10 May 09
Getting to work

This weekend was all about getting the Chevelle onto concrete so it can be worked on - can't be jacking it up in the dirt/mud.  What a pain in the ass this was, but I didn't have to hire anyone and spend money on it.

Here's where the car has lived for the past couple of years.  In the dirt, next to the driveway.. being squeezed out of the way by a crappy German car.
Better view without other car in the way.
Used a comealong to pull the front end over and get wheel dollies under it.  That was, amazingly enough, the easy part.
The rear wheels really don't roll well, what with being beyond flat and all.  I cleared the railroad ties by just a couple of inches.  The car has sat so long that it killed all the grass in the area.

Front wheels are the old fronts off the El Camino.  They're too wide to fit in the Chevelle's narrow rear wheelwells, although I have a plan to help there.
After what seemed like hours of pulling and towing, the car is on the driveway.  Straps remain in place so the car doesn't roll away.  Next up, rear brake rebuild and installing the parking brake. I've already jacked up the back and put jackstands under the axle, and removed the wheels.
New parts purchased:
2 wheel cylinders, 8.99 ea.
1 brake spring kit (does both wheels!), 3.99
1 Air filter (fits the 283 air cleaner I have) - 8.49

Today's total: 32.97.
Running total: 324.77

Fortunately/unfortunately for getting this done cheaply, Summit has extended me a line of credit. Good news is I'll be getting the flywheel and shifter from there, and not having to worry about getting the wrong stuff at a swap meet. Bad news is I'd be paying retail.

Trying to find some tires for the stock 14" wheels.  Who'd have thought that 205/70-14 would be a hard size to find at used tire stores?  Discount Tire quoted me 360$ to put four of their cheapest tires in that size on the car... yeah, I'll pass on that.  I'm not THAT interested in paying retail prices.

Calc final is Wednesday so I can't go all-out on the car until after that... Oh, and maybe by then I'll be able to move again; this took a lot out of me and I'm feeling my age today.  First order of business: strip and sandblast one side of the rear brake setup (only one side at a time so I can use the other as a guide to putting it all back together).

Hoping that between the stuff I've already bought, the stuff I know I'll need to buy, and the stuff that's just been sitting around, I've pretty much exhausted what I'll have to spend money on.  This is still supposed to be cheap, right?

Go back to the previous day (3 May 09)