Well it is at the moment but at least ive got a few weeks to sort out while the engine floats across the Atlantic

PM

 

And again

 

and finally

 

Good time to titivate though! Are you doing the job yourself? I look foward to seeing your car- when do you hope to have her roadworthy again?

Felix

 

Yes i'm doing the lot.
I need it finished by the end of March,and as long as the engine arrives that wont be a problem.Hoping to spray the engine bay this coming weekend then i'll put everything back in.I think i'll be ready before the engine gets here.
PM

 

Someone stole your engine!!!



What engine are you getting then?

 

ZZ4 with LT4 hotcam and fitted with complete Holley Stealth Ram set up and T56 6 speed

PM

 

Yum!!!

Are you getting the engine built with the prom already configured or are you burning your own?

 

Nah,it doesnt use a prom.Im having the Commander system with it which is tuned with a laptop.Done away with my ECM and all wiring relevent to it.Sallee Chevrolet are setting it up on their dyno and running it in for me,then shipping it over all assembled ready for immediate fitting and fun
PM

 

Never heard of it.
I'll have to do some more reading!

Sounds like a nice plug and play idea though.

 

Try this then

http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/ProdLin...FMS/SR/SR.html

PM

 

Wow! Stripped bare. I love it when something is done properly.
These are the times when you have to keep thinking of the finished article, and the show atmosphere when people are looking around it (in the sunny weather)!
Good luck with it.
Keep us informed.

Andy.

PS If you want any more info or photos, let me know.

 

you are so right there Andy.At first it was to be a blow over with satin black.Then i got to thinking it'll look better in body colour but no need to take all the wiring out and now its progressed to a complete strip down.
I think its helped that i know the engine is not going to be here for about another 6 weeks,so ive got loads of time to do it right.
Since those photos,ive now bare metalled the front panel where the radiator is mounted and the bit that then goes forward in a triangular shape which has the bonnet latch mounted to it,ive sandblasted and going to get it powder coated in satin black so it wont scratch if i lay tools on there.
Next i'll be removing the brake master and top suspension mounts(had new ones tucked away for ages).
I had an email from Salle Chev today saying the engine will be ready by 6th Feb then its about 3 weeks to get it to the UK

PM

 

Powermite,

You going to be bringing this to Billing at Ester for its 'shakedown' run? this car is legendary, but i've never seen it..

oh, and to everyone with ZZ4 engines..

I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you

 

Well it'll certainly be ready by then but the following weekend its LeMans qualifying so i will be going there.
As my wife doesnt share my ...or should i say hates my hobby,i have to be a little bit careful to pick and choose which events i go to.Therefore i try to chose one each month and then it doesnt cause too much aggro.
I will be trying very hard to meet up with you guys this year though.
PM

 

Powermite,

As exciting as an empty emgine bay is, how about giving us prices on shipping of the motor etc? Are you sharing a container with someone? Airfreight?

Thanks

Robert

 

shipping is £325.The chevy dealer is making a crate for it but i would expect it then to be put in a large crate with other stuff.
Sorted it with www.moving-parts.com

PM

 

What do you expect to pay in import duty and fees?

 

Normal import rate is about 7% on total value of item AND shipping, then 17.5% VAT on that new total.

 

The cost of everything it the States was $8000 which worked out at £4250.
Shipping £ 325
Duty £ 242
VAT £ 902

Cheers

PM

 

Almost ready for paint now.Ive stripped off most of the paint and filled all the little spot welds and uneven parts.
Just have to remove the top strut mount and paint'r'us.
PM

 

got a few things powdercoated too

PM

 

I love it when a plan comes together!
Looking mighty nice there powermite. The discrete black ploy eh?

Still looking forward to seeing the colour going on. Nice preparation work. Trouble is, I never knew when to stop. It was a Forrest Gump thing-"I thought, I have gone this far, so I might as well carry on". When I hit the trans tunnel, I went a bit further. Then the rest looked mucky, so I inched a bit further back, until...........I reached the back bumper. Of course, everything has to come out and be stored somewhere in the meantime. I used all my blasting media and then moved on to my son's play sand to blast with. Well, it's a lot cheaper than ally oxide grit!

