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72RustBucket

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Posts posted by 72RustBucket

  1. I know I'm not the most active member, and I haven't been able to make it to any of the meets. So I don't expect anybody to notice my absence, but I feel like getting some things off my chest to some who may be of a similar mindset.

    December 20th, 2022 My grandfather(also shop owner, mentor) was struck and killed in a hit and run while waiting to cross the highway to get his mail. Investigations are technically still open but we will most likely never get any solid answers. While we were able to have a service, nobody was able to say any form of goodbye or see him one last time.

    Obviously this has hit everybody hard, particularly my grandmother. So I've been spending a lot of my free time helping take care of the property, house, shop now that grandpa is gone. It is a lot more work than I ever thought! I also recently bought a house, and just got married this last year, so I have been busy with that as well. Sadly the Monte gets neglected for the most part, but at least its protected indoors. I see it every time I'm in the shop, and I've gone with intent to work on it...but without that knowledgeable second opinion on hand...its just hard to commit.

    We were getting ready to clearance the block, and put together my rotating assembly after the holidays. Ive got my entire engine here in boxes. I know how to put an engine together, but I've never done it myself. I got lucky and one of the older machine shops in town used to trade work with my grandfather when he had his own machine shop up and running. They offered to clearance and assembly my rotating assembly for a price I couldn't refuse. So I have everything at my cousins shop now...I should have the engine wrapped by spring time, but who knows what life will throw my way next.

    Thanks for letting me vent everyone, Ill update with actual fun car stuff when I can :)

    -

    Tom

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  2. I just got done dealing with this. I am no expert so take everything with a grain of salt. I had AMD outer wheel well and amd quarter, same side of the car. I was initially having the same problem. Do you have the wheel well welded in yet? If you can still move things around it obviously helps a lot. How is the quarter hanging? Do all body lines match up etc? Part of my problem was the quarter wasn't quite hanging right. One of my other issues was not prepping between removing my old and installing my new good enough. Small burs or bends/imperfections along the mating surfaces etc can really make it difficult to slide the pieces into the place they need to be. I had some junking near the rocker panels where the front of the wheel well slides into. I basically couldnt rotate the wheel well counter clockwise enough, which because of the shape of the wheel arch threw everything off enough to not match up. That being said, there WILL be a small gap in some places along the wheel well/quarter lip. There well also be places where it meets up 100%. Take your time, check everything a bunch of times. I probably hung and rehung my quarter several dozen times...

    • Like 1
  3. I thought it was rather high for a stall speed as well, but he told me that was just his recommendation and that I should talk to a company direct with all my specs of course. I have an external tranny cooler, so I'm not terribly worried about that. I will also have a lockup converter.  I'm probably going to call a few places, but I was just looking for opinions or places to avoid. My guy basically told me to try and avoid any "off the shelf" stuff and to try and spend the money on a good converter, which I am ok with. I've heard great things about PTC and Yank the most across a few boards.

    • Like 2
  4. Hey guys, I'm still stocking up on parts, I have my cam on its way and my heads being worked on and am shopping around for a torque converter. Just wondering what your opinions on different brands to look at or avoid. It's mostly going to be a street car, but i will probably take it to the track once a year or so for fun. Will probably be scratching 500 hp, bolted to a 700r4. The guy working on my heads and cam recommended a stall of around 3600.

  5. 3 hours ago, jft69z said:

    Basically you want the frame to be like it was sitting on the tires, so it's stressed like it would be on the ground. I can see how much a frame sags when raising the lift, especially with an engine in there & no fenders to tie it together. You'd be surprised how much those frames flex. If those quarters are off right from the start because of that, you're basically screwed because everything forward of that is based on those quarters being correct.

    Thank you! That is the main reason for the post. I don't want to put any welds on until i know it is exactly where i want it. I dont even want to use any sheet metal screws until i know i can basically get it where  it is supposed to be with clamps.

    2 hours ago, Rancid87 said:

    I keep the wheels/tires on while fitting body panels and I make sure to align the fenders and install the hood and trunk lid before I finalize anything.  It looks pretty good though for just being mocked up. Not sure if you replaced body mount bushings yet but I'd make sure to replace those now. If you are looking for dime gaps adding material to the door edge would be the way to go.

    The body mounts are all new. I'll be putting the wheels and tires on soon to see if that changes anything. I have the trunk lid half installed. I'm an idiot an didnt properly install it before removing the old quarter, so it is on, but it isnt shimmed or  tightened or positioned, but it still works to show how things can/will line up. The fenders need to be reworked, so that is why they are barely secured...i i figured its the best place for them until i rework them. I haven't put the hood on because the engine will be swapped again but the end weight shouldnt change too much. Ill get some more pics up after i get it back under its own weight.

  6. 6 hours ago, Dtret said:

    I am NOT a body man but if the door and fender are not set how are you checking for panel gaps?  Also agree with Joe on the lifting positions but with the dirt floor I wouldn’t use jack stands either ( they sink and through frame positions off. I would opt for 2 ft long 6x6 or 8x8 wood cribbing and then shim it to a level position. If the frame isn’t straight nothing will be. 

    Well the fenders should be ignored for the moment. They are literally just hanging there, mostly unsecured so they will be out of my way.

    7 hours ago, jft69z said:

    I'd put jack stands under the front and rear wheel locations instead of where you have them. Even though it's a full frame car, it'll still flex/sag and cause possible panel alignment problems. I see it on the lift all the time with car/trucks, sometimes to the point the doors won't open properly. Without door strikers, front fenders/inner wheel house tightened down completely, or panels welded in, it compounds problems.

    Whenever I hang sheetmetal, I'll make sure to put the stands under the front lower control arms near the ball joints, and at the rear axle tubes. If there's no front suspension at the time, I'll still support it where the wheel centerlines would be located.

