What did you do to your truck today part II.

[pimpston65]

did some dumb s**t paid $100 for a radiator cap i saw on one of the trucks from the lambracht auction tell if it was a score or a waste of money. i tried repop but only RC15 were found and the one repop had 13LB not 13# and 307 and not RC6

[pimpston65]

the one i got off *bay

[Grizz1963]

Last two days the yruck has actually worked and done about 90 miles.

Moved our daughter out of her flat back to her fathers as she is going traveling from April before she starts looking for a job as a radiographer.

Best part was her squealing like a todler when I spanked the truck.

Today we went over to Essex to say goodbye to friends who are moving back to South Africa after 15 years in the UK.
I got a load. Of shelving and unused 2.4m decking boards from Dirk, as well as some ally ladders and other wood.

As often is the case, I forget how much of an impression the truck makes on the road with pointing, hooting and friendly waving wherever we go.

Have I mentioned that I love my truck?

[Casaba]

Replaced the brake shoes on all four corners... Wow that's what brakes feel like. Lubed the speedometer cable and cleaned up the cab after I burst a bottle of dry-slide ALL over it. (Not fun btw)

[pimpston65]

playing with my new toy, i mean tool. i picked a nice hand tool for my upholstery job. ive seen all brands and i like these and wow 40%off yeah $17 im sure im gonna cut myself before the job is over

[NEWFISHER]

Edward scissor hands?

[PORKY]

We got the cab painted today, been 10 months since we worked on it. All that is left now to paint is the two front fenders. Then re-assemble the old girl. Soon I hope.

[60-66]

Originally Posted by pimpston65

did some dumb s**t paid $100 for a radiator cap i saw on one of the trucks from the lambracht auction tell if it was a score or a waste of money. i tried repop but only RC15 were found and the one repop had 13LB not 13# and 307 and not RC6

?? Did you buy this on Ebay or something ? NOS caps bring more than that so you did OK, seems like a lot but they are tough to find in nice shape

[mattfranklin]

I removed a lot of non-stock funky wiring from under the dash. There was a non-working (but always on) non-stock radio , a couple of aftermarket gauges, and a tach with lots of extra coiled up wire in there. Much cleaner now.

After that I hooked my HEI up to the "IGN. UNFUSED" terminal on the fuse block, with an inline fuse, and a clean propper gauge wire. Before that it had a toggle switch on an always hot smaller gauge wire with no fuse.


I should have used propper pigtails, solder, and heat shrink, but for now just used crimp-on connectors.

It feels good to get that cleaning done.

Next week I'm planning to plug a fresh wire into the other "IGN. UNFUSED" connector for the electric choke.

[pimpston65]

yeah 60-66 the radiator cap is NOS, and on ebay!!! the seller wanted $199 but i offered $100 and took a chance, to my surprize and delight they took it... thanks for the reply as i thought they were hard to find. good thing im down to the last correct bits cuz prices are way too high!!!!

[rickywideglide]

installed new starter(no more grinding sound), glovebox insert,one door check retainer,not happy with it. then saw thread about the jeep retainers... should have checked before ordering

[pimpston65]

picked up and installed my factory correct bent down tube and muffler, it really fits!!!!! walker stopped makin the down pipe. obsolete, no folks still need it walker. anyway my guy did it right

[pimpston65]

bend by the lower control arm crossmember spot on

[pimpston65]

got the correct hanger, needs some special modifa-kate'n and it will fit purr-fect

[LVPhotos]

Got board and filled in another seam. Top driver side windshield area.

[TJ's Chevy]

I've been working on cleaning up some of the wiring...added some loom to make it look better...also polished my air cleaner.

[NEWFISHER]

You will just get it dirty...looks nice!

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by NEWFISHER

You will just get it dirty...looks nice!

Which will just give me an excuse to polish it again.

[Chevy Fleetside]

My starter has been going out on my truck . I have a manual trans and I had extra starters but for Automatice which bolt to the block with two bolts instead of the 3 bolt for the Manual trannys. I went back and forth about getting a starter but since I don't plan on keeping the manual I didn't want to spend $40+ on a starter I was only going to keep for a little while. Well the bearings went out and the starter just would not turn anymore. A friend of mine found an article about how the body of the starters for GM are the same except the noses are differnt. So I got one of my two bolt starters and switched out the nose and it works perfecly. Here is the article if anyone wants to read it.
I also cleaned the spark plugs today as they were fouling out and the truck was spuddering at higher RPM's
Now the truck starts real fast and the spuddering is gone. Now I just have to change the clutch.

EXCEPT FOR TRUCKS, 1962 WAS THE LAST YEAR FOR THE OPEN BOTTOM BELL HOUSING (both alum and cast iron)
Beginning in 1963, there were TWO sizes of flywheels and bell housings

----
----
\
. In the history of Chevrolet V8 engines, there has ONLY BEEN 2 SIZES OF FLYWHEELS. PERIOD! There is the BIG flywheel, 14in diameter, 168 teeth, and the SMALL flywheel, 13in (actually about 12
3/4in) dia, 153 teeth.
That's it, just those two sizes, auto tranny or manual tranny, doesn't matter.

So, we'll start with the very first Chevy V8, 1955. The 55-62 V8s ALL had a Big flywheel and the starter mounted to the bell housing (yes, I know about Turboglide starters being bolted to the block, but remember, we're only dealing with manual trannys here). Thus, AL 55-62 bell housings would accomodate the big flywheel. I believe the 63 409 engines retained the open bottom alum bell housing (introduced in 60 for hi-perf 348s and AL 60-62 Vettes) which still had the starter bolted to the bell housing.
Beginning in 1963, there were TWO sizes of flywheels and bell housings. Generally speaking, the smaller/lo-perf engines got the small flywheel and a small bell housing.

