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What did you do to your Monte Carlo today?


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Finally starting to dig in on the disassembly to get the body off to clean and paint everything. Had some little helpers...

 

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They're not learning too much, their nicknames are 'dumb and dumber' 😁. In all fairness the little one is a 5 month old puppy. Just lost the 8 yrs old to cancer recently. Put a real damper on wanting to do anything out in the shop for the last month and a half.

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With only 10 inches of engine vacuum at idle, I needed to do something to improve my power brakes.

After exhaustive research, I discovered that many cars today use an electric vacuum pump made by Hella-even GM cars have them. Several aftermarket performance companies offer vacuum pumps based on a Hella pump.

Hella makes four versions, I managed to get the top performer at a reasonable cost. It provides 25 inches of vacuum in a few seconds. I made up an aluminum bracket and I bolted it inside the fender behind the washer bottle, it’s completely hidden. It needed an adjustable vacuum switch and relay, it draws 12 amps. With a large reservoir I’m making from a big can of Dole pineapple juice, I’ll have more brake vacuum than I’ll ever need.

I considered going with HydroBoost but I hate the look and didn’t want to mess with my power steering lines.

I could have purchased a kit but they're kindof expensive and I like to fabricate things. I saved some bucks and I can say "I made it".

pump 1.jpg

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1 hour ago, Paul Bell said:

Joe, nice shop! Is this in your home?

Thanks! Yeah Paul, behind the house. 65x40, 12 foot ceilings in the main part, an office/parts area and added a spray booth area later. I did a lot of work out there until a year or so ago. Finally got tired of burning the candle at 3 ends. Started by peeling off the collision and restoration work a few years ago and then stopped the mechanical and diagnostic work too. Apparently I got bored, or nostalgic and ended up with the '72...

At least it's my stuff now instead of everyone else's vehicles. 

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3 hours ago, jft69z said:

Finally starting to dig in on the disassembly to get the body off to clean and paint everything. Had some little helpers...

 

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Great Pic's Joe, thanks for sharing 

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Put a new battery in and repaired/upgraded the HEI dizzy lol. Not much compared to what others are doing but I think I lost a few pounds too sweating in the garage. So i'm patting myself on the back for my accomplishments and enjoying a cold adult beverage lol 

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Finally got a chance to head up to the storage garage to try to finish up the Air Conditioning rebuild.  Most of it was done with the exception of connecting all of the lines, expansion valve bulb, replacing the PAG-150 oil, compressor and reinstalling the grill.  According to Original Air Products people who I purchased all of the lines, drier/receiver, POA, Expansion valve and who rebuilt my compressor I needed to install 10.5 ounces of oil.  At first they told me to put 10.5 ounces into the compressor.  A couple weeks ago my son and I tried several times to get the compressor to take the oil.   LIVE AND LEARN....  We finally called them and one of the guys there got back to me and told me that the entire system holds 10.5 ounces.  I was able to get about 4 ounces into the compressor, 2 ounces into the drier and the rest into the condenser coil.  

I was not able to finish the reassembly because with the conversion to the R134 the new POA valve has a switch that needs to be wired in series with the compressor.  The new POA valve has a pressure switch which will cycle the compressor.  The problem is that the wiring they give you to wire it in is way too short so I will need to go buy some wire to complete the reassembly and then I can get the system vacuum checked and recharged.

rob

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Spent my day taking all the seats and panels apart they all were shot but I need to start from the metal and work back up. This is what I have to start with. The rears do not look to promising, but the buckets aren't to bad.IMG_1068.JPG.2e2396673eeb5d0c0a01d9ffa2d8e4e5.JPGIMG_1069.JPG.2162f894eadffa35282529b207963ab9.JPG I see some sandblasting ahead of me.  lol

Then some prime and paint before anything else.

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Willie, you really seem to be making some very positive progress.  I am really enjoying the progress you are making.  Looking forward to seeing you in Carlisle in June.

rob

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Well, looks like mine is going to be down the rest of the year. They have started on my road out front and I am not driving on stones in my Monte. Learned this lesson coming down to Carlisle, Pa. a few years back. The last time they did our road it took them 6 months to finish(snow was flyin'). I will be upgrading brakes(disc in rear) , steering, and gauges. really wanted to be in Syracuse with it for the meet up there too, oh well. It's been since 2008 on the road, and needs a little attention.post-259-0-61935100-1474727657_thumb.jpg

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26 minutes ago, 420ponies said:

Looks like you are deep into the  rebuild. Question on the hydroboost. when you last drove it ,how was the braking on it? I'm thinking of doing the same. post-259-0-61935100-1474727657_thumb.jpg

Hey James,

If you're talking about the hydroboost in my car above, it seemed to work good. I only drove it a little before tearing into it (no plates, registration, snow & salt everywhere at the time). Little different than a regular booster, but the same as driving my truck I guess, GMC 2500HD. The cam that's in the motor presently is a little lopey, makes about 10-11 inHg  vacuum at idle, figure that's why the previous owner converted it. If I put the LS6 454 in the car, I may go back as the stock solid lifter cam makes enough vacuum to work with the original style booster, at least it worked fine when I had that motor in my old Monte years ago. Then again, it's already there...

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Did some polishing to the faded blue paint, new plug wires and fixed all the burned out lights, this ole faded beast wants to be on the road. Everything I touch has been an easy fix. 

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Thanks Rob, I have alittle more time than I have had in the past. So I do get some more done, and I finally figured out after about 5 times catching, and watching my son so he can show me how to put pics up.

Yes hope to see everyone in June.

 

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MY CAR IS REGISTERED AND LEGAL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 28 YEARS!!!!!   :grin::grin:

I've done so much work in the last three years updating so many things, custom stuff, suspension, serpentine drive, brakes, EFI, fuel system, electrical, interior....... It's all been worth it!

I had a blast ripping around my neighborhood, it's been a great day.

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2 minutes ago, cny first gen 71 said:

Congrats Paul, great feeling eh? First day out did you have to get the tool box opened or did it make it through the day?

It did feel good, 600HP good! I'm pleasantly surprised the Select Performance T400 transmission is working perfectly after being in un-heated/cooled storage for decades.

Well, truth be told, there was a few "issues" in the first hour (all fixed or band-aided for the moment):

1: I switched to an electric vacuum pump and the cap I put on the now unused engine nipple came off.

2; I didn't know I popped a fuse that powers a few relays under the hood which prevented the fans from coming on. Checking the fuse was like the fifth thing I checked to fix this. 🙄

3: My pride and joy dummy battery I converted to a coolant overflow tank popped it's top!! 😟 I'll stick a generic jug in it's place until I plan it's future.

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As of tonight, my Air Conditioning is completely done with the exception of taking it to a friend to do a vacuum check and recharge the system.  Tonight I rechecked all the line connections and wired the POA Valve pressure switch.  Below are some pictures of the rebuilt compressor with the new lines attached, the new Drier/receiver, the new expansion valve and the new POA Valve and pressure switch.

rob

Compressor with new lines installed.jpg

New Drier Reciever Installed.jpg

New Expansion Valve.jpg

New POA Valve.jpg

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Got the ole 71 SS cleaned up as best as I could over this long weekend.  Brakes are good, lights all work. Now just get the paperwork signed over so I can drive the crusty beast 

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After more than 25 years not driving it, I'm catching up by doing some cruising around eastern Long Island today. I also went to visit B&B Machine in Oceanside. Glen has been great helping me with some of the custom doo-dads, caliper plates, spacers, serpentine drive, etc.

Of course, B&B was out racing today. 🙄

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