September 2019 - 1969 Chevelle gets new full floors, trunk floor!

So we got one more day in working on the car before we decided to pack up for winter. This marks a major milestone for this project... The first time in over a decade the body and frame have been together!

First, we rolled the frame out and dropped the new floor and trunk on it. We also fired up one more time for the year. This time it caught the attention of our neighbor who recently restored an old Mustang. He popped over to shoot the breeze for a while and admire our efforts. It's a great feeling to answer questions about this car knowing we've been building it all ourselves, including the engine and transmission. The pictures tell the rest with some insights in the captions below. Give me a holler if you like what we're doing!

This left what's left of the original body hanging by a couple of chains!😲😲

Next we started installing the new bushings. We decided to go with rubber bushings after hearing the poly bushings can give a harsh ride. Considering how much of the original rubber was still intact after pulling the body I felt new rubber would be sufficient going forward. Stainless hardware was used also.

Here you see we included the wagon and El Camino only bushings that install fore of the rear spring pockets. They were included with the kit from Ecklers, the frame has provisions for them, so let's use 'em!

Convertibles use an extra bushing at the firewall. Note the inboard bushing that is just a rubber biscuit. The outboard bushing is held in place with a bolt and a non-caged nut in a pocket on the firewall. Not pictured is the busing below where the door goes. This location generally just has a biscuit and no bolt. On convertibles this location is also retained with a bolt and a cage nut.

The factory assembly manual has been a priceless tool in working on the car so far. Here we are cross referencing the manual with the instructions that came with the bushing kit and getting the correct length bolts in the correct order before bolting the floor to the frame.

Just about lined up. Time to start lowering the body!

Touchdown!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the car to date. It may still look rough, and it is, but this is the first time in over a decade the body and frame have been together. Some minor adjustments and we'll be ready to start welding in some new sheet metal!

Chevelle progress August 2019

Finally got a chance to do some work on the Chevelle.

As it stands before we got started...

Spent about 3 hours air-chiseling the old trunk floor out. Trying to keep as much of the rear seat divider and tail panel intact as I can.

Here's what was left of the old trunk.

The rear of the trunk where the bumper bolts up, and where the rear-most body mounts go.

The front of the trunk right behind the seat divider and between the inner wheel wells.

Temporarily stuck the new trunk floor in and held in place with vise grips. Propped a new trunk drop-off from AMD in there too.

And here is where the new floor, old seat divider, and new trunk floor will all come together. In this pic I hadn't removed the old trunk yet.

Getting back to business

Well, it's been a whirlwind few years since my last post. New house, totaled car and subsequent new-used car. Good deals, bad deals. Crashing in basements.

So begins a new chapter in the life of joeyv69ragtop. Hopefully one that brings new things to share on this blog about the chevelle and the truck. So let's see where each of those stands now.

The Truck:
Well, is it even a truck anymore? Who knows. Here's what went down since the last update.
1. Camaro subframe. I scored an  '81 camaro subframe for relatively cheap and proceeded to chop up my frame.
<insert pic of choppered frame here>

2. built a 383 stroker from the 350 I pulled out of the chevelle.

3. Got cab sandblasted and primed

4. 10-bolt posi installed from a 79 firebird. Still need to clean it up but since I sold the original rear end I had to put the 10 bolt under it to move it off the property before selling the house.

5. sold house, nowhere to put truck. left it out in the cold :(

6. frame, cab, front clip living with dad.

7. doors, rear fenders, bedsides living with the in-laws. New parts in the garage, basement, grandma's garage, my office., everywhere.

Some progress on the truck

Did a little work on the truck on labor day.

Got the doors and hood removed from the cab.

Attempted to get the cab off the frame, or at least prepare to remove it. I ran into some trouble with the bolts. I started with the front passenger side bolt, and it just spun. Got out the grinder with a cut-off wheel. sliced through the nut and pried the two halves off of the bolt. The two rear bolts both snapped off. Win! Nice and easy and quick. Went to the front driver side bolt and... it just unbolted real easy?

I finished up by cutting any wires still going from the cab to the frame and knocking the brake pedal off the actuator rod. For now the front clip is sitting on top of the drivetrain, the hood is leaning against all that, and I shoved the doors back onto the cab for now. Just don't try to open the doors, they'll fall on your feet.

Oh, hey, wassup.

New to this whole blog thing. Hoping to use this site to track progress on the chevelle and the pickup.