New Baby Makes Two!!

[hgs_notes]

Nice truck, I like the color. I wouldn't sweat the rivets thing, I've seen this come up many times and the rosebuds were not consistantly used. Just like having a 69 that looks like a 68 or the many large window 67s that are out there. You should get the numbers off the block and see what engine you actually have.

[BMERDOC]

Guess who putted around the block today! Yup, for the first time in 8 years this truck hit asphalt! I've been tracking down tires, waiting for parts and tinkering with the truck and today was the day it was good enough to leave the driveway.

I sent the tank off to be cleaned but I haven't got my sending unit and grommet for LMC yet so I ran it off the gas can. I rebuilt the back brakes and installed the master cylinder. The rear of the M/C didn't wanna bleed so I put the old one back on for now. I tested the brakes and felt good about them so I put the tires on it, dropped it off the stands, let it warm up for a minute, pulled it in drive and off we went! Seeing my mailbox in the rear view mirror is always an awesome feeling!

I took just had to take some pictures of my collection lined up

[lil hoodlum]

BMERDOC I love it!!!

It is nice to see another one put back on the road. It seems all too often the thing to do is part these trucks out.

Nice pictures by the way. Did you clean/ polish up the rear rims?

Keith

[BMERDOC]

Thanks Keith! I'm wanna give every one, that I can, a chance to get back on the road!

The rims cleaned up well. They were spray painted black. Paint stripper cured that immediately! I scrubbed them pretty good after that but they are still a little rusty.

Heres a couple more pics to eyeball. One is of the rims just after I sprayed stripper on one. One is of the casting numbers on the block and the last is of just one of the shipments I got. Makes me a little giddy to come home and have boxes piled at the door! Also reminds me to pic up a new welcome mat

[lil hoodlum]

According to my Chevrolet small block interchange manual, 3951511 is a 400 cubic inch motor for a 1970-1971.

Keith

[lil hoodlum]

Well I see from post number 4 that you all ready knew that.

Carry on good Sir!!

Keith

[BMERDOC]

The carb was dated as 1973 (coulda been replaced at ant time) and the "reliable" info on the web told me it was anywhere from a '70-'75. I'll go with what your book says. Say, does that book break own the other stampings? I already know what the carb is. More pics...

[VA72C10]

Cool deal! Nice work putting another one back on the road. So, since you've taken that first drive does the hunt for the next owner begin now or are you going to do more to it?
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[BMERDOC]

I have some more parts to put on it and a little more sortin' to do but I think this is where I start trying to sell it. I need to calculate what I have in it and come up with a price.

[bruceman1968]

Nick, CSA is a 400sbc.... 13Y is 1 for chevy, 3 for 1973, and Y for wilmington assy plant. So your 400 is a 1973 out of a impala with 150hp, rpo code is LF6, with a 2bbl rochester. Special note it's a police motor with smog.

Edit The engine was assembled in tonwanda the car was assembled in wilmington.

[Fldawg]

also add to that 4 bolt main according to nasty z28.com

[hgs_notes]

A 400 with 4 bolt mains is kinda rare. Should be a good builder. Congrats on taking it out of the driveway under its own power.

[BMERDOC]

Thanks for the info and the compliments! Police motor huh? Sounds pretty cool if that 150hp thing wasn't in there!

All good info. The 400 seems to get a bad rap that stems from its siamesed bores but there is still a lot of people who love them.

I don't know what the rear gear is but it seemed peppier than 150hp. Shifted into second pretty hard when I drove it. I dont know if its low on fluid (added several quarts in my sloping driveway and the stick read a smidge over), has a shift kit or has a bad tranny. It had a severe off idle bog. I had to lift and squirt the accelerator pump again and then it would take off. The only other complaint is that the brakes started to go away (high pedal effort) after some driving but I haven't pulled the front drums since I've had it.
I'll take it out again but I think I'll have a look at the front brakes and check the tranny fluid level first.

[hgs_notes]

After so many years, theres a good chance that motor doesn't have the original cam or heads. If you pull the valve covers you can get the casting numbers from the heads. Also during rebuild the heads or block deck may have been machined down some giving back some compression, which makes a ton of difference on the smog motors. And these trucks are not that heavy compared to newer trucks, around 4000 lbs or less for a 2wd shortbed. With 3.73 gears, which most had, it would seem to pull pretty good without a ton of HP.

[BMERDOC]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

After so many years, theres a good chance that motor doesn't have the original cam or heads. If you pull the valve covers you can get the casting numbers from the heads. Also during rebuild the heads or block deck may have been machined down some giving back some compression, which makes a ton of difference on the smog motors. And these trucks are not that heavy compared to newer trucks, around 4000 lbs or less for a 2wd shortbed. With 3.73 gears, which most had, it would seem to pull pretty good without a ton of HP.

I have to pull the V/Cs to replace the gaskets. I'll get the casting numbers and we'll see if they are the originals. The Weatherman says its gonna be raining off and on for the next coupla days so hopefully i can grab a few minutes to check.

[67cheby]

good looking project !

