Engine Work, Happy New Year!

My good friend Mike and I finally got a nice day to start taking a look at the 396 engine in the Impala.  First thing we did was take the entire core support out (which will be replaced) which made it a lot easier to get to the engine parts.

We took off the fan, alternator, fuel pump, eventually getting to the timing chain.  The timing wasn't jumped but the chain had too much slack in it from being run over the years.  I have a brand new, double row chain that will be installed.

 Next we took off the intake manifold and valve covers, exposing the inside -- which actually looked pretty clean, at least someone changed the oil fairly often.

More pictures to come!!  At this point we have all of the lifters, camshaft and pushrods out.  As soon as we get another nice day we will replace all of the lifters, camshaft, pushrods and timing chain!  HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY IMPALA FRIENDS!!

Soda Blasting

Hey guys -- I finally got my new soda blaster hooked up and couldn't wait to try it out so I made a quick video.  This tool is GREAT for getting to those hard to reach places (like door jams).

I'll try and make more videos in the future but just wanted to post a short preview.

I'm almost done the dash (minus the dash cap) and I'll update that later this week!  Click the link below.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWhuotP3WUs

It's been awhile.......

I know it's been awhile, but I finally got the impala back up to my house in Pennsylvania.  A friend of mine is going to help me with the 396 engine.  We're going to replace:  Cam Shaft, Lifters & Timing Chain.  I will also be replacing the core support and getting a new hood.

In the mean time I started working on the dash.  Below is my progress, more posts to come!

Door Panels!

Here's some pics of a finished door panel that was painted this past weekend.   3 of 4 panels are painted, the last one will be done when my new shipment of paint arrives.

Getting Under Her Rear End

Even though we're not doing a frame off restoration I decided to try and clean as much of the underside of the car as possible.   Armed with my angle grinder (with a wire brush attachment) I set on grinding off as much rust as possible, priming and painting.  I got from the back bumper to the end of the trunk pans today.  Pictures should be in chronological order.  I didn't do around the gas tank because I will probably eventually replace it anyway.

Cleaning Hardware

I've been doing this bit by bit since I started working on the impala but I wanted to show you the process of cleaning the hardware.   Any bolt/washer/etc that doesn't break and can be used again I clean with a wire wheel on a bench grinder, then paint them with a protective cast finish.

Here's the setup:

A couple before / after pictures

Interior Pieces

Cleaned and painted some more interior pieces today.  It's exciting because at least a small part of the car is looking like it does on the show.  More to come!

Interior Paint

Hey guys, I know it's been a bit since the last post.  I'm waiting on a guy who's going to help me with the motor work in a couple months.  The car will also be sandblasted so the last of the body work can be finished.

In the meantime and really nice guy on facebook who has connections with the show gave me instructions on the custom interior -- a big thank you to Rick Blevins for the tip!

The interior is actually spray painted with a vinyl light buckskin spray paint.  I'll hopefully be working on door panels this weekend, but I did one of the door pillar trim posts just to give you and idea of what it looks like.

                                                  

                                                           First interior piece! :)

Fenders Off!

Got the fenders off today.  The Impala will be heading back to PA for the engine work before the rest of the body work is finshed....then we can start talking about paint!

Few Quick Updates

Quick post:  Still cleaning bumper brackets and taking the front end of the car apart. 

Journey to the Impala

JOURNEY TO THE IMPALA

I always thought to drive to get to the impala was beautiful so I decided to take some pictures on the way.   Here in chronological order is Gettysburg to New Windsor, MD.

Passing the Gettysburg National Cemetary

A couple battlefield shots

 Church on the way

 

 The metropolis of Harney, MD, Check out their carnival they have 3 games and a funnel cake stand

 I always though this church was cool -- celebrating 275 years wow!

I pass Dean's automotive on the way, a sign?? :)

 Incoming scenic shots

 Finally the town of New Windsor where the journey ends.  More updates coming this week!