Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

28x40 is a "shed"?! Wow, my supposedly two car garage from 1930 is 18x18.
Anyway, I will comment here. I'm wrapping up 26 years as A Sr. Project Quality Manager for Metro in LA on our highway and rail projects.

If it were mine I'd finish the slab with a slope toward the door to a slot drain all across the outside of the "shed" door. Not sure where you are or how much (if any) snow you get but a very minimum of 1/8" per foot. More would be better UNLESS you're putting a drain INSIDE the structure. Then slope evenly to the drain.

I definitely plan to take a short video when it starts and its first drive though I don't know if posting a video is any different than a photo.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

You are going to be sooo happy you did it all the way you wanted it the first time.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks L50's. I THINK you're right. I know the few things I did that aren't QUITE what I originally had in mind and we'll see how the overall project looks like/feels like to me when its done.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Friday, August 4, 2017

Little happened this week: One of the guys elderly mother fell and broke her hip, poor lady. He was to have reassembled my now-polished column - which prevented installation - which prevented wiring, yada, had.

BUT - ECU was mounted under seat. Wires for bundle was run through floor, over bellhousing to engine. Then runs over valley cover/under throttle body and will be hidden by air cleaner.

We decided coils will be mounted to top of frame rails as far back as possible, mostly under toe board. I ordered Holley coil relocation brackets.

Next week the column will be re-assembled/mounted. Driveshaft will be delivered/mounted. Truck will be flat bedded to the exhaust shop for fabrication. Supposedly ALL wiring will be run & terminated except rear stoplights & signals. Engine will be started and tuned. Like I said, Chinese water torture:lol:

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Back from vacation, August, 2017

Spent a week in Zihuatanejo, Mexico - Yeah, the place character Andy Dufresne escaped to in "The Shawshank Redemption" - I always wanted to know what it was like and it's beautiful. Hot & humid but parts are picturesque as can be, fishing & surfing great - recommended.

Truck status:
- Mike's fuel rails did NOT fit so had to order replacements; installed.
- Injectors sent for cleaning/balancing, installed & wired.
- Coils remotely mounted on frame rails.
- Exhaust is to the rear of mufflers. Out the back after bed is installed.
- Water pump modified so neck points toward radiator.
- Dropped my bench seat with "Rogelio" for upholstery. Trying to decide on color.

Pics:

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Its getting there!

:uhmk:

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Great pics, and truck is coming along.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Looks like a nice place. Bit by bit!! Question... will the coils get to hot down there?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Nah, should be fine. They're ordinarily mounted ON the engine right above exhaust manifolds and heat rises. Down there they're a little below the manifolds but the manifolds will be Jet Hot coated and beyond the piping will be wrapped.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Looking good.
Kim

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks Kim! What's the latest with your truck?

Stopped by the shop today to sort of "Show the flag" more than expecting to see much. A crossover radiator pipe has been fabbed from stainless steel and I'll polish it eventually. It will be installed with two very short hose sections. Of course no polish in the grip areas of the hose. It will run right behind and parallel to the fan guard. Still can't decide if I should paint or polish that? It might be body color red or powder coated gloss black or polished chrome-like. Oh well, to be determined.

I also ordered a small fuel pressure gauge for the driver side fuel rail. Better than a plain black plug. Site wont let me upload the pic of it, says I have the wrong file extension - whatever that means?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Nice looking piece...Jim

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Well done!

:uhmk:

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Can you show more of what was done to the water pump? I am trying to figure out how I am going to do mine.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I dont have a picture now but will take one and post later.

Basically the inlet was cut off because it pointed the wrong way and a replacement inlet was welded onto the pump pointing straight up. That allowed us to fabricate the pipe I show in the photo above. The reason for all this is the cross flow radiator I used has its top inlet on the driver side - opposite to where the water pump inlet originally pointed.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Dan, I love your build and the direction you have gone with it so far, but wouldn't it have been easier and more convenient to just get a radiator with the correct configuration? That pipe is a nice piece of work but it looks like it is going to make it difficult to reach anything on the front of the engine.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks Russ,
Yes I suppose it would have been easier to have used a different radiator. I'm frankly not sure why this one was used.

EDIT: Ok, I asked. If the inlet and outlet are on one side the water runs down one side, doesn't flow THOUGH the core. Instead it takes the path of least resistance. It COULD have been done with a double or triple pass core but that would have added thickness I didn't need/want and necessitated using thin electric fans. I wanted the reliability of a mechanical fan.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

nice crossover pipe!


me too. its funny, when I see people talk about losing all those horses I wonder where they are driving at 10/10ths all day every day. electric fans use a LOT of current, and that comes from the.... help me out folks.... ALTERNATOR. which is belt driven! :lol: so I guess the way to save hp is to take off something that is driven from the belt and put on. something. that is... driven... by..

hmmm

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Danny

Just a thought make sure that a bead is rolled into the end of each pipe, for clamping behind.


Things are moving forward, great pics..

NC

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks NC, Yes Mike did that. It's not a big thing but I'm wondering if enough of the welds can be ground off so they won't be visible after polishing the pipe?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Gee if you have to replace the water pump that could be a problem for a on the road repair.

