Matt's 1971 Camaro
- Thread starter Matilda71
- Start date
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Matilda71
New Member
Got the headers in the mail yesterday. These look a lot cleaner than the ones that are on her now. These weren't exactly what I wanted, but they were cheap, and it will fix the exhaust issues. I figured I can buy a nice set of Hookers or Flowmasters later on down the road anyway.
Also yesterday, my Dad sent me this picture:
He got the driver door open using "his own secret recipe". Not sure what he did with it, but he got it open. Now we have the opposite problem, and the door won't latch closed. We have a new lock assembly/latch coming in the mail next Monday.
Also yesterday, my Dad sent me this picture:
He got the driver door open using "his own secret recipe". Not sure what he did with it, but he got it open. Now we have the opposite problem, and the door won't latch closed. We have a new lock assembly/latch coming in the mail next Monday.
7/3-SplitRS
Veteran Member
Cool project, keep up the good work. And good luck to you. Gives me inspiration to keep my project going.
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Matilda71
New Member
She's almost road ready! It's getting so close that I can almost taste it. The hardest part right now is getting used to driving the car. I'm sure i've mentioned it before, but I am not used to giving a car so much gas in order to drive it. I think the majority of it is the fact that the car is so loud due to the open headers, so we'll have to see what it feels like when that is finally buttoned up. I also don't want anything to happen to this car, I'm trying to be as careful as possible when I'm behind the wheel.
Didn't get a chance to work on it much over the past couple of weekends, but when we did, we finally get the headers on. Here is what the old headers looked like from the bottom:
I wanted to keep it like this because I personally think it sounds amazing, but the "Law of Dad" prevents it from staying. Although I am 26, not living with him, it is my car, he somehow still controls how the project goes.
I don't mind though, as he has been super helpful with the car and it has been nice spending time with him working on the car. The headers were super simple to get off. They were held in by stainless steel allenhead bolts. My dad used those when he replaced them the first time. I was worried about breaking any of them off from rust, but they were clean as a whistle. Super simple to get off. The passenger side slid out easily and the new one went in just the same. Here's the passenger side from the bottom:
The driver side was a little bit harder to get around. The chassis was in the way of the pipes, as was the clutch cable, (though I could be wrong about what the actual name is called). We ended up denting in the pipes a tad bit to get it to fit, as well as cutting the bracket for the cable and using an existing higher up hole for the cable. The car still feels the same clutch wise, so I don't think it changed much. I wish I had gotten a picture of it, but forgot about it. Here is the what the headers look like from the top:
This past weekend, we tackled the brakes. Every time I press on the brakes, the pedal goes to the floor, which as I'm sure some of you know, is never a good feeling. Bought a master cylinder from RockAuto and it went on perfectly. Here's the old master cylinder sans cap:
The one thing I have enjoyed about this car is that everything is easy to get to. I mean, my other cars this would have been a several hour job, but I got this thing done in about 30 minutes. I didn't have to remove anything ridiculous to get to it. Both bolts were right in the open and the lines were easy to get off as well. Before putting the new one on:
And finally here is the new one:
Filled everything up with DOT5 fluid. Tried to use a vacuum to bleed the brakes, but that wasn't working. Hoped up in the car and did them the old fashioned way and now we have brakes again! I am currently trying to find a place to bend pipe to finish up the exhaust, and then she should be ready to rule the road again!
Didn't get a chance to work on it much over the past couple of weekends, but when we did, we finally get the headers on. Here is what the old headers looked like from the bottom:
I wanted to keep it like this because I personally think it sounds amazing, but the "Law of Dad" prevents it from staying. Although I am 26, not living with him, it is my car, he somehow still controls how the project goes.
