Ty has Left the Building - Revision 1 (See Post Script)

My good friend, car enthusiast and shop buddy Ty T. has been transferred to a new assignment on the east coast.  It's good for Ty but I have to admit I am going to miss the camaraderie.  Ty has been a part of this build since day one and he's responsible for many of the major decisions and accomplishments made over the last couple years.  I thought it fitting that we recap some of the more memorable times.

This is Ty removing the first bolt on the first day of our restoration.  It was raining that day.  Look close and you'll see his tool of choice was an air chisel.

Safety has always been first.  Yes, that's a garbage bag used to protect him from fiberglass resin.  It's simple but it worked great.

Ty and Wilson.

By far this is the most viewed picture on our blog.  For today, I'll tell you it has nothing to do with the 1963 fuel injected 327 small block engine.

Ty has always been keen on the period correct/era modified vision.  To do that, countless hours of research have been required.  As a result Ty speaks fluent Mechanical Fuel Injection as well as many other 1963 Corvette related languages.    

Never afraid to tackle anything, here he is rebuilding the A-pillar and windshield support.

Grinding, welding, fiberglassing, you name it, he's done it.  More than once I've cringed while watching Ty pull a sledge hammer and crowbar from the tool chest then head for the car. 

Ty helped figure out the solution to at least 5 fatal flaws made during the rebuild of the fuel injection unit (the rebuild was done by others).  In this video Ty, Max, Dennis and I attempt to start the motor for the first time.   That's Max sucking on the vacuum advance line, Dennis is running the throttle, Ty is operating the starter and I am playing with the distributor.  I title this video, How to Suck Start a Chevy.

 

This is a photo of Ty on a non-Corvette related excursion.  Although it has nothing to do with our build it was the only photograph I could find where Ty wasn't covered in grease, fiberglass or blood.

As I publish this post Ty and his wife are ready to head east.  The good news is his new assignment will bring him back to this area occasionally so I'm sure we'll see him with a crowbar and hammer again.

Thanks for everything Ty and good luck with your new assignment!

POST SCRIPT
At the recommendation of my brother Jim, Ty T. has secretly signed our Corvette.  I don't know where it is but I am told if you make a guess in the comments section of this blog Ty will let you know if you guessed right.  If you've been following this blog since the beginning Ty says there is enough information in the photo to make a good guess.  I am not going to look for it so I hope you guess and guess right.
Good luck!

"The List"

I've been working-off the punch-list.  Only a couple items remain and I am OK postponing those two for awhile (click on the picture for a better view).  That means we're getting close to putting the body back on the rolling chassis.  Before we do, there are a few items worth talking about.

The oil pan and oil filter were removed for inspection.  I didn't find any parts, pieces or metal shavings in the bottom of the pan and that's good.  I did find what looks like sludge though.  We have a fresh built motor and fresh oil so the sludge makes no sense.  I decided the only thing it can be is the zinc additive ZDDP.  ZDDP is recommended for older engines to help lubricate the solid lifters and the cam.  If you think the sludge is something else let me know.

Dennis K put me on to this neat product.  It's a one piece pan gasket made by Fel-Pro.  The pan gasket on a small block Chevy is usually four pieces that require silicone at all the joints.  This gasket is installed dry, has inserts in all the bolt holes to prevent over torquing, and it should solve the oil leak we have near the bell housing.

It's hard to see, but the black area in the middle of the photograph is the underside of the birdcage.  This area will never be seen by anyone because the frame rail covers it up.  None the less, both sides were painted with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator, a very durable chassis paint.  It was tough to get at but it's done.

Remember this?  It's the last rusted area we fixed on the bird cage.  The metal was repaired but we never fixed the fiberglass floor.

To make the repair the duct-tape in the middle was used as a form.  Fiberglass goes over the top of this duct tape.  The ring of duct-tape along the bottom is used as a dam to collect excess resin.  Between the two the fiberglass repair should be fine.

To understand this picture you have to remember that our resin is clear.  Click on the picture and you'll see the duct-tape form is on the backside of the fiberglass repair.

Here it is a day later.  Now all I have to do is remove the duct tape.  Fiberglass does not stick to duct tape so the job should be simple.

It worked great.  A little grinding here and there and the floor will be ready for Dynamat.

And finally, look what we have.  Grey spoke American Racing Torque Thrust D's made in the USA.  These are more "period correct" than the chrome wheels we currently have on the Corvette.  I will put these grey wheels on the Corvette, then put the chrome wheels on our newly acquired Nomad, then sell those old Cragars that are currently on the Nomad.  It's time the Cragars go and this is my method.

We have lost a very important part of this build.  It's unfortunate and I am bummed about it.  That will be the subject of our next post.