My '77 Corvette Project

[tony barnhill]

Hopefully, it'll roll out of the garage this week for photos.....right now, I'm having problems with the spare tire carrier.....& I'm trying to decide what to do with fue tanks since I'm going from a carbureated engine to a TPI one.

 

[tony barnhill]

Rolled the completed chassis out into the sun today for first time....next is ga
tank work:

 

[vping]

This is really looking great and I love the wheels. Why didn't you take the entire front end apart, and then have all the parts and frame blasted? Just curious.

 

[tony barnhill]

I had the rolling chassis pressure washed & then sandblasted & then primed & painted......when I took it home, everything was clean....I put it on jackstands & started disassembling pieces for cleaning & rebuild....so, I'd take, for example, the A-arms apart, sand blast, inspect, paint & rebuild......6 months I spent on every item attached to the frame.....everything is nowe new or rebuilt.

The wheels are stock Corvette rallies that have their centers but no trim rings yet.

 

[jlaird]

Mighty fine.

 

[aeronca65t]

Looks good!

I always thought it would be neat to put ~One Of These~ on a modern Corvette frame.

 

[tony barnhill]

I have a friend, Henry Younger, who built one of those. <span style="text-decoration: underline">Corvette Enthusiast</span> followed his build....totally modern drivetrain but looks like a '57.....it was in the museum in Bolling Green for a while.

 

[tony barnhill]

Right now I'm working on my engine....wow is fuel injection different!

 

[tony barnhill]

& I hate to admit it but I just bought a Haynes manual for the engine alone.....said as I tuck my tail between my legs and wander off into Corvette-land.

 

[DrEntropy]

:lol:

Retro fit a Lucas sliding throttle rig to it!!

 

[tony barnhill]

Doc, sigh.......

 

[tony barnhill]

I'm kinda proud of this modification....my car was originally a carbureated car using a mechanical fuel pump....but, I'm using an '86 TPI engine so will be pushing 43 or so pounda of fuel via an electric fuel pump....I wanted the pump in my '77 tank so I modded the '77 pickup with an '86 pickup & in-tank pump...here are some photos:

'86 setup on left, my '77 on right:

Think about it...think...think.

My '77 pickup modded with the '86 in-tank pump:

It'll sit about 1/2" off the tank bottom with a "sock" over the pick-up end as an in-tank fuel filter....hehehe

However, have you ever had a huge V8 engine on an engine stand....it'll roll over to the heavy side in a heartbeat & 1 man can't roll it back over....just as well because the oil pan had to be removed to get all the dents out of it!

Inside of motor looks like new...took an hour to bang out the bottom of the oil pan!

 

[14dna]

Tony;
You're my HERO.
I have a '64 El Camino that I intend on changing to a TPI system.
After looking at those pics, I can now see where I will go.
I'll be speakin' with ya!

Dave :thumbsup:

 

[tony barnhill]

Tony;
You're my HERO.
I have a '64 El Camino that I intend on changing to a TPI system.
After looking at those pics, I can now see where I will go.
I'll be speakin' with ya!

Dave :thumbsup:

I've got a continuing thread on a couple of the Corvette sites - & I'm learning from the also.

TPI is easy to put on any small block 350...& I've found the guy to do the wiring & computer modifications - as well as the guy to provide the guts of a 200-4R transmission so it'll hold up to a hot engine.

 

[14dna]

First off, Tony, I'm running a four speed.
And, I am a mechanic (40 years), But I never thought of using my own tank and just refitting it to accommodate the fuel pump.
I used to work for the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) and they have a few older cruisers at the training center with the LT1 engines (300 Hp 350 CID, with TPI and all wiring).
This basically solves my final problem of fuel so I can now get on with it.
Thanks, I owe you.

Dave :thumbsup:

 

[DrEntropy]

Nice job with that lift pump old man! :thumbsup:

Good sound engineering from where I sit.

 

[tony barnhill]

Well, I'm sorta like the newbie in the LBC world - I don't know enough about Corvettes to know what I can & can't do!

Dave, lemme know if I can help again - you'll probably be called upon when I start installing my 8 new injectors - only $300 for the set!

 

[tony barnhill]

Watch this space tonight for new photos & update!

WOO-HOO!!

 

[drooartz]

tap tap tap...

 

[tony barnhill]

Today's 19 November....Started in May with an old '77 Corvette I found on the side of the road.

Now, I know there's still lots to do to the engine, but I just couldn't wait. I had to drop it into the frame. I'll do everything else from there.

&, remember, when I started rebuilding everything, I didn't know anything about Corvettes....I was the proverbial newbie! Now my rolling chassis/engine/transmission are brand new.

That's a 1986 5.7L Corvette TPI engine connected to an '88 Monte Carlo SS built 200-4R transmission