    Will do. I was getting mixed results on where to support the car, using suspension makes sense because thats how you will be seeing the car i guess. I have the wheels off for some cleaning/ polishing and possibly new tires, but work etc has gotten away from me and i havent gotten around to finishing them up. The car was leveled when put on the blocks.

    7 hours ago, jft69z said:

    Not to be a dick, but cinder blocks aren't typically considered safe to lift vehicles. That being said, some bargain offshore jack stands aren't safe either, as I seem to remember there was a recall or warning about some of them not too long ago. Just hate to see someone get hurt if they crumbled and crushed you or some body parts (human parts that is, metal can be fixed).

    Not being a dick at all! If it makes you feel any better, i don't really get under it at all in its current state. Also, the blocks are actually BECAUSE of that recall! I had a set from harbor and stopped using them due to the recall, and im not sure how much i trust the old set we have around, so blocks seemed like a save alternative for the time being.

  7. Hey everyone! It's been awhile, working a lot of overtime so not much headway on the monte except stacking new parts lol. I'm working on installing new drivers quarter panel and outer wheel well. I have the well tacked in, apparently in the exact spot it should be according to my lines and measurements. Been fiddling with the new quarter and I think I've got it as good as it will get. All the gaps along the trunk, tail light extensions, rear window, well lip, rocker panel are good. They are all straight, even, and match the other side which is still factory. 

    The gap between the quarter and door however is larger than it should be. It's not a ton but enough to notice. I'll get pics up when I'm at the shop tomorrow. The doors were removed to replace hinge pins but the hinges were never moved so there shouldn't be an issue with the doors

    Any advice? There really doesn't seem like there is any more that I can push the panel forward without possibly damaging/warping it, and it doesn't appear like anything is catching. I'm thinking I may need to weld a bead on the new quarter to make the gap look better. I know this is fairly common but I wasn't sure if anyone else had a similar issue with AMD full quarters.

  8. Welcome Pierce!

    I guess I am not sure exactly what information you are looking for, but as far as reference material, any type of LS swap videos for a chevelle should help as they are fairly similar.

    I know you will need special motor mounts (lots of aftermarket choices), and some type of controller. You can use the one from the escalade if you are just straight swapping it, but it you are building the engine you will want it tuned. You can also use an aftermarket controller which can be somewhat expensive, give you a lot of options.

  9. Wondering if its possible to buy new vacuum tubes for the ac controls? I'm not planning on air real soon, but was just curious. Either I can't find them or I don't know what to search for. 

    Thanks for the help,

    Tom

  10. That's basically what I'm unsure of. Id rather be too conservative than too aggressive, mostly because I still have other parts etc to buy that are required/recommended when adding more power (better brakes, rear control arms etc.)

  11. 1 hour ago, MC1of80 said:

    For power and reliability I would look into the GM crate engine, trans, harness, computer combo. Very hard to beat in price when you consider all the components separately. 

    Probably the best advice if you don't plan on doing a majority of the work, especially because it comes with a warranty. As for the dash and instrument cluster, there are a variety of conversion kits to swap out the gauges but I personally plan on going with Dakota Digital, I think some of the other members already have them.

    Welcome!

  12. Hello everyone! I'm getting the rest of my parts in and need to decide on a cam and complimentary valvetrain.  I already have one in mind, but being my first build, I'm open to suggestions/criticism. 

    Engine is a 95 lt1. Bored .30 over, block is decked. Scat rotating assembly with cast steel crank, high silicon forged flat top pistons.

    Stock aluminum lt1 heads. Valve job, mild porting, lightly milled.

    Converted to carb, using edelbrock rpm air gap dual plane, 750 cfm 4bbl vacuum secondaries e85 carb.

    Full msd ignition. Billet distributor, coil, box, wires

    Current cam I'm looking at 

    https://www.lunatipower.com/voodoo-hydraulic-roller-cam-lt1-lt4-270-278.html

    I will most likely buy the cam kit, unless different springs etc are recommended. I'm undecided on 1.6 rockers for a bit more lift.

    Automatic trans (th350) , 4.10 gears. Compression is high, going to run e85. No aftermarket converter at the moment. 

    Car is going to be mostly street with a few buzzes down the track a couple nights a year. Mostly don't want to get embarrassed at lights very easily lol.

    Also before anyone asks WHY LT1? I have a lot of lt1 parts lying around, got an insane deal on the block, and I like being different 😎

     

    Ps-i will most likely do some upgrades after the rest of the car is put together. 

    Afr 195 heads, maybe efi, move to 4l60e

  13. 2 hours ago, Blackhawk said:

    The Aeromotive universal fuel regulator is set up the same way. https://aeromotiveinc.com/product/universal-bypass-regulator/

     

    I ended up running a 3/8" lines for both supply and return to make sure that the pressure can properly regulate. It doesn't look like Holley lists the limits of the regulators, but I believe that people have had issues running a bigger pump than a regulator can handle.

    Thank you. I saw this one too. I think maybe I will give them a call to get limit specs. Make sure they will guarantee their product. May be a good opportunity to ask about possible issues with fuel line size. I'm running a 10an feed and return line. I want to make sure reducing for regulator doesn't cause problems. 

  14. I was just curious if anyone has any recommendations for a fuel pressure regulator? 

    I'll be installing an in tank fuel pump, both for future efi, and the fact that my block can't accept a mechanical lol.

    I'm looking for a bypass type, and will be using a carburetor .

    I was looking at a holley unit that is adjustable and comes with 2 springs for either carb or efi. Some of the reviews are saying it couldn't keep the pressure down. I'm guessing some of those reviews may have other issues ie too small return line etc. 

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