Recently found a mechanic on Airtasker to come out and install the brake booster and it seemed to go well. Now Dymitri is going to look at getting the engine running. *crossed fingers*

After a couple of years of disheartened neglect I paid an autoelectrician to come out and fix up the EFI and make it work. After about 4 weeks we found the EFI module was burnt out. I bit the bullet and bought a second complete EZ-EFI kit and we started from scratch.

The car still is running badly.

The current dilemma is trying to solve an issue with stiff brakes. The care was converted to Disc Front Drum rear some time in its life but the pedal is hard andthe car does not stop like I want it to. It feels like there is little or no boost from the booster. To solve the issue I bought a new aftermarket dual diaphragm 8" booster but the push rod is 32.9 mm short of contact with the master cylinder. I have been trying to find a way to gain that extra lenght and also find out if the metall keeper that came on the booster should be removed before installation. The seller is not co-operative or just plain doesn't know. :(

Pics below: Black is old - chrome is new

Remove the blue steel ring???? or no???

Pushrod from old booster

Preparing for the big install

I have to admit, I am a bit nervous.

I am preparing to install the EFI systems but upon reading feedback from other people and researching online I have decided to get a few extra bits in order to avoid potential issues.

The first thing is I bought a replacement fuel tank that has an in-tank fuel pump. This is an attempt to avoid having problems with an external pump that has to be mounted lower that the fuel tank. Well the fuel tank on the Chev is pretty low at the back there and I didn't want to scrape the pump on the kerb every time I backed out onto the street. Since the fuel sender unit died in the old tank buying a new one worked out. Besides, a new tank has the needed baffling and stuff in it the stop fuel slopping around, which the old tank does not have.

Anyway the shiny new tank showed up last Friday.

OK, so to install this baby I need to also install the EFI Kit I bought over a year ago. "About time!", I hear you say, and you are right. It should be easy, all the promo material says so.

Should be nothing to it, right? Well, there are some reviews saying that the EFI system can be picky when sensing when the distributor is firing using the distributor ground wire through the supplied analogue to digital converter thingy. The geniuses on the FAST forum all agree that the problem goes away if you install an MSD Capacitor discharge ignition system like the MSD 6A:

Yup. Got that too. Further reading revealed that if you install one of these babies into your HEI distributor-ed 350 Chev engines, which Baby has, you really should upgrade to a high energy coil:

I hope this is end of the ignition system stuff. I have had to buy about 10m of high pressure fuel hose and the fittings to go with it to take the fuel from the tank to the engine. It has to be all pretty so there are bits and pieces that go with it, of course:

Things get out of hands pretty quick around cars, eh? I hope I have enough to install everything now. And.... I hope it all works. ;)

Changes done to Chev since I bought it:

Installed extractors
Aircond added $3000
New tyres
Tinted windows
Installed Mega shifter $260
Carpetted the boot
Installed stereo (door speakers, deck speakers and sub in boot, 2 amps)
Installed LED lighting in boot and bonnet and dash.
Remote door locks
Replaced steering wheel
Installed halogen driving lights (pair)
Fixed rear view mirror and sun visors ($13.56)
Replaced tail light and front indicator lenses. ($100)
White vinyl bowtie sticker ($8)
iNSTALLED WATER TEMP, oIL PRESSURE AND TACHO GUAGES ($18.29 X 3)
New fuel tank with intank fuel pump ($800)
Added a return line and fuel pressure regulator
Installed EZ-EFI system (twice = $6000)
New battery ($140)
New battery leads
New chrome altenator
New Starter motor - hi performance
New 8" Dual diaphragm Brake booster (chrome)
New MSD Streetfire HEI distributor and leads


Coming up:
MSD 6A
Paint
Rust repairs
De-tune auto
Replace headlisght switch
Replace fuse box
Lower front springs (?)

Baby

On the 17th January 2016 I purchased baby, a 1965 Chevrolet Bel Air, pillared 4 door sedan. I found her on eBay from Dave Og (https://www.ebay.com.au/usr/dave_og?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2754). She was advertised as "1965 Chevrolet BelAir-Factory Right Hand Drive-350 Chev Crate Engine-Turbo 700" in Melbourne for $18,000.

I flew in to Melbourne, gave her a test drive, paid my money, arranged a 3 day driving permit online and then drove her home to Brisbane. It was so exciting. The whole trip was a massive high, I will never forget the elation.

I contacted Julia a few times during the trip and told her excitedly about how good it was. Julia was excited for me too, she had after all topped me up with some cash to be able to buy Baby (I only had $15,000) and had to wait at home for me to arrive before she could see it.

As soon as I got home I called Julia and James out and we all bundled in and went for a spin! We all fell in love with Baby that day. Everywhere we went people turned their heads and waved at us and grinned. For my birthday in March Julia bought a set of personalised plates that you can see in the photos. (Note the photos were taken after she had the windows tinted and tyres replaced.