It had to be drained as there was a little in it. That had me worried that the inside of the tank was rusty, since gas does collect water. A full tank does not allow for condensation of water, and this one had about 3 gallons in it.
It looked like this after the body was removed:
Sadly, the gasket that is between the fill neck and the tank was suffering deterioration, and has been for quite some time, based in the flow lines you can see in the picture above. The center of the gasket was still in the tank! I made a new gasket out of cork gasket material using the original one as a template. Once the fill neck was removed from the tank, we got a good look inside. No Rust! The sending unit was removed. It mounts in the bottom. The tank was chemically stripped and cleaned, then painted silver. To be sure that the gasket surfaces were bare metal, they were masked prior to the paint. The tank fill port hole was fully covered by tape, I punctured it to move it. The old sending unit was put back on for the painting process. The cap was treated the same way. It's seal was replaced and it was cleaned up and painted the same color.
The fasteners that mount the fill neck to the tank were replaced as well with stainless ones.
New sending unit installed:
The tank straps were painted when the chassis was. Many parts were. All fasteners associated with the tank were replaced with stainless versions.
The Tank on the chassis with all new insulators (note how the insulators were missing in the first picture, and the straps were loose.) :
Fuel lines connected:
---------------------------------
For your viewing pleasure: The ignition shielding and most of the final parts and accessories on the engine:
Click to show
Trying out Cliff's new feature
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 08-02-2011).]
Question: What made you go with using that exhaust manifold? I would have been tempted to go a little more....exotic.
But it is the ONLY thing I would change!
Thanks for asking. Please ask questions. Many reasons... It came down to a cost Vs gain issue. The Tri-Y is the best flowing exhaust for this particular engine. The original manifold did not have significantly lower flow rates over the after market ones. The HP gain was in the 1-5 HP range for the after market ones that worked with the side pipes. The only advantage to the custom or after market ones was the Jet Hot coating. And that can be put on any manifold or header. I really did not see the gains for the money. That was one reason. Another reason was the side pipes. Most of the best gain (more than the 5HP) Tri-Y headers would not work without significant reworking of the exhaust system. Essentially, getting the better flow headers would cause difficulties later as they drop down, hug the block and transmission, and exit out the back. They would be better with the rear exit exhaust, as it would be easier to re-work that exhaust to fit with them. Having the stock manifold Jet Hot coated cost less than after market headers and it improved the flow anyway.
Also, the alternator has a mount point on the left manifold. However, that really did not come into the decision making. That can always be worked around.
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-28-2011).]
Earlier you wrapped the exhaust pipes, but the latest pictures show bare pipe. What happened?
Also why not wrap the pipe further down?
Brad
Thanks for asking. Sorry if it was confusing. That picture was posted out of sequence. That is why I made it a "Click to show", also just to actually use Cliff's new feature . The final wrapped pipes did not go on the car til the body was put back on, as the body was setup for rear exit exhaust and had parts that the side pipes would interfere with when it went back on the chassis. Those parts needed to be cut off. We didn't want to make the cuts till the body was on the chassis and we could test fit the side pipes again.
I didn't really think it was necessary to go further down the pipes. The intent was to keep most of the heat out of the engine compartment. The baffle area was outside of the engine compartment and in the "around the car" (general) airflow. I just did not think it was necessary.
I tried to split the build thread into "Chassis" and "Body", and by making it two parts, I would be better able to collect the pictures that I feel best explain what was done, and why it was done that way. Also, it would be easier to follow what was done.
Work on the actual car has bounced around. Many days, we would work on body parts for the morning, and something on the chassis (or for it) in the evening. Many times, there was a test fitting accomplished due to a new part trying to integrate with an old part, then a picture taken, and then it was pulled apart for final cleaning, prep, and installation (or later install). Also, there were a few days where I only had a few hours, so I would, for example, just pull one headlight motor apart and take pictures while doing it to put it back together later (in case I couldn't remember).
Well, the chassis has been assembled to the point of needing a body. Most of the plumbing has been installed. The power steering pump and lines are connected. The Poly body mounts are installed for the body, and they are taped on to hold them in place.
Body next...
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-29-2011).]
How high off the ground will the frame rails be once you have the car put back together? On my car the pipe from the header to the side pipe is touching the bottom of the frame and it still bottoms out on taller speed bumps. I have been thinking about putting a small notch in the frame to give me about an inch more clearance.
Those corvette boys can be a tough crowd but over at http://www.hotrodders.com you would get a lot of respect for your build.
Absolutely beautiful work! I can't wait to see the finished pictures, but this is fun too. Do you plan to keep the car and show it, or sell it?
