MGD72Monte

Yep, paint respirator type mask actually and ear defenders - the grinder gets loud after a couple of hours and they also do a good job at keeping the dirt out of your ears . I was thinking of those rotisseries also, although I don't know how comfortable I would feel about tilting the car that much with engine and tranny in it .

Thanks for the feedback guys, I know I can always count on someone from this great site to relate to what I am talking about. Mark, I was somewhat like the pic you posted except lying on the floor vice a creeper and covered from head to toe with dirt like I just spent a shift working in a coal mine, oh yea and with a subtle look of pain on my face

Not sure what engine you have but if its a 350, a low rise spread bore intake of the type shown above will work fine. For carb, I have a Holley 600cfm model 4160 list number 1850 manual choke four barrel vacuum secondaries. This set up will work with stock and slightly above stock cams. Good luck with your decision.

As part of the rear end improvement I am working on, I took virtually everything from the undercarriage (aft of the tranny) out and am cleaning the frame and floor pan with wire brush (with my Makita grinder). As I was laying on my back with about a foot of clearance, my arms killing me, wire brushing away in a cloud of rust dust for the second day in a row, I was thinking to myself that in my next life I will restore a car by taking it all apart and having the frame and body sandblasted instead . I had the same thoughts as I spent an hour scrubbing the dirt, oil and tar off myself earlier this evening. I'd post some pics about the work but there's not much to see just yet. I'll try to post something in a few days. Why did I do it this way? Many reasons. At any rate, I just thought I would share my thoughts for those who can relate and say that I still love this hobby even though at times ... Thanks for reading.

I've always wanted to ask this. Does anyone know why the manuals say not to jack a car by the differential if it has a rear sway bar? I can't see the difference if you are actually lifting by the diff housing. Is it because someone not paying attention might accidently place the jack pad under the sway bar and bend it?

Thanks for the research Mark, reading the description of each valve it seems that the 70 valve acts only as a proportioning valve while the 71/72 is a combination valve acting as a proportioning and metering valve which is likely why the 70s need the added step off valve.

I painted mine before pressing in the bushings and ball joints. Here is a link to my front end overhaul showing the sequence Linky I replaced the steering linkage also and I am pretty sure that it came out of the factory unpainted. I, however, decided to paint mine black. If you want a stock look without the rust, you can paint it gray. Good luck

Well that's interesting. Like I said, I saw no such thing when I took my system apart but you guys got me curious to examine further because I know my lines were not all original, so I cracked open the 72 Chevelle, El Camino, Monte Carlo Factory Assembly manual and I don't see this anywhere. P. 174 Section 5F Sheet 5 - Rear Brake Pipes is where I would expect to see this but it only shows the items I took off my car. I'm thinking this was not a 72 item.

I just disassembled my rear brake lines and saw no part which could be considered as a step off or any other type of valve in that area. Any pics? Basically I have the main line which comes from the proportioning valve at the front, then connects to a brake hose which has two other connections, one for the line going to the right rear and one going to the left rear brakes. I would recommend looking for a proportioning valve somewhere up front, plenty of fluid in the master cylinder, good condition of lines and adjust the rear brakes. Good luck

I used the same kit as Bill. Here is my album of the removal and install with notes. <AC DELETE KIT INSTALL LINK> As mentioned above, this leaves you with a fully functioning heating system. Good luck

Continued the rear end overhaul and as part of the anticipated snowball effect I removed the fuel tank vent line which was rotted out in two places.

My daily driver has been doing this when I turn left a little quickly and the oil level is a little low, reminding me to add a bit. I have both an idiot light as well as a mechanical gauge and both react to this. This has been happening for at least 15 years so I would not lose any sleep over this.

That is a great looking interior and floor! I have an uncle that could probably use a similar mod but I think in his case you can only move the seat so far back, once the girth exceeds the reach of the arms, it's game over or at least it becomes more of an engineering challenge. A possible option is to change the angle of the steering wheel to have it sit more parallel to the ground, sort of like some old trucks or buses then have it sit higher, and then select a larger diameter steering wheel to solve the reach issues, I'm not sure about the pedal reach in that scenario though. Hopefully your solution works and doesn't force too much in terms of redesign. Looking forward to pics.

