Wheels, Tires and Alignment

The Uni-Royal Tiger Paw tires we had on the car were too large.  Although this picture of the left front wheel well shows clearance, we did have clearance issues with the front sway bar, frame, rear leaf spring and the rear wheel wells.

Before we mounted tires on our 15X7 Torq-Thrust D wheels we dry fit them on the car taking careful measurements at several locations.  We finally decided on 225-60-15 BF Goodrich tires because they are the exact diameter as the stock tires sold in 1963 and they are as wide as possible without having clearance issues.

In order to verify proper clearance both the front and rear axles had to be aligned.  This preliminary alignment was done using a level for the camber and a length of string for the toe.  The wheel dollies worked super nice during this process since they allow us to put the full weight of the car on the tires while allowing the tires to move during adjustment.

This is the left rear tire before the toe was adjusted.  On the left side of this picture the string and the tire should be touching.

After moving several shims we ended up with an alignment that's certainly good enough for us to drive the car to the alignment shop without tearing up the new tires.  Now we can check clearances.

This is a full right hand turn on the left front tire.  There are no issues with the sway bar.

This is the front right tire in a full right hand turn viewed from the rear.  As you can see we are very close to the frame but not touching.  The next size up would have caused issues.

There are no issues with any of the wheel wells.

The rear sway bar and the leaf spring clear the tires and wheels without issue.

And what about that potential clearance issue on the front fender?  No problem now.

I think the tires and wheels look great and I think we need to see them in action.  Check out the short video below.

Tires, Valance and B Pillars

TIRES
The votes are in and a full matching set of tires have been ordered.  An exhaustive search of the Internet was performed to make sure we bought the widest tire possible without creating clearance issues.  We ended up with 225-60-15 BF Goodrich tires with raised white letters.  They have a good classic profile and the tread design is appropriate for our 63 Corvette.  The set is on order and we expect them in a few days.

VALANCE
Ty has been rebuilding our rear valance, the piece that fits under the rear bumpers.  The exhaust holes are being blocked off because we don't need them with side exhaust.  There are also  missing tabs and weak spots that are being corrected.  Here are a couple photos of this in process effort.

B PILLAR

When we rebuilt the B pillars last year we has to remove the fiberglass panels that covered the pillars.  We are now reinstalling these panels.

The fiberglass panel was riveted into place and duct tape was used to protect the drip rail shoe. 

Double click on the photo to see how the fiberglass matches the shoe.

Watch for our new Torq-Thrust D wheels and BF Goodrich tires.

First Test Drive

40 year old tires, soft brakes, and bungee cords to hold the doors shut.  What the heck.  Let's go for a ride!

... great!  It ran great!  The brakes need bleeding and we already adjusted the idle.  The lack of power steering won't be an issue either.  The tires really need to be replaced before we Fred Flintstone this thing around the block again.  And speaking of tires, don't forget to use the poll in the upper right to help us decide what to purchase.

Thanks for watching!

Wheels and Tires - I Need Your Thoughts

OK...  I need your advice.

A set of 15X7 American Torq-Thrust D wheels have been purchased as shown (thanks Les for your input).  Now it's time for tires.  Do we want a full matching set of tires or should we rake the car by running smaller tires up front?  All tires will be wider than stock, we're talking about one size difference in height.  Use the poll on the right to cast your vote.  Use the comment section below to offer thoughts.  Tires will be purchased within the next 10 days.  Thanks.

As long as we're talking wheels and tires, I found a web page that has some outrageous pictures of old 'Gasser" Corvette race cars from the 50's and 60's.  Check them out here: 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=545759&showall=1

"Dry Fit" and Drip Rails

Dry fit continues.  Since we didn't start with a fully assembled car we are not certain about how all the parts and pieces get assembled.  The dry fit process allows us to identify and fix things prior to paint.  Already we have found missing bolt holes (dash), too many holes (under the exterior rear view mirror), mis-located holes (drip rails), missing pieces (clutch linkage), malfunctioning pieces (hood hinge), alignment issues (dash to A pillar), and other similar issues.  All have been fixed, repaired or replaced as needed.  This effort continues and will be well worth it once we start the fit and finish process.

To complete the clutch assembly I needed a pin to connect the clutch pedal to the connecting rod located under the dash.  I was unable to find one on line so I fabricated one out of a stainless steel bolt using my bench top lathe.  The stepped section on the shaft was key to getting a good fit.

