What did you do with your truck today, Part 3

[leegreen]

It is a '64 c10 frame*, original trailing arm rear axle and drum brakes, now ~'78 front suspension on 64 cross member. 8" dual diaphragm booster, disk/drum master and an adjustable proportioning valve for rear.

The rubber bushings made more difference than I expected, the old ones had no play but were evidently the source of an assortment of squeaks that are now gone. The rubber also has a smoothed out ride, more isolated from road vibration. I like it.

I had the new control arms, disks etc all prepped ready to go and the swap still took me about 5 days. I spent quite a bit of time on getting alignment where I wanted it, also had to align and mount the newer style idler arm to match the power steering box I'd installed last year. Now it has the newer style larger tie rods everywhere.

The swap pushed both wheels out about 1/2 cm, and lowered the truck about 1/2 inch in front. Just enough I have some rub on drivers front when backing up at full lock. Going to live with that for now as plan to swap the 250 for a 292 this fall, adding 10-20 pounds to front. probably just buy some new OE springs

*this frame swap was started in about 1980 when there were not many options for front suspension swaps except some poorly done car front clips. There are easier ways to do it now and I would not recommend c10 frame under AD truck. But I am happy with the results.

for future reference: (repeating a tip I found elsewhere, disk swap on drum brake c10 crossmember, get early 70s Chevelle rubber lines and you can keep the hard lines & mounts behind crossmember, if you use newer c10 lines you need to relocate hardline to front of crossmember)

[B52bobardier1]

Hello,

I tried to figure out why my 59 Apache with a 79 HEI-equipped 350 has no ignition spark. My guess is a bad ignition module or coil. The battery wire to the HEI is connected but I need to check it for ignition volts before I buy a new module.

This is a bucket list truck that I have owned for a grand total of two days. It drove home 45 miles OK but would not start yesterday. It has maybe 2000 miles on it since the previous owners possession of it in the year 2002.

I can't post a picture but it is a very good looking truck with a Nason Candy Apple Red paint job. The paint is in great condition but I need to put exterior mirrors and a few other chrome trim pieces on.

Rick

[leegreen]

welcome to the forum. Sounds like a nice truck.

Get a multi meter and search up HEI testing on Internet.
Old truck specific: make sure you get full voltage to the distributor. The 59 ignition would have had a ballast resistor dropping the voltage to the coil, but HEI wants all the volts. People don't always realize that when these swaps are done.

the engine and driveline channel may be a good bet for troubleshooting questions
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...splay.php?f=24

[dsraven]

