BUILD Quarter Life Crisis. It's a thing. v.GN
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Still painting all kinds of stuff. I spent over $100 on a powder coated accumulator last time assuming it would be the last one I ever buy. Silly me. This time, I got a bare one for $30 and painted it myself. It's turning out pretty well so far. You also can't tell that the condenser is painted as well. I flipped it to finish the lines.
Hopefully the most bare this area looks for a very long time. When I hit the racoon in 2016, one of the consequences was damaging the radiator shroud.... sorta.
It was actually pretty messed up already by the previous owner who installed that ATR Ramblo rock catcher. The original shroud was three pieces of flexible plastic Christmas tree button and zip tied together. That was factory. The rock catcher replaces the floor, but it also kind of permanently squished the side walls up. In other words, it was a shitty piece from the factory made even shittier.
I replaced that non-sense with a GNS kit. It's laser cut aluminum, which looks amazing. However, I grew to hate it because of rattles. It's only bolted in with 6 bolts on one side of each panel which leaves a lot of room for flex. Then it ditches all the Christmas tree buttons. Shutting the hood sounds like dumping a bin full of beer cans on to the street which is very displeasing. I'm going to attempt to fix that with some materials gifted to me by a buddy.
I placed it on the outside of the box so that you won't see shiny stuff through the grill.
The video doesn't do it great justice, but you can tell that a lot of the tinny sound is gone. There won't be much of an echo either. Any sound this thing makes should happen at the same time as the hood shutting in which case it shouldn't be noticeable.
I got more paint and an AC o-ring kit yesterday, so as soon as I go pick up my G-body parts order tonight I'm hoping to slam the front of this car back together.
Hopefully the most bare this area looks for a very long time. When I hit the racoon in 2016, one of the consequences was damaging the radiator shroud.... sorta.
It was actually pretty messed up already by the previous owner who installed that ATR Ramblo rock catcher. The original shroud was three pieces of flexible plastic Christmas tree button and zip tied together. That was factory. The rock catcher replaces the floor, but it also kind of permanently squished the side walls up. In other words, it was a shitty piece from the factory made even shittier.
I replaced that non-sense with a GNS kit. It's laser cut aluminum, which looks amazing. However, I grew to hate it because of rattles. It's only bolted in with 6 bolts on one side of each panel which leaves a lot of room for flex. Then it ditches all the Christmas tree buttons. Shutting the hood sounds like dumping a bin full of beer cans on to the street which is very displeasing. I'm going to attempt to fix that with some materials gifted to me by a buddy.
I placed it on the outside of the box so that you won't see shiny stuff through the grill.
The video doesn't do it great justice, but you can tell that a lot of the tinny sound is gone. There won't be much of an echo either. Any sound this thing makes should happen at the same time as the hood shutting in which case it shouldn't be noticeable.
I got more paint and an AC o-ring kit yesterday, so as soon as I go pick up my G-body parts order tonight I'm hoping to slam the front of this car back together.
Setting the clutch clearance to .030" was kind of a bitch with these tools, but I got it.
Too bad it was a waste of time. I got the magnet clocked close to the right spot but not close enough. The connector was not clearing the Y-bracket when everything was installed on the engine.
Everything had to come off and get scratched up. Then I spent the next half hour trying to make paint stick because the entire compressor wanted to be a fish eye for some reason. Primer took care of it, but this was not how I wanted to spend the night in the garage. Let's hope I get the magnet placed correctly next time.In better news. I'm done with brakes.
You know what's a massive PITA? Shoving a 5/16" hose onto a plastic 11/32" booster check valve. It's not like I can hold it in the vice! Nobody around here seems to sell 11/32" hose anymore, but I actually made this work by drilling the hose out. It's still tight as hell, but at least I know that it's not coming off!
My fuel pump assembly should be here from Racetronix tomorrow. I hope that will be all I need to get the return hose ran close enough since I don't have injectors. I'll probably drain and drop the tank tonight.
Yep. If I have to do it twice, I might even write about it twice.
I got the paint looking good again, so I reinstalled the clutch. However,
While "pressing" the pulley back on. (I actually tapped a punch around the inner race) the pulley actually got so bound up that I could barely spin it by hand anymore. This didn't happen the first time I installed it on so wtf.
I'm guessing it was going on just barely a bit crooked and deformed the bearing. As soon as I got it all the way down it cleared up to the way to can see/hear in the video. I played with it a bit more after this video and got it to clear up to about as good as the original. This wasn't very confidence instilling though. I might wait to through the new Harrison sticker back on until I hear the engine run without squeaks and groans from the compressor.
I didn't do much else worth noting. Little things were starting to stress me out. Since I didn't initially think the car was going to be this big of a project, I failed to label a lot of parts that I figured would go right back on with a fresh memory. Memory is stale now, so I sat under the car I figured out dumb shit like this.