I don't mind though, as he has been super helpful with the car and it has been nice spending time with him working on the car. The headers were super simple to get off. They were held in by stainless steel allenhead bolts. My dad used those when he replaced them the first time. I was worried about breaking any of them off from rust, but they were clean as a whistle. Super simple to get off. The passenger side slid out easily and the new one went in just the same. Here's the passenger side from the bottom:
The driver side was a little bit harder to get around. The chassis was in the way of the pipes, as was the clutch cable, (though I could be wrong about what the actual name is called). We ended up denting in the pipes a tad bit to get it to fit, as well as cutting the bracket for the cable and using an existing higher up hole for the cable. The car still feels the same clutch wise, so I don't think it changed much. I wish I had gotten a picture of it, but forgot about it. Here is the what the headers look like from the top:
This past weekend, we tackled the brakes. Every time I press on the brakes, the pedal goes to the floor, which as I'm sure some of you know, is never a good feeling. Bought a master cylinder from RockAuto and it went on perfectly. Here's the old master cylinder sans cap:
The one thing I have enjoyed about this car is that everything is easy to get to. I mean, my other cars this would have been a several hour job, but I got this thing done in about 30 minutes. I didn't have to remove anything ridiculous to get to it. Both bolts were right in the open and the lines were easy to get off as well. Before putting the new one on:
And finally here is the new one:
Filled everything up with DOT5 fluid. Tried to use a vacuum to bleed the brakes, but that wasn't working. Hoped up in the car and did them the old fashioned way and now we have brakes again! I am currently trying to find a place to bend pipe to finish up the exhaust, and then she should be ready to rule the road again!
Matilda71
New Member
Haven't taken pictures recently, which is completely uncharacteristic of me.
We got the exhaust welded into place, but of course, when we fix one thing, another goes wrong. The current muffler fell out from all the rust around it. Not a problem, bought a new one and got it into place. I haven't heard the car in a long time with a complete exhaust, and it's quieter than I would like, but I suppose I can change that at a later date. Right now, I just need it in working (and legal) order.
Two weeks ago, I got to actually drive it for the first time by myself. All these weeks of working on it and getting it running finally paid off. I only took it about a half mile down the road, but man. I know some of you guys know the feeling, but getting it out on the road felt fantastic. The car shifted well through the gears, so not a lot of trouble there. Still need to get used to the "no power steering" aspect of the car.
Now that the car is drivable, and safe up to my dads standards, he agreed to let me take it to my house and really get started on the project. The theme of the car as always is "Don't get your hopes up with this car. If it seems too good to be true it is."
Went out to his place this past Tuesday and the car wouldn't start. Getting spark, pulled the carburetor off and there was a nasty gunk all in the bowls. Took the carburetor off, stripped it down for the second time this year, cleaned it up and put it back on. And she's still not starting. Didn't adjust the carburetor this time, as I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to that. Waiting on my dad to come out and get his input on it.
Fortunately, she is ALMOST done to where I can actually drive it and I have never been happier with the car.
We got the exhaust welded into place, but of course, when we fix one thing, another goes wrong. The current muffler fell out from all the rust around it. Not a problem, bought a new one and got it into place. I haven't heard the car in a long time with a complete exhaust, and it's quieter than I would like, but I suppose I can change that at a later date. Right now, I just need it in working (and legal) order.
Two weeks ago, I got to actually drive it for the first time by myself. All these weeks of working on it and getting it running finally paid off. I only took it about a half mile down the road, but man. I know some of you guys know the feeling, but getting it out on the road felt fantastic. The car shifted well through the gears, so not a lot of trouble there. Still need to get used to the "no power steering" aspect of the car.
Now that the car is drivable, and safe up to my dads standards, he agreed to let me take it to my house and really get started on the project. The theme of the car as always is "Don't get your hopes up with this car. If it seems too good to be true it is."
Went out to his place this past Tuesday and the car wouldn't start. Getting spark, pulled the carburetor off and there was a nasty gunk all in the bowls. Took the carburetor off, stripped it down for the second time this year, cleaned it up and put it back on. And she's still not starting. Didn't adjust the carburetor this time, as I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to that. Waiting on my dad to come out and get his input on it.
Fortunately, she is ALMOST done to where I can actually drive it and I have never been happier with the car.
Matilda71
New Member
Okay everyone, maybe I can get some help here! Any thoughts would be appreciated!
I drove out to my dads with the intention of driving the car back to my house. She took a minute to start, but she eventually did. I had to blip the throttle a few times to keep her going, for a minute or two, but she eventually idled normally, without me touching the throttle. I attributed this to the car having to warm up before driving.
Once idling correctly/smoothly, I drove her about a half mile down the road. Approaching a stop sign, I popped it into neutral and coasted to the intersection. Unfortunately, before getting to the stop sign, the car died and would not start back up. I opened the hood, and pulled the air cleaner off. Looking into the carburetor, there was gas sitting on top of the rear two butterfly valves. I tried starting again, but with no luck.
An older gentleman stopped by (driving a beautiful '75 Stingray) got out and helped me get her started. I was in the car turning it over while he manually blipped the throttle on the carburetor. It fired up by doing this. We closed the hood and I took it immediately home. The car would not stay idling and I needed to constantly blip the throttle to keep her going.
