Nothing to update on any progress as I've been tied up doing other fun things.....

Wanted to give a big shout out to our very own Mark Johnson who sent me this cool custom machined clutch adjustment tool and the laminated page from the assembly manual.

Thanks Mark!

You da man Mark!!!!:beers:

Happy to have a tiny bit of involvement with such a great car with great history and a great family! All I ask for in return is just an EXTRA cookie this November!

You got it buddy!!!!:headbang:

Done!

Mark is good people!:headbang:

So Jake and I were talking this weekend when I was up at his house and the crazy part about this tool that Mark fabricated is our Dad would have totally made a tool like this!

Man, you’re putting a knot in my throat to read that.

In case Simpson gets his rail-job ...

holy crap, the overdrive on that turbo...:eek2:

I found some time a couple of evenings this week to get the rest of the column assembled and the steering wheel back on. Good thing is the turn signals and horn still work :biggthumpup: (It didn't start out that way, lol)

This steering column thing was way out of my comfort zone so I'm glad to have that behind me now. During testing to make sure all of the lights functioned properly (brake/turn signals, etc.) I found another issue though......the brake pedal went to the floor - no fluid in the master, so I obvioulsy have a leak to track down. I think one of the fittings at the frame under the master cylinder may be the culprit as there were no other apparent locations of leaks when I looked under the car. Two steps forward and one step back seems to be the recurring theme here.........ugh.

Hoping the carbs show up as that is the last big item to complete. The voltage regulator is still a couple weeks out and the repro DC-12 battery won't be available until September-ish.

Keep chugging along........it will eventually get done.

Turbo charger, NO. Non-Positive displacement supercharger, YES. (Paxton, McCullough, Latham etc.)

No shit my friend.......no shit. Despite the challenges, the car looks awesome! As I have said before, your Dad has to THRILLED!

I think if you spell "restoration" backwards it spells "2 steps forward and 1 step back". Be happy it's only 1. I've been fighting getting the correct replacement spring sets for the '66 Chevelle backrests on the buckets for 4 weeks now. Finally got some that are close enough to work without major remodeling. Kind of like an Impala seat isn't the same as a Biscayne....wth ???
Then I ordered Medium Saddle carpet to go with the 2 tone Fawn interior. Who knew it was Gold ?? Sent that back too...waiting on medium brown now.
Yep, steering columns are a mystery all on their own, and the "special" washer was a floor shift only thing on my '66 Chevelle too and it had a "special" rubber spacer to go with it to prevent the column shift cup from rotating. Try to find one of those...:frown:
Everything you have done on that car is concours level and looks that way. I know it's frustrating, but be proud of what you have accomplished.

Pictures don't do this car justice. Jake has definitely taken this car to the next level. Our Dad is certainly smiling down!
Hopefully burnouts will ensue in the near future.......

Thanks for all the kind comments............it has been quite the learning experience for me and I am happy with how things are turning out. The scope creep items have greatly improved the car so no regrets at all there. Yes, Dad would be thrilled. I am grateful for being able to do this and am looking forward to sharing the car with everyone at MCACN :beers:

You're doing a great job Jake, well done. Keep those pics coming!!

"Two steps forward and one step back seems to be the recurring theme here"

Welcome to the world of old car restoration. There are so many of us here who can absolutely relate to what you're going through....BTDT.

I have brakes again.........I think.

I disconnected the single line from the M/C, plugged that port, and pumped the pedal (effectively bench bled the M/C on the car), pressure came right back and now I have a pedal again. I hooked up the line and still had a pedal. Monitored fluid level the last couple of days and no change. I still need to bleed the system again - hopefully this week.

Just waiting on the carbs now to be able to drive it again...............fingers crossed.

Brakes bled last night - fluid level still good this morning. Needed something to do after bleeding the brakes so I polished the chrome on the bumpers and front end. :smile:

Keep 'er up Jake.Anxious to see pics or video of the finished project!

Got some good news last night - Eric says the carbs should be complete by the end of the upcoming week.

Amazing story of relocating & bringing this car back home with the followup on the restoration.

Nothing compares being able to relive past memories and meeting & making new friends that appreciate a great example from the past?

Just got off the phone with Eric and the carbs are done. Glad I sent them to him as they both had "issues" so there should be a noticable improvement in drivability and performance in addition to looking pretty. Video of them will be up on his FB page yet today. He can't ship them until Tuesday so I will have them Wednesday. Getting closer..........

After we returned from cars and coffee I spent a couple hours on some nit picky items that I needed to get done.

Touched up several various paint nicks on hubcaps, valve covers, generator, etc. One of the things that bothered me is the generator belt was not fitting properly even though we (thought) ordered the correct one. The belt was too long and the adjustment was all the way at the end of its travel. Jody Anderson helped with the actual measurement for a correct belt which I sourced and now the adjustment for the generator is right in the middle of its travel like it should be. While doing that I replaced a parts store hose clamp on a power steering hose with a more correct one.

Getting closer.........

Saw Eric's FB post on the carbs. Look amazing.
LOVE this thread.

Thanks - here are the pics for those that don't do FB.

They look so nice that now I'll have to....................no I'm not going there.

Wow,look like jewelry! Sweet!!

Carb's showed up today at the office.......goal is to get them on the car tonight, fire it up and set the timing, etc.

Heard from the voltage regulator rebuild guy and that is finally in their que for restoration. Will be a couple more weeks for that, but the parts store one currently on the car works fine for now.

Is that the light at the end of the tunnel or a freight train coming at me the other way...........?!

LMAO:haha::haha::haha::haha:

Freight train.....you'll find something else to tear apart....:biggthumpup:

Definitely a freight train!!!

Definitely not a freight train. Got everything installed and no issues. Took it on my test drive loop last night and drove it into town this morning for another test with no issues. No leaks, the new radiator works great and overall drivability is much improved. Need t to work out a few small items and finish adjusting the carbs/timing but it's pretty close right now. Time to enjoy it while working out the details.

15 months from when I started this journey my vision is complete....pics to follow as I'm away for a couple of days doing some fun family stuff.

Jake,
That puts you in the same category as Super Dave (PilotA12)
15 months start to finish. Not too shabby.

Awesome!!!

----Just love what you've done, Jake. Can't wait to see the finished product at MCACN....Bill S

Really have enjoyed following this thread!!

Thank you - and humbled to be compared to Super Dave. What what I did was not much more than a cosmetic re-fresh with some basic mechanical upgrades - nothing nearly as complicated or technical as what he does on his builds.

Jake,
To do this all in your spare time wihile still participating in family functions. No easy feat.
From sending items out to get re-done, to your attention to detail, it's going to represent well @ MCACN.
Your pops would be proud.

Here are the pics of the carbs as unboxed from Eric and then on the car. He sent me the procedure for adjusting the linkage and I still need to do that. Yeah, I know the intake looks a little dingy but it is a lot cleaner than when I started...........