Hot Rods I finally got an injected 1961 Corvette !

YAY one piece and no cracks a minor miracle

 

Scott, if you have a copy of your wiring diagram from the service manual, you can take it to a copy store to have it blown up to poster size - BEST $5 I've spent for wiring!

 

Thank you for the advice!


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Loudbang, I definitely took my time!


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Scott right there with you on pulling the windshield frame, the nuts on the far ends by the doors we’re a bear. I’m also replacing the windshield glass gasket as it is rock hard.


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Should I rush your rush job or the rush job I was rushing when you rushed in?

Elwood: There's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark out, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Joliet Jake: Hit it!

 

Hey Rusty, I’m jealous! It looks hood! Now I’ll just bring mine over! Lol


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I never knew Hurst made fancy racing shocks?


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Kingpin Bushings are out! One down and one to go!


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If I remember correctly they were one of the first to offer the 90/10 front shocks.

 

They may not be worn out it they are 90/10 there is almost no resistance to going up pulling the rod outward but a lot collapsing them so the nose would come up faster and stay up longer than ordinary shocks.

They are still in use I had a set on my 1989 OT 5.0 Mustang but struts not separate shocks.

 

Looks so easy when it's all apart. Did you learn any new words getting there?

 

Gearheadsqce, oh it was so much fun! lol
And the passenger side must think it is a competition because so far it has been even more difficult!


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I just got my tach back from Rusty at Speedometer Service! I sent him the low rpm tach that came in a box of stuff with the car. He rebuilt it with a new hi rpm face, needle, lens and then he Recalibrated it!
Thanks man!

Scott


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We were able to do a little bit of tinkering tonight.
This little guy actually does a really good job.

I’m looking forward to when I get to the part where I actually get to put stuff together!


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Show us the dirt under his nails and a couple of minor injuries. Tell him it's part of the initiation

 

As fun as removing the crossmember was it wasn’t as bad as we thought!


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Now that the crossmember is out, are you going to put some riser blocks on it before you put it back in?

 

Ahhhh no. This one is probably going to get lowered 2 inches.


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I went through that complete front end rebuild... kingpins, bushings shafts, quite a learning curve once you get one done. How you plan on lowering, cut the coils?

 

Getting the bushings out and back in is one thing, but finding someone to properly ream them to fit the pins correctly is usually harder.
P.S. that is one ugly crossmember ain’t it? I like your idea of lowering the front, that way it won’t show......

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MCJim,I was planning on getting the 2inch drop spindle supports from Farman Fab. We will see.


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Hey Bob, yeah I was going to hit up the Ford guys for help reaming the spindles. Years ago I did the spindles on my AV8 chassis at my buddy’s place.

It is definitely ugly! My son was helping me and asked why it looked so different compared to our other cars. I said
“well son it’s because This is a corvette crossmember. The inspiration for Its design was birthed in the Devil's Anus. It was created by angry GM engineers who from their graves find humor in the fact that I had to take all 16 bolts out one quarter turn at a time while under the car!”



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I'm going to go back to my earlier recommendation. Don't ream the bushings. Have them honed on a Sunnen machine as is used for reconditioning connecting rods. Not a brake cylinder type hone run by a drill motor.

A long mandrel is used that keeps the bores in line. The pins can be fitted to tenths of a thousandth of an inch. (That's 0.0001") They will be round and straight and have a cross hatch for grease. Most automotive machine shops have the hone. The good ones will have the long mandrels and have probably done hundreds of these.

 

Scott here is a copy of the Corvette Servicing guide page 3-14 which I believe you have. If you want to talk to the Ford guys that is fine but there is absolutely no similarity between Corvette spindle bushings and Fords. The Corvette spindle bushings float in the spindle support and float on the shaft. There is no reaming or machining necessary and if your spindle support for some reason is out of round it probably should be thrown away. I only use a brake hone to remove any potential surface rust but if you feel better you can use scotch brite and little oil.

Once the spindle support is clean, then the new shafts and bushings you can buy from Corvette Central or Paragon etc can be installed with a little grease and you are good to go. The only real critical part of this job IMO is to make sure you shim the spindle support on the spindle as they tell you in this guide.

 

Jim,
Thanx for clarifying that. I remember honing bushings for spindles etc. but none of them might have been for a Corvette. On my own Vette, I replaced the front crossmember with a '65 Corvair unit. It was substantially lighter and had ball joints etc. This was on a drag car so handling, other than in a straight line, wasn't an issue.

 

No problem Bruce. I have installed bushings in kingpins and on some odd makes at my grandfather's restoration shop we had to make our own bushings and then spend quite awhile making sure the fit is proper. The Corvettes are a different animal and the servicing guide should say if you ream the bushings know the whereabouts of your closest trash can so you can throw it all away. The parts already come machined when you buy the kit. Scott is beyond the difficult part. Installing the new bushings is pretty easy.

 

Well I’ll be, this time Chevy has the better idea! So Jim, how tight of a press are the new bushings in those spindles? Do they press in lightly and retain their ID?


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True, I did not need to ream anything, used Moog parts, and my steering is like a brand new 1949 Chevy...