It is really coming together Kevin, Im impressed with how fast the car is going together. looking forward to sema and taking a look at it.

I put this in the V8 forum but believe you may be checking this one more often .

In the last blog you mentioned a door handle issue ...not 100% sure on the exact issue -------if it is not opening when unlocked and the rod is sliding off the lever pad ----- or two, once you lock it; it won't unlock and thus won't open (rod doesn't allow enough return of the lever) my advise is......

... if you have the originals you'll find that using an original rod/spring is helpful .. but even more key is the retainer. If you look at the original GM retainers they are slightly thicker than the ones made more recently. The lack of thickness adds just enough wiggle that it can cause you problems in addtion to the push rod length/bend angle. And ... I'd really check the door you think is working - fix it now. I did my dads 69 Chevelle and the drivers side acted up at Good Guys 06 and just yesterday, a year later, the passenger side had the same thing happen.. I thought because it seemed to work it would stay working. I now have two new handles (chrome part) with old rods and retainers.

I know we had this same problem on a 1971 elcamino SS454
We ended up using the original pushrod off the handle.

This is interesting, because we also had problems with the Royal Sport Camaro. The funny part with the Chevelle is that we took the handles off, painted the car, and put them back on... and they didn't work. Same stuff all the way around. Then we tried mixing and matching new and old rods, handles, pushbuttons... it's a mess. We'll address it in an upcoming blog.

Last night we started the engine detail, and while we were working on that, John was touching-up the panel that goes behind the bumper when he got dive-bombed by a moth... he was not a very happy camper.

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg327#msg327

Tonight we sprayed the motor in a PPG "Poppy Red", which is the same color GM used on Chevy engines back in the day. You can obviously tell it has aluminum heads and a big intake, but it still retains the original vibe. We also modified our rear wiring harness for the Digi-Tails LED taillights. More to come!

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg339#msg339

Big progress yesterday night... the engine is in, trans in, and the wheels arrived... these V40 straight spoke rollers from Vintage Wheel Works are going to look killer on this car!

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg349#msg349

Looking great! Just watched a bunch of the vids...great info there and I love the down to earth feel...it's truely like we are right there with you guys! Can't wait to see it at SEMA!!

Well, except for the bugs, lack of sleep, little food, swollen fingers, sanding dust, hygiene, short tempers, fast food diets - yeah, other then that.....

Coming down the home stretch and looking great !!!! Thanks for letting us ride shot-gun !

You do have a point! ;)
What I meant was that I like the non-studio feel of there daily vids...and honestly showing what the SEMA thrash is all about. You loose alot of that with most TV shows...thanks Kevin for keeping it real!! :thumbsup:

I like how you are perserving the orginal look of the motor. thats awsome... I have lots of respect for GM engineers and their designs... except for the suspensions and wheels 35 years ago!

Latest blog you mentioned the intake and hood clearance. I'm sure you probably don't need to much help .. but I'll offer what I've done amongst 4 other 69 Chevelles. If you already planned to ditch the stock air cleaner look; I'm sure you'll be using the drop base air cleaner which will gain you some clearance. I also used thinner K&N filter then went ahead with the K&N lid as well, just to ensure there was enough breathing going on (you don't get that original chrome lid vibe - but your looking for clearance and an engine needs air).

As for knowing if an intake will or won't clear without putting on the hood and trying to peak under as you close the hood .... An Edelbrock Performer 3.0 or an Air GAP RPM will fit with under a stock 69 hood with a the typical leading carbs (you can get all Edelbrock heights from their website). I often compare a given intake's front/rear measurements with these to know how much I'm pushing the limit. The difference in your intake and those could be what you have to overcome.

There is one thing you can do with the stock hood that is fairly quick .. the bolt from the air-cleaner almost lines up with the lip that holds the hood insulation (rear). You can actually neatly trim that and get some helpful clearance - just a little more paint and work on the affected area. My whole lip is trimmed.

That's a good tip to use the Edelbrock site as a guide... I'll see what's what. We're thinking about doing some major surgery on this manifold after SEMA - welding up the runners and machining the carb pad down. It's alot of work, but Scavo wants to do the work, and we'd like to show how it's done.

Thanks for the info!

- KO

Thanks! I wish you were here... we'd put a wrench in your hand! :thumbsup:

Hey GD! Yeah, all those things you mention apply... there is such a thing as the SEMA diet plan... I think it's mostly stress induced. We try to keep the hygiene up and the bugs down. Although it looks like we're doing neither very well. Soon we'll have this thing on the road - who knows, maybe you can go shotgun for real!