Last year I fabricated new drip rails for both doors but never got around to installing them.  Last week  I clamped the rails in place...

spot welded them from the inside...

fabricated drip rail shoes...

then welded both pieces together.

This is the old drip rail next to the new.  The new drip rails will be weather proofed when we do the fit and finish on the car. 

Brakes have been installed.  This is an original 1963 master cylinder that was purchased with the car.  It works great but I did manage to spill brake fluid on the firewall.  You can see where the fluid ate away the paint on the fire wall and exposed green primer.  This will be fixed when we disassemble the car for paint. 

The battery, expansion tank, and the Heater Delete block-off cap on the heater hose have been installed.  Although the battery fits, it is too tall.  A shorter battery will be installed later.

All of the tail lights and running lights have been installed.

The dash, steering wheel and seats have also been "dry fit".

Even the FI air cleaner has been installed.

Except for the windshield, we are ready to Fred Flintstone this thing.  Ty is out of town this week so we will wait until his return before we take this to the road.  That should be fun.  Stay tuned!!



Clutch Fork and an Oil Leak

Well, I am a little embarrassed.  I went to install the clutch fork through the clutch fork hole in the bell housing and guess what?  You know the answer, it doesn't fit, the hole is too small.  Aghh...   I had to remove the shifter, shifter linkage, transmission and  the bell housing.  The body is on the car so all of this was done while lying on my back.  Sheesh...

I found oil coming out of the hub on the front of the transmission and the side plate.  I found a brittle gasket and no gasket at all.  A quick trip to Napa was disappointing as the guy behind the counter said they don't carry gasket sets for manual transmissions, only automatics.  Go figure.  So I bought a set of gasket paper and made my own.

I freshened up the clutch fork with a little sand blasting followed by paint.

A 1963 clutch fork uses a push rod to fork configuration much like a push rod to rocker arm, basically a ball and half of a socket.  In 1964 the clutch fork was changed to a pinned configuration as shown below.  I decided to install the 1964 configuration simply because it looks like it would be less likely to fail.  I might change my mind later but for now this is what we will use.

All the fasteners I use are new and either stainless steel, Grade 5 or Grade 8. 

Everything is buttoned back up and we have a functioning clutch. 

It won't take too much more before we can Fred Flintstone (Ty's expression) this thing around the block. Stay tuned for that!

Brake and Clutch Pedal Assembly

Ta da!

Body Alignment, Engine Timing, and a Cracked Exhaust Manifold

Now that the body is back on the frame we are able to see how much work will be needed to align the doors and the hood.  Both doors look real nice, especially along the roof line. 

The hood may require attention but we are not certain.  There are two support rods and two brackets that fit under the nose to help support the electric motors for the headlights.  We have the rods but not the brackets.  We should get the brackets this week and hopefully the misalignment you see will be corrected.  Fingers are crossed on this one.

Proper timing has been questionable since the first time the engine was started.  The vacuum advance canister would either hit the FI unit or the coil bracket depending on which tooth the distributor was sitting on.  We were never able to get the required 10 to 12 degrees before TDC.  It was like we were 1/2 tooth off.

It turns out that the distributor can be indexed in half tooth increments by rotating the distributor drive gear 180 degrees.  This is not something you will find in any service manual, you get this type of information from people that live and breath Corvettes.

I get technical and mechanical help from members of the National Corvette Restorers Society, or NCRS.  See their response to my timing issue here  http://www.ncrs.org/forums/showthread.php?p=528533&uid=2516 .  The engine runs great thanks to their help.

And finally, when I sand blasted and painted the drivers side exhaust manifold I spotted a crack at one of the threaded holes where the manifold and exhaust pipe join.  You can see it on the silver manifold on the left side if you double click the picture.  These are very rare manifolds and I was bumbed when I found the crack.  Fortunately, I was able to find another manifold in excellent condition.  It's the one in the foreground, still unpainted.

After painting the new manifold the swap was made and it looks just like the other one.  Only better.

We will start attaching parts to the body next and we will begin with the clutch and brake pedal assembly.  Brother Jim, this will be the bench top work you suggested.

1963 FI SWC Restoration - You Tube Video

Some of you have had trouble viewing video in the past so I am trying a link to YouTube.  This video was taken January 2, 2011 and starts a new year for our build.  Follow along and see how we do in the new year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JEQKAZLiTA