72 C10 for my 25th wedding anniversary

[cornerstone]

Your work on recessing the fuel fill kit is top notch. I think I'll do the same thing with mine. I have the same Boyd's fuel tank you do since I was initially planning on a wood bed floor earlier on. I suppose the hose that comes with the flush mount fuel fill kit slides over the threads that were designed to hold the cap on that came with the tank, and then just use the provided hose clamp to hold the seal tight?

Good to know how much Raptor Liner you needed for the bed floor, I'll be doing the same thing soon. Do you think the 2 remaining quarts would be enough for the rest of the inside of the bed? I mean the front panel, the inside facing of the tailgate, and the inner bedsides and wheel tubs?

Your paint work looks great man. Personally I love the bronze color your truck has, but Hugger orange will also be very cool.

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Your work on recessing the fuel fill kit is top notch. I think I'll do the same thing with mine. I have the same Boyd's fuel tank you do since I was initially planning on a wood bed floor earlier on. I suppose the hose that comes with the flush mount fuel fill kit slides over the threads that were designed to hold the cap on that came with the tank, and then just use the provided hose clamp to hold the seal tight?

Good to know how much Raptor Liner you needed for the bed floor, I'll be doing the same thing soon. Do you think the 2 remaining quarts would be enough for the rest of the inside of the bed? I mean the front panel, the inside facing of the tailgate, and the inner bedsides and wheel tubs?

Your paint work looks great man. Personally I love the bronze color your truck has, but Hugger orange will also be very cool.

Thanks for your reply and the compliments.

The hose that comes with the kit does just as you say, it slides over the threads on the tank, then the smaller piece of hose slides inside the larger hose making a reduction to fit the filler. I chose to measure and cut the amount I needed and then install the hose on the tank first, then the smaller piece was cut down to 7/8” and installed next. Clamp the lower portion of the hose to the tank, leave the second clamp in place, but very loose . Because I bolted the filler in with stainless 10-32 machine screws ,washers and lock nuts before dropping the bed on, it took a little patience to line up the filler and the hose on the tank. Using a little liquid soap or Vaseline on the hose and filler neck helps everything slide together smoothly. Once the bed is set, the second clamp can be tightened up fairly easily from the drivers side.

As far as the amount of Raptor liner needed to spray the inside of the entire bed, I think the remaining 2 quarts would cover everything, but I would hate to run short. For me I think I would want an extra quart just to be sure I had enough.
Maybe they sell a 5 quart kit? That would make me feel more comfortable.
Perhaps check deals on Amazon.

[sfont66]

Been far to long since the last time I posted an update…..

Back when I started the Ls swap, I really wanted to install ported heads, a bigger cam, larger throttle body. I wish I had been able to do it before the engine was installed, it definitely would have made things easier,and cleaner! I just didn’t have the cash at that time. However the time has come.

On Black Friday I was able to order some of the needed parts to finally make the upgrade this winter. I ordered a set of CNC ported heads from Texas Speed, they are due to be delivered on 12/18. I also ordered a set of genuine Gm lifters, A cam from BTR , new lifter trays, timing chain dampener.
I still need a to order more, like push rods, head gaskets, rockers, or trunnion upgrade to existing rockers, timing chain , maybe a cam degree kit….

Been waiting on a ls6 valley cover from Summit racing for many months, it was supposed to be back in stock in November, now they are saying mid February , we shall see.
Once I have most of the parts collected, I can complete the installation, but I thought since it was unusually nice weather for December and I had a bit of time I backed the truck out onto the gravel to drain and remove the radiator and water pump. I did place a drain pan underneath to catch the antifreeze, but no matter how hard one tries, it’s still a messy process
The fun continues

[sfont66]

A few more pics
Just getting started

[MDPotter]

All good parts! I know what you mean about antifreeze - anytime you touch anything involved with the cooling system it's a huge mess no matter how hard you try to contain it.

[loudchevy]

Nice build, sfont66! I love the recessed gas filler on the bed floor. I'm going to have to steal that.

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

All good parts! I know what you mean about antifreeze - anytime you touch anything involved with the cooling system it's a huge mess no matter how hard you try to contain it.

I try to buy good or better parts if I can,I can’t always afford the best, but I would hate to have a failure because I was cheap. I had read about cheap lifters, or even fake or knockoffs being passed off as genuine LS7 lifters therefore I was careful to only buy from known reputable brands/companies.

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by loudchevy

Nice build, sfont66! I love the recessed gas filler on the bed floor. I'm going to have to steal that.

