dcairns

It has been running off and on the last few months. I have been nibbling away with small projects on it. At the moment it is up on jacks, almost ready to drop the old transmission out. I find it helpful to keep it running as much as possible, so I can drive it around a bit and remind myself why I am doing all this messy and expensive work

Some new toys for the project.... New 700r4 transmission. Overdrive will be most welcome after running 3200 rpm on the freeway at 65mph. Add a lower first gear, and this should be the best of both worlds. Better off the line and quieter on the highway, better MPG for what that is worth on a car that won't see a lot of miles. New carb, an old Carter AFB from a 409 engine. This will have the CFM to keep up with the 383 stoker.

Lots of money spent, more to spend, not much visible to show for it. But that is because I am taking care of the messy stuff before the body/paint work. -New power steering - everything was leaking and I have replaced everything but the pump. Still have a leak in the pump Going to send that out to get rebuilt by a pro. -New exhaust system including new 2.5 inch (larger) stock manifolds. That really helped performance. I think at least one side was trying to exhaust through a pile of rust in one muffler. -New stereo. Had the AM radio gutted and "AM/FM/AUX Input" guts put in. New Alpine speakers, using my ancient 4 channel Alpine amp from the 80's for now. Plenty of power but I don't know how long it will last. -Bought the carb and intake manifold to get that looking original again. Since I have a 350 engine, stroked to a 383, and I am trying to make it look like a 327 from 64 (350 was not around back then) I am having to do some odd things to make it all work. Due to the cubic inch increase, I am using the 409 carb, which is more expensive, but has the CFM to feed the 383. -Bought new drum brakes. New high performance shoes/cylinders/drums. I am getting rid of the front disk conversion I did back in the '80's since it kicks the tires/wheels out a inch or so and I want to get wider tires in there. I can’t change the backspacing on the wheels without losing the ability to put on the hubcaps. Then there will be the cost of getting wider tires in 1” white wall at $220 each :o plus wider wheels to properly fit them. -New 700r4 transmission being built. This is supposed to be a cool swap, lower first gear and over-drive on the top end. With the current TH350, top gear is 1:1, so I am turning 3,200 rpm at 65 mph. The .7 over-drive will drop that down to 2,200 rpm. After that, the differential will get it's long awaited turn and get beefed up and a small change of gearing. I bought a used engine stand and it came with a 'free' motor, and old 283. Interestinly it has the same casting number as the original motor in my Impala. I still have not decided what to do with it. Perhaps a practice rebuild before I do my 383

My 1964 money pit This is the first car I ever owned. I am in the process of restoring it, while sneaking some modern bits under the skin.

So let me get this straight... this guy is driving, while watching TV, with a kid in the infant seat, AND flooring it with a supercharger??????

What else would a carpenter in a hurry drive when he is late to pay his taxes and has a pregnant wife???

I keep a spare key in my wallet. That way I have to be double dumb and leave my wallet AND my keys in the car and then lock it.

For a daily driver, the Radix is a great supercharger. I have about 70k miles with my Radix.

So what happens when the mower blades accidentally deploy as you drive down the freeway?

Have you ever priced them? $2,800 or more Seems like a lot of money for some gears and metal stick Although I hear Currie does great work and they are only a couple miles away from me.

I love those bubble tops, and I actually like the 62's looks better than the 64. The arrow shaped body crease makes it look sporty. As for an LQ9... well, got one of those already Part of the fun of an old car is the old engine and stuff. Although it can make you feel old. I went to the auto parts store to get a new dwell/tach meter. Looked around a bit, not finding one, I asked the kid behind the counter. He says "What's a dwell meter?" I guess the computers have been doing that job for longer than he has been around Strange as it may seem, it is a bit harder to find 4 door specific parts. Everybody is restoring the 2 door SS's, so that is where the reproduction parts action is. BTW, are there any differential experts hanging around here? The Chevy differential of this vintage is the weak link. I have gernaded one, and broke two axles in the time I have had it. I have heard that other GM full sized cars of this vintage (Buick, Olds, Caddilac, Pontiac) had a bullet proof diff that looks just like my Chevy diff. Unfortunatly they were pretty much used up in drag racing, and are scarce. Is is possible to beef up the Chevy diff? I need to change ratios, as the change from Powerglide to TH350 has changed my ratio out of the transmission (2900 engine RPM at 60mph).