I'm jumping to the conclusion that the carburetor is not properly adjusted. Has anyone else experienced this? Any recommendations on where to look to get it back up and running?
I drove out to my dads with the intention of driving the car back to my house. She took a minute to start, but she eventually did. I had to blip the throttle a few times to keep her going, for a minute or two, but she eventually idled normally, without me touching the throttle. I attributed this to the car having to warm up before driving.
Once idling correctly/smoothly, I drove her about a half mile down the road. Approaching a stop sign, I popped it into neutral and coasted to the intersection. Unfortunately, before getting to the stop sign, the car died and would not start back up. I opened the hood, and pulled the air cleaner off. Looking into the carburetor, there was gas sitting on top of the rear two butterfly valves. I tried starting again, but with no luck.
An older gentleman stopped by (driving a beautiful '75 Stingray) got out and helped me get her started. I was in the car turning it over while he manually blipped the throttle on the carburetor. It fired up by doing this. We closed the hood and I took it immediately home. The car would not stay idling and I needed to constantly blip the throttle to keep her going.
I'm jumping to the conclusion that the carburetor is not properly adjusted. Has anyone else experienced this? Any recommendations on where to look to get it back up and running?
demigodofa
Member
Well.... without being there to tinker with it it's hard to say. Usually where I start first on the fuel system is the pump, make sure It is pumping the correct pressure and getting volume. You said you had garbage in the carb? Is there a fuel filter after the fuel pump? I had a carb I had terrible issues with first of all stemming from a new mechanical fuel pump I put on that was putting out too much pressure and flooding the carb, have had float issues, and have also had fuel pumps with bad diaphragms... Then there is the all of the fun Holley carb adjustments that can be done with some google searches, i involves some tools, black magic and timing tuning as well. I know you have a lot of time invested in that carb, but sometimes bolting on a new one is a cheap and easy way out in the end. All of that being said if fuel delivery is wrong and your pumping junk into the carb none of that other stuff matters. Just my 2 cents.
Matilda71
New Member
Let's see if I can answer all the questions.
I have not checked to see if the pump is pumping the correct pressure/volume. The pump is brand new, but I will check to see what that looks like. There is a fuel filter after the pump. We cut the rubber house leading from the pump to the carb and tied one in there. There is also the two very small filters directly inside of the bowls where the line connects to the carb.
As far as the garbage pumping into the carb, yes there was a gunk type substance inside the bowls. Could it be that the needles inside the bowl are set too high causing some sort of spill over and flooding the carb? I'm going out there Sunday and taking a book with me to see if I can adjust everything down to a more reasonable level.
I would love to buy a new carb at this point, believe me. If it turns out that I can't get everything adjusted and in working order, that is the route that I am going to go with.
demigodofa
Member
Well I bought (2) mechanical fuel pumps in a row and they were pumping so much pressure (over 15 psi) that they were pushing fuel right past the needles. So I ended up getting a fuel pressure regulator and a gauge set up on my car, (Not a terrible idea anyway) and dialed it back to 7 psi, I haven't had any problems since. I have a Holley Demon 650. Might be something to look into? fuel pressure gauges are pretty cheap and may even be able to be rented at the parts store.
Matilda71
New Member
I wish I could work on this car as much as you guys work on yours. It's just a pain considering I do not have the car in my driveway. If I didn't have to drive 30-45 minutes one way, I'd be working on this thing every weekend. It's SLOWLY coming back together, so hopefully I'll see it in my driveway sooner, rather than later.
I guess the last thing I was working on was the fuel system. After failing to drive it home, we tried adjusting the carburetor again, but it wasn't working as well as we were hoping. She still had a rough idle and would not run properly.
After a few talks with my dad, we decided to start from the source, and drop the fuel tank.
All in all, it was not that bad to drop the tank. It was a bit of a pain to get to a few of the rubber hoses on the back as they were rotted onto the fuel lines. I had to cut most of them off and replaced the rubber with all new. Might as well go new everything and not even think about using the old stuff.
With the tank out, I pulled off the sender unit and was greeted by this lovely piece:
Well, clearly that isn't what it's supposed to look like. Ordered a new one and went back out to start on the tank itself. I've never cleaned a tank before, let alone seen the inside of one (and even worse, one that had been sitting for the past 10 years.) The inside was CAKED with layers of rust, gunk, and what looked like old fuel that had jellied. It was not a pretty sight at all.
