41DegreesSouth Build Thread

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice and congrats on passing the first inspection! Isn't that crazy that 1/8" dia was causing that issue? Apparently there just wasn't enough volume for the system to work properly. The truck looks awesome too by the way!

[Billhilly]

Thanks Ryan. Yeah I've got a hardly used 1" MC if someone needs one! Just run the maths and that 1/16" around the OD of the 1" cylinder actually adds 25%. Crazy aye.

[ryanroo]

So cool!

[Billhilly]

!
Thanks Ryan!
Gonna pull the carb tomorrow and see what I did wrong.....

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by Billhilly

Thank you Swamp Rat! Just need to get it finished up now...



So 8* as a starting point? (All new MSD dizzy etc).



Just finished rebuilding it, wondering how much this is adding to my problems

Yea 8* is a good starting point, be sure to have the vacuum advance module unhooked and the line plugged when setting timing. Pending build you could possibly go up to 12, when i was a young one we used to tune with a timing light then find a nice stretch of road (easy to do where i used to live) and adjust the advance a little then do a hard accel and listen by ear to get the best acceleration without detonation or dieseling when shut off, then recheck with a timing light with the vacuum advance unhooked to note where it is set. once your happy with the timing then reset the carb one last time.

Per the carb just read and reread then rebuild instructions well, i rebuilt my Edelbrock carb about 10 years ago and i thought i had a linkage for the choke plate way out so bent it to what i thought was proper, then i rebuilt it again a couple years ago and i was shocked at how much i messed it up the last time i rebuilt it LOL! We all make mistakes sometimes.

[Billhilly]

Just a quick update this morning...
Been battling the carb, but think I might be finally winning. Had a very slight misalignment on one secondary butterfly, but I wonder if the warpage in the float bowl was enough to not seal between the primaries/secondaries against the throttle body. Pretty stiff gasket between the two. Finally have some air idle adjustment, less smoke etc.
Took it up to the government testing station last week. I left some things not done for them to pick on (!) and there was plenty of random things they could have picked as well. All done in one day (they had originally said two to three!). Three things wrong.....to much smoke out the exhaust, front tyre tread sticking outside of the guards, and no mudflaps........... Well I know it's smoky but really! Tyres were sticking out less than 1/4"!!, and I'd been told by one inspector I didn't need mudflaps because they were never fitted originally! Going to ring Goverment agency today and sort the mudflap issue out. Just need to be a little careful. When it comes down to it, if that's the only thing I need to do to get my plates, a thinking man would do it and move on! Getting closer...

[DeadheadNM]

Looks great - glad to know it's not just the MVDs in the USA that toss out conflicting information, it's universal. Mudflaps wouldn't look bad IMO if you had to add them.

[swamp rat]

X2! ^^

If ya had a couple rims with a different offset or narrower it may make the difference, we actually have that law here where i live but as you can see i skirt it and so far no tickets..the bare rim is what i'm running now, the tire/rim is the old rims i no longer run.

[Billhilly]

Thanks Guys!
Literally just got off the phone with the gubberment guy. Mudflaps it is! Get them on, get it all legal. Drive. Smile!

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice to hear they only razzed you on 3 things! The truck looks great! That's good to hear you're winning on the carb portion too!

[1985-GMC]

I'd just put them on there. Who's to say they don't "fall" off later...

[Billhilly]

Man I suck at telling stories!
Belated Christmas/New Year greetings from down under.....
Sorry guys. So I spent a couple more night shifts fashioning some mudflaps all round. Back to the .gov testing station. Guy only glanced at them! Near enough I guess, cause after testing the brakes and lights again (!) I got the big tick! Warrent of fitness (retest every six months) issued, and registration (12 months) all sorted. So as of the 17th December finally legal, and while they 'can' take it off me, now I'm in the system with a new Vin etc etc, I am good to go. Oh, and I never have to go back to the hacks up at the Government place. Any garage that issues WOF's is all I need. Plus I get special registration pricing for being old. Well, the vehicle, not me!
So yeah

[Billhilly]

Pretty happy! Number plates and everything bro!
Fitted a Innovate O2 sensor/gauge and the engine was cruising at about a perfect mix, so that was a bonus. Took a run South on the 21st over the pass to the city. About a 1500' change in elevation at the top. The engine temp had been a solid 175* tooling around the valley floor. It was a stinking hot day and the temp went up to 195*. I was still running straight water, and thought that with a change to an antifreeze mix, and a surfactant, that the truck may run cooler. The fans struggled to pull it down as well. More on this later!

