Re: Frankentruck
 

Hopefully when you are next at home you can come visit and I hope to not only have my 70 Chassis Rolling but hope to have the 74 Burb driveable , got to get a few more parts hopefully tomorrow . Cant wait to see you and FrankenTruck .

Re: Frankentruck
 

There's a couple things I want to do to Frankentruck next time I come home, and one of them will need a test drive once completed, so I'll for sure be stopping by

Re: Frankentruck
 

Uh oh, had to wake up Frankentruck from a 2 month hibernation

The thermostat housing was a cheap one to get me by when the original one was too warped to seal. It had an O ring groove cut in it, and that was causing the gasket to not seal well. I finally replaced it with the new one I had bout over the summer.

While I had the coolant drained, I also installed a new heater valve. I was always annoyed by the manual valve I had because I would either forget to turn it on or off depending on the season. The new valve is from a Ford because it was the only metal valve with the provisions to attach a cable to it that I could find. I had an unused cable on the heater controls, so hooked it to the valve and now I don't have to open the hood to turn the heat on.

After that was done, I decided to make a bracket for my washer/coolant resivor. I used part of the driver's door I had cut out when I did the rust repair

Re: Frankentruck
 

I didn't like how flimsy the sheet metal was, so I cut a strip out of a scrap floor pan to tie the front of the bracket to the mounting place. It made the bracket much stronger and fits right between the two resivors.

Painted it with some rust reformer so it matches the rest of the sheet metal under the hood and bolted it back in. The resivor does not flop around anymore, and I can put fluids in it without worrying about the two plastic tabs being the only thing holding it on and then breaking off

Re: Frankentruck
 

Frankentruck made it back to Milledgeville today, but not without one issue...

I was in slow moving traffic on GA 400 waiting to get on I285. Up until then, the overdrive was working just fine. Once I got on 285 and back up to speed, I noticed it wasn't shifting at all into overdrive. Pulled off at the next exit, stopped at a gas station, popped the hood and checked to make sure the power wire was still plugged into the relay. It was, so I checked the fuse. The fuse had popped. Had to drive the rest of the way in lockout so the trip took longer, but at least I can still drive it.

I'll have to look into it more in the next week or two. Got a couple exams coming up, so probably won't figure out what went wrong until those are done

Re: Frankentruck
 

fuse popping usually will indicate a short somewhere...Im sure its a small fix....hopefully

Re: Frankentruck
 

It probably is a small fix, I just hope it's not an expensive one. At least I can still drive the truck as a regular 3 speed. I don't really need overdrive around town anyways

Re: Frankentruck
 

That's a bit of a problem :lol:
New headlight switch is on the way, but for now, I gotta use hand signals

Re: Frankentruck
 

I've been doing a lot of reading on these overdrives lately because I recently found one that I intend to put in my truck.

Regarding the blown overdrive fuse, I've read that a possible cause is that the solenoid is not switching from the "pull" coil in the solenoid to the "hold" coil, so it continues to draw the larger amount of initial amperage that the actuation requires. If that is the case, it should just be a simple adjustment of the contacts in the solenoid that disengage the "pull" coil to remedy the problem.

Regards,

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks! I left my overdrive booklet at home and regretted that decision as soon as I saw the blown fuse a couple weeks ago.
That makes a lot of sense, and I could easily see that that might be my problem. Last time I had the solenoid out, I noticed that the contact points were in very poor condition. That solenoid really needs to be rebuilt, so I'm probably going to get that done in the spring.

I did test the solenoid in the other trans I picked up back in September. It works good, so I might just swap them out and keep driving the truck

Re: Frankentruck
 

Got the new switch in today, and that didn't fix my problem.

Turns out the fuse block/wiring harness I purchased a couple years back had a rubber sleeve over the power wire for that circuit. I also apparently have enough of a leak for water to get inside that rubber and sit. The connector completely corroded and broke off which is why I no longer had lights. A new connector and Frankentruck is back in business!

Re: Frankentruck
 

I noticed that the valve covers were leaking a couple days ago, so I picked up some new gaskets and stuck them on today. Underneath doesn't look too bad.

