'73 Can Am Wide Body

smrtmblues wrote: Thanks Guys...

Rick...it took about 5 months and 2 trys at the paint to get the sparkle...:D The front looks pretty good, now I have to go back and finish-sand and buff from the front fenders back. Will do that in April.

The money tree died...:'( All projects on hold for now. Mako on the top …

Well Bubba really got me this time...
Finally got a chance to work on the '73 this past weekend.
First time in the garage since I bought it.
Found 2 things wrong...the firing order which was 15726348...
it actually has been running on this order since I bought the car.
Bubba counted down the driver's side 1-2-3-4, front to back,
then jumped over and counted 5-6-7-8 back to front...go figure...x(
I had counted the rotation on the cap at one point last fall,
but never looked at the actual location of the wires at the plugs...
Dummy me...:+

Also found the rattling noise on the driver's side...
lock nut was stripped....wasn't locking anymore.

Runs alot better now!!! :D

2Sharks wrote: I am confused. Are you taking the engine out of the gray car and replacing it with the engine you used to run in the blue car?

Glad you got the problem solved.
You would be surprised (maybe not) just how many
cars get plug wires crossed.
Sometimes they run ok....
mostly not.
65 days to carlisle.

smrtmblues wrote: A couple of reasons...

1. I like to keep you confused...:D
2. There is a deep down death rattle along with low oil pressure in the 454 which really troubles me...x( And the gas mileage really sucks...

Rather than try to determine what is the matter right now, I thought I would swap a goo …

You should be running a lot better now............ along with getting better gas mileage !!! Glad you got her fixed !!!

smrtmblues wrote: First show with the '73 this weekend and got a 1st place.

Trying to get the car into the shop for my engine guy to change the oil pump. Hope the new one will pump enough oil up into the heads to clear up the clatter on #1 lifters. Don't have a place I can do the work here, so have to hire i …

Update!!!

Thrashed on the '73 for a couple of weekends.
Got the wiring, sparkplugs, and lifter fixed...
Bubba really got me, but I fooled him.
Changed carb, borrowed a Holley 670, double pumper, vac sec.
Runs good now...probably too small...time will tell.
Went to the Black Hills Corvette Classic, put on about 1,750 miles.

Had problems with fuel filter fitting leaking...ordered parts.
Will fix next weekend.
Burning 1 qt oil every 250-300 miles...:'(
Hope it's not rings...will try heavier oil.
Got 10-12 mpg, but speedo is slow by about 10 mph.
Should see increase in mpg after changing speedo gear.

Car ran like the wind...
Cruised across MN @ 80-85 mph. (270 mi)
Cruised across SD @ 90-135 mph. (400 mi)
Never skipped a beat...

Put the car in the Friday night show...
Over 400 Vettes, 20-25 C-3's...
Won "People's Choice - C-3...1st Place"!!!:D

Life is good...;)

2Sharks wrote: Good Job. Glad you are showing the car. All I do is work on mine.

Ultra cool Marv.
I went to the Black Hills Classic back in 92.
Lucky enough to score the front row for the panoramic photo shoot.
It was 1900 miles each way.... I was a lot younger but it was a great time. There were 606 cars there that year... how many this year???
Hoped you stopped by Wall Drug and got a Buffalo burger... theyre great!

You could have a valve seal problem with the car chugging that much oil. Good tell tale is if it puffs smoke when it is started up.
You probably already know that....

I have an idea... If you change speedo gears and the mpg picks up.... why not remove the gear... then you you wont ever have to stop for gas.... just a thought

Glad you are enjoying the car.....
see ya soon. :+

smrtmblues wrote: Yah...I know what you mean. The horn button mechanism broke on the '73 and I finally got the parts for that...hope to fix it this weekend.

Taking the car in this morning to get the oil pump relaced...hope that fixes the clatter.

Need to get the car home long enough to clean up the cobbled m …

Marv,

Glad you're working the bugs out !!! A little bit more tweaking and she should be perfect by Carlisle !!!

Congrats !

2Sharks wrote: Just make sure you have it ready for Carlisle. :+

Well, Carlisle is now in the books and we made it home.

New power steering brackets, belt, & ps pump back in place ...
New crank pulley...alternator belt...
Should get me to Effingham on Thursday for FunFest.

Will go to Jefferson Swap Meet the following weekend.
Buy oil pan, pulleys, other stuff...
Then the car will get a makeover though the winter.

Hoping to build a 454...change clutch.
Then buy that new Keisler 5-spd after it comes out.
Do the swap in the spring...

Gotta get ahead of the parts breaking...:+

(The new Holley 770 Street Avenger is working great!!!)

smrtmblues wrote: Sure hope so...Bubba had used silicone instead of a gasket to put the pan on and the oil pump sceen was plugged, so it was good to pull that.

Changed the oil pump and had great oil pressure for about 4 blocks, then I got on it and the lifters on #1 started clattering again. Now we think th …

Sounds like you have a great plan...
Just got back from a motorcycle poker run..... 200 miles..... 75 in the pouring rain.... The only thing that is dry is my brain!

smrtmblues wrote: Sure hope so...Bubba had used silicone instead of a gasket to put the pan on and the oil pump sceen was plugged, so it was good to pull that.

Changed the oil pump and had great oil pressure for about 4 blocks, then I got on it and the lifters on #1 started clattering again. Now we think th …

Well...it was a bitch of year last year...x(
Have not had much time to thrash on the '73, but did get a few things done,
Clutch assy is changed, sure got bite now!!!
Had the guy cut the crossmember and install plates to remove later.
New fuel pump...now got a fuel filter problem that will will get replaced this weekend.
Minor adjustments to the new Holley...
Lots of binder twine and bailing wire on the rear end stuff...
Changed oil pan.
Plan to wait for new McLeod overdrive coming out next year.
Still planning to rebuild the 454 bare block in the shop...
Wife says go for the bling on this rebuild...:P
White hood might be back (with a long oval hole), this time for the '73 ...:D
Cya in Carlisle!!! Will bring roll of duct tape along for insurance...

2Sharks wrote: I feel your pain. I got the can am running great finally. No one seems too interested in it, so I won't be posting much about mine.

Pack 2 roll (just in case;)

smrtmblues wrote: Ya gotta focus...:D Start a new thread on the widebody. Post pix, etc, etc. You know the drill...

BTW...the wife liked it. Asked if you were bringing it to Carlisle this year? You know her, she likes widebodies...:7

I'll have a roll with me too....................

smrtmblues wrote: Well Bubba really got me this time... Finally got a chance to work on the '73 this past weekend. First time in the garage since I bought it. Found 2 things wrong...the firing order which was 15726348... it actually has been running on this order since I bought the car. Bubba counted down t …

Ya just gotta love these old cars...:D

Last words in fatal accidents for 49 of 50 states are "Oh Sh*t!" Final words in Wisconsin are "Hold my beer, I'm gonna try somethin'..."

2Sharks wrote: Glad you got the problem solved. You would be surprised (maybe not) just how many cars get plug wires crossed. Sometimes they run ok.... mostly not. 65 days to carlisle.

I will be bringing my tools again, hopefully we wont need them.
Or at least, Bill wont open the box upside down again!
:+

454CanAm wrote: You should be running a lot better now............ along with getting better gas mileage !!! Glad you got her fixed !!!

I will be bringing my tools again, hopefully we wont need them.
Or at least, Bill wont open the box upside down again!
:+

How else do you clean the dust off them???

Hey...I just hit 1100...way too much time on this forum...;)

smrtmblues wrote: Update!!!

Thrashed on the '73 for a couple of weekends. Got the wiring, sparkplugs, and lifter fixed... Bubba really got me, but I fooled him. Changed carb, borrowed a Holley 670, double pumper, vac sec. Runs good now...probably too small...time will tell. Went to the Black Hills Corvette …

OBTW...I had about $3,500 in the water pump damage and tow truck damage back in 2009. The towing insurance paid for the body repairs and paint. The water pump damage ran about $2,100 of the $3,500. That was for the parts and damaged paint. After over a year and a half I got the final payment from O'Reilly Auto Parts. Got less than $1,300 for the water pump damage...kiss my grits...:*
O'Reilly won't get another dollar out of me...x(

2Sharks wrote: Ultra cool Marv. I went to the Black Hills Classic back in 92. Lucky enough to score the front row for the panoramic photo shoot. It was 1900 miles each way.... I was a lot younger but it was a great time. There were 606 cars there that year... how many this year??? Hoped you stopped by Wal …

Update...This year has been real quiet for the '73. Need new tires...have 40,000 miles on 30,000 mile tires. Ordered a new rear spring and other goodies. Will replace the struts at same time. Just noticed a wrinkle in the front rubber bumper...probably will have to replace that before the year is out....meaning new paint.

So 2012 is turning out to be an expensive year. The engine rebuild is on hold...have the block, heads, steel crank, rods, and intake/carbs and all are ready for the machinist to do his thing. Project will wait till winter.
Who has more fun than Vette owners?

454CanAm wrote: Marv,

Glad you're working the bugs out !!! A little bit more tweaking and she should be perfect by Carlisle !!!

Congrats !

Well, alot has happened since my last post on this thread. As you can see, I gained experience with insurance companies, with parts stores (haven't been back to O'Reillys since) and with the laws of nature that all bad things happen in 3's.

With most of that behind me now, I have been fighting the battle of trying to find that money tree in the back yard and finally found a small bush. The 427 is coming together after about three years. The heads are done, the crank is ground, the rods are balanced and the block is bored 0.60 over.

Going to get the internals within the next couple of weeks, then finalize the balance on the crank. Should go together shortly after that. I'll drop off harmonic balancer, flywheel, valve covers, and intake...won't be long now!!! :D Hope to have it in car by spring.

If retirement puts me into another adventure in self-employment, I will have a shop by early summer, then the fun can begin!!!

Marv

smrtmblues wrote: Well, Carlisle is now in the books and we made it home.

New power steering brackets, belt, & ps pump back in place ... New crank pulley...alternator belt... Should get me to Effingham on Thursday for FunFest.

Will go to Jefferson Swap Meet the following weekend. Buy oil pan, pulleys, other s …

Good luck, mike

2Sharks wrote: Sounds like you have a great plan... Just got back from a motorcycle poker run..... 200 miles..... 75 in the pouring rain.... The only thing that is dry is my brain!

Sometimes the road travelled takes us on a journey...it was January 2010 when I bought the bare BBC block and over the period of time I threw money at it. Here it is August 2014 and I brought my new baby home...sneak preview of the 427 that will go in the '73...

smrtmblues wrote: Well...it was a bitch of year last year...x( Have not had much time to thrash on the '73, but did get a few things done, Clutch assy is changed, sure got bite now!!! Had the guy cut the crossmember and install plates to remove later. New fuel pump...now got a fuel filter problem that will wi …

NICE!