[Meek66]

Howdy, I finally decided to be a little bit more diligent in documenting the work I’ve been doing. I figure it’ll help me stay organized and hopefully members with more experience than me can chime in from time to time.
The car - 66 resto-custo-mod has a sbc 350, TH350, Currie 9”, looks good and sounds good... at first glance. She has good bones but needs a heap of work to be a solid and safe car. She was born a six cylinder Malibu. For the most part she is a constant mystery.
Me - I’m a refugee from Paradise, CA living in Chico, CA. Picked up MEEK in Bakersfield, CA which is fitting because that w I grew up.

I’ve had the car for a little over a year and haven’t had much time to really get to know it until recently and thus begins my story of converting her from just a car that looks and sounds good into head turner no matter how close you look.

I’ve recently put several irons in the fire so my current projects are rewiring it from bumper to bumper, updating the water pump and alternator, and putting the demon back on it. Here’s a glimpse of the mess I had with wiring. And a bonus picture of one of the many reasons the previous owner had no business owning her. Anyone see the problem(s)? 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

[Meek66]

A bit of a heads up for anyone considering a Innovators West harmonic balancer for your gen 1 sbc. I must admit they are an impressive piece. I wish it would have worked. Unless your timing cover can accommodate the design it’s a no go. The back side is not concave like the oem design. I had to return it. Kudos to Summit for being so easy to work with. I ended up going with Summits 8”. Also, despite what reviews say on Summit for Holley’s cast aluminum timing cover, the 8” balancer is the correct size if you want to use the built in pointer.

 

[sstom66]

So is that a picture of your new wiring loom? Just kiddin' . Great start to a great year chevelle.Any and all questions you may have,bring them here as there is much knowledge hidden in the membership.Good luck with your project. Tom..

 

[Meek66]

So is that a picture of your new wiring loom? Just kiddin' . Great start to a great year chevelle.Any and all questions you may have,bring them here as there is much knowledge hidden in the membership.Good luck with your project. Tom..

lol... nope. That’s the rats nest that has given me nightmares.

 

[Meek66]

Rebuilding a BG Speed Demon 750 w/ vac secondaries.

Took me a couple weeks to get this done and I have yet to put it on its throne.
A few things to consider for anyone who is looking to rebuild the same carb or similar.

The rebuild kits that are available for these are more for a Holley than a Demon so there are a few things that you need to source on your own. First is the four corner idle adjustment. Kits only come with two o rings rather than 4. The kit also doesn’t have the o ring that goes to the access port for the vac secondaries spring. Kit came with a 6.5 power valve but I needed a 4.5. After a lot of elbow grease it looks new. Looking at it next to the Holley Street Avenger 770 it definitely looks like it will flow a lot better.

 

[shovelrick]

These old cars are fun to work on, you're doing great and have fun with your resto-custo-mod (I like that) lots of guys & gals here know 66-67's like the back of their hands

 

[Meek66]

This slippery slope started with the alternator giving up the ghost. I purchased a MSD 130 amp unit. The bench cert that came with it shows it actually makes 106 amps at 2400 and 158 amps at 7500.

The March Performance pulley/bracket system that was already on the engine has worked out really well. I must also say that their customer service has been very helpful. I spoke with them when I was sorting out the Innovators West balancer fitment issue.

 

[Meek66]

These old cars are fun to work on, you're doing great and have fun with your resto-custo-mod (I like that) lots of guys & gals here know 66-67's like the back of their hands

Thanks. I’ll have plenty of questions not doubt.

 

[1966_L78]

Thanks. I’ll have plenty of questions not doubt.

Looks like fun...

I used to repair my old harnesses, but I finally got smart and just purchase new ones...

 

[shelteredv]

I have that same carb. I set it up about 8 years ago and haven't touched it since, it runs mint- about the best carb I've ever had

 

[sstom66]

lol... nope. That’s the rats nest that has given me nightmares.

Ya I kind of figured that was the case.Wiring is such a hassle for me,time and patience, my boy.If you have a lot of wiring to do you may want to get a color wiring schematic from WWW. classic car wiring.com 917-861-9131.I got one for my 66,very helpful.You need to indicate gages or not,I believe,to get the correct one for the dash wiring. Keep us up to date. Tom..PS colors on the schematic match the GM factory colors.

 

[Meek66]

Ya I kind of figured that was the case.Wiring is such a hassle for me,time and patience, my boy.If you have a lot of wiring to do you may want to get a color wiring schematic from WWW. classic car wiring.com 917-861-9131.I got one for my 66,very helpful.You need to indicate gages or not,I believe,to get the correct one for the dash wiring. Keep us up to date. Tom..PS colors on the schematic match the GM factory colors.

Thanks for the tip. I rewired the electric fans to the radiator and have started the loom for the front lighting. I’ll have to post about it. It definitely requires patience.

 

[Meek66]

I replaced the intake manifold gaskets and cleaned up the intake. I ended up using Fel-pro 1205S-3. It’ll block off the exhaust crossover. I screwed up and inadvertently had my torque wrench set to 45 lbs when I reinstalled the manifold. Fortunately only one bolt stripped. I used a Helicoil to repair it and then reinstalled it. This time I waited until after I was done to enjoy a couple fingers of whiskey.

 

[DUTCH MAX HEADWORK]

I replaced the intake manifold gaskets and cleaned up the intake. I ended up using Fel-pro 1205S-3. It’ll block off the exhaust crossover. I screwed up and inadvertently had my torque wrench set to 45 lbs when I reinstalled the manifold. Fortunately only one bolt stripped. I used a Helicoil to repair it and then reinstalled it. This time I waited until after I was done to enjoy a couple fingers of whiskey.
View attachment 699749

You're coming along nicely. That carb looks like a jewel.

My neighbor came over to borrow my torque wrench to install his timing chain. I asked him if he knew how to set and use it. He said sure, no problem. Piece of cake. He came back 10 minutes later and I had to remove 2 broken bolts from the cam. He expected the torque wrench to freewheel when it hit set torque.

That harness looks like the Chinese dinner I just ate.

What's the story on the spark plugs?

 

[64SS427]

My original harness looked like yours as well. I swear every owner must have had some necessary “accessories “ to install. I ripped mine out and put in a Painless harness. It was a learning experience I’d recommend staying away from.

Devin

 

[Meek66]

Stripped the interior and took it down to the bare metal. I found a few rusted areas along the electrical ribbon groove. I rattle canned all the exposed metal with primer/sealer. I then put a 80 mil Butyl. I used kilmat which was significantly cheaper than the name brand options. Seemed to go on pretty well. Along the firewall, tranny bell, and passenger/driver foot wells I have put a layer of Noico thermal insulation. I’m really bad about taking pictures along the way... oh well.

 

[Meek66]

My original harness looked like yours as well. I swear every owner must have had some necessary “accessories “ to install. I ripped mine out and put in a Painless harness. It was a learning experience I’d recommend staying away from.

Devin

Lol... I’m too far down this road. I got a fuse block from them but am making my own harnesses. Just need to make the rear lights and gauges harnesses.

The closer I looked the scarier it all was.