06 September 2006 - Getting homesick

Well, I'd like to start digging a hole so I can come home, but contrary to belief digging a hole through the Earth would not take me home, insstead I'd come out in the northern tip of Argentina! That would be interesting... (http://digholes.com/)

Anyhow, work has taken me to China again for the launch of a new product. If you want to know the lottery numbers just drop me an email...but you'll have to share your winnings! I'm 12hrs ahead here as it is currently 7:35AM on Thursday where at home in the Virginias it is 7:35PM on Wednesday.

I'm still not fully onto the new time schedule. Hopefully I will not have too much difficulty switching back! I'm currently scheduled to return next Friday, 15 September. I was initially scheduled to return this Saturday, 9 September, but I knew that would not happen. However, at the same time I was hoping that things would not be as scewed up as they are here at the supplier! What a mess!

Julie and Thane are trying to keep busy, but they are missing me alot, as I am missing them! Hopefully I will be able to get the supplier back on track so I will not have any further delays or trip extensions. here are a couple photos of a typical dinner location. The supplier has been treating us to lunch and dinner every day. The locations are amazing, we are always in a special secluded room which has a sitting area, dinning area, restroom, and a side door to its own kitchen. Awesome food and my chopstick skills are pretty good once again.

Well, I must get ready for breakfast just a couple of minutes away. Then it's off to the plant again for another full day, as we've been averaging a work day of about 12-14hrs.

31 August 2006 - Late night

Yup, figured I'd work on the car while the wife and kid sleep. This will help me get onto China time...I hope. As the last trip I had difficulty sleeping on the plane. Although that was probably due to flying in coach while my then previous boss was in business!! This time it is looking good as I'm on a stand-by list for business and there are currently 8 open seats...keeping my fingers crossed.

So, I took out the half shafts, the main drive shaft will require a bit more work. However, I'm taking 1 half of the pair in to Autozone tomorrow to order the u-joints and any other items needed to rebuild these. I know I need atleast 6 u-joints.

I also learned via the Corvette Forum that vinegar is a strong enough acid to remove rust! So I'll also be buying the largest container, or many of them, to soak my rusty parts in from now on. So far I've been cleaning the parts with brake cleaner before and after scrubbing the rust away with wire brushes and steel wool. What a knuckle buster! This process is to just melt the rust away, I'll just need to rinse it off then lightly go over it with some steel wool and rinse it again and dry it.

I'll be posting pics soon...also I'm looking into how to get the video links to work!

Mom and dad are coming to visit tomorrow (tonight, as i see it is after midnight). They will spend the holiday weekend here with Julie and Thane while I'm out of town. They all plan to go to the C&O canal rail trail for a ride if the weather is nice. As of now there is a chance of rain all weekend.

29 August 2006 - It's ALIVE!!!

Not a single backfire! This thing is all but dialed-in. Not having mufflers on would make it hard to fine-tune the rockers. But try as I might, I could not hear much knocking of the rockers. Although they should be darn close as we went through the rockers a couple of times prior to starting it up. The distributor will ground out and stall the engine if we connect the tach, so I'll need to trace back the wire to see if it is grounded somewhere.

THANKS FOR THE HELP, MATT, SCOTT, and the crew on the Corvette Forums!

Enjoy this video clip! (If I can get the link to work.)

Engine's 1st start

28 August 2006 - A hint of ...

smoke rolled out of the engine bay as the engine tried to fire! Yup, it seems I have a weak ground, but it fired 2 cylinders!! Tomorrow I'll mount new grounds for the block and the battery then fire it up! It seems the so-called new distributor I bought was faulty. A co-worker, Scott from our model shop, lent me an old HEI distributor and it produced the spark that I've been longing for. So I placed the plugs on and turned it over. After bumping it a few times to prime the fuel pump I turned the key and heard the sweet sound of it trying to fire. WOW, so close! Tomorrow may be the day! Stay tuned!

