Well Guys
If you came to this post expecting to read about me fixing up an old Ruger. Ya came to the wrong post. Besides I have realized working on Old Rugers is way to hard. :lol:
This post is about fixing up "The Mighty Mouse", which is a 1979 Camaro Berlinetta with less than 25k on the clock
So if ya want to hear a car story. Climb in shut up and hang on. We are going for a ride. :wink:
So just a little info for you to set the stage.
First off the name comes from Chevy Small Blocks being called Mouse Motors and the Big Blocks are called Rat Motors. So a strong Mouse Motor = "The Mighty Mouse"
This was my Son's first car. It has been in my hangar for the last 20 years because when he decided to be a Naval Aviator he couldn't take it with him. Well now that grandson is close to becoming a pedal to the metal Kid. Like father like Son and Granddad. I have decided to get "The Mouse" out of retirement and running again. I have about 18 months to complete this project. I hope this will be enough time for this old fart to finish it.
OK For all you Car Guys/Gear Heads this is what it is.
!979 Camaro with a Stroker 383 that we built up makes around 400-425HP. The original 305 was replaced with the 383 that we build up with a 4-bolt main 350 block, 400ci crank and rods, 750 Vac.Secondary Holley on a 2101 Performer Intake, 280 Comp's Solid Lift Cam and roller Rockers, Flat top pistons, 76CC heads with 2.02/1.90 valves, windage tray, headers, and a 4 core radiator with flex fan. Drive train is a 350 turbo with a shift kit and a Trans Am Disk Brake rear end with 3:90 gears. Makes a lot of torque and tops out at 5500RPM and will run on pump gas
This set up will run 13.5-14.0 sec in the quarter with 9" slicks. Not fast but it was fast enough at the time and we could go to the track with the AC on. Now that is a big plus in a Texas summer.
Well now a little History on "The Mouse".
My Son Trey was lucky enough to be able to work as "Kid Friday" in our Air Park from age 11 until 16. His duties were mowing, sweeping out hangars, washing and waxing planes, helping putting in flower beds and anything folks needed him to do. These jobs allowed him to average $300-$400 a month. One neighbor kept him on a $200 a month retainer.
So when he was 15 this car became available from a neighbor. We had been car WINDOW shopping for awhile. So it was Dad may I buy this car? It's real nice and only has 10,000 miles on it. "Sure Kid how much money ya got"? Well we went to the bank and I co-signed a loan for him. The car was $10,000 and he had a pretty good down payment for it and income for payments and insurance.
Problem was he wasn't old enough to drive at 15.
When he turned 16 and could drive, he got a job at a little Airport with a flight school and repair shop about 4 miles away from us.
This job changed his life. His duties were running the flight school and gassing the planes on weekends along with mowing, He would help the airport owner work on planes and engines, after school. The best part was flight instructors gave him FREE lessons and the owner let him use the plans. So all he had to do was pay for the gas.
So from this start he became a Naval Aviator with a BS in Aviation Management with 3 years of Mechanical engineering along with a FAA Aircraft and Engine Mechanics License and an Airline Transport License. So he has Military and General Aviation backgrounds.
So after driving for about 6 months. Trey asked "Dad can we paint the car? I'm getting tired of driving around in a woman's grocery getter" My answer " Sure Kid how much money ya got"? So we started a painting project. This allowed him to learn paint and body stuff. Best part is I didn't have to sand. his job.
Well in the next year he comes to me again. "Hey Dad I sure am getting tired of getting beat by those new 302 Mustangs. I Sure want to go faster." No problem Kid how much money ya got? Just how fast do you want to go"?
"Gee Dad fast enough to beat the kids with the new 302 Mustangs and the Vetts."
Well as they say. The rest is History.
OK now on to the PROJECT. It's time to get your hands DIRTY.
The first thing to do was to make sure the Eng. would run after setting for 18 years. So I took out the plugs, squerted in WD-40, put in a new battery and disconnected the fuel line at the pump. Well it turned over and made oil pressure. So now time to pump out the old gas, flush the fuel lines and replace the rubber lines and rebuild the carb. Well now we got electrons and fuel. Time to change the oil and filter and add new oil along with Marvel Mystery Oil.
Well low and behold the dang thing started right up and ran. Not great but good enough for now. Still need to drop the gas tank and clean/flush it and replace the rubber lines on it. So far the brake system has been replaced. New Master cylinder, rotors, calipers, pads and flex. lines.
Well now we need to make sure we don't over heat, so on to the cooling system. Yea I could tell something was amiss when it first ran,
Need to install anew radiator since coolant has been setting in it a long time. Water pump and intake manifold have been removed and inspected. All new hoses and intake manifold.
Now while we have a lot of the big parts and hoses off the Eng. it's time to get out the soap and water for clean-up. Then we can start spraying on some fresh black paint in the Eng. compartment.
Boy I'm exhausted from all this work. Time to wash up and get a BEER or three.
The future plan is once every thing is running and rolling, is to replace the Turbo 350 with a 700R4 Overdrive Transmission. Then I will sand down the paint and spray on some fresh clear. Will be about time for new tires then.
Now that should just about complete the RESTORATION OF "The Mighty Mouse"
My biggest regret of this project is that my Son and Grandson are not here to help. Well that is one of the drawbacks of having a Military Family.
Grandson doesn't know I'm doing this and that he will be paying for the parts. Son had to, so Grandson has to step up to the starting line. Just the way this family does stuff. :roll:
More to come.
