Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks Dean!

Re: Rat repair.
 

I took a real close look at the other side and made a couture template and compared it to the other side, there was a lot of difference in that area so i got out the long board and took off more of the bondo, I'm guesstimating at least .050 on some places, then i primered it back up again, i still have some touch up work to do in it. At least its better.

Called Speedway about my back order, they got on it and my manifolds shipped today thankfully!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Been thinking about how i'm gonna solve the gas flip door problem and decided i didn't want to experiment with my existing door so i made a run to a local yard and spent $5, nice price for this stuff.

I figure i can try Vic's suggestion and try to weld in an extension to the hinge.

Or another possibility i thought of is to just raise the door skin surface by taking one of them and trim down the periphery enough to remove the outer flange, then cut the inner support out of one or both the other doors so its just the skins remain, or even shape a thicker piece of sheet metal as a spacer, drill some holes in the inner skins weld them together so only the outer most door skin has the flange on it, this would raise the surface of the skin. Or another possibility would be to use the body panel repair epoxy (whatever the material base is) and glue the skin layers together.

If anybody has another idea i'm all ears.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Been a busy week not a lot of spare time on my hands.

So I was convinced with my welding skills and lack of a tig welder that if i cut the hinge i would never be able to get it rewelded strong enough to last, i'm real good at burning thru sheetmetal. :)

So i decided to cut the raised portion of the bracket out of the door leaving the pieces that are crimped to the skin in place, then i cut a .125 plate and made a filler and fit it between the pieces that are crimped and i spot welded it in place, then because i'm good at burning thru sheet i also made a thinner gauge filler for the back side of the raised portion i cut out, this filled the gap plus gave me something to spot weld to, I spot welded the filler plate in place then i repositioned the pieces and welded that assy back together, not too pretty but it solved my problem.

Now its just a smidge taller than the bondo that i just sanded down so i'll have to go back and add a skim coat to do a final level out. Not perfict but a lot better than before.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Looking good!!!

Re: Rat repair.
 

looks great

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks Mike and Dean, I wish i had a bead blaster to clean it up a little, will suffice with a scotchbrite pad work on the it, i will add that my fix was a little on the heavy side, i should have added lightening holes. :)

Still need to add some more mud as i have been gone out of town the last 4 days on a little vacation, naturally while i was gone it was nice and hot.

In the mean time my new exhaust manifolds did show up the day before i left (thankfully) so i have to get them coated with the Eastwood Factory Gray Hi-Temp Coating and plan for the new exhaust install, guess I'll just go buy some grade 8 bolts and lock washers at the hardware store to speed things up a little.

http://www.eastwood.com/factory-gray...p-coating.html

Pictures to follow.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Great progress! Nice work on the fuel door. Pete

Re: Rat repair.
 

I stand corrected... Went to take a couple pictures and my cell was dead.. But.....

Speedway sent me 1 Corvette exhaust manifold and one strange funky looking 6 cylinder manifold off of who knows what in the correct box... Kinda pissed at the moment..

Re: Rat repair.
 

That's kinda weird. Speedy Bill is usually pretty reliable. Only had to deal with their customer service once and they were very professional. I'm sure they'll make it right. That doesn't recoup your time, of course. Makes you wonder how wrong parts get in the right box, though.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Manifolds ordered thru Summit, returns delivered to UPS.

Speedway said they got a bunch of miss packed parts from the manufacture. Free return shipping and a full refund when they get the package.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Sigh, just found out the manifolds were shipped to the wrong address, not having too much luck here, trying to contact UPS to straighten this out.

In the mean time I'm realizing i'm not much of a body man .....yet. :)

Re: Rat repair.
 

This whole UPS thing sounds odly familiar.
Not good. Not good at all! They did finally find my stuff a week
Later, but not encouraging to hear I'm not the only
One.


Chris

Re: Rat repair.
 

I remember your little issue too, :)

The second part of my order is being shipped separately by a company called Ontrack whoever they are, just got off the phone with Summit and he verified that UPS was taken care of and he was gonna call Ontrack and square up the second package.

