Project: Over My Head

[craig7070]

I just got done reading your build...Great job so far

[yossarian19]

Thanks craig.

I got the truck running today. It had sat for years and a lot of the parts (almost all) that I've bolted to the motor were used off Ebay, so I was a bit suspicious, but everything seems happy.
When I first went to oil prime it (crank the motor with computer unplugged until I built oil pressure) I got nothing. Cranked maybe 1 minute total, no pressure.
I unscrewed the filter to put some oil in it, just for the heck of it. Probably supposed to do it, really. The filter, when I unscrewed it, was bone dry. Alarming, since the filter should be the first stop for oil from the oil pump. Filled filter, screwed it back on, still no pressure.
Checked the dip stick - yeah, thought so, it has oil up to the marks.
Unscrewed the gauge sender, cranked a while. Still dry.
I went for a walk & called my old man, who agreed - weird that it doesn't have oil pressure, no it is not a good thing.
Came back, put the battery charger on it, cranked for 3 seconds and heard a lot of liquid hitting the ground. Yep, full oil pressure. Put the sender back on & I've got 25 psi cranking. Good enough.
Tried to start it. No joy. Cranks, tries to fire on one cylinder, doesn't catch. Try again & I got maybe 5 hits on various cylinders in the last revolution just as I turn off the ignition. Checked for fuel pressure & it's present at the rail. Checked for spark, I've got spark (at least on the #4 cylinder, I do).
So, I figure the injectors are sticky. Thankfully I'd put a full can of Sea Foam in the tank already, before I put gas in it actually, so that the fuel that got up to the injectors was already loaded with cleaner.
I shot the air filter with brake cleaner for good luck & it fired up. I'm on open headers so I haven't put a lot of time on the motor but it keeps running. I even put fluid in the trans & got it to reverse before I called it enough success for one day. Tomorrow I'll head back to the shop & see if it still runs. If so, I'm home free. If not, the brake cleaner all evaporated...
In other news, I had yet another episode of "shoulda done it myself". The transmission needed 1.25" of rise to keep the driveshaft angle happy. A guy I know who'd kinda-sorta been doing some work for me fabbed some spacers. Only, he made them for the ends of the cross member (at the frame) and they won't fit with the brake pedal assembly. So I made my own spacer for the transmission pad & drill the frame. Transmission : hung.
Side note : the 4L60E has "park" all the way [I]clockwise[I], instead of counter clockwise like I'd thought. My shift linkage? Works, I suppose, but in reverse. A project for another day.

[Baldeagle SR]

Getting a lot closer. Nothing like a first start on a motor.
Rich
My build http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=576185

[Kim57]

Congrats on getting it started.
Kim

[dmack91]

My trans and shifter were opposite also. All I did was make a lever that is double the overall length of the upper lever you have now. Difficult to explain, but drill 2 holes on opposite ends so they are two times the distance from your current link mount and the center pivot of the lever. One hole goes over the link mount (stud) you already have on the end. The other gets a matching stud that your heim can go on. You will have to drill another hole through the current and new levers to pin it in place. That will give you a mirror image shift pattern to what you currently have, which should match your column.



Mine had a center pivot that I was able to use so that I didn't have to drill an extra hole to pin it. The bolt head you see on the right goes through the original shifter mount hole.

Good luck with the engine - hope it fires for you.

[yossarian19]

Dmack I've been trying to visualize something just like that. I knew there was a low-buck way to reverse the throw... and I can see you've already been there. Thanks for posting.
At the moment, I just keep my foot on the brake & lean down there with a combination wrench to turn the nut'ed shift shaft. It'll stay that way for a little - I'm coming up on moving & life is about to get in the way of hot rodding.
I'll be looking for a pivot location next time I'm working on it, though.

[dmack91]

You won't need a center pivot. I used one because it was there on the C4. All you would need to do is drill another hole in the link you already have between the stud and the shaft, put your new extended lever on and bolt it tight with the new hole and current stud. Then all you have to do is hook the heim to the opposite end. The two upper bolt/studs will secure it and still effectively pivot it in the center.

Good luck with the move.

[OrrieG]

I do not know if it applies here but when I was setting up the cable linkage between the column shifter and TH350 I found a link that said GMs design criteria was that the radius of the shift arm from CL of column shaft to linkage hole and radius of the trans shift arm from CL of tranny shaft to linkage hole need to be the same for the stock shift detents to match the trans detents. I used the B&M arm on the trans and modifed the shaft arm to match.

