derekf.com

5 May 2012
Variety Pack

So I think I did a lot today, but not a lot on any one specific thing.

So with the pedals removed, the steering column comes through like this. I had hoped that I would be able to have just a single u-joint, but it looks like it's going to take two and an intermediate shaft.

and here's what it looks like when the column is in its final position. Not sure if I'm going to use this wheel or not -- this was the wheel in the car for ~20 years but it's showing its age and the wood is starting to come apart; if I'm going to use this, I'll need to rework it.

So in order to build a box around the clutch rod, I'll have to fill part of the steering column hole. Here the area that needs to be metal is boxed in.

alternate view of same

Sail panels removed, pinchweld moldings removed, cover on package tray removed. I do not know what I am going to do about the upholstery. You can see how faded the velour headliner is. If I'm going to replace the roof, this gets easy (ha ha) as I can just get a stock headliner; otherwise, I've got the sunroof in the way.

Cleaned the garage for a couple of hours, found and installed the missing tie rod end boot. Added a washer to the aluminum arms as I just didn't feel right torquing against the pretty anodizing. Washer seemed to fit like it was supposed to be there.

So I realized that I was missing a part in the AC box -- the plate forces the air to go through the box itself and not behind the coil. I had been thinking that I needed to use fiberglass to block off the unused part of the box, but if metal is good enough here, why wouldn't it be for the bottom as well?

So here's the area that would need blocked

Roughly 2 inches wide. I can screw or glue or something to the flat surface that is between 0 and 1/2" on the measure here.

Cardboard template looks to fit perfectly.

It looks like this. I'll want to prime and paint the plate before assembly so I haven't bothered cutting metal for this yet.

And then I cleaned out all the crap that's been stored in the Chevelle for the past couple of years, because it needed to be done.

Took epoxy putty to the cracks in the Chevelle's steering wheel. Tomorrow/next week/whenever, I'll need to sand this smooth and possibly do a second pass. Then I'll prime and paint the wheel and that'll be sorted.

So: What's next?
Well, I know that in the near future are:

Torque the upper ball joints and tie rod ends (61 and 35 lb/ft respectively).
There's a bolt missing to attach the steering box to the frame, I'll need to correct that.
Pedals need to be adjusted to line up correctly.
Need to complete work on the AC box.
Still need to correct the AC notch in the frame crossmember.
Still need to reinforce the rear front LCA mounts (rear front as in the rear mount on the front LCA, not front mount for the rear LCAs).
There are holes in the firewall that need to be filled with metal, like the fuse box hole above. I also need to patch rust in the floorboards.
I need to reassemble the transmission tunnel, but in order to be able to properly figure out how much I need to add for the taller tranny, I need to replace the (probably original) body bushings. I expect all of the bolts will break rather than unscrew.
Then I can move on to big stuff like the rear axle rebuild and the fuel tank
Somewhere along the way, I need to de-rust and at least prime the body parts sitting in the bed - the inner fenders for both cars, the core supports, and the Chevelle fenders. A sandblaster would be helpful, I think.
Oh yeah - if I want to complete the front suspension/brakes, I'll need to replace the warped rotor.

Go back to the previous day (22 Apr 12)

	So with the pedals removed, the steering column comes through like this. I had hoped that I would be able to have just a single u-joint, but it looks like it's going to take two and an intermediate shaft.
and here's what it looks like when the column is in its final position. Not sure if I'm going to use this wheel or not -- this was the wheel in the car for ~20 years but it's showing its age and the wood is starting to come apart; if I'm going to use this, I'll need to rework it.
	So in order to build a box around the clutch rod, I'll have to fill part of the steering column hole. Here the area that needs to be metal is boxed in.
alternate view of same
	Sail panels removed, pinchweld moldings removed, cover on package tray removed. I do not know what I am going to do about the upholstery. You can see how faded the velour headliner is. If I'm going to replace the roof, this gets easy (ha ha) as I can just get a stock headliner; otherwise, I've got the sunroof in the way.
Cleaned the garage for a couple of hours, found and installed the missing tie rod end boot. Added a washer to the aluminum arms as I just didn't feel right torquing against the pretty anodizing. Washer seemed to fit like it was supposed to be there.
	So I realized that I was missing a part in the AC box -- the plate forces the air to go through the box itself and not behind the coil. I had been thinking that I needed to use fiberglass to block off the unused part of the box, but if metal is good enough here, why wouldn't it be for the bottom as well?
So here's the area that would need blocked
	Roughly 2 inches wide. I can screw or glue or something to the flat surface that is between 0 and 1/2" on the measure here.
Cardboard template looks to fit perfectly.
	It looks like this. I'll want to prime and paint the plate before assembly so I haven't bothered cutting metal for this yet.
And then I cleaned out all the crap that's been stored in the Chevelle for the past couple of years, because it needed to be done.
	Took epoxy putty to the cracks in the Chevelle's steering wheel. Tomorrow/next week/whenever, I'll need to sand this smooth and possibly do a second pass. Then I'll prime and paint the wheel and that'll be sorted.