My 96 RMW project...

Wow, just spent 20 minutes catching up on your work Chris. Truly inspiring (Chicago singing "you're my inspiration" on the satellite right now!). I'll be daydreaming for a few days now!

Dwight

Wow Robert...I will be careful. I picked up a 50k Opti..but found it has a crack near where the harness plugs in. So, I will swap some pieces out with my stock one. Hoping my little bit will come before this weekend!

I love Chicago Dwight! Thanks for the compliment too I am happy that things are starting to come together.

Just found out today that I will not be traveling over Christmas and New Years. Soo...this is good. I will have a little time to get more done!

So...not much going on with this horrid cold. Really wishing I had a garage to work in. Lol.

BUT! I did get my rear swaybar tonight Thanks to NavyLifer

So, the parts pile is growing. I just need some warmer weather now.

Chris

Lowes at $199

damn reviewed all these pic etc. chris nice job i wish i had a big area to dismantle the car like u did,ill need to put 10 lbs in a 5 lb bucket, man i think the wife is going to be some kind of p o'd when i start ,im still trying to figure it all out where to put stuff , ill get there if u do it ..do it right, for sure i need to get the car higher like u did .busted my ass on the 91 trying to do that cleaning and painting sitting half as high, good before and after pictures every inspiring and of course now i would be able to sleep at nights thinking about it .. thanks

Oh Chris, " HORRID " remember us eskimos up here in Cincinnati and Louisville. LOL

Yeah, I would love to heave a heater like that (I would just need some walls to keep that heat in...and no, I already asked about hanging tarps up! Haha)

Wanes91, my advise is to get it as high as you can. Makes it so much easier. Others will tell you to take it off the frame too. I could not go that route with my resources. This wagon is not perfect, but clean. That is my goal.

Robert, my family tells me about the horrid condition up there! But I think Pat and Nick might have something to say about that. LOL!!

Looking like it will be in the 50's next weekend!!! So I am crossing my fingers for a full Sat of work!

Chris

Hey! Had a great day off yesterday and FINALLY made some progress.

I took the timing cover off and changed out the seals (except for the waterpump drive seal as I am waiting on the right tool) and oilpan gasket.

Also mated the transmission back up with the motor and put it back in. Still a long way to go though.

This is what I used to get that annoying crank hub off if anyone was interested. I know it took me a bit to get the right setup.

I bought a cheap Harmonic Balancer Puller set
3 7/16-4x2 grade 8 bolts
1 3/8-16x31/2 grade 8 bolt to easily slip in the center.

looking sweet Chris. Funny thing the other day when I did my opti, the harmonic balance came right off just like the manual says. I had it off 1.5 years ago when I did the cap and it wasn't so easy, but the other day, I took out the three bolts and it slipped right off....

Looks good Chris. I haven't been on the site for a while and things are looking real good. Keep it up.

Lookin great Chris!!

...I hope you "RTV-ed" the hell out of that Fel-Pro pan gasket at the front and rear...go ahead, ask me why lol.

Looking very good so far man. Hopefully you bring this beast to kentucky so I can see it in person.

(I did use a good bit of RTV on the front and back area! I figured if it came from the factory like that...I'd better do that! Lol)


Ok, so I stopped by after work and installed the waterpump drive seal with the PROPER tool. I screwed the 1st seal up trying the Sharpee lid method. FAIL (for me at least)

So, thanks again to Mike for letting me borrow his tool. I have my own coming from the GP. Most of the final wagon funds are in now. So it is just a matter of getting the parts and having good weather. I am still working on the brake lines, and I think I have someone that will make them for me. Don't know yet though.

Chris

Cool, the pain on the seal matches your engine paint.

Any more news on this project?

1993 Roady-man wrote:

Any more news on this project?

Well, we got hit with 3 inches of snow Sat...so that killed my time (car is under a carport...but it still got ice and snow on it)

I do have in hand (drumroll)

*New transmission cooler lines
*New Power steering lines
*Magnacore plug wires
*50K Opti all ready to go

The brake lines are supposed to be made tomorrow (Tues) and I will pick them up when I am out of town this weekend. I really hope they get done. That will be a HUGE load off my mind knowing those are squared away.

I should have the rest of my funding in by the end of this month. So that will allow me to buy the headers, rotors/bearings, plugs and exhaust (once running) and some front suspension stuff. Might need a new compressor too (or a good working used one)

Then it is body work time! A little nervous about that....this poor wagon has door dings galore. Did not notice it as much until I removed the wood.

I just need some good weather! I did get a gig to play in the orchestra for a local Opera production...so the next few weeks will be a little crazy. Sat mornings will still be free hopefully

Chris

brokecello wrote:

[ I did get a gig to play in the orchestra for a local Opera production.. Chris

Jeeez,. you poor bastard,..
you got a masochistic streak in you??

nick

What are you buying for headers Chris? I am on the lookout.

Congrats on the gig,that is a real talent you are blessed with,have fun.

When I bought Dusty I thought about stripping the wood, then I saw all the dents that aren't soo noticable with the wood, so.............
that and four of my other ones are 'naked'

Get on ya for the gig too.