[BMERDOC]

Originally Posted by 67cheby

good looking project !

Thank you Sir!

Now to solve another problem...

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=525776

[po_bird]

Good buy!

[BMERDOC]

Ok. Well I haven't posted anything on this truck for a while. I've had smartphone/email problems so pics have been a no go. I finally figured out how to get around that.

I had problem getting the truck to run good. I've messed around with it and now I have it figured out. The biggest problem was me! Being a BMW Master mechanic screwed me. One reason why I got back into these trucks is because I wanted to take a break from the technology that I usually have to deal with. Having said that, I have forgotten the simple problems associated with a small block Chevy from days gone by. Good thing is I was able to chuckle about how I messed up and now I has helped me to shift gears and really get my head back into the Old School game.

So I had two problems. Number one: The glass filter (soon to be removed) showed me that air was in the system. I had restored the gas tank, added a new sender, grommet and gas cap. I rebuilt the carb, replaced the leaking fuel pump and replaced all the rubber lines (lessons learned from the 67). After all that I still had air. Time to start over. First thing was to pull the new sender I bought from a major supplier. Viola! Cracked pickup tube sucking air. Swapped out the sender from my 67 (known good) and tested. Started it and let idle. Soon enough no more bubbles. Problem #1 fixed. Sounds simple but some head scratching and several hours after work to solve these problems takes up some time.

Problem #2: I couldn't get the vacuum past 14-15 Hg. in. No matter what I did. I had no real response from the idle mixture screws and it had what I would refer to as a fast vibration at idle. Tinker, tinker, tinker...when time was available. Its a lonely life hunched over the front of an old C10 engine compartment trying to figure out whats going on with that thing. I figured it was a dead carb. So great, I rebuilt a piece of junk. Or maybe the mixture circuits were still clogged. Heres where the tide turns. I grabbed a can of carb cleaner from work in hopes that I could dislodge what ever was in those ports. I had it idleing and was standing on the front bumper spraying cleaner in the float vent wishing it would change something (yeah, I know). So i lose my footing and have to let go so that I dont hit the ground head first. Keep in mind I'm still spraying. The stream hit the throat of the carb and it immediately jumped about 200 RPM. The word LEAN jumped into my head just as I hit sure footed on the ground. Funny how things that happen so quickly seem to slow time. I'm standing there with my can of carb cleaner staring at my poorly idling 400 for a minute, godsmacked. I collect myself and start spraying around the base of the carb and pow! idle increased. The carb kit came with one of those thick base plate gaskets. Lesson re-learned. Let a new carb heat cycle a coupla times and retorque the base plate. 18 hg. in. I can live with that. Now I'm able to turn down the idle and the mixture screw have a lot more response. I sit there and enjoy my progress. The next day its time to move on so I start it up to let it idle and again with the same problems (14-15hg. in.). Recheck the carb, nope. No change. Not gonna get licked again so I spray the intake gaskets and it jumps to 20-22 when I hit the passenger side.

Which brings us to today. I'm ordering intake gaskets. I'm tired of working on it at home. I've driven it around the neighborhood enough to know the brakes are great and it won't quit on me. Time to take it to the dealership. So I text my Shop Foreman with a "Lets do this". He knew what that ment. He text me back "be there in a minute". I walked around the truck a little, breathing , trying to shake the nerves. Its another old truck, the dealership is ten minutes away, hopefully nothing will happen along the way. Fired it up and off we went. I got to the dealership with no troubles! WOO HOO! I did get to see an Accord lose its engine in front of me on the way. I got a good laugh outta that! What was I worried about?

I was able to pressure wash the engine compartment and raise it for my first real good look at the underside. Now that its at work I should be able step this up a notch. And so it continues...Heres a few pics. In all the excitement I forgot to take a bunch of pics. That seems to be a trend for me!

[hgs_notes]

Funny, I had almost the same problems with my Jimmy after an engine rebuild. I could get ti to run, but had no power, no vacuum, etc. My fix started with re-adjusting the valves. Then found a couple small vac leaks. Then earlier this spring I noticed that after it pulled hard or was reved up, it would stall a few seconds later. I noticed air in the fuel filter by the carb, bled most of it out and it was cured.

One thing on those carb base gaskets is that some have passages cut into them for different style carbs, some don't quite match up well with the manifold or carb base and they will leak. If the problem persists, maybe check that out.

[BMERDOC]

Ha! Yeah funny! I started with a valve adjustment too! I was thinking they may have been a little tight, checked timing too. I'm gonna check around to see if I can find a better base gasket.

[sean1969c10]

Cool truck!! Congrats on it's first real road trip!!

[BMERDOC]

Originally Posted by sean1969c10

Cool truck!! Congrats on it's first real road trip!!

Thank ou sir! Are you coming to Jonathan's Get Together? On the real the truck is is a POS in many people's eyes but to me getting it running and driving is fuuun. Waaaay better than stamp collecting!

[VA72C10]

Glad you got it running better...sounds like the intake gaskets will get it licked!

I know you're enjoying driving it....the fruits of your labor!

[70cst]

Interesting thread