Was really hoping to get my exhaust work scheduled by tomorrow, now its gonna have to wait.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Manifolds still on truck for delivery, probably about an hour after i go to work..

Took it easy today as i worked last weekend, but i did get the replacement top up on my car cover, the other was so thin it was starting to rip out at the frame stress points.

My only goal this week is to get the exhaust done then drive the truck back to the tranny shop for the required checkup.

MY thinking is once this is done i'll start by pulling the hood and one fender, then start on the door for rust repair then to the cab for panel replacement on that side.

Question: is it recommended to unbolt the door hinges from the cab to remove the doors or is it ok to unbolt the hinge from the door and do it that way? in other words leave the fenders on when working the doors?

Will try and make a small paint booth in my over crowded garage to prime and give my hand at paint.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Easier with the fenders off IMO. Replace pins and bushings. Scribe marks around hinges for quick guide on reassembly.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Ok thanks. Now hopefully when I get to that point I wont have any problem pulling the fenders being as I'm 5'7" and my truck is lifted...... :)

Re: Rat repair.
 

Mind if i say i'm a little frustrated? Summit messed up my street number when i placed my exhaust manifold order so they couldn't deliver it on Monday, i get it straightened out and its delivered today.

When i placed the order on the phone i told the guy i wanted replacement corvette exhaust manifolds with the 2 1/2" collector, he does some research and says i need part number 674-501 so i place the order on his word. I open the box after work and.... 2" collector diameter... sigh.

Anybody have a stock 72 350 exhaust manifold laying around that they can tell me if 2" is stock diameter for the collector? I figured they would be at least 2 1/4"

Guesstimating i'm pushing about 325-350 HP, should i stick with these or get something else?

Re: Rat repair.
 

ugh...i hate when that happens, hope you get it sorted out

Re: Rat repair.
 

I checked the part number674-501 at Summit and they don't list the exhaust port sizes for it. it's bummer that you have to deal with sending them back. Check out part number 674-504 they call out 2-1/2" exist

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks guys,

674-501 was what i ordered thru Summit via the phone call, it ended up being a 2" collector. I ordered 674-503 and 674-504.

Its been dumping rain here again and i'm gonna be working again (2nd in a row) this weekend, not a whole lot to do but clean the garage, don't wanna move forward on body work until i get the exhaust done and take the truck back to the trans shop for the checkup.

Re: Rat repair.
 

The day has arrived, after spending time talking to a number of muffler shops getting price quotes and listening to recommendations and deciding if i trust the person or not ect, i finally settled on a shop and a system and took my truck and the new manifolds there this morning, he said one day but i told him that if he needed 2 days not to worry about it. being as they were willing to take me home and come and get me.

One thing i can tell you, that Eastwood manifold paint i bought..... Never again, its a really light grey, looks nothing like cast iron. I almost took them to a local sand blaster to remove the stuff.. LOL!

Anyway i cant wait to be able to hear again while driving this truck, it will make driving it fun again.. :) I'll try to post a sound clip later on.

Re: Rat repair.
 

I recently did some shoping around for exhaust also, and found a guy close to me that had a good price and he came highly recommended. After speaking to him I decided he would be the one. But he said he wanted anything and everything on the truck that could possibly interfer with the exhaust, so I have a little more to do before I'm ready. Shift linkage, emergency brake cables at least.

Can't wait to hear your sound clip....

What are you using for mufflers and pipe size ?
Gary

Re: Rat repair.
 

Well, i was adamant about wanting Corvette manifolds on my truck, i wanted that 2 1/2" collector, in my search i found a thread and a truck like mine using corvette manifolds, i emailed and verified part numbers and ordered the manifolds, when they got here i ground off the mounting flanges for accessory's (alt ect.) that weren't needed then painted with the Eastwood paint, dropped my truck off at the shop. The next morning i get a phone call message, there is a problem please call. I just drove there because i was heading that way anyway, he says the manifolds are on but there too tight to the starter and cross member, so i go down there and he's right, to add the flair and a minimum 2 bends to clear the started would require cutting small wedges out of the pipe like old school 2 stroke motorcycle exhaust pipes, piecing and welding it together.

