69 Z/28 rear axle and springs refurbished

[Lynn]

I know I am not on par with some of you pros, but wanted to share pics of my progress.

Got the rear axle rebuilt. 4.10 gears, new clutches in the posi unit and all new bearings. I have no idea what gears came in this axle, as it had no code stamped on it, and never has. Kurt agreed with my assessment that it was probably a warranty replacement. Just bought a set of 4.88's for when I really want to have some fun. I doubt it is the axle that came in the car even though it is dated July 28 and my car is an 08A car.

Waiting on some engine parts. One of the members here is helping me put together what will <span style="font-weight: bold">look </span>like a stock 302 other than headers (I still have the complete smog set up for the car, but am not going that way, at least for now), but should make some serious power for what it is. Even using 186 heads, but they have been massaged, along with the manifold. Original DZ engine block (along with correct dated heads) is in storage, safe from Lynn grenading it. Plan to drive it like I stole it.

I realize I could have purchased some very correct looking rear springs, but want to use as much of the original old car as I can. Besides, these originals were not in bad shape, and they have that cool &quot;GMU&quot; embossing on the sides of some leafs. Even got one embossed area squeezed down where the leaf tapers.

Got the right silencers but couldn't find the right clamps. Everyone sells 1/8 inch thick clamps. I measured my old ones, and they were thicker than that. So I made clamps and &quot;rivets&quot;. Looks pretty darn good if I do say so myself.

I know the springs weren't painted from the factory, but they did have a distinctive gray coating. Besides, I don't want to spend a whole day sandblasting springs in 10 years, so I painted them a cast iron gray. Left the clamps natural and treated with REM oil.

Also blasted the entire rear and painted it. I like the Bill Hirsch (sp?) chassis black. Looks too glossy right now, but fades in nicely. I had no rust pits on either the rear or the parts of the springs that show, so I was very lucky.

Also used stainless fasteners to clamp the springs together, as those buggers have a bad habit of rusting out and letting the axle wander on the spring.

Ready to assemble, and make a roller out of this thing. Now, if I can just get that engine built.

[elonblock]

Very nice!

[Xplantdad]

Looks great Lynn!

[SS427]

Awesome!

[enio45]

just like a pro!

[mockingbird812]

Sharp Lynn! Found similar spring manufacturer's markings on my original '70 Nova springs when I restored them. Love the attention to detail! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

[Lynn]

I forgot to give credit to my wife. While I held each spring in place over the vise, she tightened down on the clamps getting them in place. I am one lucky guy. She is ALWAYS willing to help, very supportive, and &quot;gets&quot; all of the little &quot;I can't use that bolt because it has the wrong head markings&quot; lunacy of a restoration.

Sometimes I wonder why I obsess over some of these details. I was going nuts Sun nite because while cleaning the original screws that attach the rear wheel cyl, I lost one when the wire wheel launched it. Spent an hour looking for it. BTW, my wife found it serindipitously the next day about 15 feet from where I thought it landed.

Only one piece of glass is original to the car (back window) and I have even made a few hidden mods along the way, so it can never be a 1000 point car.

Still, kind of fun to put as much back to original as possible, and most of my mods are purely bolt on. Have some vintage Koni shocks, etc. I am sorry, but those original spiral shocks suck.
I have one more car project lined up after this (but will wait until we build our workshop -- I hate doing this work in the attached garage), and after it is completed, I will probably put the original engine and tranny in the Z with all the smog stuff in place. Will still drive it for fun, but will use the other one to get the adreniline going.

[mockingbird812]

[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img] All good Lynn!

[69VN]

Nice job---your springs look super! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

[Salvatore]

stuff looks great Lynn. NO smog is a &quot;good&quot; thing. The 88&quot;s would be a &quot;better&quot; thing! The secret to making a Chevy run is under the trunk pan.