Thank you
And
Thanks for taking the time to read through it. I’m glad you liked the gas filler, it’s really quite simple, relatively easy to do, just takes a little time . It’s worth it in the end in my opinion. It just doesn’t look right bolted on top of the ribs

[sfont66]

Over the past weeks I have been tearing the engine down to a short block, to get the block ready for heads, cam , lifters etc.
I wasn’t able to access the block drain plugs, but my shop vac is pretty strong, and was able to suck the remaining coolant out of the block, this worked good I thought. I don’t think I would bother removing the block plugs if / when I tear the engine apart again.

I need to finish cleaning up the block deck, a old gift card and lacquer thinner works good, carb cleaner works good as well. I am going to try some plastic razor blades to see if I can clean it up a bit better.

I still need to order pushrods, head bolts, head gaskets, timing set, trunnion upgrade kit, or new rockers and various other supplies.

[sfont66]

Heads arrived from Texas Speed and Performance. They look good, clean.
Ported with bigger valves, and better springs. Should flow a lot better than the old heads.
Hopefully they will make a big difference compared to the 799’s

[sfont66]

One more pic

[sfont66]

More parts have arrived, and I had a day off. I chose a Cloyes true roller timing set, it’s supposed to be strong for a single chain, and it is adjustable, but I am going to follow the recommendation of BTR and install the cam dot to dot. I also received a new style cam retainer plate, and the necessary new style bolts. Before ordering head gaskets and head bolts from Summit Racing, I did a quick search and found that Gm offered these gaskets as a single or as a pair. The price for a single was $52 if I recall correctly, and the set was only $59.22. Easy decision. Part number 12589266 is single, 12498544 is the number for a pair

ARP had several choices for head bolts, however the chrome Molly bolts had a few negative reviews with bolts twisting off due to improper torque procedure . The ARP 2000 series bolts did not have any negative reviews, they were $35 or $40 more but worth it in my opinion.
With that I disassembled the block a bit further

[sfont66]

I needed to remove the oil pump so I could change the timing set.
The next part has been less than enjoyable. In order to remove the pump, I needed to remove the pickup tube. When I installed the aftermarket oil pan it came with Allen head hardware, and required the use of two bolts to attach the pickup tube to the pump. Easy on the engine stand, not so much when installed in the truck….With the front cover off , access could be gained to one bolt but not both.
I decided then to drop the oil pan, as it would give another 1”+ of room to gain access to the second bolt. The pan did drop the 1”+ but would not drop far enough to be completely removed. It was however just enough room to remove the second bolt once a Allen wrench was cut down. In order to make certain I didn’t accidentally drop a bolt into the oil pan I put a very thin small zip tie around the bolt as soon as I had it backed out far enough to do so. I then held on to the tail until it was safely removed.
With the oil pump off , it was easy to remove the cam and gear set. There are special pullers for the crank gear but the jaws on my 3 jaw puller were the perfect length, and were small enough to fit behind the gear. Worked great.

[sfont66]

After cleaning and lubing the new cam, I used a couple of water pump bolts as a handle to install the cam.
The new Gm cam retainer plate and Gm bolts were installed and torqued to spec.

The timing set was next. The cam gear came with a thrust bearing that can only be installed one way so as to prevent damage to the gear. The crank gear needed to be pressed on. I just used the old crank gear and a harmonic balancer installer to press/pull the gear onto the crank. The new Cloyes gear needs to be marked a bit higher than the factory mark. The gear was marked in the location of the dot before pressing on the crank gear and oil pump drive gear. Cloyes sends these out as 2 separate pieces, unlike the original Gm crank gear, and unless marked, it would be impossible to double check your marks after rotating the crank one full revolution.

The L33 block comes drilled and tapped for the timing chain dampener, but was never installed from the factory, so I added one for cheap insurance.

Hopefully today I can get the oil pump and oil pan installed again, perhaps I will use stock style bolts rather than the Allen head hardware it may be easier to use a open end wrench with stock bolts. I am unsure why the aftermarket pan and pickup tube use the Allen hardware, it may be there is limited room for a traditional bolt between the pickup tube and flange holes, I will have to check that out.
Hopefully it’s not too difficult to tell if the O ring is installed correctly, I usually have installed the pickup tube into the pump, rather than the pump to the tube.

