11/5/05

Got it back a few days ago from ACT for a correction to the low brake pedal. Not corrected. Notwithstanding Sal took off the master (and needs to replace the gasket on the firewall), checked the adjustments on the wheels, etc., it is dangerously low. I think we need a longer rod, as I recall the pedal position being higher at one point. I will call All City Chevy parts, from whom I purchased it, and see what they suggest.

I went to Flames and Bob's last night, and the car is a raving hit. This car can really spoil me as to what attention and interest are like. My Tbird gets NO attention, this just gets people oohing and ahhing.

It still does odd things like lighting the whatever bulb on the under-dash fuse strip, and stalling for utterly no apparent reason. The windows haul now. The glove box clip, which is supposed to hold it closed on the latch, is non-existent, and I still need to get the lock on the glove box picked and keyed. I also still need an actual glove box.

The clock appears to work! I have another clock in the waiting from Charles back east, along with a #-correct tripower and manifold, Turboglide trans and driveshaft, and a set of hubcaps.

11/12/05

Salim felt dirty fluid may have wiped out the brand new master cylinder seals, so put a new kit in it and put it back in the car. He also sent the prior master booster and cylinder for repair. The old booster is now good, now the old master is bad. Salim does not want to sleeve that one, so we're just holding on a decision on that. Now, however, the brakes lock up the rear, right rear wheel first. They feel VERY hard when cold, and are still not safe. Man, this is REALLY a pain!! It appears they are not plumbed with separate front and rear brakes (which is the whole point of a dual-reservoir system). So we appear to need re-piping and a proportioning valve. Salim says I should have listened to my first instinct and gone discs. Something is still definitely not right.

I have two hubcap places locally which I will try, and Robert at Picture Cars is still promising me a spare hubcap for free. I have run VERY short on cash, so there are some crunch decisions being made right now on certain parts.

11/15/05

I took the car to Mike Willard this morning, and we'll see what he finds.

11/16/05

Mike called and they certainly did find some things. Firstly, the rear reservoir was no good, so he replaced the master. Secondly, the FRONT reservoir was hooked to the REAR brakes, so I not only had TOO much pressure on the rear (ergo the locking wheels), but had NO front brakes. That seems to account for the lousy pedal and no brakes. Thirdly, the push rod was mounted too high on the pedal. Fourthly, the pedal bushing on its bracket was absent, and he corrected that.

Now for the engine: timing was off, and the O2 sensor had been wired with its wire wrapped around the steering column. He feels this is giving false readings. He said it stops great, and the engine runs way better.

Finally, he noted the brakes had a shudder on stopping. Yes, I'd noticed that. He noted new drums might have been stored incorrectly on edge and could be egg-shaped. I told him the new drums had been heated up because of the too-long pedal rod (the primal brake problem from day one). He's turning all four drums. He has done exactly as promised in two days. He has corrected all that Sal had missed. Of course Sal called today and said he had gotten back the original master now completely rebuilt. Oh well, more parts for the future. I told Tom at Willard's that there was a gush of air coming through the firewall, and he confirmed that the computer wiring loom had no grommet. I believe that fell out when Ray redid the engine compartment. Tom said he'd try to find a grommet. Tom also mentioned that the engine compartment had obviously been beautifully massaged, and the engine needed some dressing to be appropriate to the car. I told him of my chrome covers and plans to polish or powder coat the injection and put on some niftier belts and accessories. So this little foray has probably cost another thousand dollars. None of this should have been necessary in my opinion. Sal has meant well, no question, but his crew was just not seeing what was wrong, so it was time for new eyes. And see they did.

11/17/05

Checked this morning and Tom also found the right rear brakes shoes had been installed backwards. He was also working on correcting the over-center routing of the throttle cable, which made the throttle VERY jumpy. It turns out the original installer had routed it incorrectly. Tom also thinks there is another duct leaking under the dash (as I suspected), and is addressing that. At some point I will need to get some clarity on the heater and air controls (no AC, remember). So these guys have jumped on everything I asked, found more things I didn't request, and have done a great job. I am anxious to get this back and see how it performs. Roy and I also need to get the wiper motor back in and see if we can make it work. I think there is also a provision for washer spray, but there is no reservoir nor pump, I do have the 86 dually setup, and we might try that for starters.

