Hot Rods I finally got an injected 1961 Corvette !

j-Jock,
It does have another crack and it is not a corvette block and imho is not worth fixing. BUT the information you sent is still much appreciated and something I’ll keep.
Thanks
Scott


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"Pretty fancy looking but with only a picture of the engine that’s more of a tease! Lol. Do you have any other pictures of the whole car? Looks good"
Your thread, hate to pollute it!

Sick of it yet?

 

Vetterod, are you talking about these intake ports??


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Yes, Assuming those are the heads your son was removing in the picture.

 

Yes, they are the ones.


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I was looking to see the inside of the intakes ports, the inside of the exhaust ports and and the combustion chambers.

 

Hey Scott, I was putting the shifter in my wife's 60 today and took a couple of pics of the trans crossmember. It is stock. Thought it might help

 

That will definitely help! Thank you!!!!


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I totally missed these! And definitely not sick of them! Your car is very much worthy to be posted on the hotrod corvette thread if you haven’t already! Thanks


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Engine building 101! Super proud of this guy! Does pretty good for 13 yrs old!


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Having a garage makes me feel like an adult! Lol
Having a garage that I can actually work on a car in makes me feel almost organized!


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With a little bit of heat I got the steering connecting rod off the pitman arm and third arm thingy.
I remember in my younger days I just rounded crap off! The things you learn from older mentors like patience and a little heat!

Trying to tighten up the steering system without rebuilding the steering box!


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Alright guys, help me out! What magical tool do you use to adjust the adjuster screw on the steering box? There is no room for even a short flat head screw driver??


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My goodness that frame is in nice shape, lots of what looks like factory paint?

 

Thank you but I think someone might have painted it sometime in the past. The brake lines and blocks are all black too.


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Moriarity, I tightened it until the slack was gone on the pitman arm. Is that okay or is that too tight? I honestly don’t think it has ever been adjusted because there was plenty of thread on the set screw.


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It is binding at the “hight spot.” I’ll back off a bit.


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Much better! I definitely had it too tight! I got the “slop” out and plus now it is smooth!
Got love the H.A.M.B.! Thanks Moriarity!


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Scott, Moriarty is correct on being cautious on tightening the adjustment. As you probably know, GM sent a directive to dealers in the 60s to switch from gear lube to grease (I use chassis grease) in the box. Mark is right that the rebuild is not too bad. Getting the box out and feeding it back in may be the worse part of the job. To grease the box, I remove one of the bottom bolts and use a heat gun with the top fill open and as it gets warm the gear lube leaks out and then I shoot in chassis grease with little zerk fitting I made up (although you can use a grease needle) and when the grease runs out the bottom bolt hole and the top you should be good to go. You can ruin the sector if you go too tight. I would back it off a hair and drive it a bit and then inch up on the adjustment. Once they are done correctly they steer fine. I kind of wonder about the guys that insist these cars need power steering. I even use a small steering wheel and both of mine track great going down the road with very little slop in the steering.

 

Jim, thank you for the tip! I was wondering If I could use the bottom bolt as a “drain plug.” That will definitely help!
Yes, I was aware of the grease “up grade” but it never hurts to post!
And
I would not necessarily rule out a maybe electric pwr steering conversion down the road but it would be more for using the quick steering adapter and still being able to turn easy in parking lots. But until then (if it even happens) I’m very comfortable with the factory steering. I just want it as good as new or as close as I can afford for now.

What size steering wheel do you have on your car?

Thanks
Scott


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I too have thought about electric power steering for the 57, if you search you can find which parts to use from the salvage yard for a couple hundred bucks instead of $1500 or so out of a catalog. I’ll send you a link sometime soon.
The 57 steers fine but I (probably) have the energy to do the work now, for later when i may need it. Thats why i added P/S to my 56 belair, it was a LOT easier to do it now than later!

 

Scott I have a 15" Chuck Pelton steering wheel. They look stock but of course are only 15" and are leather wrapped. Chuck is local but may still be making them. I think they are the best looking steering wheel for early Vettes but we all have our own opinions.

 

Yes, definitely send me link when you get a chance. No hurry though.
Thanks from one Scott to another. Lol


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Jim that looks great! When more corvette funds come in I think I might have to go that way. There just isn’t enough room for me and the stock wheel.
Plus after seeing Scotty T’s 56 with the corvette wheel it might end up in my 57.


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Again with a little heat, a whole lotta parts washing and some bead blasting I got the steering connecting rod assembly ready for paint and assembly.

Question?How would I know if this is worn out or not? The cups on either end look okay to me but this is new territory for me.



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Scott, the parts looks nice and clean for sure. The drag link cups I thought had a hard surface on them but would have to go thru some parts to see if I had any extras to know if they had a hard chrome or whatever. Not sure if your hard surface is on your anymore-picture may be deceiving. I know that several places offer rebuild kits for the drag link and I used one of the kits a number of years ago. The two balled pieces that fir into the cups need to be inspected to see if there is any wear. If the balled surfaces are worn the steering will click (ask me how I know). I had one set that had one of the balled surfaces severally grooved years ago and I found another set at a swap meet and then ordered the rebuild kit. If the balled surfaces are not scuffed or grooved excessively you probably are OK. Even if your cups do not have a hard surface if you keep them with a good bit of grease you should probably be OK as well. Put them together on the car and then grease them up and tighten the ends just so they are snug (you can adjust them back and forth with a stubby screwdriver and feel when they are just right) and then put in the cotter keys.

 

Great, thank you Jim. That helps.
Question, would the hard surface on the cups be like a hardened chrome or something else?
Here are the cups up close. Would it helped if I polished the cup surface or no?


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Scott, I will look thru my stuff and see if I have any extra cups and take a look at them. I just put together a drag link set when I sold my latest project so not sure if I have any others lying around. I would think they would be like a hard chrome but that is a guess. Without hard chrome you would have to be a bit liberal with grease and keep an eye on them possibly. You may be able to find one on ebay. A 49-53 Chevy has a similar drag link but the cups are the same.