1970 Chevelle SS restoration

[Too Many Projects]

So, after lunch, I got started on what I thought I was going to do with the morning. After I got the hood off and loaded in the pickup, I started draining the coolant and putzing with removing the left fender to sell. I work rather slow, but methodical and after 4 hours, I had the front clip on the floor. I removed the spark plugs and will get a can of fogging oil and spray the cylinders down good for storage this time. The engine runs quite well and I'm glad it didn't seize up sitting for over 20 years. It has been run at times during that period, and I'm sure that helped keep it loose.
I was looking closer at what I had to get yet for parts and discovered someone had cut the rear wheel openings down to nearly nothing to clear tires. There is still black marks in places where they hit. Curious if they just had L60's/N50's for the street, or if this car really did race at one time. Now I'm really curious as to the gear ratio. I never did take on a street to see, as the front brakes either didn't do anything to slow it down or when they did apply, they never released..LOL.
DANG, the wheel house pics are vertical in my file... I can't do anything to get them upright on here... sorry

[napa68]

What is your vision for this one Mitch?

[Too Many Projects]

Just a nice driver, Tim. Not certain on color and probably have plenty of time to decide. Original was white with black top and interior. I don't plan to put a vinyl top on and the interior won't be black. Those are the only "for sure" changes.
The engine in the '66 was supposed to go in this car, as it is a CRT code for '70 LS5 with manual trans from the '70 I owned from '73-'79. I have a 427 block, crank and heads to build for the '66, but don't see that happening for a long time now, if ever anymore.

[big gear head]

Is that the 427 that you got from me? Why don't you think it will get built for the '66?

[Too Many Projects]

Lack of funding, Freddie

[Bill Pritchard]

Hopefully this rotates the wheel opening pics, Mitch...

[Mr70]

Very nice Mitch,and congrats on those full rear 1/4's.

[Too Many Projects]

Thanks Bill, and Rick.
I have it on jack stands to begin the war to get the body mount bolts out. The 4 in the trunk were fairly easy. I cut 2" holes with a hole saw, minus the center drill, and clamped the cage tight to the nut with a vise grip. 2 spun out, with a lot of fore and aft "rocking" the bolt and 2 snapped off, which is a win. I was surprised that the 2 in the cowl are just square nuts, no cage and they are just loose. I tack welded them down and 1 spun out and the right side snapped almost immediately from the bolt shaft being rusted very small. Now I need to look at getting in that opening with a burr and cut the nut loose again so it can come out. The 2 under the door are just plugs and after the right side bolt, under the quarter structure brace, spun in the nut, I was very careful to slowly work the left side loose with my breaker bar. There is a hole in the floor brace right near those bolts that I didn't see on the right side, as they are rather hidden by the ladder bars, but I was able to spray deep creep on the left bolt and after 10 minutes of rocking it in and out by hand, I got it to thread out. There is no cutting into the floor pan under that brace without first removing the brace, so now that all the rest are out, I will lift the body the 1" of clearance I got by removing the bottom rubber mount on the right, cutting out the top mount and will get in there with a sawzall or my plasma and cut the bolt off. All in all, not bad, a little over 2 hours to remove 7 of 8 bolts .. LOL. Oh, the 2 over the rear axle bolts are already missing so no fight there. Hmmmm, it just occurred to me, they may well be plugs too... Either way, I will buy a full set of mounts and bolts to use all the holes with the replacement floor, as long as it's equipt for them.
Speaking of the ladder bars, as long as I had the car up, I removed the rear cover, as it does weep a little anyway and apparently the ladder bars were just to control the inevitable wheel hop, as it retains it's 3.31 gears. I guess its possible the carrier was replaced with deeper gears way in the past and then reinstalled to sell...

[scuncio]

Great project!

[Too Many Projects]

I got the welded nut with broken bolt off and the spun nut bolt out too, good day... Hmmm, forgot to take a pic after I hit it with the long barrel air chisel. It snapped right off the weld. Meanwhile I tried for about a 1/2 hour to find a way to get at the spun bolt from under the car and finally realized I could cut out a section of the floor and maybe see it better. OK, it's right there in plain view. A little lift with the floor jack and 20 second with the sawzall and that fight was over... The body is now sitting freely on the frame and ready to be lifted off. I need to figure out where to get some GOOD body mounts and fasteners and get them here first.