My 96 RMW project...

Chris:

Make sure you clean up the chassis well before you start. Apparently I didn't as two months after I still had a section close to the steering box and under the tranny lines that still hadn't cured. Scraped it down and discovered some oil had sooked into the surface rust and chemically altered the paint. When you think its all clean, then do it again with methanol (gas line de-icer). Not only does it dissolve the oil, it drys up the metal as well.

Should look good when your finished.

Bill

You know, one of the things I wanted to do way back when, was to cut the top 3" or so off the front fenders and inner fenders, weld them to the hood, and do a C4-style hood opening where the whole thing flipped forward just like a corvette. It would weigh a million pounds (maybe do it in fiberglass?) but it'd look freakin sweet.

Makin' progress, Chris!

I thought you were jst gonna drive and enjoy this one for a while?

What's the full plan? RMS front clip, then what? Color? Wood? Motor? T56? What?

I will be sure to prep and clean the metal well Bill!! Thanks for the tip on the methanol!



Crovo...once the brake line busted...it was all over.

*Plans are a RMS front clip (which I think I am getting from Pat who got it from Sproket)
*New front suspension pieces and some lowering springs plus new shocks for the rear.
*Those LCA's that allow me to use a sedan rear sway bar
*Summit Coated Headers with new exhaust
*drop in a "fresher engine" with reconditioned heads...new valve springs and 1.6 RR
*no trim...and painted black (or dark grey)
*Transgo Kit and if possible..have the trans gone through. I am close to CPT, but that is a lot of $$.
*new (or unstratched) drivers side window/new windshield and TINT!
*New brake lines/oil cooler lines/trans cooler lines (or some nice used ones)
*dual electric fan conversion
--

IF I have $$ or can find stuff to sell and come up with extra money..these are the things I want to do someday.
*4.10 Posi
*18in Center Line Meteor Wheels
*Front big brake kit with upgraded calipers.

So... uh... Not much?



That sounds like a killer plan!

I'm really thinking about installing the whole Impala's driveline in my Marsmallow.

Well, a little more progress tonight. Will jack the car up tomorrow night and start getting the crossmember and exhaust loose. PBlasted the tar outta stuff under there....but it will not be pretty Look at that POWER STEERING LINE!! Another thing to replace. NASTY!
What all is involved in swapping out a steering box? Might upgrade to the SS box!

Hoping to have the engine and trans out before dark on Wed night. We will see. I need to have a helper! This stuff is going faster since I have done it all before.

Chris

Definately replace the steering box! It's easy!

Hey, don't disconnect those a/c lines! All that refrigerant might leak out!

DBeaSSt wrote:

Hey, don't disconnect those a/c lines! All that refrigerant might leak out!

Shoulda had it drained before he took the car apart....

sherlock9c1 wrote:

DBeaSSt wrote:

Hey, don't disconnect those a/c lines! All that refrigerant might leak out!

Shoulda had it drained before he took the car apart....

Lol...yes Mike...it has been evacuated. I just don't want to monkey with the fittings right now until the engine is out. Most of it leaked out anyway before I started.

So, how easy is it Bill? I really have not changed one before...does not look to bad. No little tricks?

If you do it keep notes Chris. Nick's SS donor car is en route soon to be dismantled. The steering box is a definite priority.

Well, tonight I hit a little wall. Cat to manifold bolts would not come off. I heated them and tried and tried. I wish I had an air compressor for my air tools! The driveshaft took forever to come out too...was rusted solid!

I have a dremel with some metal cut off wheels. The whole exhaust is crap so I will just cut it off in sections. I was able to take the exhaust manifolds loose. So I am hoping to cut the exhaust under the cats and drop the manifolds down. I have to get some help. My Father-n-law will offer up a helping hand. He is not a mechanic...but willing to help in any way he can! That is all I need as I still have a long way to go!!



.

I also saw some areas under the firewall that scared me at first! I poked around and seems to be surface rust. I will clean/prep and paint it for sure. If I were you guys (that see winters)...I would recommend you give these areas some attention!! It could turn out pretty nasty if left alone!!

brokecello wrote:

I also saw some areas under the firewall that scared me at first! I poked around and seems to be surface rust. I will clean/prep and paint it for sure. If I were you guys (that see winters)...I would recommend you give these areas some attention!! It could turn out pretty nasty if left alone!!