[sfont66]

Had just enough time on Friday to install the oil pump, attach the pickup tube, reinstall the oil pan, front cover and harmonic balancer.
I bought new flanged hex head bolts for the pickup tube. This made it a lot easier to tighten the pickup tube bolts in the small amount of room provided, with the front cover off and oil pan lowered out of the way. Getting the O ring and tube into the pump wasn’t particularly difficult, but being 100% sure it was all seated together completely and correctly weighed on my mind. I did use a dull plastic probe to slightly push the O ring up into the pump while pushing up on the pickup tube. I put a couple of Zip ties around the new pickup tube bolts again as I installed them, it certainly helps prevent disaster in the event I accidentally dropped one in the pan. Once the bolts where threaded in a couple turns, I added a bit of blue loctite and cut the zip ties off. I was not able to get a torque wrench on the pickup tube bolts, so I tightened them up firmly with a open end wrench.

Next the front cover was installed loosely, and the harmonic balancer was installed and torqued. With the balancer centering the front cover and seal I torqued the cover bolts. Then a bit of ultra black rtv to the corners of the oil pan, and the oil pan went back in place. At first I didn’t think there was room for a torque wrench to access all the bolts, but thankfully there was.
Next I need to check PTV clearance, and measure for pushrods. I have adjustable pushrods, and lightweight checker springs, but I need to order a 8” caliper to measure the adjustable pushrod more accurately, and a valve spring compressor ,so I can swap to lighter springs and back to the .660 springs.
So I will get those items ordered, hopefully they will arrive before next weekend.

[Randy S]

Nice work, thanks for sharing your progress.

Would a wrench adapter be useful for torquing those bolts where you can get a wrench on them but not a socket? Something like this one from Motion Pro.

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by Randy S

Nice work, thanks for sharing your progress.

Would a wrench adapter be useful for torquing those bolts where you can get a wrench on them but not a socket? Something like this one from Motion Pro.

Thanks for your reply and compliment.

It’s possible that adapter would have been useful in the circumstances I had ,with limited access to the pickup tube. Of course once you have a tool you can find more opportunities to put it to use. I will have to check those adapters out.

[sfont66]

The valve spring compressor arrived, and I was able to swap from the 660 springs to the lightweight checker springs. The compressor was inexpensive, but actually worked quite well, and it had better reviews than much more expensive models.
A lump of modeling clay proved I had plenty of piston to valve clearance. I threw a used head gasket in place and the new heads with a several head bolts. I had made a solid lifter by taking apart a old lifter, cleaned it with brake cleaner, filled it with RTV silicone and reassembled it. I then let it cure a few days. As it turns out I probably didn’t need a solid lifter, especially with the light checker springs. My numbers were very close between the solid lifter, and a new lifter when I assembled the rockers and used the adjustable pushrod to measure for pushrods.
But I’m getting ahead of myself…..
After turning the crank over a few times, I pulled the head back off and saw the depression in the clay that the valves had made.

[sfont66]

I cut a cross section out of the clay and measured the clearance very close to 1/4”(.0.2475) for the intake valve and 3/16 (0.1840)for the exhaust valve. Plenty of room. I really didn’t think this cam was going to have issues, but with exhaust duration in the 240’s and aftermarket heads, I thought it would give me peace of mind to double check.

I washed off the rust inhibitor on the lifters with mineral spirits, and then gently blew them dry with compressed air. After that I soaked them in oil, I know most people say you shouldn’t, or don’t have to, but I wanted to make certain there wasn’t any trace of mineral spirits left inside the lifter cavities. After the oil bath I let the lifters drain, plugged them into the trays, applied assembly lube to the lifters and lifter bores, and placed the lifters and trays into the engine.
I gave the block deck and head a final wipe with lacquer thinner and a clean cloth, set a new gasket in place and lowered the head onto the block.
The ARP bolts called for a 30#, 60#,90# torque spec , in sequence the 10 larger bolts and 25# on the 5 smaller bolts.

[1972CheyenneSuper]

Great build! Read through it, alot of great info with the ls swap, appreciate the part numbers in the photos too!

[sfont66]

For the passenger side head, I wanted to keep the mechanical temperature gauge, this required the head to be drilled and tapped a bit larger for the temperature gauge fitting.
I used a bit of grease to help catch the shavings, but I cleaned it up for the pics.
That’s all the further I was able to get yesterday

Back to the pushrod measurements. When I placed the adjustable pushrod into the lifter cup and adjusted it up to the rocker that was torqued down to 22ft# I adjusted to zero lash (no up and down against pushrod or valve stem, but a little side to side movement) I measured 7.3105, that plus the recommended lifter preload of .080 I come up with 7.3905. Very close to the 7.4 recommended by Texas Speed.
Stock pushrods measure 7.3970. When I install the rockers I will check again using another method by counting how far the rocker arm bolt turns before proper torque is reached. I don’t plan to use the stock push rods, but the length is very close, and should work well for a final check before ordering new ones.

