time for some upgrades
 

so, after much humming and hawing over the long winter months, I decided that you only live once, and I'm about to pull the trigger on some updates for my 65. I know i will have serious buyers remorse, but hey, whatever right.

Modification list includes...

New headers, I only have shorties, and a 2" exhaust, so i'm getting thorley tri y headers with a full 2.5" system out to flowmasters, just because I love how the flowmasters sound.

Next on the list is a FAST ez efi system. I'm kind of a tech junkie, and i'm going for the 2.0. Yes, i understand that I don't need the 2.0 if i only have a mild build, but the little dashboard with all the engine vitals is just too cool, and i like how the throttle body looks. Plus, I really want to try to run it with the timing control.

Also, going for the Hotchkis TVS system. I'm trying really hard to justify this one to myself, but I just can't, other than i want this thing to hook up. It's fun to drive as it is, but it really struggles for traction. everything i have read about this kit says it seriously helps out with that. So along with this, probably new wheels and tires are in order as well...it has cooper cobras on it now, but i was thinking maybe something stickier??

sigh...where does it end?

the current set up is a 350 with a performer manifold, holley vacuum 650. Last spring I put a set of edelbrock e-street heads on it, along with a comp xe268 cam. I put in a 700 R4 with a 2400 stall, and rebuilt the 3.73 rear end. I wish i would have put a posi in it, although, strangely enough, it usually lights both tires up. I really wanted to put in a truetrac, but I've been thinking of putting one of those powertrax extreme traction systems in, just because i wouldn't have to take the rear out, i could just drop the spider gears, and do everything in my garage.

i also want to dynamat the floor and fire wall. I did the doors last year, and it made a huge difference.

what do you guys think?? I'm making my order here in the next couple days, i got a 10% off coupon from summit the other day, so I'm using that. I hope this all turns out, lol.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Sounds awesome. The EFI is going to be great! I'm excited to see it come together. I could sure use a 10% off summit coupon. How did you land one?

Re: time for some upgrades
 

its a truck, and if its struggling for traction now, and you pump up the power in the motor, your kinda defeating yourself. my reccomendation is to work on it hooking up. i built a gen 1 350 with 300hp/375tq and i think it was a little much for my needs. it has a nice long flat tq curve, but im going be wastin tires.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

i was at the world of wheels, they were giving out the catalogs and they all had a 10% off sticker on them!

Re: time for some upgrades
 

that was what i had initially thought, but i did a lot of homework on it, and from what I have read, there are a lot of solutions to traction issues in these trucks. The Hotchkis TVS system is supposed to be a very well designed, very well put together system. A properly set up rear sway bar is supposed to help. From the research i have done, the torque of the motor likes to load up the left rear tire, and the sway-bar in the set up is supposed to help with that. Also the anti squat brackets help improve the geometry of the trailing arms, and put some additional bite in when you launch. I have spoke to a few guys with these systems on, and they said the difference was amazing...like night and day, the actual words they used to describe them was 'a corvette with a box'. They said with a little stickier of a tire, i will notice a major difference in off the line traction. But who knows unless you try it right?

Re: time for some upgrades
 

when you do the FAST efi please take pictures and document the install. this is my fantasy along with air ride thanks

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Before you go and buy the Hotchkiss TVS system, do a little reading and asking questions over in the 'Racing And High Performance' section here on the forum.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

CHRIS67GMC built an awesome truck using the stuff Rob from NoLimit designed. I'm not sure of the cost but if you're looking at the TVS stuff ...

Here's Chris build (he's a member on here and a dealer for NoLimit I believe)

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=521095

Rob designed all this stuff and is also a member on here. You can buy from him also.

http://www.nolimitengineering.com/

I can only drool (and dream) of using this stuff ...

Re: time for some upgrades
 

wow...that is an UNREAL truck. Makes a guy really respect someone's skill who can produce something like that. Almost makes me a little shy to post my progress, lol. Anyhow, speaking of progress, my first wave of parts have come in! The bad news...I'm stuck at work out of town for the next few weeks. Sigh...
I even ordered a set of rear discs from captain fab! I'm eager to get started!!

Re: time for some upgrades
 

The hotchkiss system will help if you plan to auto cross the truck. If you just are looking to help when you stop the gas pedal from a stop light it will not help much. All you need to do is look at the weight front and rear and see the big issue. A posi, bigger rubber and a softer compound will help the most.
Jimmy

Re: time for some upgrades
 

well, I got my first round of parts in!