Thanks! Kind of like Jay Leno, I'm gonna drive it. Not for sale... maybe in the future, but only after I have had my fun with it ... It may end up in shows, but that would be on a whim.
How high off the ground will the frame rails be once you have the car put back together? On my car the pipe from the header to the side pipe is touching the bottom of the frame and it still bottoms out on taller speed bumps. I have been thinking about putting a small notch in the frame to give me about an inch more clearance.
Those corvette boys can be a tough crowd but over at http://www.hotrodders.com you would get a lot of respect for your build.
Tough question to answer.
I was able to get a hold of the original Factory Assembly Manual. It has all the dimensions for damn near everything...
Factory front dimensions is 8.67 inches +/-0.25 from ground to bottom of body, 30.5 inches behind center of front wheels (near the center of the center vent behind front wheels). Rear is 9.16 inches +/-0.25 from ground to bottom of body, 24.0 inches in front of the center of rear wheels (at back of the door).
That is the dimension I plan to start with. It will most likely be lowered from there (easy to do with just a turn of a nut). Those dimensions should put the side pipes at about 5 - 5.5 inches above the ground. The ground clearance is way over done on this thing.
In the first picture of the first post, the black side runners are replaced. The side pipes run where they used to be. The metal tabs that hold the side runners on had to be cut off to allow for the side pipes. Parts of the fiberglass body had to be cut off as well.
-Dave
Adding, I think I registered for that forum a while back. I may have to get back there.
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-29-2011).]
So disappointed with your build. I think that I saw you reuse a bolt somewhere on page one!
Absolutely wonderful thread. I have been watching, lurking, and . Serious attention to detail, and I say build it like you want it.
Impatiently waiting,
Tony
Sorry... I will rectify that, new bolts on order .
Thanks. I'm glad people are enjoying it. It has been fun to learn and do this. The fiero (on page one) was the first project I had done (2001-2002 time frame), but it was not quite to this level (some body panels were left on the frame ). Many of the processes are the same and doing the Vette let me refine the processes.
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-29-2011).]
Sorry... I will rectify that, new bolts on order .
Thanks. I'm glad people are enjoying it. It has been fun to learn and do this. The fiero (on page one) was the first project I had done (2001-2002 time frame), but it was not quite to this level (some body panels were left on the frame ). Many of the processes are the same and doing the Vette let me refine the processes.
-Dave
Free bump back to the top. I can't wait to see the body section of the build!
Examples of 1966 Corvette Factory Assembly Manual (FAM) pages that we used quite often when doing the rough body work:
The side profile "F.O.D." (whatever that stands for, I haven't figured it out. It is the 0 point that all measures come from, that much was evident) is through the center of the center of the three vents on the side. Every line is in 5 inch increments.
I wish I had something like this for the fiero.
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-29-2011).]
When we first got the chassis back from the frame shop, we tested how the body fit on the corrected chassis.
It fit ok, but not the greatest. It had it's issues other than how it fit on the chassis. We knew it had been in a wreck (rear ended), and that was "Fixed" a long time ago. It was something that we wanted fix better. Much like the start of this project, the intent changed as we learned what was needed. First thing to do was take everything that bolts to the body off the body.
I took a dolly I made for removing fiero engine cradles and added some metal to it for holding the doors in a mannor that allowed me to store / rebuild them off the car. All shims were photographed in their pre-removal position and how many there were.
The hinges were completely rebuilt. They were sandblasted, primer coated, re-bushinged, and re-pinned. then they were set aside for later.
The body was moved to a better suited location for the start of the body work...
The body had many stress cracks and hair line fractures. Most of these are typical and in locations prone for it, like near fastener holes. The rear "repaired" areas were done like this:
That is where the tail light panel and the rear of the body meet. The tail light panel was really bad. That was just one spot. It was all across the panel like that. We decided to just replace that panel. Also, the passenger side rear fender suffered from the impact. The prior "repair" looked like this:
Not Acceptable.
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-30-2011).]
Before we go too deep into the panel swaps, we needed to pull the dash board out. The dash is a vinyl covered fiberglass piece. The dash board is held in by bolts along the wind shield, pop rivets at the doors, and fiber glass bonded at the floor middle... GM, why three different styles of fasteners? It was actually easier to remove it than to try and get the vinyl off.
Dash out:
Once that was done, I used an air powered grinder tool and slowly used it to locate the bond line. Once the bond line was located, I followed it and ground out as much of it as I could without digging too far into the body.
As I was doing this, I discovered another incorrect repair in the body panel that is in front of the tail light panel. I try not to use the clothe fiberglass sheets unless they are inside, where they can't be seen. That will have to be ground out as well.
