Jan 1, 2014
340
576
Calgary AB
VetteCoins
6,987
Car
77 Corvette L82
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AB
Hey guys.

So I'm about halfway through my rear end rebuild and I have a question. While I'm doing the rebuild I've gotten all my parts powder coated. I brought the half shafts to a guy who is very reputable. He installed the toughest U-joints possible. When I picked them up though, he said to make sure where the half shaft connects to the spindle flange there is no paint in between because if there is the bolts will wiggle themselves free. Now obviously it's hard to take a dremel with a sanding disc to the beautiful parts. I know you don't see it but I'd rather not sand it. Is it really necessary? It's powdercoating after all so it should never come off. I also plan on using those factory anti bolt retation locks and some loc tight.

Thanks

Here's some pics off the build so far as well.
 

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Man you are doing a great job on this rebuild. I think I would be inclined to reinstall the parts and torque them to the proper specs then keep a close on the critical ones. I have a feeling that the powder coating would be more durable than paint and not cause an issue.

Can't wait to see this one back on the road. Nice work.:thumbs:
 
I sort of agree with Black03... but do it both ways and keep an eye on it.
Let us know...LOL

I'm just funnin' with ya.

I would tend to agree with your half-shaft pro.
I don't think you want anything of any thickness to be interfering with a solid connection.
Maybe a mist of oil or something on the surfaces before assembly to inhibit rust.
I believe this would apply to where the nuts and bolts heads are as well.

DISCLAIMER::: I'm not a real mechanic and I haven't stayed at a Holiday Inn for quite some time.
graham
 
Im a mechanic and any parts with machined mating surfaces should be free of paint or any other debris. Powder coating is thin and durable but is just a coating. It sucks buffing paint off of nice shiny parts but if you want them to stay tight that's your best option.
Nice job on the restoration.. looking forward to more pix.
 
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Thanks guys for all the positive comments and advice! I really appreciate it! I guess I'll have to suck it up and sand it. I'll definitly keep posting pictures. I should have it all done in a couple weeks and I got the rear swaybar powder coated and it looks really cool. I should have more pictures soon!
 
Hey guys!

So I know it's been awhile. I ran into a slight issue when working on the car. Whilst I was checking under the front of my car at my tranny lines that were leaking, I noticed another green little puddle. I had my radiator recored just a year ago and while they were at it they upgraded it to a 4 core. It never really cooled as well and the coolent never seemed to really circulate properly. So they obviously didn't do a great job.

Anyway, local shops wanted $800+ for an alluminum radiator. I ended up buying a champion 3 row aluminum radiator off ebay for $350 CDN including shipping. I had to do some minor modifications though which included cutting the lower rad rubber mount. I also had to make a custom upper rad mount and put new foam all around. My uncle is also making me a custom rad cover to make it look a bit more clean (I'll post pictures of it once it's done).

So, as far as the rearend goes I didn't end up sanding the powder coating on the flange mounts. I talked to my father about it and because the one surface isn't flat it would be very difficult to get a nice level surface. So I decided to leave it on to ensure it was a flat, smooth mount. I also tried to use my french locks which I painted. They ended up twisting when I started to torque them. So after some more research I ended up using blue locktight and some grade 8 lock washers with grade 8 bolts.

My treads on my one spindle were also to messed up to be used and the other spindle was slip fitted by a shop. This gave it a very loose fit and a very bad rotor runout. I ended up having to buy some new spindles.

So far I have the half shafts, smart struts, trailing arms, and shocks on. One trailing arm has been shimmed and I'm working on the other side. I also have the new parking brake half installed.

Another update to come!
 

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Looking damn good. Just a word of caution to make sure the big bolt that the e brake shoes go on is installed before the spindles are set for the final time. It won't fit in after. Ask how I know! In the pics it looks like you have it in so I am guessing you are good to go.

T
 
Looking damn good. Just a word of caution to make sure the big bolt that the e brake shoes go on is installed before the spindles are set for the final time. It won't fit in after. Ask how I know! In the pics it looks like you have it in so I am guessing you are good to go.

T
Thanks T!

Ya I remembered to put those in. Unfortunately I did forget to put the spring retainer pin in behind the dust sheild. I also forgot about the e brake levers but luckily they come apart! I just finished getting the ebrake stuff done yesturday and I popped the rotors on. Should have some more pictures soon

One quick question for you guys...

I was about to put my leaf spring back in but I remembered that the rearend sat quite high. I measured the bolts and they were only 6". The previous owner had some massive tires on before and I think he changed them out.

Now everywhere I keep reading it says factory was 9/16". I can't find a 9/16" bolt that's 8" long. Is a 1/2" grade 8 ok? A half inch is what was on it before.
 
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