No Going Back now. 70 LT-1
 

Decided to go all in.

Pulled the body off the frame yesterday. Even with my gantry crane at 12 feet high, I had to tie the harness in a knot to get enough clearance to roll the chassis out from under it. Guess I could have pulled the engine and gas tank before pulling the body. Just a lot easier to do it with the body off.

Built a jig from 3x3 3/16 angle iron. It set nicely on a couple small body dollies so I can roll it around. Seems the front nose has a lot of bounce to it, so I will likely add some extensions to the front for more support.

This car deserves to be done right. Born with engine (not in the car right now... that's another story) trans and rear end. Pretty certain the radiator is original, but I didn't see a tag. The only deviation from stock will be a set of adjustable Koni shocks and the GM part number headers and side pipes I got from Tony. BTW, if anyone is making a trip this next week or two from the Detroit area to Wisconsin, you could really help a brother out running the first leg of the relay to OK.

Manual brakes, and, like all early LT-1 models, no PS. My understanding is that a few were made with PS late in the model year, but the compromise is that they had to use a smaller oil pan.

First question:

The gas tank has lots of surface rust. The inside is spotless. Is it worth restoring?
New ones can be had for less than $300.

With Konis and side pipes, I am obviously not planning on NCRS judging. But, I would still like it to look correct.

Looking good! I'd buy a new correct reproduction tank myself. You'll be happier setting the body on a completed chassis with the engine and tank in it.

Is the build sheet on the gas tank

Yep, you've made the commitment now. Happy to see I'm not alone in the "old guy doing a body off" restoration.
It will be worth it to have that access to do it right. :biggthumpup:
That's what I keep telling myself.

No build sheet.

That's going to be fun, fun, fun! You're asking about the tank......I had the exact same concern on my '66. It's tank cleaned up very nice and the inside looked great with a hint of corrosion in the neck but the tank was clean. I bought a new one after stewing on it. The new tank has the exact same embossed stamping and looks great. My car is halfway through the "complete" process and these same decisions have been attached to the brake rotors, rear spring, and brake calipers, which were upgraded to SS sometime in their lifetime. .... and I'm going torque thrusts, kyb shocks and considered hooker sidepipes but couldn't bring myself to cut the fenders. You're going to love this project.

Quite an ambitious undertaking with all the things you seem to have going on, but if you're up for it will be great to follow along.

NCRS has a judging format for modified cars now. :biggthumpup:

I'd also replace the tank.

We'll be following along Lynn!

You and Lynn aren't alone Mitch...I'm on the home stretch of a "body off" and have another one waiting in the queue. Time in the shop keeps me young. - Bill W

I have another waiting also. I tell myself the shop "exercises" keep me young too, but the body complains in the evenings...:tongue:

I agree Bill.

I was shocked to learn that all of the body mount bushings are solid aluminum. I learned that before removing the body, so at least I wasn't surprosed.

Using a mic, they don't seem to be the same sizes. But.... most of them are corroded and swollen.

Were they all the same size or was there some procedure to determine how thick if a bushing to use at each mount? Forgive me if this is in the Assembly Manual. I have one, but it is down at the shop right now. Too lazy to go look.

Also, because the body was not built by Fischer, the Assy Manual is about four times the size of the Camaro AIM!!!!

Next question: is it simply anathema to use hard rubber bushings instead of aluminum? Seems like the aluminum would contribute to squeaks and rattles. You know, the Opel GT of the 60s and the C3 were designed by the same guy. I am shocked every time I drive them back to back how much more solid the Opel feels than the Corvette. That is sad.

Lynn,
Would just the size and weight of the Corvette vs. the Opel alone make it feel that much more stiff?? Never driven an Opel, but the pic shows a big difference in size.

Were they all the same size or was there some procedure to determine how thick if a bushing to use at each mount? Forgive me if this is in the Assembly Manual. I have one, but it is down at the shop right now. Too lazy to go look.

Not an easy task you are getting yourself into. There are shims at each body mount. When you remove the body mount, DON"T lose the shims. Record and count each position. The same amount will have to go back in the same spot when you install the body back on the frame..

I have them each marked. Some are incomplete.

When I hear "shims" I think of alignment shims. These are all like large thick washers; maybe 3/8 inch thick. Will post pics Sunday night. Have a work day at the Museum tomorrow.

I am sure size has something to do with it. But the similarity is only in the skin. The Opel is unibody.

They are washers, not ALL the same thickness sometimes.

It’s always fascinated me that the 350/370 LT1 was $158 more expensive than the 454/390 LS5 motor. Chevrolet was certainly proud of that screaming little Mouse motor! It’s also interesting to note that Chevrolet waited until the 4th model year of the 350 SBC’s production before they finally stabbed a solid lifter camshaft in it along with that beautiful aluminum intake manifold & Holley, etc. to create a max effort small block Chevy. I may love the BBC (jokes aside!) but I also have a soft spot in my heart for LT1’s and their L79 little brothers.

