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!

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

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AMEN to that. :lol:

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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: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!!

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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

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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.

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This is called 'Scotluck'.

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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!