'69 Chevelle - Project TIMACHN

[barrrf]

PHOTOCUKET KILLED IT. Please delete entire thread.

[214Chevy]

Welcome to the site Bart. Bummer on the tranny tunnel, huh? :mad: But, overall the car is nice. Looks like a darn good starting point. :thumbsup: Keep the pics coming! No matter how long it takes, be patient, take your time and just do it right. :yes: :yes:

[barrrf]

Yeah, the patch panel is about 2 times the size of the actual hole. It looks like it was taken from a donor car. But things like this when you find them make you go "Why would you do that?"

Im too eager to drive the car or I would do it right.

[Spiffav8]

Bart....I like your Pro Tinkering approach. I'm all for doing what you can, when you can without downing the car for to long. Hey...that's the reason we buy these things is to enjoy them!

The small projects you're doing now are a great way to get to know the car and will pay off huge down the road. That and it gives you something to do. :lol:

There are so many options when it comes to suspension and drive terrain. Take your time and if able get out to a few event and bum a few rides around an autocross track. Great way to find what's right for you and have fun.

Thanks for sharing! I'm looking forward to seeing more.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[barrrf]

I know this thread is better suited for Chevelles.com (and its there too) but over there if I use the wrong bolt I get chastised. Im also a realist, I know this car is awesome right now, but I want to to be awesome and thats why Im starting now so hopefully in 5 years time I can tear down, paint, reassemble and be done and move on to another.

[Spiffav8]

I know this thread is better suited for Chevelles.com (and its there too) but over there if I use the wrong bolt I get chastised. Im also a realist, I know this car is awesome right now, but I want to to be awesome and thats why Im starting now so hopefully in 5 years time I can tear down, paint, reassemble and be done and move on to another.

Gotta love those purists. :rolleyes:

[coolwelder62]

Welcome aboard.We need more Chevelle build's going on here.:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Rick D]

Welcome to our slice of the web :thumbsup: Looks like a nice car to start with! You have a great idea and realistic one at that about building the car AS you enjoy it, so many buy them tear them down buy a bunch of parts and then a year later you see the project or parts up for sale and the guy never even got to,enjoy the car. :cheers: :cheers:

[barrrf]

Im a bit more of a realist. I only have an hour here or 2 hours there to do things at this point in time - plus I want to drive it. And I know if I tore it down without having the parts to put it back together, it would end up being someone elses project.

BOught me a 6.0 truck engine for $400 last night with harness and 'puter. Wasnt really ready for that yet so I still need to go out and get an engine stand. WOnt start building that for awhile but kinda wanted that engine for that price.

[Steve68]

Nice ride,
little progress at a time,
better to keep it running and driving then turning it into a giant work bench in the garage!!!

[hotwhls]

My first hot rod was a 1972 chevelle and I really miss that car. But I always thought of the chevelle as the best muscle car "my oppinion" and I always thought that is should have a BIG BLOCK to take up the room in the engine compartment. Just build that 396 it looks cooler than an LS motor that everybody else and there brother has. Well anyways the car looks great and just drive it and enjoy it and build it whenever you have the extra funds

[barrrf]

I have since installed 3 point seat belts. and reinstalled the a-pillars and dash board uncovered. I cant get the dash pad into the upholsterers until the 12th. So once thats done I'll slap the dash back on and take some shots. I did however, color match the tired old pitted tail light bezels and polished the plastic. Not sure if I like it yet or not.....or if I do like it should I repaint the black inside of the bezel or not.

Color Matched
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/colormatched.jpg

Not
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/DSC00976.jpg


Progress is slow on this car - Im too busy driving it to work on it. And heres a pic for photography buffs (shot with Canon T3i)
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/IMG_5192.jpg

[barrrf]

Had the dash pad covered and stitched.

Only good pic I have of it now. Also shown is , gauge bezel painted, metal dash part painted silver along with column, A-pillars covered with soft touch vinyl (really nice stuff), kick panels redyed black, vents painted black, tach reloacted from top center of dash. Im going to call the dash area done for now until I can fund VHX gauges, new carrier, and ididit column. My next thing to do is find a nice steering wheel. Then in a couple weeks I'll start on the door panels - I figure this to be a good month long project.

