I disassembled the steering box for rebuilding. It was not in bad shape. Be careful when you order the steering box rebuild kit. The steering box changed in mid-year, so you need to let the parts guys know which type of pitman shaft you have. Mine was round, and I believe the other has a flat on the shaft. All the parts were cleaned.

All the lubricants had either leaked or dried up. The only other thing I could find wrong, was that the lash adjuster clearance was larger than specification. Shims of different thicknesses were included in the rebuild kit.  I had to go from the .063 shim to a .069 shim.

The old bushing was removed. It is shown here to the left of the replacement. The old bushing was shorter, and had a spiral groove in it. The replacement looked like a standard bronze shaft bushing. The old bushings were not in bad shape, except for some obvious side load wear near the pitman shaft end.

Time to reassemble. New seals were installed. Note the damage from using a pickle fork to remove the pitman arm. Get a heavy duty screw type puller to prevent this kind of damage.

The worm assembly was reassembled. 

Here is the steering box installed on the frame. It is nestled tightly between the frame and the left header. I used synthetic lube in the steering box, but I think I will still put some extra insulation between the header and the steering box.

This is an oddity of the corvette. A radiator supply tank. The radiator has no fill neck. Filling is done at this reservoir. I am not sure why they did this, since the engine compartment is crowded enough as it is. It is original.

I am remounting all of the underside reinforcements for mounting the seats and seat belts. I decided to use stainless steel screws and nuts. This will make any future work easier, and should hold up better than the original aluminum rivets. The rear frame mounts and some of the other underside brackets will be fabricated out of stainless steel as well.

There was a crack in the fiberglass near the right rear shoulder belt mount, so I decided to repair it now.

The bottom of the battery compartment was in terrible shape. The fiberglass was falling apart, probably due to acid exposure. I will have to fix a major portion of the bottom.

While I was in the well I noticed that the plenum vent was missing one rivet, and the other two were badly corroded. The rivets which hold the strap hanger reinforcement were also badly corroded. Fixing these items was not on the schedule, but what the heck, it's only another several hours of work.

This is a view of the plenum tube. The plenum vents, which are behind the rear window,  are connected to the wheel wells by this tube. I am not sure of the design function here. I am assuming that this is really a drainage system, but then plenum might be the wrong term. In any case, if someone knows the history behind this feature, send me an email.

As I tore into the engine compartment and the front of the car, I realized there was a lot more work than I had anticipated. This was just the start. The bottom of this radiator support was riddled with holes. I was going to buy one, but they told me I would have to weld the brackets onto it anyway, so I decided to fix it. Time for more welding. Yes, that pile of rust came from inside this component.

Another rot problem. This front cross member was rotted. It still appeared to be structurally sound. One corner had just rotted out where the water couldn't drain. They had provided openings in this part, but no drain holes at the low spot, where it eventually rotted. I'll fix this also.

It never stops. After examining the wiring harnesses and vacuum lines, I saw this. Melted insulation. I think there was a fusible link that someone removed, which allowed this to happen. Unfortunately this wire was melted in several places along the harness, all the way back to the alternator. I had to cut open the harness. I will replace it and rewrap the harness. Fortunately only one other wire appeared to be damaged. Several of the vacuum hoses were not connected to anything. The washer hoses were also either disconnected or broken. Some of this stuff can be fixed after the body drop.

This blower was not operating when I bought the car. I tested it, and it worked fine, when powered directly. I think the other melted wire may have fed this blower. In any case, It cleaned up nicely.

I removed the washer bag, vacuum tank, and master cylinder for cleanup.

Here is the master cylinder and vacuum tank clean and installed. You can't see it, but the washer bag is cleaned up, and has a new screen in the end of the pickup tube.

I had a hole in the wheel well to repair, and I ordered new flaps for the A-arms.

As I tore into the engine compartment and the front of the car, I realized there was a lot more work than I had anticipated. This was just the start. The bottom of this radiator support was riddled with holes. I was going to buy one, but they told me I would have to weld the brackets onto it anyway, so I decided to fix it. Time for more welding. Yes, that pile of rust came from inside this component.

Another rot problem. This front cross member was rotted. It still appeared to be structurally sound. One corner had just rotted out where the water couldn't drain. They had provided openings in this part, but no drain holes at the low spot, where it eventually rotted. I'll fix this also.

It never stops. After examining the wiring harnesses and vacuum lines, I saw this. Melted insulation. I think there was a fusible link that someone removed, which allowed this to happen. Unfortunately this wire was melted in several places along the harness, all the way back to the alternator. I had to cut open the harness. I will replace it and rewrap the harness. Fortunately only one other wire appeared to be damaged. Several of the vacuum hoses were not connected to anything. The washer hoses were also either disconnected or broken. Some of this stuff can be fixed after the body drop.

This blower was not operating when I bought the car. I tested it, and it worked fine, when powered directly. I think the other melted wire may have fed this blower. In any case, It cleaned up nicely.

I removed the washer bag, vacuum tank, and master cylinder for cleanup.

Here is the master cylinder and vacuum tank clean and installed. You can't see it, but the washer bag is cleaned up, and has a new screen in the end of the pickup tube.

I had a hole in the wheel well to repair, and I ordered new flaps for the A-arms.

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