Anywho what with Christmas and that whole working for a living thing, that second half of December flew by. Part of the reason behind the big push to get the truck finished was a wedding party in Taupo on the 29th. A friend had got married in Vancouver in August and they were throwing a party in New Zealand for those who didn't make it to the actual wedding. So with a host of last last minute things taken care of, and after at least 100 miles on the clock since a nine year rest, we were on our way on the 27th for a 600 mile road trip! What could possibly go wrong!

[Billhilly]

Well one of the problems with having (very) limited run time in the truck that I didn't have a handle on 'normal'. So of course the first thing that happened as we headed North, and up in elevation, was the engine temp went up and sat at 195*. Truck was running rock solid besides that. It drives great, runs and brakes straight. (And yeah, rides a bit like a solid axle, leaf sprung 3/4 ton truck!) So with no idea of normal, I was taking it real easy on the big grades. Then about half way up it got up to around 215*. At that stage I pulled over and let it cool for a bit. The fans actually pulled it back to 175* but on the road it was straight up to 195*. Anyway with just a couple of stops we made it to Taupo. I talked to a few people and everyone seemed relaxed about 195, and even 215. I had a 160* thermostat in because I had read that propane loves that sort of thing. I bought and fitted a 180* thermostat, and a infrared thermometer in Taupo, and did a couple of hill runs and it seemed to hold pretty steady at 195* so I called it good.
On the way South on the 30th you leave the lake at around 1500', and the run up to the summit of the Desert Road is at about 3500'. I got after it and again, twice it went to 215, but I kept at it and the temp soon came down to 195 again.

I will probably start a thread on this subject, but what are your opinion's on this? What is 'normal' for these trucks? I've got zero experience with these motor's/vehicles. My feeling right now is that with no load on, and not pulling anything, that it temps should have been more stable. I'm wondering about the fan's I bought (being far to small), and no extra 'holes' in my shroud for highway speed air flow.

Sunset over the volcano's..... Looking South over the lake, Mount Ngauruhoe just behind the cab.

[Billhilly]

So I need to do some more timing/tuning, but the truck is starting/running really well. Oil pressure is solid at 40 pounds hot, at around 60 mph. Need to get a rev counter. Need to start looking at all the unfinished things! Need to build a bed slide/topper deal so I can get my tools on board!

[1985-GMC]

The mud flaps don't look half bad, I would round the bottom corners a little but other than that I don't mind them. Plus they'll help protect the paint.

I'm in Texas so it gets pretty hot here during the summer and I always have problems with overheating when running the stock fan clutch. Once I get rid of them and just run a fan with a spacer I never have another problem. You also want about an inch of the fan sticking out of the fan shroud for it to draw properly. I installed 2 14" electric fans in front of my condenser last summer just to help out with the A/C at idle, they did help a little but they pull no where near enough air to cool a 454. I would suggest installing a solid fan and I don't think you'll ever have another problem. Look up Flex-A-Lite FLX-1719, it's a solid 19" fan with aluminum blades. They make spacers too but I'm not sure on the length for your truck, if I had to guess 2.5"-3" would be pretty close.