I know the stitching isnt perfect. But thats fine, I wasnt expecting it to be.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/DashPad4.jpg

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/IMG_5383_zpsd7f1be11.jpg

[barrrf]

Update: So I strayed from my original path of just replacing the core support and cleaning up the front suspension with some powder coat and new bushings. Whilst I did replace the core support, I also replaced the A-Arms and springs in the front, new alternator, lower alternator bracket (was missing), new CPP 3" springs in back, body bushings, and seats.

4/15/13 - Everything removed from drivers side. Gonna clean up the frame and paint before putting new stuff on.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01093_zps996b2250.jpg

Gross old stuff on the ground. It was at this point I decided to buy all new stuffs. I waffled a bit. But I got really frustrated with trying to remove the old bushings, so I chucked the a-arm and hit up ebay.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01094_zps803598aa.jpg

Rats nest behind the firewall. This is how it came to me. Its the horn relay (life of the car apparently) and the voltage regulator. 2 things that are curious about the factory build/wiring. 1.) The horn relay needs constant 12v power. Without it the car has absolutely 0 power. None. Cant even turn it over. 2.) All of the passenger side wires run in front of the core support on the outside of the car. I believe all of the wires were run and the connectors put on after that. Because I could not pull them back through - the connectors were too big. I had to cut 5 wires and put them back to together as a semi temporary fix.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01101_zpsf499811a.jpg

4/19/13 - Grille, headlights,header panel, ect removed
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01104_zps1d069a67.jpg

Still 4/19/13 - Everything is off. Reassembly can begin.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01110_zpsd53c9169.jpg

4/30/13 - New A-Arms with Energy Suspension Bushings and Proforged ball joints with Hotchikis 2" drop springs. Im impressed the sway bar link are roto-joints. Not bad for cheap a-arms. .

*Disclaimer - I really really wanted UMIs with tall BJs but the coin wasnt there and I wanted to stretch my buck a bit further. So I bought these CPP A-arms for $279 shipped. I bought the Proforged BJs at the same time with the intention of swapping them out immediately. When the arms arrived, I disassembled them and installed the new bushings and ball joints. I reused the original ball joint grease boots because they fit better then the Proforged ones for whatever reason. I also painted them silver - just because. What I did leave however, is the sway bar end links. The lower connection is a roto-joint as opposed to the OG bushing method.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/A-arms_zps6d33d9dc.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01114_zps89606bc3.jpg

Still 4/30/13 - Caliper bracket - steering linkage shot
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01116_zpsd3900886.jpg

5/4/13 - Painted new core support to install.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01118_zpsbf5ca96f.jpg

Another shot of some more stuff installed. Also, some wires just hanging around.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01124_zpsa7ff4f2a.jpg

Some poly body bushings to show. Yes theyre on the whole car and not just right here.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01125_zps84266455.jpg

Brackets and header panel reinstalled
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01126_zpsda3ea076.jpg

Filler panel and headlights reinstalled. Used all new headlight bucket hardware and springs. Decided against installing retrofit projectors at this time because I just wanted to get the car on the road. Will install later - requires cutting headlight buckets and core support. So I just put in H4 highs (replaces T3s) and installed new relay harness. OEM wiring sends all headlight power through the headlight switch - makes for dim lights. Relays are the way.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01127_zps2bbe25d9.jpg

5/5/13 - Forgot to take some pics along the way. So in this pic I have the fender wells reinstalled (painted silver), core support bracket reinstalled, and dirty **** reinstalled. You can also see new CS130 Alternator. It bothers me to no end to put old **** back on, but, this isnt an unlimited budget build. So I make due. I couldve cleaned some things up I suppose but I was in a damn hurry.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01129_zps6a24b0e0.jpg

5/5/13 - Had old Edelbrock Q-Jet 850cfm carb on there. I bought this 770cfm Holley Street Avenger to use instead. Holy off idle hesitation batman. Took some research and some parts but it is tuned up and makes way more power than the Q-Jet did.