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by 1972CheyenneSuper

Great build! Read through it, alot of great info with the ls swap, appreciate the part numbers in the photos too!

Thanks for the compliment
Thanks for taking the time to read through it!

Hopefully any information or part numbers can help others, I try to show the numbers in my pics , (if I remember) both for my own reference and it helps with accuracy in case i type the numbers wrong.

[sfont66]

The passengers head went on next
I chased the threads in the block, vacuumed and blew out the threads just to be certain there wasn’t anything that could cause a disruption. Lifters came out of the oil bath and drained a bit while in the lifter trays . Then assembly lube on the lifters and lifter bores. The ARP washers and bolts were cleaned as well as the head where the washer will sit. Then lubed( it is a small packet of lube but it’s enough)the washers need to stay dry on the waffle pattern that sits on the head to achieve proper torque. Then a Final wipe on the head, block deck, placed a new gasket, lowered the head on the block and torqued everything down again.

Before ordering pushrods I wanted to confirm my numbers on the passenger side cylinders.
Using the Comp Cams adjustable pushrod I checked a couple different cylinders and found I had lash at 7.3060, 7.3115, and still just very slight at 7.3150
Zero lash was found at 7.3170 and 7.3180. So if I add the recommended.080 lifter preload, I am very close again to a 7.4 pushrod.
I also used the method of counting the turns of the rocker bolt before it reached proper torque of 22ft#
With the lifter on the base circle of the cam and
Using the stock pushrod with a length of 7.397 I placed it in the lifter cup and adjusted for zero lash. Then I carefully turned the wrench to see how far it would turn. After trying both intake and exhaust I came up with just short of 1 turn, more like 7/8 of a turn on average. I did have a 3/4 turn and 1 full turn, but I performed the test 6 or 7 times and 7/8 was the most common. I attribute the variable due to possibly not getting the lash exactly the same a couple times.
This is also well within range for these lifters and required preload.

Now I will get 7.4 pushrods ordered.

[sfont66]

After installing the oil pump a couple weeks ago, I got to thinking that maybe I hadn’t installed it the best way possible in this particular case. The first time I installed this oil pump, I did it on a engine stand, and used the suggestion from the video from Melling. In the video it shows to install the pump with bolts finger tight and to rotate the crank 1 revolution to center the gears and then torque to spec. Then continue to install the pickup tube.
In my case this time, I couldn’t drop the oil pan far enough to remove the pickup tube, so I had to install the oil pump to the tube first, then rotate the crank and torque the bolts.
I couldn’t help but think after I had the front cover and balancer back on that perhaps the pickup tube would somehow hold the oil pump off center enough when torquing the bolts that it could cause the pump to fail prematurely.
So…..
I pulled the balancer and cover back off to shim the outer gear in the pump like the YouTube video from “That Engine Guy” shows. I like his videos they are very clear and understandable.
What I found when I removed the oil pump cover was that I could not fit a .002 feeler gauge around the outer gear in all areas, so it must have been slightly off.
I loosened the pump bolts and inserted two .002 feeler gauges lengthwise around the outer gear top and bottom curving up and down the sides, (the pic shows the feeler gauges pulled out slightly for the photo, but they were slid in further)and then torqued the pump to spec.
After the bolts were tightened I pulled the feeler gauges out and inserted them back in a couple times and a couple different ways/areas to double check. Then I gave the gears a few pumps of oil and rotated the crank to make sure the gears did not bind. Then again after I put the oil pump cover back on. I used just a drop of blue loctite on the pump cover bolts, torqued those bolts. Then the front engine cover went back on with bolts finger tight, then the harmonic balancer was installed to center the cover, then cover bolts torqued again to spec

It may have been fine the way it was, but doing it this way, in this particular situation seems like a better way. I will say that the inside of the pump and gears did not have any sign of wear, this pump has several thousand miles on it now, so the way Melling showed must be perfectly acceptable as well, if done on a engine stand.
Hopefully tomorrow I can make some more progress towards reassembling some more of the Engine

[raggedjim]

Great thread, you have done some good work on this truck.

Good luck, Rg