Chris shipley Posted March 24 Posted March 24 27 minutes ago, Rob Peters said: I got a little time yesterday and this afternoon after church to work on my projects. Yesterday I was able mostly finish getting the interior back together from the new speaker installation and tested out the AM/FM Radio again. Yesterday I was able to install the new fuel sending unit and started to reinstall the gas tank but the bolts in the strap bolt mounting kit were too short. While I was upset by this, in reality it was a good thing because last night I remembered I wanted to check out the new sending unit reading on the gas gauge prior to mounting the tank. That ended my day yesterday until I could get some longer bolts. I picked up the new hardware I needed for the straps last night. Today I headed back to my storage garage and pulled the tank back out from under the car. I made up a ground wire that would reach the ground wire from the new sending unit with the tank laying on the floor behind the car. With the tank at the same angle as it would be mounted in the car and the sender unit tan wire connected on the top of the sending unit I turned the key on and the gauge needle gradually moved right to the "Empty" position as it should with no gas in the tank. I Now I needed to test the sending unit for a full tank. Since I didn't want to fill the tank with gas and then have to drain it again so I could install it I simply picked the tank up and turned it over which would cause the float on the sending unit to move to the top of the tank with the tank flipped over. With the float now against the top of the tank I turned the key on again the gauge needle gradually moved the the "Full" position on the gauge. This gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that as soon as I can put gas into the tank it should finally read properly. I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel on these projects with only minor snowball effects occurring during the project, some of the snowballs were self inflected. The tank is mostly back in. The new tank straps are installed but since I did not have a 9/16 deep socket up at the storage garage I will have to return with the needed tool and cans of gas so I can test the sending unit and gauge under normal conditions with gas in the tank. I will test it out with 5 Gallons, then 10 Gallons, then 15 Gallons and finally with a full tank of gas. With the weather starting to get a bit warmer and us having enough rain to clear the salt from the roads, Patsy and I are looking forward to our first ride of the new season. I see on https://www.carcruises.com/ we are starting to see some cruises starting up in our area. Car cruises . com started here locally but has been growing in the past years and is including more and more states. You may want to start telling other people in your areas to start using this site for listing their cruises and shows. For people around here https://www.carcruises.com/ is the main source for locating gathering places for shows and cruises. Give it a try and list Pennsylvania and April, May or June as your month selection and I think you will see how beneficial it can be for other areas. rob Nice progress rob. Thanks for the link for car cruises!!! 2 Quote
Stuckin70s Posted March 24 Posted March 24 Thank you for sharing Rob. The dash looks sharp... and thank goodness for the happy accident so you could test before installation. Reports like this keep me going. Stay Safe. Brad 3 Quote
willie Posted March 24 Posted March 24 20 hours ago, Stuckin70s said: It started with a little hole.... OK, I knew the Right side Body Mount, Front Firewall needed some lovin'. I was going to wait until I took it back off the frame the last time... Now may address this first. The problem is the part itself. OPGI only sells them in pairs and I only need one. On top of that, they only sell for Chevelle Link to part Not an exact match for Monte Carlo as the additional mount location is not included. OPGI says it is for 72 monte and then not. From the pictures the best I can tell, I'll just have to add a caged nut? Thoughts? One of the comments mention only one mount was usable as it is a chevelle mount. Rather that drill out all the spot welds, I was thinking about just cutting the lower part I needed and weld that to the solid part of the old mount, slice it in half sorta-speak. Opinions encouraged. Thank you, Brad Brad have you checked for used OEM parts from our members??? Leo, Dennis, and Steve Demers??? I don't see a problem with cutting off the bottom and welding it all the way around. Maybe the body guys will have a different view but i dont see a problem. As long as you do it right!!!! 4 Quote
FairlyRandom Posted March 24 Posted March 24 More engine bay cleanup...some additional looming of the exposed wires, and routing some of the charcoal and wiper fluid lines under the outer fender. This was about a week ago And today Can't wait to ditch that AC unit...so ugly Quote
Dtret Posted March 24 Posted March 24 3 hours ago, willie said: Brad have you checked for used OEM parts from our members??? Leo, Dennis, and Steve Demers??? I don't see a problem with cutting off the bottom and welding it all the way around. Maybe the body guys will have a different view but i dont see a problem. As long as you do it right!!!! I can check the 71 body I have. The passenger side is crushed but the driver might be ok. Let me know. 4 Quote