I have decided to bite the bullet and spend some $$$$$ on my 64 Impala and get it back in shape for driving so I can enjoy it rather than have it just taking up space in the garage. It will probably take me a year to get this all done, lots of stuff to clean and repair. Starting with the underside, rust removal and painting. Then the engine compartment cleaning and painting. I will farm out the exterior paint and body work, since I hate sanding and a professional paint job is so much better. Then the interior gets some extensive replacment. The photos tend to wash out the surface rust in the paint, so the photos look a lot better than it is. It needs paint and body work (strip to the metal and start over) as well as some rust repair work. The first quote for that work was $10k +, second shop said $6k-$7k. This is the first car I ever owned. Got it for free from a relative back in 1982 Started life with a 283 engine and Powerglide transmission. I upgraded the engine to a 327 and TH350 transmission, then broke the crank on the 327 ; and (perhaps foolishly) decided to put in a 350 bored and stroked to 383. I guess the quest for speed is never ends Now I wish I had the 327 (or a 409 ) in there. Yup, there is a 64 Impala 4 door sedan in there somewhere.... Interior needs fresh carpet, upholstery and headliner. Then a new stereo to replace the dead Alpine. They make some cool stuff now, from retrofiting a modern stereo inside your old stock radio, to new radios that just look more like the belong there, though not stock. Needed 2.5 quarts of transmission fluid and several glugs of power steering fluid!! I guess I have a few leaks to fix. I manually pumped gas into the dried out carburetor bowl to minimize cranking time, and it started right up. As you can see I have some work to do painting and cleaning under the hood as well as fixing some mechanical issues. I also want to get this back to a more original looking configuration. Right now it has a 350 small block bored and stroked to 383 and a TH350 transmission (replacing the old 2 speed Powerglide). I want to try and dress it up to look like a 327. That means changing the valve covers to the ‘no holes’ version used back then. This means the oil fill and PCV get relocated from the valve covers. So that means getting the oil fill tube located on the front of the intake manifold, near the thermostat, so that means a 327 intake manifold with the hole for that. Also need to change the intake to get a period carburetor in there to replace the Quadrajet I have now. Not sure which carb to use. Probably the Rochester 4GC, I had one of those on the 327 and it worked well. The other choice is a Carter AFB, but the old 64 models seem to be more expensive. Freed from the junk! After 3 years of not having run, it still runs. I think those tires are 15-20 years old, so they are not going on the freeway Some dust in the air caught the flash from the camera, making a weird kind moon in the sky.

1) Remove the manual door lock slider assembly. To avoid damage, pry from the rear, as shown, not from the front. The front end has a non compressing clip, but the rear has shorter compressing clips. 2) Now that the secret screw is reveled, you can remove it. It needs a 9/32” hex driver or socket. 3) The other screw is under the door handle. Also a 9/32” hex driver/socket. 4) Pop off the triangular plastic cover starting at the top. The bottom has a long clip extending into the door panel that will break if you start from the bottom. 5) Remove the door opening handle, starting from the rear. The front has a longer clip that will be damaged if you start at that end. 6) Now you can lift the door panel upwards, using the door handle as a grip. Use caution as there are still wires connecting the door to the panel. I find it handy to hand the door panel back on the door by the lip at the window, leaving the bottom free to swing out for access to the wires. 7) Remove the screw under the front of the switch panel. It needs a 9/32” hex driver or socket. Then you can pop the switch panel out and disconnect the wires. 7a) Alternately, you could remove the wires from the bottom of the switch panel and leave the switch panel attached to the door panel. 8) Remove light bulb from lower rear of the door panel light 9) Now the door panel is free and can be completely removed. I would suggest that you put a couple bits of tape to hold in place the black plastic retainer that the screw from step 1 goes through. It will also help when reassembling the door. 10) To remove the door opener handle, a 10mm socket is needed. 11) Pop the plastic retainer off the actuator wire. The wire is now free to remove from the handle. Slide the handle forward to release from the door. 12) Carefully peel off the clear plastic protecting sheet, being careful not to stretch it. Put it aside where the adhesive won’t get dirty All done.

Might be the forum server. Mervz has been working towards upgrading it, due to load.

No passengers?

This thread has some pics of a lifted SS. Looks like it really gets used off road. Long Travel Sss, not just for looks.....

Thought about some helper air bags to level it out when loaded?

Sounds like a good mod. Do you think a spacer that is not as tall would have most of the insulating effect without the need for a cowl hood?

They really dumped a good coat of shellac on the engine compartment

Saw this in Yahoo News... What Your Car Says About You I guess us Chevy drivers are a pretty dim bunch

That's what hammers are for

I put my Radix on at 2,500 miles and I am now up to 70,000 miles. I have an oversized transmission cooler, but that is mostly because I tow a trailer for vacations. Other than that, I am pretty stock. Others have not had as good of luck. But usually they have tinkered with the transmission settings in the programmer.

I happen to be in the middle of doing this. Here is how it goes: 1) Remove the manual door lock slider (pops off with a screwdriver), remove the hex head screw underneath. 2) Remove hex head screw behind the hand grab of the door handle. Lift door panel up. This will free it from the door, but you may want to hang the top back on the window sill to hold it while you do the next steps. 3) Disconnect the wire going to the light in the lower rear of the panel. 4) From the other side, remove the screw holding the front of the switch panel (electric locks, windows, mirror switches) in place. Rear of switch panel is held in place with spring clip. 5) Now you can pull the switch panel out and unplug the wires from the panel. 6) Now you are free and clear to remove the door panel from the door.

And if the 5.3 fits.... then a 6.0 would fit, too. I wonder if a Radix would fit under the hood as well? Weighing 1800 lbs less than the full sized truck, that would really go. I suppose the transmission would need some work to handle the supercharged 6.0, though.

I guess you better not, if you can't even spell it