11/18/05

In an astonishing turn of events, I called to check if the car was ready again, and Tom said they had NO brakes. They said the pedal was hard, no stopping power, totally bizarre. The short story here is that the rubber hose connecting the rear brakes to the hard line (this hose feeds both rears) was COMPLETELY closed down. The inside diameter was from zero to a mm or so. Literally the size of a pin in diameter. It would apparently close off completely, then open, etc. So between a brand new master once rebuilt and then no good on the rear portion, inverted brakes lines, a reversed rear brake, no good front shoes, new drums needing turning, and replacing all rubber hoses in the system, I now have KILLER brakes. And a mere $850. Dude, this thing REALLY stops!

The engine runs better now, although no more stooch, just smooth, with the timing set a zero and a total of 38 degrees. It was idling at 16 degrees formerly. The O2 sensor wire had been torn off due to catching in the steering knuckles in the engine compartment. The idle feels too high, although that may be just a long warm-up setting in the computer. I will take it back to Mike today for a recheck of that.

I am investigating an electric antenna for the slanted rear-mount stock unit. I'm slowly beginning to take Marty Schulman's advice and just do whatever makes it easier to drive. In retrospect, I should have gone directly to disc brakes. Of course, had we not replaced those hoses, the same nightmare would have occurred.

I also need to run the car back to Marlon to straighten out the wheel from its 45 degrees to the left present setting.

11/18/05

The engine was idling up around 1100 RPM and making it tough to hold at stop lights. Turns out the cable which pulls on the TPI throttle valve is pulled by a bellcrank near the back of the engine. This bellcrank is about an inch too low, causing the cable to have to go up over the back of the TPI tubes. When releasing the throttle, the resultant kink in the cable does not settle back into the sheath, holding the throttle. The interim fix by Pat at Willard's was to put a another return spring on the throttle. Pat pointed out the need to legnthen the bellcrank. I'll fix it correctly by lengthening the bellcrank to just above the tubes, also providing more pull on the cable and allowing full throttle instead of the 3/4 WOT it now produces. This will also make the throttle at the foot feel a little quicker.

The dramatic cool air leak turns out to be, as noted by John Jarnagin, the large hole where the wiper motor is supposed to reside. Gotta put that back in, and go find some grommets for the remaining holes in the firewall which produce a hot air leak.

11/23/05

I found a hubcap at Hubcaps/Wheels in Canoga Park for $50. It appears to stay on. I'll drive the car further tomorrow and find out for sure.

I'll also weld up the throttle bellcrank and see how that works.

If I'm REAL ambitious, I'll work on getting the wiper motor back in.

11/25/05

I worked on the Impala yesterday and fixed the bellcrank, glove box stop, and welded up the RF rim. I had purchased a single hubcap the other day, and it appeared to be holding, but popped off when I turned the car around. So I put a bead on the four bumps on the rim and it works fine now.

And this is the second rim and second hubcap on that corner. Weird, per usual.

The car drives nicely, and of course looks much nicer with all wheel covers in place.

No work on the wiper motor, perhaps tomorrow.

John and I assembled the display info and sign for the Impala, and I selected a lovely picture of mom and me dancing some years back. I had the plexi display stand covers drilled, and they were slightly too small (the bolts fit, but just too tight going into the metal with no fudge room), so I broke one. I drilled out plexi piece #2 (of 4) and it went together nicely. Yet another lesson learned.

11/29/05

Roy and I worked diligently to reinstall the wiper motor today. What a pain! If I could have found the proper driver, I would have removed the lower dash brace to make it easy. It is a figure 8 insert in the bolt head, and I have no such tool. Get the C-clip into the BOTTOM arm is just tough. I did it with needlenose pliers from the inside of the car under the dash. Roy and I also went searching to several places today trying to locate something to make the windshield washer system work. There is NO reservoir or pump or lines in there now. But the bezels around the wiper blade bases contain an 1/8 th inch pipe and a 6-32 threaded hole in the side. Some sort of nozzle goes into that threaded hole. I intend to use the dually washer system as a starter. Leon Shapen claims to have a Hudson glass bottle for that very purpose.

