"Elwood" the 77_remix

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Ken,... look into Edelbrock aluminum water pumps.
I'm a believer in them. That's also what Billet Specialties uses in their Tru-Trac kits.

Keith, I have used Auto Zone pumps for years with no failure. Just my luck that I get the one that doesnt meet the usual standards. I will be using an Edelbrock pump now. Eddie Motorsports includes them with their S Drive kit as well.

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Not being one to waste valuable shop time, I decided to step away from my broken bolt crisis. I will have to make it right, but wanted to end the day having accomplished something positive.

Chris and I dug in to the Eddie Motorsports and found the instructions. Fortunately they were written for guys and have plenty of pictures. Its ironic that I was once an avid reader, but hate instructions with more words than pics. These had a nice balance of both.

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We spread things out on a bench so we could see what we had. I requested the polished version and my rep encouraged the Protective Fusion Clear Coat to eliminate having to maintain the polished surfaces. I highly suggest this feature as most of the parts become virtually impossible to polish once installed.

[LT7A]

Ken, I have a broken off water pump bolt with the hardened tip of an extractor buried in it as well. What I found works on the hardened tip is a grinding stone on the end of a Dremel. "Works" may be the wrong word since as you can imagine it is a very slow process. And once you have the hardened material out of the way then you're still left with getting the rest of the bolt out. I may rent a magnetic drill so that I have something stable to try to drill out the center of the shaft. Then with a bunch of heat and penetrating oil I hope to get the remainder of the bolt out.

[gringoloco]

Welding a nut on the broken stud is the way to go. Keeps the weld inside the hole, gives you something to grip, and heats it up nice for smooth extraction

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Welding a nut on the broken stud is the way to go. Keeps the weld inside the hole, gives you something to grip, and heats it up nice for smooth extraction

I would like to have that as an option, but per Ken's post number 556:

"Very viable options if the remains werent deep in the hole."

I'm in the same predicament. Hence my recommendation.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Welding a nut on the broken stud is the way to go. Keeps the weld inside the hole, gives you something to grip, and heats it up nice for smooth extraction

This is the most common suggestion. Unfortunately its just not viable at this point. Had a I tried it when the body of the bolt was visible it could have worked. The handle on my MIG is broken and I cant find a replacement so I didnt consider it at the time.

Originally Posted by LT7A

I would like to have that as an option, but per Ken's post number 556:"Very viable options if the remains werent deep in the hole."I'm in the same predicament. Hence my recommendation.

Exactly. I am going to try a punch to fracture the broken remains. If that doesnt work I will try the Dremel tool option.

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Chris unpacked all of the parts to the S Drive system while I finished up stripping the front of the block. With all of the old components clear we were able to start mounting the Eddie Motorsports system. The firs step was to bolt water pump spacers to the block. I finger tightened all of the bolts but one, and said a few more curse words at the bolt hole from hell that I would need to address later.

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The spacers were followed by a polished high flow Edelbrock water pump. With the pump mounted spacers were added to create stands for the main support brackets.

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Next the main support bracket was added. This will support of of the accessories. With the support bracket in place we were able to begin adding components in their proper position. The power steering pump used is a late model GM pump.

[aggie91]

That's gonna be nice!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by aggie91

That's gonna be nice!

Thank you sir. The components are premium quality fit and finish. It should look very smooth when done.

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Moving up to the alternator, I noted the manufacturers tag as I installed it. The kit comes with a Powermaster 170 amp alternator to provide adequate amperage to the system.

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Running a bit behind on my updates, so lets add a couple more. With the drivers side in good shape, I moved to the passenger side. The A/C compressor was set in place. With the compressor in place I started adding the studs for the fan spacer. I'm not sure what combination will eventually end up here. I do plan to run a clutch fan.

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This system requires a reverse rotation fan and clutch so I will make adjustments once I make these purchases. Until then I plan to use parts from the old system so I can finish mocking it up. Don't worry, EVERYTHING will be new.

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Moving down now, I installed the crank pulley. After that the belt tensioner was bolted on as well.

[Rickysnickers]

That looks nice.

[rustytruck50]

Cool!!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

That looks nice.

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Cool!!

Thanks

[N2TRUX]

While waiting for the line kit to come in from Eddie Motorsports I ordered the replacement radiator. I really hated that I had destroyed a very clean copper and brass unit. I researched trying to have mine rebuilt, and that is no longer a viable option. The cost of copper cores has become so expensive that I could buy three with an aluminum core.

All of the LS swap experts recommend using the Spectra Premium CU730 which is the replacement for the OEM big block equipped trucks. I'm told these cool better than the factory 4 row copper cores.

Unfortunately Summit used UPS as the carrier on this shipment. I received my parts yesterday, and the box was damaged. The radiator wasnt hurt too bad, but I am having it replaced.

[lolife99]

Cold Case makes a nice aluminum radiator with aluminum tanks.
Maybe they would be interested in sponsoring your build.
https://www.coldcaseradiators.com/ch...m-radiator-at/

Or Jegs,...
https://www.jegs.com/i/Cold-Case-Rad...T556A/10002/-1

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Cold Case makes a nice aluminum radiator with aluminum tanks.

I looked at those along with a dozen others. I decided to give this a try based on the feed back from the guys on the LS conversion feeds.

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Friday night I worked on Jake for a while. Take a look here for updates "Crewcab Jake"
I spent some time through the week sanding the layers of primer off of the old bed that came with Jake. I wanted to get a true picture of what was under the multiple layers of paint before selling it.


Friday night I got one side finished so I moved back over to Elwood. I'm waiting on parts from several vendors, so I pulled the grill and headlamp doors off. That gave me access to remove stock evaporator core and related lines. With that area exposed I can get a clear picture of where to install the Restomod Air evaporator and drier.

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While waiting for a power steering line kit from Eddie Motorsports, I unpacked the latest shipment from RestoMod Air.

Since my A/C conversion started as a design project, I didnt begin with a true "kit". The inside components of the system are installed and documented here- Link
Now its time to put the pieces in place under the hood.

Heres my latest shipment-

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I worked on centering the condenser and modifying the universal brackets that came with the kit. I used rubber bushing to float the mounting bolts. Once everything was mounted, I felt compelled to clean up the look of the universal fit bracket.