57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks awesome Vic. I'm loving it.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Looks awesome Vic. I'm loving it.

Thanks Dale! Can't wait to get more of the trim on it. Keep getting side tracked, though. Had to remove the motor mount on the driver side and modify it to clear the vibration joint.

[HAULIN' IT]

Lookin Great!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by HAULIN' IT

Lookin Great!

Thanks!!

Sneak peek...

Progress is slow due to having to massage everything but I believe it's going to work out.

[Ol Blue K20]

Very nice peek! I think the color is popping more with trim.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Very nice peek! I think the color is popping more with trim.

Thanks, Dale. Kathy and I were talking yesterday and she asked if I regretted leaving off the red and I said NO! The more trim that goes on, the better I like the solid silver.

Speaking of which, here are a few more progress shots. It's going back together a lot more slowly than it came apart, though.

[Warrens69GMC]

Beautiful!

[mongocanfly]

That trim sure makes it look complete...very nice...

[sduckworth13]

It’s really looking beautiful Vic! I’ve been wanting to stop by, but I’m kinda rebuilding the front window on the house. There was a bunch of wood rot under the window. I had to remove about a 5 ft section from the subfloor to the rim joist. I’m on the home stretch thankfully, should have all the vinyl siding back on the house this week...I hope.

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks fantastic Vic, doesn't appear to be slow to me..

[Low Elco]

Looks great, Vic! Sorry about the window, Scott!

[sduckworth13]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Looks great, Vic! Sorry about the window, Scott!

Thanks Chip, I’ve about got it whipped.

[Vic1947]

Thanks, everyone. Glad you've got your window problem under control, Scott. I'm not much of a carpenter, so better you than me!

I've been busy installing the last of the stainless trim as well as the EFI tank. Someone on the Tri-Five forum posted a couple of photos with some basic dimensions for the Fuel Injection emblem and flags for the front fenders. Like almost everyone else there, I was a bit bewildered by the factory assembly drawing, so I got out my dial caliper and scale and set about drawing the actual hole locations in my little CAD program. Once I had everything laid out I printed an actual size copy for both sides and used it as the template to center punch and drill the holes. Then as my buddy Jay said - it was pucker up time. However, in the end I was very pleased with the results.

The factory manual references using a curved surface to form the flags for a better fit. They really need it as the top and bottom edges stand up quite a bit off the fender. I didn't have anything handy to form it the way the factory manual showed, but I improvised. I placed a 1/8" thick strip of rubber in my box and pan brake and set the flag emblem on it and while holding pressure on it bumped it up a little at a time. Moved about 1/8" toward the edge and repeated. After about a dozen iterations, I'd created a nice curve that fit the fender snugly. The speed nuts that were included with the flags were too small (metric maybe?) so I used a 6-32 die to partially thread the posts for installation. The FI script came with the correct inserts so I was able to push the emblem in like it came from the factory.

[mongocanfly]

Very slick Vic...

[Ol Blue K20]

That looks and fits very good. SWEET!

[Lokin4AReason]

The silver and the chrome seems to blend in with one another . Nice combo . . . And good progress

[knomadd]

Looking good Vic! That color and trim combo are great!!!

[Vic1947]

Thanks, everyone! Got the windshield wiper kit installed over the course of the last couple of days. Posted an overly long-winded video on You Tube...

https://youtu.be/p5RY_WZ9aV8

[mongocanfly]

Great video Vic....nicely done

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Great video Vic....nicely done

Thanks, Greg, occasionally it's easier to post video than try to write up something.

I've been forced to re-engineer several components as I put things back together. Despite mocking up various sub-assemblies, I find I didn't think far enough ahead. When I installed the throttle pedal into the spot I'd prepared, it was too close to the O2 sensor. Had to drop that section of the exhaust pipe, cut it off below the sensor bung, rotate it about 20 degrees and then re-weld it. It's not that it took a long time, just that I hate going backwards and doing something over. But that's what happens when you modify these old cars.

Also ran into a different issue with the steering column cover. When I blew the car apart, I somehow lost the U bracket that holds the lower cover in place. I bought a replacement from one of the suppliers and thought I was ready to go. However, when I actually went to install it, I could tell it was nowhere near a bolt in deal. On the tri-five forum, I found a thread that partially described the problem. But in the end, I spent about a half hour completely recontouring the bracket to fit. I'm not sure why the aftermarket can't get this stuff right. Seems like it would take no more effort to build the forming dies for a proper fit than force the enduser to beat the piece to death with a hammer.

[Ol Blue K20]

Nice job on the video Vic. I just watched it, this car is coming out great.

[Low Elco]

Good Progress! Keep it up!

[67ChevyRedneck]

I haven't checked in on this in a long time... and WOW. Love it. I normally don't give silver cars a second look, but very very nice!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Nice job on the video Vic. I just watched it, this car is coming out great.

Thanks, Dale!

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Good Progress! Keep it up!

Hey Chip, talked to your Dad today and he mentioned you've taken on another project. Wish I had your energy!

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

I haven't checked in on this in a long time... and WOW. Love it. I normally don't give silver cars a second look, but very very nice!

Thanks very much, Jesse. As you probably know, I'd planned to liven up the silver by doing a two tone with a candy red. Didn't work out (time & money) but the silver works well with the Bel Air trim.

Revising things I thought were already done seems to be my lot in life here lately. I've been working on the dash, routing some wiring, installing the a/c ducts and etc. I have a number of electronic modules that need a home and they can't all fit in the old glove box space or under the console. So I made a list and divvied up the lot and decided to build the mounting plates for them. After installing the panel that goes in the glove box, I decided to mock up the console to determine a good location on the trans tunnel. It had been months since I last worked on the two piece console project and I knew I needed to trim some additional material off the sides where the Volt piece fits up against the box I built for the Alpine NAV unit and speakers. Much to my dismay, when I assembled everything, I immediately saw that the ends of the Volt console overlapped the opening for the NAV screen. I had no choice but to lop off the corners of the console. You can see the difference in one of the photos. The initial cut has been done on the driver side while the passenger side shows the problem I encountered.

The issue with this mod is that it left a couple of gaping holes. I ended up doing the same thing I did awhile back with the side panels - built a form then poured self leveling seam sealer in the gaps. I then applied a little plastic filler to smooth out the surfaces to prep them for the vinyl wrap. Since I had to destroy the vinyl I'd previously applied, I had to do that over as well, but I was pretty happy with the end result. I need to adjust one of the seams a bit, but other than that, it's about ready. Maybe now I can get back to my mounting plates.

[Low Elco]

Too Cool! I'm diggin' that console. I don't have that much energy-I'm just not that smart. I bought the biggest steaming turd of a 78 SWB in Jackson County for me, then Was a softie and took in a 67 GMC Stepper to finish out for someone else. In the middle of wiring now. I wish posting pics was easier, I miss making threads. But it's too big a PITA when I'm already tired. Can't wait to see this on the streets!