All ground out, but not much original material left.
At this point, a hammer and chisel is all you need to separate the panels. Angle the chisel to point just under the panel, but above the bond strip, and give it a good hammer tap. Start at one end, finish at the other... instant de-paneled fiberglass body parts
Unfortunately, I damaged the bond strip on the passenger side, so I had to order a new one of those too. I probably was going to have to remove it anyway. The body repair in that area was going to be right over the bond strip. With the tail light panel off, the damage is very evident. You can see the original fibers in the back side. They are very random. To repair those panels correctly, chopped matting fiberglass is desired, as it will blend in to the original structure better. The Clothe repair you see is not desirable. Well, might as well collect the parts for later, He he he..
No tail light panel, and no bond strip. I use an air powered right angle grinder with speed control, using 36 to 80 grit wheels as needed, to grind out / off the FRP bonding adhesive. The damaged area is ground out and will be filled using fiberglass resin and fiberglass 1.5 ounce chopped matting put down in layers.
Back side of the damaged area ground out.
Front side of the damaged area ground out.
By this point, most of the damaged survey showed the tail light panel, the passenger side rear fender (wheel well area only), and the exhaust panel, or lower rear valence, that was going to get replaced anyway due to side pipes. The exhaust panel (lower rear valence) had already been ordered. I order a repair / patch panel for the fender, and the tail light panel about a week prior to this. I now had to add a bond strip... Chassis work is so much easier.
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-30-2011).]
The passenger side rear wheel well area was "fixed" by leaving the panel in it's deformed condition and just using old panel bits and pieces to the back side to stiffen it up... the original work done to the body was done with the un-corrected frame, so They just put everything back as it was. Well, they tried to put everything back, but failed. They even used screws and pop rivets to hold the panel in it's aftermath, deformed shape.
I had to get the paint off the outside to really see what was going on, so I broke out the DA with 80 grit to cut through it. There was about 3 layers of paint there, not including the primer and gel coat. After the paint was off and I was down at the fiberglass, I drew lines of what I thought was the most likely original cracks. I was trying to see and figure out how the panel had moved. The body, when the car was still together, always looked good, but something was off, not quite right. Now I know why... the passenger side rear wheel well was shorter (front to rear) than the driver side.
All that fiberglass clothe would have to come out. I don't know what they used to bond their repair work in, but it almost seemed like a jell form of fiberglass resin. At some points, it was just a thick layer of the resin and nothing in it.
I put my patch panel up and drew lines of how it would fit in, started to remove that section first. Since I figured the wheel well had shrunk, I left about 2 inches of the original wheel well there just in case. In construction, I have heard the saying, "measure and cut your best, paint and caulk with fill the rest." I am not a subscriber to that
As the "fix" was being un-fixed, at one point, the body cracked at a "fix" joint and literally popped back to original shape. You can see the rivet holes. you can see the lines of my patch panel measuring as well.
After all the "repair" was removed, I could see the patch panel was not going to be sufficient enough. I decided to use it anyway and just build up what was left with fiberglass and long strand kevlar and fiberglass fillers. All cuts were made using a 3 inch cutoff wheel in an air cut off tool. All grinding was done using a variable speed air angle die grinder with various attachments as needed.
Now, it was ready for us to start putting it back together.
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-31-2011).]
Was it a horrifying an experience to hack into what looks like a perfectly good Corvette, or were you ready for it?
I mean, from our point of view, it looked really good from the start. You, however, knew there was something wrong, and had known for a long time that it had to be dealt with. So you knew you weren't hacking up a "perfectly good" car.
Now that the new tail light panel and bond strip came in the mail , time to get to work... The panel is a good start, but, it needs work... The lower valence panel gets bolted to this panel as well, but the nut plates are riveted to this panel, and it did not come with them. Those will have to be added later, once we take them off the original panel and clean them up.
The original tail light system is two reverse lights and two brake/turn signal/hazard/running lights... and they aren't very bright either. The gas tank just sits right in front of the tail lights too... The lights are like this: red - white ------------------------------white - red We decided to add in an extra red light on each side. Easiest way to do that is to take parts from the old panel ! using the inner light cups, we measured out the correct distances, and prepped the bond area by grinding it a little.
Marked the location:
Using Vette Panel Adhesive and a few clamps, we bonded them on.
Once the bond was good (cured), we flipped the panel over and then using the grinder, started to open a hole.
After much grinding, sanding, filling small cracks, sanding more, filling a little more, sanding yet some more... The panel was ready for the light assemblies test fittings.. or something like that
Now pull the lights back out and prep the panel to be installed on the body...