[notchbackgta]

Factory GM vehicles run a 205 degree thermostat if I remember correctly. If the oil doesn't get up over 200 it can't boil the water out that accumulates. The factory electric fan in my 92 Firebird doesn't even come on until 220. I wouldn't start to worry until 230 and over

[Dieselwrencher]

Most small blocks I've had in these trucks ran around 180* empty, 195-210* towing heavy in the summer. (I'm talking 15k plus. Poor truck didn't really like the 38' horse trailer fully loaded)I never had a propane one though. If you have a 180* stat, I don't think it should be running up to 215* with no load. I could be wrong though. Does it have any air trapped in the cooling system by chance?

[Billhilly]

Thanks for your thoughts guys. At this stage I want to stick with electric fans if I can.
Not running on propane yet.
I agree with you Ryan. I don't think it should be so variable/hot with no load at all. 15K!! Thad'd warm it up I'd say! My gut feeling is the fans are too small/shroud is to restrictive. I have two 12" Flexalite fans one of the vendors sold me. Trapped air is an interesting question. I have a funky lower hose because of the steering box on the right side. I talked to a couple of guys about the possibility of air trapping in it, but everyone seemed happy the pump would 'push' any air out. I'm still on the fence on that! I'll get a photo tomorrow.

[ryanroo]

The truck is awesome. i imagine it is one of the more unusual vehicles rumbling down the road that far south of the equator. that doesn't even take into account the pretty amazing RH drive conversion.

my 350/350 K20 truck runs very cool unloaded. it has a clutch fan and no shroud. the fans may well be the issue with restriction depending on how its set up. i dont remember. i woudn't discount air trapped in the system though. sometimes the air bleeding process is a pain, definitely more so with funky hoses. it can give you fluctuations and overheating issues.

i'm not sure this is even worth mentioning, since i dont exactly agree myself.... But, there was always talk of 400 sbc engines running hotter due to a revised casting to allow for the bigger bores. i kind of think its malarky. what i think happened more was people beating the crap out of 400s and having them fail because of that. bigger motor? heavier foot. i never heard of the problem from someone who drove a station wagon to the grocery with four kids in the back complain about overheating a 400. it was always the meatheads that were kicking the crap out of stuff.

[Billhilly]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

The truck is awesome. i imagine it is one of the more unusual vehicles rumbling down the road that far south of the equator. that doesn't even take into account the pretty amazing RH drive conversion.

my 350/350 K20 truck runs very cool unloaded. it has a clutch fan and no shroud. the fans may well be the issue with restriction depending on how its set up. i dont remember. i woudn't discount air trapped in the system though. sometimes the air bleeding process is a pain, definitely more so with funky hoses. it can give you fluctuations and overheating issues.

i'm not sure this is even worth mentioning, since i dont exactly agree myself.... But, there was always talk of 400 sbc engines running hotter due to a revised casting to allow for the bigger bores. i kind of think its malarky. what i think happened more was people beating the crap out of 400s and having them fail because of that. bigger motor? heavier foot. i never heard of the problem from someone who drove a station wagon to the grocery with four kids in the back complain about overheating a 400. it was always the meatheads that were kicking the crap out of stuff.

Hey Ryan,

Was wondering how you were getting on.

Thanks for the positive comments! Considering what's in your shop.... I tell people 'there's this guy in CO, and he's got twins! And airbags! And you should see it'. Yeah, 600 miles to Taupo and back and not many full size trucks. Probably count them on one hand. Certainly no 67-72's.

The pic's show my cobbled together lower hose, and fans/shroud. The hose is three pieces joined together. (I really don't like those convoluted hoses.) It has got a spring inside it. I was concerned about an air pocket at the high point (red arrow) but as I said, a couple of 'car guys' I've talked to were happy the pump would purge it. I'm just not sure. Besides that lower hose, is there any other particular spot that would trap air? I leave the cap off till the thermostat opens, bleed the heater circuit etc.

The 400 thing is another subject entirely. Like you I'm not really sold on it. Plenty of 400's running around the place. I have one block drain I couldn't budge, so I need to get that loose without wreaking anything. Then I need to get the appropriate block flush and run that,and then flush and refill.