After scrubbing, using all kinds of solvents, and even more scrubbing, I decided that using regular cleaning methods would not cut it. I read online that, if used carefully, acids will clean a gas tank in no time. I went to the local pool store, bought a can of acid and dumped it into the tank, sloshing it around and not letting it sit. It was in there for no longer than 10 minutes. I diluted the acid with water, and dumped it all into buckets to take to my local recycling center so they could dispose of it properly. My day job requires me work with acid, so I am familiar with how acid reacts with certain things, however I wasn't very fond of using the acid at all, as it did heat up the tank a considerable amount. The acid reacted with the rust and everything else that was inside. I don't know if I would do it again, however, immediately after dumping, I snapped a picture of the results:
There was still work to be done, and I got it all cleaned up. Made sure to get all the water out of the tank, and do so successfully. Bolted the tank back up with the help of my girlfriends dad and lowered her onto the ground for another start/idle test.
Unfortunately, it did not fix all my issues as I had hoped. She did start up RIGHT away. There was no hesitation at all from her. She still would not run. However, a new symptom popped up afterwords. The car would idle, but only if the choke is all the way closed. As soon as you open the choke up, it sputters to a stop. I can keep the car going with the choke off for as long as I can, as long as I am pressing on the gas pedal a little bit.
That tells me that there is a possible vacuum leak somewhere? At least, that was what my first thought was. We looked at the points, they were fine. Took out the dwell meter, and they were fine. We pulled out the carburetor once again and my dad is going to try and clean it and rebuild it with all new gaskets one last time. Maybe there was something that I missed when I did it the first time. I will be right there with him as he is rebuilding so I can see what went wrong. Hopefully I don't take so long to post my next update and the car will be here soon!
I guess the last thing I was working on was the fuel system. After failing to drive it home, we tried adjusting the carburetor again, but it wasn't working as well as we were hoping. She still had a rough idle and would not run properly.
After a few talks with my dad, we decided to start from the source, and drop the fuel tank.
All in all, it was not that bad to drop the tank. It was a bit of a pain to get to a few of the rubber hoses on the back as they were rotted onto the fuel lines. I had to cut most of them off and replaced the rubber with all new. Might as well go new everything and not even think about using the old stuff.
With the tank out, I pulled off the sender unit and was greeted by this lovely piece:
Well, clearly that isn't what it's supposed to look like. Ordered a new one and went back out to start on the tank itself. I've never cleaned a tank before, let alone seen the inside of one (and even worse, one that had been sitting for the past 10 years.) The inside was CAKED with layers of rust, gunk, and what looked like old fuel that had jellied. It was not a pretty sight at all.
After scrubbing, using all kinds of solvents, and even more scrubbing, I decided that using regular cleaning methods would not cut it. I read online that, if used carefully, acids will clean a gas tank in no time. I went to the local pool store, bought a can of acid and dumped it into the tank, sloshing it around and not letting it sit. It was in there for no longer than 10 minutes. I diluted the acid with water, and dumped it all into buckets to take to my local recycling center so they could dispose of it properly. My day job requires me work with acid, so I am familiar with how acid reacts with certain things, however I wasn't very fond of using the acid at all, as it did heat up the tank a considerable amount. The acid reacted with the rust and everything else that was inside. I don't know if I would do it again, however, immediately after dumping, I snapped a picture of the results:
There was still work to be done, and I got it all cleaned up. Made sure to get all the water out of the tank, and do so successfully. Bolted the tank back up with the help of my girlfriends dad and lowered her onto the ground for another start/idle test.
Unfortunately, it did not fix all my issues as I had hoped. She did start up RIGHT away. There was no hesitation at all from her. She still would not run. However, a new symptom popped up afterwords. The car would idle, but only if the choke is all the way closed. As soon as you open the choke up, it sputters to a stop. I can keep the car going with the choke off for as long as I can, as long as I am pressing on the gas pedal a little bit.
That tells me that there is a possible vacuum leak somewhere? At least, that was what my first thought was. We looked at the points, they were fine. Took out the dwell meter, and they were fine. We pulled out the carburetor once again and my dad is going to try and clean it and rebuild it with all new gaskets one last time. Maybe there was something that I missed when I did it the first time. I will be right there with him as he is rebuilding so I can see what went wrong. Hopefully I don't take so long to post my next update and the car will be here soon!