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-31-2011).]
Was it a horrifying an experience to hack into what looks like a perfectly good Corvette, or were you ready for it?
I mean, from our point of view, it looked really good from the start. You, however, knew there was something wrong, and had known for a long time that it had to be dealt with. So you knew you weren't hacking up a "perfectly good" car.
Was there still a moment of hesitation?
Oh yeah... pulling out the grinder and standing there looking at the spinning end of it and the blue vette body... That was the final hesitation. Then, there was the months prior to that. I had done some custom work with fiberglass, but not to this scale. I willingly admit it was a daunting task. I made the front and rear hood vents on my fiero, but that was like making a balsa wood toy glider compared to making a B-737... Once the first bond line was totally exposed, it got real easy though. There was no turning back after that. I just kept a mental image of how it will look when this is all done
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-31-2011).]
Like I have been in here every hour looking for updates The more I work on this bumper the more confidence I get, then I work some more and lose my confidence Going to have to go get me a cheese grater tomorrow.
You make it look easy, I know its not but this thread is a great inspiration. Looking forward to more updates.
Like I have been in here every hour looking for updates The more I work on this bumper the more confidence I get, then I work some more and lose my confidence Going to have to go get me a cheese grater tomorrow.
You make it look easy, I know its not but this thread is a great inspiration. Looking forward to more updates.
Thank you! The right tools make a huge difference. An air powered inline sander has been my closest friend in finishing the rough work, and cheese grater before that... I learned a lot doing this car, I want to do some serious modification to the "wife's" 86 fiero now... I'll have to work on her approval
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-31-2011).]
The damage at the rear of the body had to be fixed before the tail light panel could be bonded on. The under side got two layers of Chopped Mat fiberglass and resin. Fiberglass work up side down is tricky. Basically, dip the fiberglass sheet in the resin, spread it out on wax paper, then apply it where you need it. I use a fiberglass roller and cheap (as in cheapest I can find) 1 and 2 inch brushes. I use tool grade lacquer thinner as a cleaner, prior to the resin hardening.
The under side of the rear work, 2 layers of mat:
Top side after it flashed over:
Now the top side is easier to work with. Top side after 6 layers of chopped mat sheets. I do about 2 layers of 1.5 ounce mat at a time, and lightly grind it to roughen it up between each application.
Sand it down some and check for the fill... If not enough, add more. Looking at the old paint that is exposed, you can see someone has done some work in the past...
Once happy with the levels and the density (thickness), it looked like this:
Now it is ready for the long and short strand fillers and the tail light panel bond strip.
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-31-2011).]
She's seen the finished Corvette? She should let you do ANYTHING!
Ha ha ha... yeah, she actually helped with parts of it. I am just not sure if she would be willing to let me spend the money. I have 3 projects going on right now. I have rebuild the entire suspension, steering, chassis components, cooling system, and brakes on her fiero in the past 3-4 months. I just started the body work on it last weekend (stripped and filled luggage rack holes in the deck lid). https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/116545.html The Vette isn't done, yet... She's deployed, so she hasn't been able to tell me "no" so far
Now that the rear of the body was ready for the tail light panel, attention was focused back at the rear wheel well fender. We finished cutting the patch panel in and test fitting.
This also allowed us to see what would be the most expedient way to bond it in. I used some of the original parts and ground them down to thin strips. I then used the Vette Panel adhesive / filler and clamps to hold it in place til cure.
Once the adhesive was cured, I ground down the excess that flowed out from the bond area and using Chopped Mat fiberglass sheets, I reinforced the back side.
The front side started getting the Chopped Mat fiberglass as well, now that I had a decent backer.
Fiberglass fill, grind, fiberglass fill, sand, add long strand filler, cheese grate, sand, add more long strand filler, cheese grate, sand... you get the idea.
Results, rough in work done.
I also started to smooth in the back side so it would not collect dirt and road debris like the original repair did...
I also filled the holes that someone drilled into the floor board foot well of the passenger side. The ones I hinted at on page 1.
Here is a better picture of the "repair" that someone did. They did this due to the air vent (on the passenger side) water drain hole being blocked. Wash the car, drill holes in floor, drain water, fill holes with spotting putty... makes sense...I guess, since the original drain hole may not be big enough.
Using a DA with 80 grit, I lightly sanded down to the fiberglass, through whatever sealer that was. The glue that held down the floor carpet was removed prior using a putty knife and adhesive remover. After that, I used the die grinder to "V" the edges of the holes. I did this to both sides.
They looked like this, inside:
bottom side:
Fill with your favorite stranded filler from both sides, sand both sides, and the rough stuff is done.
