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:gi:

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Kind of counter-productive when they have to do twice the work. I only paid to shorten it twice. The u-joints & balancing were paid for only once. It was balanced each time & now will be done again....

$20 each for u-joints
$40 to shorten
$35 to balance

$155 total so far (which is still decent).

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Are you getting close to swapping the cab to the new frame?

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Not any closer than last Saturday.

I got the gas tank mounting straps welded up on Tuesday & that was about it for the week. I've been sick since last Sunday & just now getting back to normal. I wanted the gas tank in place to finalize the fuel lines.

Maybe the week of spring break will be the swap date/s since it will be quiet around the house ;) .

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keep youre cellphone near just in case sumtin happens in the shop while youre under the truck , they might not hear you calling out

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Oh, I take it that the girls are leaving town? Excellent plan... :lol:

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Ding! Ding! Ding!!!!!!!!!!
Somebody get that man his prize.....

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Let me know, I'm in.

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Not much this week, but every little bit helps.

I got the mounting straps for the blazer tank finished & tested them out. They're just steel strap w/nuts welded in place that will slip inside the tank spacers I made. Makes it easy to get the tank secured now since I just have to install the bolts from the bottom of the frame vs. trying to fish my fingers in between the rails to hold the hardware. The tank is securely bolted w/.375" GRADE-8 hardware to some 2"sq stainless tubing then the tubing is bolted to the frame rail (also w/.375" GRADE-8 hardware).

I cleaned up the ECE T/A x-member & got some color on it. I got the official 'buddy' approval tonight that it was a clean install (thanks Matt).

I'm still on schedule to hit the d.shaft shop on Sat morning @ 08:30 so I should have that finalized.

Yesterday & today was spent trying to figure out how the heck I'm going to snake a fuel line from the rear tank fitting, through the rear c-notch area, past the Z'd/boxed-in frame kick-up, & then past the Dropmember crossmember-reinforcement brackets.

It looks like 2 possibilities..... 1) Eliminate the engine fuel pump & go w/a low GPH electric fuel pump that's fed w/some braided fuel line. This would still have to snake through the c-notch & Z'd/boxed-in areas, but could terminate around the front shocks & run up the rear of the block to the carb vs trying to get it past the crossmember reinforcement brackets. Or 2) Just do the braided fuel line from the tank to the block mounted fuel pump & up to the carb. This might be a tight squeeze & be difficult to keep the hose from chafing anything. What I don't see happening is a 1pc hard line front to rear....

I also cut up a valve cover to start determining the breather & PCV possibilities. I'm going to research some compatible hose options tonight & use a 2nd extra v.cover as a test subject for welding the fittings (to get an idea on warpage/spacial constraints etc...).

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Driveshaft is now in!

I went back there 1st thing this morning & they were real nice about everything. The owner/mgr said there were 2 possibilities.... 1) I measured wrong; 2) they measured wrong. I told him I was confident in my ability to read a tape-measure correctly. I supplied the same dimensions as the last time & sure enough, they were .500" off & admitted it was their mistake.

It was difficult trimming of such a small amount because of how the equipment works but he got it done. Cut, re-welded, & re-balanced @ no additional charge. Popped right in & fits like it should.

I also sold my TT2's that have been sitting in a corner of the garage for 2+yrs now. That puts some $$ back into the parts budget which allows keeping the CC account interest free :) .

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Determination paid off on the drive shaft. You can Check that off the list now. :metal:
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Glad you got it fixed and they did the right thing!!!

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this calls for a testdrive

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Still have a few items to go on the list before a 'test drive' is possible....

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Good to see the shaft problem fixed..

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i am glad they didnt try to SHAFT you this last time (pun intended)

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Hey Scoti,

Where did you get those conical spacers you are running with the Del-Spheres on the trailing arms? Did Nate include them or did you source them?

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Got them from Nate w/the pivot joints.

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Looking good my man! Maybe this will inspire me to finish one of my projects!!