Stuckin70s Posted March 24 Posted March 24 4 hours ago, willie said: Brad have you checked for used OEM parts from our members??? Leo, Dennis, and Steve Demers??? I don't see a problem with cutting off the bottom and welding it all the way around. Maybe the body guys will have a different view but i don't see a problem. As long as you do it right!!!! Well I have an update. Fortunately, I live close to Chevrolet Restoration World (Web site sucks, prices are better than OPGI and no shipping cost. Chevy restoration World I took the OPGI photo in the store and he advised the is not the correct part. The part OPGI list is about half the size we need. According to Restoration World the correct part is: A732658 and it is a convertible part. Interestingly, the Monte Assembly manual has a deleted out option for a convertible. Locally at the Gathering of the Geezers in August, Kil Kare dragway, Xenia Ohio, there is one fellow that converted his 72' to a convertible and it looks sharp... There are quite a few convertible conversions out there. The correct part is available in a pair for about $160 out the door, special order. No Willie, I have not contact our members though Konik's Klassiks is on my list. Short of that, I replaced a 200amp service panel for someone and the metal from the old box appears the same thickness. I'm going to look hard. Maybe if I open the firewall floor pan I can access the area. Inspection holes next The correct part #A732658 I'll reach out to those fellows as well. Thank you Willie. Stay Safe, Brad 4 Quote
Rob Peters Posted March 25 Posted March 25 Well I was able to finish all of these winter projects today and actually take the Monte out for a short drive. I finished securing the gas tank back up into the car after installing the fuel sending unit. The time had come to see how well the new fuel sending unit works. First I put 5 gallons of fresh gas into the tank and turned the key on to see what position the needle went to. It went from Empty to about 1/4 tank: This is pretty much what I was hoping for with 5 gallons in the tank. I then hank pumped another 5 gallons into the tank and was hoping to see the needle to around 1/2 tank but it remained at about 1/4 tank. I was upset. I had heard many horror stories of people going through all of this work and the gauge did not register much different than it did before all of the work. So, I figured I would just start filling the tank based upon trying to figure how much was in the tank by keeping an eye on MPG from full as I had been doing for awhile because I did not feel like draining and dropping the tank again. So, I had another 5 to 6 gallons of gas to pump into the tank to equal 15 to 16 gallons in the tank. I pumped the remainder of gas that I still had in cans and removed the tubing from the tank I was using to transfer the gas into the tank. This time I pulled the Monte out of the storage garage and once I got it outside the garage I noticed the needle was now reading a little bit above 3/4 full. Eureka, this is exactly what I would expect the gauge to read with 15 to 16 gallons!!!! What I am wondering is if maybe I did not get a correct reading of 1/2 tank with 10 gallons in the tank is maybe the transfer tubing I was using to pump the gas into the tank was restricting the movement of the fuel sender arm. Either that or I did not give the needle enough time move up to 1/2 tank. Since the sun was out and the rain clouds had not moved in yet I thought it would be a great time to take her (Baby Blue) on its maiden 2025 ride. She started right up after a few cranks since the gas had run out of the supply line once the tank was disconnected so I could drop it down. I took her out for a quick drive because the rain clouds were starting to move in and I got her tucked away before the rain started. A true 2025 drive with Patsy will have to wait for a nicer day. I have not had a working radio since I owned the car and I want to thank Frank O'Connell because he made this one available to me. Thanks Frank, I can now cruise with some tunes. It will be nice to have the radio for our drive down to Somerset KY. rob 15 Quote
Montemedic Posted March 25 Posted March 25 Nice job Rob. Glad you’re back on the road again and now cruising in style with some tunes. Nice to see your car out as it is now officially Spring. Enjoy it !!! 5 Quote
JDTaylor65 Posted March 25 Posted March 25 Great weather today, so I checked all the fluids and air pressures, dusted the old girl off and went for a little ride. Man, I forgot how much I like driving this thing. 🥰 11 Quote
Marks71 Posted March 25 Posted March 25 Aaron, is that a teardrop I see on the windshield? Someone is sure getting a beautiful car. 8 Quote
Dtret Posted March 25 Posted March 25 1 hour ago, JDTaylor65 said: Great weather today, so I checked all the fluids and air pressures, dusted the old girl off and went for a little ride. Man, I forgot how much I like driving this thing. 🥰 Great car John 5 Quote
Dtret Posted March 25 Posted March 25 58 minutes ago, Marks71 said: Aaron, is that a teardrop I see on the windshield? Someone is sure getting a beautiful car. I think that I had a teardrop too. Sad day. Great day for someone in South Carolina. 8 Quote
Canuck Posted March 26 Author Posted March 26 I should add that I don’t view the sale of the 71 SS as a sad day. I wasn’t forced to sell and was able to put some cash in the bank. I don’t feel I will regret this sale. I consider it a privilege to have been the caretaker for such a beautiful example of a somewhat rare car for almost 9 years. That chapter has closed but I still have my 1970 Monte Carlo and a new adventure with my 1973 442. 🙂 14 Quote