My memory is failing but the only way this harness holder fits is studs -> harness -> intercooler brackets -> nuts. Whether it's right or wrong, that's what I'm going to try. I'm just a bit surprised that there isn't a washer or something. This took a while to figure out because I had studs where bolts should be and vise versa. The same thing is going on up at the valve covers where I know some things aren't positioned correctly, but i can't find any other combinations/positions that makes sense.
I have the fuel supply line just dangling right now so that I can jump the pump relay and fill a bucket with 93. I'm not chomping at the bit though. As it turns out, my fuel pump is not in fact on the way.
They shipped me a single little fitting I order back in December. Racetronix is going to lose their ass on shipping, and I'm still out a fuel pump.
I have a buddy who ordered a similar assembly around the same time, so we're venting to each other. We both want our shit because we're both trying to be ready for the Nats! If I don't get any news by the end of the week, I'm going to run my new return hose to the existing pump so that I can at least determine whether this car will run right at idle.
I'm gonna try playing with the cam sensor tonight.
I got the paint looking good again, so I reinstalled the clutch. However,
While "pressing" the pulley back on. (I actually tapped a punch around the inner race) the pulley actually got so bound up that I could barely spin it by hand anymore. This didn't happen the first time I installed it on so wtf.
I'm guessing it was going on just barely a bit crooked and deformed the bearing. As soon as I got it all the way down it cleared up to the way to can see/hear in the video. I played with it a bit more after this video and got it to clear up to about as good as the original. This wasn't very confidence instilling though. I might wait to through the new Harrison sticker back on until I hear the engine run without squeaks and groans from the compressor.
I didn't do much else worth noting. Little things were starting to stress me out. Since I didn't initially think the car was going to be this big of a project, I failed to label a lot of parts that I figured would go right back on with a fresh memory. Memory is stale now, so I sat under the car I figured out dumb shit like this.
My memory is failing but the only way this harness holder fits is studs -> harness -> intercooler brackets -> nuts. Whether it's right or wrong, that's what I'm going to try. I'm just a bit surprised that there isn't a washer or something. This took a while to figure out because I had studs where bolts should be and vise versa. The same thing is going on up at the valve covers where I know some things aren't positioned correctly, but i can't find any other combinations/positions that makes sense.
I have the fuel supply line just dangling right now so that I can jump the pump relay and fill a bucket with 93. I'm not chomping at the bit though. As it turns out, my fuel pump is not in fact on the way.
They shipped me a single little fitting I order back in December. Racetronix is going to lose their ass on shipping, and I'm still out a fuel pump.I have a buddy who ordered a similar assembly around the same time, so we're venting to each other. We both want our shit because we're both trying to be ready for the Nats! If I don't get any news by the end of the week, I'm going to run my new return hose to the existing pump so that I can at least determine whether this car will run right at idle.
I'm gonna try playing with the cam sensor tonight.
I'm good right now, but I'm about one bad step away from tripping on my laces. Besides all the things going on outside of the garage, the stuff I have to keep redoing is not making me feel great.Hold it together man, good driving weather is only a few weeks away.
I think worst case scenario is that I get everything back together, and the dang thing doesn't run or has some kind of sealing issue that requires another round of engine surgery. I mostly pray that..
-The front cover seal conversion was done properly because it kinda fit like crap. I'm not convinced that the whole thing won't pop into the timing chain, grind it all up, and hemorrhage oil.
-I don't wipe something out due to clogging the oil system with petroleum jelly although I'm not terribly worried about this.
-The shitty new condenser actually helps with something and doesn't leak. It's pretty flimsy.
-The transmission is prepared to take on the dyno, new converter, and more power despite it's unknown condition and rebuild.
-The brakes are actually improved with the new booster. I'll be pissed if I drilled into an stock intake just for shit brakes.
-The headers don't leak with their severely over torqued gaskets, wavy flanges, and poorly welded cracks.
-The injectors in the Camaro aren't clogged TF up from sitting with a vented tank full of E85 all winter. This will be a small disaster for both cars.
-The intake manifold doesn't leak like hell due to using those dreaded rubber valley seals.
-All this stuff I painted doesn't start chipping after its first heat cycle.
-The rebuilt second hand turbo isn't a dud. It's probably close to the end of its warranty.
-I don't regret my head rebuilding methods for unknown reasons.
These are the only sins/possible shortcomings I can confess to off the top of my head. Having some minor issues on startup are inevitable, but I've never been in a situation where I've had something this far apart, gotten this close to done, and still had so much work ahead. I have too much invested and too much time to think about everything mentioned above.
I'm hoping to convince my wife to help me pick up the Camaro. If it still stumbles to life after its slumber, it will be a huge win.
Good pep talk
Mr_Roboto. Last night's garage session was just the therapy I needed. A couple things I had been worried about for no reason were completed or at least figured out. The only truly bad news is that I was right about my updated assessment on Racetronix. I was getting all amped up for this.
Woopty doo... I had written the fitting off to the point that I had already stripped and repainted and installed the original barb. Oh well. This aluminum one is pretty nice at least. You'll see it installed in my cam sensor pictures.
Goofy project #2: Installing and synching the cam sensor.
