Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Those do look nice. Hope you get it all done for this weekend. I'm headed to Salt Lake City to watch my daughter's last Gym competition for this season this weekend. Hope ya'll have a good time!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

ken, sorry for the confusion. I used the delete plate to go along with my theme of the truck "looking very plain" in features, but having all the aminities like AC, cup holders & Radio. that was for my '72.
In the square body I am going for the opposite... :lol: I would like to add a push button ignition (keyless start?) the DBW gas pedal &
incorporate the cruise system too (if I am smart enough to figure all of it out! :lol: I hate to say it but I might cut the dash to add a din size new radio...
please don't yell at me! :cool: although the USA & Retro sound radios have all the features as well, As far as the radio goes, I would just like to have
the wireless bluetooth option so as to be able to do calls like I do in my tahoe and maxima... ;)

Thanks for letting me chime in & being able to partake of your knowledge & talents!!:metal:

Jake ;)

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

As always its a thrash to the finish. We decided to leave Thursday night to avoid Friday morning traffic in Ft Worth. i had hoped to finish up around 10:00 and be on the road. We bolted the hood on, and it was so much easier to do with the new hinges. They lined up easily and we had the hood adjusted in a few minutes.
After adding the Wilwood master cylinder, I determined I had almost no pedal function. I could stop, but the pedal was to the floor. Unfortunately I had no time to play with the brakes. I figure stopping is over rated.

We loaded Elwood up on the trailer, and went to strap it down. Thats when I discovered a cooloant leak. It was coming from the radiator hose where it meets the water pump. I assumed it was a bit loose and tried tightening it. That made the leak worse. i realized it the hose section was not on far enough so I loosened the clamps to push it on further.

Yes, I knew it was a bad idea to be directly under the hose looking up at it, but it was the only way to access it while on the trailer. I attempted to push the hose further on. This forced the hose off, and a massive stream of hot water and coolant gushed down. It went in my eyes, ears, nose, and a large quantity was swallowed.

After cursing profusely, I hosed myself off. I looked at the truck, shruggged my shoulders and decided "It ain't fixing itself" and crawled back under. An hour later I was all cleaned up and headed for the C10 Nationals.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

I have to admit Ken, but that made me chuckle a bit. I think we have all done something that we just have suck it up and move forward. I saw the video on FB. Elwood is looking good!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

I have some catching up to do in my yard, but I should be back on this project soon. I am working with Eddie Motorsports to continue updating the motor. I'm going to install and document a S Drive serpentine system. This will tie in with the RestoMod Air A/C system.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Excuse the lack of updates. I had a few remodel and yard projects to get caught up on before my family came to town. Once they got here, we had multiple family gatherings and a long weekend at Crystal Beach. While there at the beach house we had another group of family get together, so you see what I have been up to.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

No worries here, we all need a break now and again. Hope you are recharged and ready to knock out what's left on Elwood!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

I need to go back to work so I can rest Karl.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

AMEN to that. :lol:

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

While my family was in town I got an email from my rep at Ridetech He wanted to set up a photo shoot with Stephen Kim from Wheel Hub magazine. The RideTech marketing department had chosen Elwood to be used in an upcoming ad campaign. WoW! This was exciting news.

We discussed several options for a photo shoot, and I suggested the vintage gas station that I had used as a backdrop many years ago. Everyone liked the idea, so a time was set to meet.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

For those that have not seen the pics I am referring to, the thread is located here. DO NOT OPEN- Air Ride Technologies inside.

I worked with RideTech and Roger at RPL Customs to document the original 4 link install and system update. Roger and Keith (n2billet) did the install, and I documented the process in a build thread. Once completed I did a photo shoot at a vintage gas station located in Cypress near where I live.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

All of this resulted in an article in Street trucks magazine N2TRUX in StreetTrucks Magazine! Here-LINK and here LINK

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Being a professional photographer Stephen has the skills and equipment to shoot during the magic hour of light right before the sun goes down. I took a few over the shoulder shots as I watched an artist ply his trade. My buddy Rodney caught an over the shoulder, over the shoulder show that he shared as well.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

It like looking at two different trucks. Elwood is looking good.

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Thumbs up...

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It has changed a bit. I feel I kept the key elements intact that everyone seemed to love. I truly love the new look though.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

If you follow me on Instagram at @n2trux you already know that my trip to the RideTech photo shoot with Stephen Kim of Wheel Hub magazine didnt go without incident. On the way to the shoot I heard a loud high pitched squeal. It went away immediately, and left me wondering what it was. I checked my gauges with no indication of concern coming from them. I listened carefully, and couldnt determine what had caused the noise.

