Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

You need a washer and a longer spring. Somebody sold a kit back in the time before time.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

You just chop the wire thing off where the spring hooks to it and use the same spring.
Toss the adjuster ,and run the bottom spring from shoe to shoe, across the star wheel.
Like the price of doing it that way.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Ah, I understand. Probably one of these days I'll do that. But there's a ton of stuff above it on my to-do list.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

It's amazing how many hours I can spend on bodywork with very little visual impact to show for it. But things have been moving along on this project.

I think I'm finally just about done with the patch panel on the left quarter:
http://i.imgur.com/zOXY3Yv.jpg

I've also started fabricating the back firewall. Template made and transferred to sheet steel, which has now been trimmed.
http://i.imgur.com/hFrtwir.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cFbKPKo.jpg

And here's the third piece getting a test fitting:
http://i.imgur.com/9OuVO78.jpg

Finally, I've started on the ignition and other wiring. here's the plate that will mount the main components:
http://i.imgur.com/M03aUwZ.jpg

The terminal strips will have all the connections out where I can get to them easily for emergency repairs. That's a bit of paranoia I picked up a few years back when my ignition switch locked up in the staging lanes at Las Vegas. Fortunately it was running and I was being called out to the water box, so I was okay for the moment. But when I got back to my pit space I had to kill the fuel pump and wait for it to run out of gas. Then I had to dig into the factory wiring harness.

I've let myself get distracted enough, now it's time to get back to body work. So it'll likely be a few weeks before there's anything new worth looking at.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Dave I agree with the hours spent on body work just to make the car "allright" With my build of my 1965 Impala I am not a professional body guy so had to work slower. Since it is just a race car and not a show car I just did the best i can do. I cant afford to have someone else paint my car, that money has to go into other race parts!

Nice build !

Will Lamprecht
1965 Impala Div 1 i/sa IN PROGRESS.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Thanks! I'm in the same boat, even doing body and paint myself I'm still on track to be several thousand $ over budget. As with my bracket car, it'll be a work horse, not a show pony. But it should look pretty decent. And it's not the first paint job I've done, just the first one in 30 years! (Yikes, I'm gettin' old!!!)

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

You might have some misfire issues with that coil so close to the MSD box...I tried that myself years ago and it did not like it.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Hmmm... Well, it could always go on the other side of the firewall. Or just higher up on the inside, there's some room to spare in that area.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

That is what I ended up doing. The plate was mounted in the passenger floorboard and I moved the coil to the engine bay firewall.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Rich, What was the specific problem ?
I've built several cars that way.
Maybe the digital deal won't do it, whatever it was.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

It was in a '85 Camaro Stocker we helped a friend build back in the late 90's. All the components were mounted on a plate as above in the passenger floorboard. It sounded like it was on a two-step all the way down the track. Fred Niel said move the coil away from the box and into the engine bay which I did...solved the problem. I can't recall if it was a 7 or 6 MSD box, but it was before the digital was offered. Something to do with electromagnetic waves and no shielding the way I understood it.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Only problem I ever had was where the coil wire passed through.If the grommet wasn't big enough, the wire would blacken at the firewall, like the voltage was leaking to ground.
I've had problems with coils overheating and slowing the car down, but not be readily discernible .
On a Chevy or Pontiac with rear distributor, I like the coil to be inside and away from the heat from the engine, converter, and headers.
On a front distributor like a Buick ,I was afraid the coil wire would be too long and hard to keep isolated, so I would mount the coil right up front where it will catch air from the fan or grill.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Whether it was EMI or something else causing the problem, I never tried that trick again and have had no problems since.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

I'm sure it was an EMI problem. Reminds me of when Dedenbear first came out with their analog delay box, around the same time period. I bought one, was unimpressed, and built a prototype digital delay. It worked great on the bench.

Not so much in the car, near the MSD 7. It went totally nuts! Lots of shielding and bypassing later, it worked okay. My intent was to sell them commercially but the car and the delay box project got parked as I got divorced around that time.

Anyway I don't think having such a problem with an analog ignition implies there would be a problem with the digital one. But I'll check into it.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

This is the same set up Coil and MSD 7AL2 I had in my 68 Impala, here it is in my 65. Never had a problem. Just a heads up. What am i doing inside on computer, I should be outside in garage working on 65!!

Will Lamprecht Div1 I/SA 396/325 Impala in progress.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

I just spoke with tech support at both MSD and Summit Racing, and neither expect me to have a problem. I think the past issues were only with earlier design ignitions.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Life has been intruding and slowing things down, but I do have the wiring around my ignition plate done. Since virtually everything electrical goes through here, the result is quite a few connectors.

http://i.imgur.com/mZvLPHs.jpg

It would also be nice if the weather would cool off a bit! I'm not asking for much, just hold it to 105?

This weekend is scheduled for maintenance on my bracket car and the trailer, so I don't think a lot will get done on the Chevelle. But maybe a little more time on the body work.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

HO ... LEE ... S%&T is that nice looking.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Thanks! My ham radio skills do help sometimes.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Once again I got tired of doing body work, and drifted off into something else. This time it was the tachometer mount. It's pretty tight on top of the dashboard, so I built a mount to move the tach down and back from the mounting plate on the dashpad. There appears to be at least a half inch between the back of the tach and where the windshield will be. I'll likely move the tach forward just a bit; it's not as close to the steering wheel as the picture makes it look, but it's closer than I'd like it to be.

http://i.imgur.com/AjgcvxQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CHHMTIV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dkm1wIH.jpg

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Well the past two months have seen little progress; first I was busy racing my Camaro, then I went with the wife on a two-week Panama Canal cruise (which was awesome!). Then upon my return I immediately got sick. But I have finally gotten back to work on the Chevelle the past couple of weeks.

