What did you do to your truck today? Chapter II

[outdoorsman310]

got the new engine and trans in. have to find the right shifter or bend this one. and get the driveshaft shortened

[texjake]

I replaced the rear tail light lenses, the housing buckets, the back-up lenses & housing buckets. And I also repaired the reverse light/neutral switch on the steering column. So now it won't start if it's in Reverse or Drive & now the back-up lights come on when shifted into "R". That was no easy job for a big guy like me. Those tiny screws that holds the switch onto the column can be trouble getting them back into their holes. And there is no room between that switch, the column & the firewall. It was a great day! (sarcasm) lol

[Saclandman]

Pulled the old 283 out. Salvaged the flywheel, starter, and oil pan to reuse on the replacement.

[hardwaycooke]

Made and installed an aluminum firewall harness/plug cover to match all my other fabricated looking things. Liking the exposed welds on my rad, rad over flow, washer over flow, valve covers. Making a custom alum scoop for carb next..

[85burb]

Yesterday I installed a center seat belt and figured out why the fuel gauge reads empty all the time. The float is missing. time to order one of those.

[9teen69]

POR15 the cabin floor, added peal and stick, heat shield bubble wrap and jute padding. Used the original foam as a template. Was going to go MLV route but never got around to ordering.

Hope to take for a test drive tomorrow and see how effective it is.

[ole dollor]

Originally Posted by texjake

I replaced the rear tail light lenses, the housing buckets, the back-up lenses & housing buckets. And I also repaired the reverse light/neutral switch on the steering column. So now it won't start if it's in Reverse or Drive & now the back-up lights come on when shifted into "R". That was no easy job for a big guy like me. Those tiny screws that holds the switch onto the column can be trouble getting them back into their holes. And there is no room between that switch, the column & the firewall. It was a great day! (sarcasm) lol

William got it looking good, is it ready for a cruise nite yet...I am ready when you are..

[DarkFlounder]

Got a replacement fleetside long box today. The sides had already been removed. Gonna remove the back panel and wheelwells, and go to town with the wire wheel drill attachment. There's a few small dents and some surface rust on the floor. But, it's so far superior to my current bed (rust is pretty much the only thing holding it all together).

Tomorrow, gonna get the bed floor off the truck and find a place in the garage for it.

[69stepper]

Completed my suspension- CPP 5.5 up front and 7 in the back. 5 in spring and 2in block for the rear. 18X8 up front and 18x9 in rear.

[5567Cruiser]

Did some finish wiring to the tail light circuit and following my engineer friends advice about never using slip connectors but solder all splices and use shrink tubing to prevent moisture from creating problems.

[texjake]

Originally Posted by ole dollor

William got it looking good, is it ready for a cruise nite yet...I am ready when you are..

Did you already get yours back together & running? I went to Jumbo Joe's in mine yesterday while the weather was nice. I'm thinking of going to Sonic on Thurs about 6pm & see if any of the car gang shows up, it may still be to early in the season for them but it's suppose to be 70 degrees & windy thou.

[ole dollor]

Originally Posted by texjake

Did you already get yours back together & running? I went to Jumbo Joe's in mine yesterday while the weather was nice. I'm thinking of going to Sonic on Thurs about 6pm & see if any of the car gang shows up, it may still be to early in the season for them but it's suppose to be 70 degrees & windy thou.

mine is running great, what sonic are you going to , ill try and be there.

[texjake]

Originally Posted by ole dollor

mine is running great, what sonic are you going to , ill try and be there.

The one at 5802 64th St. Actually it's at the corner of S. Frankford & 64th Street.

[eric67c10]

Installed new timing set

[GRX]

Originally Posted by eric67c10

Installed new timing set

http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s391/montage925/IMG_20150214_121425_751_zpse3470051.jpg

Fun. Fun. I love trying to get that timing cover lip over the oil pan (sarcasm).

[Mator]

Polished the new radiator. Can’t wait to install it.

[texjake]

I stood in the driveway and waved goodbye to her while counting the fat stacks of cash. I'm ready for a new project now!

[85burb]

Installed my drop springs and before the new springs wheel well measured 33 7/8. After it measured 33 7/8. I was expecting more out of 2 inch drop springs. How long should it take to settle?

[magwakeenercew2jh]

Finally "finished" the column shortening and switching out Tom's amp:volt gauge kit. That part was a breeze. Works like a charm.

What *was* a PIA was the fact that the reverse/neutral switch wouldn't find a home on the tilt column where it would clear
the firewall clamps...whether I ran it inside of the cab or in the engine bay.

So, since I'd already used the M & H jumper on the neutral safety switch, I just wired in a toggle switch for the reverse lights and
put it in the e-brake cover.

Up:ON Down: OFF

Simple.

[ole dollor]

Originally Posted by texjake

I stood in the driveway and waved goodbye to her while counting the fat stacks of cash. I'm ready for a new project now!

well I bet you will miss that truck , I am glad we got to take them out for a cruise night a sonic before she left , cant wait to see the new project , let me know when you get it , I would love to see it ....... glad to know you and lets have another cruise nite when you get the next one going..... Don

[Tumbleweed1C4]

Pulled the cab up off the frame of the shortbed and suspended it so a body guy can come put it on his trailer and take it to his shop to repair the rot. Finally decided I am going to get some help at least on the cab to get the project moving faster. Wanted to do it myself but just can't get time on my side.

[texjake]

Originally Posted by ole dollor

well I bet you will miss that truck , I am glad we got to take them out for a cruise night a sonic before she left , cant wait to see the new project , let me know when you get it , I would love to see it ....... glad to know you and lets have another cruise nite when you get the next one going..... Don

Hey Don, yeah I miss driving it. That big block made a nice rumble in the neighborhood. Good to see you & the Mrs. & hope we can do a cruise next time when I get my next project done. I'm thinking this (see pic) may be my next project, a 1964 Chevelle Malibu SS.

[VWNate1]

I bent a push rod and so went off to the junkyard and pulled a new set of matching ones :



You can see the one bent one there , need to do some serious cleaning before using these .

I yanked them out of a 1980 G/10 van , the engine was full of crud :



It looks like they used cheapo paraffin based Dino oil and never changed it :



One of these push rods was so gunked up I had a heckuvva time getting it out .

I also went back to the 1968 C/20 I've been harvesting hardware from and they'd taken the V-8 engine out so I scored all the correct original motor mount to frame bolts & nuts plus some of the original tranny to engine bolts and lots of misc. 3/8" hardware they left scattered about .

All in all a good day , after that I ha to pull the dash out of a 1988 M-B W-126 , what a job that was ! about a million fasteners and I couldn't break / cut anything as Ineed to put said dash into my Brother's car .

[hamjet]

Theres a reason that pushrod bent. check the rockers at the cylinder of the bent pushrod to make sure the rocker wasn't riding off center on the valve. check rocker ball, and rocker itself for cracks or uneven wear. Have fun cleaning!!!!!!

[VWNate1]

Thanx Joe ;

Yes , the push rod bent because the engine tipped over on the engine stand , denting the chrome rockerbox slightly :

I'll replace them all because I don't like mis matched parts .

I thought I had a thread on this engine job but couldn't find it .

it's getting there bit by bit , a lot of wrong & gone missing hardware .

As far as cleaning , how's this :



This is the inside of the oil pan when first I removed it ~ I'm a firm believer in BLISTERING HOT regular oil changes .

The gunked up blue engine was the junkyard one .



The inside of my engine :



I have lots of photos of the engine and parts but not sure if they belong here or elsewhere....