FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

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Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:40 am

~ Talking to another mechanic who said bleeding these can be a real bi*c$. He said he tried bleeding a slave on a Ford once on a Friday afternoon at his place of work without sucess and left the cap off of the reservoir all weekend long. When he returned to work the following Monday, low and behold, the clutch had bled itself....somehow. So, with that in mind, I loosened my reservoir cap and left it for a day, returned and noticed NO drop in the reservoir level. Pushed on the clutch, motor off, and felt more resistance and "rod squeek" rather than "butter-like" with no resistance. The pedal did not go to the floor as previously.
~ Shifted the tranny into gear..motor not running...verified that it was in gear by trying to roll the car....mashed the clutch and she released....YAY!!
~ Haven't tried it yet with the motor running, It seems that I will NOT have to remove the tranny and shim the clutch TOB after all unless...the three missing flywheel teeth become a problem.
~ Time now to FINISH the ductwork downpipe on the driver side to the vent and get the DADGUMMED cluster and dash mounted so the steering wheel can finally go up into position.
~ The control arm bolts and cam bolts have not been finalized and tightened yet...
~ The hood, doors, and hatch lid (Thanks Dick..R.I.P.) need to be mounted as well before paint....oh, the hatch spoiler wing should look killer.
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1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
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Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Sat Jun 19, 2021 7:09 pm

~ Bleed was being hampered by the pedal travel which was being supressed due to metal fatigue of the support bracket that we had to fabricate for the clutch linkage. The fabricated support was in fact bending under pressure of the pedal. It would return less and less as I attempted the bleed.
~ Removed the bent support, fabricated a gusset reinforcement and welded them together and painted then reinstalled.
~ Excessive firewall flex was noted due to the steering column nuts being removed thereby lending no support to the structure housing the clutch and brake pedal assembly....We secured the column nuts to test the clutch under power.
~ Clutch engaged and disengaged properly....Can't test drive without a seat...so....
~ The black seats from the Cobalt are the seat-de-jour. I was surprised to note that the insert leatherette fabric is the perforated type used in the Cosworth and matched the back seat perfectly. These seats have capability for: layinf forward and laying backwards, heating elements , bottom and back. but we are not hooking that up. Adjustable lumbar support is included. Today turned out to be seat rail day.
~ The huge, hardened rivets had to be drilled out to remove the Cobalt rail from the seat. It appears that the unibody frame rail will have to be drilled into for seat bolts. This seat is a little wider. The stock 74 vega seat belts will be no problem....more later...peace
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1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
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Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:52 am

~ 77 Sunbird A/C ductwork does not play well with a 74 GT instrument cluster carrier.
~ Speedometer cable exiting the speedo jams into the plenum prohibiting a flush mount. The cable is right where a vacuum actuator is located. We are considering cutting a hole through the plenum and inserting a 3/4 inch PVC "tunnel" to pass the speedo cable through to the instrument.
~ The horseshoe shaped cluster carrier bracket, where the steering column mounts, has a "lip" or flange that we had to cut off to allow the vent control cable to be relaxed and not under stress as it flexed into position while fitting the cluster carrier.
~ Clutch TOB is now bled and operating correctly...runs and drives. Chirped tires at an idle...she wants to go..
~ We are fitting the Cobalt seats with their rails not the vega rails....Did I mention that the leatherette inserts in the Cobalt seats are the same perforated material used in the Cosworth? They will match the back seat bottoms and back.
~ E-brake dash light started working...still no reverse lights....may have to live with that.
>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
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Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Sun Jun 27, 2021 9:02 pm

~ NOT Cobalt seats, but from a Pontiac G5 with an embossed Pontiac logo on the headrest....gotta lose that with a Vega and a bowtie.
~ Removed the modern female seat belt recepticle from the Pontiac seat and mounted the original Chevy bowtie belt receiver to the transmission hump using the original bolt holes and hardware.
~ Removed the cold rivets from the seat mounts to the seat slide rails on the G5 seats. Fabricated 2 pieces of angle iron and mocked them up to mount the rails to.
~ We plan to steel rivet the angle iron seat mounts tomorrow....and consume mass quantities of Yuengling light. :P
>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
74_Vega_GT
 