12/3/05

I got some Impala parts last night from the tattooed Bob (who also had a Bel Air and works at Pictures Cars where the majorly rusted Impala was on ebay) at Big Boy. I paid him $20 for some brake parts, he gave me a full set of drums (front and rears), and I paid him $100 for a pack of 58 Bel Air mouldings he claims will bring $220 from Auto City upon their return. We'll see if that works. He could not find the spare Impala hubcap (and I don't need it now anyway).

I'm still debating on the $1500 tripower setup. Brett's dad, Leon Shapen, is adamant that it is NOT worth it, but then no one seems to have their hands on the correct carbs at this point. I can't imagine they will not be a decent investment, particularly if I buy the hugely expensive tripower air cleaner from another guy. I am losing my ardor to keep everything perfectly original. There are some things I think worth doing original, like the engine and tripower, etc. But I'm losing my passion for EVERYTHING stock. I think I'll indulge in some suspension and steering improvements, keep all the stock stuff (and accumulate more as possible), and drive the thing. When and if I ever sell it, I can resto it then or just offer the parts with it. I don't see me doing much of anything right now in any event, other than getting to the 348 rebuild. The KiloKub will be draining the time, energy, and bank accounts.

12/19/05

I did not get the tripower, nor the discrete carburetors (which were correct #). Instead, it appears I will buying the tripower carbs off another Rodfather who also has a 58 Impala. He has chosen rebuilt (they look new) carbs for his setup, and will quote me a price soon on his units. I don't know if they are correct #, as they have no tags or vacuum devices. It runs about $175 to “restore” carbs to new-looking, so his price for his “new” carbs @ $125 each was good for him.

I've spent some time driving around, and the brakes, while good, are not discs, that's for sure. I will be looking for some air shocks tomorrow. I need to contact Charles in ND regarding the Turboglide, etc.

12/26/05

I'm still overdue to contact Charles. Will do so by email in a few minutes. The car drives nicely. Brett is back, although only every few days here and there so far, so no further work has been done. Roy is due here tomorrow, and depending on what's going on work-wise, we MIGHT get some attention on the car. I am a little underwhelmed with the feel of the brakes today, although I just pulled the car in and out of the driveway, and did some short hops. Perhaps it's just the cold weather, but the brakes are feeling a little dead in the pedal.

1/9/06

Took the car to Sal Wednesday last, and he looked at it today. He feels somehow the change in pivot points on the throttle, while not touching the throttle pressure mounting, is affecting the ratio of throttle pressure increase, resulting in too low pressure at shifts. Interestingly, at idle it is about 20# higher than normal, at about 240 psi. He is going to try a dual-adjustable cable before pulling the trans out of the car. He dropped the pan and says it is clean as could be. I don't see how any number of adjustments matters, the cable can only be so long, and it is maxed out at full throttle. One of us will be learning something on this one.

1/22/06

I won the latest offering on ebay for a VERY last-second $1285 (under 25 seconds left), including shipping. It was at $604 with 2 min to go, and I threw a $990 bid in and just backed it up with about 25 seconds to go with a $1300 max bid. That JUST covered it!

This has the correct carb #, correct fuel lines and apparently most of the vacuum linkage parts.

I have also won as of last week another 3x2 setup for $656, and owe that guy a cashier's check as well. So probably that one will go back on ebay pronto.

Dan Klint, a Rodfather who has the other 58 Impala in our group, is selling his three carbs, and I don't know if they are correct. At this point, I don't care as I have the right stuff. Unless Dan's are correct and way cheaper, they can enhance someone else's creation.

I COULD get them, or use the other set I got, on the rusty 348 and rebuild that. A guy just got over $3K for his 348 engine and 700R4 trans, so that might be an idea here.