But I learned a lot about the Holley carb. Most people said the lean condition I was experiencing (popping out of the exhaust, off idle hesitation) was caused by vac leak or improperly set accelerator pump. So this gave a place to start. I removed the accel pump diaphragm and checked the primary squirter size. Everything seemed to be good there. I reinstalled those parts and set up a slightly more aggressive pump cam with a longer squirt duration. Still hesitated pretty bad but I could push through it and the car would move. So I bought a vac gauge and set the idle mixture screws, then the curb idle screw, and made sure the float levels were correct and also dialed the fuel pressure up from 4 1/2 psi to 6psi. Still a mean hesitation. Finally I decided to look at the primary and secondary metering jets. 68 and 76 respectively - yup, car is lean. Bought new jets and started with 72/76 combo. That almost did the trick - still a slight hesitation under light throttle. Went up to 76/82 - BOOM! MONEY! Now just waiting on my AFR gauge to arrive to see where I sit.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01132_zpsa0afc85c.jpg

[barrrf]

And on Friday 5/17 - New Seats and Wheel installed. The wheel is a flimsy piece of crap and I need to find a better one (thats my personal opinion about this particular wheel made by Forever Sharp. They may have better wheels I dont know. But the adapter parts that came with the wheels are awesome). I'll make due for now. The Cipher seats however, firm, good bolstering, solid construction - not bad for $340 shipped. Im am slightly concerned about the sitching - we'll see how well it holds over time. The biggest hit was buying the Planted seat brackets. $140 each. Theyre very nice brackets though.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01135_zps7aff0e64.jpg

And the lowered shots -
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/IMG_20130514_205125_zpsd1819bc4.jpg

Forgot to remove SS plate. Oh well.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/barthautala/Chevelle%20Photo%20Log/DSC01133_zpsf104f7dd.jpg

For the most part, everything went ok. Only one bolt on the passenger side lower A-Arm had to be cut off. Mostly everything lined back up which is lucky considering the nature of aftermarket replacement sheet metal. I had one issue with the headlight wiring, it was a ground so easy fix. Then I mentioned the no power thing - that had me stumped. I initially thought the POs terrible wiring job was the culprit - there was a random blue wire tied to battery +. Turns out random blue is pretty important to the life of the car so I ran a new red power wire to the horn relay.

So in the end, I have some nice new parts. Jury is still out on if it handles any better. I'll do my best to describe the before and after seat of the pants handling.
Before - car seemed to roll slightly then bite hard in sharp corners
After - car doesnt seem to roll. Seems to effortlessly glide through the corners. Giving the illusion the car isnt biting. Handling seems worse but I have more confidence in the corners.

[214Chevy]

Bart, looks like you been logging in some man hours on the car? Keep up the good work...more pics.

[barrrf]

I figure about 80 or so hours including all of the blasting I did to the old stuff I removed/painted/reinstalled during the process. I dont mind reinstalling freshened parts but putting that plastic fan shroud back on made me want to vomit. still does in fact.

[214Chevy]

That's a quick fix. Just make you one out of sheet metal. Bend it into an arc, so to speak, then add some bead rolled lines in it for strength. Voila!! There you have it. That's what a buddy of mine did some years ago, but he no longer owns the car anymore. Otherwise, I would get you some pics. You're gonna have to make your own since there isn't anything out there on the market. Either that or switch to an electric fan. :idea:

[barrrf]

E-Fans and hydro boost (Astro Van) are next on the list of things to do. Ive been looking at some of the sheet metal fan shrouds on ebay - some do not look terrible. Some look like ass.

[Spiffav8]

It's looking better and better!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[windycitychev]

keep up the good work and only way youll know what under is when you have your car fully done, never give up my 68 Chevelle SS started off 100 times worse, don't believe me look for yourself
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.154185978079157.1073741829.153831408114614&type=3

[barrrf]

keep up the good work and only way youll know what under is when you have your car fully done, never give up my 68 Chevelle SS started off 100 times worse, don't believe me look for yourself
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.154185978079157.1073741829.153831408114614&type=3

I "liked" it. Well done sir.

[Rick D]

Nice update Bart, it's nice to make small updates and be with out your car for to long!!

[barrrf]

Slowly coming along. Tore out the back seat, pkg tray, side panels so I can fix quarter winders. Decided at that time I might as well make a custom pkg tray because that will be relatively easy. Also found this -

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1075837_10151510745346689_1843172276_n.jpg

Why would someone cut all that out? So doesnt matter, I'll make it work.
About half way through - the tear drops are for 6 1/2" Components to mount underneath the tray on a sub plate. Theyre covered in speaker cloth. The others cut outs are for faux suede inserts.

https://sphotos-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/399205_10151522017566689_396835549_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/544499_10151523600541689_1473509511_n.jpg

and in the car -

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1078605_10151525127961689_1275753771_o.jpg

http://distilleryimage9.ak.instagram.com/0a523e3cfb0811e2a19522000a9f126b_7.jpg

Turned out looking better in the car than it did to me while it was laying on the ground. Next project - rear interior side panels.