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Location: Central Florida

Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Thu Jul 29, 2021 10:50 pm

~ Prepping headlight buckets and bezels, wirewheeled, osphoed, primed, painted.
~ Hunting deluxe interior door handle escuchons...the ones for the Camaro are close..but different.
~ Cut and drilled 8 angle iron tabs to weld to the seat rails.
~ Picked up a 4 OZ sample of 3-stage Mazda 46V Soul Crystal Red. This will be a 4-stage job with the Black GT striping from the reverse mask. The mask will have to be applied after the base coat is dry. Then the base coat of the 08 Dodge Brilliant Crystal pearl black goes on the stripe. Then the masking is removed and the mid-coat for the Mazda 46V sprays all-over 30 pct. overlap. Then the clear coat layers go on.
~ Assembled the windshield and hatch glass trim pieces to check their fit.
~ Need to fabricate the brackets that support the Monza center console and the front 2 tabs that secure it to the floor soon.
>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
74_Vega_GT
 
Posts: 455
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:40 pm
Location: Central Florida

Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Sun Aug 01, 2021 9:38 am

~Did some work this weekend on the seat rails...My buddy Jon is the master welder! Were working on the passenger side now...I included a couple of pics of the mocked up instrument cluster showing the upgraded climate control from a 77 Sunbird.
~ May have mentioned this before...The speedo cable will have to run THROUGH the 77 ductwork in order to stab into the instrument straight and not at an angle....a 1inch tunnel made of PVC tubing placed through the plenum will do this for us we hope.
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>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
74_Vega_GT
 
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Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Wed Aug 11, 2021 10:58 pm

~ Scrapped out what was left of the donor carcass to make room for a large canopy. 15 cut off wheels and 2 days in the 95 degree sun...very little shade, lots of water. At .08 per pound - 88.50. I kept a pair of doors and fenders and bumpers as spares.
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>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
74_Vega_GT
 
Posts: 455
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Location: Central Florida

Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Fri Aug 13, 2021 6:35 pm

~ Fit and mounted the passenger seat with its new rails...sits about an inch above stock seat height...so does the driver side...kinda sux, but what do ya do?
~ Speedo cable is next on the list....tunnel through the '77 A/C plenum for a straight shot at the instrument.
>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
74_Vega_GT
 
Posts: 455
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:40 pm
Location: Central Florida

Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:36 am

~ Dropped the steering column, Dropped the instrument cluster to expose the speedo cable to study the interference.
~ The cable exits the speedo exactly where the vacuum cannister actuator for the defrost door is located prohibiting the instrument cluster to fit flush.
~ We abandoned the idea to bore a hole for the cable to run through the "77 Sunbird A/C" plenum. We decided to remove the vacuum actuator and relocate it 2 inches out from its present location and extend the "actuator arm". This will create a "void" where the metal connector part of the speedo cable will fit into as it is pushed into position.
~ Relocated the refrigerator to the shop so the beer would be closer.
~ Work has been delayed on the Vega while preparing another Crossfire convertible for sale, it's ready now. Another underappreciated car. Rare too.!
>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
74_Vega_GT
 
Posts: 455
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:40 pm
Location: Central Florida

Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby zeke » Sun Sep 12, 2021 11:56 am

74_Vega_GT wrote:~ Relocated the refrigerator to the shop so the beer would be closer.


