Project Daily Driver 77 K10

[MTCK]

Here is it all going together. You can see the baby sub behind the passenger seat. The seat has to be forward one notch, but it is on the passenger side, so that isn't my problem! The sub is ported, and the port is pointed towards the middle and sounds great.

Now that I have buckets I wish I had one of the cardboard shelves for the rear of the cab. I've probably thrown 4 of them away on my bench seat trucks... It looks a little bit unfinished now.

The switches for the heaters have little blue LED lights in them. They don't seem to be too bright, but we'll see when I'm driving at night. The seat heat feels nice!

I replaced the fuel selector switch with a safety toggle for the transfer pump. I still need to put the light in above it. I made the little panel out of thin gauge aluminum that I could bend to fit the curves of the dash.

Hopefully tomorrow it'll be on the road.

[MTCK]

I've been out of town for a few weeks and just got home last night. I was greeted with -30F and a truck that had been sitting for a long time in a snow bank. I plugged in the heaters (block, oil pan, trickle charger) and let it sit over night and sure enough it lit right off this morning.

I also attached a pic of it right after I got it back from the window tint shop, before I left, and some of the tie downs for our plane. We had a bit of an ice storm and those ropes are free standing. I thought it was kinda cool.

I am picking up a cold front this afternoon that I had made for the truck and also got the holley intake temp sensor in the mail, so will install that. It looks like it's going to be doing what I want it to, so far. The seat heaters are nice! I'll report after I work on the tune a bit with the intake sensor and drive it in the cold. So far so good...

[MTCK]

I had the cold front installed on my pickup this afternoon, and it seems to make quite a difference. The cooling fan actually has to run from time to time, even at -20F. The truck heats up pretty quickly, and the intake air temp reads in the 40-80F range once the truck is warmed up.

It is slowly coming together... I need to make some mounts for my flashlight, fire extinguisher and first aid kit, and throw my arctic gear in the back, and she'll be about ready to roll.

[MTCK]

As requested by another member, here's a picture of the bracket that attaches the back of the alternator and PS pump to the front bolt for the exhaust manifold on the driver's side. I had to trim the bracket as it originally attached to the front two bolts on the manifold, but would not clear the primary tube on the headers I am running.

[my4by2]

Project looks great man! Really like the seat covers - especially the green trim! Keep up the posts!

[MTCK]

Thanks for the compliment. I don't have a whole lot to report on, as I've just been driving the heck out of it when I'm in town, which hasn't been much. I have one burnt plug wire that needs replacing and have a whole cut to length plug set to go on. Also ordered a dial back timing light so I can get the high rmp timing just right. Need to fix my tach light and put the indicator light in for my fuel transfer pump. I'll post up some more pics and maybe a video or two when I get home in about ten days.
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[MTCK]

Not sure if I'm doing this right, but I stuck a video of a cold start with the truck on YouTube. Nothing too exciting. It's been cold and dark and slick out, so I haven't taken any action videos of me ripping around on the truck. I did get the new cut-to-length spark plug wires on, that look and fit great.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q8MTLu-cSH0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[MTCK]

Well that didn't work...

YouTube - 1978 Chevy Cold Start with...

And the plug wires:

[MTCK]

Uh oh. This freshly rebuilt Dana 60 followed me home tonight. I guess I'm not quite done with this iteration of the truck after all...

[TheWhiteElephant]

Great work, Marcus!

Wish a 60 would follow me home one day.

[MTCK]

Thanks Mando!

A quick update:

I've been driving the snot out of the truck, probably better than 8,000 miles since the EFI install last fall. For the most part it has worked flawlessly. I still have a little bit of tuning to finish with the Holley system, to get all the temp modifiers just right. It was pretty tough to tune the truck at 20 and 30 degrees below zero.

Conversely, I was getting some pretty high intake air temps this summer with the open element air cleaner, electric fan and 210 degree thermostat. I've installed a 160 degree thermostat and now a Spectre Performance cold air intake. I had to use a pretty big air cleaner spacer, which I didn't like, to clear the big cap distributor.

I haven't done anything with the Dana 60 front, and that will probably have to wait until next year as it is construction season and my wife is still in grad school. (Busy and broke). I'll try to get some video up after I finish the last bit of tuning.

Also need to adjust my clutch, replace a header gasket and do a rear brake job. Other than those little items, the truck has run flawlessly.

[MTCK]

12.2 MPG! All city cycle, stop and go driving. I finally took the time to calibrate my odometer and calc a tank of gas. After reading my first post again, I guess the goal is achieved. I didn't baby the truck at all (quite the opposite actually) and I'm sure I'll be over 15mpg on a highway cycle. I'll check the next time I go for a cruise. Still not great, but 8 MPG - 12 is a 50% increase... I'm happy.
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[68 TT]

Does the Holley EFI have the ability to control the electric fan?

If not, how are you controlling it?

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Thanks Mando!...I was getting some pretty high intake air temps this summer with the open element air cleaner, electric fan and 210 degree thermostat. I've installed a 160 degree thermostat and now a Spectre Performance cold air intake.

How is your water temp with the electric fan?

[MTCK]

Yes, the commander 950 has a provision to control the fan, and I am using it. I have an external relay that runs the fan motor. The truck runs much better with the cold air intake and 160 degree thermostat. I also spent a little more time playing with the cranking pulsewidth etc. I'm sure I could have tuned out the driveability issues with the hot underhood temps, but the performance is very consistent now.