Good luck with it PM. I hope the garage is heated if you are spraying it soon.

Andy.

 

I know what you mean Andy.Im sure the metal work is half the thickness now!!
No problem with heating.The car is in my old works factory along with AJs vette and Mrs Doubtfires 1929 Model A pick up.
Ive got an industrial heater that will heat the full 6000 sq ft and Doubty works for air products and has more propane fired heaters than you can shake a stick at.
He gonna spray it for me but hes been ill this week so hopefully it'll get done during next week

PM

 

Wow very nice man best of luck, let me know how well the Commander system works I been thinking about getting that system

 

sad looking you say?
mine looks almost like 4X4 without engine

 

Like this??
PM

 

yeah - the new 4X4 european fbody club

 

Two coats of etch primer...

PM

 

Looking good PM.
That is going to look so good when the top coats go on.
Bet you can't remember where everything goes!!

More please!
Andy.

 

Thing I may have a live webcast when i put the engine back in.
It should be on the Dyno today and shipped out before the end of next week.
PM

 

that primer looks smoooooooooth.

cant wait to drool all over the finished article, oh man, for a garage and a astack of cash, there is so much i want to do with mine.......

 

and the black ground coat...tomorrow cherry pearl and clearcoat
PM

 

And finally the basecoat and laquer.
PM

 

and

 

oops same picture.Here the one
PM

 

quality work my friend. looks great.

can wait to see some pics with the engine in, that is surely going to be one of the UK's finest thirdgens.

 

Wow ! Looks great, this is exactly what I like to do to mine as well when I do my front end and engine bay!

How did you prep the engine bay, just sand it down or sand blast? Any rust you had to take care of, I can see some in my 89 specially where you have the overlapping sheetmetal (battery tray etc) and also the spotwelds. Did you use anything like POR15 to keep the rust away in some areas or just the etchprimer?

Hope to see you and your car at some of the UK events later this year!

 

Jan,
I stripped most of it to bare metal just by dry sanding for hours on end.I also filled all the spot weld indentations around the suspension tops.
My battery tray was a bit scabby too so I sanded it down with a disc on an angle grinder and smooth hameerited it.The battery will cover that bit up though.
I didnt have any rust so i used 2 pack etch primer all over then a black groundcoat which was recommended for the cherry basecoat and laquer.
PM

 

OMG! Gorgeous!
Don't you dare scratch that when the engine is installed!

Andy.

 

hey pecha and PM... count yourselves lucky my F-body looks like yours with the eningine in situ... just ask phil olds

have to say that the engine bay looks :hail: :hail: :hail: awesme though... hope to see it at some of the shows...

 

fantastic looking engine-bay... totally jealous!!

BTW as Philolds will attest I think that I too mush belong to the 4x4 f-body club - with the added downer that my engine is in place

 

Fantastic job. :hail: :hail:

What happened to the engine?

 

Well its a long story,but suffice to say i'm having a new one.Still waiting for Sallee Chevrolet to send it but they did email me a pic of it on the dyno so it shouldnt be too long now.Hopefully they will finish it and despatch this coming week,which would mean me getting it by the end of march.

Glad to see you are still visiting this site.Are you missing yours??

PM

 

PM:
Now that is something else! Someone else running your engine thousands of miles away! Lending your car to someone is one thing, but at least you have the knowledge that it can't go far!

That's a photo for the archives. I bet your car's history would fill a war and peace size book. Interesting reading. That car has come a long, long way (and so will the engine!).

Good luck.

UK89Camaro:
Nice to hear from you again. Don't tell me your charger is still sitting in the same place?!!

Andy.

 

indeed, tis true, with the weight saving of the ally heads, it does sit a little proud at the front!

PM, looking awesome mate.


Paul. update on the charger please?

 

Almost all the parts are here now,just waiting on the engine.These are the hedders ive just had from ACS one of this site's sponsors and very nice they are too.
PM

 

mmmmmmmmmm, shiny.

 

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, I'm busy wiping the tears from my keyboard.

The Dodge is still sitting in the same place as of last September, but I'm sure I'll find the inspiration soon.

 

whats up with it??

PM