[ozzman3620]

Well I was doing a dash swap in the 79 I just bought and while tearing things apart it got a little out of hand. The guy I bought this car off of was a sneaky dude and managed to hide some interesting issues. So since I've been home all week I started pulling it apart.

I ended up pulling the front end off of it to replace it with the front end off the 86. The PO had turned the battery sideways under the hood to hide the hole where the body had rusted off the frame.

He had also cut 2 or 3 coils out of the springs and put blocks of rubber in between the coils so they couldn't compress. I thought that was kinda weird so I took the coils out of the other car and put those in.

While I was in there it got new koni shocks and ball joints. I also swapped control arms because the other car had new control arm bushings. I replaced the center link, sway bar links, idler arm, sway bar bushings, and inner and outer tie rod ends. I also did the calipers, pads and front brake lines, and I'm going to have the rotors turned this week.

I also cleaned up the frame horns to paint. So what do you all think? Did I miss anything?

 

[CF]

dam, looks great. lots of work you did there.its going to be real nice when you get done fixing it up.the only thing you might have missed is there might be room for one more jack stand under there. carl

 

[83RS]

Looking good keep up the good work, and keep the pictures coming.

 

[DONE DEAL DONNY]

Man you sure go about doing a dash swap the hard way!!!!oke:
Looks great dude!!!!
Donny

 

[elkper1771]

Check that L-frame rail & measure it.

Well I was doing a dash swap in the 79 I just bought and while tearing things apart it got a little out of hand. The guy I bought this car off of was a sneaky dude and managed to hide some interesting issues. So since I've been home all week I started pulling it apart.

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj489/cgarrett1/P1010077.jpg

I ended up pulling the front end off of it to replace it with the front end off the 86. The PO had turned the battery sideways under the hood to hide the hole where the body had rusted off the frame.

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj489/cgarrett1/P1010081.jpg

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj489/cgarrett1/P1010080.jpg

He had also cut 2 or 3 coils out of the springs and put blocks of rubber in between the coils so they couldn't compress. I thought that was kinda weird so I took the coils out of the other car and put those in.

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj489/cgarrett1/P1010084.jpg

While I was in there it got new koni shocks and ball joints. I also swapped control arms because the other car had new control arm bushings. I replaced the center link, sway bar links, idler arm, sway bar bushings, and inner and outer tie rod ends. I also did the calipers, pads and front brake lines, and I'm going to have the rotors turned this week.

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj489/cgarrett1/P1010086.jpg

I also cleaned up the frame horns to paint. So what do you all think? Did I miss anything?

It looks good so far,.... While you're at it change the radiator support assembly, since it appears super rusty. And of course a new battery tray & fender wheelhouse (which is beneath the battery). While the nose is off, check the measurement of that L-side frame rail. Your pic shows some damage to the L-horn end flange (mounting to bumper absorber brackets), and a possible kink in the frame rail, front of the suspension? Maybe just the picture angle, but take a tape measure and compare with the right side. Pick a point on the suspension upper control arm to the frame end & measure. Then do the same to the other side,.. if a variance, get the L-frame rail straightened before you bolt everything on. You're on the right track,.. do it once, you won't have problems in the future. - George :smileyb:

 

[ozzman3620]

haha yeah I'm a nut with the jack stands. I've got 4 blocks behind the back wheels too and another farther back as a safety and I still don't like them stupid jack stands. They just seem flimsy to me. The 86 I have is actually sitting on railroad ties under the frame rails and that I actually like. You could hit that thing with a small hurricane and it wouldn't move an inch. Tires are better of course but whatever

 

[ozzman3620]

@ elkper1771 I actually just pulled the whole front clip off the 86 which wasn't rusted rather than do the repair to the 79 body. Those pics are from the 79 front end which has found a new home sitting on half of an 86. If the kink is in the bottom pic right unedr the brake pad is sitting thats actually the flatspot for the steering box bolt. If thats not the kink then point it out for me because thats something I'll be inspecting thoroughly in the morning. I'll definitely go do some measuring in the morning too and see. It didn't appear tweaked looking at it but i've been so busy this week working on the suspension I could have easily overlooked it. :nanawrench:

