LostnFound Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Great pics and info. Thanks for posting and please keep them coming....nice solid car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gprimm Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Great pictures. Love how clean it all is. Was this the AZ car I remember from last year? Those brake lines are just fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 Another thing I noticed is the air valve arm is slightly different than the one I'm accustom to seeing on the monte. It has a slightly different shape. Â Â Here is a side by side comparison of the arm most commonly seen on these cars. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 There were at least 2 different part numbers for the control valve arm. I believe the assembly plant and/or build date determined which one was used on a particular car. In addition to the part number, they have the date code stamped on each one. What dates do you have on each style?  The bottom one in this pic came on my Van Nuys built '70 SS. It was assembled 1/14/70. When was your car assembled?  Dan  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 The body was built the 5th week of October 1969 (10E). The date on the air valve arm is October 25th 1969. Â Â The others air valve arms I have are February 18th 1971, march 4 1971 and January 11th 1972. They must made the change some time in 1970. Â Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Yes. My pic shows both styles. Date codes show both were on a '70. Also, both came from Van Nuys. Â Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 Yes. My pic shows both styles. Date codes show both were on a '70. Also, both came from Van Nuys.  Dan  Do you have a sense as to the finish on the early version. It appears to be black paint or black oxide. The more common later version always appeared to be gold cad plated. Do you agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 My later arm still has some of the gold cadmium plating on it, but the earlier one only had light rust and dirt on it. Leo Konik would probably know. Â Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 Stripped the frame down to the rails. Only a few small things to remove and it's ready to be media blasted and painted. Â Â Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 I've been prepping the chassis parts for media blasting. Removed all the suspension bushings, ball joints and hardware. The pile will get bigger. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 WOW, LOVE IT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7tonemonte Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Very nice pictures! Fascinating stuff there with part #s and such! What a find this car was for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cudax Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Â This is a very interesting thread to follow, thanks for taking the time to share the experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Pitch the springs and go with new. Would more than likely be OK to go with original stabilizer bars but that is something else to go new with. That entire car looks like the ideal project starter baseline. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Before media blasting I'm going through the frame to make sure things are spot on. I measured square and it is within tolerances. I didn't find any cracks in the engine cradle that big blocks are prone to. Â Found a couple tow slots that some tow truck driver grabbed on a bit too hard. I straitened out the hole but now need to add some weld then clean it up with the grinder and reshape the hole. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Here is another common issue with A body frames due to a mechanic improperly placing and lifting the car with a floor jack where the side rail isn't reinforced. Every car I've owned had this issue. Â This before shot with a strait edge up against the bottom of the frame you can see what I mean. Â Â Here are a couple of methods of straitening that have worked for me. Â First way I used on the driver side was to use C clamps and a piece of square tube. The tube helps prevent over pulling the steel. Â Â This method works well with the transmission crossmember holes. Used some 1/2" bar stock with a hole drilled in it and bolted it to one of the crossmember holes with a heavy washer to prevent distorting the hole. Then used a 3/4" piece of bar stock to transfer the load as I pressed down on the 1/2" bar stock. It worked well. Â Â Here is an after shot. Â Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 Made another pile of parts to be media blasted. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 Something I noticed about the rear outter bumper brackets. They are cut a bit crudely to clear the tail light extensions. At first I thought they were cut for clearance by someone during it's life but comparing them to another set I have off the '70 convertible project and I beleave it was a factory modification. Anyone else notice this on their '70? Â Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Still getting things ready for media blasting. Put the frame up on a jig and through a stand together to hold the rear end. It should make things easier. Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 Cleaning up the rear end to be media blasted and after degreasing and pressure washing the brake assembly the original hardware still has paint on them. It's a great reference when restoring it back to the correct factory appearance. Â Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sheean Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Thanks for the pics, great job. I have a '71, just swapped out both bumpers, my bumper brackets were not cut, I don't know if there is a difference between years on the brackets though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 Thanks for the pics, great job. I have a '71, just swapped out both bumpers, my bumper brackets were not cut, I don't know if there is a difference between years on the brackets though. Â The 70 brackets are different from the 71-72. There are a lot of subtle changes between 70 and 71-72. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KWick_70MC Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 What a great find and such an interesting thread to follow.. Â How is the LS6 coming along?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 What a great find and such an interesting thread to follow.. Â How is the LS6 coming along?? Â No action on the convertible but lots on the '70 SS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454-71 Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 The under body, frame and rear end have all been media blasted and painted over the weekend. Those were some long days but they are done. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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