Messages

76

Garage Talk / Re: Iowa Restoration Shop Recommendation/Help -- Engine, Drivetrain

« on: July 11, 2022, 02:09:09 PM »

Whoever ends up doing the machine work on your engine, make sure they understand that it is of great importance that the factory numbers and broach marks are left untouched. It will ruin the originality if they do so and you will take a big hit on the cars value. Get it in writing if you can. It's that important.

That's my biggest fear.  It's currently a factory set up and, as you (and many others) say, it's super easy to destroy the provenance of these cars with careless machining.

77

Garage Talk / Re: Iowa Restoration Shop Recommendation/Help -- Engine, Drivetrain

« on: July 01, 2022, 02:20:14 PM »

What’s wrong with the engine?

I don't know that anything is wrong with it, per se.  It's just old.  Really, really old.  It has about 65,000 original miles on it.  Not a ton, but the miles + the years = skepticism from me.

I've owned the car since 1989.  When I drove it in the early 1990s, it had tons of pop.  Over time, it seemed to have lost it's pep.  It sat a lot between 1995 - 2004.  I had the carb worked on in ~2005, but it's never really been the same car I remember.  I drove it sparingly between 2005 - 2017 and it's pretty much sat in my garage for the pas 4-5 years (which has been very hard on the car).  At this point, the carb is really fouled up (stuck float, delaminated choke diaphragm).  There are a number of carb rebuilders/restorers that are recommended here on the forums.  So, I could always send that off to one of those good shops.

But, I'd really like to paint the engine.  So, if (1) the engine is already coming out of the car, (2) it's a really old engine, and (3) I'm not thrilled with the power it seems to be producing, then maybe it's a good idea for a tear-down, clean, and rebuild?  I really want it running like a factory-fresh engine.

I'm in contact with the shop recommended by bcmiller above:  https://besperformance.com/about.html.  I'll be talking with him next week to see what his thoughts are.

It still looks OK ... just don't get too close or you'll find the 25 years of rock chips and such.  So, I'm not in a huge hurry to repaint the car (though it needs it).  I just want to really enjoy driving it again.  Oh, and those tires in the pic were put on the car in 1991.  So, it's probably time to replace those, too.     I think I'll either go with original D70-14 redlines (in Firestone's new bias-looking radials) or maybe the F70-14 for a bit bigger tire.  I think it's wearing 215/70R14 today, which already seem like little bicycle tires to me.

78

Garage Talk / Re: Iowa Restoration Shop Recommendation/Help -- Engine, Drivetrain

« on: June 30, 2022, 03:01:08 PM »

Thanks.  I'm going down that path ... see if there's a local shop I feel comfortable with, cross my fingers, and hope for the best.  There are so many horror stories of shops machining off castings and other markings that destroy the parts' provenance and history.  It makes me nervous.

I may also send off the quadrajet to one of the restoration shops (many have been recommended here through a search).  That will do good to get my boy moving again, but the engine rebuild will eventually be necessary for my car to be fun again.

If anyone else has any Iowa shop recommendations, please feel free to post them here.  Thanks.

79

Garage Talk / Iowa Restoration Shop Recommendation/Help -- Engine, Drivetrain

« on: June 29, 2022, 06:06:39 PM »

All of the various reputable restoration shops I have spoken to are only interested in entire-car restoration -- turn a rusty frame into the car of your dreams sort of project.

I don't need that.  I need a reputable shop that can yank my original 350, rebuild it (and the Rochester QuadraJet), paint it, and put it back in.  I need a mini-restoration that is 80% focused on the engine.  Again, the only shops that come highly recommended just aren't into this kind of restoration and they're 3-4 years out on any sort of project.

I'm in the northeast corner of Iowa and can range from Madison, WI on the east, Minneapolis, MN on the north, and all of Iowa to the south and west (Des Moines ... though I could go as far as Omaha).

I'm out of my depth and don't even know how to find a shop that can do this work and do it right.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

80

Decoding/Numbers / Re: 67' Trim tag help

« on: November 04, 2021, 09:30:03 PM »

Total click bait.  I was hyped to see a 67 foot trim tag.

I'm always skeptical of Fisher Body tags that were removed (lack the original rivets & cement) and have a highly desirable combo.  Here is an RS/SS 396, 4 speed, console.  So, my knee-jerk reaction would be fake until someone could prove to me the authenticity.

81

Mild Modifications / Re: Upgrading factory air in a 1967 ... keeping factory air components and look?

« on: October 21, 2021, 02:01:54 PM »

Thanks for the replies.  My A/C is definitely depleted.  I know that R-12 is superior to R-134a in terms of cooling.  I think the last time I priced out R-12 (about 5 years ago), it was going to be prohibitively expensive.  But, after 25 years or so of not really being used, I don't really even know if the factory components are up to snuff, have more holes than a block of swiss cheese, etc.

I think I'll probably end up taking it to a shop in the spring to get an assessment + options going forward.  When I get more info, I'll post back here for others who might be in the same position with an old, depleted factory air system.

Thanks again.

82

Mild Modifications / Upgrading factory air in a 1967 ... keeping factory air components and look?

« on: October 19, 2021, 08:55:15 PM »

1967 SS 350, all original.  Has factory air, but it hasn't blown cold since around 1990.  It's really hot in the summer and I really want to be able to blow some cold air.

I think it's safe to say that R-12 isn't coming back at this point.  I don't want a second mortgage to find some weird source of R-12 to charge my factory air, either.

