Welded the dipstick tube back together. It's a two piece but the bottom has a pressed on section that broke off. Buick 350 dipsticks and tubes are hard to come by and even the ones TA performance sells aren't quite bent right and aren't accurate.
What did you do to your G-Body today 2024
- Thread starter 64nailhead
- Start date
Just a few pictures of where I ended up with all the pounding and pushing and heating and shrinking on the Radiator Air Duct side panel that took damage from a previous owner's antics.
So here, with a bit of eye squint, you can see the panel set in place and being held by a couple of pop rivets. The rivets have not been set just in case i need to do some final tweaking once I address the matching panel on the other side.
These two shots might be a bit clearer than the first two. Basically the side panel has a flange that allows it to be bolted to the rad cradle and thus to establish the relationship between duct and rad. There is a gasket that runs along the lower shelf of the duct and which acts to deflect dust and debris away from the rad. Like the panel to shelf, it gets pop riveted into place as well. The pop rivets are mushroom head, aluminum body and pin. Not about weight, likely about rust if steel rivets were used. Also easier to crank into place.
Nick
So here, with a bit of eye squint, you can see the panel set in place and being held by a couple of pop rivets. The rivets have not been set just in case i need to do some final tweaking once I address the matching panel on the other side.
These two shots might be a bit clearer than the first two. Basically the side panel has a flange that allows it to be bolted to the rad cradle and thus to establish the relationship between duct and rad. There is a gasket that runs along the lower shelf of the duct and which acts to deflect dust and debris away from the rad. Like the panel to shelf, it gets pop riveted into place as well. The pop rivets are mushroom head, aluminum body and pin. Not about weight, likely about rust if steel rivets were used. Also easier to crank into place.
Nick
Yes, that duct is specific to the S/S version of the Monte because of that dura-urethane nose cover that they also came with. Unlike the fascia on the LS Monte, that nose is something of an air flow restrictor or diverter and the boffins at GM came up with the duct idea to funnel air more directly to the radiator to help with cooling problems.
The thing to appreciate here is that the duct is not structurally all that stiff. Any front end impact that could cause the front end collision rams to react would also have the effect of crushing the duct walls. They are also susceptible to water spray from below which can cause them to rust.
What now may happen is that once the first side gets re-attached I may dismount the other side and clean it up as well. As I have noted, they don't get seen all that much as they are buried under the cover but cleaning and painting is useful to preserve the metal from harm.
Nick
The thing to appreciate here is that the duct is not structurally all that stiff. Any front end impact that could cause the front end collision rams to react would also have the effect of crushing the duct walls. They are also susceptible to water spray from below which can cause them to rust.
What now may happen is that once the first side gets re-attached I may dismount the other side and clean it up as well. As I have noted, they don't get seen all that much as they are buried under the cover but cleaning and painting is useful to preserve the metal from harm.
Nick
Forgot to mess with it last night, so did it this morning before work. Disconnected the BIM box from the main and waaalaaaa the gauges come right on. Now waiting to hear back if they will warranty the box
Been working on this one for a while- (I think I started it during COVID lockdown?), but wanted to finish it for HRPT. First swing at something like this, nothing sewn, only spray glue and staples, and the (cheap) vinyl i bought had almost zero stretch. 1/2" MDF, 1/4" luan, and a little 1/2" plywood. Oh- I also bought a shifter handle (Hurst 5384106)and knob (SST- IST-SLA-1630008) for my future TKX swap.
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Wow, that turned out amazing! Extremely nice job. Love it.
New driveshaft, made to take much power
Back to work on the Monte Carlo:
Car wouldn't start so my friend told me to pull the plugs and see if they were wet...which they were. I changed the plugs, replaced the ground strap to the firewall, and added a 1/0 ground from the front passenger head to the frame. Car fired instantly. He also said that I should get another distributor since I sprayed mine with a fire extinguisher last year to stop the car from burning down lol. I think he's right.
Car wouldn't start so my friend told me to pull the plugs and see if they were wet...which they were. I changed the plugs, replaced the ground strap to the firewall, and added a 1/0 ground from the front passenger head to the frame. Car fired instantly. He also said that I should get another distributor since I sprayed mine with a fire extinguisher last year to stop the car from burning down lol. I think he's right.
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