Lol..thanks guys.

Lorne, I have to go the budget route this time with the Summit coated headers. We will see how they turn out!

The last set of headers I bought were Dan's Tri-Y's. Someone like you who does not want to monkey with the AC lines and frame braces should consider that a good option.
I should have removed those headers before I sold the WB4.

.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HED-68298/

these look like they,d fit nice,..good price too,.






these are my quad 4's see the first tube how it curls over then down on the pass side,. the summit ones are nearly the same,.

Nick

Thanks Nick. I am not a header fan based on my eighties experiences but everyone has said if you pay you will not have any leaks.

I know Fwank wouldn't tolerate leaks and has has great praise for his 1st gen try y's which are coated. He talked me out of buying these,said stainless wasn't necessary. What do you think??

http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=237026&referrerid=0

well i,m sure our frankie is some folks idea of an oracle i guess,....
i could be wrong,. getting any mass produced jig welded headers to NOT leak,. is simple ,.. use the right gaskets,. use the right locking bolts,. and torque things down evenly,.run a straight edge over the flange to see if they are worth installing first,. tweak them as necessary,.make sure bolts and sockets will fit BEFORE they are in the chassis,. adjust any tube as necessary (bfh)
i,ve installed so many sets of headers i can't remember them all,.i,ve modified headers for one chassis to fit in another cutting tubes adding bends welding flanges etc,. a set of long tubes is the way to go for plenty of torque,.in fact extending the collector out to where the paint doesn't burn off is the way to go,. read on the issf about notorious ted's long collectors,. something we all did to our street cars 30 years ago,.......its all new again,..installing a set of long collector headers can be a real pita when you have to jack the car up 4ft,..Torque thats what counts with a big car,..
( big inch olds motors gained a ton of torque with these,. 40ft/lbs)
you can buy the most expensive shit on the market,. justify it with the old saying, "you get what you pay for"etc,.and hope youre getting the best quality,.
we all used to buy the cheapest black jack headers we could get,.( i had headers on everything it was THE first mod usually) re-weld the flanges,.chop the collectors, paint 'em up with nice flame proof silver paint,. and then tell everyone they were hookers,.. (but at 40% of the price)i,ve cut the braces off every gm car,. never heard or seen of any problems, and i,ve driven most stuff pretty hard,.. 30 years ago it was all about going fast,.motors are now works of art,. people want to tell you how much things cost,. drop name brands,. have the lowest mileage etc,. meh,..
i, m still a primer brown muffler delete kinda guy,..i try to buy practical stuff,. i could care less if my headers make 5 hp less at 9700rpm,and are not made out of titanium polished to a mirror finish,. people buy stuff for their cars, stuff that has a working life of 50 yrs,. yet they keep the car for 5? 10? etc,. Me??.its what things cost me that counts in my decisions to buy,..or not to buy,
besides in the real world i,ve beaten,. out driven, out run,. lots of guys with cars that should have been way faster than they were,.but my junk aren't works of art,..
you can give the fastest horse to the lousiest jockey,. it ain't gonna win,..flavour of the month parts ,. i can do with out them,..check out those headers i linked,. they are a deal,..even if you pay another 200 to get em ceramic coated,.
Ask wagon 95 gerry about the long tube headers he put on a 95 9c1,. headers made for an F body,..headers that are much easier and cheaper to find than B body stuff thats manufactured on the LEFT coast at exhorbitant prices, that might get shipped sometime never on time, with a 50-50 chance of not fitting,. my local pal is down 1400 for a set of pipes that don't fit,.answer? oh just send that side back we'll fix them,. MEH.
Headers? i know 'em,.

Nick

I hate to say this, but I agree with him.

They make gaskets nowadays that can seal most any header out there. I went with the cheap afterburners for my wagon. Non coated to boot, cause I've been running plain rusty headers for many years with zero problems. When they rust out I go buy another pair. I looked hard at a pair from CIA but couldn't justify the cost, plus I didn't want to wait a month for them.

Well...I finally have my brake lines A guy in Louisville used my Dad's '95 RMW as a template. These are special to me since my Dad actually did most of the work to help save me some $$. I am pleased with the results! Used GM lines too.

I also cut out a lower quarter panel patch piece and grabbed some VERY nice tank straps from junked OCC.

Hoping to install brake lines Sat morning!

Ya know Chris, all them brake lines would be easy to mount to the frame if the body wasn't on the frame....

Nice lines.

Told you that OCC was too nice to be in a junkyard

Made some good progress with the wagon today. Sorry..no pictures though (forgot my camera) So I could be making all this up. Lol

Rear brake lines are on. All the front lines look like they will fit up nicely....but they need to have the right flair put on them. I did not pay attention and honestly didn't think to mention that I needed the front lines to have a 'bubble flair'. I assumed...and that makes an @ss out of U and me.

Installed both new power steering lines. (and new pressure sensor)

I cleaned up / painted and installed the SS front swaybar I got from NavyLifer. Also bolted up some HD Moog endlinks.