 

[elkper1771]

Could be wrong,.. but check anyway

@ elkper1771 I actually just pulled the whole front clip off the 86 which wasn't rusted rather than do the repair to the 79 body. Those pics are from the 79 front end which has found a new home sitting on half of an 86. If the kink is in the bottom pic right unedr the brake pad is sitting thats actually the flatspot for the steering box bolt. If thats not the kink then point it out for me because thats something I'll be inspecting thoroughly in the morning. I'll definitely go do some measuring in the morning too and see. It didn't appear tweaked looking at it but i've been so busy this week working on the suspension I could have easily overlooked it. :nanawrench:

Ozzman, I could be wrong or seeing a bad angle, but it won't hurt to check them both anyway. Simply use a reliable tape measure & use the same point on the upper control arm bolt (for example). And,.. sorry 'bout the fender wheelhouse, you've got an '86 & it's plastic, won't rust. But like I did, replace or rust-proof paint any rusted bolts you see. They will only get worse over time. Good Luck, Bro ! - George :yell:

 

[ozzman3620]

Thanks I'll definitely check that out tomorrow in the light. I'd rather be safe and check it now than be lazy and have an issue later. I actually went to the fastenal yesterday and got all new bolts to replace all the body mounting hardware and the mounting hardware for the suspension/ steering.

 

[elkper1771]

2nd. look might be a dent

Thanks I'll definitely check that out tomorrow in the light. I'd rather be safe and check it now than be lazy and have an issue later. I actually went to the fastenal yesterday and got all new bolts to replace all the body mounting hardware and the mounting hardware for the suspension/ steering.

Ozzman, Wise to replace them, good man. A second look at that Rail (driver's side frame), appears to be a dish / dent to the left of the steering box hole pocket, and possibly carries to the upper left, or at about an 11'clock position from the bolt hole. I'm an Insurance Claims Adjuster and see this every day. Check it out in the light, better safe than sorry. If you need frame work, & can't tow it the way it is, there used to be a mobile chassis guy in Northern N.J. that will come to you. But do a measurement first & lemme' know. See ya' - George

 

[ozzman3620]

Alright I checked out the frame and I think it was just the angle I took the picture from. Measuring from the A arm bolts they seem symmetrical and there doesn't appear to be anything wrong upon closer inspection. I'm far from a pro though so I took a bunch of pics and figured I'd see what you guys see.

In the meantime I put the car all back together. here's some pics

fenders and rad support painted up.

The horns and steering box painted too

The crossmember and sway bar redone

There's the front end on no headlights yet though

Here's the prettiest part of the whole car. LT1 350 with a carb conversion on it. Its a little funky but it runs like a scalded dog so I'm not gonna complain.

Another motor shot.

On a totally unrelated note has anyone seen these seats before and if so in what? I dunno if they were stock or what but I want to recover them so I want to know where they came from.

Thanks,
Chris :beer:

 

[1980SteelBeast]

Never seen an intake embossed with a bowtie. Nice!

 

[guzey]

THose seats are def not stock, my guess would be a late model 90's or early 2000's chevy.

 

[guzey]

Those seats are not stock, my guess would be a late model 90's or early 2000's chevy. proably a minivan

 

[ozzman3620]

haha yeah the intakes from gmpp thats why

 

[ozzman3620]

An update to this thread I repinned the dash for my instrument cluster this weekend. The process was actually rather painless I was really surprised. It only took about half an hour and seemed very straight forward. Unfortunately the po did a real hack job with the wiring so I won't know the results of the repin until after this weekend when I'm done making a new engine harness for the car. I the po had taken all the hots going into the firewall and tied them all to a piece of no. 6 or 8 gauge cable which went directly to the battery. He then spliced the coil and everything else into it and taped it all to the firewall so it looked like a wire loom. I was afraid it would catch fire on me so I'm rerunning all of it. I'll update this weekend again with pics after the wiring's done and the instrument cluster outcome is known. :beer:

 

[spencersr]

So where's the dash :dontknow:

 

[ozzman3620]

it's back in it now I just didn't get any pictures last weekend because it rained most of the weekend. I should have some this weekend to post.