EXCEPT FOR TRUCKS, 1962 WAS THE LAST YEAR FOR THE OPEN BOTTOM BELL HOUSING (both alum and cast iron). The exception was an open bottom alum for 63 409s and trucks used the open bottom iron up to about 1970. ALopen bottom housings were for the big flywheel. There WAS NOT an open bottom housing for the small flywheel. The full enclosure housing was introduced in 1963, and has remained ever since. There is a small and a big full enclosure housing for use with the small and big flywheel. You can't mix big/small flywheels/housings, won't work!. As a result, there are also THREE basic styles of starters (acutally, the difference is the starter NOSES, with a forth one thrown in for complication purposes):

1. The 55-62 (up to 70 for trucks) starters bolt to the bell housing with 3 bolts and have a cast iron nose and are ONLY for the big flywheels.
2. The 63-later starters bolt to the underside of the block and come in 2 versions:
A. Alum nose with a straight across bolt pattern, fits ONLY the small flywheel/bell housing.
B. Alum nose with a staggered bolt pattern, fits ONLY the big flywheel----------- BUT WILL NOT FIT THE BIG BELL HOUSING-------FOR A MANUAL TRANNY, BIG FLYWHEEL AND BIG HOUSING, ONLY THE CAST IRON NOSE WITH A STAGGERED BOLT PATTERN WILL FIT THE BIG BELL HOUSING!!!!!.

Thus, a staggered bolt pattern alum starter nose will ONLY fit an auto tranny, whereas a cast iron staggered bolt pattern nose will fit either auto or manual trannys. Therefore, as an example, if a person has a later model engine (such as a 350) and wants to use the early big flywheel and 55-62 type bell housing which had the starter mounted to the housing, you can also use the later block mounted, cast iron, staggered bolt pattern version.

Now, we're going to go into a little more detail with the starters. The GM Delco style starters (again, prior to the later small starters) are all interchangeable---------------ONLY THE STARTER NOSE IS DIFFERENT!!!!! For example, lets say the starter on your 62 Chevy 327, with big flywheel and big housing, is toast and your budget won't afford a replacement starter right now.

BUT, your grandpa's tired 74 Olds with a 455 is sitting out back in the weeds (Olds starters mount on the opposite side from Chevys). Pull the starter from the Olds 455, remove the nose from the Olds starter, remove the nose from the Chevy starter, put the Chevy nose on the Olds starter, you're back in business! That's right, that's how interchangeable Delco V8 starters are. Now, one more bit of starter information. There are also two types of starters---------regular and hi-torque. Both starters are the same size and interchangeable. So, how do you know which type you have? Delco starters all look alike. They have a big solenoid on top and there is a big flat brass strap coming up through the starter case and connected to the lower solenoid terminal. HERE IS WHERE THE DIFFERENCE IS! A regular starter has this strap coming up through the case and connected right up against the lower terminal of the solenoid. The hi-torque starter has this strap coming through the case about 3/4in away from the lower terminal of the solenoid and there is a 3/4in spacer between the lower terminal of the solenoid and this strap. Thus, a much longer screw is required for this longer connection. ANY hi-torque starter motor can be swapped onto any starter nose. GENERALLY, the BB engines, many truck engines or engines in heavy duty service (translate hi-perf) got the hi-torque starters. If you need a healthy starter for an engine with a BIG flywheel, with a manual tranny, and you don't seem to be able to adequately express this to the kid behind the parts counter, just tell him you need a starter for a 70 Chevelle with a 454 and a 4sp. That'll get you (or it SHOULD) a hi-torque starter with the cast iron nose and staggered bolt pattern to fit a big flywheel and any bell housing!
I'm sure that I've probably left out something, but hope this helps.

[pimpston65]

dang chevy fleetside u said a mouthfull all i did was go over every nut, bolt, screw and washer to make sure i have everything for not only the entire truck but all that is going for the second and last black phospate coating if i missed anything oh well!!!!

[TJ's Chevy]

Wowza!

[sodly]

Originally Posted by pimpston65

bend by the lower control arm crossmember spot on

What did you use as a pattern/guide?

[pimpston65]

theres a guy on ebay that bends to factory specs in geneva,ohio i was coming back from pittsburgh and stopped by to pick it up since it was on the way. one thing though he said when he ships he cuts the down tube from shipping of course i was like oh no, gotta have a complete piece. maybe one could pay extra for long box to keep it whole $120 for down tube and muffler i had the Y pipe NOS and the tail pipe from Walker, they stopped making the down tube called it obsolete....

[Chevy Fleetside]

Can't take credit for alot of typing. I only typed the top part the rest was copied and pasted. ..

[tincan1966]

Had a very busy day using the truck, yesterday, as intended-running shop errands. Dropped off two engines at machine shop for customers, then the 35 mi trip to my parents, loaded a full truck bed full of firewood, then back. BUT as I parked to unload the wood, noticed a large amount of oil under the truck.
Pulled truck into shop to get ready for new windshield today. We removed the old glass and rubber wire brushed the opening, and scuffed and painted the top of the dash.
After that got under it to check the oil problem-it appears the rear main seal has gone out completely. This is a later model block with one piece rear main, so either the trans comes out or the engine.
Decision time- with OVER 260K miles on a 305 without ever having any internal work done-it's time to retire it for a rebuild. Hope the next time gets as much good faithful service!