So I started out by painting my valve covers.

I masked them off, and applied chapstick to the top of the ribs.


i then sprayed them with duplicolor high temp red. i popped them in the bbq to cure for three hours, and lightly buffed the ribs with an sos pad, then polished them with a dremel. I tried to remove the paint off the ribs on the first one before i baked it, and it was much harder to do a clean job. The paint wanted to tear and wrinkle, making it hard to make nice crisp lines.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Next step...i wired in cute new turn and high beam indicator lights. I used the painless 5/16 LED's. The previous owner of the truck wired it with a painless harness, so it was fairly easy to just find the wires and route them to where they needed to go. Overall, I think it turned out great.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

next step was wiring up the electric fan. I mounted the relay up front by the battery. When I get the ez efi parts in, the computer will control the on and off of the fan, but for now, I just have it rigged to a switch on the dash. It will stay on most of the time, and off if i need to work on it.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Looking great. I like how the valve covers turned out!

Re: time for some upgrades
 

I'm going to be installing a different set of pulleys, so I have not mounted the actual fan yet, but it will be quick and simple, just pop it in, and plug it in. Next step is the cruise control. Maybe I will be able to get at that next week. I bought the dakota digital cruise control. I figure with the EFI, an OD tranny, and cruise, It should be pretty sweet to cruise in this summer.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

thanks man! i was actually quite surprised how easy it was to do. I'm usually a bit gun shy (pun intended...get it..paint gun...he he he) when it comes to painting. but i just took my time, and it was not hard at all. I have a few little goof ups, but nothing that anybody other than me will notice.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

I agree, the valve covers turned out very nice :thumbs:

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Thanks captain! It won't be long until I put your rear disc kit on too!

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Very nice job on the valve covers.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Quick update!

So this weekend I did a few little odds and ends. I have no good pictures yet because I had to take off and go to work out of town.

First thing...I got a new windshield wiper motor from Newport engineering. Overall, this is a very solid kit. It adds delay, low and high speeds. It was a very simple bolt in set up. Very easy to wire up. I got the switch with the kit. It was a little large and bulky, but I made it work. I had a few issues with the transmission arms. I did not have any wiper parts period. So I went to a local guy a couple hours drive away, and got the parts required. Well...KINDA. The guy forgot one part, and explained how to put them in wrong. So I got it all bolted together, and, being the smart guy that I am, checked the drivers side wiper. It was trying to wipe down instead of up. No big deal. So I switched it around, and TA DA! It wiped the way it was supposed to. So I smugly put the whole thing back together, cowl back on, wiper arms on, hopped in, and hit the switch. Remember the missing part I was talking about?? Well it was the part that made the PASSENGER SIDE wipe the right way. So my passenger side wiper tried to wipe my cowl. I guess I have to give it to the Newport motor, it has lots of balls. It did a very good job of wiping the paint off my cowl, and mangling the wiper arm. ARGH!!!! Lesson learned I guess, shame on me for not checking both sides. So I hit the road, and burned a couple hours away to get the one little part, and all the way back. Yup...8 hours of driving just to get the parts for the stupid wipers. But they work great now!!

Then I started to install the cruise control. I have an Ididt column, and I bought the Dakota digital cruise kit. It has the original style GM cruise handle. So speaking of frustration...It took forever to try to get a wire through that hole, I found it was faster to just pull the column out and do it on the bench( tail gate of my other truck actually, haha) I tried pulling all four wires through at once, but it just wouldn’t go, no matter how I had it taped up. I ended up running a wire through, then pulling fishing line through, then pulling each wire separately. It worked like a charm. I got it all bolted back in place, and that's where she sits. I still have to put the actual cruise module in yet. Next weekend, lol.

I cleaned up from the little leak that developed in the 700R4 over the winter, I think its leaking from the TV cable seal. It only does it after it sits for a while. I think it’s when the fluid drains back from out of the converter etc and the level comes up in the pan above the TV cable seal. Anyone else run into this?? Last time, it started leaking only after it sat for about a month or so. I started it up quick, so I’ll see if it’s still leaky when I get home. Man, I forgot how good the motor sounds since I put the cam in it, hahah. Just enough to have a nice little chop, but not enough to be overwhelming.

I also pulled the seat out of a 61, and took it to an upholsterer. I’m very excited about it!! I will post pictures once its done.

And of course, the EZ EFI parts that I ordered, all came in the day AFTER I left to go to work out of town for two weeks.

