Restoring a 65 impala ss

changing valve stem seals

2010-08-23T23:28:00.000-07:00

So i was getting smoke when I ran my engine I heard it could be just from running the royal purple synthetic oil but to be safe I decided to change them any was ended up getting the umbrella style seals

I also noticed that my third world country aluminum valve covers didn't sit flush with the heads and rested on the intake and this is how I solved the problem
Before

after

new tail lights

2010-08-23T23:21:00.000-07:00

so I got new lights to replace the old ones

She returns

2010-08-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

So on the drive home i was following my car on the trailer, i have never driven so slow on the highway 45-50mph a 30 minute drive took 45 minutes. But i must say I am pleased with the body work.

off to body work

2010-08-23T23:19:00.000-07:00

After sanding down the car i realized i do not have nearly the experience to handle that much bodywork so I had to send it to Troy from nice twice auto body. A Chevy guy trapped in a mustang world (contracted out to do a local mustang shops body work)sending her off to get the body work done/ rust repair at a tune of 3k

I have been sanding

2010-08-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

I started sanding a corner to see what was underneath which expanded to a lot more of the car.
i found a lot of bad bondo patches.

me and my $500 safety glasses aka my regular glasses

just spray primer over it x(

the animals

2010-08-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

chiba ready to roll in the impala,the impala not yet..

her telling me to hurry up

Sanding and painting this and that.

2010-08-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

I was replacing the strut rod bushings(which were cracked) for some polyurethane and decided to paint the strut rods since they were off same reason for the drive shaft

btw that creeper is a piece of crap

new shocks front and rear

Transmission oil pan

2010-08-23T22:47:00.000-07:00

Once I figured out it was a 2 speed powerglide transmission I got a new oil filter gasket and oil with the pan off i thought why not paint it while its off.

Richard Petty-ish (unintentional) just turned out that way

More cursing than I should have..

2010-08-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

Motor mounts...
I had to replace the motor mounts being they were cracked..

I have no engine hoist just 2 jacks... the first part of the battle was lifting the engine enough to take the mounts off the engine barely possible while still in the car. Then... putting on the new mounts that was a breeze until i realized they didn't line up anymore (this is definitely a 2 person job) now i was battling a 6.6l v8 by myself eventually it lined up a few thousand curse words later.

The steering......

2010-08-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

It all started when I tried to drive the impala and she shook so violently it ripped the exhaust manifold apart I didnt take a picture of the exhaust in retrospect I probably should have.

The problem a shot center drag link, all tie rods, and a bent tie rod sleeve.

a lot of people swear by a pickle fork to disconnect the tie rods and the center link i however didn't have a good experience with it.
I recommend a pulley puller to disconnect them i used this one from harbor freight tools $9.99

after 4 weekends i removed the center link with a pickle fork took 30 seconds on all the tie rods with the pulley puller

my new tie rods and sleeves

This is what I got..

2010-08-23T22:18:00.000-07:00

So to start i traded my 2000 Lincoln Ls for the 65 Impala ss project.