My 1969 Corvette Project
The Saga Continues
December 28, 1999
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Can it get any worse? Although this dent appears to have no ill effects, it really hacks me off. Somebody, somewhere along the line, wasn't straight with a buyer about the accident history of this car. I may do a title search to determine if the previous owner was the deceitful one. If so, I may seek restitution. The left side is the only side without evidence of collision damage. |
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I got the wheels off, so I could store them out of the way. The valve covers came off. One of the bolts was broken off in the head. Oh well, what's one more thing on the list to fix. The valve train appears to be in good condition. |
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With the intake manifold off and valve covers off, you can see that the engine was really clean. The previous owner claimed a rebuild about 1,000 miles ago, but after looking at some of the work, I am glad I decided to do another one. The oil pressure was running up to 70psi, and I fear I may find problems in the bottom end. |
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I pulled the rods and laid them in the order of removal. I will mount them on cardboard in order, in case I decide to reuse them. |
December 29, 1999
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Note that one of the rods did not match the others. Great rebuild job huh? That list is getting tiresomely long. |
December 30, 1999
| The exhaust manifolds were in good shape except on of the tips of the exhaust port flanges was broken off. It still held, but it isn't good mechanical practice. Put another item on the list. I will probably go with headers anyway. | |
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The tops of the pistons were pretty clean, and the cylinders were in good shape. I'll have to take some measurements to determine what I need to do with the existing bores. The bores are already .030 over, and I can still see the honing marks, so a light re-honing may be all the cylinders need. |
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The heads didn't look too bad. I will have to examine them closer. They should have had inserts put in to handle unleaded gas during the last rebuild. Wanna bet it wasn't done? |
December 31, 1999
| The driveshaft came out easy enough. I took the backend U joint loose, and then pushed it up towards the transmission. The back end then came out first, and then the front. | |
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I wanted to get plenty of photos and video to make sure I get this back together right, however, I heard that I may be able to make a Tremec 5 speed work. It would save me a rebuild, and I could avoid changing the rear-end ratio. |
January 1, 2000
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I removed the clutch linkage. There is a small pivot mounted on the engine block. Don't forget to remove it before doing anything with the engine. The part looks like it could get damaged easily. |
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The transmission removal is straightforward. The flange and frame mounting bolts come out, and then the transmission just lifts back and out. The job is a lot easier when working from above. |
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The clutch and flywheel were in good shape and came out easily. Be sure to mark the position between the two, although I am not sure how critical it really is. |
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The starter came out easily, with just two long mounting bolts. The wire disconnect was more difficult because of limited access around the big block. |
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The exhaust was a bear. The car came with a fairly new stainless dual exhaust system, so I didn't have to contend with rust, but the tubes were so large it was hard to get a good grip on them to pull the pipes apart. I just spread the splits apart at the joints and played the wiggle game for about 15 minutes. This is a great forearm exercise. |
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I got to a point where I needed to start on the steering, but the rental shop was closed, so I had to make an attempt without pickle forks. Without the right tools forget about getting the joints apart. I had to take the the steering linkages and gearbox out as a unit. I will dismantle it on the bench. |
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I recorded the shim count on the front A-arms. Since I am replacing most of the front suspension this may be of little value during the final setup. |
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The front bearing spindles were in great shape. The front calipers were fairly new and had been sleeved with stainless steel. |
January 3, 2000
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The rear stabilizer bar mount removal is one of those simple jobs which turns into a big job. I took me 30 minutes for each of two mounts, because two of the bolts broke, and the backing plate had to be worked out of a tight spot on top of the leaf spring mounting bolt head. |
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I took the differential cross-member out and found nut shells inside of it. Apparently it made a good home for squirrels. I guess that is what you get when you store a car in a barn. |
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