how to get my car back on the road?

SS Shaun · #1 11-15-2012, 08:35 AM

ok so i am the kind of guy (because of my dad's theory) that i always work on my drive train first. meaning rear end rebuild (done) trans rebuild (done) motor built, rebuilt, or new one (not sure what to do still up to this day) then worry about everything else. So i am at the point where my rear is done my trans is done motor since i am still not sure what to do i am not touching it yet. With all of this craziness in my life i some how managed to save up just about 2 grand. But not sure what to do next with my chevelle. My rear is rebuilt including new brakes, new brake lines, new shocks, new springs. i kind of started working from the rear of the car to the front of the car.

I currently have the trunk harness and the middle harness new and installed. So do i get a new dash harness? do i get the one with the new style fuses? and work on getting the interior up to par? Do I get a new motor or rebuild my 454? do i leave it alone and see if it runs?

to answer the golden question that everyone is thinking or going to ask

what do you plan on doing with the car?
Well i want to have it a very very fun to drive weekend driver. when i say that i mean from april to nov when i get home from work friday that will be the car i drive might even drive it to work on fridays but friday saturday and sunday will be my daily driver for the weekend.

Will the car see the strip?
Yes but nothing to serious. if i can get the car to see 13s i will be happy

what about auto cross since you love it so much?
not really that is what the rx7 is for

comfort is the key here. I want it to be smooth but have some rough edges like it was built. not really thinking about lowering it to much maybe an inch so i can get some good handling since i live in the woods/backroads.

things i (think) i need
front suspension
front brakes
new brake booster and brake master cylinder
new tires (but i would like new wheels)
repair the floor from the t56 install (a small piece of sheet metal and an hour with the welder will do it)
headlight harness
battery
inner fender wells
battery tray

I know this is a long post but i'm trying to get my act together because i REALLY want to drive the car this spring

So i ask you what did you do to get your car on the road and what do you think i should work on next?

on top of that i need my seats redone or new ones but i dont need those to look all pretty to drive the car yet...lo

Ms Grumpy · #2 11-15-2012, 10:00 AM

I don't know if you have read thru this thread Shaun, but there are a few suggestions that might help.

http://chevelleforum.org/showthread.php?t=2883

SS Shaun · #3 11-15-2012, 10:55 AM

yeah i read that list. before i actually posted in there..lol i guess i just have to many thoughts in my mind. I guess i will start with my brakes and new shocks in the front for now plus i will order my front harness and sending unit harness

Berg · #4 11-15-2012, 01:10 PM

I think you are on the right track. The car is looking good and I think at this point you could rebuild the brakes and drop in the 454 and redo the fuel system to ensure years of trouble-free weekends. It is always easier to spend other peoples' money so I can tell you exactly what you need to do! On a serious note, the LS engine is cool but it would probably end up being a nickle and dime deal just to get it in and running correctly. I guess on the other hand it all depends on if you will keep it fuel injected or slap a carb on it. Either way to be correctly done you'd probably be around $1,800 to $2,000. The big block on the other hand- it looks like you have a lot of the stuff to put it in. I'd pull the pan and inspect the insides, yank the intake and check that stuff too. If you find someone with a borescope you could put it into the exhaust ports and rotate the engine till the exhaust valves are open on the cylinders you are checking to get the camera in. You may even be able to slip it into the spark plug holes. If the cylinders check out, I'd pull the rod and main caps to check the bearings. If they look good, you could get plasti-gauge and check the clearances. If everything is within tolerances, slap a good Melling oil pump in it, bolt the pan on, prime the oil system and do a compression check and a leakdown check. I bet if it all checks out fine, you could have the big block bolted up under the hood for $500-$600 and have it all painted up underhood.
You really can't do anything with the suspension until the whole drivetrain is in it in order to align it correctly. Things like the battery tray and inner fenders and the front end fastener kit will probably run you another $300 shipped to your house for a rough estimate. Another plus side is you'll still have the LS engine in the garage for the RX7 if you ever feel the need to play around

SS Shaun · #5 11-15-2012, 01:49 PM

lol see i knew you would help..lol the thing is i have two lqx motors one i planned on putting in the chevelle and the other was a spare for which ever one i break..lol the 454 was inspected by me but i am not a 100% pro but the bearings looked good the main caps i re did with ARP bolts the pistons rods didn't have much play which told me the bearings are ok (thats just me) the intake is off as we speak now but i already put in a new cam with new lifters and new push rods and new rockers. just need to be adjusted. i need to get an oil pressure gauge and a coolant temp gauge for the time being. So i think i am going to just get the front brakes and new shocks and see what happens from there.

flash · #6 11-15-2012, 04:17 PM

Sounds like you have a pretty good plan .

earthquake68 · #7 11-16-2012, 01:18 PM

My typical route for a car that drives is:

engine, trans, rear.
Brakes
Suspension
Body work and paint
Interior

Now for a car that is a basket case:

Bodywork. All metal work and the bones of the car have to be right.
Suspension
Brakes
Engine, trans, rear.
Interior.

...but that's just me.

SS Shaun · #8 11-17-2012, 11:25 AM

well i dont think mine is a basket case i just want to get it on the road. So i did was ordered all of my front brake setup which i got today all 350 bucks of it..lol going to try to get it done today so i can say its done. then for next week (long weekend i am going to put the intake and carb on and get the front harness on and see what happens next

Berg · #9 11-26-2012, 12:03 PM

Checking up on your progress. How did the brakes come out? Did wifey let you turn the heat up? I hope all is well. I dug through the shed and came out with more Chevelle goodies. There is a swap-meet at the local roundy-round track by me so I might load up everything on my buddies trailer and take it on over to see if I can fetch anything for it.

SS Shaun · #10 11-26-2012, 06:01 PM

lol no she didn't turn up the heat yet! the brakes went great just waiting on that valve to show up it was shipped today so i should have it soon. once that shows then i can finish it all off. Now i am at the point where i dont know what to get next. I have the following completed
rear end with new eaton tru trac and 4.11 gears
rear springs replaced
rear shocks replaced
rear drums rebuilt
front disc complete
new brake lines including new brake booster and master
new clutch flywheel and pressure plate
starter
all of the front acc with new belts
t56 installed
driveshaft ordered and on its way
brake pressure valve ordered and on its way

now i am thinking about getting a set of wheels. just not sure yet what i want. I know i want 17 inch 5 spoke wheels just so many to pick from and still trying to figure out what size i want to run. but once i order my rims i will order tires get the drive shaft in get the exhaust on then i can start working on the interior i guess what do you think?