[Big Dave]

Welcome to the Team Tanner!

Nice video work, and a nice car!

I see it has a 12 bolt under it as well as the BBC and Muncie four speed that where not available in 1977. Someone did a good job putting it together. Even has a factory A/C once you put a belt on it and find out why it is off. It could be out of Freon 12 after blowing a front seal; which is why Chevy never offered A/C with any car equipped with a solid cam shaft (that sewing machine clatter you hear when you crank it up is the gap used in a solid cam closing violently making it clack). Or because a solid cam allows it to twist higher than a solid cam will it just might have thrown a belt.

Big Dave

 

[Big Dave]

Chevy wrote an edict back in 1964 that banned A/C as an option on any solid lifter car because if you rev the A/C above 4,500 the seal heats up and burns out (not the first time or the second but do it often enough and you have a warranty repair). On Corvettes with hot hydraulic cams there is a sticker that says turn off the A/C on race day or something to that effect. This is from the days of mechanical tach drives before computer controlled cars.

Today the computer disengages the A/C compressor electronically when you hit 4,400 RPM and it doesn't come back on again until the RPM falls back to around 2,200 RPM. This preserves the seal and a warranty repair plus it gives you extra horsepower to accelerate that you can feel in the seat of your pants.

If you saw an A/C compressor on a CLONE or Tribute car that was claiming to be a solid lifter high horsepower optioned SS or Z/28 you knew that they bought a decal and not a Super Sport car (the exception to this rule is in the Impala that never got a high horse engine (once again their is an exception with the 425 horsepower 427SS Impala) regardless what the decal says and the SS package is just a trim package that includes bucket seats).

The early Chevy II and the Impala all offered SS cars as a trim option or as an actual separate model as they didn't have a true SS package of HD suspension, HD cooling, HD electric and HD brakes; though you could order all of these pieces if you wanted them and knew your way around an order sheet (or you bought an ex-police car with a "certified" speedometer that had everything a SS car wished it had, but not the taxi cab that a lot of police departments ordered that was a cop car as far as suspension cooling and brakes without the cop motor, or HD electric alternator and wiring to support the optional lighting and radios that cop cars have).

In the case of the Concours in 1977 (I have one myself) the only motor option was the 250 six, two barrel 305 or an anemic smog motored four barrel 350 with single exhaust only. No SS package was offered as everybody was laughing at those who paid extra for decals in the years following 1974, but not power due to the smog regulations and 1977 being a year after low lead was introduced without the option of premium fuel any more. Even the RS wasn't offered in 1977 (which was also only decals, with no parts upgrade) as 1976 was the last year for the RS.

Big Dave