Also found out that the heads I have are 3814480. 60-67 283/327 heads. Nothing special, but they get the job done.

After the valve cover gaskets were done, I spent some more time adjusting the passenger door. It still was a bit too hard to close for my liking, so this time, I also adjusted the wedge piece on the door that locates the back of the door in the door jamb. That made a huge difference and now both door close fairly easily for old doors with somewhat worn latch components.

Last thing for today was to crawl under the truck and check the overdrive solenoid. I still have not been able to keep the solenoid seal from leaking, so all the contact points and such inside the solenoid are covered in a layer of gear oil. I think that's why the fuse blew on me because I put a new fuse in and cleaned off as much of the oil as I could get to (need to get some brake clean :lol:) and the overdrive started working again.

Re: Frankentruck
 

I don't remember if I posted this information in a prior post, but here's the engine info.

Block is 3789935. The front stamp is F0525D. Heads are both 3814480. Heads say E242 (I'm guessing that's the date code for the heads).

On the engine I pulled out of the truck, the block is 3849852. Front stamp is F0222WA. I don't have the numbers on the heads at the moment.

I seem to be getting conflicting info about the block in the truck. Apparently 3789935 is a 61-62 283, but the front pad with the D says it's either a 58 or 60 block. Maybe the information I was looking at is not complete?

Re: Frankentruck
 

Regarding your problem with the overdrive solenoid seal leaking, I was wondering if you have changed both the shaft seal in the solenoid and the one in the body of the overdrive unit.

If so, where did you source your seals, and how difficult was it to replace the one in the solenoid?

Regards,

Re: Frankentruck
 

Here is what I found.

3789935 1961-66 283 only 170-315 2 passenger, corvette

Here is the link where I found it
Link: http://chevy-camaro.com/chevy-camaro...es.php?group=1







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Re: Frankentruck
 

I've replaced the seal in the transmission case, but either I did it wrong, or I need both seals for it to be effective. The seal I used is SKF 3050. Apparently, it is only a seal that can be obtained online. None of the chain parts stores sell it. The other option is a National seal, but I tried that and it was not successful either. The SKF seal seems to be a better quality seal, but I am uncertain if I installed it correctly or not.
Unfortunately, the seal part on the solenoid is not serviceable. Mine is damaged, and the contact points are starting to get worn fairly bad, so I plan on sending it off to get rebuilt probably in the spring. I do have a second solenoid that seems to have a good seal on the unit itself, so I might try swapping that in and seeing if the leak continues.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks, that does provide more confirmation about the year of the casting number, but I'm still confused about the stamping on the front side of the block.

Looks like I have a "Corvette" engine though :lol:

Re: Frankentruck
 

I got the OD transmission solenoid seal from VanPelt Sales, Batavia OH 513-724-9486 vanpeltsales.com

Extremely helpful folks and the new seal was identical to the old seal by using caliper to measure.

Re: Frankentruck
 

That seal looks exactly like the National seal I tried the first time, but it did not work. Could be user error though on both seals I've tried

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks for the info on where you sourced your solenoid seal. I have purchased a solenoid shaft seal from Vintage Auto Garage PN 07410S. Looks pretty similar to the SKF seal that you had.

BTW, I also purchased a molded rubber governor cover from them that appears to be pretty good quality and provides some weather protection for the governor.

https://www.vintageautogarage.com/

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Re: Frankentruck
 

Daily driver status means bringing down the property values wherever I park. Last night's location was Sonic

Re: Frankentruck
 

Christian , I think you have that backwards , You upped the property values by parking it there .

Re: Frankentruck
 

Definitely upped the style points for sure. People should use their old trucks as daily drivers more often. It's a ton of fun!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Cool pic at the Sonic. :)

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks! :metal:

Re: Frankentruck
 

I like the night shots. Easier to hide all the rust holes :lol:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Very cool!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Great photos.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Do you remember what ford application the heater valve was for exactly? Sorry if I missed it.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks, guys!

