Big Event!

Brian was down this weekend bringing some parts he got for Christmas and his birthday, and also brought the shift lever boot bezel that he had someone from his work make for him.  Toward the end of the day he made a video of the big event.  I'm having difficulty with Google Blogger, so the video can be viewed at this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oDIyXXhsfY

 Getting the shift lever boot to fit with the after market console has been a minor hassle.  Now that it is done, it looks pretty good:

 

Another important item I was waiting for Brian to bring down was the fan he got as a Christmas present.  That, combined with the radiator I bought him for his birthday, allowed us to get the cooling system up and running.  The engine is complete, with the addition of the "Monte Carlo" bar that is supposed to add stiffness to the body.......but I think it mostly adds "bling":

 

 

 

 

 

Another bit of bling he got for his birthday were these billet pedals:

 

 

 

A lot of important things got checked out now that the engine could be run for as long as needed and the shift lever installed.  Namely:

 

The clutch and transmission work

 

The cooling system has no leaks, including most importantly, the heater core

 

The temperature gauge works, which means all the gauges (temp, oil pressure, fuel and voltmeter) have been checked out.

 

The backup lights work.

 

That's the good news.  The bad news is that the brakes are terrible.  Also, the alternator seems to be overcharging the battery.  I've bought a new voltage regulator to see if that solves the overcharging problem, as the voltage regulator was one of the few items from the original car and it may have gone bad. 

 

The brake problem has me baffled.  We installed four wheel disk brakes and a new master cylinder that is supposed to go with those brakes, and I bench bled the master cylinder and pressure bled the brakes.  We should have excellent braking, but instead it's difficult to stop the car in the driveway.  The pedal goes almost to the floor and pumping it makes no difference.  I'm beginning to suspect the master cylinder is defective, even though it is brand new.  Maybe the seals in the master cylinder piston are letting fluid back past them.  I don't know, but I guess I'll figure it out somehow.