Restorations » Chevelle

Donor Suburban…

swartlkk — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:51:00 +0000

So I now have the opportunity to pick up a 2wd 1990 Suburban. It is currently drivable, however, the body is rotted quite bad in the back. So much so that in order for the previous owners to utilize the back door, they had cut the top of the bumper off to provide clearance. Clearance which is now gone because the body has sagged even more.

Here are some pictures:

Parts retained for the K5 include:

TBI 5.7L engine and full wiring harness
Tilt Steering Column
2wd Steering Gear box – for future cross-over steering setup
Full dash, firewall, and all A/C components – for a future swap to add A/C and the later model dash
Front doors – good doors with minimal rust and full power windows/locks
Center console
A portion of the rear bed floor if it is still in salvageable shape.

For my Chevelle, I will be keeping the recently rebuilt 700R4 transmission

The rest of the Suburban will be parted prior to finally scrapping it.

More Work…

swartlkk — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:12:00 +0000

So the Chevelle headers do not fit to my liking. The passenger side would have a problem with the front driveshaft if the suspension were to hit the bump stops. Going to full static articulation (lifting the front passenger wheel until the rear passenger wheel begins to lift), I still had enough room for a wrench to fit between the driveshaft and one of the header primary tubes. But with more than an inch left before the spring would hit either of the two bump stops, I decided to play it safe and get the proper headers.

I was able to get a set of Hooker headers for $146 delivered next day from Amazon.com. The headers and the exhaust system I have purchased are made to work with each other nicely. However, not as nice as a true bolt in. Some "massaging" of the exhaust will be necessary to get the mufflers and tail pipes located where I want them. Nothing a cutoff wheel and a welder will not fix.

The good news is that I was able to save the Flowmaster Series 40 mufflers that were on the truck and they will get welded back into the system. I am trying to find some high temp cold galvanizing paint locally right now so I can spray down the welds to try and prohibit rust formation.

I also did some more digging into the speedometer calibration and what needed to be done. I pulled the driven gear out of the back of the transfer case and had a look at it. It has a 7 tooth drive gear and a 19 tooth driven gear. I would need to step up to a 23 tooth driven gear to get the speedo to read right. However, only up to a 21 tooth gear is available. So I will need to purchase an add-on unit (speedometer ratio adapter) to get to the proper ratio.

I have pictures of all of this stuff, but will have to update later.

No progress…

swartlkk — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:45:52 +0000

I am sorry to say that there has been little progress made on any of the projects that I currently have started. A lot of other things are currently taking precedence. Being a volunteer fire fighter and training associated with that and an increasing requirement for time at work have taken a large chunk out of my free and family time. As a result I have not been able to do a lot of the work on my various projects that I was expecting to have completed by now.

One thing is for sure, I have to get the lawn mower deck finished for a co-worker before it gets too cold outside. That way I can move in the Blazer and get to cutting on that thing.

I did just pickup a new 1/8” thick steel counter top for my main work bench. This will allow me to use the bench for more than just a junk accumulation point. I will be able to cut, weld, and grind on it. I had a piece of 1/8” thick steel sheet bent to conform to the bench with an 11” back splash and a 2” lip on the front. I will post up pictures of the top as well as installed photos once I get it put in. Only thing prohibiting me at the moment is the amount of junk that is on my bench!! LOL

HydroBoost

swartlkk — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:49:46 +0000

I parted out a 1996 Chevy Astro van on August 30th which had a hydroboost brake booster. The unit appears to be in good working condition, but I am still planning on putting in new seals to ensure that there is no leaks when I get everything installed and working. Check out the Brakes page for further information.

Door Work

swartlkk — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:15:51 +0000

I did some more work on the passenger door to the Chevelle today. In the process of messing around trying to fit a large panel across a complex curve, I finally decided to cut the piece down and make it into two separate pieces. I was able to get a 3″ by 1″ piece partially welded in. There is still some slight metal working to do before it will be welded in permanent, but it is looking more and more like a complete door all the time. At some point I might like my work enough to snap some pictures.

Hopefully I will be able to work on it more in the coming weeks. Fire practice/classes are taking up quite a bit of my time now though. My dad also needs some help out at the shop so the Chevelle may find itself on the back burner again…