I saw this a few years ago at a car show. I asked about cooling and what the set up was.

It's a 2001 Camero Rad and Fans . It cools great even in 105+ weather. This is what I'm using in my build but with rubber hose. Mine is a 5.3 van engine with cable throttle.

The Rad just drops in after clipping the lower inner strut on the core support.

The best part is it's way less $$ then the aftermarket .

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I find that GM has a bunch of water pumps for the 5.3

These are pic of my water pump from a 2005 Chevy Van. This may save you trouble in the future .

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I don't know if the WP from a 5.3 will fit a 6.0, I'd better find out!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I've seen too many episodes of Overhaulin' or Garage Squad. I guess I'm expecting my truck to go back together in 30 minutes! Lol.

- The Dakota Digital HDX & modules are installed. But that doesn't address that holes were drilled & threaded into the dash struts for each to mount them. The wiring also had to be trimmed and terminated properly.
- The steering column was FINALLY reassembled after the lost part was delivered. It looks great but is still not mounted to the dash so the wires for signal lights, etc can't be run/terminated.
- PS reservoir & radiator overflow tanks have been mounted on driver's side of core support.
- The ambient temperature sensor for the gauge is tiny and installed into the core support behind grill.
- I ordered a liquid filled fuel pressure gauge to use instead of a plug in driver side fuel rail; it's installed and looks good.
- Ordered but not installed are Cadillac CTS horns. Stock one is too big to easily hide. They're small and mostly plastic unfortunately but they're loud! These will be mounted in the wheel well when they arrive.
- Today the knock sensors were being installed in the valley cover.

It's all getting done but it just seems to be dragging.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

I feel ya. I have been trying to get the engine and transmission back into my truck so I can move forward. Its amazing how many little holes, bolts, mounts, etc need to be figured out before the engine can go in. I still don't have the accessory placement figured out but I guess that can happen after the engine is back in its home. I've gone to the auto parts store everyday this week haha. I swear every time I go out there I'm staring at the same thing. The good news is, I've had plenty of time to clean the garage up while waiting for parts to arrive.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

^^^ Thanks for the comments^^^

In my case the engine and trans had ALREADY been in the frame with the cab on and there was STILL problems with putting it all back together. But Mike keeps telling me, "Yeah, it's a '55 Chevy but it's still a custom built vehicle. Everything has to be fitted right for it to look right and perform right and that just takes time." I know he's right but damn!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Oh and just because we're all truck guys I'll post a couple pic's of an early C10 Mike had in his shop.

This is not a frame off job but it looks nice from 10 feet. Up close the paint prep was not done well enough. A prior paint job's chips were not feathered out and could be seen in a few places. In the wheel wells and frame its a little crusty but it looks good for a long bed stepside.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Your build is looking good.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Yes it will seem like it's dragging, but before you know it you will have nothing else to do :) Keep up the good work.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Friday, August 25, 2017

Mike wanted to run a better looking cover weld bead over the what he originally did on the modified waterpump neck. Glad he's trying to make it look pefect but it just adds time. Pump pulley was re-sprayed black and pump re-installed. Upper & lower radiator hoses were finally installed - all looks good & well fitted.

Heater control valve was installed in passenger side wheel well.

Dealer says there's a back order on steam control port plugs - I guess they're called? I've posted a pic of them. We can start the engine without them since if there's no water in it. But we're waiting on new plug wires to arrive and the driveshaft to be fabricated. Guy is running behind on that.

Pleased with everything.
PS: Site won't let me upload the photos - says missing a "security token" - What's that/How to fix?

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Well, I don't now why it finally let me upload, but here they are.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Looking good.
A little closer every day.
Kim

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks Kim, yours too.
I ordered a billet steering wheel for it yesterday. Ordered it in red but the red is too bright I think. I'll probably replace the leather(vinyl?) with material matching whatever upholstery I end up using.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

It's all looking really good Dan! The attention to detail will really show the quality of your build!

:uhmk:

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks JJ,

Once the steam port plugs come in & spark plugs wires I THINK there's nothing left to do - in terms of the engine- to start it and tune it.

Otherwise the front calipers need to be installed and the system bled.
- Then the truck will be "done" mechanically but I'm still waiting for the bed sides to be painted. And since that's inside and outside, base coat and clear coat plus color sanding & polishing, plus installion I still have a way to go to the completed project.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Ooo it's getting so close!!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Hey Dan, what grommets did you use for the A/C lines passing through the inner fenders? Thanks, Jim

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

No grommets.

There are hard line fittings clamping each side of the lower forward passenger side inner fender. As far as I know these black anodized fittings were provided by Vintage Air with the kit - but I can check with Mike to make sure. Anyway, they clamp on each side of the inner fender so there are no lines "passing through" - but maybe I misunderstand your question(?) or what you're referring to?

Maybe this crop of the other photo will help. You can see the fitting is glossy metal.

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

It should be a bulkhead fitting of some type --- heres an alum AN type

http://www.demoderbymasters.com/imag.../020-TF204.png

Project is looking good Dan!!!

Re: Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window
 

Thanks ptc, Yeah it's probably exactly like that but black. Passing through from inside the cab into the wheel well he used a quad bulkhead. You can kinda see it in the photo with the heater control valve.