Paul Bell

NOS fenders, bumper rubber and two grills????? GOOD LUCK!! BRING IT ALL HOME!!

Welcome Damon! I suggest you consider a Holley or Fitech EFI unit instead of a carburetor. The only down side is upgrading the fuel system. But in the long run, it'll run better in all conditions than any carb ever will. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sne-550-516/overview/ https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fif-30002/overview/ https://www.summitracing.com/parts/aei-18102/overview/

Good point Kevin. Michael, if this is the original numbers matching block that came with your SS, make sure your machinist doesn't deck the block which would wipe away the stamped numbers. They're here:

Michael, it should take a decent shop about three hours to remove an engine from a car like this. Decent shop meaning it's a real shop, not some weekend warriors working in their garage on their backs with jacks after their real jobs. Decent shop meaning they have lift(s), experienced mechanics, proper tools, insurance, etc. In my area, most shops get $100 per hour. Shop around for this decent shop, chat with them what you want to do and discuss the time and cost for removal and re-installation. Ask what engine shop they recommend. If they all say one particular shop, it's probably for good reason. Find out how the car is stored while the engine work is being done, they may have storage fees. Re-installation might be a little longer, you'll probably need new motor mounts and a few other things like torque converter bolts. exhaust manifold bolts, radiator flush and coolant, etc. Your engine needs a full rebuild. This means dissasembly, hot tank the block & heads, all new bearings (including camshaft bearings), new timing chain set, full gasket set, new oil pump (you said there was junk in the oil-it gets into the pump & even one scratch and it's done), hone the cylinders and new piston rings. If the cylinders are scored you may need a slight overbore and new pistons. Heads get dissasembled, valve runout checked and fixed if needed, new stem seals and new valve springs. Connecting rods get checked for roundness. Far better connecting rods can be had for a mere $600.00 (never Eagle). I would HIGHLY recommend a modern roller camshaft and roller lifters. Nothing crazy needed. There are reasonable kits that include cam, lifters, valve springs and timing chain set. Adding a decent set of roller rockers will round out the job. I would also recommend a new flexplate, harmonic balancer and having the rebuilder balance the rotating assembly. If the shop has a run stand (or even an engine dyno), go for it. You'd really hate to install the engine THEN find out something went wrong. The rebuilder will stand behind the engine but not cover any R&R charges. This will give you a very nicely running freshly built engine. With this information about your engine needs, get a quote from a local engine rebuilder. Do NOT use a repair shop that can pull an engine, find an actual engine shop.

Hey Keith, for sure that's an aftermarket cruise control system. As you removed the switch, it has no way of working-and even working, it shouldn't be trusted anyway. Yank that garbage out. I can't imagine anybody wanting it, there are far better aftermarket systems available today.

There's a plate that replaces the one that holds the accelerator rod in place, it has the mount for the switch. Then there's a harness that goes through a hole in the firewall, you find the correct dimple and make the hole. The plate, switch and original style harness are all available in the aftermarket. Muddying up the harness installation is the TCS stuff, if you still have it. Following KISS rules, just send power from the fuse block IGN terminal to one terminal on the switch and a wire from the other switch terminal to the transmission. Assuming you have a floor console shifter, just sneak the wire under the carpet into the console then through the shifter cable grommet down to the transmission terminal port. Adjusting the switch: It should close (send power to the transmission) when the gas pedal is about halfway down.

My much ballyhooed Chevrolet 077 L88/ZL1 Winters Foundry Snowflake heads. Washed, glass beaded, guides checked, new seals, springs blueprinted, titanium retainers, John Lingenfelter ported, they plus the Dart intake go on Ebay tonight. They should get enough to fund most of my rebuild.

Jared, I'm jealous you found that beer. I love bock beer!

Yeah, I knew about that one on the side of the blower but the one I found was a surprise. My fenders are on so.... Your restoration is pretty awesome, thanks for letting us all follow along.

After flushing and cleaning the evaporator core, installing a new expansion valve and spending an hour cleaning the box and firewall, I closed up the A/C box sealing it with some new caulking. It's 134a ready! While I had it all apart I discovered a VIN sequence stamped on the firewall, it was covered by the bottom of the A/C box. I never heard of it being here.

It's a Chevelle page/group and there seems to be more interest in the Monte. If it has the original engine, it could be worth more than "yet another" cloned Chevelle with a non-numbers matching engine.

There's quite a few conversations over at the Chevelles forum about converting to 134a. The general consensus, including from a few A/C savvy people, is that the parallel flow condenser and Sandon rotary compressor are improvements over the original equipment when converting to 134a refrigerant. 134a is not as efficient as R12 is so 134a systems are designed to have higher capacity components. Old Air offers an upgrade for the A6 compressors used on our cars with higher capacity: https://www.oldairproducts.com/product/21-2201hp-compressor-pro6ten-high-pressure-single-groove

Here's the stretchy rubber caulking tape without getting ripped off. 30 inches is more than needed. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tacky-Tape-A-C-Insulating-Tape-Dum-Dum-Tape-30/163668155203?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

It's my understanding that a modern Sanden compressor is way better for 134a. They make kits that allow one to mount within the original brackets on your engine. The SD7 has seven pistons and are excellent. https://www.originalair.com/gm-compressor-upgrades

Sendo, the evaporators available for our cars (including the one you linked to) are identical to the original design. It has one tank on each side and the refrigerant goes from one side to the other once. I believe even modern A/C systems have evaporators like this. As I have the engine out of my car, I removed the evaporator and poured a quart of A/C flush in it and swished it around a while, then I blew air through it until it was dry. Then I installed a new ACDelco expansion valve (15-5774) and used some of that stretchy A/C rubber caulking to re-seal the top tube around the valve sense bulb. It's the condenser that needs to be changed when going to 134a. The original condenser is pretty much one tube that keeps going to the other side, they call it "serpentine". It's very inefficient, more so with 134a. For 134a, you need a parallel flow style condenser. There are universal units by size in the aftermarket but have no mounting provisions and the fittings are never where they're needed. Classic Auto Air offers a "direct fit" parallel flow condenser, it's costly at $290.00. It's full width like the original and I'm sure it bolts right up and no holes need to be made for the fittings. https://www.ebay.com/itm/70-72-CHEVELLE-MONTE-CARLO-A-C-CONDENSER-PARALLEL-FLOW-Air-Conditioning-AC-134a/400870184701