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:agree: You might also want to consider removing a valve cover to visually confirm adequate dis·tri·bu·tion.

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LOL I have the Felpro one piece gasket. I had just installed it about 1000 miles before my engine disintegrated last year. I decided to reuse it since it was in such great shape. Well it must not have been it that great of shape after all.

I did take my valve covers off because I had a small leak on the supposedly reusable "never leak" rubber gaskets also. I put a finger smear of RTV on both sides and reinstalled and it seams to be working fine now, but there was good coverage over the entire valve assembly. I did not crank the engine with them off because I did not want the mess. It reacts as others have said. at idle it is around 65 psi and in the middle of the gage then around 2000 rpm it is on the high side. I wonder if this is why my really nice "reusable" pan gasket failed. I might get an old tall valve cover and cut the top out and install a piece of clear plex to it so I can see the opperation.

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The only pressure the pan gasket will see is the crankcase pressure, which has nothing to do with the oil pressure. Just the ring blow by if it's not vented well enough. If you have a good gasket on the pan and it leaks there are many causes. Pinched gaskets on steel pans where the bolts were over tightened in the past is very common. On mine I can not get the front of the pan to the front cover joint to seal. Never in the time I have had it. I've pulled it apart a few times, cleaned, refit the gaskets, checked the pan and front cover surfaces, etc and have never been able to get a good seal there.

Sometimes its not the pan gasket, but the rear crank seal.

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Isn't the viscosity of 5w-30 the same as straight up SAE 30 in warmer weather? I think 5w is just the cold weather viscosity.

Edit: http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/

For the leaky gaskets, RTV works wonders!

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That's what I was thinking, 10w for summer, 5w for winter, or the other way around.
Anyway,wWhere is the pan gasket leaking from?

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Don't blame you, I wouldn't turn it over without valve covers on either. Clear valve covers, my younger brother did that many years ago. Unless you think it'd look trick, go for it - I just check to see things are coated. For pressure, I think, if you blew out your oil filter seal, then you'd know you have too much pressure.

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I would not install them permantly just to check oil flow then replace with the aluminum ones.

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My 95 always starts @ 85bs and settels to 75lbs it is a crate engine w/40000 mi on it and no problems or leaks for the last 3 yrs, I push it hard plowing snow or pulling a trailer.

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That is good to know I have been a little concerned about the difference from what it used to be vs what it is now. Seems like a lot of guys are having the same readings on their stock gage.

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looks very fine

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The work on your truck looks great. Did you make the AC delete filler panel? If so are you interested in making/selling anymore? I have been looking for sources for bolt-in/fastener type panels (I have a 1972 C10). Porterbuilt panels look great but they only recommend welding them. I have found one source on e-bay: LRE Fab Shop. http://stores.ebay.com/LRE-Fab-Shop. Thanks for any input.

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Hey11, welcome to the board, Yes I did make it and it was super easy. I made it out of 18 ga. stainless steel but it could be made out of aluminum of carbon steel also. I just did not want to deal with trying to paint it or oxidation issues. I just took an old cardboard box and cut the shape I needed to completely cover all the holes, then transferred that to the steel and cut it out. I used 1/4 inch thick sticky back foam to make a gasket so the steel would not scratch my newly painted firewall, and screwed it into place.

My philosophy is you can take any ideas from my build and incorporate them into yours, but as soon as I start fabing things for others it becomes work, not my hobby.

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when the fun stops the job begins

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Mike, thank-you for sharing the info on how you made the panel. I am a fan of stainless steel parts when possible. Also thanks for noticing that was my first post. I have been following the forum for about 4 years and have learned much from all the people and their trucks on this board.

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When I bought my C20 I had wanted to get into a project truck for a while but did not have the time or the money. This $700 gem fell into my lap and I have learned so much from this board. I encourage you to give the fabrication a try. Start small on the non critical stuff, then work your way into the more important components. I have done so much more on this truck than I thought I ever would.

From your user name sounds like you have a truck you like to race. Do you have any picks of it?

Mike

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Mike, thanks for your interest, advice and words of encouragement. I have had my truck for approximately 10 years. It was my daily driver for the first 5 and over the last 5 I have been restoring it with the help of a lot of people. I try to do as much as possible. Usually I get in the way of people who know what they are doing. The truck is fast but totally a street vehicle (Gear Vendors overdrive helps alot). Don’t mean to hijack your thread but attached are 2 pictures. Larry.

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Great looking truck Larry, I think you should start your own build thread on that one, it looks sharp and a lot of guys would be interested in the progression.

No worries on posting pics in my build I think it is cool that after lurking for 4 years you chose my build to introduce yourself. My truck is mostly in between phases now and it is nice to see new guys reading it.

What do you have in front of the gear vendors? I live in El Cajon about two miles from their shop. I contemplated putting one in but went with the O.D. tranny instead. In hind sight it might have been cheaper to rebuild the TH400 and put a gear vendors in and have a 6 speed.