So he recommends getting the stock replacement manifolds that have the correct angles, a 45 degree back and kicked out to clear the starter, i'm pretty disappointed but don't want to hold up the space in his shop any longer than necessary so i give him the go ahead to order the manifolds and some more high temp paint to keep the job moving, at added cost to me of course!

The original plan was to run 2 1/5 pipe to the mufflers then run 2 1/4 on the tail pipes to allow good air flow and clearance between the tail pipe, fuel cell and rear springs, but after the manifold change we stuck with 2 1/4 for the whole system. The mufflers are the largest Magnaflow cans you can get, 24" long party # 12286. Its nice and quiet now! i get a nice tone out the back when i get on it but regular driving is nice and quiet, now i can hear the engine. I cant really notice any seat of the pants difference on acceleration from a dead stop, at freeway speeds it may not rev quite as fast but not really too noticable with the new exhaust as opposed to the Headers and 2 1/2" pipe.

But more importantly now i can run a compression test and try to isolate the miss i have not been able to dial out with electrical and carb tuning, the build was done around 95..

If somebody can tell me how to attach a video i'll post it, my phone made it in an mp4 format.

Re: Rat repair.
 

That sucks to say the least. Nothin worst then dumping money on something only to find out at the finish line, it's all for not. I posted my video to YouTube and just put the link in my post. I tried imbeddingvthe video in my post with no luck.

Re: Rat repair.
 

That's major bummer about the manifolds. I have bought 3 sets of headers to find some that fit with minimal cutting on the frame do to the engine mount I chose.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Ok, here's the video link, now remember that i have had this truck so loud for so long that i wanted quiet, you may want a louder truck but my ears say no more.. at 2' (camera/video distance) it sounds loud like in the video, but stand 5' away and its fairly quiet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH4Qq3m7PPo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyYm...ature=youtu.be

Your going to notice another squeaking noise in the video, looks like i need to replace the front main seal again, its present at idle but any higher RPM and it stops making the noise, funny thing is its not leaking. last time i had that sound i was stumped, then one day a lady pulled up next to me in her truck and complimented me on mine, she also had a 67-72 but not a K20, she said " do you know what that noise is? i said no to be honest, she said it was the front main seal dried out, when you gas it the oil flow increases and it wets the seal better, then at idle when the oil pressure drops it starts squeaking again.. then she drove away. I decided to check into it and my front main was bad but not leaking badly altho the rubber was cracked in a couple places on the outer lip, so i replaced it and had to install a speedy sleeve on the crank with a matching seal.. I suspect ether it drys out from not being a DD or the cheapo timing cover could be off center just a tad?

I do want to open the engine back up and do a few things to it but have been putting it off. :)

Re: Rat repair.
 

I added another video above.

While on the lift it became apparent that my rebuilt tranny has a couple leaks and my resealed transfer case also leaks as well, i'm due for my 600 mile followup so it will be interesting to see if this company backs up there work or try's to give me the run around.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Geez, Rat, this page is depressing...

But, I'm sure you'll persevere. Seems like most of this stuff should be easier, doesn't it? Good luck with the leaks and the miss. I'm looking forward to Mustard being significantly quieter when I get done, too. I wouldn't even mind replacing the exhaust system on the 87 K20 diesel, too, but can't come to grips with putting that kind of money into that one.......yet........

Keep it up!:mm:

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks Mr Mustard. I'm not sweating it or bummed ether. Just been driving the truck for a while and enjoying the new found quieter exhaust, actually just been enjoying being able to drive the truck period so not been in a hurry to resume working on it. :)

I do need to take my truck to the tranny place soon, I stopped and talked to them today. I also got a price quote to blast and powder coat my rear bumper.

