Hot Rods I finally got an injected 1961 Corvette !

Round one of removing the third arm bearing didn’t not produce any positive results per the corvette manual recommendation. Lol. But then again my old vise would not hold the castle nut.

Question though. It actually rotates very smooth. In fact it looks like my “hard” steering was a combination of the steering box (we fix that by cleaning & grease) and the king pins are really tight (I’m sure need grease) But again the third arm was actually smooth and rotates freely.
However; There is play in the stud which I’m not sure how much is suppose to be there. It almost seems like it is designed to have a little play am I right? If that is the case I’m considering maybe cleaning the hell out of it, pack it with grease and put it back in!

Scott


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I have said that and I am jealous Mark!

 

I agree that no power steering is the way to go. You have a much better feel for the car.
Power steering from the era was awful in that all the feel is removed. The other benefit being less weight.

 

I think a lot of Vettes got wide wheels and tires thinking they would make them corner better. I bet the added offset contributed to some crappy steering and prematurely worn out parts. If you stick with a front wheel and tire size not too far from stock it should steer just fine.


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Scott, there is going to be some play in the third arm, especially since it probably needs grease which should take out some of the play. Sometimes when you pack it, a little heat can help draw in the grease. Even a heat gun will work and hold the third arm with an old welding glove and let the grease sit on top. When it cools it should draw in some grease into the inner portion (above the bearing). Then when it cools pack it really well-maybe a fine needle would help as well.

As to the comment on the wide wheels that is part of the problem with steering. If you use a reasonable wheel in terms of width then you should have no problems.

As to the kingpins they are a must to get right IMO. They can be a bit intimidating at first since you have to compress the spring but I have done it so many times it is second nature to me. Since my cars have a raised stance, caster and camber need more attention. When it comes time to tackle that let me know and I will give you my two cents. If there was one upgrade I would suggest would be front disc brakes. They sell kits that are pretty reasonable. When and if you do that you can tackle the kingpins. Also the adjustment for both caster and camber is that little cam in the outer portion of the upper control arm-sometimes they wear out a bit but you can buy new control arms and cam if necessary.. Sometimes when you delve into the front suspension you will find the upper control arms have excessive play. If that is the case let me know. Sometimes the cure is not so bad and sometimes it can be an absolute nightmare. I have experienced the nightmare and it includes removing the front cradle but there is a good tutorial on the repair I can forward. It deals with the upper control shaft that is part of the cradle. When you remove the upper control arm you can see if the shaft is grooved-if not then you are OK. If grooved you may to experience the tutorial. Since I have made over 100 passes with my cars I want to make sure the front suspension is in good shape. If you are going to drive yours in a spirited manner I would suggest the same.

 

Not a problem at all with the smaller wheel. Keep in mind that my other car is a stock '54 Chevy truck,
so compared to that, it's like the Vette has power steering...haha..Bob

 

Okay so after cleaning the bearing area the whole assembly spins freely. It will even free wheel a bit. After looking at the current new departure bearing 5206 and the new made in China replacement I’m going to keep the old one where it is at. I’m slightly annoyed because I paid $39.95 for the made in China and if I had known could have bought a new department made in America replacement for $15. Oh well live and learn.


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Question about the play in the stud. Is this an acceptable about?
Like I mentioned I think I’m going to run it. I might just look for another third arm, stud and buy a made America bearing as a replacement.


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Thanks Jim, that was very helpful. I’ll let you know when I get to the kingpins. Probably next week or so!


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Scott, I thought I had another third arm but if I do I cannot find it. The play does seem it may be a bit much but I believe if you can get grease in there it will help tremendously. I have reused some third arms in the past with just adding grease and they have been fine. Sometimes it is difficult to get the grease in those tight bearings. That is why I use heat as it thins it out so it runs in and then when it cools it draws it in. Years ago I used heat to reseal a really closed throwout bearing by heating it in a pan of grease and then letting it cool in the grease. It was a trick I learned from old timers that worked in my grandfathers restoration shop when I was a kid. When you are working on old cars from 1900 through the 1930s you have to improvise as new bearings etc were not readily available.

You can probably find another third arm on ebay. You may have to use the method I use with a drift or come up with another plan. Maybe you can cut the bearing and then split it although I have never done that with a third arm. Once you remove the bearing then you can thread the hole and install a zerk fitting.

 

Thanks Jim, I appreciate it! I’m going to try the heat trick and use a needle like you mentioned before to get as much grease on there as I can for now!

Scott


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Prepped, and ready for paint. The third are is drilled and taped on the back side for the grease fitting.


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New reading material! This is super helpful!
Plus I picked up a wiring diagram just for run. I’ll probably replace all the wiring anyways. It’s been hacked pretty bad!


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What????? Instructions written by some nerdy Engineer? Who needs instructions? You got us guys telling ya a dozen ways to do things. Who ya gonna believe, us or some geeky pocket protector wearing pencil pusher?


(disclaimer: Im actually a nerdy Engineer so I have the authority to bash nerds and not be labeled a hater).

 

Ha ha ha totally!
You know what my favorite part of old factory manuals? They show all The really cool factory tools that they had for every job under the sun. Ahhh to go back in time and buy them all!


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Soon to be gone is the red, white and blue themed dash cluster!
There Lots of goofy things going on under the dash! It will be fun trying to put it all back together without a complete picture to start with.


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Thank goodness for little mini humans that can use a wrench. They can fit in hard to reach corvette places!


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Yeah I remember the days when under dash components were in focus at that distance. Youth is a fleeting thing. Good on you for getting a youngster involved.

 

I bought a complete wiring diagram on Amazon that is 16x20 and laminated for around 20 dollars. it is great. I will look at it this evening if you want me to and get you the name of the company.

Let me know

 

Very cool and love the shirt.

 

Doc Rebuild (docrebuild.com) in Bridgeport Connecticut does the best wiring diagrams. They are laminated too. Unfortunately he has shut down entirely till Covid 19 has passed.

Enloe. I hope you have the 1966 Doc Rebuild schematic. Some others are just copies of the Chevrolet Corvette shop manual wiring diagram. The problem with that is there is an error maybe two in that '66 GM version. Sad but true.

 

Enloe, that would be great, yes please!


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Here you go. I got it off of Amazon

 

Maybe this will help?

http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/tOCMP/wiring/5765wiring diagrams/chevroletindex.htm

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Enloe, that works for me!


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We took apart the tach so as to get it ready to be rebuilt and recalibrated to a hi rpm tach. Somebody had re assembled it backwards so I couldn’t figure out why my bezel was black and everyone else’s was chrome! Lol
It definitely makes things interesting when you are working on a basket case. Lol


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My son working on getting the chassis ready for paint.


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Re the reliable laminated Doc Rebuild wiring diagrams. I hear they will open up again when he gets the covid inoculation. A word of warning. They have an 800 number but it's for orders ONLY, and be ready with what you want and how your paying. If you just need information don't use the 800 number.

 

Rumblegutz, thanks for the tip! It looks like electrical will be my next big purchase. By then he should be back to normal operation!


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