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colonel

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Everything posted by colonel

  1. Thanks guys. Last October I decided to check how Rockauto got the cars they put on the magnets and it was as easy as sending in some appropriate pics so I did. Got an email from them mid August saying my Monte had been selected, which I was rather happy to hear, and a few weeks later they arrived. I would have thought there were some other members that had been selected by now. You do have to send in the pics as they don't send people out to car shows to find the cars and I'm pretty sure they want to see you have purchased at least some parts from them for your Monte. There are certainly many cars in this group that are worthy of being on one of their magnets.
  2. Received this last week. How many others do we have in this group?
  3. Just to put it out there, ya know, to help with your decision and all. Sandy and April get along pretty well, with our without wine in their hands, so you know she would have a good life out here if you choose the car. 😉 Really amazing find. The car that is. Well april too!!! Ahh geez I better stop before I get into more trouble with Sandy!!!! Hoping to see the car in May.🤞 Well April too!! There I go again.
  4. Definately a keeper. Good work with the video too. Steady hand and framed well. Why make the car go away if you would like the option of buying it back at a higher price?? Oh well. In the hands of a person that will do a good job of cleaning it up, sorting out problems and getting it to the next worthy owner.
  5. Looks pretty good Aaron, although it does appear to be missing the lighter😉😒🙄. Package tray looks really good. No waters stains from what I can see. No undercoat it appears but who needs that if you only drive it 200 miles a year right? Quite the find sir! Curious what the blue wire from the battery to the Relay on the firewall is about? Do 72's have round dome lights?? What shape are the original tires in? Tread seems good but I would expect the sidewalls to have cracks. Definitely a good idea to change them up.
  6. Was this a local car? Can't be too many originals left out there but you found one.
  7. Can't seem to find that email Aaron. Has something changed? Sandy seems to have been able to get those dates off now so she can come. Pretty sure the car isn't going to be done in time.
  8. Thanks Aaron. We will do what we can to attend wherever and whenever it happens. A much as I'd like to debut the new Monte at the western meet in Montana, the body shop progress is not going well so may not get it back in time to have it together to drive there. It's been there 4 months and less than half done. They just started on the driver's side. Thanks for the update. I'll keep the room booked until we know for sure what the plan ends up being.
  9. Finally made it back to the garage today. Lower frame rail in trans cross member mounting area is 50 7/8 all the way along. No visible twists bends or other damage I can see that would make my mounting holes 54 1/4 instead of 53 5/8. The entire drive train was in a different 70 Monte and it all got swapped over when I got the 70 I have now. It had the original trans cross member and I was able to get the rubber and metal clamp system in this cars frame so that is what I was using for the 4l60 and it worked great. The other car I had to drill a hole in the frame and the cross member and just mounted it directly to the frame. Couldn't seem to get it to fit in the other car but went in easy on this car. Checked this cars body mounts and they look great. Almost think that had been changed in the past as you can read Chevrolet in raised letters on them. Somehow I doubt that was the way it came from the factory. Will get the tunnel cleaned up and clearanced tomm then test fit things again once I get my trans pan back from having a temp bung welded in. Once the tunnel is where I need it I can size things up for the mods to the cross member and get that going.
  10. I can see those differences now that you mention it. I was so focused on the height issue I didn't see the angle and mounting tab differences. With the 4l80 you definitely need the increased angle the RCAE-4 gives you. When I first found this cross member issue I debated about just making a custom one but couldn't do that without having the trans fitted properly and having the headers attached, which needed some mods anyway, and towing it back and forth to a shop so started looking for premade ones. Didn't do as much research as you but with my distances between frame rails off, which I will look into when I get back there tomorrow, I would be customizing one anyway. At least when I get the tunnel mods done I can measure things up to widen the exhaust areas, raise the trans mount tab to minimize the gap and do it without removing the car from the garage. I can also see how the shifter is going to be affected by raising the tunnel to clear the tailstock so will be mindful of that when I get to that tomorrow. Your experience has been a great help. Thanks.
  11. Got the g force cross member Monday and test fit it. The mounting holes are exactly 53 5/8 on center. My frame holes are 54 1/4 so I can bolt one side in and see the edge of the cross member support tab through the holes on the other side. Missed it by that much! I ordered the one for the 4l80 and the mounting tabs are higher than the one for the 700r4/4l60 which dramatically lowers it. I still have almost and inch of space between the bracket and cross member with the 1 5/16 mount in there and I still need to move the trans up in the tunnel. If the pictures on their site are correct it would seem the RCAE one would work better than the RCAE-4 for the 4l80 trans. I picked up a 2 inch energy suspension mount and will look into modifying this cross member. It mounts in the 2nd and 3rd holes from the back and is angled back from there to support the trans. If I widen the exhaust areas and narrow the trans mounting area I might have enough room to work with to keep the x pipe exhaust system. Once I finish clearancing the tunnel and get the trans positioned at the right angle I'll have a better idea how much space I have between the cross member and the mount. Extending the exhaust areas will raise it a bit but if I need more I'll move the mounting tabs down to raise it up and minimize the spacers. Widening the exhaust areas will also allow me to create a 54 1/4 distance I need between the mounting tab holes. What is the center to center distance between your mounting holes in the frame rails? If it isn't 53 5/8 I wonder where they come up with that number?