So that's on the agenda to get in for next weekend I am trying hard to get it all done for a show in Lethbridge on July 12-14, which is the whole reason I got an old toy in the first place. Ever since I was a kid, I remember going to the cruise nights, and wishing I had a cool ride. And now...I do!

I’m only home every other weekend, from Thursday to Monday, I work out of town the rest of the time. So I have about 12 working days to get the EZ EFI in, pull the rear end, put a the powertrax in, put Captain Fab rear disc kit in, pull the seat out, Dynamat the floor and firewall, Fix a not working fuel level sender (just a bad ground I hope), put new headers on, make a carpet for the firewall and rear cab, put the shifter boot on, Put the newly redone seat in, put my new tappet covers on, and do any other little items that I need to do. Sigh...any tips that any of you might have on the above items...let me know, haha.

I’m almost thinking I should get a finned aluminum rear diff cover and paint it to match the tappet covers?? What do you guys think? OH, do you guys use a gasket for the diff cover, or just silicone?

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Oh, and I have made the executive decision to not to pull the trigger on the suspension yet. So I may be asking some of you guys more questions about how to do that part cheaper.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Your plans are very impressive as is your quick pace of progress.

Fyi heat lamps also work very well for cooking paint, and may allow better temperature control. I think the finned rear axle cover would look very cool (I have a chrome steel version myself). I’ve had my gears swapped twice, and both times silicone was used alone, and both times the cover leaked. The cover was pulled, cleaned up, and the best gasket I can find installed with no leakage at all. My axle is a Dana 44, not sure if they are more prone to leakage than anything else.

When it comes to deciding where to mount your cruise control module, it can go virtually anywhere. When I had cruise I mounted the module between the heater and distributor on the inside of the firewall. The instructions warn against mounting it in the cab, but all I ever noticed was a small “click” when it is turned on, and mounting it inside sure cleaned up the engine compartment.

Is there an overall picture of your truck posted somewhere? Does it look like your Avatar? Have a great week.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

so this is an overall picture of it. My brother in law and I just finished the heads and cam swap, and had one wire wrong, MAN was it back firing!! that's why he has his ears plugged, hahah.



And about the cruise control, I think I am going to mount mine somewhere like on the column or around there. I found a nice hole in the firewall for the cable to run through. I bet my exhaust will b elouder than the click anyhow right?? Isn't that how these things are supposed to work? That's why I haven't paid attention to the radio, because lets face it, I wont hear the damn thing anyhow.

Is there a rear diff gasket brand that you would recommend?? Every place I went just said to use silicone, but I'm with you on the gasket thing.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Love the tilt hood, would be on my wish list if I could afford one LOL

Re: time for some upgrades
 

I always use a Fel Pro gasket without any silicone with no leaks. You just need to be sure your cover is good and flat and don't over tighten the bolts. I can get you a part number tomorrow.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

thanks captain!! I do have a few questions about your brake kit. I bought new brake hoses I got the front hoses from a 72, I'm picking up the calipers and rotors next weekend. Any brake shop should have the banjo bolt to go into the caliper right? I'm going to assume the same little fitting that attaches the brake lines to the drum brake will thread right in to the non banjo end of the brake hoses correct? I'm thinking about giving the calipers the same engine enamel and bake in the bbq. I figure that 250-300F in the BBQ will be around the same temp they would see during hard braking, so any seals should be okay.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

I don't remember for sure which brackets you got, the D52's? Your local auto parts supplier should have or be able to get the banjo bolts for you.

The Fel Pro number for a truck 12 bolt cover gasket is RDS 13391

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Yup, I bought the D52 kit. Which I'm sure will be awesome once I get it on.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Talk about a busy weekend! Sure got lots done! Things are getting closer and fer moure encouraging. So keep in mind that I work 9 days away from home, and I’m home for 5 days, I spent the entire 5 days working on the chevy, who’s name is Cheryl…by the way…Why Cheryl? Because I looked up the most popular baby name in 1965, and guess what it was!! So anyhow, I spent the whole time in, on or under Cheryl, which makes it sound a lot more fun than it actually was.

So where to start.

I picked up my newly redone bench seat!!