Jim
The Grocery Getter
New Paint
Now we can go FAST
The project
If you came to this post expecting to read about me fixing up an old Ruger. Ya came to the wrong post. Besides I have realized working on Old Rugers is way to hard. :lol:
This post is about fixing up "The Mighty Mouse", which is a 1979 Camaro Berlinetta with less than 25k on the clock
So if ya want to hear a car story. Climb in shut up and hang on. We are going for a ride. :wink:
So just a little info for you to set the stage.
First off the name comes from Chevy Small Blocks being called Mouse Motors and the Big Blocks are called Rat Motors. So a strong Mouse Motor = "The Mighty Mouse"
This was my Son's first car. It has been in my hangar for the last 20 years because when he decided to be a Naval Aviator he couldn't take it with him. Well now that grandson is close to becoming a pedal to the metal Kid. Like father like Son and Granddad. I have decided to get "The Mouse" out of retirement and running again. I have about 18 months to complete this project. I hope this will be enough time for this old fart to finish it.
OK For all you Car Guys/Gear Heads this is what it is.
!979 Camaro with a Stroker 383 that we built up makes around 400-425HP. The original 305 was replaced with the 383 that we build up with a 4-bolt main 350 block, 400ci crank and rods, 750 Vac.Secondary Holley on a 2101 Performer Intake, 280 Comp's Solid Lift Cam and roller Rockers, Flat top pistons, 76CC heads with 2.02/1.90 valves, windage tray, headers, and a 4 core radiator with flex fan. Drive train is a 350 turbo with a shift kit and a Trans Am Disk Brake rear end with 3:90 gears. Makes a lot of torque and tops out at 5500RPM and will run on pump gas
This set up will run 13.5-14.0 sec in the quarter with 9" slicks. Not fast but it was fast enough at the time and we could go to the track with the AC on. Now that is a big plus in a Texas summer.
Well now a little History on "The Mouse".
My Son Trey was lucky enough to be able to work as "Kid Friday" in our Air Park from age 11 until 16. His duties were mowing, sweeping out hangars, washing and waxing planes, helping putting in flower beds and anything folks needed him to do. These jobs allowed him to average $300-$400 a month. One neighbor kept him on a $200 a month retainer.
So when he was 15 this car became available from a neighbor. We had been car WINDOW shopping for awhile. So it was Dad may I buy this car? It's real nice and only has 10,000 miles on it. "Sure Kid how much money ya got"? Well we went to the bank and I co-signed a loan for him. The car was $10,000 and he had a pretty good down payment for it and income for payments and insurance.
Problem was he wasn't old enough to drive at 15.
When he turned 16 and could drive, he got a job at a little Airport with a flight school and repair shop about 4 miles away from us.
This job changed his life. His duties were running the flight school and gassing the planes on weekends along with mowing, He would help the airport owner work on planes and engines, after school. The best part was flight instructors gave him FREE lessons and the owner let him use the plans. So all he had to do was pay for the gas.
So from this start he became a Naval Aviator with a BS in Aviation Management with 3 years of Mechanical engineering along with a FAA Aircraft and Engine Mechanics License and an Airline Transport License. So he has Military and General Aviation backgrounds.
So after driving for about 6 months. Trey asked "Dad can we paint the car? I'm getting tired of driving around in a woman's grocery getter" My answer " Sure Kid how much money ya got"? So we started a painting project. This allowed him to learn paint and body stuff. Best part is I didn't have to sand. his job.
Well in the next year he comes to me again. "Hey Dad I sure am getting tired of getting beat by those new 302 Mustangs. I Sure want to go faster." No problem Kid how much money ya got? Just how fast do you want to go"?
"Gee Dad fast enough to beat the kids with the new 302 Mustangs and the Vetts."
Well as they say. The rest is History.
OK now on to the PROJECT. It's time to get your hands DIRTY.
The first thing to do was to make sure the Eng. would run after setting for 18 years. So I took out the plugs, squerted in WD-40, put in a new battery and disconnected the fuel line at the pump. Well it turned over and made oil pressure. So now time to pump out the old gas, flush the fuel lines and replace the rubber lines and rebuild the carb. Well now we got electrons and fuel. Time to change the oil and filter and add new oil along with Marvel Mystery Oil.
Well low and behold the dang thing started right up and ran. Not great but good enough for now. Still need to drop the gas tank and clean/flush it and replace the rubber lines on it. So far the brake system has been replaced. New Master cylinder, rotors, calipers, pads and flex. lines.
Well now we need to make sure we don't over heat, so on to the cooling system. Yea I could tell something was amiss when it first ran,
Need to install anew radiator since coolant has been setting in it a long time. Water pump and intake manifold have been removed and inspected. All new hoses and intake manifold.
Now while we have a lot of the big parts and hoses off the Eng. it's time to get out the soap and water for clean-up. Then we can start spraying on some fresh black paint in the Eng. compartment.
Boy I'm exhausted from all this work. Time to wash up and get a BEER or three.
The future plan is once every thing is running and rolling, is to replace the Turbo 350 with a 700R4 Overdrive Transmission. Then I will sand down the paint and spray on some fresh clear. Will be about time for new tires then.
Now that should just about complete the RESTORATION OF "The Mighty Mouse"
My biggest regret of this project is that my Son and Grandson are not here to help. Well that is one of the drawbacks of having a Military Family.
Grandson doesn't know I'm doing this and that he will be paying for the parts. Son had to, so Grandson has to step up to the starting line. Just the way this family does stuff. :roll:
More to come.
Jim
The Grocery Getter
New Paint
Now we can go FAST
The project
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