614 Days

"MM54" (mm54mk2) 03/08/2020 at 17:10 • Filed to: '71Chevelle

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The project to replace the engine in the Chevelle and generally clean things up underhood began !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Today, on the 8th of March, 2020 I have declared this project complete.

Unseasonably nice day means the first sunlight on the car in a long, long time.

With everything together and the initial run-in of the engine complete last weekend , the Chevelle moved today under its own power for the first time since probably late June 2018. With everything outside of the neighborhood heavily salted on Friday due to the 2% chance of six snowflakes in the air, the inaugural drive consisted of about a half mile loop through the neighborhood.

The new 383 is spunky.

The clutch needs broken in and kind of feel like it might need bled again.

It’s very good.

So in conclusion of the past 614 days (includes today), aka 1 year, 8 months, and 5 days - nothing’s easy, but things tend to work out. The car is far from done but this project/phase is complete . It still needs bodywork (rust around the rear wheels, other odds and ends), the rear end is stock with an anticipated lifespan of “the engine’s break-in period,” the seat’s torn, the carpet needs replaced, I still want a nice wood steering wheel, the whole thing needs painted, and other things I’m sure elude me. But now? Now it’s time to drive*.

*Into storage for a month ... then after that it’ll be time to actually drive if the weather cooperates.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > MM54 03/08/2020 at 17:12

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I needed to read something like this. I need to redo the fiero’s fuel tank. The replacement tank is a bit rusty and needs a re-sealing. Plus a myriad of other things still need doing. It’s hard to keep up on it since it feels like if it isn’t done ASAP then it’s not worth doing. Kudos to having the patience to see through the rough times and focus on getting the project done in the end!

MM54 > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 03/08/2020 at 17:18

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I hope it can inspire you to keep on it and see through the job! The end results of automotive work are often so very worth it, and it’s easy to lose sight of it in the depths of “project car hell”

I was going to refer you to a write-up I did this past spring when I epoxy-lined my rx7's fuel tank, but I can’t find it and am now thinking I may have never published it. T he short form is the tank had a lot of surface rust inside, I used the POR15 fuel tank coating epoxy kit, cleaned the tank excessively before even starting the instructions’ cleaning, then followed the kit’s instruction to the letter. As of putting that car into storage in the fall, it was 100% successful.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > MM54 03/08/2020 at 17:21

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Great work! I ’ve enjoyed reading about the Chevelle shenanigans ever since I first joined Oppo in late 2019. And good to see that pesky bush didn’t hamper your plans ;)

I was just going on a walk and thinking of what a beautiful day it would be to go for a cruise, making sure to see every classic car in the neighborhood to maximize longing. And it seems other people had the same idea, since somehow I saw two Honda Del Sols in my 5 minute walk.

sony1492 > MM54 03/08/2020 at 17:48

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Ma gnificent seeing the progress trickle in over the past couple years. Must have been great to sit in it again and relearn how it drives.

lone_liberal > MM54 03/08/2020 at 18:15

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It looks good out in the fresh air! I need to redo the upper control arm bushing on one side of my ‘71 Chevy because I screwed up when I did it last year and  after an alignment it too will be drivable, but it won’t look nearly as good and it sure as hell won’t be as spunky.

MM54 > lone_liberal 03/08/2020 at 18:59

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Thanks!

It does need to be aligned. The steering wheel straight is a bit off straight; the toe is all good so I probably just missed the steering shaft by a spline when I had it all apart and reassembled. Either way a couple turns on both tie rods will center it up.

MM54 > sony1492 03/08/2020 at 19:01

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Thanks - it’s been a crazy time. To “relearn how it drives” is going to take more than around the block. I may have accidentally spun the tires at the first stop sign. It’s not the same car it was before!

MM54 > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/08/2020 at 19:03

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Glad you’ve enjoyed it! While I’m looking forward to not having a project for a while, that also means I probably won’t have much of value to post here. Eventually the wrenches will resume turning, though.

It would have been a great day for a drive, since it rained all last week (often heavy) and on thursday dried out. Roads were dry and bare, but on friday it was 35 degrees and with a 5% chance of snow in the forecast (and a couple flakes in the air - oh no!) they salted the hell out of the roads and undid all the rain’s work... so I’ll be waiting for more rain and a dry spell to get some actual miles on it.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > MM54 03/08/2020 at 19:18

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Salt i s something I don’t have to worry about in Georgia, thankfully. I don’t have any projects of my own, which is why I make more journalistic tyle  content. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > MM54 03/08/2020 at 19:21

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That green is just fantastic in the sunlight!

WilliamsSW > MM54 03/08/2020 at 19:31

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C ongratulations on thar big step! Looks great and I’m sure that 383 will be a lot of fun!

jeepoftheseus > MM54 03/08/2020 at 19:38

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That’s gotta be a good feeling!

MM54 > jeepoftheseus 03/08/2020 at 19:44

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Thanks - and it is!

MM54 > TheRealBicycleBuck 03/08/2020 at 19:51

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Thank you! I’m looking forward to “some day” when it’s all the same color again.

MM54 > WilliamsSW 03/08/2020 at 19:52

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Thanks! It’s got a lot of power for sure, going to be quite a while of very gentle driving to figure out what it wants to do (which works well for the whole break-in thing)

lone_liberal > MM54 03/08/2020 at 20:07

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I fought the straight steering wheel battle last year after replacing the steering box and getting that all installed the correct way and finally got it after messing with the tie rods. It’s really nice having the wheel point in the direction you’re steering. I ballparked the toe with some string and a measuring tape but I’m sure it has a long  way to go before it’s in spec.

Urambo Tauro > MM54 03/08/2020 at 21:18

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This is a good day! A fitting reward for all that hard work.

shop-teacher > MM54 03/08/2020 at 22:19

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That's awesome! You've done a TON of work to that baby! You should be proud.

MM54 > shop-teacher 03/09/2020 at 13:00

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Thanks! I’m pleased with how it’s turned out; still a lot to do, but not right now.

shop-teacher > MM54 03/09/2020 at 13:20

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Yeah, that’s a good stopping point.  Enjoy driving it a while.