Vin 3430, The White one from BaT...

[Trstno1]

Over the Weekend I removed the rear facia, and the muffler to gain better access to the engine compartment expecting to be pulling the engine soon. Found some fossils in the muffler (Look like chunks of coal, I assume they were chunks of the catalytic converter? getting new exhaust anyway) I put a wrench on the crank nut not thinking it was going to budge, but it actually turned with a bit of muscle. so the engine is NOT seized! I've removed the spark plugs from all the cylinders and they all look to be in good shape (no signs of corrosion/rust) and The fuel injectors also appear to be in decent shape (from the outside) plan to clean them and see if they can be reused. also ordered a Bluetooth borescope camera to visually inspect the cylinders using my phone as the display. should be fun!

One problem I'm trying to track down is the starter circuit, I removed the starter, cleaned it up and bench checked it good. But in the car it wont engage & turn. power is making it to the W/R wire on the solenoid and the battery lead has good voltage as well. also verified my car has the factory start circuit upgrade. I'm thinking its a grounding problem. I cleaned the bonding strap on the right side of the motor (motor mount to frame) and where the neg battery cable meets the frame... maybe not enough. I plan to jump a heavy gauge wire from the starter case to the negative side of the battery to see if that works and confirm my grounding theory.

I'll be checking compression and cleaning the fuel system in the coming weeks. I ordered all new fuel lines, filer, accumulator, pump, etc. so I'll be pushing to try and start if all looks ok.

-Andy

Nice progress! Hopefully you’ll get it started soon. Keep the pics
coming.

[andyo]

not a lot of gas in the tank. was able to pump it all out pretty easily.





Underside of rear frame looks ok.


front end pretty bad though, but I've seen way worse.

I've find it interesting in a 'gee wiz' kinda way that there are seemingly random numbers written on the rear of the frames. The actual frame serial number is totally different, 2700 something, cant remember exactly, and my vin is 3430.

general condition of all the plugs

and Injectors


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mark D]

Wow you're wasting no time at all digging into this thing. Love the progress photos so far, keep them coming!

Looks like you've got mostly surface rust on the frame in most places with the exception of that front crossmember. It's tough to tell just how far the rust goes under the epoxy sometimes. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough with how fast you're disassembling everything.

Are you planning to strip the whole frame and refinish it, or patch where you need to and coat it with some POR-15? I'm interested to know more about what your end goals and if you're going full frame off resto from the get go or just getting it running first and seeing where that leads you.

[andyo]

Wow you're wasting no time at all digging into this thing. Love the progress photos so far, keep them coming!

Looks like you've got mostly surface rust on the frame in most places with the exception of that front crossmember. It's tough to tell just how far the rust goes under the epoxy sometimes. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough with how fast you're disassembling everything.

Are you planning to strip the whole frame and refinish it, or patch where you need to and coat it with some POR-15? I'm interested to know more about what your end goals and if you're going full frame off resto from the get go or just getting it running first and seeing where that leads you.

Thanks Mark,

I'm excited to dig into it. there so much information out there on these cars that I had a plan for how I would start out a long time ago. really wanted a project for the project part of it. seriously have been reading this forum since 2004 or somewhere in there. the obsession had its cycles, but it always came back!

The front cross member/bulkhead/closing plate is my main concern. its bad. but I think structurally this frame is good. i will likely patch and POR-15 it.

and yeah, I'm trying to discern the real state of this motor. if I can get it running, then I'll do the needed stuff to make it road worthy and drive it a little while I do cosmetics. frame off eventually in that case. If the motor is toast... probably tackle the full monte. we'll see where this story goes.

Cautiously optimistic!

-Andy

[andyo]

Heres how the cylinder walls look.

My untrained eye thinks they look ok... compression will say for certain i guess.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mark D]

Thanks Mark,

I'm excited to dig into it. there so much information out there on these cars that I had a plan for how I would start out a long time ago. really wanted a project for the project part of it. seriously have been reading this forum since 2004 or somewhere in there. the obsession had its cycles, but it always came back!

The front cross member/bulkhead/closing plate is my main concern. its bad. but I think structurally this frame is good. i will likely patch and POR-15 it.

and yeah, I'm trying to discern the real state of this motor. if I can get it running, then I'll do the needed stuff to make it road worthy and drive it a little while I do cosmetics. frame off eventually in that case. If the motor is toast... probably tackle the full monte. we'll see where this story goes.

Cautiously optimistic!

-Andy

Congrats on finally getting a car to call your own, your enthusiasm definitely shows though. I remember how excited I was to start my own restoration project a few years ago and how much fun it was to learn about each new thing that I had taken apart and what it would take to restore the car. Working on my car and getting to know all the intimate details of how it is put together makes driving it that much more rewarding now that it is (mostly) complete.