Yes those are the two front body mount locations, I had to completely rebuild those on the 93. I like the look of yours, clean them up and coat them

That part of the floor was missing on morticia, too.

Chris, buy a sawzall. A Ryobi one at the Depot will cost you what you'll spend in dremel cut-off wheels anyways...

I found that part of the firewall/body mounts were no longer there on my first LT-1 B-body wagon, '94 Caprice. I found out when attempting to do the lower body mount bushing mod. Imagine finding nothing there except rust colored dust, and bits and pieces of rubber bushings. Good luck on youir wagon, sounds like it will be nice.
Mike

Thanks guys! Pat, I am glad you think mine look ok. I was thinking it was not too bad yet. Bill, the dremel worked ok...but I will get a real sawzall soon (as I ran out of cutoff wheels! )

I was able to get the manifolds and cats off tonight. The wire harness is completely free from the block/trans and the starter off. I work on it again Fri night and I am hoping to have the crossmember off and engine mounts loose!! Got all those bolts soaking big time now



Lookie lookie! I have not had one of these before...but I do believe this wagon has a Corvette starter? Sure is light!



AND I also knew the front shocks were newish....saw they were yellow and assumed SService. But no!! I now have my 1st ever fancy smancy shocks! Now I gotta get the rears to match The front shocks should come out nicely. Not too rusted yet.

Nice score on the parts! Those Bilsteins will be easier to get out in one piece than other shocks. The top shaft mount takes an allen key to hold it while you back the nut off with an open end...

I hope you didn't cut those cats; they are useful to keep as spares, or trade them for parts, as replacements are not cheap.

This reminds me that I need to pull the inner fenders and have them powdercoated before winter. That could turn into a project for sure!

sherlock9c1 wrote:

I hope you didn't cut those cats; they are useful to keep as spares, or trade them for parts, as replacements are not cheap.

This reminds me that I need to pull the inner fenders and have them powdercoated before winter. That could turn into a project for sure!

No, I cut the exhaust bolts going to the cat pipes. I won't be reusing these cats (just too nasty)..but would like to find out how to trade them in for $$!

I was thinking about powdercoating the replacement inner fenders and rad support...will have to find someone around here to price it.

Bring them to WF10 to trade; don't scrap them! Especially if they still work and are intact.

I think the last quote I got was $160 or so for the pair. That was with me removing the existing paint and doing most of the prep. Cheaper than buying new inner fenders as far as I'm concerned.

To find powdercoaters, talk to the local car enthusiasts; more than a few of those guys have built their own setups and will often do things like inner fenders pretty cheaply.

Engine and Trans are out! Will have to decide on what to do tomorrow...should I take the rear and gas tank down? Or start degreasing cleaning the front frame area??? I will sleep on it

Big thanks to my Father'n law. He was a big help in getting this stuff out tonight. I would have had a hard time by myself! I think I might be able to coax him into helping with the tank and rear tomorrow too...

Chris

I would just seperate the frame and body makes everything else that much easier to clean

94Woody wrote:

I would just seperate the frame and body makes everything else that much easier to clean

Uuhh...yeah. I so wish I could do that!! If I only had a lift!


Ok! So...the gas tank and rear end are both out! Man, I am whipped. ZZZzzz But a good kinda tired. I need to find some different Upper control arms, these are too crusty. The lowers look real nice. Weird? I need a new sending unit too...ug.

Oh, and Mike...I have your class 3 hitch. It took longer to take that $^%&# thing off than it did to drop and remove the rear end!! I hope you use it



A LOT of cleaning/prepping and painting to do. But I am excited!

Chris

are you going to put the shell on dollies so you can wheel it around?

sherlock9c1 wrote:

are you going to put the shell on dollies so you can wheel it around?

This is as far as I am taking the tear down. So it will sit just where it is for this step.

The body work and paint will all be done in Louisville, so I will drive it up there this winter for that. For now in SC, I am just tackling frame and underside...put the newish engine and trans in...pop better/new lines on it and clean and paint the rear. It already has new axles in it.

Chris

Seeing that fuel sender makes me wanna drop my tank pronto

Now that I have my sedan back your thread is inspiring me to take care of the rust under my wagon before it turns to rot.

Upper control arms are worse because they never get cleaned. The lowers can at least get a rinse when the wheel wells are washed out.

94Woody wrote:

Seeing that fuel sender makes me wanna drop my tank pronto

Take it from me: If you own a GM B-body '91-96, drop your fuel tank as soon as you can and sandblast/rustrpoof those sending units! They are $150-300 if you can find them. Both of mine have been removed, cleaned, painted, oiled/greased and then reinstalled.

Having spent it's first 3 years in Michigan I'm afraid mine is probably to the point of needing replacement The underneath isn't too terribly bad but has some ugly spots.

Actually the area above the tank and axle look pretty good.

DBeaSSt wrote:

Actually the area above the tank and axle look pretty good.

Yeah, I was happy. It really is not bad..just those upper control arms. I asked Fred if he had any decent oned for sale. They just need to be better than mine. I can't clean these up. Too far gone.

Chris when I did mine I was contemplating a frame off. My friend who does my paint work said Lorne you don't do a frame off on a 95 car. That was back 04 I think.

I am sure your car is better underneath than mine was. I am not saying you shouldn't just my friends opinion. Cost would be an issue in my case where he did all the work.

Mine looked exactly like yours as I had the rear ends swapped out as well, Lorne.

All this for a broken brake line.

Crazy.

lornejay1 wrote:

My friend who does my paint work said Lorne you don't do a frame off on a 95 car.

Maybe not, but the ones I have seen are a thing of rust free and spotless beauty. To each his own though.

Really a bummer the ISSF got wiped out cause there was an AWESOME thread following one mans frame off.

I don't blame Chris for not wanting to tackle a frame off by himself though

94Woody wrote:

lornejay1 wrote:

My friend who does my paint work said Lorne you don't do a frame off on a 95 car.

Maybe not, but the ones I have seen are a thing of rust free and spotless beauty. To each his own though.

Really a bummer the ISSF got wiped out cause there was an AWESOME thread following one mans frame off.

I don't blame Chris for not wanting to tackle a frame off by himself though

There are other options is all my friend is saying. Done on a rotisserie.

brokecello wrote:

*Plans are a RMS front clip (which I think I am getting from Pat who got it from Sproket)

GLad to see it going to a good home. I was looking at a 100K RMS in the boneyard today.....that front end is growing on me alot they look good on a wagon!

[quote="lornejay1"][quote="94Woody"]

lornejay1 wrote:

There are other options is all my friend is saying. Done on a rotisserie.

Cool.

Yes the rotiisserie would be much better.

Well, I did not do any work on the wagon tonight. I actually went over and organized my parts, then sat and looked at my options. Talked to my Father'n law about his availability for help. He is getting ready to be swamped with work, so that is out...and honestly, I just don't think I feel comfortable taking the frame off. Especially alone.

I will do my best to clean the areas on the top of the frame...and I will unplug the harness so I can paint the whole area the new color before putting the newish engine and inner fenders back in.

I am not Gerry (he is the one that did the Full Frame Off Restoration on his 95 Caprice Wagon) or Pat...and I do not expect the kind of results they get. I just don't have those kind of resources here in SC right now. Still a noob. Perhaps when round 2 comes around a few years down the road.


Chris

ps. Lorne...that Chevy is beautiful...

Started the de-greasing and cleaning stage. Have most of the front frame area done. Want it to dry out overnight so I can see where I missed (know I need to go another round on the suspension pieces). I also need to buy some more de-greaser (was using Simple Green)

Flushed the frame out too (Father'n law helped as well) Man...if you have not stuck a hose up your frame holes....try it sometime. You will be surprised at the amount of crud that comes out!!

Also started scrubbing the underbelly....any tips for removing undercoat? Aircraft stripper? Or just good old fashioned scraping?

Chris

That stuff is technically called "Aircraft remover." What, like you ran over a Cessna and half the carcass is still stuck to your undercarriage?

sherlock9c1 wrote:

That stuff is technically called "Aircraft remover." What, like you ran over a Cessna and half the carcass is still stuck to your undercarriage?

Lol..thanks Joel.

So will it work for undercoat??

Hell your close enough to a frame off anyways man it should look great when finished I wanna do this to mine so bad and eliminate what rust is under it.

I remember the day I flushed my frame out with a hose, the stuff the oozed out was quite scary.

I would get busy with some sort of a grinder/drill with a stiff wire wheel on it. Remove the heavy crud and hit it with a GOOD rust converter. Even better would be a sand blaster but you would need a compressor for that route.

Edit--Do you have all the parts needed for your sedan clip install? Amen in Shepherdsville has a RMS with an almost perfect front end on it. Should have grabbed the grill while I was there.

I'm thinking a heat gun or a propane torch is what you want to get that undercoating soft so you can then scrape it off. Finish it by wirewheeling. Of course, if you set your car on fire, it's not my fault!

I used old gasoline and a 3M scrubby on my 93 it worked well, just keep Jay and his torch away from the area while you do this, along with any smokers.....

See if you can find an industrial supply house. Your looking for MEK (methyl ethyl ketone). Wear gloves, googles and a mask. Evil stuff but will literally melt the undercaoting off. By the way, MEK is the infamous "aircraft stripper". Flush with lots of water after. You don't want this stuff on your rubber or plastic parts.

Bill

Honestly Chris, you are 8 bolts and four jackstands away from getting the frame out from under the car. You really can't just do a little extra and get that frame out to clean it real good?

I POR15'd the underside of my wagon a few years ago and regret not jacking the body up to do what you're doing. You are SO CLOSE. Seriously. Lift everything up, put 4 jacks under the body, unbolt the frame, lower the frame. Done.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

Honestly Chris, you are 8 bolts and four jackstands away from getting the frame out from under the car. You really can't just do a little extra and get that frame out to clean it real good?

I was thinking the same thing, chris. You'd be able to really get in there and get that body clean on protected in the areas where rust is ready to pounce.

Having said that... that is a pretty clean looking car!

Thanks guys I do have a borrowed (from BigOldV8) grinder with some nice wire wheels. So that should work well for the metal prep!

I do have a torch, old gasoline and (now) Aircraft Stripper! So we will see what works best!


About the frame...I just don't know. Have any of you really done this before without the use of a lift? I can see myself stripping a body bolt...crushing a floorpan (remember this still has a full interior) or not being able to get it back together right. I know it looks and sounds simple...

How heavy is the frame? Anyone know? Where would be the best place to set the floor jacks on the body?

Won't upper and lower body mounts cost another couple hundred bucks? I changed out the lowers on the AGW and they were about $70 or so for the set I am sure uppers are much more. Also the bolts will need to be replaced too (I bet)

Oh, and I also have 6 jackstands total. No more. So someone give me an order/specific list of what to do. With the rear out mind you. Or do I have to put the rear back in again.

I can't promise anything. But I do take everyones advise seriously!

Chris

I have a spare 9C1 frame that I occasionally get time to work on.

I gradually reduced the car to a rolling chassis that I am able to move around by myself anytime I need to.

Its been loaded onto a car trailer to move between storage places, and gets pushed outside anytime I need to cut or grind on it so I don't make a mess in the garage.

In my case we were throwing the body away so we stripped everything except the doors.

We unbolted it from the frame and four of us lifted it up & carried it outside.

Don't make this harder than it has to be.

In your case the rear is already out which will help you not to have to get the body as high.

Clear the remaining cables & lines and place your stands near the A,C & D pillars.

Plywood squares between the stands and body will help to prevent excessive pressure on the sheetmetal.

Support the frame with jacks and/or blocking while you undo the mounts.

Lower the frame to the deck.

Set the rear crossmember on cardboard or a creeper if you have one.

Roll/drag the frame out from underneath.

Once it's out, consider fully reassembling the frame with engine/trans/rearend, etc.

If you then take the body up higher you'll be able to to roll the completed chassis underneath and then lower the body back onto the waiting frame.

Your back should thank you with all the work you'll be able to do without lying on it or leaning over the fenders.

- J

Ok Jay, this is good. It would be nice to roll the assembled frame back under the wagon...no doubt about that. I had to get it pretty high to roll out the rear, so I know I can do that again.

I do have a question.

In order for me to roll/drag the frame (and then roll the completed frame back under the wagon) don't I have to have the jackstands on the outer lip of the rockers? If I place the jackstands inside the frame area..how will I be able to remove/install the frame? Will the stands with wooden squares on the tops be stable enough on those rockers?

If I am thinking too hard...sorry. I really don't want to screw anything up or loose a bunch of time.

Oh, good idea about laying the rear section on a creeper! I do have one.

Well, today I started on the underbelly....about 8 hours of scraping and scrubbing.

I used the Gas/3M scrubby method on the tank straps. They look awesome! Guess it was good they were slathered with undercoat.

For the underside...I used the Aircraft Stripper and a paint scraper as the gas kept running down my arm (lol)
I sprayed it all down with water at dusk and will tackle more of it Mon night. Slow going. But still fun.

Chris