I stopped at a red light and steam rolled out from under my hood. With no place in sight to pull over, I continued on the short distance to my destination keeping a close eye on my gauges.. I popped the hood to discover a unique problem. The brand new water pump had spun the hub off the end. The fan, clutch assembly, and pulley were laying in the fan shroud. This was no going well at all.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Fortunately it didn't launch itself upward and damage the hood. Unfortunately it did destroy a true copper and brass radiator. I had brought along a tool box, so I pulled the fan shroud to access the fan assembly. I was able to remove the belt, and slide the fan out. I set the assembly and shroud in the floor of the truck as the photographer set up. Once he say the damage he asked what the plan was. I said "Lets do this" and we got the shoot done.

Later I examined the pulley and saw what had caused the loud squeal I had heard. The crank pulley actually sawed through the fan pulley.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Bad to see that happened, though like you mentioned at least it didn’t go up and damage the hood. What company manufactured the water pump?

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I can honestly say I have never seen that before. Again, glad you didn't get body damage.

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I always buy my water pumps from Auto Zone. These days they are all re-manufactured, so I buy from a source thats easy to access in the event of failure. Usually that equates to a seeping weep hole. I have never had catastrophic failure from a water pump.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Its a first for me as well. The radiator is an expensive loss, but nothing compared to what the hood would cost to repair or replace.

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Since this happened while my family was still staying at my house, I pulled it in my shop and let it set. I knew the fix wouldnt be simple considering I already had the Eddie Motorsports S Drive system sitting under a work bench. Combine that with several other parts that needed replaced, repair, or repainted it was a project that had to be left for a later date.

I'm finally caught up with the most pressing chores, so Chris and I got started this weekend. I knew I had a messy situation to deal with, but I had no idea how ugly it was about to get.

Removing the Bills Hotrod Company pulley system was fairly simple. I have done it enough times to have a system down where I remove it in sub assemblies to keep all the spacers in place.

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With the old drive system out of the way, I was able to get a better look at the front of the block. I was pleased that the water pump gaskets were still in place, but that happiness was short lived.

I started to remove the water pump bolts and noticed that the top bolt was no longer tight against the housing. I had no doubt that I had tightened the bolt adequately, and coated them with silicone to ensure I had no leaks.

My heart sank as I realized that the top two bolts were sheared off. I can only assume that the force from the pulley on the snout of the pump snapped the bolts off. I removed the bottom bolts and slid the pump aside.

As expected, the bolts sheared smoothly at the block. Just when you think things cant get worse, they do.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

:dohh::cuss::thud:
Awww, that totally, completely sucks....guess the good thing is they are right close to the surface, so it should be a bit less of a pain to get after them with a bolt extractor. Been there & done that...didn't even get the stinkin' t-shirt! My '72 has been sitting in the driveway for a couple of months now, because it handed me a similar situation. Argh!!

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

Yeah, that sounds good in theory. I ground them flush and center punched the stud. I drilled the first one and gently worked it with an extractor bit. With plenty of lube and lots of prayers it finally came out. I

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

One down, and one to go. I used the same method on this side, but it was destined to be a battle from the beginning. Even though I center punched the stud, the bit was determined to walk off center. I finally got adequate depth for the extractor bit and began the process of run it in, take it out and lube it again. Things were going smoothly till the tip of the extractor snapped off down in the hole.
I tried a center punch to shatter the extractor tip, with minimal progress. In frustration I found a hardened drill bit and tried to drill through. Of course that snapped off too.
Now I have the remains od the extractor and the bit in the hole.
I decided to walk away and research my options.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

This is called 'Scotluck'.

Re: "Elwood" the 77_remix
 

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.

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....so that's what they're calling it these days....

Yikes.....I've had that kind of sweet hell before......not a good time :dohh:

Are you thinking Helicoil? My limited experience with broken bolts doesn't offer up much else...good luck!

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Ken, I would recommend you try a smaller bolt or 1/4" round stock and weld it to the broken bolt. I usually extend the wire from a small mig out further than normal, all you need is one good tack and that bolt will come right out. A 110V mig with .023-.025 wire is perfect for that. Good luck sir

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If it were me, and this is just me talking....I'd mask off the block and surrounding areas with some weld proof material and fill the area with weld and weld a nut onto the broken bits and get it out that way. I had to do this with 3 exhaust manifold bolts that broke off in the cylinder heads, it worked great. It took some planning, prep and patience to get them all but that was the only way for me.

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I thought it was Sh!tluck, Scoti. Thanks for clarifying. :lol:

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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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I get a feeling I will end up with a Heli-Coil insert once I'm done. Before I can do that, I have to get more of the remains out of the hole.

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Very viable options if the remains werent deep in the hole. It may come to that, but first I'm going to try a diamond tip burr to eat the hardened bit remains out.

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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.

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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.

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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