Critical to the success of any shop project :lol:
Chris

zeke's 79 Monza Project

zeke's 78 Sport Coupe

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1979 Chevrolet Monza 2+2

Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:48 pm

~ Agreed !
~ We Dremeled the plastic around where the old actuator, ..the one we fixed with a cat food can...had been located and removed the old defrost door actuator.
~ Went to the local junkyard and looked at an actuator on the water line of an Astro van that might have worked but we found one on a 99 or 2000 Dodge Ram truck AC plenum door actuator. It had a much longer arm. When we removed the old actuator, the arm remained, in other words, it pulled out of its rubber bellows, leaving behind the arm attatched with a rivet that we used as a pin to go through the hole on the Dodge actuator arm. We had to de-bend the 90degree end of the original arm to line up the rivet with the hole.
~ We fabricated a bracket out of tin and used it to mount the Dodge actuator.
~ We finalized the driver side AC downspout vent. Since the Vega had no vent to the left of the instrumentation and only one below at the lap, we had to modify the end-cap of the 77 Sunbird plenum to clear backside of the cluster when inserting in place. We used vacuum cleaner hose and pvc and epoxy.
~ Hood and Rear hatch.. RE-fitting,,maybe final.. is next...hang doors.
~ Hatchback wing is off of a Toyota...not sure which one.
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>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
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Location: Central Florida

Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Sat Sep 25, 2021 8:15 pm

~ FINALLY!! Permanently mounted the dash pad, Instrument cluster and Steering column. Still looking for at least 1 of 2 dash handles that I know are here somewhere. Tucked, trimmed, and hot glued the unfinished edge of the dash underside before mounting.
~ Bracket for (Monza) console mount is to be fabbed next. Console add-on panel to mount the fog light rocker switch and the oil pressure gauge and USB charge port are yet to be fabbed.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
74_Vega_GT
 
Posts: 455
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:40 pm
Location: Central Florida

Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Fri Oct 01, 2021 9:15 am

~ Setback - Clutch pushrod bent again and the reservoir was down...no leaks underneath..we have to re-visit that.
~ Repainting the headlight bezels and the side mirrors...Let it dry! do not touch signs are needed...
~ Found the missing dash grab strap, it was right behind my chair in plain sight...lol
~ Repainted the windshield cowling area because we damaged it.
>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
74_Vega_GT
 
Posts: 455
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:40 pm
Location: Central Florida

Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby sirrick4 » Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:33 pm

Great work. I've enjoyed going through your journal. Just a little thing to keep in mind, that hot melt glue will melt again if subjected to heat. Not sure if there is enough heat in the system to do that but I lost a couple of plastic windows in a soft top 4WD during a North Queensland summer because the glue softened and came apart in the heat. Keep up the good work
Rick
Rick ......1975 Monza 2+2
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Re: FrankenVega / FrankenCosworth

Postby 74_Vega_GT » Sat Oct 02, 2021 9:37 pm

~ Thanks for the tip, I hope it doesn't get that hot, we were hot glueing the overlap excess, where the upholsterer stopped . I hope the upholsterer who recovered the biggest part of the dash pad used a pro- product when he adhered the material to the factory plastic molded dash top.
~ We addressed the bent input rod for the hydraulic clutch master. The linkage we had previously fabricated was not offset enough nor quite high enough to be in proper alignment to direct the force of the clutch pedal at the stock pin location to the input shaft of the cylinder. The material it was made of was also a soft steel when it should have been hardened steel. We re-engineered the linkage pieces...2 more times. the first was too short. A frame of bailing wire was used to template where the holes needed to be at the correct offset and distance. Hardened steel bed frame rails were used for the linkage. The piece seems to have remedied the issue as we tested the clutch when we were done. The pedal returns to full height, but begins to grab merely a half inch from the floor and has very firm resistance when depressed.
~ Repainted the winshield cowling where we had damaged it. Added ruby flake to the first coat of clear. Side mirrors are prepped for paint. Headlight bezels were painted, clear coated, buffed...chrome front edge was taped off.
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>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black
74_Vega_GT
 
Posts: 455
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:40 pm
Location: Central Florida

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