[yossarian19]

OK. Might be a while before I get any pics up, but here's the status:
The head, tail, brake & turn lights all need to be wired. Some fixtures may need replacement, based on missing wires. Underhood wiring could stand to be cleaned up but the truck runs & drives.
The engine / trans cross members should be welded up but this can wait until I have a proper work space. Should be a few weeks. Again - hey, it'll drive onto the trailer, so...
Chassis is set except for alignment. Bugs will be discovered & fixed on a first come, first served basis. Possibles include but are not limited to caster, u-joint attachment to steering column, brake hydraulic failure, rear diff leaks and possible tire pressure imbalance.
I need an exhaust and oxygen sensors.
The body is assembled & the doors actually line up, open & close. The hood hinges, though, need to be rebuilt.
The bodywork... Firewall smoothing / hole filling, lower front right cab corner patch, gas filler hole patch, paint, carpet, seatbelts, sound deadening, headliner, etc etc.
The truck goes to its new home on Wednesday, my lady and I are following on the 17th.

Funds are temporarily pretty low for the project. With the relocation come a lot of uncertainty about when & how much money is coming in, so we are going to conserve while we figure that out.

Before the snow hits our new digs, though, I'm hoping to get an exhaust on it & the lighting done. Then it's registration renewal & insurance. After that... I'm going to informally open 257 Hauling Company. 257 = 2 dudes in a '57. Might even get a sign painted on the doors.

[yossarian19]

The little lady and I just got home from towing the truck to Nevada City. 9.5 hours, including 300 miles driving, a generous lunch break & picking up two rentals (the truck & the trailer). 2.5 hours & about $150 cheaper than pulling the truck down from NC, so progress is being made.
Here it is in front of the new digs, which we move into on the 17th. By the 20th, look for more progress pictures. I can't wait to have a garage to work in ! Most of the progress to date has been done while wedged between a shed, a concrete wall & a fig tree.

It drove up & onto the trailer as well as down & off with no incident beyond setting off car alarms with the open headers.

[Kim57]

Looks like a nice house. Truck looks good also.
Kim

[yossarian19]

Wow - it's been a helluva month.
I'm moved in to the new house (well, down to just the one box in the spare room) and the garage is set up. Drove the truck into the garage, lost interest as moving & my daily driver / first hobby car took over.
I got a 70s K20 coolant recovery tank plumbed in, shortened the MAF harness to a sane length, replaced the headlight switch & wired it to power, parking lamps & dimmer, dimmer to headlights.
Banged my head for a while trying to get my shift linkage figured out.
and, soon, I'll have pictures of all of this & hopefully get something finished.
Now to track down some clutch head screwdrivers...

[dmack91]

Glad to see you getting back into it. Keep us posted.

[yossarian19]

Well, the turn signals were red and one of them had it's power lead missing. Two problems there. Matching lenses look nice but drive me nuts when other people have them. So...

Here's my $15 worth of coolant recover tank & bracket. The hose sizes didn't match. I'm sure someday I'll come up with something prettier. Probably when the kids I don't have yet are grown, I'll start prettying up the truck... Anyway, you can see how easy this was to put together.

My shrinking pile of spaghetti and the new headlight switch, much like the old. I'd have kept the old one except that somebody had super glued the knob back on, making it un removable, and I wasn't going to re wire it in place. I still have to connect turn & brake wiring to the turn & brake switches that I haven't yet installed. The rest will be zip tied out of the way for now.
Bikes & the electronics bench. Ipad = jukebox. Plenty of space on both sides of the truck, but not so much as to want two cars in the garage.

And another of the garage.


Head and tail lights work. I think I found a $50 solution to the shift linkage, but I'm not spending another dime until I'm good and sure. Brake light switch should be finished tomorrow, maybe. Each and every minor fab project is taking a long, long time. It's kind of embarassing but hey, we gotta start somewhere. After brake lights are working, it's turn signals, shift linkage & exhaust. Oh, and seatbelts. After that... I'm driving this thing.
Gotta say, this build has been fun so far - and it's been a PITA. I'm ready to drive it.

[Kim57]

Looks like you're getting close to a driver.
Kim

[yossarian19]

Sigh.
In the last couple weeks I've gotten busy working for myself and planning a month-long road trip with my lady. It's a luxury problem, for sure: I'm too busy making money and planning a vacation to work on the truck.
So, it will sit until November and hopefully over the winter I'll get it finished.
Still to do:
Brake lights / switch
Turn signals
Seat belts
Exhaust
Rebuild hood hinges
and probably a couple other things I've forgotten.
Finding it harder and harder to get motivated to work on the truck, honestly. Hoping that I'll be more interested when I get back from the trip. I really could *use* a pickup truck in my day to day but I'm pretty tired of trying to gerry rig the '57 into submission. Oh, well - for the next month or so, I'm living in the Jeep and driving the US. No more complaints for a while!

[dmack91]

Sometimes it is good to take a brake. You are getting close though. It looks like you are down to the smaller items to get it road worthy, so just take a couple of hours every once in a while and get one project done at a time. After a couple of weekends, you will be driving it.

Enjoy the trip.