Serviced the 50k Opti I bought...housing was cracked so I took apart both and used the housing from my original unit. Installed that and put the harmonic balancer back on.

I got the right hardware and installed the rear swaybar brackets Nick gave me (they were very nice too ) I need to tweak a couple things before the rear bar bolts up.

So, next thing I will get and install will be the headers I guess. Then connect the plugs and wires. I don't want to put the inner fenders on until I have the brakelines installed. The less I have in the way the better.

I have a crazy schedule with the Opera starting tomorrow and ending the 14th. So no more progress until the 20th

Sorry for the novel (I know you all like pictures...as do I)

Chris

Sounds like you're finally on the back stretch! Turn 3's comin' up quick! You're getting there!

brokecello wrote:

I don't want to put the inner fenders on until I have the brakelines installed. The less I have in the way the better.

Chris

Like a body perhaps?

buickestate wrote:

brokecello wrote:

I don't want to put the inner fenders on until I have the brakelines installed. The less I have in the way the better.

Chris

Like a body perhaps?

Exactly.....Lorne is on his way.

.

now THAT is funny!!

My headers came in tonight They actually look real nice..welds are nice too.
These are the Summit coated headers.

.

Good one Chris.

I admit,I make a living off of others bad breaks.

Nice headers,what't holding them on the wall? You really Chris Angel?

I haven't been here to check on your progress lately but it sounds like you're doing pretty good. Can't wait to see some pictures. Sweet looking headers.

Well, hoping to make some more progress on Sat. Still getting some parts in....just got the fan harness, MAF extension and Batt cables in from Gary. Very nice stuff!

Here is a shot of the rear swaybar I installed too (thanks again to Nick for the brackets) Also started stripping the core support I got from Pat. Should turn out nice!

Chris

Wow Chris. That really is looking truly awesome. Im-pressed.

Hey, thanks I am happy with how it is turning out. Got the last of the parts from Summit tonight. Wagon fund is pretty much gone now except for what left for the tires/exhaust. Might have gone over into the paint fund a bit.

Can't wait to hear it fire up!

12 cans of Krylon can't cost too much...... lol

Just caught up on this thread and you have been quite busy. Very impressive indeed. I'm left wanting for more time and spare change when I look at your progress.

Sprocket wrote:

12 cans of Krylon can't cost too much...... lol

Just caught up on this thread and you have been quite busy. Very impressive indeed. I'm left wanting for more time and spare change when I look at your progress.

Haha! I actually do have one can already. Hoping to hide the brown spots a bit until I can get all the paint/body work done.

Should have a lot more pics tomorrow!! Looks like the rain will be gone by then

Well, rain off and on today. I was able to finish stripping the rad support down to bare metal though AND do the finish work on it

I used the truck bed coating. It has an amazing texture and is supposed to hold up very well. I am VERY pleased with the results!! I used it on the front support brackets as well. You can see how nice this stuff lays down (the pic with the part number visible)

I might use this on the inner fenders too...although the paint on those is still very nice.

.





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I was also able to clean out the cowl area (NASTY) and install the newish wiper motor (thanks 94Woody) and pop the ZQ8 bumpstops on. Oh, and I put in the reman AC compressor too.
Can wait to get this thing on the road...spring is coming!!

.

Looking good so far. I've always wondered how that particular coating looked, I like it.

I hope that stuff holds up better than the rubberized undercoating I used on a buddy's gas tank. That stuff looked rock solid until you dinked it, and it came right off like regular ol' paint. This was after a 24-hour cure. Try nicking it with a screwdriver and see what happens.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

I hope that stuff holds up better than the rubberized undercoating I used on a buddy's gas tank. That stuff looked rock solid until you dinked it, and it came right off like regular ol' paint. This was after a 24-hour cure. Try nicking it with a screwdriver and see what happens.

Yup. Did a test panel earlier in the week...dropped a wrench on it a couple times. Made a ding, but did not flake. A lot of it is in the prep work too. This rad support was stripped to bare metal..cleaned with simple green and let dry for a couple hours. This stuff does not feel like rubber...it is a non skid surface/texture.

I'll keep you posted on how it holds up.

can't wait to see this car in person.....man it looks soooo sweet

Thank you Sproket! I hope I can see your collection in person too! I will be so happy when this is up and running! 94Woody just scored some much needed brake fittings...so I am getting closer!

Annd...this was waiting for me tonight! Yeah, I know it's not running yet...but this is a mod I have been itching to do for a while. I usually get a cover right after I get the title. Lol


.

Nice cover.

Your fittings/lines will be in the mail tomorrow. The rest is waiting in the garage with all my crap, lol.

Loaded up the fenders and hood tonight. Taking them with me to Louisville this weekend. Having a professional look over them, as these need more skill to finish than I have. If all goes well...I will pick them back up next weekend when I go up again. (then no more traveling for a bit ) These are the parts that Sproket bought, then Pat bought...then I bought. They have been around (literally)

.

Looks like they fit fairly comfortably. Have a safe trip!

Man I wish the fenders at PaP would have been in better shape.

I guess I'll be seeing an OCC in the driveway sat evening. Cool.