Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Thanks Greg!
I really appreciate it!

Messed around the past two weeks at different times trying to get the transmission to shift correct, but because it has a dipstick that is only about 12" long it winds up in between the headers & engine block, so it is impossible to check when running.
Long story short, I obtained a different dipstick from a tranny shop, and realized that I was almost 3 qts, low on fluid...
Now this thing shifts so mild when driving normal, that you can hardly feel it, but if you stand on it, the truck gets all squirrely hitting second.
I am not talking about just squalking the tires, but rather spinning them for a great deal of time!
I like it a lot! This thing is a true rocket-ship, and I am impressed!
I put about 150 miles on it this weekend, and sat in stand-still traffic during the Grand Rapids Metro-cruise, and the temp never got above 195 degrees.
the only issue that I had was that one of my super-sweet billet power window switches fell apart when I shut the door, but it was because the billet piece was not glued on properly. I fixed it with some 3M trim adhesive. LOL!
What a great weekend!

No pics, because in all of my excitement I neglected to take any, but hopefully some will surface due to my friends...

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

After a weekend of cruzin' it, on Sunday morning I took it back to my parent's house to put it away, and snapped a few pics before putting it in the barn.
...It started pouring out about 3 minutes after getting it inside!

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...661/urGcVZ.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...537/eQepO9.jpg

I still need to sand & rub the front cowl extensions & hood, in order to have a finish like the rest of the truck, but it really looks good regardless.
I had a blast this past weekend...

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

In a word.......

Magnificent

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

yeah buddy... driving her is the best part of the whole process.
what a beauty!:metal:

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

150 and ran smooth.
Great Truck, great build.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Beautiful truck!!!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Thank you very much, Rian!

True that!!!!
Dude, I was traveling last weekend early a.m. to meet up with my dad & his buddies to go to a show, and got about 10 miles from the house and hit solid rain.....was soooo pissed!!! The truck will never be the same!
I guess that it is really broke-in now!!!
All-in-all, I have run about $100 worth of fuel thru this pig, without problems...
I still haven't calibrated my electronic speedo, so I don't know exactly how many miles that I have truly logged, but besides that, It seem to have the wrong fuel sender, so I may need to remove the box to fix that...

I have given both of my sons rides in it separately, and they both had the same comment afterwards..."Kinda scary fast, I wasn't expecting that" (Ha-Ha!)

Greg, from driving in stopped traffic to highway travel, this thing is bulletproof!..I can't believe how powerful & drivable it is at the same time!

Thanks a bunch!
No longer perfect, but still real nice! (in my mind)
I am gonna end-up spending hours with it on the hoist, wiping down the bottom side in order to get it close to where it was...

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Here are a few crappy pics from last weekends show.
I now have crappy eyesight, and the camera was set to manual focus...
My dad's '48 pro-street is parked on one side, and another buddy's Big-Block '64 SS Chevelle is parked on the other...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...538/5AZsAm.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...538/GGtxes.jpg

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Truck turned out amazing!!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Wow!! It really does look sharp man. Well done!!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Love it:metal::metal::metal:

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Thank you soooooo much!
I often find myself staring at it in awe. I cannot believe that it has reached this level...Seriously!

Thank you, It really has turned out exactly how I had envisioned it in my minds-eye!
Very difficult to explain, but I could see it developing.
I am not trying to seem arrogant about this....but I worked very hard to get it to this level....I couldn't be prouder as I drive it around!!!

Thank you so much! It looks so complete in those photos!...as you can probably tell, not much half-ass about this project. I couldn't be prouder right now. LOL!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Well guys, even though it looks pretty finished, there were a handful of small issues with the truck that needed to be sorted out.
The electronic speedo needed to be calibrated, as it didn't register anywhere close to the true speed, and since I didn't have any of the paperwork from the gages, I was beginning to wonder if it was even wired correctly.
Upon a little research work, I got it all figured out & calibrated correctly on Saturday.
In addition, the fuel gage didn't work correctly either. As it turns-out the tank sending unit was 0-30 ohm, and I needed a 0-90 ohm sender.
Because of the older style tank & the fuel injected engine, I needed to fabricate a hybrid pump/sending unit that had the newer in-tank pump & sending unit with a 0-90 ohm range. I basically fabricated one from parts, but like an idiot, I neglected to take photos! This all works perfect now.
Also, my turn indicators would not cancel during a left-hand turn, which annoyed me.
I ripped the column apart to find that a return spring was missing.
My dad happened to have a few tilt-colums laying around which I stole a return spring from, which ended any turn-signal problems.
Everything on my truck now seems to work perfectly.

I took a cruise to the beach Saturday night, which logged about 120 miles round trip, without issues.
The factory GM cruise control worked really nice for this...
The truck seems to be really bullet-proof at this point...I am really excited about this!
I have logged well over 500 miles now, and I want to drive it everywhere!
Only, I don't want to clean it that often!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Absolutely amazing, your craftsmanship is superb!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

very nice build all the way through Mike. congrats on undertaking a big project and seeing it finished.

maybe time for a big road trip soon, just to test her out ya know...