I was a little disappointed that the directions assume that you already have your cam sensor timed and installed in the engine because I had no idea how to do that either. Youtube came to the rescue. It's simple enough though. I first set cylinder 1 to TDC.
The youtube guy said to align the dot on the gear to face the passenger fender and the window toward the driver fender. Personally, I was more hung up on getting the damn oil pump shaft aligned so the thing would drop in all the way. I may be wrong about this but given that the sensor can rotate a full 360 degrees tells me that the timing of the cam gear doesn't matter at all. If you put it 180 out you will probably have issues with the cap wires running into the S-hose, but a tooth or two off should make no difference.
With that set, I rotated the crank back about 90 degrees.
...to stick this label on the balancer. There is no marking or indicators for anything after TDC. If you don't have these stickers you can measure 1 15/32" away from 0.
Reinstall the cap and plug the tool in.
I definitely did this part wrong, I need to reinstall the tool and rotate the cap exactly to the point where the LED turns OFF again. Oops. Glad I caught this because the engine would probably not run right if at all the way way I had it. Some people claim it runs better with it slightly advanced, but I'm not buying that.
This (factory) mess above the timing cover is back together!
Too bad a lot of it has to come off again because I forgot to run the fuel feed line.
Have I mentioned that I hate the way these cars are put together?
Before getting to that, I had to drain as much fuel as I could from the tank. I wasn't sure how I was going to do that without a battery. I couldn't come up with a bench harness to plug into the relay, so I settled for the old fashion method.
This was a very slow siphon, so I messed with the fuel feed line while I waited. Reverse progress was nescessary.
It's such an ugly line, but I'm not about to pay $120 for a new one. I'll never see this section anyway. The nice factory return line is just going to chill there. It's a shame because the tightly packed hard lines are really nice. There's no way to remove it without removing the body or cutting it up. The new hose will just be zip-tied wherever makes sense.
I'm not sure how I managed to kink the feed line. Hopefully it doesn't hurt anything.
I did find out that the new hose doesn't run down the front of the engine like factory, so I can start putting the accessories back on for good this time. The new hose runs along the valve cover and down the bellhousing. Gross. It sounds like I'll be glad that I removed the EGR for this reason.
See why I'm stressed yet? Even when I'm done with shit, I get to continue dwelling over it! I get to redo the cam sensor, hope my fuel feed actually works right and looks okay, continue siphoning gas because my method is so slow, and install the accessory bracket a third time. It's almost like nothing got done last night! I'm trying not to dwell on it. These are the pains you get when you take a car apart for the first time. I'm sure if I ever do this again, it will go a lot faster. Besides, I understand what I'm working on a lot more now than I did 24 hours ago which outweighs the negatives by a long shot.
I'll keep plugging away tonight. I keep forgetting to go to the BMV to figure out what's involved in using an authentic 1986 plate. I have one and I no longer wish to pay for a vanity plate that looks like shit. They finally stopped giving me stickers for the bicentennial plate and switched me to a covered bridge plate. I refuse to put that garbage on the Buick.
Mr_Roboto. Last night's garage session was just the therapy I needed. A couple things I had been worried about for no reason were completed or at least figured out. The only truly bad news is that I was right about my updated assessment on Racetronix. I was getting all amped up for this.Woopty doo... I had written the fitting off to the point that I had already stripped and repainted and installed the original barb. Oh well. This aluminum one is pretty nice at least. You'll see it installed in my cam sensor pictures.
Goofy project #2: Installing and synching the cam sensor.
I was a little disappointed that the directions assume that you already have your cam sensor timed and installed in the engine because I had no idea how to do that either. Youtube came to the rescue. It's simple enough though. I first set cylinder 1 to TDC.
The youtube guy said to align the dot on the gear to face the passenger fender and the window toward the driver fender. Personally, I was more hung up on getting the damn oil pump shaft aligned so the thing would drop in all the way. I may be wrong about this but given that the sensor can rotate a full 360 degrees tells me that the timing of the cam gear doesn't matter at all. If you put it 180 out you will probably have issues with the cap wires running into the S-hose, but a tooth or two off should make no difference.
With that set, I rotated the crank back about 90 degrees.
...to stick this label on the balancer. There is no marking or indicators for anything after TDC. If you don't have these stickers you can measure 1 15/32" away from 0.
Reinstall the cap and plug the tool in.
I definitely did this part wrong, I need to reinstall the tool and rotate the cap exactly to the point where the LED turns OFF again. Oops. Glad I caught this because the engine would probably not run right if at all the way way I had it. Some people claim it runs better with it slightly advanced, but I'm not buying that.
This (factory) mess above the timing cover is back together!
Too bad a lot of it has to come off again because I forgot to run the fuel feed line.
Have I mentioned that I hate the way these cars are put together?Before getting to that, I had to drain as much fuel as I could from the tank. I wasn't sure how I was going to do that without a battery. I couldn't come up with a bench harness to plug into the relay, so I settled for the old fashion method.
This was a very slow siphon, so I messed with the fuel feed line while I waited. Reverse progress was nescessary.