As you can see I have the two 12" fans, around 2200 cfm according to Flexalite. They make a 13 1/2" that would take it to 4600 cfm. (Seems like a big jump in numbers). I also don't have any 'flaps' to allow highway speed air to flow through. Even on the Flexalite site, some shrouds do, some don't.
So yeah, flush next, then talk to Flexalite about getting a pair of 13 1/2's without a shroud and see what they say.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts on the matter.

[El Dorado Jim]

Originally Posted by Billhilly

I had bought a set of blue hub dials from a board member but they ended up being cracked (as mine were) so I got a pair of Ferd ones offa Ebay. Couldn't decide whether to leave them red (with the Ferd lettering) to annoy the purist's or paint them blue. I read someone talking about swapping over the lettering and found that yes, the lettering does prise out. There is a plastic paint that is a very close colour match but down here in paradise it was ridiculous $$ so decided on the below compromise! Now all I need to do is swap over the lettering without wreaking the paint....

GMCGrim has blue anodized aluminum hub centers for those big spicer 3/4 ton hubs,he is in the 4x4 message board,I have bought 2 sets from him,they are very nice....I just finished reading your complete build thread, pretty amazing, you did an awesome job, I probably would have given up a long time ago, just soo much work, Your truck is beautiful and what a great job you did on the right hand drive conversion!

[Billhilly]

Originally Posted by El Dorado Jim

GMCGrim has blue anodized aluminum hub centers for those big spicer 3/4 ton hubs,he is in the 4x4 message board,I have bought 2 sets from him,they are very nice....I just finished reading your complete build thread, pretty amazing, you did an awesome job, I probably would have given up a long time ago, just soo much work, Your truck is beautiful and what a great job you did on the right hand drive conversion!

Thanks for the heads up Jim. I see them over there, and would love a pair, but I've really really got to stop spending!
Thank you for the compliment! I appreciate it. I'm of course wrapped to have it legal and driving, but I'm still warming to it! I was (massively) naive about the amount of time/$ involved in resurrecting a vehicle like this, in the condition it was in, in my location. Once you are part way in, you have to finish it! There is no value in a pile of parts. All I ever wanted was an original paint truck, and convert and do the drive train mods underneath. That obviously didn't pan out, so yeah, the time/$ thing has got out of hand.
Having said that the time I had with my younger daughter (18) a couple of weeks ago (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...442079&page=12 post #288) was, as the Visa ad says 'priceless', and my eldest daughter (20) will be back in the country in two weeks for a few weeks so we are planning a few days away with the three of us. Better late than never I guess! It was built to be my work truck, so the push is on to make a bed slide, and topper, and then start addressing the $$ issue. 2016 is going to be a good year!

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by Billhilly

Thanks for the heads up Jim. I see them over there, and would love a pair, but I've really really got to stop spending!

what kind of attitude is that? HAHA

i know how the snowball ride goes too... i have intentionally never counted or kept receipts. pay only when i have money and never, ever try to add it up.

[El Dorado Jim]

Originally Posted by Billhilly

Thanks for the heads up Jim. I see them over there, and would love a pair, but I've really really got to stop spending!
Thank you for the compliment! I appreciate it. I'm of course wrapped to have it legal and driving, but I'm still warming to it! I was (massively) naive about the amount of time/$ involved in resurrecting a vehicle like this, in the condition it was in, in my location. Once you are part way in, you have to finish it! There is no value in a pile of parts. All I ever wanted was an original paint truck, and convert and do the drive train mods underneath. That obviously didn't pan out, so yeah, the time/$ thing has got out of hand.
Having said that the time I had with my younger daughter (18) a couple of weeks ago (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...442079&page=12 post #288) was, as the Visa ad says 'priceless', and my eldest daughter (20) will be back in the country in two weeks for a few weeks so we are planning a few days away with the three of us. Better late than never I guess! It was built to be my work truck, so the push is on to make a bed slide, and topper, and then start addressing the $$ issue. 2016 is going to be a good year!

really cool pics of your trip, your truck is so awesome