by 74_Vega_GT » Sun Dec 11, 2016 12:58 pm
That embossed section turned out to be no sweat for my master sheet metal brother helping me on the project. The A/C inside unit has been completely disassembled and all rust removed from the vacuum operated doors, new foam insulation added re-assembled and ready for installation. The engine bay has been reinforced and smoothed, firewall deck smoothed. Hatchback rim has new metal, as well as the quarter glass area. We dropped the fuel tank which looks great and cut out the spare tire bottom to prep it for new metal. Tail light areas on both sides are in great shape. We removed the rear end and haven't determined exactly which rear end it is yet. I did notice an extra bar on this Cos. above the rear end that connected back to the passenger underside that the GT did not have. We will be using that. The rear fenderwells underside are about to receive new metal.
We have a lot of parts with years of rust on them and have discovered a way to remove much of it quite cheaply and safely by filling a large container with a mixture of white vinegar and water mixed 1:4. I think Jaques Cousteau used this method on his Vega...haha. It works great with light brushing under the water with a stiff nylon brush. We are doing some body wet sanding with the vinegar water. We are using "Rust Fix" spray product like ospho after drying the part from the vinegar water before priming with an epoxy primer. We are close to putting the entire interior shell in epoxy primer. The heat reflecting inner firewall blanket would be soon , followed by fittment of the AC from the 77 Sunbird.
The Sanderson shortys are in for the 94 ,4.3L V-6 Vortec. This is a balance shaft Z motor, Tonawanda block, TBI. We have yet to find the intake manifold for a 4bbl and there seems to be some confusion as to which intake to get. Square bore, spread bore, Rochester, Holley, Edelbrock...something from a Mercruiser Marine ...no they wont fit, yes they will..I still have time to sort that I am sure.
About upgrading to the 5 lug S-10 setup, which seems to be the way to go after reading many of the posts. My upper CAs on this Cosw, had been screwed with as they were all aluminum with no rubber and a place for a zerk fitting and a cobbled up looking job at that, so were gonna ditch them and use the ones off of the 74gt. After a vinegar water job, they look brand new. The lowers are from the Cos and have extra bracing around the cup where the sway mounts and now that they've been vinegarized, they are like new as well.
Now comes to the tricky part I have been reading about concerning the positioning and size of the lower ball joint opening to accommodate the larger ball joint from the s10 spindle. My mechanic hadn't a clue about this and had it not been for this awesom forum, I would never have known. I will need to re-visit those instructions with photos. I remember seeing one where the member cut the hole in the wrong position and outlined where he should have cut. I seem to remember some confusion among the posters of that thread as to the exact location of the 1/4 in. mod. Until I get this sorted out, the sfront sustension will be on hold.
We picked up a bellhousing (30 buks) for the 4.3 (200 buks) and will attempt to use the Saginaw 4-sp from the 74GT . Soon we will mate the motor, bellhousing and starter and tranny with the Sandersons for fittment.
We are still sorting out which radiator to go with, although we did decide on a serpentine belt setup for the 4.3. I see many of the radiators being used that hang a little below the lower cross support which concerns me.
Color?-- Boy the Spectrachrome sure looks tempting and their factory is a few short hours away.....more later...Peace
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1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black