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Hey Mike, again thanks for your interest in my truck. As far as starting a thread I might in the future if I make some drastic modifications. I have a TH400 connected to the gear vendors. Those trannies take a lot of abuse. With the gear vendors I have the best of both worlds. Connected to the TH400 I have a BB 454 that has been modified by Rollins Automotive (Gainesville, FL). They do great work. One last pic that shows the engine and why I am interested in your cool AC delete panel. The truck had AC but I took it out. I like to ride with the windows down - AC is overrated in Florida. Larry

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Looks good. Yeah a delete plate would work well in your truck. I am planning on the Vintage air system for my truck so I wanted something that I could remove and punch the correct holes and then reinstall.

I used to have a C20 work truck that had a 454 with 4:11 gears and it surprised more than a few mid-life crissis cases in their little sports cars sitting at the traffic lights:lol:

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Got some striping paint for the front grill, it is gloss black, I am a little worried that it will be too glossy, anyone ever painted the letters and trim on a grill? I believe the original was sort of semigloss or even matte black.

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I used semi gloss on mine when I painted the stripe around the grill and headlight area. I just used rattle can paint, but followed the body shops advice and taped the grill off and scuffed the areas I was painting, then used etching primer, then paint. So far so good. And I did this on a new chromed steel grill.
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...k/IMG_1553.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...k/IMG_1552.jpg

And its even the same color as yours for an even better comaprison. lol

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Stock gage I believe is a 60 lb, my 70 is pegged at start up

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Yeah I was wondering about the glossy part. I like the look of your finish.

Yeah the more people I talk to the more I hear that I will be fine
Thanks for confirming
Posted via Mobile Device

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looks real nice

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I painted the grill today after three years of saying I was going to.

I did it by hand vs. masking and spraying it. I bought a pin striping brush and just went slow.

I think it came out real good, I was concerned about it being too glossy but there is such little surface area that you really do not notice.

http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/o...ainting007.jpg

http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/o...ainting008.jpg

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Looks super clean mike great job man
Posted via Mobile Device

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Nice work! It looks really good to me.

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Very Nice!!

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Looks good, how well did the brush strokes flow out??

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They flowed pretty well but I had to go back and touch up some of the letters and they did not flow as well there but all in all it turned out good.

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Good think i will pick some up this week and redo my hub caps.

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I used a lettering/striping paint, I did scuff the alluminum with a scotch brite pad before I painted it.

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Are you going to Brothers this year?

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Trying to make my schedule work around it mike. Alot of side jobs keep coming my way and its not slowing down anytime soon it looks like. I hope i can still make it down there for the show and to visit my brother. We will see how it goes its a few weeks away.

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I hope it works out this year. I know the feeling when the jobs just keep rolling in. In this economy it is a good problem to have.

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exactly not sure if i want to sacrafice a 3 to 4 day weekend with times like this.

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Good to see you this weekend Mike. Great job on the truck very well thought out and great craftsmanship.

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Thanks Travis, I will definitely be wanting a ride in that beast when you get it done!

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A while back I purchased some fabricated valve covers and I also picked up some rubber gaskets that were supposedly for the fabricated valve covers. I installed them when the engine was out so I know I lined them up exactly and they had not slipped around. Before I had even driven the truck out of the driveway when I had the tranny problem, we discovered that the valve covers were leaking on the bottom rear corner, just a small weep but annoying on a nice clean and detailed engine.

The covers were tightened to spec and still leaks. Finally removed the gaskets and put a finger smear of RTV on the top and bottom of the gasket. Next day the same oil drip was on the pan. I then removed the valve covers again and installed the FelPro rubber ones that were on the truck before the bent push rod. They are a much better design, I guess I was just going on the thought that since the new ones were designed for fabricated covers they should be better for my application.

So far I have driven the truck about 30 miles on the better gaskets and they are not leaking, but time will tell.

Pic #1 leaky on on the left and Felpro on the right. Pic #2 you can see from the crease that is on the gasket that the stock SBC heads do not fit correctly on these gaskets. They just do not have enough meat in the corners to prevent leaks. Pic #3 where as the Felpro design has little ridges that direct oil that gets between the cover and the head back into the engine before it leaks out.

http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/o...gaskets001.jpg

http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/o...gaskets002.jpg

http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/o...gaskets003.jpg

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I still have a small oil leak in between the valve cover and head. It is a lot less with the Mr Gasket seals than it was before so I am not pulling my hair out but eventually I will have to do something about it.

I went to a local show and cruise last weekend and took my dad along with me. I usually tell people as a standard exit phrase; "watch the side pipe when you get out". Well I forgot this time and he really burned himself good on the back of his legs. I am now looking into some sort of shield that does not ruin the clean look of the pipes but also will protect any unsuspecting passengers. You really only burn yourself once, then you learn but I have had too many first time riders that have become victim on the pipes.
Ford has a cool electrically activated step for the 4x4 F350's the rolls out when you open the door. I might see if I can modify the step so it is more of a heat shield rather than a step.