First Assembly

First assembly started about a week ago and it's the front suspension. A neoprene bushing kit was purchased to replace all of the rubber bushings. On this table are the upper and lower A arms and the steering linkage. All the parts were sand blasted, primered and painted. New upper and lower ball joints were also installed. Also in this picture is a gas shock for the steering linkage. This shock is not appropriate for our high performance engine and has been removed from this assembly.

Before the front suspension components could be installed the top of the frame had to be painted. Earlier in the week Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator was applied followed by a satin top coat. It looks very good.

In order to compress and install the coil springs the weight of the motor must be on the chassis. Before I could install the motor I had to complete the installation of the 6 quart oil pan which includes the installation of a windage tray. This tray comes with 5 special bolts that replace the standard crank cap journal bolts. In this picture I am verifying which of the main cap bolts must be removed.

The 5 special bolts for the windage tray are installed in this picture. The windage tray also uses one of the oil pump bolts. If you look close at the bolt pattern it looks like one bolt is missing. This empty hole is for the dip stick.

The 6 quart oil pan also uses a unique oil pump screen as see on the right. This screen is so unique that most auto parts stores will tell you than Chevy only made one screen for the 327, the one on the left. Fortunately I had the correct one and it's in good condition.

The 6 quart oil pan is installed and the motor is ready for the frame.

Dennis K. lent me his engine hoist and it worked perfect. Thanks Dennis. In this picture you can see the A arms are installed but lack coil springs.

With the motor bolted to the frame I was able to compress the coil springs and install the front axles. The steering linkage, Pittman arm, gear box and idler arm will be next. Stay tuned for more assembly.

Waiting for Chassis Paint

I am still waiting for paint. Thought I ordered a quart of Rust Encapsulator but I received a rattle can instead. I should have the correct stuff by Wednesday. The chassis has been flipped right side up and is ready for paint. If you double click on the picture you will see orange at various locations. These are disposable ear plugs and they will prevent the paint from clogging all the threaded connections. If you decide to try this make sure your ear plugs won't dissolve when sprayed with the type paint you will be using. That rattle can of paint didn't go to waist. I used it on the front suspension after I sand blasted everything. The A arms are not attached to the frame but they do have new neoprene bushings.

Our fuel injected 327 did not have the correct 6 quart oil pan. It came with a standard 5 quart as seen in the foreground. Several months ago I purchased the correct pan and I sand blasted, primered and painted it today. The belly of the 6 quart pan is significantly longer than the standard pan. This is the reason Corvettes with high performance motors didn't come with power steering. The pan created an interference.

Our first peek into the 327 is very nice. Everything looks brand new. I rotate the motor once a month to keep it limber.

Paint comes Wednesday. Look for another posting shortly thereafter.

Painting our C2 Chassis

Final wire brushing, grinding and welding was performed on the chassis today. Only a couple spots like this were found that needed welding.

The garage was draped in plastic to minimize over spray.

Rust Encapsulator by Eastwood was sprayed on with a spray gun then allowed to dry for 7 hours.

A satin top coat was applied using rattle cans and the final results are excellent. Even the garage cleaned up nicely. We will let the frame dry for several days before we flip it right side up.

By Special Request - 1999 HD Fatboy Pictures

Jim Q. asked for some pictures of my Fatboy. I guess it shows up occasionally when I take pictures of the Corvette. Without flash or direct sunlight the color appears to be black. Ghosted candy apple flames appear when the light is just right.

I painted this bike about 2 years ago using House of Kolor paint. I must confess it looks really good. Double click on any of the photos for a close-up.