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Thanks sooooo much!
All of the hard work is starting to pay-off!!!

Thank you Clem!
I know that YOU know, that it is not always easy to stay committed to such a large project. It seems that too often people will lose interest before seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
It has been a long road, and I have enjoyed this project immensely, but I am glad that it is almost finished.

I am feeling a lot more confident with the dependability that the truck has shown so far, but I am not good with traveling long distances alone...Not positive yet, but I think that the final stages of this project may have killed my relationship with my girlfriend, but I am trying to work things out with that.
Not all that much fun, if you don't have someone close to share it with.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

On a brighter side, I went to the last Cruise-in at a local Pizza restaurant this past Tuesday, and my buddy snapped a few pics of it.
There were about 300 cars there and a live band. What a great time!

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...540/V2guxW.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...538/T9xrht.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...905/U6My7p.jpg

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Absolutely beautiful, very happy for you, nothing like getting to enjoy the fruits of your labor

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Thank you Flip!
It has been great while it lasted!
I have had many good times in the truck during the past several weeks!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Well Guys!
I can tell you first hand, that there isn't a lot that can dampen your spirits more during a nice Friday cruise, on a warm autumn evening than this!!!

Friday evening while driving, I noticed the lifters suddenly starting to clatter about 1 mile from home, and by the time that I figured out what was going on, I was parked in my driveway with this staring me in the face!!!

I need to get the truck trailered up to the shop in the next few days, then see how extensive the damages are, in order to make a decision on what I am going to do.
I may just pull out the engine, then trailer the truck to where it will be stored for the winter...Not a great way to end the season.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Oh Man that blows,,,, Hope its an easy fix.
You got it shut down in time before any major damage happened?!!???
Hoping for the best.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

That's a drag man but it may be a blessing in disguise too. Get that motor pulled and the truck put away, then start eyeballing your winter project! Is there anything in that department that you wish you had done differently anyways?

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

That sucks. Keep us updated on what's going on.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

sorry man, but it may not be too bad. chevys are tough and lifter are easy to replace. i know you'll get it figured out, at least you got to cruise a bunch this season and like jlsanborn said, might be a good time to upgrade in the horsepower department.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Sorry to hear. Like the guys said maybe it's not that bad.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Sorry to hear the news. Hope it gets worked out soon.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Thanks Greg.
I don't know if, or how much damage was done.
I did some research, and it seems that the LT1's had a problem with the Billet roller cams eating up the oil pump drive gears (distributor gear in a normal small block) if a melonized (heat-treated) gear was not used.
I didn't put the motor together, so I am guessing that the wrong type gear was used...
GM performance states in their description for this gear as "must be used with most late model crate engines or with billet roller cams, or serious damage will occur"...

Maybe.....Nitrous?

I will definitely keep everyone posted on the outcome, thanks!

Yeah Clem, got almost 1392 good miles out of her on a totally comfortable, and awesome looking seat, and every one except the last was a total blast!!!
Maybe nitrous?...Or did I say that already?

Thanks, I hope that it isn't as bad as I expect, but we all know how that goes...

Not as sorry as me!
Loaded her on the trailer tonight for a trip to the shop in order to start disassembly....Gosh I hate that word!


Thanks guys, for all of the encouragement!
I really was kinda hoping that this winter would be good break from a great project. Not sure yet how I will address this bump in the road based on the complexity once that I get it apart.
Hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst!!!
I had to post a pic of my baby leaving on the trailer tonight....This wasn't exactly how I pictured seeing it go down the road for the first time....

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...910/YF3xf9.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...912/syHiqe.jpg

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Well guys, This week I dropped the oil pan to inspect what I suspected to be the problem, & also to inspect the rod & main bearings.
I had suspected that the oil pump drive gear (distributor gear on a normal small blocks) had been chewed-up by the billet steel roller cam, and it has....
The rod & main bearings do not look that bad, but they don't look great either.
But while I was rinsing out the oil pan in the parts-washer, I found a badly chewed 9/16" press-in freeze plug... Where do think that this may have come from?

I have now made the decision to pull the motor, in order to replace the Rod & Main Bearings, replace the distributor drive gear with the correct one for a billet cam, and replace the housing that retains it with a billet unit because the stock GM piece is plastic and becomes brittle. Oh, and also check-out the oil galley plugs for the camshaft, among other things...

Here is my current status:
I received the melonized pump drive gear (correct for a billet-steel roller cam).
I obtained a set of Clevite-77 Rod & Main Bearings.
I received the Billet LT1 stub-shaft housing for the oil pump drive.
I also have obtained the Intake, Timing chain, & Oil pan gaskets for my LT1.

So, here are a few pics of my accomplishments today, working all by myself.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...910/NG4edq.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...908/ThX1Ql.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...633/128jKq.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...912/yKllwM.jpg

I may be taking some time off from work this week in order to turn things around!
I would really like to to put this truck into storage in a somewhat completed state...