I didn't remember what application, but I ordered it through RockAuto, so I went ahead and grabbed the part number for you. It is UAC HV2211C.
One of the ends is slightly smaller than the other, so I had to really crank down on my hose clamp, but other than that, I'm very happy with it. I love being able to turn heat on or off without getting out of the truck! Great for those mornings when it's cold, but then warms up during the day

Re: Frankentruck
 

Yesterday, I decided to buy a tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad so that I could spend the night at the hunting camp my dad and I are in. We don't have a camper there yet, and I had a Visa gift card which made the purchase easy.

The camp is about an hour north from Milledgeville, so I drove up Friday afternoon after one of my exams and went straight to the woods. Had to fight some wasps for the occupancy of our box stand, but I won out with 6 confirmed kills against zero stings. After making all that racket, I figured I wouldn't see any other wildlife, and I was right. I didn't even see a squirrel!

Went back to the camp to set up my tent and was able to chat with some of the other guys there. For only my second time camping, I slept well. I woke up at 6 this morning and got ready for the hunt.

I drove over to the property where we have the stand, and after swapping over to my boots, I realized I had left my chair back at the camp. Went back to get it, then came back and walked in to the stand.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't get enough sleep last night, so I dozed off multiple times up in the stand. At around 8:40 AM, I woke up from a short nap to the sound of leaves crunching ahead. Yup, a doe walked out of the woods and was staring straight at me. Silly me had my gun propped up in the corner of the stand, so there was no way that I could grab it without spooking the deer. That doe did not stay there long, but was there long enough for me to regret not attempting to get a shot.

After over an hour of kicking myself for letting that doe go, I decided that I would head back to camp around 10:30. Well, once again I took another nap. I woke up at 10:30, but decided to stick around a little longer. I'm glad I did because at 10:40, I saw something move in the trees. This time, I had my gun in my lap, so I scoped it out and sure enough, there was another doe. She walked out into the clearing giving me a clean, broadside shot. In a split second, I took the shot and got a clean hit in the front shoulder. The bullet with through the lungs, so the deer dropped right where I shot her.

Yup, I got my first deer today. Also, Frankentruck hit all 4s on the odo, so kinda milstone-ish even though that number is nowhere near correct :lol:

Sorry for the long story, but dadgum, today has been a good day. In about a week or two, I'll get to cook some venison :metal:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Hey a story that involves an old truck,camping and hunting is bound to be a bit long but still worth hearing lol. Congrats on the doe and on the whole camping experience, my wife and I tent camped for years and loved it. Would like to again but my knee's and back dont like it so might be time for a camper.

TY for part# I'm going to write that down for future use.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks! My first time camping was last weekend. A bunch of my friends from college hiked up Mt. Yonah last Friday and stayed on top of the mountain. I had to borrow gear for that one, but it was still fun. We got to hike down in the rain though which kinda sucked :lol:

I like that the valve is completely metal. There are others that are plastic, but I didn't want a plastic one. This was the only one that I could find that looked like it would work. Thankfully, it worked great

Re: Frankentruck
 

Can't have dirty rust! Also had to wash off the deer blood :lol:

Re: Frankentruck
 

Nothing like a little deer blood to add to the truck's story. Congrats on your doe. Our rifle season opens this weekend here in Texas, but I can't get out to our place until the week of Thanksgiving. Some of my best memories is going to the deer lease with my Dad, my Uncle and his boys for opening day of the season.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks! All of the hunting I have done has been with my dad up until this weekend. He had some other business to take care of, but was still able to come down and go with me to take the deer to the processor. Hopefully, next time we go I'll be able to get a buck!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Congrats on the deer and cool seeing frankentruck being used as a truck lol.
Your picture brings back memories of my older brothers coming home with deer in the back of there trucks.

Re: Frankentruck
 

Thanks! I'm already planning on when I can get back to the woods and hopefully find a buck!

Re: Frankentruck
 

Also, quick update on Frankentruck:
Last weekend, the front suspension started squeaking fairly bad. I thought it might have been the control arm bushings since I haven't replaced those yet, but they were not the culprit. My grease gun is back at home, so I borrowed one today and started hitting everything in the front end. The passenger side lower ball joint ended up being the squeaker. I think it's been over a year, maybe close to 2 since I last greased everything. I'm going to do better about greasing everything from here on out

Re: Frankentruck
 

:cong: on your first deer!

Are you going to make any jerky?