C2 Drip Rail Fabrication

Drip rails are located on the car body inside each door opening. They run from the A pillar up along the side of the windshield, along the side of the roof top then down to the top of the B pillar. These are very delicate pieces, susceptible to rust and they are one of the few items that are not mass produced. If you can find a set they will set you back about $600 for a pair. They are only available hand made. This is a picture of our driver side drip rail. It is WAY beyond repair. The passenger side is almost as bad. Both were removed from the car by drilling out the spot welds. Instead of buying new drip rails I decided to fabricate a set instead. From left to right, I had my local HVAC dealer bend up 3 sections of 18 gauge sheet metal 5 feet long. The one you see is a spare. Using the pneumatic shear I trimmed the length of both sides of the sheet metal to match the original. Using a sheet metal shrinker and stretcher I was able to match the contour of the door opening. The curvy length of angle is a test piece I used to understand the capabilities of the shrinker/stretcher tools. Next I used a Pexto bead roller to roll a bead along the full length of the outside of the drip rail. A scrap piece of sheet metal is shown below the Pexto to show a test bead. A pneumatic hole puncher was used to punch holes where we will plug weld the drip rail back onto the car. A completed drip rail is on the far right of the picture.

This is the underside of the newly fabricated drivers side drip rail sitting along side the original drip rail. The new rail has already been test fit on the car and it fits perfectly. The passenger side drip rail is also fabricated and has been test fit as well. The ends will be trimmed once installed.

This is the front side of the same pair of rails. This side has the rolled bead.

This corner was the most complex of all the fabrication. The notches you see on the back side and the relief on the rolled bead at the corner is consistent with the original design. Both of these techniques were done to accommodate the extremely tight turn.

The Pexto was purchased on EBay for $35. It's nearly a century old and worked perfectly. Without this tool the bead would have required a steady hand, a delicate hammer, and a bunch of hours of tap, tap, tap. I am really glad I was able to purchase this tool.

The newly fabricated drip rails will be installed on the car when we get tired of working on the frame. I suspect that will be in a couple months. Thanks for watching.

(Wilson, what do you think?)

C2 Frame Repairs

This is a video. Be sure to push the triangle to play.

They say a quality restoration uses a rotisserie. I think this meets the intent.

 The frame is surprisingly light. Double click the picture to see a close-up of the underside hole. Between this hole and the two corresponding holes that Ty fixed yesterday I am beginning to wonder if someone didn't secure a previous transmission with a U-bolt. That would be pretty bizarre if they did.

Ty cut, beveled, welded and ground this piece until it was perfect... ..

... then he ground it some more.

It looks great! Well done Ty. Thanks.

Cross Brace Repair

A little barnyard engineering from a previous owner in need of repair. Preparing the frame for welding.The hole was beveled to allow full penetration of the weld. We used a magnet to position the patch.

One pass with .024 mig does the trick.

A little (ok, a lotta) grinding and.....

Better than new! Ty sure missed his calling.

Another misguided modification by a previous owner.

I think Ty is starting to like grinding....

and grinding...

But the results are worth the effort!

Ty's granddaughter Myka stops by to lend a hand. Nice welding hat! Matches the new convict pajamas.

Myka asking grandpa Ty if he would teach her to grind. Maybe we will see Myka grinding in future blogs.

Sandblasting Day 3

I love sandblasting! It's fun, peaceful, phones don't ring and it allows one to meditate and have a zen experience. I LIVE for sandblasting! Ty, if you don't hurry up and get over here there won't be much sandblasting left for you to do. I'll try to save you some but you better hurry. It rained off and on the third day of sandblasting. I estimate the frame is about 80% complete. The underside is not done and I hope to save that for Ty.

The spot with the red primer was applied to help read the frame identification number. Although some of the numbers are not legible we are confident the frame number matches the vehicle identification number. This is the original frame to the car and it's in very nice shape.

So far there has been about 11 hours of sandblasting and I've used 900 pounds of sand. Weld repairs begin Saturday and will fix the "smiley" hole in the front cross member and the two holes in the transmission cross member.

Sandblasting, Day 2

Another 300 pounds of sand and 4 hours later we are 2/3 done. Rain is expected tomorrow so I brought the frame inside. It's a messy job but somebody has to do it. Anybody know where Ty is?