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Messages - DAVEN1256

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31
Restoration / Re: Fan shroud plastic identification ???
« on: May 29, 2020, 11:38:15 PM »
I made a decision and just ordered a new GM shroud also.

Between never being able to make a positive ID on the type of plastic the original shroud is made from so I could buy the right repair product, and then finding out my original shroud had been trimmed, I gave in!

I bought mine from GM Parts Giant for $153.77 + $18.14 shipping and handling.   ( https://www.gmpartsgiant.com/ )

I also checked these other places:   GM Parts Direct…..$148.20 + $28.06 shipping

                                                    Local Chevy dealership.....$227.80 plus local tax


32
Restoration / Re: Fan shroud plastic identification ???
« on: May 25, 2020, 06:51:50 PM »
I actually see three differences now between my shroud and all of the other shrouds pictured here. Besides the two cut outs that have already been mentioned, one at 12 o'clock and one at 6 o'clock on the engine side, I also noticed the cut out that the top mounting bracket slides under is wider on mine.

I Googled images of '68 Camaro fan shrouds and engine compartments and did not see a single shroud with cutouts like mine. This is a mystery to me. This is the shroud that was on the car when I bought it 1978. It was a mostly an unmolested original car in stock condition. Nothing had been hacked. I doubt anyone was making reproductions at the time when you could just go to the dealership and buy a new one. I can't figure out either what would be accomplished by trimming out those small sections...….Another thing is that the edges of the cutout areas look very "factory." There's no evidence of any cutting like saw marks.  The cuts are straight as an arrow too. Anyone who was not familiar with how one of these ought to look would never look at it and think it didn't come from the factory that way.

I am not trying to say that someone didn't trim it. I have to figure they probably did seeing as I can't find another one that looks it. If they did though, they did a great job! Oh, and for what it is worth, I looked again and there is no part number stamped or molded into my shroud.

I guess I'm on the fence now whether to repair this shroud or go after a new GM. I wouldn't try to fill in the cutouts, just repair the cracks. And I knew all along that if repaired it, I was going to have to paint it. So that brings me back to my original question.....What kind of plastic is this? Whether you're buying a plastic repair product or filler material for plastic welding, you have to know.....and maybe no one will ever know. :)

I appreciate all of input on this and all of the pictures posted.

Dave




33
Restoration / Re: Fan shroud plastic identification ???
« on: May 23, 2020, 11:47:34 PM »
Thanks for pointing that out that difference in the rear of the circular part of the shroud. I hadn't noticed that.

Mine is not actually repaired yet. You really can't see some of the needed repair spots in the pictures. The ones you can see I tried repairing with the Plastex and they cracked again.

By the way, in what location on the shroud are you finding the part number stamped. I looked all over mine and see nothing.

Dave

34
Restoration / Re: Fan shroud plastic identification ???
« on: May 23, 2020, 05:00:38 PM »
Thanks for the replies and info so far.

The pictures posted by z28z11 and Hogdaddy have raised new questions for me about my shroud.

Look at the areas circled in red in the first three pictures. The first picture is z28z11's OE and NOS shrouds side by side, the second picture is my shroud, and the third is Hogdaddy's NOS shroud from the 90's Where my shroud and Hogdaddy's shroud are cut out behind the upper mounting bracket bolt hole, both of z28z11's shrouds appear to have some material there with a hole in it. I don't know if my eyes are fooling me and seeing something that's not there. On mine that cutout needs to be there for the shroud to sit on the upper mounting bracket. The fourth, fifth, and sixth pictures are also of my shroud.

I also have no part number or date code on my shroud like all the others. Between the lack or a part number and the differences in that cutout area, I'm wondering if my shroud is original and correct. My shroud has been with the car since at least 1978.

Thanks.....Dave















35
Restoration / Re: Fan shroud plastic identification ???
« on: May 21, 2020, 12:28:48 AM »
Thanks for the replies.
 
I tried a burn test with a few slivers I cut from a hidden area. That really told me nothing. What I saw could fit several types of plastic. I'm not going to cut anymore off.

I've used a product called "Plastex" by G.T. Motorsports on other plastic items and it has worked great. It says it works on ABS but it will not bond to my shroud. It does say it will not bond to polypropylene and polyethylene.

