project: 'smooth cruising' 76 vette

[smooth cruising]

I'm in the process of beginning some maintenance and rebuilding of a 76 vette i acquired last fall. more or less in the planning stages for some ideas coming to mind and getting an idea of where i want to go with this car.

heres what im working with..

[smooth cruising]

picked up a rear end from a 1973 for $350



the plan is, to replace my current trailing arms with rebuilt units. ill be completing this using kits from 'Vansteel' which are on order as i type. my arms on my car are in bad shape as the bottoms have large holes but the bearings still seem to be holding up. i also have no parking brake at the moment. after the rebuild i will have functioning rear parking brakes and worry free units to instal in the spring.





beginning dissasembly and cleaning



last bearings installed were done improperly, this side lacked the critical shim between the spacer and bearings. the tightness resulted in a near failure for this driver.. the spindle on this side will need replacement. the bearing race had been spinning on the spindle and heavily wore it down..



you can notice the grease coming out of the spindle hub where the seal was compromised and play was evident



cleaned and prepared.. one side done.. repeat for the other and wait on parts!







i will be using por 15 products throughout the project on all frame related components. any core housings, hubs, calipers, etc will be done in automotive enamel

[smooth cruising]

my current axle is doing the usual described binding around corners when warmed up. could probably be fixed with some new gear oil as it seems it is either low or contaminated, reacting with the clutches. but in the long run ill be piecing together a nice new trouble free rear for the car.. but new oil in the spring for sure.

taking a look at the carrier from this 73 rear end,
once out of the varsol tank, looked like this.







i pulled the cover off and this fell out, any ideas????????





checking side yoke end play, between .035-.040", time for some maintenance. since i can wait on this i will take my time and set this up with either new clutches or invest in a trouble free eaton tru trac with new gears.. im undecided at the moment.

[7TRoadster]

Wow, what a nice car to start with. The interior looks better than most. No idea on the rear end part that fell out.

keep us posted, love the photographs.

[blckslvr79]

Welcome to the site!
Nice project.

[riggs 74]

Nice car, what are your other thoughts and projects that you have in mind after the rear end is done.

Riggs.

[smooth cruising]

right now the rear suspension is the concern for me. just before i stored the vette in the fall it began making a horrible noise that would sound like nuts and bolts rattling in a can. driving around i thought a tire was going to fall off! i pulled over and checked most likely areas but nothing was reletively loose or problematic. i have heard a similar noise on my solid front axle in my truck,, sounds just like an axle ujoint with dusted needle bearings ratteling in the cups.. but nothing was found in this case.?

i figured it would be best to invest in the new rear end, working on it bit at a time and replacing sections from the chassis with refurbished units. i have no expectations that anything has been altered on the under body in a very long time. i suspect most of the rotating parts are due for replacement or service. I simply find it easier working on this car to have a spare core to work on so i have less down time on the running vehicle.

as for the rest of the car i need to do some minor repairs.
oil pressure is through the roof! i'm sure the sending unit is to blame. i also have a few oil leaks and vacuum leaks to address. i will also need to look into the motor more. it takes a little longer to crank then it should and the electric choke isnt responding as it should.. something interrelated.. may end up replacing the motor another summer if i find a little cash or a good buy. But im sure its just a tweaked setting

next week im going to be investing in a beautiful manual conversion kit i stumbled across on kijiji. it consists of a super t10 trans 42 spline with 903 case and 2 ring input. the guy who is selling has made a whole conversion kit for a chevy project he went a different route with. so the kit consists of an all new aftermarket clutch pedal, hydraulic slave, new willowood manual master cylinder, some new high end clutch (not sure of the make), he also has a new output yoke i would need for the vette shaft and proper bellhousing, he even has the throw out bearing.. all i need to get is a flywheel! that may sit in the shop for a while until i figure out the order of attack on the motor problems.

most importantly i want the car mechanically sound and safe! once the rear end is done i will move onto the front and continue replacing bushings, and and ball joints, rod ends i suspect are due. after the car is fully tight and sound ill begin the cosmetic and body work.. the car does leak water like most and i do suspect rust problems.. but ill take it one step at a time and ill post logs of each area i touch in hopes to help others in their restorations.

thanks for the support!

ill keep you posted!

~Dan

[smooth cruising]

when i acquired this car it was equipped with a new edelbrock intake and carb. it also had a new radiator and hoses! new windshield too.. someone has restored the interior with vinyl covers i suspect and dyed/painted alot of the interior plastics.. it all looks professional but the white/grey isnt my style. black exterior and tan interior is in its furure but a very sharp car for its year. i found the car on a lot near my work.. you can imagine driving by this thing every day has had its effects on me lol.. now i own her! my wallet will never be the same

[C3C6 Norm]

Nice, love these restorations, bringing the factory ride or better back to life.

[tektrans]

Great project-looks like the car is in good hands.
I have a set of rear rotors that are in great shape if you are intersted pm me.

[Richard454]

Nice work...

I've always said- it's the journey not the final destination w/ these cars...They're never "done."

Richard

[GS81vett]

Im sticking with this one. For rearend questions you want to find Gary GRT999 ( I might have messed up his screen name)

[smooth cruising]

just a bit of trailing arm updates,

the one side spindle was damaged as i mentioned earlier due to improper bearing setup,,

i decided to take a closer look at a pair of spindles i found for $60 on kijiji. when i picked them up in the dark one evening they looked just fine, when i got back to the shop i noticed the damaged threads... what a shame. it looked as if one was attempted to be corrected with a die but instead bubba chased the thread and crossed it just creating a burr for a thread. the other was justas bad with heavily damaged threads..

i ended up turning the remainder of the mess down and built them up, then thurned my own 3/4-20 thread on the spindles.. good as new! but what an unnecessary headache.

i just pressed out the studs, and dressed the shoulders. the new van steel kits come with new lugs! nice touch i think.. i received confirmation the kits are coming and should be here soon.

[smooth cruising]

Por15 in and out on the trailing arms, auto enamel on all solid cores (hub, caliper bracket, flange)

glad to be done with the painting!

[smooth cruising]

Got something to start with, full kit from vansteel!