The Caveman project!

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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gt350fme » Thu Dec 03, 2015 4:06 pm

more
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1973 Chevrolet Vega GT


Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gt350fme » Thu Dec 03, 2015 4:08 pm

Weight of front spindle assembly by areospace 32lbs.
A pillar boxed and trim was deleted, I may make a small headliner.
PIc of the car above as it was when it came off the trailer when we moved, had to completely disassemble everything and then carefully reassembled after the move, the areospace brakes are completed and blead, the break pedal feels normal when pushed so I presume they work.
Replaced the rag joint in the steering with a Borgeson unit which really tightened things up in my case.
Also interfaced the old wiring harness to the new dash and to the v8 under the hood but have not completed the battery relocation in the spare tire well yet.
Jegs dinomat like insulation was installed from high firewall to back of front seat area, probably add more to the back area, not liking the extra weight but it is what it is.
I have more pics but no data left at this time to make that happen.
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Last edited by gt350fme on Tue Jan 24, 2023 8:42 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gt350fme » Wed Dec 16, 2015 3:01 pm

More pics.
The speedo cable for the 200r4 had to come through the side of the tunnel, a recess could be made to fit a 90 degree adapter instead, I don't like the cable running across the floor but it works.
Throttle linkage for the 200r4 TV cable is done, the the kit throttle cable end support flexed to much for me so I made up my own, the stock throttle cable also had to be shortened a little.
The Porsche seats identical to my 944 seats, not a bolt in but I was able to make them fit and recline, made my own seat brackets to sit as low as possible .
B&M shifter is installed and working.
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby burnouts&rotorblades » Fri Feb 08, 2019 5:45 am

So, did this project ever make it to the street?
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gt350fme » Thu Feb 28, 2019 4:13 pm

Sadly no not yet on the road.
I will post a few pics of progress made since last post when I am able.
Really not that much left to do, biggest thing is I need a driveshaft assy to be able to finally fire it up.
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gt350fme » Mon May 06, 2019 1:17 pm

engine pic as of may 2019
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby burnouts&rotorblades » Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:12 am

progress?
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gt350fme » Sat Aug 03, 2019 10:45 am

Received and painted driveshaft last week, need to carefully review the 200r4 start up procedures, should be able to start it up fairly soon!
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gt350fme » Sat Oct 26, 2019 12:29 pm

Well...............
This happy ending will have a little delay, had the vega all put together at last, hit the key and it immediately started but there where some subtle engine noises, kind of a knock that I could not resolve and that was not present in my other sbc's
So this engine needed to be disassembled and resolve any issues found.
So the first thing that came up as I was draining fluids, even though I prelubed and had 68 psi oil pressure, was the oil filter the old one that had been on there for ever my bad, spun it off and to my surprise there was no oil in the center of the filter and was not passing through at all and there was no bypass valve so no oil passed on, obviously not good at all game over 15 years ago when this engine was rebuilt and first started for this project.
I changed the filter and restarted the motor and the new filter flowed as it should but to late damage done.
So the knocking noise turned out to be the cheap aftermarket tourque converter cover that was being hammered to death by the lobe on the back end of the crankshaft ha ha, that ended up being benign and needs more trimming but the poor fit will send me searching for a better cover.
So long story short I now have back a freshly re rebuilt motor from a local builder and is getting close to being reinstalled in the next few months when I can find time.
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gt350fme » Tue Oct 06, 2020 5:05 pm

More to come





[attachment=4]5979D7AE-5282-4BDF-AC10-DFF2CC105912.jpeg[/attachment]
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gt350fme » Sat Oct 17, 2020 11:43 am

Dash pics
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gt350fme » Wed May 26, 2021 7:00 pm

Couple more pics
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gerbsinmd » Thu May 27, 2021 8:36 am

[quote="gt350fme"]Couple more pics[/quote]


That dash is COOL!!!!
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby Monza Harry » Thu May 27, 2021 7:27 pm

Thanx for dropping by, we need all the traffic we can get! Is your dash C3 inspired or is there another inspiration for that? C3 dash and that whole car is a favourite of mine, for sure. Your car turned out very nice! Thanx Again for sharing, Harry
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Re: The Caveman project!

Postby gt350fme » Thu May 27, 2021 8:30 pm

This has been a very loooooong project, third build since I have owned this car, first purchased 1978 with a junk motor fixed it stock sleeved, then did a IECO build, then 2001 started this build took 20 years of picking away whenever had time really pushed last couple years, dream come true, so cool to fly down the back roads here V8 rumbling strong, got to be carful is crazy fast, these roads have little room for error, learning to Cruise it trying to get better MPG, the small tank not much range currently could be better on open freeway.
Dash is Corvette inspired custom a friend created shown earlier in this thread.
More to come!
Last edited by gt350fme on Sat May 29, 2021 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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