Re: time for some upgrades
 

!! Thursday was a parts run. I picked up what I figured was going to be most of the parts I needed. But we all know how that goes. I got the carpet and jute for the firewall, all the glue, a new diff cover, rear disc conversion brake parts, new gaskets, new silicone etc. I painted up the calipers and rotors just to see what they look like. They turned out looking nice.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Looking great! I like how the bench seat came out. Two tone looks nice.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

I also got around to siliconing the gaskets into the tappet covers I painted last time. I put a good bead of silicone on the cover side of the gasket. I squished the gasket onto the cover, and wiped off the excess that oozed out, making sure I had good coverage all the way around. I added a little grease on the head side of the gasket, and a little grease on the bolts, then bolted them together to finger tight, plus a half turn, and again, wiped off the ooze and let them sit overnight. When I broke them apart, they came apart slick as can be. I used a moroso steel core silicone gasket. Putting them on was SO much easier. The bolt holes are permanently lined up and you know your gasket wont squish around when you suck it down.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

And of course, when you are waiting on parts, and you have a narrow window of when you can pick them up, they will always come the day after you need them. I missed them last time I was home, so I had to make the 3 hour drive Friday morning to go pick up parts from my brother in law. He ordered the EFI and the Pulleys for me. So…4 am Friday, I hit the road, and roared south, grabbed my parts, had a coffee , drooled over my new parts for a few minutes, then laid the hammer down back home. Friday afternoon, the old seat came out, and we started laying the hush mat on the floor and firewall. I was amazed at the difference. Immediately, you could tell how much more solid it sounded. The picture makes it look like I stopped a few inches below the top of the firewall, but I actually used the same stuff, just with a black backing instead of silver. They only had the 12”x 12” sheets in black, and I’d never see it, so I didn't care. The panel behind the seat was the one that amazed me the most, it was by far the tin canny-est sounding panel, and after the mat, it sounded like a solid thud when you tap it. I extended the mat an inch or so around the bend onto the panel where the back window is, and even this little bit made a huge difference on this panel. And of course, I was a few square feet short. So I had to go Saturday morning and get another few square feet. So after it was done, it made a HUGE difference on the sound when you close the doors.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Next we moved on to the underlay and carpet up the firewall. It wasn't exactly easy, and I ended up with a few wrinkles, but luckily, it was in places you cant really see. I did the underlay in three parts, the drivers firewall , tranny hump, and passenger firewall. I just hit the jute with spray 77, and stuck it to the firewall. Man alive is this stuff ever sticky!! You WILL end up with this stuff stuck everywhere if you aren't careful. After I got the jute glued in place, I cut the carpet out and shaped it. It really turned out nice (for a first time attempt) I mean, Its not a professional interior installation, but for a guy who’s never done it before, it’s good enough. I didn’t have enough carpet to cover the back of the cab, so I will do that at a later date. I glued a sheet of underlay to the back, and that’s it. Its hidden behind the seat, so I’m the only one that should ever be looking back there, lol. I’ll take more pictures of this next time I am home.


I even mocked up seat belts! My other half said she wont drive on the highway with me anymore if it doesn't have seatbelts, and since I do enjoy riding with her, I figured I should compromise. I got a seatbelt kit from LMC truck last year and figured I would put them in when I put the new seat in. So I got all the holes drilled, and I just have to bolt them all in when I button the interior up next week.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

I even mocked up seat belts! My other half said she wont drive on the highway with me anymore if it doesn’t have seatbelts, and since I do enjoy riding with her, I figured I should compromise. I got a seatbelt kit from LMC truck last year and figured I would put them in when I put the new seat in. So I got all the holes drilled, and I just have to bolt them all in when I button the interior up next week.
Saturday, my mom and dad decided to come up and help. Which was awesome because my mom is a seamstress, and my dad…well my dad is one of those oldschool guys who can do anything and knows everything about everything. He had an awesome 66 gmc back in the day that he totally re did. So he knows these trucks inside and out. So I put him to work putting the pulleys on. Now, you’d think the pulley kit installation would be simple. But, like everything, it required some ‘adjustments’ We had to drill out a mounting hole in the water pump, and it took a whole evening to shim the power steering pump so it was aligned and not running cock eyed, but he got it. It was complete chaos having him there, he’s a rip and tear, head down, ass up, get it done kind of guy. And it can be hard telling your dad what to do. So that was…um…interesting. Haha. We got the electric fan mounted, and mounted it to the outside of the radiator in a pusher configuration. More on this later.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Sunday morning, was fuel injection time! Of course when I went to drop the four bolts that held the tank on, three of four were ceased, and I snapped them off. Amazing what you can get done with a little brute force and ignorance. Anyhow, the fuel tank turned out to be the biggest headache of everything in this kit. Not because of anything wrong with the kit, mainly because of the way the fuel tank was mounted. The bolts were nearly impossible to access to take out, then even harder to get back in.
We buzzed a 2.5” hole in the top of the tank, and put the new pump in the tank. I was actually quite surprised at how easy this step turned out to be. Running the fuel lines and putting the fuel system together actually turned out to be a breeze. This was my first attempt at using AN fittings, so I didn't know what to expect, but I like them!! So I had dad pulling the old carb, the fuel pump, putting the block off plate on, and putting the new throttle body and all the linkage back on. Then he helped me put the fuel tank back in. which should have been about a five minute job, and it took us at least two hours, just because of how ignorant the mounting of the tank was. Once we got the tank in, mom and dad took off. It was actually a pretty awesome way to spend fathers day. Not to mention it was sweet to have my mom cooking!
Monday was a wiring day. It took me a full day to wire everything. I mounted the EFI computer up under the dash on the passenger side. When I first pulled the harness out, it was pretty intimidating. But I just went slowly, and took my time, and it all actually came together pretty nicely I had to extend the wiring harness for the O2 sensor, and luckily I had all the right color wires, so that worked out well. I also had to extend the main power feed wires, and the fan relay control wire. But same thing, I just took my time, and did one thing at a time, and it all come together. I had to do a little re configuring on the wiring that I did for the electric fan because I THOUGHT the ECU would provide a hot signal to switch the relay on. In reality, the ECU actually completes a ground instead of giving a hot signal, so that was a minor change.

