CIA Impala Rebuild Project

2/18/18 I knew the tint needed to go.  The back window was peeling as was one of the side windows.  Having removed the tint on my own vehicle years back, I knew the only way to accomplish the task was to use a steamer.  Unfortunately it makes a huge mess and it is easier to do with the windows out that in.  I needed to replace all the window rollers anyway so out they came. Removing the door windows really isn't that difficult.  Once free, I put them on my workbench and removed the tint using the steamer.  Thankfully the tint came off with very little effort as I hoped.  I then flipped the windows over and polished them using my buffer.  No cleaners I possessed was capable of cleaning them.  The buffer made short work of it. At this point I removed the old window slides installed the new rollers.  3 of the 8 were already broken so it needed to be done.  The new roller design is 100x better than the old ones but a real bear ...

2/11/18 Before taking it for a drive, it must be road worthy.  Had a bunch of safety checks as well as verifying all the fluids are full. With several missing lug nuts, that wasn't working for me.  I torqued all the wheel nuts to the proper value and installed the 6 missing nuts with ones I had laying around. The break fluid was black as night.  With the help of my son, we flushed the brakes until the fluid was clean and no bubbles present. Dan suggested I look at the nuts and bolts holding the front suspension together.  I am glad I did because there was one loose nut that was missing the cotter pin (Dan remembered that one).  I also found one of the control arm bolts was loose. The power steering hoses were not being held in place like they should.  One of the hoses was making contact with the steering wheel when it was turned to the right.  Using the factory brackets, I adjusted them so they were out of the way. Dan specified...

2/3/18 There are tons of tutorials on how to install the Z28 cluster into an Impala dash.  Thankfully Dan purchased a tested cluster along with the harness adapter.  It is more or less plug-and-play. After cutting the dash and fabricating brackets to hold it in place, it was just a matter of plugging it in.  I am sure I will have to make some adjustments once the rest of the dash is installed but for now it works great. I think the hardest part of the swap is running the tachometer wire from the PCM to the cluster.  Since I'd dropped the drivers wheel well dozens of times in previous projects, I knew it would be so much easier dropped than cramming my hand into areas I couldn't see. I ran the wire through the existing rubber grommet in the firewall. This actually was a pretty easy thing to do given the wiring was already done for me.  The only real issues I found one of the bulbs was burned out.  No big deal... In order for the oil press...

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.  ...

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. Inst...