Project DZ74

[Bowtie-Bri]

Hey Doug,
It looks like the car is coming together nicely.
It looks Awesome!! Can't wait to see it in person.

That Rad looks nice to. Have you considered putting a screen of some sort in front it to keep the bugs out of it?

[WMCC Doug]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the compliment. I had not even thought about a screen for bugs. Not a bad idea!

We had a pretty frustrating day on the project. We finished wiring up the trunk mounted battery and then tried to see if the starter would work, and turn the engine over. Well, the short answer is "no". We spent the day tracing down circuits, examining the shop manual and trying to figure out why the starter would not work. Later in the day, we got the soliniod to work, but the starter still would not spin. We tried to check the starter for proper gear mesh with the flywheel, and it will take nearly 1/2 inch of a shim (spacer) to get it to not hit the face of the flywheel.

I bought an aftermarket mini-starter, hi-torque, 2hp off ebay that looked like it should work with our 6 speed conversion flywheel, but now I don't think so. I guess the next step is to buy a starter for an LT1 (costs twice as much) and see how that goes.

Still hoping to start it up this week.

[zmanrc]

Another "Bolt In" huh?

[WMCC Doug]

Another "Bolt In" huh?

yup, sad but true ............

[ITSSLOW]

Looks like progress is coming along great!

[WMCC Doug]

Generally, we've been making great progress. We've hit a little snag with this starter issue, but we're still on track to have it finished by the Berger All Chevy Show on August 22, 23. Or at least finished enough to be there and look like a car !!!! LOL We'll probably have some details that will still need attention after that, but we're getting close.

[WMCC Doug]

I didn't work on the starter issue today but did get some other things done. John F. stopped by and assisted in putting the gage bezel back in. The extra hands really helped to plug things in and work with the new dash pad. It's a tight squeeze.

I decided to remove the cruise control. It was a 30 year old aftermarket unit I installed 30 years ago. There was one broken vacuum switch and parts are no longer available, so out she came. While I was under the dash (not a very comfortible place to be) I dressed up the wires and cable tied some things up, out of the way.

I got the brake master cylinder down from the upstairs of my garage and started to clean that up. I also took the trunk mat over to the local coin-op car wash and sprayed it (a little) cleaner.

Brick by brick, piece by piece, she coming together..................

[kammi10]

good work doug... can;t wait to see it

[smokeyrider05]

looking top notch.

[WMCC Doug]

Well, I picked up an LT1 starter from Autozone today. Got it bolted in, but have to install a couple of new terminals on a couple of harness wires. The studs on the new starter are larger than the ones on my old original starter. I plan to fix the wires tomorrow and see how it goes.

[92conv]

Good luck.....The pics look awesome, can't wait to see it in person!!

[WMCC Doug]

Got our starter issues straightened out tonight. We didn't have a good enough ground to the engine. We installed a couple of ground straps tonight, and whirrrr, the engine turns over !!!!!!!!!

Gonna buy some gas tomorrow and put some antifreeze in the radiator. We plan to try to fire this puppy up tomorrow (Thursday) night for the first time in 22 years!

[MP81]

Damn...22 years!

Good luck you guys!

Take a video!!!

[SoulTerror]

Looking great!

[WMCC Doug]

Damn...22 years! Good luck you guys! Take a video!!!

LOL .......... Ya, I took the car apart in 1986. I never dreamed it would be down for this long, and if it was not for a great group of friends, it would still probably be stuck in the back corner of my garage.

But, I've owned it for 34 years (bought new in July of 1974) and I drove it for almost 61,000 miles before I tore it down. Never driven in the winter, and never really a daily driver. Almost, though for a couple of summers back in the day.