It's a Good Cast!

Finally got the the timing gear cover off to look for the casting numbers (the 010/020 numbers).  It turns out this block is one of those rare high nickel/tin content, 2-bolt main blocks.  Once I got all the components and brackets off the engine, I discovered the cylinder head gaskets and the timing gear cover gasket are leaking (possibly the intake manifold gaskets as well).  It was necessary to determine if the block was good to reuse to see if it was worth the effort to repair the seals.  Even though it's a 2-bolt main, it's a strong cast and converting to splayed main bolts would definitely make the block worth-while.  Going to make an appointment with a machine shop to discuss options with it and prices for a clean-up/rebuild.  We'll see which is better...  Crate engine, short block, long block, bare block build, or the rebuild.

Oh, and the verdict on the radiator support is that it's dead...  New one ordered.

Got Lots Out!

So needed to get the radiator support out before the weekend so it could be looked at by a welder.  Since it's Easter weekend, there's probably going to be a bunch of sales with the Corvette catalogs (know of one already).  Anyway, after dinner I started unbolting and pulling...

Well, I got most of the hoses for the A/C system out, but still have the main refrigerant lines and the metal lines still in the car.  Getting the A/C coolant lines out was annoying.  Antifreeze didn't completely drain from the hose and when I pulled it off the evaporator all the antifreeze came running out on me.  All over my arm and shirt.  Of course I immediately wiped myself down and got a new shirt...  Nothing like having poison on you!  Anyway, here's what the side looks like now, the hose on the left is the main refrigerant line.

And the pile of stuff removed has grown...  Not having the radiator shroud will be awesome!  That thing is a huge PITA to deal with.  Will have to get the radiator support checked out tomorrow.

Big Accessory Project Started Before Finishing Interior

Well, I thought I had all the parts I needed for the accessory and radiator upgrade.  I may need to get some more of the smaller stainless braided hose or some more clamps, but everything I ordered is waiting for me to put it together.  I thought I'd be able to remove all the stuff over the week and then put most of the new stuff together on Saturday.  Was I wrong...

Before starting, I was concerned about the R12 freon in the car.  Did some research, found out it is against the law to vent the freon and that you needed a certified person to use a special tool to extract it.  I was about to make some phone calls to see if I could get someone to come to my house and do it, but decided to inspect the system first.  It wasn't very surprising, since the system hasn't worked in years, that I found a big tear in the tubing next to the A/C compressor on the underside of the hose.  The system hasn't had any freon in it for years and it's possible that with a new hose the system could have worked.  I was hoping to have this kind of luck with the rest of the project.

 

Once I discovered that there was no freon in the system, I went to remove everything from the car.  First, I drained the radiator.  Which has a lot of force coming out initially.  So make sure your container is in the correct position.  Then I had my wife help me remove the hood so I could get at the condenser and radiator.  As soon as I removed the condenser, I hit a bad problem.  The lower part of the radiator support is rusted through.  The rust extends up the support about 8 inches.  The support will either need a new section of metal welded to it or be completely replaced.  The support luckily is just bolted onto the frame, which makes it not too bad to replace.  I'm really hoping I can find someone to fix it cause a new one is $300.

Well, regardless of the rust, everything still has to come out.  So... COMMENCE THE REMOVAL!  Here's what I've got out so far...  A/C condenser, A/C compressor with bracket, alternator with bracket, radiator fan with clutch, and several cooling hoses.  Still need to remove the radiator with shroud, water pump, thermostat, A/C evaporator with ducts, A/C wiring harness and vacuum hoses, and coolant overflow tank.

A/C & Serpentine Update

So the Vintage Air A/C kit is being delivered today and I finally got a hold of the sales rep at March Performance to get my serpentine conversion kit ordered.  Not sure when the serpentine kit will arrive, but they said it should ship out by the end of the day or tomorrow via UPS.

Here's what these kits get me...

Vintage Air Sure-Fit

• More efficient, new freon type A/C compressor
• Higher performance condenser
• New drier
• New wiring harness
• Electric controls (vacuum  hose conversion)
• All new hoses
• A simpler duct system
• Once installed the A/C system will no longer constantly blow hot air on the passengers

March Performance Serpentine Kit

• Lighter weight mounting brackets (aluminum)
• No longer have to worry about belt clearance with the electric water pump
• Remote reservoir power steering pump (supposedly is more reliable than all-in-one pumps)
• Lighter weight pulleys making them easier to rotate (less drag on the engine)
• Different sized pulleys to increase the accessories' operating rotation speed
• 6-groove serpentine belt instead of v-belts for better grip on the pulleys (efficiency)
• More clearance in the front of the engine compartment
• Finally, it'll just make it look pretty =)

 

Driver's Side Window Works!

After struggling with getting the motor to work, and the pain of getting all the parts back in the door, the window goes up and down.  When I couldn't get the original motor to work I did some testing on the wiring harness and thought something went wrong there because the voltages were very strange on the driver's side.  So installed a new wiring harness and the voltages looked very similar (it was probably good that I replaced it anyway, the old harness was very patched together).

So I ended up ordering a new motor when I ordered the wiring harness.  The motor showed up today and to my surprise it wouldn't work either.  It turns out I was just being dumb...  The motor has to be screwed in to the door to be properly grounded.  The original motor works fine.  In fact, the brand new Ecklers window motor is terrible.  It's unreliable.  It would randomly decide not to work and when it did work, it was very loud.  It will be going back to Ecklers on Monday.

No More New Projects For a While

So started looking into my finances today a bit.  The radiator/accessory upgrade project is really taking a toll on my wallet.  The serpentine conversion is the last thing I will be buying until I get my credit cards paid off (first time is a while I can't do it every month).  The two kits I just purchased were very expensive, even for my standards.  I had planned on the conversion being $600 less than it turned out to be.  Hopefully I have everything that I'll need to complete the projects.

Still have to finish up the interior stuff, do the emergency brake rebuild, and build the speaker box.  So I should have plenty to do while I'm working at paying for this stuff.

Just need to get this thing drivable for the year!  It's freaking nice here!

Quick Status Update

Over the weekend I got the light flashing for the remote figured out.  I have to tap the wires coming directly from the steering column and there's no way to do it without wire taps/splitters.  Unless I want to pay for the connectors to make a pass-thru adapter.  Honestly buying the connectors would be more money than it's worth so I just used taps on the old wire (didn't want to hurt the new wiring harness).  It also turns out that I will need a total of 4 relays to get it to work. I ordered a 4PDT relay to make it nicer, had a single SPDT relay, and it should be here shortly.

Tested out the power window motors before I started putting things back together.  Somehow the driver's side motor died while it was pulled out.  Can't figure out how.  Also did some testing with a multimeter on the wiring harness, the drivers side was bad and the passenger side was just adequate.  Since all the relays and other wiring are new, it came down to a bad power window wiring harness.  That's one that I had repaired so I wouldn't have to buy a new one.  It's a pretty simple harness, so it seemed easy enough to fix.  Moving the wiring around made voltages change, so at least one of the wires is bad internally.  Ordered a new harness and motor to make it guaranteed to be good.  The parts should be here end of the week or early next week.

In the final stages of getting the engine accessories ordered.  Dealing with March Performance for the mounting brackets and pulley system (unfortunately have to get a different type of power steering pump too) and Vintage Air for the A/C compressor and system.  When I'm done with the radiator, water pump, bracket, and accessory upgrade, it seems like the car should be somewhere around 100 lbs lighter in the front end.  A little worried about how the shocks are going to react.