Well, the Chevelle is D.O.A.....

[VintageMusclecar]

Dead on it's axles. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/bs.gif[/img]

I've been trying to isolate a driveline vibration since I got the car on the road.

I just found it...the hard way. Thank God it happened in the garage while the car was up on jack stands.

Damage report:

Driveshaft: now a 2 piece.

Exhaust system: waylayed.

Transmission: Schrapnel all under the car if that tells you anything.

Pics and video to come shortly.

I have just about had enough...I feel like I'm gonna puke.

[Alss]

oooof [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/frown.gif[/img]

[earntaz]

Hang in there Eric -- that's why we put destruct systems on missiles ... something is bound to go haywire.

[bbbentley]

Good thing you were not under there inspecting things when it let go! Ouch!

[VintageMusclecar]

I had the car up in the air today to swap out the existing 3&quot; driveshaft for another (oem) 3 1/2&quot; unit I picked up from a friend. The OEM unit was the exact same length as the existing one which I had built locally for the car years ago, and I was pretty sure the existing 3&quot; unit was going beyond it's critical speed limit. Although the charts said it should've been good for ~4700 rpm, I never got it that far. The highest I've had it up to was just over 4000 in 4th gear.



The OEM shaft didn't appear to make any appreciable difference in the vibration levels--as soon as it got to ~4000 it started to vibrate.

I reinstalled the 3&quot; shaft and decided to video the rear tires to see if I had a wobbly rim or an out-of-round tire.

Here's the first video:

http://vid33.photobucket.com/albums/...psl8qdnrez.mp4

The second video of the drivers side was too dark, so I re-shot it. As soon as the tach hit 4000 in 4th, all hell broke loose.

http://vid33.photobucket.com/albums/...ps73g92xhw.mp4

Part of the aftermath:



I am within a whisker of throwing in the towel at this point. I have fought tooth and nail to get this car de-bugged, and as soon as one issue was resolved another came up. I now have a <span style="font-weight: bold">VERY</span> expensive hunk of garage art sitting on jackstands with a wasted trans, a wasted exhaust system from the X pipe to the mufflers, and who knows if the rear end got hurt, I haven't checked that yet. The floor took a hell of a beating as well, but again I haven't mustered the courage to crawl back under the car again and assess the severity of the damage.

And to top it all off, I'd just made phone calls today to inquire about having a new driveshaft made for the car. Due to the length (60&quot; center-to-center) everyone said either 4&quot; aluminum--which there wasn't room for under the car, or 3 1/2&quot; carbon fiber--to the tune of well over $1K. There's no way I could swing that right now, while desperately trying to get my father's old house into marketable condition which is quickly bleeding me out.

Sure wish I would've video taped the driveshaft first--I was going to video it right after the drivers side rear tire.

Somebody please wake me up, this has to be a bad dream.....

[luzl78]

I call for a collection to help out a fellow car lover. I put up the first $100.

[Lynn]

Going back to square one sucks.
Here is hoping the rest of the damage is minimal.
Last year, after spending the winter building a weird combo turbocharged engine for my old Bimmer, I installed the engine, and got it running. The freeze plug right over the turbo was leaking. Can't pull the turbo (aftermarket manifold and turbo) without pulling the head..... well, you get the picture.

Thankfully, neither you nor anyone else was hurt. Can you imagine if this happened while going down the road?

Wish I was in your neighborhood Eric. Seriously, I would come over and help.

[Lynn]

Great idea.
Just sent a paypal payment to:

[email protected]

It is a gift, so don't you dare declare it as income Eric.

[VintageMusclecar]

I don't know what to do or say here...this is very awkward...

[luzl78]

Don't worry about it,Eric. I have never met you but ever since I first joined the site you've always seemed to go out of your way to help people with advice, so this is good karma. People help each other...just the way it should be. My paypal is coming tomorrow. Get your ride back cruising.