My '95 Caprice Classic STW, "Sally"

[gadget73]

hm, guess that sits in there very different than I'd have expected. panther and even my S10 were a remove the bolts and jack the trans up a smidge to slide the mount in type of deal. No need to remove the x member or any of that crap.

[Arquemann]

hm, guess that sits in there very different than I'd have expected. panther and even my S10 were a remove the bolts and jack the trans up a smidge to slide the mount in type of deal. No need to remove the x member or any of that crap.

Basic idea is the same here, but it's complete nonsense to achieve in reality.
Here's how it looks from below:


Now that the Maisa is in storage, I parked the Caprice in the driveway.
Heh, the people that lived in this house before us had a trailer and a car in the driveway lengthwise.
With our trailer sideways scooted all the way back, the Caprice/MGM fits snugly on the driveway.


Had to take some backroads to take a girl home after a party yesterday and the LED bar works wonders even in the wet unlit roads. Currently the sun sets after 6PM, but hell if it ain't dark at 3 in the morning aswell
A guy wears a cool Ford Club hoodie when he goes out, what does he drive? A clapped out fooken' Chevy!

[gadget73]

oh, yeah thats goofy looking. The Panther and S10 cross members were similar looking, basically just a flat thing with lots of room around it.

[sly]

That exhaust on the one side that goes stupid close... there's really no need for that. What a mess. The 80s B-body I had didn't have that mess under it. It was closer to what the panthers have. Pretty easy to work with. Bah.

[Arquemann]

That exhaust on the one side that goes stupid close... there's really no need for that. What a mess. The 80s B-body I had didn't have that mess under it. It was closer to what the panthers have. Pretty easy to work with. Bah.

That's an aftermarket exhaust, factory is true duals or Y-pipe in cases other than the LT1. Factory exhaust is routed a bit better atleast.

[sly]

That's good, but still. That's some crazy routing.

[Arquemann]

The dash fiddlefuckery has been performed twice now. The first time I did it the odometer and trip readings stayed unscrambled for approximately 1,5 hours.
I opened the dash again the next day (saturday), I did the same thing again, but so far the digital readouts have stayed clear for a couple days and a dozen power cycles.

The VFD screen attaches to the main cluster frame with 4 screw and 2 dowels to line up the contacts. The screen circuit board has flat solder spots onto which some spring loaded tangs rest onto.
I just sanded and cleaned both contacts and slightly bent the tangs outwards for better pressure against the solder spots. Didn't see any cracked solder spots, which seem to be a common issue on these.

Also I will no longer be basking in the warm orange glow of the CHANGE OIL -light, that bulb is now in the glove box.

The car has been marking it's territory somewhat generously with engine oil. It's the front of the engine that's leaking.
Looking online, replacing the Optispark & water pump oil seals are quite the job. I think it'd be worthwhile to do the timing cover and crank seal the same time.
For now it'll stay leaking, because the weather is cold and it's a pretty big involved job to do.


Seems like attaching images from local files is busted too.

[friskyfrankie]

Not a big fan of "repairs in a bottle" but have you given any thought to putting in any oil stop leak? Of course, if the seals are cracked or other damaged they won't work but if they are simply dried out they can offer some assistance. Something like ATP AT-205. I've personally seen good results, in limited instances, but might be worth a shot. I'd do an oil change first and then put it in. Just a thought to possibly save a lot of grief in repairs.

[Arquemann]

Not a big fan of "repairs in a bottle" but have you given any thought to putting in any oil stop leak? Of course, if the seals are cracked or other damaged they won't work but if they are simply dried out they can offer some assistance. Something like ATP AT-205. I've personally seen good results, in limited instances, but might be worth a shot. I'd do an oil change first and then put it in. Just a thought to possibly save a lot of grief in repairs.

Worth a shot surely, dunno about ATP but I've got Liqui Moly, Red Line and Motul stop leaks readily available, that ATP stuff kinda too but it's double the price.
Dunno what to pick.

[Arquemann]

Not a big fan of "repairs in a bottle" but have you given any thought to putting in any oil stop leak? Of course, if the seals are cracked or other damaged they won't work but if they are simply dried out they can offer some assistance. Something like ATP AT-205. I've personally seen good results, in limited instances, but might be worth a shot. I'd do an oil change first and then put it in. Just a thought to possibly save a lot of grief in repairs.

Worth a shot surely, I've got Liqui Moly, Red Line and Motul stop leaks readily available, that ATP stuff kinda too but it's double the price.
Dunno what to pick.

[friskyfrankie]

Not sure how those other formulas work but I have personal knowledge of ATP as I have many stories from others on it's success. I have no financial interest in the company but only personal experience. Sometimes, the added expense is worth it to get the results required. Let us know what you do and the results you get.

[Arquemann]

Eh, I put in a bottle of the Red Line stuff, maybe it'll do something, maybe not. Not losing too many shillings on this, more bummed by the stains on the ground.
I should probably clean the outside of the engine a bit to see better.

Dash repair seems to be holding up. Relocated my just-in-case -stuff to the Caprice, sprayed some silicone spray around the door panels and arm rests to quiet down the creaking. Put in some rubber protectant on the door seals and lock grease on the door locks so they don't freeze during the winter. LED bar is now aimed properly, headlights might need adjustment, will have to see what the inspection guy has to say. Gotta get a cable for the block/interior heater and mount my interior heater somewhere.
The headliner needs a couple thumb tacks. Still kinda want to chop the exhaust tips.

Tuning-wise it'll stay as is. Engine control is from the performance tune and all trans parameters are from a stock tune.

[Arquemann]

Found an Allis-Chalmers TL20 and Fiat-Allis 605B in a junkyard, expertly removed a Volvo bumper for a friends project.
Went to Helsinki cruising, came across the friendliest parking warden in the history of man, saw a fire truck hit another fire truck, saw a BMW almost take air on a speed bump, broke into my car with a beer can.
Good stuff.

[Arquemann]

Next week is gonna get COLD as fck, had to get winter tires on today.
Woke up at noon, ate, did some stuff, dad went to change the winter tires on his BMW and sister went to change the tires on her Jetta. We only have one floor jack, so one at a time...
I got my turn with the jack at 2PM, did the rears and was supposed to grease the joints up front, no grease... Had to wait for dad to get back home so I'd have a car to go get grease, he was at a hardware store but left his phone at home, as usual.

Got my grease, had to tear apart the grease gun, put it back together, cleaned up all the grease fittings on the car, messed with those for a while. Just barely managed to get the tires changed before 4PM, just as it got dark. Didn't really get to snap a proper pic.
The outer tie rod boots are torn, one ball joint boot aswell, other than that, they're just old and crappy.

Dunno if im really into the rallye wheels on this car, but they're on there now and they'll do.
Not sure what should I do with the summer wheels, they're replica Centerline Auto drags, just pretty beat up and painted matte black. I'm torn between painting them gloss black and running them with factory 9C1 center caps, OR stripping the paint and redoing the factory brushed aluminium finish.

[DerekTheGreat]

Add the basic Chevrolet hub caps with bright lugnuts and the wheels will look just dandy.