I need to find the casting # and date that rusty block before moving ahead. I intend to get a correct Turboglide to have with the car, and NOT use it.

I have sent the owner a request, and we'll see if he finalizes the trans deal.

1/23/06

Sal did get some change in trans performance by upping the internal pressure in the trans, but it now shifts too easily from 4 th to 3 rd , hopping in and out of gears going up the 405 grade. So more work is needed there. Brett also got the rear air shocks on and got the body up about 3”, which is quite helpful.

I have the correct generator, and I'll live without the correct master and booster.

NOW, to find a correct air cleaner. That will certainly be hurtful. I will do the above-mentioned #-checking on the rusty spare. It would make a nice tripower motor for someone else. If it is a 59 or later block, I might consider making it a 409, or bigger.

4/9/06

As time marches on, my focus is getting narrower, along with my wallet. I am out of time, money, energy, and space.

I am NOT going to build the “spare” 348 and Powerglide. Rather, they are going up for sale. I have gotten the correct tripower carbs rebuilt and they are as new, sitting in a box. I have a SECOND tripower carbs and manifold setup, which I will likely renew and sell off.

I have put my Buick, Tbird, and 47 Stude Champion up for sale. My plan is to reduce the fleet to one truck, either the dually or 03 Duramax, so one more vehicle is up for sale. My plan is to have the Impala for the Friday night and weekend car, the KiloKub 3-engined truck for the monster cruiser, the FC for REAL speed, and the truck for everyday use.

I am also NOT going to install the original factory air, rather I'm looking to a Vintage Air or equivalent. I have purchased a Turboglide, but I'm having HUGE problems getting it delivered from South Dakota . Once here, I will have a nice set of original parts as investments. I have some spare parts which I will be returning to Auto City Classics for a refund, including the master cylinder, some trim pieces, and other goodies.

I am currently bidding on an original tripower air cleaner.

I have had TOO many car projects going, and as I am not Jay Leno, don't have a $500K/year staff budget, and do not have an acre under roof to store and work on all these cars, many must go. I AM going to get a stacking lift, however, to get cars off the driveway and out of the weather.

At this moment I have EIGHT motors and three transmissions in my garage NOT installed in vehicles: the two 348's, 2 powerglides, a 542 FC motor, the Buick V-6 and turbo 350 trans out of the KiloKub pickup, and THREE brand new Corvette LS-1 motors for the KiloKub. Oh, and the fresh 427 Windsor for the Tbird. You get the picture.

I took down the Jenkins awning out front (weather beaten and being repaired), relocated the KK parts to allow more parking, and moved the FC trailer back out on the street behind the dually. The 47 Stude Champion sits on the street with its FOR SALE sign. The Tbird will be pushed out in to the driveway shortly once we get the motor in, awaiting someone to build headers for it in about a month.

Jorge and I are also working on a salvaged 06 Chevy 2500 Duramax short bed 4WD LOADED pickup ($55K new, with only 482 miles). Once complete, I'll either buy it off Jorge if I can sell my two trucks, or we'll just move it for a profit. WAY too many things going on here.

I had mentioned previously I will doll up the 305 motor in the Impala, and I'm getting close to doing that. However, I will first return the car to Sal at ACT to correct the goofy trans pressures.

4/11/06

The Turboglide arrived today! I had thought I was into another scam thing. So I now have the “proper” trans. This trans is really only insurance for sale and value. Randy claims that a Powerglide appears correct as well. I'll do some research and find out for myself.

I am on ebay right now with about 18 minutes to go on a correct tripower air cleaner. I'm stalking it with no bids so far. John Santiago wants the Buick V-6 and trans, so that's a really good thing, and will provide a little coin for the Impala. Well, I just got screwed. Apparently I owed ebay $2.51, so they locked me up with a minute to go, and I lost it. It's paid now, of course. SOB!!!

I was VERY heartened when a resto-mod 58 Impala brought $108K on Barrett-Jackson the other day.

5/15/06

I've taken it to some shows, and it gets received nicely. I also got a correct tripower air cleaner.

I ALSO have the second set of now show-fresh tripower carbs which I will sell.