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 08-01-2011).]
There are so many stress cracks from age in the body. Mostly around openings and holes. Most are around the rear window. I attempted to repair them with the window in place, but that was just not going to work. There was just enough room to really work there. example of the stress cracks:
Using a ni-chrome wire, we cut the adhesive, which is the same as the front windshield of a fiero, and removed the rear glass using suction cups. The front windshield is held in by a rubber gasket with no glue.
We used a sharp chisel to scrape off the glue. We cleaned up the rubber spacers and bagged them for later installation.
Also, we decided to strip all the paint off the body, since it was getting repainted anyway. Also, we wanted to see what was under the paint. We were looking for other "repairs" like the rear. We used a fiberglass safe stripper where we knew we could. Other areas got the DA treatment. Originally, the plan was to Soda Blast the body, but Soda Blasting is slow on lacquer paint jobs. I tried it, and it is very slow. I did like that layers could be stripped off at a time.
This little area took me about 20 minutes.
This took about 30 minutes.
We found quite a few of the "repairs" in the front. But, what really peaked our interest was this:
That doesn't seem right! I also later learned that the little tabs around the front grill opening were not on a 66. They were on the 63-64... Things that make you go Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 08-01-2011).]
We decided to continue stripping the whole car of paint to see what we were dealing with. There was WAY more wrong with the front end than we thought. There was a lot of work done where the bond line is. The entire hood surround and the front where the head lights and grill are, was replaced using incorrect year panels. The bottom of the body is the "0" line that all measurements are from. We ran a long straight edge from the bottom of the body out to the front to take measurements on both sides. It was pretty far off.
We used the fiberglass safe paint stripper, but we made sure we never went beyond the gel coat with it. Most of it never went past the original primer. There on out, the DA or block sander was all we used. Water neutralized the chemical stripper. So, it got hosed down...
We now knew the front was going to have to be replaced. We were unsure of how or what to replace it with. That debate went on for a couple months...
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 08-01-2011).]
The head lights on this thing leave me with much to be desired. I completely understand why people hate them now. If you think the Fiero headlight motors and system is crazy, wait til you see this system.
Had to rotate the head light to pull the bezel around the bulbs. (like a fiero similarity ends there). The headlight buckets each have their own motor. The headlights have to be rotated by the driver via a DPDT switch in the dash, then the headlight knob turns the lights on.
The entire headlight system "assembled" outside of the car. You have to completely dismantle each one to get them out. The motor end is in the nose between the headlights.
This also let us decide what to keep, and what to replace. The wire harnesses had to go. One was damaged and then repaired, there was no issue with the repair, it was done in a pretty common butt-splice connector way. It works. We pulled apart the motors and gear box for inspection. They are a standard electric motor. There is a limit stop in one direction of travel, the other direction has a limit switch.
Time to clean them up. De-rust, mask, and clear coat the motor can.
Gears, spacers, and bushings all got replaced. The armature was cleaned. The commontator was cleaned and decarboned. The brushes were re-cut.
The intermediate gear is soft aluminum and wears out.
The excess grease was removed. I do not know what kind of grease it is. It came in a kit. It looks like bearing grease, but is sticky compared to bearing grease. Finished motor. One down, one to go.
I would much rather rebuild fiero headlight motors.
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 08-02-2011).]
While the "Great Front Debate" was taking place, we decided to continue on the front end of the body... So, with some chisels, hammers, a grinder, and a crow bar or two...
You can see where the original repair bond line was...
It was like two different people at two different shops were doing the work on each side... You can also see the factory adhesive at the lower parts, and the New Glue. The new stuff looked like a jell version of fiberglass resin. It even grinds like resin...
We finished removing the factory original cowl. Sitting in the drivers side floor is a set of clamps cut and welded to extend them out to 18"... Tools I had to make to bond the body panels on later.
After the front was removed, we just go to work removing all the bonding adhesive. We also inspected the front lower areas like jetsnvettes2000 recommended on page 1. Other than surface rust, the areas looked pretty good. The passenger side air vent rain water drain hole was completely plugged with whatever glue it was that the dealer (we assumed the dealer did this) used to bond the "new" front on. Considering it collected water when ever the car was washed or it rained, I am amazed it was not rotten like I suspected it would be.
Now, what to do with a Corvette Front clip? Make a Chevonda Civette, Corvic edition. The Ultimate Ricer edition
Click to show
Click to show
-Dave
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 08-03-2011).]
I made a new gasket out of cork gasket material using the original one as a template.
. Serious attention to detail, and I say build it like you want it. 
