CIA Impala Rebuild Project

1/28/18 As spring approaches, so does everything else.  I felt guilty not updating this blog for several weeks and my kids sports and school activities are on the rise but I have continued to work on this project in my spare time.  Unfortunately there just hasn't been much to "celebrate" or take a pictures of. I am not sure why but all of the inner door handle brackets had been removed.  I used a pop-rivet gun and secured them back to the inner door skins. With the interior 100% gutted and anything plastic needing black paint, I needed to clean it all.  Better part of an afternoon was spent washing everything.  Some of which was pretty nasty.  After it air dried for a couple days, I stored everything in my storage area. I will of course prep the plastic properly before I paint it all with SEM.  Just not quite ready to do it yet because of the weather.  We had not seen temps over 50 degrees in weeks!!

1/21/18 Today is the day the engine started!

1/17/18 I had planned to go for a run but by the time I got home from work, the rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was blowing.  So I opted to go and hide in the garage for a couple hours.  Dan thought the coolant should be good but I just wanted to verify and boy am I glad I did.  The first thing I did was removed the knock sensors so I could drain the block.  What came out is best described as black sludge.  I got a big knot in my stomach because it resembled oil but it didn't have those characteristics.  I plugged my hose into the engine inlet hose to flush the block but nothing came out.  Using my lungs, I put my lips (YUCK!) to the hose and blew as hard as I could.  Crap came shooting out both plug holes and the water started to flow.  Probably 50+ gallons later the water was running clean and clear. It looks like the green antifreeze in the block had settled to the point that the green coloring started to solidify.  I'd never seen that before and wow, what

1/15/18 This Sunday was a very productive day.  I made more progress in today that I feel I've made in the last 2 months.  While this isn't the truth, it just gives that impression as you look at your checklist and it keeps getting smaller and smaller.  I won't go into detail on each task I completed but I've listed my accomplishments and took a few pictures. Completed this weekend: Radiator installed properly - the upper bushings were not seated properly over the tabs of the aftermarket radiator.  Fixed it by cutting off the offending tab. Radiator fans installed - both were missing screws and after the initial install, the passengers side fan was making contact with the radiator itself.  I had to shim out the fan 3/8" for it to clear.  Finding bolts/washers ended up being a real PITA but I got it together. Installed windshield washer tank after stripping the black pealing paint and then finished it with a quick pass through the sand blaster. Installed bo

1/7/18 Time to ring in the new year with some positive progress!  I started the day with zero motivation but went out to the garage after lunch to see what I could accomplish.  It was cold and the rain was pouring. With the fuel tank back together I could finally put it back in.  The mounting brackets for the license plate were bent not allowing the bolts to align properly as well as causing the license plate to bind on the bumper.  Using a pry bar covered with 2 socks so as not to scratch anything, I was able to bend it back in shape.  As I laid under the car supporting the tank, my son attached the screws and I then secured it with the factory straps.  I then replaced the fuel filter and secured all of the fuel lines. I then turned my attention to the transmission.  It was being held in with 2 bolts and was missing the torque converter.  I removed the shifter linkage, drive shaft, drive shaft loop and transmission cross member. This allowed me drop the rear of the transmissi

1/2/18 I had high hopes over the holiday break to get the car running.  Unfortunately it was just not meant to be.  My primary focus was to get everything electrically working on the car because we knew there were problems.  Replacing the engine harness was the first step but other issues had to be resolved as well. During one of the attempts to steal the car, the ignition switch got damaged.  The vehicle would actually power up with the key out of the ignition which was not good.  I dropped the column in order to get access and replaced the switch.  Once replaced, the ignition started functioning as expected so I was able to move onto checking everything else. The hardest problem to find is the one that is comes and goes for no apparent reason.  This was the case for the first issue I had to resolve.  As I was verifying each of the accessories worked, the power would randomly shut off.  I would wiggle connections, turn the ignition on and off, disconnect the battery, reconnect th