That is what I thought. I don't know how they determined what thickness went where. I am guessing the frames were pretty consistent but the bodies were not so consistent.

This frame has enough rust on it that I am not planning to repair it. I have a donor rust free frame that I have already stripped down. One little area needs attention, but zero rust. All the caged nuts (and the cages) are in great shape. Just need to chase threads.

Found this post on the Corvette forum (see post #5).
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...unt-shims.html

Wondering where a clean frame could have come from unless a totaled car ? Have you had the replacement frame checked for square and plumb on a frame rack ?

Did the Vette frame get the VIN stamped on it like the Chevelle?

Yes,The Corvette had the VIN stamped .

I thought the same thing. I don't have a frame rack, and i don't have a perfectly flat surface in my shop.

What I have done is check if for square every which way. All good. Anything that could be measured for square, I measured. I figured if it was in a wreck, SOMETHING would likely be out of square.

Sounds like it is good. I had the advantage of working at a frame shop and took all my frames there to be measured on a rack. Since he sold out 2 years ago and I don't work there anymore, the next car ('70 Chevelle) will need to go somewhere else and cost me money...and I know that one needs work...:tongue:

Yup. Eyes wide open. I knew is would be a challenge.

All the shims are simply thick aluminum washers on this car.

All are corroded to some extent, with some being worse, and several are in pieces. When aluminum corrodes, it swells.

Most of them still have remnants of paper tape that I assume helped hold them in place.

The ones that aren't swollen all mic at .385. The rest; who knows.

Original nodular iron flywheel. Dated Dec. 69, which about right for my Feb 11 built car.

Oops. Forgot flywheel pics.

Original trans tag and stamps.
The first digit on the tag is a 3. Covered up with grease.

Holley Carb. Apparently, the original was swapped out somewhere along the way.

This one looks pretty grimy, but it ran perfectly. No hesitation; no flat spots.

Has correct metering plates. 6333 & 4519.

As you can see, this one is dated fourth week of May, 1970, so not original to my Feb 11 car.

I was told by a member here that this is actually a very desirable date code. Same carb was used on 1970 Z/28 with manual trans, and on the Yenko Deuce.

I will probably send it off to Eric and have it restored. Will then ask a ridiculous amount of money for it, and hope to parlay that into purchasing a Dec 69 or Jan 70 carb.

Did you see this?

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...olley&_sacat=0

I did Tim.

also say this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/25607399309...Bk9SR8qGppvcYw

Dated 2nd week of Dec 69. But no pictures of the actual carb.

He has two others at the same price, one April, and one May, 054, same date as mine.

I have reached out to him.

----It seems like you could have someone machine some stainless shims (washers) and never have to worry about corrosion again!....Bill S

Seems in today's world of correct restoration prices, you could ask a ridiculous price as is for a survivor car, or let the new owner pay to restore it.

Except it really isn't a survivor. The PO didn't do a great job when he had it painted in 1983. Overspray on everything. Besides, I already have the body off.

The carburetor, Lynn, sell it as is to someone with a survivor car that needs that date.

Doh!
I get it.

Mitch said:

"Originally Posted by Too Many Projects View Post
Wondering where a clean frame could have come from unless a totaled car ? Have you had the replacement frame checked for square and plumb on a frame rack ?"

Hey Mitch: Given that I don't have a perfectly flat surface in my shop, are you aware of a procedure I could follow to insure my "new" frame isn't twisted? Even an 1/8 of an inch could cause me problems. I have it stripped down to nothing, and put casters on it so I could move it around the shop. Before I spend time and money making it look perfect, it would give me a lot of peace of mind to know it is true in every direction.

Any suggestions?

Lynn,

Do you have the 70 Chassis Service Manual? It has the frame datum in there. Regardless, you will need a perfectly level surface (preferably a surface plate or a frame machine)

Tim

You previously said you had measured diagonally in different locations and distances and they were all "square", which would be a very good indicator that the frame doesn't have a diamond. This can be done as a rolling chassis even without it being on a perfectly flat surface.
Twist, is the only other concern and that would need to be done on a flat surface and measured from that surface to the reference marks in Tim's pic of the side view.

Knowing it measures square, I would feel fairly comfortable that the frame doesn't have a twist, or if it does, it's so slight, that it isn't going to make a difference.
If you want a little assurance, I would block and shim the frame under the front and rear corners of the horizontal rails until they are level, front to back and side to side. Then you can use a level on the front horns, rear boxed enclosure and a short torpedo level on the front crossmember to judge if they are twisted.

No frame is perfect, hence the need to shim the body to fit the frame on a Corvette.
The ONLY way to know 100%, is to take it to a reputable frame shop, with a printout of the specs, and have them check it. You could do this after it is assembled to roller status and it may easier to transport that way.