It's such an ugly line, but I'm not about to pay $120 for a new one. I'll never see this section anyway. The nice factory return line is just going to chill there. It's a shame because the tightly packed hard lines are really nice. There's no way to remove it without removing the body or cutting it up. The new hose will just be zip-tied wherever makes sense.
I'm not sure how I managed to kink the feed line.
Hopefully it doesn't hurt anything.I did find out that the new hose doesn't run down the front of the engine like factory, so I can start putting the accessories back on for good this time. The new hose runs along the valve cover and down the bellhousing. Gross. It sounds like I'll be glad that I removed the EGR for this reason.
See why I'm stressed yet? Even when I'm done with shit, I get to continue dwelling over it! I get to redo the cam sensor, hope my fuel feed actually works right and looks okay, continue siphoning gas because my method is so slow, and install the accessory bracket a third time. It's almost like nothing got done last night! I'm trying not to dwell on it. These are the pains you get when you take a car apart for the first time. I'm sure if I ever do this again, it will go a lot faster. Besides, I understand what I'm working on a lot more now than I did 24 hours ago which outweighs the negatives by a long shot.
I'll keep plugging away tonight. I keep forgetting to go to the BMV to figure out what's involved in using an authentic 1986 plate. I have one and I no longer wish to pay for a vanity plate that looks like shit. They finally stopped giving me stickers for the bicentennial plate and switched me to a covered bridge plate.
I refuse to put that garbage on the Buick.
As I mentioned in another thread, I made a slightly difficult switch yesterday.
I dropped "QUICK 86" just in time to make the car relatively quick.
Even with that being the case, I couldn't justify paying the $118 for it anymore. Indiana started distributing the new covered bridge plates to phase out the bicentennial plates a few years ago. I'm kind of salty about it because the BMV actually let online users vote on the new design. There were probably 20 to choose from and you had to pick your top three. This was tough because I honestly liked all of them except for one..... OF COURSE you fucking Hoosiers would vote in the ugliest god damned plate of the bunch.
Anyway, I saw a long row of tables at a swap meet a couple years ago where a goofy old man was selling nothing but vintage Indiana license plates. There's no way this guy gets any return on investment selling unwanted plates for $10 a piece, but I'm glad I ran into him. He had a few of these old Wander plates with 87 expiration stickers which makes it legal to display on an '86 model. I've been holding onto it knowing that my covered bridge would be coming soon. Since this is only a measly $62 a year to renew and marginally cooler than the bicentennial vanity plate I'm pretty glad that I made the switch.
While I continued siphoning gas, I decided that I wanted to get the radiator back in the car. This would mean making the old hold down more presentable. While part of me hates removing factory markings that I'll never be able to recreate... who cares? This particular one always made it look like it was pulled out of a junk yard. Plus the part itself is rusty and one of the first things you see when you pop the hood. It needs to be refreshed.
I will at least replace the caution sticker since they're being reproduced. I did a little research on the sticky spot. I always wondered what was there. I guess that's where GM would put the Powermaster brake switch recall sticker. I could get that sticker too, but I decided against it. This is far from a concours resto.
New paint looks like ass in this picture, but I promise it smoothed out a lot after a couple more coats. I'll still probably do a little wet sanding before calling it good though. You can see that I sprayed the down pipe with more of that VHT too. Unfortunately I ran out of that as soon as I got it covered and I'm not particularly happy with the results. I hope I can fix it without buying another can.
New oil cooler lines fit kinda funny, but the old Dayco radiator hoses I've had in the basement for years seem to fit like a glove.
The oil cooler lines came with this clip that I'm sure would help with the funky fitment, but I don't know what the trick is for installing it. There's no way I'm getting the small side on a hose without breaking it. I didn't have that on my old lines so screw it.
This clip is original and I cannot for the life of me figure out where it goes or what it's supposed to clip.
Oh well I guess. I don't have time to dwell over that.
I'm hoping tonight is the night that I get the radiator support and fan installed on the car. I also hope that the paint looks close enough to the original satin look when I'm done smoothing it out. I'm tired of tip toing around that and the fan because the insane amount of empty boxes are already taking up too much garage space.
I dropped "QUICK 86" just in time to make the car relatively quick.
Even with that being the case, I couldn't justify paying the $118 for it anymore. Indiana started distributing the new covered bridge plates to phase out the bicentennial plates a few years ago. I'm kind of salty about it because the BMV actually let online users vote on the new design. There were probably 20 to choose from and you had to pick your top three. This was tough because I honestly liked all of them except for one..... OF COURSE you fucking Hoosiers would vote in the ugliest god damned plate of the bunch.Anyway, I saw a long row of tables at a swap meet a couple years ago where a goofy old man was selling nothing but vintage Indiana license plates. There's no way this guy gets any return on investment selling unwanted plates for $10 a piece, but I'm glad I ran into him. He had a few of these old Wander plates with 87 expiration stickers which makes it legal to display on an '86 model. I've been holding onto it knowing that my covered bridge would be coming soon. Since this is only a measly $62 a year to renew and marginally cooler than the bicentennial vanity plate I'm pretty glad that I made the switch.