Per the engine miss, its really mild, don't feel it at all when driving, just hear it at idle. Haven't pulled the compression test yet, been kinda busy. want to buy a leak down tester too.

Per the front main seal i had planned on just waiting till the front clip is off to deal with that, have been debating on just pulling the engine so as to pull the oil pan and change the timing cover back to the stock cover, I'm sure if i just drop the pan in the front to change the timing cover I'll just create more leaks.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Ok time for some updates, yes i'm still alive :)

Took the truck back to the tranny shop and they replaced the pan gasket, i haven't crawled back under the truck since then to look at it, lets hope its not leaking.

I got the rear bumper blasted and powder coated, its pretty obvious that it is a used old bumper as the powder coat shows up every flaw possible, but i figured it would, i'm still pretty happy with it.

I got my seat finished as well with the exception of putting together the missing pieces on the seat tracks, The custom shop that moved in just down the road from me has an upholstery section run by his wife, she did a great job! Not to mention it cost less than the last place i went too. I'm still gonna have to steal parts off my stock seat tracks to put on this one, in case you don't know my stock seat is a spring/2" foam, the frame that i bought new foam and a cover for is a deep foam seat, its pretty comfortable if i do say so myself. :)

Finally took the time to pull a compression check on my 19 year old engine, pulled one plug at a time, turned the engine about 5 compression strokes to top out the gauge. Not too bad but could be better. Changed out my plugs again to standard length NGK's gaped at .040 (Mallory Unilite Distributor and Promaster coil) I found that number 1 plug was not tight, i know i tightened it when i put in the other plugs I don't miss that kinda stuff so i think the muffler shop probably removed them when they did the manifolds and missed one. It runs better and not missing like it was, the engine still could be a little smoother at idle, you can feel it just by putting your hand on the truck, ran out of time to see if i could dial it out with the carb, another day.

Something i have noticed is the engine at idle will occasionally come up about 30-50 RPM then slow back down this happens about once every 45 seconds to 2 minutes, and lasts about 30 seconds.

I wish my ears were better so i could listen to the engine a bit better. Thats what happens when you are around loud stuff all your life.

Compression numbers below, any engine guys wanna tell me if these numbers are within that percentage of variance that's allowable?

2)170 4)175 6)170 8)175
1)175 3)165 5)170 7)180

I guess pretty soon now i'm gonna have to think about starting some body work. I just don't know if i trust the blast shop that's close to me (they did my bumper) with my doors.

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Had smoothed some exhaust manifolds years back and had them ceramic coated. Every scratch showed! The guy warned me.

Your seat looks great, what shop?

Re: Rat repair.
 

very nice. i like the black/dark green combo. the seat looks great as well!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Nice!

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Thanks!

Its in the same building as Perfection Powdercoating but i cant remember the business name off hand its the place that does car restorations, I'm half tempted to drive my truck there and give him the keys after seeing what he does, top notch show cars! but i'm not looking for a show truck with this truck, well maybe not just yet.. Perfection's addy is 5402 184th ST E, Suite D Puyallup WA, 98375 EDIT: Canyon Road and 184th st.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Ya know Ryan under that dark green paint is the same Medium green you have, my uncle scuffed and painted the truck about 25 years ago, i'm seriously thinking about trying to rub the gark green and primer off and seeing if i can put a buff on the old paint, if course the doors and rockers still need replaced then the whole thing painted again.

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Thanks Deadhead, its got a long ways to go to catch up to your beautiful truck!

Re: Rat repair.
 

I like the seat it looks nice and clean. keep the good work George

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Thanks George.

Thought i'd post a closeup of the seat cover.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Nothing great to report today

Well my garage had become a disaster area so i figured i'd clean it this weekend, i spent 5 hours out there today and put a dent in about 1/3rd of it.... back at it tomorrow.

I didn't notice it when i pulled the plugs the other day but that muffler shop did in fact break one of the plugs, replaced it with a new standard length champion plug. That along with all the stubbie Accel plugs i was using with the headers.