I did see that this part is still available from GM. My past experience buying old parts that GM still makes new is that they will fit and will work but are not necessarily carbon copies of what was made 50 plus years ago. Can anyone comment on how close these new shrouds look to an original shroud?

Thank...….Dave

36
Restoration / Steering coupler / rag joint help !!!
« on: May 19, 2020, 03:54:58 PM »
Does anyone know if the rag joint shown in my first two pictures is actually available anywhere?

This rag joint is shown in at least two parts catalogs but when you order it, you're sent something else.

First, I ordered it from Classic Industries. It is for my '68 with power steering. It is Classic Industries and OER's part number 7828871. What they sent me is what you see in the third and fourth picture. The box was labeled correctly 7828871. So I called Classic Industries. They really had no explanation. I asked the guy I talked to if there was any way to know if the wrong part was put in the right box and if they actually had the part that they pictured. That seemed to throw him a curve he couldn't answer. I am returning that part.

So I look on Heartbeat City's website and I see the same coupler that I want.....the coupler in pictures one and two. HBC part number FEP-1334. Before I order it, I call there and talk to a guy named Jim. I explain what happened with the Classic Industries order and say, before I order this, I want to be absolutely sure I am going to get what is in your picture. He assured me once and then twice that I would. Well, it arrived yesterday and guess what? I got the exact same part I got from Classic Industries, again in an OER Box labeled 7828871. Needless to say, I was a little ticked off! So I called them yesterday and talked with Adam. His only explanation is that OER probably updated their part since that picture was taken. So I'm sending that one back too.

So again, just wondering if the coupler show in pictures one and two actually exists and is available?

Thanks.......Dave








37
Restoration / Fan shroud plastic identification ???
« on: May 17, 2020, 07:13:50 PM »
Can anyone identify the type of plastic an original '68 small block fan shroud (GM part number 3893812) is made from?

I want to attempt to repair some cracks in my original shroud. There are a lot of plastic repair products out there but they're all specific as to what types of plastic they will repair.

So before I can choose a product, I need to know what type of plastic I am dealing with.

Thanks.....Dave

38
Restoration / Re: Steering coupler choices ???
« on: May 07, 2020, 10:00:37 PM »
I bought it from Classic Industries.

Dave

39
Restoration / Speedometer cable rotating stiffness ???
« on: April 29, 2020, 03:40:14 PM »
I purchased a new two piece speedometer cable for my '68 to replace the original. The original still functioned fine but the connections at the transmission, and where the two cable halves join together, after having been cranked on numerous times with pliers and corrosion from the elements, were looking pretty rough. I tried to pretty the connectors up with some silver paint but they still look bad.

The internal cables on my original spin freely when turned by hand. No resistance whatsoever! The new cable I got is from Classic Headquarters. I can spin the internal cable by hand but there is some resistance. It's noticeably stiffer than the original. And it's really only the longer section of the new two piece cable that's harder to turn. The short section turns free like the original.

You would think that it would be the other way around.....the old cable would be stiff and the new would turn with no resistance.

So my questions are...….are new cables a little stiff at the beginning and it just needs a little break in time.....or should I try lubricating the new cable? If I should lubricate it, could someone recommend a specific product?

Thanks......Dave


40
Restoration / Re: Saginaw speedometer cable questions
« on: April 25, 2020, 02:10:11 AM »
Bob, thanks for that info. I didn't know there was speedometer cable info in the AIM other than in the transmission section.

169Indy is correct that 69's used a different clip than the '68's. I looked in the 1969 AIM and 69's used part number 3935970. The 1967 AIM calls out the same clip as the 1968.... 3881339


41
Restoration / Re: Saginaw speedometer cable questions
« on: April 24, 2020, 06:03:19 PM »
Thank you for that info. From the illustration, I thought it looked line a two sided fuel line clip. I think I have some of those lying around.

Thanks again.....Dave

42
Restoration / Saginaw speedometer cable questions
« on: April 24, 2020, 12:50:00 PM »
I have two speedometer cable questions. They are in reference to my '68 with a factory Saginaw four speed transmission.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

1) Did all Saginaw transmissions have the two piece speedometer cable? I have the two piece cable and that's what the AIM pg. 322 (see photo below) shows for the Production Engine which I assume refers to the base 327 which I have. It's called out in View A in the upper left hand corner of the sheet.

