up buying a new one. I also changed the decklid with one from a 69 Chevelle. I just hit the edges quick with some sandpaper and primer, hit again quick and shot it with a shadow gray spray can to see how it came out. It had some bare metal spots that I didn't want to get any worse so it is more Preservation than anything. I did notice the emblems are different from 69 to the 70-72 Chevelles. I'm leaving the earlier emblem for now. I cleaned out the trunk area a little more and I'm going to hit it with the wire wheels on the drill to get all the heavy spots clean. Anything left over will get sand blasted and the rot cut out.

[Berg]

The aftermarket tach is out too.

[Berg]

The trunk floor is really rough right in the rear center and someone cut in a big hole for the fuel cell but it looks like it shouldn't be too bad to patch up. I think the trunklid itself eliminated about 10% of the rot on the car. It really needs a pass side quarter though. Check out the alligator clip on the tach lead for the coil. Thats custom right there!




That is the factory original FM stereo I'd love to get refurbished one day.

Here's the B&M Quick-Stick that the car came with. I guess it'll go in the garage along with the battery box, fuel cell, gauges, and E-fan that came out. I was checking the driveshaft length and it looks like I can use the original TH400 shaft with an aftermarket 4 speed Muncie yoke. I'm holding off on ordering the parking brake cables until the shaft is in the car.