[ricott]

Man, ya'll go have a great vacation and don't think about the truck. I'll bet every gearhead on this site has taken weeks - months- YEARS!! to get their project running and driving. Whatever you do, don't get discouraged and sell it. That is another mistake many of us have made. For a long term project, check out the 58 in my signature. My wife and I have had this car for almost 30 years and maybe driven it 200 miles - none in the last 15, but that is about to change. Your progress, and project look great.

[yossarian19]

Originally Posted by ricott

Man, ya'll go have a great vacation and don't think about the truck. I'll bet every gearhead on this site has taken weeks - months- YEARS!! to get their project running and driving. Whatever you do, don't get discouraged and sell it. That is another mistake many of us have made. For a long term project, check out the 58 in my signature. My wife and I have had this car for almost 30 years and maybe driven it 200 miles - none in the last 15, but that is about to change. Your progress, and project look great.

Funny you say that. I was *just* starting to think "damn, wish I had my money back right now..." when I logged in and read it.

I decided to stop trying to reinvent the wheel and ordered Lokar ACA-1800. . If I'd known this part existed, I'd have bought it 6 months ago. The trickest piece of it is the clockable shift arm for the trans. The problem with the linkages I was trying to build was that I'd welded the bar in straight with the OE shift arm, allowing only two positions - neither of which was at the right angle. I'm thinking / hoping that being able to adjust the arm's position will finally get me a working shifter. Live and learn and god bless Lokar.

I pulled the starter this AM and dropped it off at the rebuilder. Hopefully a fresh set of brushes will do the job for me, so I can stop tapping the starter with a mallet every time I need to move the truck.

From there, a few fresh drill bits and some more labor should get me a functional brake switch. Incidentally, though, anyone know of a 3/8-24 pressure switch that will survive hydroboost? I'd way rather run one of those, and just deal with plumbing, than screw with the '57 mechanical switch mounted to some 1" strap bolted to the frame...

The exhaust is posing additional issues, but I think I can get it done for around $600. I'll try and recover from my (wonderful, fun, fantastic) road trip, first.

[yossarian19]

Got the shifter set up "ok".
Using the Lokar kit, I quickly found out two things. First, the adjustable trans arm is really nice. This was, as I'd suspected, by far the most useful part of the kit.
Second - it isn't built for high misalignment / steep angles like I'm dealing with.
You can see in the pictures that I had to get some 1/2" steel tube for spacers to reduce the angles. I'd have rather used something with a 5/16" ID, as that is the size bolt Lokar designed for with the rod ends, but it wasn't locally available. I also had to take the spacers I'd cut and chuck them in the drill press, then use a file to make a cone shape on the end of them. This lets the heim joint articulate further before binding on the spacer.

The Lokar arm has flats machined on the back side for the 1/2" hex that comes on a standard 5/16" bolt. At some point I'll drill it to accept a 1/2" bolt, I think, for a larger clamp load. This will make it sturdier, since I'm spacing the joint 1" away from the arm.

Same goes here - at some point, I'm going to go back to 1/2" hardware to eliminate the flex between the column shift arm and the linkage rod. In the mean time... it shifts, so I'm done playing with it for now.
Next up will probably be an exhaust, or possibly brake lights. Turn signals also need doing.
Aaaand... the rear end has a drip going, so at some point I'll need to re seal it or swap in a 60s 12 bolt w/ 6 lug pattern. I'm leaning towards the 12 bolt but will have to wait until I've got the truck road worthy. Right now, I don't have a vehicle suitable for hauling a complete axle.

[OrrieG]

Your issues are why I went with a B&M racing cable set up, plus a rod would have interfered with the existing exhaust and brake arm. Looks like a good solution, you are already aware that over time the extended levers might be issues.

[yossarian19]

Yep.
Doing it again, I'd go with a cable. I just wasn't aware of the issues I'd come up against along the way or of the options I had (cable, adjustable arm, linkages, etc) and their relative merits.
In the mean time, this works. It can be improved with heavier hardware or scrapped in favor of a cable if / when it stops working.

[Kim57]

Nice engineering job.
Kim

[dmack91]

Looks good. Are you going to do your own exhaust or take it to a shop? I ended up doing my own using some pre-bent 90 and U pieces and bulk tube. Doesn't look anywhere near as good as a shop, but I had less than $50 into it including new mufflers where shops can easily be $3-500.

You obviously have the skills to do it, just depends on time and clearance.

[yossarian19]

I'll look a little more closely at doing the exhaust myself but I think I'll probably leave it to the pro. A local guy, Sierra Muffler in Grass Valley, says a nice single exhaust with side dump just ahead of the passenger's rear tire can be done under $600. Any way I slice it, that's going to be tough to beat : I don't have access to a welder, so I'd either have to buy one & then the exhaust pieces ($$) or buy a ready made off-road y pipe & the headers it's designed to mate to ($$$). Or for under $600, Sierra Muffler can get me on the road.