I know that there are aftermarket systems, such as Vintage Air.  However, I don't want the look of an aftermarket A/C.  I want to maintain the factory components so that my car still looks like a factory air car ... just one that uses R-134a.  I did a quick search here, and I could only find a few threads of people adding A/C to non-A/C cars.

I'm looking for a solution to convert factory air R-12 to an R-134a system.  Is that possible?  Are there kits for that or is every one a custom job?  Anyone who has done this before and could share pros, cons, and learnings?

Thanks.

83

Decoding/Numbers / Re: Caveat Emptor...a mess

« on: October 19, 2021, 08:35:10 PM »

[...] the car is being sold out of a shop in Longmont, Colorado. That should be a black flag for anyone.

Just curious why Longmont, CO is an automatic warning sign?

84

Decoding/Numbers / Re: Caveat Emptor...non-OE rivets

« on: October 19, 2021, 08:33:12 PM »

[...] Bet you it still brings a faii amount - tough to resist a big block vert, especially by people that could care less about whether things are on the legal up and up. [...]

Link says that it sold for $83,500.  Wow.

85

Restoration / Re: Cracked original windshield ... where to get replacement?

« on: September 13, 2016, 03:31:26 PM »

[...]  Will claim under insurance with a $250 deductible.  [...]

Cost to me is the same.  Why wouldn't I get the etched windshield?  Is there an inherent quality difference?  Is the non-etched, non-Pilkington glass better?

Thanks.

86

Restoration / Cracked original windshield ... where to get replacement?

« on: September 12, 2016, 09:18:53 PM »

My original windshield just took a rock and cracked.  Crap.  Will claim under insurance with a $250 deductible.  I have a couple of questions:

1)  I'm in Northern Colorado.  Where can I go to get good classic car help?  I've only called 2 shops, but both of them acted like I was speaking a foreign language when I suggested Pilkington, original windshield with date code.  If anyone knows of a good shop, please let me know.  Thanks.

2)  My windshield states:  SHADED .. SOFT-RAY .. SAFETY [LOF] PLATE .. YA [LOF] AS1 .. LAMINATE .. M4 (where the LOF is diagonal).  And it has this info facing the interior.

Looks like all of the repro windshields from Ricks and others with the original etching are for AS2, M55 windshields.  Is this as good as it gets for me?  I'll never have a true AS1/M4 replacement to my original?

Thanks.

87

Maintenance / Re: Soft brakes -- Fluid level, bleeding, and shoes (drum, pb)

« on: June 26, 2016, 02:35:46 PM »

Now I'm rethinking the replacement strategy.  I pulled the wheels off the driver side of the car yesterday.  The brakes looked great.  A little dusty, but not bad.  The colors of the springs were still visible.  Pads were thick.  All the lines looked great.  Some of the hard lines had gunk on them, but the lines were solid, free of rust, looked new. The wheel cylinder actuated the pads just fine.

I got the car in 1989 with 34,000 original miles.  I verified that brakes were changed in the early 1990s.  So, as I suspected, the pads and components didn't decompose over 20,000 miles.

Maybe there's another reason to change the pads?  Even though the pads are quite thick, should they still be replace due to age?

Right now, I'm thinking fluid and bleeding ... but I can still change components if that's necessary ... it's just that everything looked and moved great.  I'll see if I can post pictures.

88

Maintenance / Re: Soft brakes -- Fluid level, bleeding, and shoes (drum, pb)

« on: June 25, 2016, 04:52:53 PM »

Yeah, sounds like a plan.  It appears that for ~$130, I can get new shoes, all new springs, new adjustment kits, and wheel cylinders for all 4 corners.  That seems like all the parts in there, other than the backing plate.  I'll examine the hard lines and replace as needed.  Youtube videos seem pretty good ... not sure what people did before internet/youtube!

I've looked at the main auto parts stores and the ACDelco parts.  They all seem the same.  Wearever (advance auto parts) = Duralast (auto zone) = ACDelco.  Even the pictures are often the same (esp with the spring kits).

Thanks.

89

Maintenance / Soft brakes -- Fluid level, bleeding, and shoes (drum, pb)

« on: June 24, 2016, 11:24:23 PM »

1967 Camaro, power drum brakes, power steering, powerglide. All stock, so nothing's getting upgraded.

I've had the car since 1989 and can't remember if the brakes have ever been done.  51,000 original miles, so I wouldn't expect that the shoes are bad, but not sure.  I know the wheels haven't been off since the 1990s.

The brakes have been getting steadily softer and I'm hearing squealing when cold.  At this point, I have to brake really hard to stop from highway speeds (55 mph) and I'm not even sure if it's possible to lock up the wheels.  That, to me, suggests shoes are worn.  But, the low mileage makes me think it could be something else.

The brake reservoir on the front of the power assist booster is about 50-75% full.  Tricky part is that this reservoir is angled ... so, as the car sits level, the reservoir tilts back. The rubber/plastic gasket on the lid was convex ... the rubber was poking down into the two reservoir/wells.  Fluid was a very light brown, but is otherwise well over 15 years old.

I figured I'd start by sucking fluid out of the reservoir with a baster and putting new fluid (DOT 3/4).  Figured I'd bleed the brakes.  Never done this on a drum brake.  I assume that this is done via the wheel cylinder?

Anything I'm doing thats egregiously wrong?  Am I missing something obvious?  Should I be looking in other places?

Thanks.

90

General Discussion / Re: Cool Pic

« on: July 10, 2009, 06:33:34 PM »

Get rid of the two guys behind the '69 and the golf cart growing out of the '10's hood and it's a publishable, frameable photo.  Really cool.