A long, long, time ago.....

"Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer" (dash-doorhandle-and-bondo) 10/26/2017 at 13:37 • Filed to: None

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and about 10 days later:

that stick-on chrome sure stuck. note the kink in roof and drip rail pulled down behind the perma-closed doors. Walked funny for about 6 months.

MM54 > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 10/26/2017 at 18:08

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Ouch!

shop-teacher > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 10/26/2017 at 19:01

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Yipes! Glad you weren’t walking funny forever.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > shop-teacher 10/26/2017 at 20:40

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Replaced with slightly bigger car

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > MM54 10/26/2017 at 20:44

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very lucky considering the high combined crash speed and weight disadvantage of the Chevette. Was an 80s Dodge Ram and we were going opposite directions on the highway. I was going Chevette fast. He was going WAY fast.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > MM54 10/26/2017 at 20:49

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how’s your sensible 4 door doing? My malibu is getting converted to HEI ignition tonight. burning points and gas at an alarming rate.

shop-teacher > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 10/26/2017 at 20:52

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Niiiiiiiiice!

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > shop-teacher 10/26/2017 at 20:54

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and about 3 summers later:

bad pic of me, but great pic of my first real paint job.

MM54 > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 10/26/2017 at 21:00

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It’s sensible. Recently finished swapping in a muncie, which makes it much better to drive than the powerglide. The weather is taking a turn for the worst so I probably won’t get much more seat time in this year; hopefully I can at least drive a bit more if nothing else to use up some more 6-month-old gas and get at least half a tank of fresh fuel + stabilizer before it goes into winter storage.

It uses lots of gas (no points issues though) and the oil consumption is increasing at an alarming rate. Next year will likely be engine rebuild time, after 46 years and 100k miles that 307 is very tired. So much oil smoke...

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/drove-the-chevelle-made-a-video-1819756298

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > MM54 10/26/2017 at 21:02

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Nice going on the trans swap, charming though the glide is, I dream of a clutch and floorshifter.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > MM54 10/26/2017 at 21:07

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My 230/glide is still pretty healthy, can get 30 mpg if driven sensibly and in a good state of tune. my old distributor would no no longer stay “in whack” for very long. And it cant be too finnicky or hard to start because it’s actually our backup family car. Mrs Doorhandle prefers it to ever having to drive my truck, which is loud and rides like a box of rocks.

MM54 > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 10/26/2017 at 21:15

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I got 8-10mpg highway with the Powerglide, not sure about with the 4-speed, but it’s probably not much better at all (since it’s still 1:1, just without slip & having to run the trans).

The engine is not in great shape. Plan is to get the block tanked and fluxed to make sure nothing’s funky, bore it however much it needs to not have cones instead of cylinders, and stick some higher compression pistons and a decent cam in it - nothing too crazy. Hopefully the crank, rods, and such are good. Haven’t decided if the heads are worth rebuilding or not vs replacing with something a bit better.

It does start right up, if it’s hot it’s literally a bump of the starter to get it running, cold it’s 2 pumps and crank, it’ll start on the second revolution. I think there’s so much oil in the cylinders it’s basically doing a perpetual wet compression test.

shop-teacher > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 10/26/2017 at 22:39

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Oh my! That is purdy!

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > shop-teacher 10/26/2017 at 23:13

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Hope it still purrs wherever it is.

shop-teacher > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 10/27/2017 at 06:55

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Me too.