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Frizzle,... If you need some misalignment spacers,... Summit Machine is a good source. They are great to deal with.
http://www.summitmachine.com/index.php?p=customParts.

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It felt good to get the d.shaft hurdle over with & then....... more hurdles.

I got some new (China) 2.5" ram-horn manifolds in on Monday. Picked them up @ lunch & installed them that night only to find the driver side exhaust flange exits dead center in front of the R&P shaft. They look really good on there but are a no-go unless I add another u-joint, support bearing, & shaft to the mix. In the end, I'll spend an extra ~$150 only to have the steering/u-joints snaking around the manifold which is a visual detraction IMHO.... For the same $$, I could use the Speedway 'horns' (because they tuck just a little closer to the block) & utilize a single shaft w/u-joints @ each end. Much less complicated & should allow the focus to remain on the motor.

I also tried working on the 'pre-bent' 3/8" suburban fuel line I had. I wanted to try & tweak it to work w/the chassis. Of course, as I was trying to get things looking right, I just couldn't get it how I wanted & wound up cutting it into 'sections' making it work better. Unfortunately, w/everything snaked & tweaked to fit the chassis, what I could utilize wasn't enough length. I researched online for an obtainable (local) alternative & bought some new 60" lengths of 'poly-armour' lines. They're supposed to be easier to work with & much more resistant to the elements (rusting). Well, they might be easier to bend, but they certainly don't like the flaring tool.

So, that's where I am tonight. No 60's exhaust manifolds (I do have the shorty headers on there for now while contemplating options) & no fuel line (seriously contemplating rubber FI hose as it would reeeeeeeeeeeealy make plumbing within the confines of the frame rail easier).

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would if flare eazier if you heated the end up ?

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you need some cunifer ;)

I might know someone who has some for sale...
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=452251

Or find some locally....supposed to bend and flare easier....

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Hey scoti I ran braded hose from my tank to the fuel pump and used made for you products line clamps seemed to install really easy and I had no problems making any corners I needed to make.

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I have read info on the 'cunifer' type of lines & the material looks promising w/the one exception it comes in a coil (I like nice, crisp, straight lines). It's difficult to take the coiled material & get it dead on straight w/o some tooling.

This was my initial plan (I looked @ PTC fuel line/fittings). But, since my tank & pump were going to just get some standard worm style clamps to secure the hose ends, it seemed kind of 'over-kill'.

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one way to get coiled line straight is to clamp one end in a vice on a sturdy table and the other end in vicegrip pliers roll it all the way out slack it a little and yank on it hard so it will whip/twang and it will be straight
handle it carefully so it doesnt bend again while setting it down , having someone helping you at the vice end does help with that , you then only need to get the flatten ends cut of it

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Since you are going carbed, the FI hose might be overkill, too. The guys here told me I was good with regular fuel hose going with TBI. I just put small barbs in my hardlines to hold it, and it seemed to be doing fine.

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I may have mislead you mine is just rubber hose with the stainless sleeve ove the top with regular hose clamps holding it all together got it all from summit IIRC and it was pretty cheap..

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Yes, the FI hose is over-kill. But, it's simple to acquire vs. ordering some special race style 'braided' stuff from Sumiit, Jegs, etc.... I figure the ability to withstand the addition pressures used w/FI set-ups would be an added benefit in just a carb'd application.

I used several feet of rubber FI line on my 68 as well & simply made replacing it part of my 'annual' maint program.

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I got some sheet metal work done this weekend. The rear cab-wall pinch weld was removed & about 1" was taken out of the rear cab support. I also cut out a 5.5" wide section of floor under the seat (from the tallest part of the floor aft of the trans hump to the rear cab support). The cab should drop down onto the rolling chassis w/o issue now & clear the 1pc. d.shaft @ full dump. Once the cab is set down & I can 100% confirm everything clears (& is symetrical), I'll close out the open sections.

I also hit the local cruise joint on Sat night & got some good reference views from a truck that had a PB Dropmember. I confirmed my estimate of where the front inner wheel wells need to be trimmed for upper a-arm/bag mount plate clearance.