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

I would be scared to even remove that motor for the chance of scratching that engine bay.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

I know, right?
I did it all by my self just for this reason!
I didn't want to watch someone else put any scratches in it!
I took my time, and worked very slowly!!!!
I am so happy now that it is out, because I don't have to lean over it either...

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Sucks that you're having trouble, but I would look very hard at the oil galley plugs behind the timing chain. I would suggest tapping them for 3/8" pipe plugs anyway while you have it apart....easy to do, just make sure you don't go too deep.

Of course now is the time to put a bigger cam, more compression, etc....you can never have too much horsepower ;)

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Ha-Ha-Ha!
Good call on the oil galley plug, I was only joking about where it may have come from.
I was gonna tap them for plugs, but didn't want to introduce any steel chips into the mix... And when I saw how whoever installed these plugs executed the task, I decided to just replace them correctly.... They had driven them in with something less than 1/4" in diameter which dented the center, thus reducing the diameter for the press fit. Not only that, they never thought to remove the factory peening that originally retained them before installing the new ones.
For removal of the old plugs I drilled a .062 hole in the center, and attempted to screw in a sheet-metal screw to pull it out with. But before having the screw inserted securely, the plugs spun in their bore without effort & I pulled the remaining 2 plugs out by hand. You could see score marks on the diameter where it had been driven in over the factory peens, so they had to have been leaking.

This thing already has a really healthy cam & is faster than I expected. I haven't even had a chance to start working on adding the nitrous yet!!!
I just want to store this thing in one piece before the snow!
Thanks for chiming-in, I appreciate the comments, and I will post pics on the progress soon.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Hello Guys!
Today I really got quite a bit accomplished!
I had a hell of a time removing the balancer hub, but when I did, things started moving fairly well.
Does anybody see anything wrong with this picture???

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...907/ITJ4yC.jpg
Could it be that the oil galley plug is missing?
I guess that this could be one reason for loosing some oil pressure...

I have replaced all of the oil galley plugs correctly this time, so it shouldn't be a problem in the future (I have never worked on this engine before).

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...903/iFYEUm.jpg
Looking way-better now!

Now, what about this? Does anybody see something wrong with this picture?

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...633/C04GHD.jpg

I guess that this is another really good for loosing oil pressure!
The wrong type of oil pump drive gear was used for a billet steel roller cam, and the teeth are simply too soft for a standard steel gear, they must be hardened!
And it's replacement!
A melonized GM Performance gear (hardened) & billet aluminum housing instead of the stock plastic one...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...910/ElPjdB.jpg

To top it all off, I installed a new set of Clevite-77 main & rod bearings, simply for piece-of-mind. The old bearings didn't look that bad, but I wanted to start over, because I already have it apart, and I drove it farther than I wanted without oil-pressure...
I plasti-gaged it all, and the worst looking bearings checked the tightest, at just less than .002" clearance... I am sure that all will be fine!

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...908/k7PuIv.jpg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...908/9ANZDm.jpg
Chime in and tell me your comments!!
I will get this thing going again this week, I promise!!!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

hey Mike, we missed you and we talked about just exactly what you were doing then and sure enough... you were. glad you got ahead of the weather and glad to see all the weekend progress. keep at it bro.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Awe Clem,
Me & a buddy from work were seriously super-interested on making the trek to your party until all of this took place...I was getting so excited about attempting to pull this off!!!
It would have been such a blast to be there!

We were actually on our way to dinner the evening of the mishap, and his wife was riding with me because she hadn't been for a ride in the truck yet, and he was following behind. I was getting on it a little, and thought I had bent a pushrod...or maybe all of them!
I then babied it to my house & parked it.
The next morning I realized that there was no oil-pressure & began to research the subject, then started buying parts before I even took it apart!
The first thing that I changed though, was to rewire the computer to shut-off the fuel pump if there is no oil-pressure...
This wouldn't have fixed the oil pump drive gear, but would have saved the bearings, and maybe removing the engine.
I am truly bummed that I didn't get to make it to your party. I am sure that it was way better than I have imagined.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Well Guys,
SHE'S ALIVE!!!
Had the engine back in & running on Tuesday evening!
I put the hood back on it yesterday, and cleaned her all-up, only to get caught in the rain on my drive home from the shop!...I am gonna start calling it my rain vehicle, because every time that I get her spotless it rains!
I have put about 60 miles on it already, and it has way better oil-pressure now with all of the oil galley plugs in place!
Here are some pics that I shot this morning.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...903/2odxfP.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...905/jhgryL.jpg

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

...And my favorite shot!
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...910/ZqxAFh.jpg

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Congrats on getting it back on the road. Man that was a fast resurrection!! And that thing looks sweet.

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Since you were dealing with the engine in this last go around I thought you might give us more motor shots!

Re: My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!
 

Need you to come on out to Oregon to stomp out Steiners running gear. That would only take you 3 1/2 days as fast as you work.
Truck looks Great.