For the most part the electric fan keeps up just fine. Around town it never gets above 160. Last week I took the truck on about a 60 mile 4 wheeling trip looking at a job for work. I was going less than 15 mph most of the time, in 4 low with some pretty decent loads and I saw the temp come up to about 190 and stay there with the fan running continuously. I didn't really like that, and it wasn't hot out, probably only 65F. The fan does not have a shroud that matches the radiator (just the small round one that came with it) so really I am only pulling air through about 1/2 the available surface area. I think that will be my next improvement to the cooling system.

I'm pretty sure all the new holley efi systems (they came out about a week after I bought mine, grrr) can control fans, as well as a multitude of other features. I'm pretty sure mine has an input for A/C that will kick the idle and turn on the fan too.

[thirdstreettito]

Love the build! Keep it up!

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Yes, the commander 950 has a provision to control the fan, and I am using it. I have an external relay that runs the fan motor. The truck runs much better with the cold air intake and 160 degree thermostat. I also spent a little more time playing with the cranking pulsewidth etc. I'm sure I could have tuned out the driveability issues with the hot underhood temps, but the performance is very consistent now.

For the most part the electric fan keeps up just fine. Around town it never gets above 160. Last week I took the truck on about a 60 mile 4 wheeling trip looking at a job for work. I was going less than 15 mph most of the time, in 4 low with some pretty decent loads and I saw the temp come up to about 190 and stay there with the fan running continuously. I didn't really like that, and it wasn't hot out, probably only 65F. The fan does not have a shroud that matches the radiator (just the small round one that came with it) so really I am only pulling air through about 1/2 the available surface area. I think that will be my next improvement to the cooling system.

The lack of shroud is why I asked. I tried it the way you have it now on my 67 and couldn't keep it cool. I believe your relatively low ambient temps are all that is saving you right now.

A factory shroud and a seven blade clutch fan dropped my low speed temps by 40 degrees from 220 to 180.

I'm going to try the electric fan route again but build a proper fitting shroud for it this time. I have an LT1 Camaro dual electric fan & shroud assembly I'm going to use and fill the edge voids where needed so they can pull air properly at low speeds.

[MTCK]

Yup, you hit the nail on the head, low temps and not a lot of sustained low speed driving. It is great in the winter when it's below zero and heats right up with the cold front installed. I haven't decided what route to go with a shroud, but the plan is to build one that fits right.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Yup, you hit the nail on the head, low temps and not a lot of sustained low speed driving. It is great in the winter when it's below zero and heats right up with the cold front installed. I haven't decided what route to go with a shroud, but the plan is to build one that fits right.

Are you dead set on using the electric fan or would you be open to using a clutch fan & stock shroud?

My 78 K20 had the stock rigid 4-blade fan on it when I got it and it ran a little warm on hot days when stuck in traffic or moving slow off road.

I put a new fan clutch on there and fit it with a 7-blade fan off of an air conditioned truck and now it runs at the right temp no matter what I am doing.

It warms up fast in the winter but doesn't get hot in the summer. Win win.

You can find a serpentine accessory drive Suburban with a reverse rotation clutch fan and a good shroud pretty easily so it will work with what you have on your engine.

[MTCK]

No, I'm not dead set on electric fans. My truck had a clutch style fan originally and it didn't slip much when it was below zero outside. I threw away that exact fan setup when I did my serpentine swap!

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by MTCK

No, I'm not dead set on electric fans. My truck had a clutch style fan originally and it didn't slip much when it was below zero outside. I threw away that exact fan setup when I did my serpentine swap!

That's what you get for throwing stuff away

It seems like every time I sell something or get rid of perfectly good parts that I end up needing the same thing I just got rid of a short while later and have to go buy it again.

[MTCK]

No kidding - I have blown up 203 t-cases laying around from 3 trucks ago, but tossed the dang fan I could use... Oh well the old suburban stuff is a dime a dozen around here. I'll keep my eyes open since I'm not in a critical spot where the truck has ever overheated... Worst it got to was the other day and I can live with that. Winter is coming up here - I had about a 40 mile quad ride for work today and it was CHILLY at the top of the hill.

68TT, how do you like your truck with the 4.10's in it now instead of those insanely short gears you had before? I've got a set sitting here for mine and am trying to gather up the courage to install them.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by MTCK

...68TT, how do you like your truck with the 4.10's in it now instead of those insanely short gears you had before? I've got a set sitting here for mine and am trying to gather up the courage to install them.

My engine builds enough torque with the better cam, intake & exhaust that with the 4.10 gears it will pull from a dead stop in third gear and not care one bit even with 32" tall tires.

The gears are still a bit much for freeway trips but around town and off road they are great as long as you don't mind shifting every three seconds.

What gears are in yours now?

[MTCK]

It's got 3.08's and open diffs now. I've got a set of 4.10's and an Auburn Gear HP limited slip waiting to go in it. This will be my first R&P install so I'm waiting for a slow weekend when I can really take my time. 90% of my driving is less than 50 mph so I think it'll be perfect. I run a lot of 4wd driving in the winter and I have to use the low gear often when starting on a corner to keep from riding the clutch. Eventually there axles will go in my 83 which has an OD.
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[68 TT]

Originally Posted by MTCK

It's got 3.08's and open diffs now. I've got a set of 4.10's and an Auburn Gear HP limited slip waiting to go in it. This will be my first R&P install so I'm waiting for a slow weekend when I can really take my time. 90% of my driving is less than 50 mph so I think it'll be perfect. I run a lot of 4wd driving in the winter and I have to use the low gear often when starting on a corner to keep from riding the clutch. Eventually there axles will go in my 83 which has an OD.
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3.08's with truck tires suck. My old 86 K5 was that way until I swapped out the 4.10 axles out of my wrecked 84 K20. It made a huge improvement.