Chevelle Restoration - Part 1
As someone who knows very little about cars beyond that some are electric and others not, I've found myself becoming more and more informed in the niche hobby of classic 70s era American muscle car restoration.
This comes following my somewhat impulsive decision to begin the restoration cum rebuild of my father's 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu 307.
Yes, she's a beauty, and more than that a bit of a childhood dream as I remember that same glistening car lurking silently in the same dusty garage where it hasn't moved in two decades.
This project is somewhat complicated in interesting ways that will become clear as I progress this blog, but the most pressing issue is currently which colour to paint the small block 307 engine. This seems to be a hotly debated topic between red and orange but I'm inclined to join the orange side of the debate because, well I like the colour.
More pressingly however is that the original engine is not in fact inside the car and is shamefully carted around on a single wheel with very little fanfare and tyre screeching.
Tidying up the engine is currently the main concern of this project as there are crucial pieces of the cylinder head that are missing. After listening patiently to my father explain great detail the diameter of valves needed along with springs, rocker arms, push rods and other esoterica, I was convinced that these objects of interest certainly had fallen into cracks in the space-time continuum by unknown and malevolent forces. However, upon seeing what indeed a valve, valve spring, and push rod look like I immediately flashed back to my early childhood where I distinctly remember lobbing said object into the veld and/or river that runs past my childhood house. Nonetheless, I nodded understandingly as Facebook Marketplace was scoured and our local US V8 parts importer was harassed to source such crucial components.
As the quest for engine parts continue, the dignified 307 waits patiently for its constituent parts in somewhat more respectable circumstances.
As the expert gave his verdict that the engine is probably okay, and that his motivation pulling it out of the Chevelle in the first place was probably more minor than previously thought, after cleaning off some of the oil and grime, a deeply disturbing colour issue was revealed. This engine was once painted red, not orange. The internet is gonna be mad!
As the 307 waits for its parts and, more importantly, its new colour, the 350 V8 that currently resides in the Chevelle needs to be taken out, along with its non-original 3-speed automatic transmission. This car is going back to its highly original matching numbers status so the engine and transmission have got to go and be replaced with the 307 engine and its Powergide 2-speed transmission which is also in the process of being de-grimed.
Work begins on removing the 350 engine.
To my surprise, removing the radiator and other engine bolt-ons went pretty smoothly and with ample space to work in!
After a fairly arduous process with much shouting and cursing, we were able to extract the transmission from the vehicle without too much pain and suffering.
So, with missing parts, some parts to be removed, much labour to be provided and probably a lot of ingenuity and patience for some of the more obscure challenges that await getting this car on the road, I'm sure this will be an entertaining project. Stay tuned!