What is confusing me is that Heartbeat City has the two piece cable but calls it out for a car with cruise control and/or a heavy duty 3 speed. They also show a one piece cable available for Saginaw transmissions. This doesn't jive with the AIM. I would tend to believe the AIM but I'm needing a new cable and want to be sure I am buying the right one.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

2) Also in View A on sheet 322, it shows a clip on the floor board holding the speedometer cable but doesn't call out a part number for it. I can't find any such clip in the parts catalogs. I had a hole in that location on my original floor board so there might have been a clip there at one time. I have the same hole in my new repro floor board.....Does anyone know where you can get this clip?

Thanks Dave




43
Restoration / Re: Steering coupler choices ???
« on: April 22, 2020, 12:19:17 AM »
Ed, thank you for that great article. It answered a lot of my questions.

Dave

44
Restoration / Steering coupler choices ???
« on: April 20, 2020, 07:00:02 PM »
I am needing a new steering coupler ( rag joint ) for my '68. I have the factory power steering box and a factory tilt column. The worn out coupler I am replacing is a GM part bought at a Chevy dealership in the early or mid 80's. My steering box has the 13/16 inch diameter, 31 spline input shaft with the "flat spot." The GM coupler I'm replacing has the corresponding flat spot.

I want my replacement to be as close in looks as possible to an original GM coupler. I have looked at all or most of the couplers from the usual parts suppliers and things start get pretty confusing.

1) Some say 31 spline and some say 36 spline. I'm gathering the 36 will fit and is the same as the 31 but does not have the flat spot and has five more splines where the flat spot would have been. Can someone verify that?

2) The two bolts in the coupler that I am replacing are different diameters. One is 5/16, one is 3/8. Some of the couplers advertised tell you that they use two 5/16 diamter bolts. I don't know how they can do that since the corresponding holes in the steering column flange are drilled for  5/16 and 3/8. Wouldn't using in 5/16 bolt in the 3/8th hole add slop into the steering?

3) I'm not sure what they are called but I'm referring to the plate that goes under each bolt head that spreads out the load over the rubber disc. My old GM coupler has two of them, one under each bolt. About half of the couplers advertised have the two individual plates like mine and the other half  have a one piece unit half circular unit that connects both of them. I don't know why there are two different styles or which one is correct.

4) Some of the advertised couplers say the collar on the coupler that fits over the steering box input shaft is only splined a 1/4 of it's diameter. Mine is splined all the way around except for the flat spot. Wouldn't splining only a 1/4 of it make for a weaker connection?

5) And lastly, not one of the advertised couplers say a single thing about a ground strap being included. I don't see ground straps advertised anywhere. What do you do to complete the horn ground if the coupler you buy doesn't have one?

The attached pictures are of:

1) The GM coupler I'm replacing.
2) My steering column flange with one 5/16 hole and one 3/8 hole.
3,4)  The style coupler with the half circle plate that both mounting bolts pass through.
5,6) The style coupler I believe is the closest to what an original GM would look.

I'd appreciate any input as to what looks most correct and also fits my steering box and column flange

Thanks......Dave














45
Restoration / Re: Getting the correct bell housing finish ???
« on: April 09, 2020, 05:16:57 PM »
In reply #10, I said that had I found three companies in the Orlando, FL area that did dustless blasting and that I was going to check out the one that seemed the most promising.

Well, that didn't work out so well. I thought I had communicated with the  guy over the phone the finish I was after. Maybe his idea of what a "satin" finish was and mine were two different things. When I got there, the guy I spoke to on the phone was not there and but a couple of his workers were. When I started talking to them about what the final finish would look like, what they told me didn't sound right. I asked them to hit a small area on the inside of the bell housing so I could see what it would look like. It was nothing like what Lloyd's vapor blasted bell housings look like! It just looked like basic blasting. Rough and dull. So I politely thanked them but told them I didn't want to do it. They were nice guys and said no problem. It didn't cost me anything, just some time!

So the one thing I learned from this is that dustless blasting and vapor blasting are not necessary one and the same. I'll have to check if there are any others who do vapor blasting in the area. This time though, I would send them the picture of Lloyd's bell housings and be sure that's what the finished product would look like before even leaving the house.

This was never something I was looking to put a lot of effort or money into. I wanted to check out the vapor blasting since it was mentioned and the results looked great. If the blasting doesn't work out, I'm still willing to go with paint and still looking for a suggestion on a good aluminum replication paint.

Thanks.....Dave

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