While I continued siphoning gas, I decided that I wanted to get the radiator back in the car. This would mean making the old hold down more presentable. While part of me hates removing factory markings that I'll never be able to recreate... who cares? This particular one always made it look like it was pulled out of a junk yard. Plus the part itself is rusty and one of the first things you see when you pop the hood. It needs to be refreshed.
I will at least replace the caution sticker since they're being reproduced. I did a little research on the sticky spot. I always wondered what was there. I guess that's where GM would put the Powermaster brake switch recall sticker. I could get that sticker too, but I decided against it. This is far from a concours resto.
New paint looks like ass in this picture, but I promise it smoothed out a lot after a couple more coats. I'll still probably do a little wet sanding before calling it good though. You can see that I sprayed the down pipe with more of that VHT too. Unfortunately I ran out of that as soon as I got it covered and I'm not particularly happy with the results. I hope I can fix it without buying another can.
New oil cooler lines fit kinda funny, but the old Dayco radiator hoses I've had in the basement for years seem to fit like a glove.
The oil cooler lines came with this clip that I'm sure would help with the funky fitment, but I don't know what the trick is for installing it. There's no way I'm getting the small side on a hose without breaking it. I didn't have that on my old lines so screw it.
This clip is original and I cannot for the life of me figure out where it goes or what it's supposed to clip.
Oh well I guess. I don't have time to dwell over that.I'm hoping tonight is the night that I get the radiator support and fan installed on the car. I also hope that the paint looks close enough to the original satin look when I'm done smoothing it out. I'm tired of tip toing around that and the fan because the insane amount of empty boxes are already taking up too much garage space.
At least your out there working on yours making progress. My cars sat in the garage all winter and I have no desire to crawl around on the cold ass concrete trying to half-ass my exhaust back up or talk myself into the other little stuff that needs done. I keep telling myself I need the sunshine to come back out to get motivated but when I do get a nice day I end up doin somethin else.
Long story short I'd probably be in a better mood lately if I was actually doing somethin with it even if I screw somethin up so keep goin.
Long story short I'd probably be in a better mood lately if I was actually doing somethin with it even if I screw somethin up so keep goin.
I've had to play mind games with myself. On one hand, I'm getting tired of this car and do not want it to take over my life. On the other hand, my brain requires a strong push to get myself motivated enough to start working again after a loss of momentum. I've been coming home, running errands or watching TV, eating dinner, and THEN going to the garage instead of getting straight to work when I come home. I'm not getting as much done in a night, but I kind of need to string this out for fear of a couple things. One is going too fast and forgetting to do or notice something important. Two is legitimately running out of work I can do without a fuel pump or injectors. If that happens I will start getting losing my patience with the pump supplier and once again be dead in the water.
I had big ambitions revolving around doing the clutch and valve stem seals in the Camaro before nats, but now I'm starting to wonder if I'll get to either one. The stem seals have to happen, but I'm really itching to just drive the GN and have a fun summer.
little shit like this makes me so happy. I thought it was going to be a bitch to make this look nice if it was even possible. Solvent tank washed all the gooey rubber and oil off of it, a course scotch brite pad took most of the rust spots out, and a fine pad gave it the right texture. It's a low grade stainless piece so wiping it down with WD-40 should be enough to keep it looking nice for a very long time. It also makes it smell a lot better too. The scuffing process smelled like bad well water. lol
More little things.
Radiator support is done!
I could not get the dang paint to lay down flat. Wet sanding smoothed it out, but it also dulled it down to the point that I might as well have sprayed flat black. Oh well. I'm gonna live with it because it looks a lot better than it did before.
I tried to install the biggest waste of $200 ever, but they don't fit worth a shit. My old AC lines had tiny leaks where the hose from the compressor met the hard line, so I wanted to upgrade to lines with modern crimps that won't swivel. (The lines only leaked when you were moving the lines excessively) However, the air blew cold for 3 years without incident, so I'd say that this is just what I get for trying to fix what isn't actually broken. Original lines are back in.
With all that done, the car is looking a lot less empty and overwhelming.
I found out that the second clip I was confused about is supposed to attach to the oil pan stud and clip the transmission lines. I appreciate the guy on turbobuick.com who informed me of this because I would have never guessed.
Radiator support is done!
I could not get the dang paint to lay down flat. Wet sanding smoothed it out, but it also dulled it down to the point that I might as well have sprayed flat black. Oh well. I'm gonna live with it because it looks a lot better than it did before.
I tried to install the biggest waste of $200 ever, but they don't fit worth a shit.
My old AC lines had tiny leaks where the hose from the compressor met the hard line, so I wanted to upgrade to lines with modern crimps that won't swivel. (The lines only leaked when you were moving the lines excessively) However, the air blew cold for 3 years without incident, so I'd say that this is just what I get for trying to fix what isn't actually broken. Original lines are back in.With all that done, the car is looking a lot less empty and overwhelming.