willie Posted March 26 Posted March 26 11 hours ago, Canuck said: I should add that I don’t view the sale of the 71 SS as a sad day. I wasn’t forced to sell and was able to put some cash in the bank. I don’t feel I will regret this sale. I consider it a privilege to have been the caretaker for such a beautiful example of a somewhat rare car for almost 9 years. That chapter has closed but I still have my 1970 Monte Carlo and a new adventure with my 1973 442. 🙂 I will still say Congrats to a Fantastic "Caretaker" of one of our cars!! Lets hope the next owner will do the same!!!! 13 Quote
McCall72 Posted March 27 Posted March 27 On 3/24/2025 at 8:26 PM, Rob Peters said: Well I was able to finish all of these winter projects today and actually take the Monte out for a short drive. I finished securing the gas tank back up into the car after installing the fuel sending unit. The time had come to see how well the new fuel sending unit works. First I put 5 gallons of fresh gas into the tank and turned the key on to see what position the needle went to. It went from Empty to about 1/4 tank: This is pretty much what I was hoping for with 5 gallons in the tank. I then hank pumped another 5 gallons into the tank and was hoping to see the needle to around 1/2 tank but it remained at about 1/4 tank. I was upset. I had heard many horror stories of people going through all of this work and the gauge did not register much different than it did before all of the work. So, I figured I would just start filling the tank based upon trying to figure how much was in the tank by keeping an eye on MPG from full as I had been doing for awhile because I did not feel like draining and dropping the tank again. So, I had another 5 to 6 gallons of gas to pump into the tank to equal 15 to 16 gallons in the tank. I pumped the remainder of gas that I still had in cans and removed the tubing from the tank I was using to transfer the gas into the tank. This time I pulled the Monte out of the storage garage and once I got it outside the garage I noticed the needle was now reading a little bit above 3/4 full. Eureka, this is exactly what I would expect the gauge to read with 15 to 16 gallons!!!! What I am wondering is if maybe I did not get a correct reading of 1/2 tank with 10 gallons in the tank is maybe the transfer tubing I was using to pump the gas into the tank was restricting the movement of the fuel sender arm. Either that or I did not give the needle enough time move up to 1/2 tank. Since the sun was out and the rain clouds had not moved in yet I thought it would be a great time to take her (Baby Blue) on its maiden 2025 ride. She started right up after a few cranks since the gas had run out of the supply line once the tank was disconnected so I could drop it down. I took her out for a quick drive because the rain clouds were starting to move in and I got her tucked away before the rain started. A true 2025 drive with Patsy will have to wait for a nicer day. I have not had a working radio since I owned the car and I want to thank Frank O'Connell because he made this one available to me. Thanks Frank, I can now cruise with some tunes. It will be nice to have the radio for our drive down to Somerset KY. rob Not to be a party pooper but your guage does exactly what mine does when it's full of gas. I'd be interested what happens if you unhook the ground in the trunk if the needle goes to 3 o'clock like mine does. Mine will show almost empty when it still has about 5 or so gallons left in the tank. Drives me nuts. It's been that way for over 20 years now. Quote
Vaughn Posted March 27 Posted March 27 This is a picture of Aaron in 2016 when he purchased it from me. I was sad to see it go then but Aaron has been a great caretaker. We shared further adventures with the 71 through Aaron at the Western Meets. Enjoy your new adventures with your 442. 13 Quote
Canuck Posted March 27 Author Posted March 27 9 minutes ago, Vaughn said: This is a picture of Aaron in 2016 when he purchased it from me. I was sad to see it go then but Aaron has been a great caretaker. We shared further adventures with the 71 through Aaron at the Western Meets. Enjoy your new adventures with your 442. That was a great day. Thank you for letting me be a caretaker. 6 Quote
Rob Peters Posted March 27 Posted March 27 10 hours ago, McCall72 said: Not to be a party pooper but your guage does exactly what mine does when it's full of gas. I'd be interested what happens if you unhook the ground in the trunk if the needle goes to 3 o'clock like mine does. Mine will show almost empty when it still has about 5 or so gallons left in the tank. Drives me nuts. It's been that way for over 20 years now. NOW, with nothing in the tank mine now shows right at "E", with 5 gallons it shows right at 1/4 and with 16 gallons it shows just above 3/4. With the tank ground or the tan trunk wire disconnected the needle moves to the 3:00 position which is correct. rob 5 Quote
McCall72 Posted March 27 Posted March 27 4 hours ago, Rob Peters said: NOW, with nothing in the tank mine now shows right at "E", with 5 gallons it shows right at 1/4 and with 16 gallons it shows just above 3/4. With the tank ground or the tan trunk wire disconnected the needle moves to the 3:00 position which is correct. rob Interesting. Mine goes to 3 when disconnected...goes to a little over 3/4 when full, a little lower than 1/4 when I have 5 to 7 gallons left. Beginning to accept that the guage may just be possessed at this point. 😆 Quote
Canuck Posted March 30 Author Posted March 30 First startup for the 1970 Monte this year. It fired right up and ran great. It made driving to work on a Sunday a little easier. IMG_5435.mov 8 Quote
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