At this point I finally finished up the left door (what a bear that was!) and the only panel left is the right quarter panel. I say "only", but it has eleven dents! One of which is a crease over a foot long. In fact the only major panel on this car that wasn't damaged was the trunk lid, the rest of the car averages about four dents per panel. Was this thing in a demolition derby? Not only that, but there's evidence to suggest that it hasn't been on the street since the mid-70s! That would mean the car took on about three dents per year on average! Was it driven by Mr. Magoo?

Other than the last panel left it all seems pretty good now, though I know I may get some unpleasant surprises when I see it with shiny paint. I keep reminding myself though that I'm pretty sure the win light never comes on in the other guy's lane because his car is prettier.

Anyway, it's looking good at this point for me to spray the car the week between Christmas and New Year's as planned. Then I'll be off to pick up the engine and transmission.

Here's what the finished side looks like, not that it's very good looking, what with mismatched primer spots and horribly mis-aligned panels in this temporary assembly I did:

http://i.imgur.com/La5JoU1.jpg

And here's that pesky quarter panel:

http://i.imgur.com/hc9E47q.jpg

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Little bit of a set-back here...

I was happy that I was 2/3 done with the quarter panel already, but then I took a close look at the right door. I really thought I had looked that over before. But it seems I just noticed one little dent up top as I walked by and decided to fix it then. But I never did check out the rest. Turns out the bottom part of the door has six more dents.

Fortunately my work situation changed a bit and my week off has been pushed back to the first week in January, so I have an extra week to play catch up. Plus the more I do this work, the faster I get.

http://i.imgur.com/ZxM4qXn.jpg

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

David, Thanks, but instead of reaching for the camera, you ought reach for the cheese grater!
Save yourself some work that way.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

I did that just after taking the picture. It helps a bit, but the initial sanding goes pretty fast anyway. When I get aggressive filing it it sometimes takes a little too much out of it.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Happy Birthday Dave!

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Thanks Rob! I spent most of it doing (what else?) body work on the Chevelle. All done now except for some minor spots here and there.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Well, I thought body work was done, but I kept finding more issues here and there. I'm really not good at seeing this stuff without the aid of shiny paint. The total count of dents continued to climb right to the end of the year. But I have a new theory on how a car can pick up so many dents. The formula goes like this:

Pissed off wife + Big hammer = Many dents

Who knows, it could be. Anyway I finally got to the point of spraying 2K primer on it. Here it is just before:

http://i.imgur.com/xeU8xTY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OoBr0xD.jpg

And here it is after:

http://i.imgur.com/wx7BXYL.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yvei6mu.jpg

Tomorrow I'll be block sanding then disassembling it to paint the fenders, doors, hood and trunk separately.

I can see a variety of imperfections but most of the body work looks good. I've been held up some by cold, wet weather though. This el nino seems to be for real. But I hope to get the main body painted this weekend, fenders, doors etc. next weekend.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

When I painted my Cougar I kept chasing a low spot in the hood. Don't know how many times I would glaze it, prime it, sand it, looks high, looks low. Finally said screw it sanded it to metal, prime & paint, cant find a thing.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Looking good, Dave

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

All I can say is the guys that do quality bodywork and paint for a living earn every dollar they charge!

You can drive yourself crazy chasing imperfections, but that is the time to make it right, not after you get color on it. I have not priced paint since 2008 when I finished my car, but the petroleum based basecoat had doubled in cost over a 2 year period of time. People get sticker shock when they are told $10k + for a paint job, time is money and materials are not cheap!

Keep up the progress!

Sean

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Looking good Dave. Keep up the good work. Look forward to seeing it in person.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Hoods are about the hardest panel on the car to get right, in my opinion. Being horizontal and very visible adds to the problem .The harder you lean on a sanding block or board strip
, the worse things get.
Also , you have the bracing underneath which makes things inconsistent.
Just keep it open in the pits or staging lanes..LOL

Looking good, Dave
Shoot me an email when you get a chance.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

I know the feeling Dave...I'm at the same spot on the El Camino as well.

http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/q...pspqgau0iu.jpg

Don't give up on those blemishes...you will kick yourself later for not taking care of them at this stage. ;)

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

There's a product called guide coat that helps with those pesky phantom low spots. It's a black powder that you rub on and wipe off to show the low and high spots for glazing or sanding. Used it on my Mustang.

Link: http://www.tcpglobal.com/Automotive-...Guide-Coats_2/

All mine. Not perfect but it saved me big bucks. Just the red paint was $1000...
http://i.imgur.com/oGETru6.jpg

Dale

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Finally! It's most definitely not perfect, but I think it'll do:

http://i.imgur.com/kcsWZfa.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IJMLtPK.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/h5XRomp.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/k8alVzN.jpg

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

I'm betting you are relieved to finally get to this point...I know I sure will be. :)

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Looks nice! Well, done. :) -Al

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Very nice Dave. Hope mine turns out that good.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Thanks, guys.

Yes I am relieved. I hope the rough areas in the clear sand and buff out okay. I think they will.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Looking good Dave.