I found out that the second clip I was confused about is supposed to attach to the oil pan stud and clip the transmission lines. I appreciate the guy on turbobuick.com who informed me of this because I would have never guessed.
I stuck an endo scope into my passenger side header to see if almost tripling the toque spec for these remflex gaskets caused them to squeeze inward. It doesn't look like it did. Sending it!
Arts and crafts time. I failed to buy an oil drain gasket, so I made one out of an oil filter box. I stuck a piece of paper on the flange and colored with a crayon. The edges transfer darker.
Then I cut it out and used it as a template.
Getting the bolt holes just right was dang near impossible but leaving them rough is what held the bolts in place while installed the turbo. I'll remember that!
I'm dumb for not noticing that the flange is 90 degrees out, but I wasn't about to tear everything apart to loosen and reclock. I just twisted the hell out of it and crossed my fingers. I'm in the "fuck that/get it done" phase of this build. If it leaks due to a crack I'll probably get an AN kit that should be easier to install.
Downpipe elbow getting ready.
I snapped this picture simply because it LOOKED slick with the new hardware. The reality is that I had some more work to do. One of the bolt holes was stripped out, and the bottom stud which was originally missing a nut was actually that way for a reason which I'll explain in a later post.
I was able to fix the stripped hole on the car by removing the external wastegate plug and shoving some tape and a rag in there. I couldn't get away with this on a stock turbo! My right angle drill finally became useful again here.
I'll deal with the stud later.
I decided to put the intercooler fan back on afterall. I blasted and painted the ugliest of my three hubs and mated it to the mintiest of the three fans. I like it. It looks more complete this way. I hope a periodic rub down with WD 40 will help keep the corrosion away.
Unpictured is the new accumulator installed with the system getting sealed up. I should probably draw a vacuum now to make sure it's actually sealed.
It feels pretty cool to finally have a turbo Buick again, and I love how all these paint colors are turning out. I hope they last a while.
Arts and crafts time. I failed to buy an oil drain gasket, so I made one out of an oil filter box. I stuck a piece of paper on the flange and colored with a crayon. The edges transfer darker.
Then I cut it out and used it as a template.
Getting the bolt holes just right was dang near impossible but leaving them rough is what held the bolts in place while installed the turbo. I'll remember that!
I'm dumb for not noticing that the flange is 90 degrees out, but I wasn't about to tear everything apart to loosen and reclock. I just twisted the hell out of it and crossed my fingers. I'm in the "fuck that/get it done" phase of this build. If it leaks due to a crack I'll probably get an AN kit that should be easier to install.
Downpipe elbow getting ready.
I snapped this picture simply because it LOOKED slick with the new hardware. The reality is that I had some more work to do. One of the bolt holes was stripped out, and the bottom stud which was originally missing a nut was actually that way for a reason which I'll explain in a later post.
I was able to fix the stripped hole on the car by removing the external wastegate plug and shoving some tape and a rag in there. I couldn't get away with this on a stock turbo! My right angle drill finally became useful again here.
I'll deal with the stud later.
I decided to put the intercooler fan back on afterall. I blasted and painted the ugliest of my three hubs and mated it to the mintiest of the three fans. I like it. It looks more complete this way. I hope a periodic rub down with WD 40 will help keep the corrosion away.
Unpictured is the new accumulator installed with the system getting sealed up. I should probably draw a vacuum now to make sure it's actually sealed.
It feels pretty cool to finally have a turbo Buick again, and I love how all these paint colors are turning out. I hope they last a while.
Thanks! I like to think I have a decent eye for how something should look. It's my execution that's still developing. Haha
I'm still painting shit. It's so flipping tedious. Just when I think I can move on, I notice that am there's a wet spot that never dried. It's so odd that I'm having this issue so suddenly. This is different can of paint too. I'm guessing it's due to my new painting location next to the drafty garage door. Too cold! I moved back to my old location on the work bench. All the big stuff I couldn't do on the bench is done anyway.
My sick wife was fine with me going to the garage as long as I kept things quiet. I'll take what I can get. The downpipe elbow came off again, but due to the circumstances, I cannot do the modifications it requires right now. I can show you what's up though.
This is on the bottom of the flange, so I already can't see what the hell is going on when I'm trying to shove a nut up there, but it's literally not possible to do so in the first place. It's a pretty critical fastener if you don't want leaks, so I'm going to have to very carefully dig into that wall with the Dremel so that there's enough room to spin a nut. It shouldn't take much. I'll try to give it a flat spot to sit on too
So there's that. I decided to get the ball rolling on the AC a little early so that I don't trash this new PITA to paint accumulator. Vacuum time.
Holding
Earlier today I grabbed my injector donor car from storage. They seem to be working well too.
Once I have the fuel pump in my hands, it is so on.
All this time I wondered what the purpose of this relief was on the TA49s external wastegate block off plate. Turns out the turbo shield bracket will not fit without it. In fact, it's still really tight.
The more you know.
That's right, ARP even for my turbo shield. Why not?
