The Derretta, 1994 base with some attitude.

[whiteretta]

I tried to post a picture of it sans trans, but I got an http error...

[whiteretta]

Found the oil pan gasket is leaking, but at least it'll be easy with subframes out and the trans out. I love having a commercial account, only $20 for a Victor Reinz gasket...

[whiteretta]

Small update;

Fixed a coolant leak on the coolant pipe going into the thermostat housing and de-rusted the bracket on the body for the factory auto trans mount. Not doing much else until my trans comes in, they were have shipping issues due to the weather up North.

No biggie though, the car will probably spend most of the year under the knife lol.

[whiteretta]

Wow, has it really been almost a year since I've posted an update?!

Progress is a minimum this year. Our truck went down, spent a decent amount redoing a lot on the engine. Trailblazer went down a couple times. Cavalier went down, which is now gone, after fixing it. Rebuilt the full steering and suspension on my Caprice, including a new rear end, which I'd been putting off for years.

I have however at least done some work to the car. New oil pan gasket, repainted the pan as well. It's now dark grey instead of red. I pulled the front seats and carpet, will be doing some rust repair there. Working on the firewall leak as well, the hole under the steering column was much larger than anticipated, but it's cleaned up and coated with POR15 for now. I also started removing the hard lining on the front floor boards, found rust creeping under the driver's side. Heat gun worked great, dry ice did nothing, lol.

[whiteretta]

Took my junkyard 282 apart, special thanks to Eric for telling me how to separate the case!

Also a big thanks to Rex for the manual for the transmission!
https://www.mediafire.com/?y2tntusxywg& ... 5Hji6S3IRA

Someone has been in it before, I believe to change bearings, because they're all good. It did need a new detent cover, but thanks to Luke on Facebook, I was able to get a NOS one on eBay. For future reference the part number is 14082039. Whoever was in the transmission last also broke a chunk of the lip for the detent cover off, so I'll just be fixing that with some JB Weld Steel Weld.

It's all apart otherwise! I have some Permatex Gear Oil RTV I'll be sealing the case back together with before I get it all painted up. I'm also putting a new speed sensor on, I can't believe they're still available online. $42 for a Delphi on eBay.

Oh yeah, it is the 3.61 gears, so that'll be fantastic with the 3500!

[woody90gtz]

You actually want anaerobic sealer, not RTV. It's a clear-red sealant...also available from permatex. I don't know why RTV is a no-no, but I've gotten that from reliable sources. Anaerobic sealer is spec right in the GM manual.

[whiteretta]

Thanks man! It's easy enough for me to find!

You actually want anaerobic sealer, not RTV. It's a clear-red sealant...also available from permatex. I don't know why RTV is a no-no, but I've gotten that from reliable sources. Anaerobic sealer is spec right in the GM manual.

[whiteretta]

Just got some Loctite anaerobic sealant, fixed the broken lip where the detent cover goes with some JB steel weld, and started cleaning up the mounting surfaces today!

I also got my new speed sensor and connector from Rockauto, along with finding the new axles for the 5 speed swap on closeout for $30 a piece, along with an A/C kit that includes the accumulator and expansion valve for $108 on closeout as well!

Slowly piecing this turd together!

[woody90gtz]

One bite at a time.

[whiteretta]

Trans is together finally together, now I'm enjoying the fun process of identifying all of my harnesses that I didn't label so I can modify the harness for the swap. I did get my OEM Exedy clutch installed today too! Quick photo of the car in its current state too...

[woody90gtz]

OEM clutches drive so smooth. I think that's a good choice on your part. Some aftermarket clutches can be grabby or chattery.