  12. Thanks for posting them. Those articles are very helpfull. Shame I am going to loose the x pipe. Might loose it even if I use the original cross member becasue it is so far back. That Chevelle tunnel seems to provide them a bit more clearance to get the 3 degree angle. Mine is at 5 and hitting the speed sensor to do that. Don't have to get it back to 3 as I'm using EFI and can easily adjust my diff angle as I have adjustable uppers on it. They seem to be able to use the factory shifter cable as well. Mine seems reluctant to bend that much and avoid the speed sensor. Maybe lifting trans will help. Have you tried that 32 inch Shiftworks cable yet for fitment?
  13. Holy smoke! Did this response up this morning but didn't hit submit before getting distracted and forgetting. Was looking forward to a reply but can't get one if ya don't send it silly! I contacted the folks that make the banjo fittings and have determined I do have the 1/4" ones so will order them up....likely get 2, just in case. I searched for Banjo fittings but didn't seem to be getting anywhere but also didn't search ebay specifically. I think Banjo fittings will be the best option so will order a set of those vs cutting and tapping the regular fitting to install an elbow. I was worried they were just going to be the regular fitting but the fact they made them with the extended part for the rear one is fantastic. I have the fittings spread apart so they should be the 1/4 NPSM fittings. Shame it may take up to a month to get to me according to them but extremely gratefull that they make them so I'll live with it. I am installing a TCI 6X behind a Mark 4 BBC. Supposedly the TCI 6X is the same case as the 4l80 but don't have one to check measurements myself. My measurements come from the 4l60 I removed where the rear mount is 22 1/2" back from the face of the trans and the mount on the TCI 6X I'm installing is 30 3/8". For confirmation sake give yours a measure and let us know what you find. I started this because I thought these trans were not that different and should be an easy swap but that extra length is a complicating factor. On the TCI website, among others, the mount position is only 26" but that is wrong. The mount is at the back of the tailshaft not the back of the body so the body and mount numbers are reversed. Spoke with TCI tech and got him to measure it with his Mgr and they came up with 31" (?) and will supposedly change it on their site. I only had 4 1/4" left to move the rubber and metal cap system to the rear bolt holes so even removing that system and mounting it to the frame directly still wouldn't have been enough so started looking for solutions and came up with the G force one. Found it on Summit and they had it in stock so got it ordered. The TCI one they make wasn't even made. They still said it would take 3 weeks to make it and get it sent out so I'm happy and hopefull the G force one was available right now and as I'm crossing my fingers, will fit right. I looked into the cable idea too late to get the shiftworks cable added to the G force order but that looks like a best solution to being able to continue to use the factory horseshoe shifter. I already have it converted over to work a 4 speed so just need the 32" cable. That factory cable just won't bend enough to get around the speed sensor and line up to mount the bracket correctly. I almost think a shorter one would work better but don't want to buy the factory length 30", the 29" for the Corvette or the 27" cable and have them be too short so will go with the longer and decide later if I could have gone with a shorter one. The 32" one is the one Shiftworks says works best to get around the speed sensor for a 4l80 install. I was hoping to modify the floor for the tailstock and not affect the shifter. Perhaps if I do it with it in place it will keep the mounting points the same while letting the floor move to clear the trans. Will do the check twice, or several times, before getting into that. The sensor and cooler lines shouldn't be a problem to move as there is nothing supported by it.
  14. Nice job with the cross member mods. I looked at mine and figured it would require tubing mods as I didn't have room to move it 8 inches back from where it was for my 4l60. Hopefully the g force one will work properly. Do you have any info on what mods you did to make your 4l85 fit the tunnel? I'm looking at making an fittings with elbows to connect an trans cooling lines. Might have to make some dimples in the tunnel for them still. Have definite issues with the speed sensor connection. Trans is at 5° so tough to leave it at that angle. Without adding some height where the tail shaft mounts to the body of the teams, I will only gain 3/8 of an inch until that part hits the tunnel. What have you found in your installation effort?
  15. I should have searched this out before but I just bought a trans crossmember from G- Force to fit my TCI 6X conversion ( 4l80 ). Should be here 1/20 so will provide info here if it works or not.
  16. colonel

    BB Headers

    ARH said they only guarantee the fit on stock heads only. Tried to see from pictures submitted if my aluminum heads that have 3/8 inch raised exhaust ports would pose a problem. Pics on page 2 that show them in the car are 1 7/8" and I would get 2" but looks like only areas to be concerned with are rear A arm area on p side for first and second tube and tube steering shaft on drivers side. Anyone have fitment info for raised exhaust port and 2" primaries?