It took me forever to get the shield bracket painted and looking nice. After all that work it some how turned out kinda blue. See it? I'm not fixing it because it will be almost completely covered, but it's still annoying. I just don't get how it happened since I've used this exact can before to paint other stuff.
You can see it best where it's bolted to the head. The head was coated with the same paint. Wtf.
Too bad. So sad. I must be moving on. Time to disassemble the alternator again. I've been considering this to be the last "project" of any sort of significance until first start. At least I've done this before so it should be pretty easy. I'm only here to paint the case and replace the bearings, it's already got the high amp kit which works great.
Front case blasted
I was able to get the case and fan blasted and painted. The rear case holds the regulator and rectifier with tiny standard bolts so I'll need to get some sockets from work before continuing.
Last intercooler bracket and vacuum lines in paint.
I the compressor, tensioner and associated brackets are on for good. I think I decided to skip installing the Harrison sticker on it for now. Seeing all this stuff in black and grey is just looking too good to me, and I don't want to screw it up with stickers even if it was factory equipped. If I change my mind later, they'll be here.
The more you know.
That's right, ARP even for my turbo shield. Why not?
It took me forever to get the shield bracket painted and looking nice. After all that work it some how turned out kinda blue. See it? I'm not fixing it because it will be almost completely covered, but it's still annoying. I just don't get how it happened since I've used this exact can before to paint other stuff.
You can see it best where it's bolted to the head. The head was coated with the same paint. Wtf.
Too bad. So sad. I must be moving on. Time to disassemble the alternator again. I've been considering this to be the last "project" of any sort of significance until first start. At least I've done this before so it should be pretty easy. I'm only here to paint the case and replace the bearings, it's already got the high amp kit which works great.
I was able to get the case and fan blasted and painted. The rear case holds the regulator and rectifier with tiny standard bolts so I'll need to get some sockets from work before continuing.
Last intercooler bracket and vacuum lines in paint.
I the compressor, tensioner and associated brackets are on for good. I think I decided to skip installing the Harrison sticker on it for now. Seeing all this stuff in black and grey is just looking too good to me, and I don't want to screw it up with stickers even if it was factory equipped. If I change my mind later, they'll be here.
If anybody should have one of these cars it's the guy that's gonna tear it apart and be anal about any little detail. Can't wait to see this thing run and you can enjoy all this hard work.
That's the way I see it. Glad it's not just me.
I made this downpipe elbow fit after about ten minutes with my die grinder and carbide bit.
There is very little room for a wrench.
This is Crapsman's time to shine.
The nut is still not torqued flat, but hopefully it doesn't come to bite me later. It's serrated, and I was able to feel it digging in as I torqued it. I think worse case is that I eventually bend the stud or something. It's holding the elbow just fine.
Time to take it all apart again and recoat it so that it stands a chance against rust.I tiny little piece of my heart is dancing over the chance that I might have a leak-free Buick when I'm done. The rest of me is trying to keep it cool because I know that there's no confirming anything until you start driving.
I also had another idea last night. I'm excited to no longer have a black alternator fan, but I'm not sure that I'm digging the idea of it matching the case either. I have a lot of little shiny stainless bolts and clamps on the car, so a polished fan would probably look pretty slick. I know a lot of people have chromed them, so I might see about just buying one that's already done and doesn't require any upkeep.
There was a beater dark carmine t type that was at SIUC when I was there. Would beat on that in a heart beat.
Unfortunately, I remember seeing a pretty rusty '87 Grand National out in the salt in front of Best Buy in Carbondale. I only saw it once.
There was also a very nice G-body Hurst/Olds that I saw very frequently. It was mint when I first started down there, but it sat outside in a shitty apartment complex all four years. It got a lift kit and some massive wheels at one point. Then I started seeing it a lot less because I assume it broke down. After that it sat on flat rubber bands developing rust for at least year. I'd hate to see what it looks like now especially knowing that it was a t-top car.
I cleaned up this ugly heat shield yesterday in the solvent tank. Then I scuffed it the rest of the way. Hopefully is wasn't coated or something. I didn't want any evidense of past exhaust leaks!
Had to do an oil change in this bad boy and suck my system down for another hour or so. My gauge showed that vacuum had dropped about 4inHg over the last 48 hrs which is probably just my wobbly gauge fittings leaking. It was no change after 24hrs, so I'm calling it good.
I didn't expect to do all this last night because of the cold. However, the sun was shining, my motivation was high, and there was a good chance of rain over couple days, followed by more freezing temps for the weekend. No better time than now to do the injector swap I guess.
OMG
I admit that my excitement is getting the best of me. I hooked up the MAP sensor and boost gauge to the old EGR port on accident, but I'm probably going to leave it that way since it will be easier to get to and covered by the upgraded fuel return hose. The only vacuum cap of the correct size I had was red. Idk why all the parts stores sell them like that. It's ugly as hell. Just make them all black! I'll find a pack that looks right and buy it. I also may have rushed the vacuum line installation bad enough that I might need to take them back off. The paint looks terrible. The coil bracket was painted with the same stuff as the turbo shield bracket so except it's a lot more visible. The blue hue will not fly there.
