Had a classic come through yesterday

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14Accent

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Maybe she isn't a "classic" classic, but I don't get to work on older vehicles much so this was a nice change of pace.

[Linked Image]


1975 Chevrolet Caprice Classic. 2 door convertible, 350 2-barrel with a TH350, 79k original miles. It came in after a year of storage, not running terribly well and needing some love. It had an obvious misfire, which I used an infrared temp gun to narrow down to cylinder #8. I pulled the plug and it was completely burned up and oil fouled. I cleaned it up enough to allow it to function, and she ran markedly better.

I installed a fresh set of AC Delco RT44 plugs gapped to a tight .040", changed the oil, replaced the reverse light and license plate light bulbs, and told the owner to go fill the tank with some quality non-oxy, Apparently, he's owned the car for 22 years and hardly uses it. Seems a shame, really. It's not "nice" enough to protect, yet not at all used up.

Funny note: the valve covers had big stickers on them that said "GM Parts Master" and 350 cubic inch on them. I tried to Google it, but I just got redirected to the GM performance parts website. I assume "Parts Master" was just the old factory parts division of GM. The engine still had all of the original emissions equipment you would expect to see on a 1975 car, which was surprising.

I wish I had taken more pictures, but alas I did not. It was fun, however, as a 30 year old to drive a 20 foot long 2 ton boat around town. They just don't build anything like that anymore.
 
That's a classic for sure! And an original survivor worth preserving. Sweet.
 
I love the 60s Impala's and 70s Caprice's. My grandfather had a sequence of Buick LeSabre's (66, 74), and my dad worked for Chevy in the 70s and we generally had Caprice's - thought nothing as nice as that two-door convertible. NICE!

I would like to know what the date code on those white walls is...
wink.gif


Thanks for sharing.
 
Nice car.

Your Shop has good lighting / plenty of windows.
To many garages I see (from the outside) look like A Cave.

Edit: I hate to say it but, when I was born, that would have been a Car of the Future.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
2 door and convertible? Cool...


Is there any other kind?
 
Fwiw. The most common axle gearing was 2.56! The heads were the worst flowing of any Chevrolet small block. 7.7-7-1 compression ratio and that 2 bbl carb, pellets in the catalytic converter, overactive egr valve made it very underpowered. Make sure to pull the distributor cap and free up the advance weights. Also make sure that the vacuum advance diaphragm isn't leaking as that will contribute to the fouled plug.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Is the engine blue or black?

Yeah, I'm thinking GM parts re-man engine a while back.

No love for big bumper cars because of the smog hit, but a nice TBI on a freshened 350 with a non smog cam and a more open exhaust would make for a snappy satisfying ride.

Was This still the legendary, excellent B body GM platform?
 
Originally Posted by 14Accent
Maybe she isn't a "classic" classic, but I don't get to work on older vehicles much so this was a nice change of pace.

[Linked Image]


Funny note: the valve covers had big stickers on them that said "GM Parts Master" and 350 cubic inch on them. I tried to Google it, but I just got redirected to the GM performance parts website. I assume "Parts Master" was just the old factory parts division of GM. The engine still had all of the original emissions equipment you would expect to see on a 1975 car, which was surprising.

IIRC this would be an GM replacement (new manufacture) similar to the GM Goodwrench Targetmaster engines sold today.
http://www.crateenginedepot.com/57-Ltr-350-CID-GM-Engine-1971-1985-New-12681429-P9447.aspx
 
Originally Posted by MasterSolenoid
Nice car.

Your Shop has good lighting / plenty of windows.
To many garages I see (from the outside) look like A Cave.

Edit: I hate to say it but, when I was born, that would have been a Car of the Future.


Thanks! Those windows run the entire length of the shop, facing north. We (I) just replaced every florescent tube with LED tubes about 2 months ago. Very expensive, but boy did it make a difference. There's 92 tubes total lighting the shop.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Fwiw. The most common axle gearing was 2.56! The heads were the worst flowing of any Chevrolet small block. 7.7-7-1 compression ratio and that 2 bbl carb, pellets in the catalytic converter, overactive egr valve made it very underpowered.


The GM PartsMaster engine - is a replacement.

They were a little better than the factory engine.

A good RV cam, aluminum intake and headers - and they made an easy 250 HP.
 
I owned a 1973 Impala custom coupe back in the day. 350 4 barrel with factory dual exhaust. White with a blue vinyl interior and a blue vinyl top and fender skirts. It was a very good car and I put well over 100,000 miles on it before trading it in on a 1981 Monte Carlo. The Impalas of that era are very desirable today to convert to "hoopties"!
cool.gif
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Fwiw. The most common axle gearing was 2.56! The heads were the worst flowing of any Chevrolet small block. 7.7-7-1 compression ratio and that 2 bbl carb, pellets in the catalytic converter, overactive egr valve made it very underpowered. Make sure to pull the distributor cap and free up the advance weights. Also make sure that the vacuum advance diaphragm isn't leaking as that will contribute to the fouled plug.


Nice riding car but a total dog lol With that gearing and smog engine I bet it would barely spin the wheels in gravel. I would definitely do some mods to the engine and maybe replace the rear gears with a set of 3.27 or 3.55 gears.
 
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