- KO

It's a real car, with real issues and real victories. I think that the whole scene benefits from knowing what it really takes to do this stuff, so that when someone goes to build their own, they don't have a distorted view. Sometimes it ain't pretty; but that all figures into the big payoff when it's finished. Thanks again for your support!


- KO

OK, down to the wire... er, wiring! (That was bad...) The AAW harness went in smoothly, but Kelle didn't dig being stuck under the dash again!

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index....=46.msg364#new

It's starting to look more like a finished car... the front trim items are in and all fit well, and we installed the 9007 headlights from MuscleRodz... very cool stuff.

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg365#msg365

You are killing me. I need finished pics of the car. I'm going crazy....:willy:

I know after SEMA. In the mean time I get to keep checking in on your wife through V8TV. As you know I'm in love.....:yes:

R.P.

P.S. Looking forward to seeing the end project. :thumbsup:

Thanks Roger, I think... :_paranoid

You'll see the car when it's finished, which it isn't quite yet... we'd love to see it completed, too!

Here's the wiring for the headlight relays and how they all work. There isn't that much wiring to do on this car, and it's almost finished!

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg369#msg369

In this installment, Kelle make progress on the interior, John mounted the side trim on the car, Kevin added more details to the engine, and we honor Gene Kranz, a great American and inspiration to us all.

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg372#msg372

Time to hang the pipes... the SS496 will be running a Magnaflow stainless setup, and here we see the beginnings of the install. Kelle also has some interesting ideas involving child labor and sharp objects... We're going to try to finish this car tonight, and load it and hit the road Thursday AM for Vegas. We're 1 day behind on the videos, I'll try to get caught up tomorrow, but it's going to be a stretch...

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg378#msg378

Down to the last 36 hours before we load the car for the SEMA show, and we have yet to fire it... it's going to be a long 36 hours! (Actually, we're supposed to load the car today at noon, but the video is a day behind... )

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg379#msg379

It's getting late, but the SS496 Chevelle has come alive! After adding all the Royal Purple fluids and double checking the whole works, the big 496 stroker motor rumbled to life! It sounds wicked through the Hooker headers and Magnaflow pipes, and we can't wait to take this thing for a rip down the strip! We've got 1 day left to bleed the brakes, finish some wiring, and install the rest of the interior. The thrash continues!

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg382#msg382

Our goal was to complete the SS496 for the 2007 SEMA show in Las Vegas, NV beginning in the last week of October. Well, we're happy to say that the SS496 is locked and loaded in the trailer ready to make the trip. Today we finished tons of little details, and we finally have a running, driving, stopping, honest-to-goodness car. It's looking fantastic, and we're excited to bring it out! We'd like to extend a huge THANKS to everyone who helped in this project in any way. We couldn't have done it without you. We're not finished with the car yet, though... Stay tuned to V8TVshow.com for more coverage on the SS496 at the track and on the street! Also, we're bringing you all the coolest cars from the SEMA show all week!

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg383#msg383

Huge congrats...I know it was a ton of work!! See ya soon!! :thumbsup: :hail:

Hey thanks! OK, we're 1/2 way to Vegas and stopped for the night in a hotel outside of Denver... no video update tonight, but we'll post something tomorrow. Very tired. Must sleep.

congrats Kevin. We'll see you next week.

Jody

Sorry for being a little behind on the updates... we've been doing this from the road with no time and no sleep. Here's the road trip highlights...

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg391#msg391

It's been a long process, but here's the result... the SS496 at SEMA!

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg392#msg392

Kevin,

saw the car today. That thing is AWESOME! Congrats.

Jody

We've been trying to return to "normal life" after the SEMA show, but we'll have the Chevelle back in the shop to finish off the details tonight. We have several little things like the electric fan setup, the ragtop, etc., and we're looking forward to getting this project wrapped up. Stay tuned - more video to come!

Here's the latest - the install of the SPAL dual electric fans, and then a stream-of-consciousness editorial praising the ARP catalog...

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg504#msg504

http://www.v8tvshow.com/forum/index.....msg505#msg505

More to come!

- KO

We're still working on the 1969 Chevelle SS496 project, and we're at the part of the project where you keep finding little details to take care of. Like a small power steering leak, and a funky dash ground that allowed us to dim the high beams by turning the headlight switch knob! That was a weird one. Anyway, the last major project is the convertible top install and then we should be ready to road test the car.

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/494/43/

OK, we're aware it's been several months on the SS496, but we're getting ready to post the wrap-up shortly. The car has been going through final tuning and detail sorting-out... you know, the kinds of things you fix only after driving it around a while. Here's a snapshot of what's to come!

Nice shot! I saw the car at SEMA and really liked it! Great job Kev and crew!! :thumbsup: