23 thoughts on “I Did This 2 Years Ago With The Sprite”
Not all of them….
My then 20 yr old son helped me replace.the motor in my 1970 Camaro a couple.of.years.back. He’s an all American gearhead, USMC infantryman.
None of his friends are snowflakes either.
I’m honored to know them.
Oh yeah… Curb side gutter engine swap/rebuild, know it well! No shade tree mechanican, it was full sun until the sun went down and then trouble lights on long extension cords and flash lights.
yeah. my brother and I did a number of curb side engine/clutch jobs over the years until I rented a garage. nice one too. 3 bays and a second floor ! back away from the street too. nice concrete driveway and fenced in. funny or weird part was helping out the neighbors around there. fixed a few sinks and once a crapper for a old lady.
in return , NOT ONCE WAS ANYTHING STOLEN FROM ME.
was running the sandblaster one day and looked up to see the old lady from across the street chase 2 “kids” away with a ball bat.
they where looking in my truck and wondering what to steal
was fun while it lasted anyway. still have the lift and leveler though
not sure when I use them again.
I used to do clutch jobs on English sports cars back in the 1980’s
at the craft shop on base. I charged less than half what they did off post. made a few bucks spinning a wrench each weekend.
don’t ever remember working on a Sprite before. but I did work on a lot of MGB’s and others. lot of electric work too. finding shorts and the like. Jags where the worst for electric problems.
In the summer of ’78 I rebuilt my VW beetle engine in a hotel parking lot in Pascagoula MS. I was doing co-op as a student engineer on submarines at the local nuclear shipyard. Lost a rod bearing on a weekend trip to the Big Easy. Ordered parts by phone, borrowed my boss’s bike to get to & from work. The rebuild was a success and I drove it back home in time for fall classes at Ga Tech.
I did two engine swaps myself. Then I was working 12 hours 7 day weeks and needed an engine put into my 1978 Toyota Celica. I had our local mechanic do it, and he charged me $80. That is right, $80.
I never have had to change an engine again, but with the way that things are now, I could not even attempt to do it myself.
My most memorable one was my Brother-In-Law’s Pinto in my in-Law’s car port in Tampa, Florida. No hoist, so I unbolted the engine from the trans, removed exhaust, carb, intake manifold and then LIFTED the block out of the frame by myself. Rebuilt it, put it back in ,after doing a new clutch, bolted everything on, fired it up. BTW, *minimum* hand tools, no torque wrench, no special tools. Did I mention I used to race in the 1/4-mile drags and used to rebuild a smallblock Chebbie without torque wrenches in under 35 minutes if the block was still good? FMP class.
My most fun one was my ’89 SHO that is squeezed in so tight there’s only 3/4′ clearance between the frame and the engine/trans – a real bear to get in/out. Done it twice, may need to do it again in about 5 years if I’m still alive. While I was at it I had to rewire the connectors for the engine block because I was replacing the original engine with a ’91 that had been rolled at 125MPH with only 6 or 7 Thousand miles on it – barely broke in!! Paid $2500 for it, no guarantees it would run but that doesn’t faze me – my Daddy taught me well. Still running like a raped ape.
Lots and lots of engine repair/swaps in my and my buddies’ driveways, we also painted cars back when a Gallon of Centari Dulux was *only* $75. Back in 1968-70 it was. Now it goes for about $300/gal. Yikes!!
The price of automotive paint is an absolute bitch these days. Have a car I really need to paint (white, so not even the most expensive color) and am dreading the price to get it done. I could probably do it myself (I have the gear and the skill/technique to do it, as long as the weather is cooperative) but not sure I’m motivated enough to go through that again. Last one I did was several years ago, and was a shit ton of work. I might just break down and pay a pro to get it done come spring.
Have you seen the paint job I did on my 34′ Beaver Motor coach that CederQ posted a few years back? Took me two weeks of sanding (surface prep), taping, then shooting it in sections, going over it twice. Two gallons and there’s still the white paint I have to do. Cost close to 800 bucks for everything – good thing my back was still working then.
I put a free ’90 GT Mustang motor in my ’79 short bed, step side F100. In gravel. Couldn’t move the hoist, so ya move the truck.
Found out all ’89, ’90, ’91 GT’s had forged internals, other years MAY have but they usually had a mix of forged and cast.
I started with flathead V8’s and Allis tractor motors and proceeded to small block Mopar engines, trannys, both manual and auto and differentials. Raced a Duster, a front engine dragster and a couple of rear engine dragsters. Considering all the computers and electronics on current vehicles, kids would have to go back a long way to be able to work on an old style vehicle. I don’t even work on my pickups other than normal maintenance but I still have a couple of old AC tractors I can work on but the newer tractors have to go to the dealer for repairs.
My Sis is 8 years older than me and my brother was 6 years older than me. We were had been poorer white and got into lower middle class, and when each graduated HS we were shown the door.
My Brother left for Vietnam in 69 after he graduated HS, he liked the Army and returned home after 3 years after being wounded for the second time for leave. He was in the Rangers, got his school records, and bought a 70 Camaro, which he put into pieces as he worked on it in the back near the garage. He realized he could not put it together before he had to go to Ft Hood so he sold it to me as I was 15 and a half. I spent the next year using all my money to put it together.
My Sis had worked her way through college and married. My Brother stayed in the Army for 6 years and then became a truck driver until he was killed in an accident. I worked my way through college where I met my wife, sold my Camaro making money.
I did this when I lived in a trailer court. Thankfully one of the neighbors gave me a heads-up that you pull and reinstall with the tranny attached. Spray the tranny cross-member bolts a day ahead for easier going.
Not all of them….
My then 20 yr old son helped me replace.the motor in my 1970 Camaro a couple.of.years.back. He’s an all American gearhead, USMC infantryman.
None of his friends are snowflakes either.
I’m honored to know them.
Oh yeah… Curb side gutter engine swap/rebuild, know it well! No shade tree mechanican, it was full sun until the sun went down and then trouble lights on long extension cords and flash lights.
yeah. my brother and I did a number of curb side engine/clutch jobs over the years until I rented a garage. nice one too. 3 bays and a second floor ! back away from the street too. nice concrete driveway and fenced in. funny or weird part was helping out the neighbors around there. fixed a few sinks and once a crapper for a old lady.
in return , NOT ONCE WAS ANYTHING STOLEN FROM ME.
was running the sandblaster one day and looked up to see the old lady from across the street chase 2 “kids” away with a ball bat.
they where looking in my truck and wondering what to steal
was fun while it lasted anyway. still have the lift and leveler though
not sure when I use them again.
I used to do clutch jobs on English sports cars back in the 1980’s
at the craft shop on base. I charged less than half what they did off post. made a few bucks spinning a wrench each weekend.
don’t ever remember working on a Sprite before. but I did work on a lot of MGB’s and others. lot of electric work too. finding shorts and the like. Jags where the worst for electric problems.
In the summer of ’78 I rebuilt my VW beetle engine in a hotel parking lot in Pascagoula MS. I was doing co-op as a student engineer on submarines at the local nuclear shipyard. Lost a rod bearing on a weekend trip to the Big Easy. Ordered parts by phone, borrowed my boss’s bike to get to & from work. The rebuild was a success and I drove it back home in time for fall classes at Ga Tech.
I grew up in the country so an A-frame and a chainfall was used.
-rightwingterrorist
Yep. A frame and chainfall in the backyard. My Camaro was a ’68 RS. Sure wish I still had that car.
I did two engine swaps myself. Then I was working 12 hours 7 day weeks and needed an engine put into my 1978 Toyota Celica. I had our local mechanic do it, and he charged me $80. That is right, $80.
I never have had to change an engine again, but with the way that things are now, I could not even attempt to do it myself.
The way they do it now is that you pick up the car and leave the engine, tranny, front suspension and subframe on the ground.
Started curbside engine swaps in ‘67 after years of building motorcycles in the basement. Oh the good old days
My most memorable one was my Brother-In-Law’s Pinto in my in-Law’s car port in Tampa, Florida. No hoist, so I unbolted the engine from the trans, removed exhaust, carb, intake manifold and then LIFTED the block out of the frame by myself. Rebuilt it, put it back in ,after doing a new clutch, bolted everything on, fired it up. BTW, *minimum* hand tools, no torque wrench, no special tools. Did I mention I used to race in the 1/4-mile drags and used to rebuild a smallblock Chebbie without torque wrenches in under 35 minutes if the block was still good? FMP class.
My most fun one was my ’89 SHO that is squeezed in so tight there’s only 3/4′ clearance between the frame and the engine/trans – a real bear to get in/out. Done it twice, may need to do it again in about 5 years if I’m still alive. While I was at it I had to rewire the connectors for the engine block because I was replacing the original engine with a ’91 that had been rolled at 125MPH with only 6 or 7 Thousand miles on it – barely broke in!! Paid $2500 for it, no guarantees it would run but that doesn’t faze me – my Daddy taught me well. Still running like a raped ape.
Lots and lots of engine repair/swaps in my and my buddies’ driveways, we also painted cars back when a Gallon of Centari Dulux was *only* $75. Back in 1968-70 it was. Now it goes for about $300/gal. Yikes!!
The price of automotive paint is an absolute bitch these days. Have a car I really need to paint (white, so not even the most expensive color) and am dreading the price to get it done. I could probably do it myself (I have the gear and the skill/technique to do it, as long as the weather is cooperative) but not sure I’m motivated enough to go through that again. Last one I did was several years ago, and was a shit ton of work. I might just break down and pay a pro to get it done come spring.
Have you seen the paint job I did on my 34′ Beaver Motor coach that CederQ posted a few years back? Took me two weeks of sanding (surface prep), taping, then shooting it in sections, going over it twice. Two gallons and there’s still the white paint I have to do. Cost close to 800 bucks for everything – good thing my back was still working then.
I put a free ’90 GT Mustang motor in my ’79 short bed, step side F100. In gravel. Couldn’t move the hoist, so ya move the truck.
Found out all ’89, ’90, ’91 GT’s had forged internals, other years MAY have but they usually had a mix of forged and cast.
We used plywood sheets over top the gravel when we had to do that. Punched through 3/8″, 1/2″ would hold up, 3/4″ was perfect.
We were so poor we couldn’t even barrow plywood. We thought about it!
I started with flathead V8’s and Allis tractor motors and proceeded to small block Mopar engines, trannys, both manual and auto and differentials. Raced a Duster, a front engine dragster and a couple of rear engine dragsters. Considering all the computers and electronics on current vehicles, kids would have to go back a long way to be able to work on an old style vehicle. I don’t even work on my pickups other than normal maintenance but I still have a couple of old AC tractors I can work on but the newer tractors have to go to the dealer for repairs.
That looks like a Chevy Vega. And everyone who owned a Vega soon learned how to do that….because they were decent body’s with a POS drivetrain.
We shoehorned a 427 in a year-old Vega. Once.
After five trips down the strip, the doors wouldn’t shut.
I wonder why…
Heh
Did that a time or two, enjoyable reading all the comments, good memories.
My Sis is 8 years older than me and my brother was 6 years older than me. We were had been poorer white and got into lower middle class, and when each graduated HS we were shown the door.
My Brother left for Vietnam in 69 after he graduated HS, he liked the Army and returned home after 3 years after being wounded for the second time for leave. He was in the Rangers, got his school records, and bought a 70 Camaro, which he put into pieces as he worked on it in the back near the garage. He realized he could not put it together before he had to go to Ft Hood so he sold it to me as I was 15 and a half. I spent the next year using all my money to put it together.
My Sis had worked her way through college and married. My Brother stayed in the Army for 6 years and then became a truck driver until he was killed in an accident. I worked my way through college where I met my wife, sold my Camaro making money.
I did this when I lived in a trailer court. Thankfully one of the neighbors gave me a heads-up that you pull and reinstall with the tranny attached. Spray the tranny cross-member bolts a day ahead for easier going.
’72 C10 350. Wish I would have kept it.
Oh, yeah! Yank it out Friday night, and have it running to go to work on Monday!
I remember