B52
welcome to the forum. sounds like you have a nice looking truck there. if you have some pics but just don't know how to post them, there is a "how to post pics" thread. or just ask.
HEI no spark
first, check to see that all the fuses are good. sometimes with a "new to you" vehicle that has been changed from stock you just never know how the previous owner did things.
check ign voltage at the HEI plug. the wire there should also be a heavier wire than the old truck would have had with the points style distributor. it is commonly suggested to use at least a 14ga wire for power supply. most will use a 12ga wire all the way back to the ign switch. it would be a great idea to check the back side of the ign switch to make sure there are no loose or corroded wires there. does your truck use the stock, in dash style, ignition switch or has it been upgraded to a newer steering column with the integral ignition switch in the column? it would also be good to check the connections at the starter to ensure there isn't a wire off the solenoid that would give power to the distributor while cranking, not sure of how the truck was wired but with points that would have been used to supply full battery voltage while "cranking", for better spark, along with an inline ballast resistor to supply less than battery voltage for the distributor during the "engine running" phase. this was to save the ign coil and make it last longer. if you still have the old style ign switch it may or may not have the "starter" function. if yours has the key switch and a seperate push button for the starter, or even the foot activated starter pedal, then it may have the extra wiring for distributor power when cranking. this would also be a smaller gauge wire from the starter solenoid to the distributor and this may have either burnt off or fell off etc
first, tag each spark plug wire to designate what cylinder it is for, assuming the plastic plug wire retaining ring that was used back in the day is not intact anymore, then snap a pic or do a drawing of it, so you can place the wires back in their respective positions, then unplug the spark plug wires from the cap
unplug the cap wiring connections, remove it completely and set it aside for a thorough check in good light.
while it is off and you're still under the hood, check the rotor to ensure it is intact and not missing anything, like the contact in the center or the other electrode that points to the cap contacts
find the wires from the pick up coil and give each one a small tug to ensure the copper inside the wires is not broken, thats a common problem. if a wire stretches then the copper inside is broken and a new pick up coil will be needed.
next grab the rotor and give it a little torque, it should turn a little and this is the tell for whether or not the mechanical advance is seized up or is free moving. this won't affect whether or not you have spark, but is a good to know thing for later when you put it back together
when checking the cap, first flip it upside down and look to see that the carbon contactor is protruding through the hole in the center. sometimes they can get worn off or broken. also look for carbon tracing inside the cap that would mean a possible crack in the cap material allowing the spark to find a ground by following that carbon trail. check the spark plug contact spikes for corrosion and erosion, chip off any corsion and see what is left of the spikes. if all good, flip it right side up and remove the screws and take the coil cover off. check to ensure there is a ground strap or wire intact that is the ground for the coil. sometimes when a cap is replaced the ground strap is neglected to be installed
next unscrew and remove/check the coil visually for signs of overheating. a little bit of discoloration can be normal but a lot of deeper coloring can mean the coil has seen better days. check that the carbon contactor under the coil is in good shape as well as the rubber insulator
next, tidy up the spark plug wires so as not to get snagged on anything and (you may need some help) crank the engine over to ensure the distributor turns when the engine is turning. sometimes the drive gear shear pin can get broken or for some other reason the shaft is not turning. this is more rare but does happen. the engine can simply be turned by hand with a spanner or by grabbing a pulley and the belt and attempting to rotate the crankshaft. it doesn't take much to see whether the distributor turns with the engine
here is a link to show the coil connections under the coil cover. there are lots of wiring diagrams for the HEI system online if you think that could be the problem

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/the-t...qfsZySzetBbqAg

[nvrdone]

I've had the left rear wheel locking up for a while and haven't driven the truck. Today I had time to mess with it. After pulling the wheel and the drum, I found 2 problems. 1st, the spring over the adjuster between the brake shoes was broken. 2nd, I had a right-side adjuster on the left side. So I dug thru my parts stash & found some new parts. After I got everything back together I took it for a short drive. No wheel lock up so far, but tomorrow I will put some miles on the truck. Wish me luck.

[B52bobardier1]

Hello,

I will try again to post a picture. Earlier today, I checked the health of the alternator ( a "10SI" two wire) and the voltage was wildly varying from about 7.5 VDC to 14.5 VDC. In a flash, off to the parts store I went and promptly installed a rebuilt alternator and at least that problem is solved.

I have a solid 12.5 volts at the "BAT" wire connected to the HEI distributor. I connected my old school timing light to cylinder 1 to check the timing and it does not flash. But it does flash when connected to other cylinders - the timing light is functional. I will start removing spark plugs one at a time to check their appearance but I predict that I will soon be buying a new HEI ignition module to replace the module in there now that could be damaged from the bad alternator.

I want to put some of the chrome back onto the front of this short bed, Fleetside truck. All of that red paint needs a little chrome to provide some contrast.

This truck is resting on a 1979 Chevy C10 frame with that vehicle's 350 C.I. engine and TH350 transmission. This truck also has a wiring harness with the "ATO" style of fuses and I can't tell if the harness came from the donor C10 or if its an aftermarket harness.

Rick

[dsraven]

B52
nice looking truck you have there
voltage at the HEI power wire should match battery voltage. if not start looking for a connection or switch with a voltage drop