[barrrf]

Got a few wintery things going on right now. Im going to attempt to make new door sill protectors out of real carbon fiber. I have the resin and cloth - just need to do it.

I started on those side panels. Need to make small arm rest cap and have them covered with 1/4" of foam and the same material I used on the dash. Still considering where to put the stitches tho.
http://distilleryimage6.ak.instagram.com/b6ed640026ff11e39cee22000aa803c7_7.jpg

Also doing an experiment with the tail light bezelz and smoothing them out to see how they look.
http://distilleryimage11.ak.instagram.com/902c9a402ed711e3bd9622000a9e08d8_7.jpg

Oh and bought some of these -
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1/1798239_10151889689821689_1211717909_n.jpg

[barrrf]

Got my wheels put on. Im not in love with how the fronts look. Too much +offset resulting in little wheel lip. Too narrow. Or something. But the whole package cost me a little less than $1500. So I'll survive until a suitable replacement presents itself. (Please ignore the dirt, when I put it away for the winter it was raining). I may or may not space the front out a bit.

Wheels are TSW Snetterton 18x8 and 18x9.5 All ET20.
Tires are 245/40 and 285/35 Continental ContiSportContact3s

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t31/1899418_10151932037451689_947983434_o.jpg

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t31.0-8/1782562_10151932037296689_1353026979_o.jpg

[waynieZ]

Its looking good!

[67goatman455]

very sweet. for sure space out the fronts a bit. you might try one of your rear spacers out and see what she looks like!

[barrrf]

Test fitted one of the back ones on the front. So I immediately order 2 more x9.5s. And I had the 245s swapped over from the X8s. So much better. Going to be a couple weeks before they get put on the car. Cant wait tho.

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/1939778_10151941586341689_8777286_n.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/H5JwaBc.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/SK8bp5B.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/QtsO4cV.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Gp5Qp0c.jpg

[WSSix]

That's a good look. :thumbsup:

[barrrf]

First drive of the season and first drive with new tires and wheels - launch traction is still an issue. Just drove it from this garage - to my house. Time to mount e-fans and A/C delete plate.

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/10171897_10151998969776689_7822543066496176085_n.j pg

https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/10176155_10151998970061689_5009670347798265192_n.j pg

[barrrf]

wow, I need catch up my own thread.

Damn, Ive not posted much here.

Ive installed speedhut gauges (GPS Speedo) -
http://i.imgur.com/XKJS6CC.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tX35bIP.jpg

Well, I threw caution to the wind and just did it. Turns out, I have no issues with knock back. And I believe its because of the locker rear end and the way its designed. Anyways, as is everything with this car, lots of stuff needing attention.

Here is the pic of the dirty rear end - of note, the UCA bushings are not installed completely.
http://i.imgur.com/uT1iVo9.jpg

Skipping the clean up and tear down process, here is the rear end with new brakes lines, calipers, disc installed. I also took the liberty of hammering the bushings in the rest of the way.
http://i.imgur.com/BGCqeNQ.jpg

So I went to bolt everything back up into place and I couldnt get the drivers side UCA to line up - I did not know this but the ears on the UCA need to have clearance for the 12 bolt housing. I think the PO didnt know this and just forced the UCA into place and combined with the bushings not being correctly installed lead to the UCAs breaking almost all the way through. I replaced with Spohn Adjustables.
http://i.imgur.com/wJJ3R7J.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ebNcetX.jpg

Got everything put back up. Mounted the passenger wheel, and mounted the drivers wheel but it was REALLY hard to turn them, and I heard scraping. I knew somewhere in my mind that the rear rotors are slightly larger than the fronts. Well, the calipers didnt fit inside the wheel...........but just barely. So I made a fixture and took them my bro in law and had him mill down the theoretical OD of the calipers. They fit now. Its tight tho.
http://i.imgur.com/dVY2Wty.jpg