I've never been this thorough in a engine restoration before. Theses details are going to drive me nuts to the point where I will have to take some stuff apart again, but I can't make any excuses. I still don't have my fuel pump among other things so there's no point in trying to rush it together. I'm scared to blast the vacuum lines because of how thin they are, but I'm probably going to make the gamble. I'll also buy a new can of paint and redo the coil bracket... maybe the turbo shield bracket too depending on part arrivals. The alternator rebuild is going to get done before any of this though.
Before I forget, here's a big win in the details you might appreciate. The white boost gauge reference is well hidden and well secured. I found a hose that's just big enough to slide over the tube, but not quite enough to grip it. This is perfect.
Then I used a smaller hose to attach the tube to the tee. It's presses hard into the decorative hose so that the white will never show. It's basically spring loaded/sanswitched between the connecting vacuum hose and the firewall. If you aren't looking for it, you never notice that this isn't just another vacuum hose!
Had to do an oil change in this bad boy and suck my system down for another hour or so. My gauge showed that vacuum had dropped about 4inHg over the last 48 hrs which is probably just my wobbly gauge fittings leaking. It was no change after 24hrs, so I'm calling it good.
I didn't expect to do all this last night because of the cold. However, the sun was shining, my motivation was high, and there was a good chance of rain over couple days, followed by more freezing temps for the weekend.
No better time than now to do the injector swap I guess.OMG
I admit that my excitement is getting the best of me. I hooked up the MAP sensor and boost gauge to the old EGR port on accident, but I'm probably going to leave it that way since it will be easier to get to and covered by the upgraded fuel return hose. The only vacuum cap of the correct size I had was red. Idk why all the parts stores sell them like that. It's ugly as hell. Just make them all black! I'll find a pack that looks right and buy it. I also may have rushed the vacuum line installation bad enough that I might need to take them back off. The paint looks terrible. The coil bracket was painted with the same stuff as the turbo shield bracket so except it's a lot more visible. The blue hue will not fly there.
I've never been this thorough in a engine restoration before. Theses details are going to drive me nuts to the point where I will have to take some stuff apart again, but I can't make any excuses. I still don't have my fuel pump among other things so there's no point in trying to rush it together. I'm scared to blast the vacuum lines because of how thin they are, but I'm probably going to make the gamble. I'll also buy a new can of paint and redo the coil bracket... maybe the turbo shield bracket too depending on part arrivals. The alternator rebuild is going to get done before any of this though.
Before I forget, here's a big win in the details you might appreciate. The white boost gauge reference is well hidden and well secured. I found a hose that's just big enough to slide over the tube, but not quite enough to grip it. This is perfect.
Then I used a smaller hose to attach the tube to the tee. It's presses hard into the decorative hose so that the white will never show. It's basically spring loaded/sanswitched between the connecting vacuum hose and the firewall. If you aren't looking for it, you never notice that this isn't just another vacuum hose!
I messed something up, and I can't figure out what.
You saw the pictures. It held vacuum for 48 hours now it does this shit. I wanted to make sure it was still good before I put the gauges away, and sure enough I can't get it to seal. I tried replacing shroeder valves and removing the conversion fittings, but nothing helped.
I feel like I had to have leaned on something I shouldn't have yesterday, but nothing appears broken. I'll have to do more investigating tomorrow.
You saw the pictures. It held vacuum for 48 hours now it does this shit. I wanted to make sure it was still good before I put the gauges away, and sure enough I can't get it to seal. I tried replacing shroeder valves and removing the conversion fittings, but nothing helped.
I feel like I had to have leaned on something I shouldn't have yesterday, but nothing appears broken.
I'll have to do more investigating tomorrow.
I came up with an idea to try. I'm going to try adapting my manifold gauge set to the air compressor. That way I don't need to waste refrigerant, and I can take my time looking for the leak.
I was freaking out too much about that yesterday to type about anything else, but I also got the rest of my alternator apart and painted.
yucky
blasted.
I'll post painted pics when it's together. I decided to order a chrome kit. It was a little pricey, but it'll be worth it. I think chrome bolts and fan with just a clean aluminum case and black pulley will look pretty slick. I also hate the upkeep of polished aluminum. Chrome should hold up nice with just the occasional wipe down.
I got over my pride, and repainted the coil bracket with different paint. The vacuum lines got a couple extra coats as well. This time it was pretty much drama free. That'll look much better.
I was freaking out too much about that yesterday to type about anything else, but I also got the rest of my alternator apart and painted.
yucky
blasted.
I'll post painted pics when it's together. I decided to order a chrome kit. It was a little pricey, but it'll be worth it. I think chrome bolts and fan with just a clean aluminum case and black pulley will look pretty slick. I also hate the upkeep of polished aluminum. Chrome should hold up nice with just the occasional wipe down.
I got over my pride, and repainted the coil bracket with different paint. The vacuum lines got a couple extra coats as well. This time it was pretty much drama free.
That'll look much better.