25 August 2006 - "Short" delay.

Well, tried to start the car tonight but there seems to be a problem. It seems that the "new" distributor does not work. I just bought a new assembly. I am not getting any spark at the plug, however the wireing is showing power to the distributor and the starter is turning the engine over fine while also pumping gas. On the upside, most of the wiring seems in good order, as the lights (that are not dead or missing) are lighing up. Tomorrow I will once again try to get the passenger rear brake caliper off (the last one) as it has 2 bolts bad, 1 broke off and 1 stripped. I plan to grind off the head to get it off, hopefully without damage. We also attended Corvettes @ Carlisle today. If you're into Vettes you have to go! It is huge! We only saw a portion, but I still managed to drop $500 or so in parts like new SS brake lines, gas sending unit, door sills, and other small items.

24 August 2006 - Slight delay

Well, I think I know what all parts are missing to get this thing started...I need a short list of things then I can start it up! We went through and set the distributor in it's location, discovered Summit sent me the wrong plug wires. Double checked all the rockers as being snug. The starter is kicking over good, and from the key! Need to get a new fitting for the tach and battery for the HEI distributor. Need to get a fuel line from the pump to the carb. And finally get a couple of plugs for the intake and water pump along with a slightly longer belt and it will be ready to fire! I hope to post pics and a video of it tomorrow, while it's running!!!

23 August 2006 - Ready...set...FIRE! FIRE!!

Well, tomorrow just might be the day! I hooked-up the battery tonight along with the starter and dropped in the distributor. Matt will be coming over again after work to help me fire it up! Hopefully all goes well and I can get power to everything I need, mainly the starter and distributor. The old radiator is hooked-up and just sitting in the front end. I almost didn't have a car to restore. Yup, as the title of this post hinted, I had a start of a fire! When I hooked up the battery the main power cable for the starter was grounded causing the wire to throw sparks and begin to smoke!!! Whew! That was a close one! But situation resolved, and I was able to engage the starter. Tomorrow I'll post some pics and possibly a video!

15 August 2006 - Special thanks!

A special thank you for my co-worker, Matt, and my cousin, Keith, for coming over tonight to help get the engine mounted in the car. Now I just need to get things hooked up! The engine and transmission is mounted. I need to connect the trans to the drive shaft, the engine needs to be hooked to the gas lines and the tank needs cleaned, it needs hooked to the battery, and the radiator needs to be installed and hooked to the engine and heater. Then I will be ready for the start-up! Julie made an excellent vegi-lasagna that was devoured at abour 8:30PM when we finally finished hooking-up the engine. Here are a couple pics...slight issue might need to be addressed...it seems there is a possible clearance issue with the hood to the air cleaner. It also looks like a challenge to get the headers installed. Although it was mentioned that the Hooker comp headers are a good fit...we'll soon find out!

14 August 2006 - It's been a while

It's been busy as usual here with work and home. We'll be headin' home to MI this Thurs after work. Our friend Bernie is gettin' hitched! We'll also be visiting my grandparents. Next weekend we'll be attending a nearby Vette weekend in Carlisle, PA just a few miles to the north. We hope to find some needed car parts and advice from other C3 owners. Then the following weekend, 9/2 I'll be gettin' on a plane for my 2nd trip to China for the launch of one of my new products. I'll be there, missing the holiday, for a minimum of 1 week, but prob actually 2 weeks. Yup, as long as it doesn't rain...20% chance...my cousin and friend from work will be helping me put the engine back into its place in the car! I'll also try to get the trans hooked up. Then I'll just need to hook everything up engine wise, and get the brakes complete for the start-up and Julie's 1st "easy" test drive to check it all out. But 1st I'll have to finish re-doing the seats. I have 1 seat frame re-assembled after cleaning it and rust-proofing it, but I have not yet purchased new foam and trim. The bonus pic attached is of Julz and Thane. He wanted to say goodnight after his bath. When he saw me with the camera he blurted-out "cheeeeez" and did his best smile, so I just had to turn and click!

24 July 2006 - Julz in her Vette

Finally got Julz in her new-old Vette tonight. We took Thane to my cousin's church to ride horses and pet some animals, then I went for a short ride. Over the weekend I spent a lot of time finishing up the engine on the car. I'm ready to fire it up for the first time! I just need to get it mounted into the car. I'll be buying a new alternator, distributor, and water pump tomorrow. Below are a few new pics. The engine is actually complete with all the dress-up items on it now, but didn't get a pic. I also replaced the old orange bolts you see with new raw bolts (silver in color). The dress-up kit is all matte black with Chevy Orange script, which looks sweet!