My buddy came over to help me get the bed back on late this afternoon (early evening). The sky was pretty dark/cloudy most of the day & it appeared we might get some rain so we loaded the truck back onto the trailer & returned it to storage. We were jammed for time so I didn't stop to get some pics but I will this week. I'm freakin worn out.....

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Thanks. Mine were shorted but Nate has it covered as usual :metal: Keyed in on those after attempting to make my own without a lathe -> Not recommended... :lol:

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come on its been since 3-13 and no pics !!! do be stingy we want to see !!

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Which local cruise joint?.................Kellers?

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I haven't been by the storage place since moving it & it's difficult to get pics in a dark unit (no lighting & a PITA to roll out/back in solo). Pics will come once I'm closer to swapping the body to the new chassis.

I did get the exhuast manifolds in & ordered some other parts to finish up the doors/door glass installation. I also took several pics of factory 67-72 truck accessory set-ups @ the GG's show to determine how the brackets are assembled & how compatible (if) they'll be w/the different manifolds.

Yep. I went out there the weekend before Good Guys.

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No 'real' update but I did get the pics of the cab notch & floor opening for the DS hoop....

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Now the progress stuff. I messed around w/the brake lines this week in an attempt to get them finished. And yet again, the familiar theme of this project popped up.... one step forward, 2 steps back.

The brakes lines & fittings are rusting. These are new lines/fitting(s) that have yet to go outdoors & yet they're un-acceptable already. I decided I would prep & paint the brake lines that are 'within the chassis' (the lines that route from the master cyl down to the prop valve are stainless & look great) & replace an ugly fitting.

Not all of the fittings are having an issue w/the finish/plating. I cut the main culprit in the pic off to replace it w/a new fitting (w/better plating hopefully). I start my quest for the replacement fitting & it's not to be found. Pep Boys, O'Reillys, Autozone, NAPA, another local mom & pop place, as well as my local specialy hyd-hose fabricating place don't have it. I have one extra fitting but it has the same plating so I know I'll likely experience a similar result after time passes. I have a buddy @ a plating shop & I'm going to call in a favor but I'm not sure he'll be able to do 1 little fitting for me. So the brake lines have been pulled but I'm waiting to see where this fitting situation goes before continuing.

A couple of pics of the 'new' corroded brake line & fitting....

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I'm also having a similar corrosion issue w/the 'new' brass prop valve. So I decided to get another p-valve made of different material. I was going to get the aluminum replacement from CPP when I came across one of the 'adjustable' style replacement p-valves.

I thought this is better for my application as I'm running a 2" stagger on the F/R tire diameters & have swapped to HD rear drums. The adj p-valve will allow me to tune the bias slightly if needed.

The adjustable p-valves are fairly close to an original GM piece but there are slight differences so they have a disclaimer that some brake line modification might be required. It is for this reason I'm on stand-by w/the brake lines. I don't want to go through the effort of getting everything cleaned up & in color only to have to re-work the lines. Hopefully it will be in my hands by mid-week.

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While working through the brake line situation, I also got some work done on prepping the material for my exhaust. I have some of Speedway's Ram-Horn manifolds & when I placed the order for the prop-valve, I decided to get the tight-tuck collector pipes they offer. You get the collector flanges (3/8" thick) & the 'head' pipes that are made w/mandrel bends & designed to work w/this style of header/manifold.

Speedway offers an option on material choice for these: mild-steel or stainless. Since I work in the food manufacturing industry, I have access to food grade stainless pipe & went w/the SS option.

Yesterday, I gathered up all the various sections of pipe I've been hoarding. I 'pick' through the demo'd material as the contractors remove existing pipe when revising processing systems within the plant. I have enough material for a full length mandrel bend 2.5" exhaust including cross-over tube....

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That is going to be a killer looking exhaust... :)

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It should be fairly quiet too since this pipe is a little thicker than standard exhaust tubing (SS exhaust tubing is heavier wall vs. aluminized steel). There will be a slight weight concession but it should be a good trade off.