Thanks Mark, When my car had some restoration work done in a shop years ago it had the same layer of dust behind the instrument panel lens issue so I know sand can be a problem. In the past used a sandblaster on many individual pieces and I like it because it does a much better job than wire brushing. In this case I will make sure to triple tape the seal areas and vent tube. On the backing plate pads, thanks for the extra info. I wondered how perfect they had to be. Some of the bottom ones have some groves I think need to be touched up, not sure if they would cause binding yet, but since I'm in there I'll see what I can get my hands on (i.e. MIG or brazing).

I used a gloss black rust paint. Easier to keep clean and the gloss does fade over time.

Thanks guys. Steve, this might sound odd, but I actually did not think about leaving is assembled for the initial clean and sandblast , I suppose I'm used to thinking complete overhaul, taking everything apart then cleaning, painting and reassembling. I guess sometimes it takes someone with an external perspective to point out that there is an easier way. Before I disassemble any further, I'll start cleaning and then get my hands on the auto club sandblaster to see how sandblasting it as a complete unit goes. If that works well, I will then only remove the axles so I can refurbish the backing plates, change the seals and reassemble. I'll keep you guys posted.

It sounds normal, as mentioned above condensation forms until the system warms up. That's what rots your exhaust from the inside out if you do a lot of short trips. If you think about it, a coolant leak would have to be pretty focused to somehow slip in the exaust pipes in liquid form without going into the engine. In my experience coolant leaking in the engine will be burned and can sometimes be seen as white smoke in the exhaust and you would notice that sickly coolant smell.

I'm looking to sandblast the rear differential so I can make it look good and I need to remove the brake backing plates to fix the metal wear of the bottom shoe contact area. I have the diff out of the car, the upper control arm bushing are out. I'm not sure where to go from here. There is nothing mechanically wrong with this diff. Can I just empty the whole thing, remove the yoke, axles, carrier so I can properly clean, sandblast and paint, then just reassemble it "easily" without having to change bearings, adjusting backlash, using marking compound, etc... I know I will have to replace seals but don't want to spend waste $$$$ on bearings and other stuff since there is nothing wrong with this diff. Anyone out there with experience on this? Thanks

I am working on my rear brake lines as well. The line wrenches are a great tool. Otherwise the nuts get rounded off very easily. Once that happens, vise grips are the way to go. Work them back and forth to break the "rust seal". I recommend you disconnect the main rear line (the one coming from the front proportioning valve) at the rear hose. Use a rubber cap to cap the line. That way the master cylinder doesn't drain down you and you only have to bleed the rear lines. Now you can work on the rear system without fluid drip worries. If you have a rust related leak on one of the lines, the other likely also has rust issues. Those are small lines which you can easily replace yourself for a few dollars. While you are in there look at the brake cylinders, also relatively inexpensive to replace if they are leaking. Good luck.

Thanks for the input guys, I guess you can't just convert without changind the carrier. I'm still undecided, we'll see how the post removal inspection goes before I decide.

I have a stock 2.73 non-locking rear end. I am removing it to change control arms (to boxed) to put in a sway bar. I will be changing all bushings, I want to replace the flexible brake line and metal lines leading to the drums, inspect the rear diff, change oil and detail the diff. To detail the diff, I will likely be pulling the axles out (hopefully not the whole carrier unless I find something wrong or get carried away like usual). I'll have a look at the seals to see if they need changing. I like the 2.73 and I think it is working fine but was wondering if it is easy to convert it to posi while I'm in there, by simply inserting a part??? or do you have to change the whole carrier assembly? Any one done this? Thanks

As per Bruce's suggestion, it will take you 10 mins to take the fan off and then you duplicate the exact situation and rule it out for sure. Sorry to hear about the bad news.

Looking good!

Great sound, can't get over the wireless look, do you have a battery, or do you use a start cart? I don't even see a ground wire cable!

Wow, I really like the clean "wireless" look, can't even see the ignition wires .