  17. Well I contacted Optima and after a few emails back and forth the official response was not something they have seen before thus are not concerned about it. There are some hits when you search Optima battery leak and one I found had the same problem but was on a red top version. They did offer me a 20% discount on a new one ordered from their website but they don't deliver them to Canada so can't take advantage of that if I even wanted to. I do have the discount code though so if anyone in the states want to order a battery through their website contact me and I can provide the code.
  18. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IvOZPDkcYpqZ0FNuDYwCVZCvsv509n7f/view?usp=drivesdk I have had this yellow top battery for about 6 years. Just recently I bought a fancy aluminum top for it before going to the First Generation Monte Carlo Meet in Penticton in June. On the trip I drove trough about 8 hours of rain and found some damage to the top of it when I got there when I got to cleaning the car for the show. Couldn't understand why but there it was and I coudn't do anything about it so satisfied myself with rinsing the area with extra water. Next day I put my trickle charger on it and set the black plastic cap I have covering the negative top post terminal on top of the aluminum cover. When I went to remove the charger and put the cap back on I found another ring of damage from the cap. Scratching of the head again, rinsed the area and didn't set the cap on the cover again so no more damage noticed. I thought these batteries were dry for some reason but their claim to fame it that they are sealed as there is acid/water in them but they just can't be filled or leak. Had further car issues once I was home so didn't drive it again until I got some things checked out then cleaned up the car for a local car show of a fellow FGMCC member July 13. When I did I found even more stuff going on down there so doused the area with baking soda water and rinsed and dried the area throughly and drove off to the car show. Noticed some other white spots below the battery once I got there so wiped that up and made a point of digging into this when I got home. Pulled off the black cap that covers the negative terminal and got some liquid on my finger that stung so I instantly realized there was an acid leak that somehow got under the cap. Backed the car out of the garage and did the baking soda thing again and took a very close look at that terminal and you see what I found in the video. Pulled the car back in the garage and pulled out the battery and set it on some wood. Those top post terminals have either had the plastic caps on them or the clamps for the trickle charger so don't see how anything could have damaged the post. Totally bizarre to me. What you think?
  19. Cameron from Reno has offered to transport the new rad so it has been ordered and should get to his home early next week. Thanks all. I am really looking forward to this meet that I want to leave tomm............given my history I may need the extra time to get there but with the rad on the way I am minimizing my chances of issues. Yeahh! Also making Sandy a bit more comfortable about the trip. Me too I guess. See y'all soon EH!
  20. Well I haven't really explained the whole situation to her until now but she trusts my judgement. I am confident in it's mechanical condition but can't forsee these odd issues so am wlling to take the chance. I am sure the factory 3 core will work fine unless it gets, and stays in the high 20 - 30's. Right now the 14 day outlook says it will get into the mid to high 20's on the 19th but cool off to single digits at night so that should be OK. It was those mid - high 30's with night temps staying around 20 that caused the problems in the past. I would still like to have an aluminum rad in there anyways so is there anyone with room for a new rad that can bring one up when they come?? I would order and ship to your location so all you need is the willingness to bring it with you and the room to do it of course.
  21. OK. Either my luck is changing and my mysterious Monte issues are happening before the meet so I can fix them at home or it isn't changing and there are more to come. Latest issue is leaking aluminum rad. Can't locate the leak as it only seems to leak when its warm. It has been pressured up for 2 days and not a single a drip. There are a couple rub marks on the pass side tank at the bottom but no leaks there. Noticed the tubes get more and more crowned as you go up the rad. Not sure how that happened but I suspect when it gets hot it twists or twearks in such a way it opens somewhere and leaks until it cools down. Got the factory rad in there again and it seems to keep things cool but it is only 18C and Penticton was 35C last time so the possibility of issues is increasing. It's $100 to get an estimate on a repair if they even can repair it and there is no availablity here for the correct replacement. Ordering one from the US to get here in time for the meet would add $150 US to the $240 - $340 US price. Here we go again.
  22. With another winter of mysterious issues with the Monte behind me..........again, and one minor issue since I got it running again this spring I am confident enough to make a bold prediction. I will not get the hard luck award or even be in the running this year. I am certain it will be smooth sailing at this years event for my car. Looking forward to it more everyday.
  23. Is the record still at the 25 cars we had there in 2017?
  24. Very nice shot of the valley Aaron. Such a picturesque place. Looking forward to it more each time I check on this. Darren, I wonder if a 72 Monte got #72. That would be kind of neat for the 3 of us to be side by side in the show. You don't have that car you had at the last show anymore? The all original one except for 1 fan belt and the tires?
  25. Got confirmation email yesterday and I have the same car number as the last show here. #70. Anybody else get the same number?
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