I ran all the wires, and the fuel lines, over one full day. I’m not sure who does this in an 8 hour day, but you can budget two guys for two full days to install one of these. Maybe I’m just slow, who knows. So once I got everything all tightened up, I turned it on, and primed the pump, I was shocked…not a single leak!! The set up was pretty easy, other than the fact that I missed one small step. You can calibrate the touch screen, and it makes sure the button you push is actually where you push it. I was having issues with the button s not being where I was touching the screen, but I got it up and running eventually. The set up was easy, and the wizard was pretty much idiot proof. I hit the key, and after a crank or two, it roared back to life. It idled a bit high, and made all kinds of noise. I instantly had the ‘oh man, what the heck did I just do’ feeling. But I just let it do its thing, and once it was warmed up, it started to learn, and the hissing noise went away. I figured out it was the idle solenoid compensating, trying to get it to where it needed to be until it could learn. It was actually pretty neat to watch. I had the fan off to let the temp come up. I switched it to auto, and the ez efi kicked the fan on. Temp went from 210 down to 180 in a matter of minutes. Another awesome feeling. No more sitting watching the temp gauge when I’m at the cruise night.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

At this point I got to see the fruits of my labour with the firewall work. I put the hush mat on the firewall because last summer the heat from the firewall was pretty intense. I had a few plugs missing from the holes in the firewall, and it felt like I had a heater blowing up my shorts every time I drove it. SO that’s why I did the insulation and hush mat. After the motor warmed up and was sitting there idling, the firewall on the engine side was pretty warm to the touch. The inside of the firewall…cooooool as a cucumber. That was a pretty awesome feeling to know all that work was paying off.


And that’s about as far as I got. Once I got it up and running, I spent some quality time with the misses, mainly because she’s been helping me more than I can possibly explain. We caught up on some game of thrones on the PVR, and I packed my bag to head to work the next morning.
Next week, I have the wiring and fuel lines to tidy up a little, finish the little details on the interior, like adding a shifter ring and boot, putting the seats back in, seatbelts in, adjusting the wing windows so they will actually stay put when you’re cruising. Then I have the whole issue of the rear end. Rear discs, and posi need to go in. I also need to take it for a balance and alignment, and HOPEFULLY I can get it into an exhaust shop to get the headers and a set of new mufflers on. I have exactly 6 days of being home to get all this done. Nothing like cutting it close hey…

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Thats sooooooo cool. I am on the fence installing F.A.S.T on my inliner. Keep us posted on power, reliability, driveability.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

Right on. I say go for it! Depending on where you are in Oregon I'd be down to lend a hand with the swap. I haven't done a Fast system, but have done a few FI swaps before.

Re: time for some upgrades
 

ya, I say the same. It really wasn't that hard of an install. I'm sure I will have bugs to work out in the end, but so far, it was pretty simple. And I'm no genius either, just an average guy with average hand tools, so if I can do it, anyone can. Like I mentioned earlier, I don't NEED the version 2.0, but the hand held is just so darn cool. and the throttle body looks so awesome. once i get everything all together, and get a few miles on it, I'll let you all know how it works.