I went the same route as you are planning with patching and touching up the frame with POR15. I created a few threads years ago about the process I used. Everyone takes a slightly different approach it seems and there are a few options in regards to prep as well as top coating or just leaving the POR as-is. I removed as much rust as possible, then applied a couple of coats of POR-15 rust preventative paint, then POR etching primer (to allow the top coat to stick, and match the thickness of the surrounding epoxy) and then top coated with rustoleum smoke gray to match the frame color. POR-15 is awesome stuff but a bit a of a pain to use, especially getting top coat to adhere well. If you're planning on top coating you're either supposed to dust coat the POR with spray paint as it's curing so your remaining coats will stick, or use POR's special etching primer.

EDIT: found that thread I created for prepping/painting POR-15 and matching top coat color:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?51...lor-Comparison

I'll definitely be following along with your thread as you make progress. I was lucky enough to not have to do any major engine work so that part interests me to see what it will take to get yours running again. The photos you posted of the inside of each cylinder actually look pretty good, though I'm no expert. From some youtube videos I've watched, adding a couple tablespoons of marvel mystery oil to each cylinder will help break loose any stuck rings and make manually turning over the engine easier/safer so you're less likely to score the liners when it's time to do a compression test. There are some other people on the board that can give you good advice in terms of what steps to take with the engine besides the more obvious concerns of getting the fuel system sorted out.

[Riley88]

Dude congrats and its awesome you are already BAM gettling into !

[dn010]

There isn't really much you can do other than hit the cylinders with a few squirts of oil, disconnect the ignition/fuel and crank the engine to get the oil pump moving some oil throughout the engine. You can't prime this engine or coat the cylinders unless you plan on taking things apart. Looks good though.

[andyo]

Congrats on finally getting a car to call your own, your enthusiasm definitely shows though. I remember how excited I was to start my own restoration project a few years ago and how much fun it was to learn about each new thing that I had taken apart and what it would take to restore the car. Working on my car and getting to know all the intimate details of how it is put together makes driving it that much more rewarding now that it is (mostly) complete.

I went the same route as you are planning with patching and touching up the frame with POR15. I created a few threads years ago about the process I used. Everyone takes a slightly different approach it seems and there are a few options in regards to prep as well as top coating or just leaving the POR as-is. I removed as much rust as possible, then applied a couple of coats of POR-15 rust preventative paint, then POR etching primer (to allow the top coat to stick, and match the thickness of the surrounding epoxy) and then top coated with rustoleum smoke gray to match the frame color. POR-15 is awesome stuff but a bit a of a pain to use, especially getting top coat to adhere well. If you're planning on top coating you're either supposed to dust coat the POR with spray paint as it's curing so your remaining coats will stick, or use POR's special etching primer.

EDIT: found that thread I created for prepping/painting POR-15 and matching top coat color:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?51...lor-Comparison

I'll definitely be following along with your thread as you make progress. I was lucky enough to not have to do any major engine work so that part interests me to see what it will take to get yours running again. The photos you posted of the inside of each cylinder actually look pretty good, though I'm no expert. From some youtube videos I've watched, adding a couple tablespoons of marvel mystery oil to each cylinder will help break loose any stuck rings and make manually turning over the engine easier/safer so you're less likely to score the liners when it's time to do a compression test. There are some other people on the board that can give you good advice in terms of what steps to take with the engine besides the more obvious concerns of getting the fuel system sorted out.

Thanks Mark! ive reached out to the forum to get some suggestions on the steps i should take on the Engine 'awakening'. Really appreciate your suggestions on the frame rust!

Dude congrats and its awesome you are already BAM gettling into !

Thanks! Having fun so far!

There isn't really much you can do other than hit the cylinders with a few squirts of oil, disconnect the ignition/fuel and crank the engine to get the oil pump moving some oil throughout the engine. You can't prime this engine or coat the cylinders unless you plan on taking things apart. Looks good though.

Thanks, I know some GM motors you can spin the pump... but this is most definitely not a GM motor.


Update on the Starter problem. I discovered that the shunt between the negative posts on the solenoid was barely hanging on and broke when I tried to mess with it, so I made a jumper wire and BAM it works. I will be replacing the starter before I really start driving it, but for now I'll continue to use it since its working and I could put that money elsewhere.

-Andy

[andyo]

I installed new struts for the doors and hood from PJ Grady. Will make life easier. Pretty happy that the doors open and close well and even when up. The doors do fly open pretty fast though... maybe because the struts are new? Was going to see if they settle in before i do anything rash...





Coolant Temp probe connector was duct taped and jumpered...




Cold Start Valve connector has a broken wire... too close to splice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk