Messages

That goes in the back of the heater box on the center control door shaft to hold the cable on.

I found out some interesting info yesterday.  I didn't know how to read DOT date codes on tires, now I do.  My new tire serial numbers end in 4424, which means they were made week 44 of 2024, already over a year old when installed.  The one that blew out had a date code of late 2011 but I bought them in early 2013.  The rep at the tire store said this is common for tires because companies may only build a particular tire once a year if it is not a really big seller.  I am also likely going to buy a 5th tire; my wife reminded me that the one I saved as a new spare is still 12 years old and only getting older in the trunk. 

I posted this as a reminder to all to check your tires and replace if they are old. I was driving home from The Daytona Turkey Run car show Friday in my '69 Z28 when my LF tire blew out.  It had started a vibration about 10 miles earlier, then bang.  See the photos.  Paint damage, etc., now have to be fixed.  Luckily only the car was damaged, plus it happened close to home instead of 100 miles away.  Definitely a wakeup call.  It could have been a lot worse.  The BFG Radial T/As had less than 5K miles on them and looked perfect but were 12 years old.  New tires are going on tomorrow.  Time flies, tires get old and can easily be overlooked.  My friend who I met there has a '66 Impala SS with a brand new $20K paint job, his tires were 14 years old, and he got new ones installed yesterday.  Stay safe. 

I purchased a lead test kit and it does contain lead as members advised.  Photo attached, my test swab is on top.  I'll be very careful going forward and really appreciate the member feedback.  If I had not asked, I would never have known this coating contained lead. 

Thanks for all the feedback.  I will test it and then determine next steps. 

Has anyone ever seen orange undercoating on a Camaro?  My '69 was originally a Connecticut car and came to Florida in 1974.  As best I can determine, this orange coating was installed before it came to FL.  The whole underside of the car has it, but it was brushed over with some sort of black coating later, probably to cover it up. It has chipped off everywhere, so you see a lot of orange spots, and I am in the process of trying to remove it.  It's hard to get off.  It has what appears to be a red basecoat, then a thick orange coating after that which is not flexible.  Stripper doesn't get it off, so far I have used a needle scaler and finally sanding.  Attached is a photo of one of the front wheel wells with it partially removed.  Just looking to see if anyone has ever seen it before or has any removal tips.   

Thanks for all your hard work and persistence to get back online.  You all were missed.   

I recently installed a Summit Ready to Run vacuum advance small cap distributor in my 69 Z28 because the large cap HEI didn't fit, and I didn't want to bend the firewall.  Even with that the 2 front spark plug wires (8.5 mm) were a tight fit with the air cleaner on but still worked.  I ordered their coil, (also had a big one previously) not too big and works great.  Photo attached.

Steve,
Thanks for the added detail.  I'm going to leave the current wiper arms on the car and just changed the rubber refills only which were readily available.  I did speak to the owner from 1976-78 and he did not change them (that he remembers).  The car was originally from Connecticut before it came to Florida in 1974, so it's certainly possible they were replaced. 

Thank you for the clarification, I saw the "wing/spoiler" on them and thought they may be original. 

Photo attached of the wiper blade on my 69 Z28.  Is it original? They have been on there since 1982 when I got the car, and I have replaced the rubber refills only.

The current heater core isn't original.  I wish it was, but in 1982 when I replaced it, I likely threw away the original Harrison core.   Back then, I had no idea about preserving original parts.  There is no brand marking on my old one.  Still open to feedback on any higher quality replacements that are available today. 

Thank you to Sauron327 for all the great info he sent me from Jody's.  I bought a dial indicator and did both the concentric and parallel runout checks and my bellhousing checked good.  The trans is back in and everything working well.  The dial indicator tests were not difficult to do, and there are several videos online showing how to do it.  Thanks to all for the great advice.

I am replacing the seals in my heater box and also want to replace the heater core.  I replaced it 42 years ago (it was leaking inside the car) when I got the car.  The existing core still looks good, but I didn't want to risk reusing the old one so ordered one from HBC.   I just got it, and it is much lighter in weight then the old one, plus the hose tube solder joints don't look that strong.  The 5/8 tube is bent at a different angle than the one I took out, so doesn't fit even with making the firewall hole a little larger.  My only option is to bend it and possibly to get a local radiator shop to strengthen the solder joints or return it and find a better fitting and higher quality unit.  I read 2 posts on another Camaro forum where the members had problems with the TSM branded core leaking, and that is what I got from HBC.  I have reviewed previous CRG posts, most are 5+ years old, and was hoping there may be new information available. I'm not impressed with the quality of this new core and am looking for recommendations from members where to find the best quality.   

To Sauron327, my personal email address is JST69Z28@gmail.com if you could send me Jody's .pdf files, much appreciated. 

At this point, I am going to get a dial indicator and try the concentric and parallel checks.  I have the time and want to learn that.