a tale of two trucks

[dohcdoh]

Here is a story of these two c10's in my possession. Here they are on the hook being picked up and brought to my house.

The black one is a 1970, and has been swapped to an ht502/th400


The brown one is a 350, with whatever trans is behind it(Im a bmw guy, I don't know what it has because I didn't mess with it. I think its a th350). It had some issues. First it had no oil pressure. Second the owner said that it had lost power coming up a hill on the freeway after the oil pressure went to zero. Yup, kept driving it. Third it had a brake problem, the rears had gotten hot and kept trying to lock up either wheel. So I put it in the air and did the brakes.

new wheel cylinders

installed new shoes as well(before you start, yes I am aware)

I bought a new cam for it

got an hei distributor

here is the motor coming out

here are some gaskets and stuff

oil pan gasket

motor out


more to come in a bit

[Ol Blue K20]

I'm watching these

[dohcdoh]

After the intake was removed

Ok, so here is the cam when I pulled it out. It is completely smooth on quite a few cylinders. I found out why, when I pulled the oil pan it had about a quart of fluid in it.

here is doing the valve seals

So at first I thought I would be able to get away with just filling it with oil and the pump would be ok. Wishful thinking, I got it all back together and it had no pressure unless revved. So out it came again to do the oil pump, and rear main seal. I had at this point replaced every gasket and seal on the motor. went to start it and viola! oil pressure. small vid

[dohcdoh]

Now for the black truck. It had been leaking trans fluid for quite some time said the owner, he had filled it almost every day and came out to a puddle in the am. He also said that someone had replaced the valve cover gaskets with the wrong ones, causing it to leak oil onto the exhaust and smoke like hell. The truck it is in is rusted, really bad. It had been on the coast for a long time and the doors, frame, and well everything but the drivetrain are rusted beyond repair. The cab passenger door has been bondo-ed shut, the roofline has been remolded with bondo, it is just a mess. Someone had installed two sets of exhaust manifold gaskets(two gaskets on each side). They had been oil soaked because of the leaking valve covers. Anyway, here is a picture of the head, note the dual exhaust gaskets(some sort of fiber).

new steel exhaust gaskets

I replaced the valve cover gaskets with the right ones(o-ring style), and cleaned up the motor a bit. Replaced the exhaust gaskets and the exhaust bolts(stainless now), replaced the radiator hoses, got a throttle return spring bracket because the return spring was attached to the hose clamp on the thermostat housing. Then fired it up

[dohcdoh]

Now that it wasn't leaking oil from the motor anymore it was time to get on the transmission leaks. I figured I would do a couple of cheap mods while I was in there, the dual feed mod, plugging the accumulator hole, and opening up the separator plate holes.
First things first, do I need a new driveshaft? there is a wear ring on this one


Tapped accumulator hole

plugged accumulator hole

Now for the part im wondering about. These are the clutch packs and drum, etc. It looks like it got really hot, and Im not sure if the clutches are supposed to have those notches on the corners.




the band looks pretty shot

it has steel seals though

empty case

output shaft and speedo gear


That's all for now, if you guys can answer my questions about the clutches and drums that would be great. I have new seals and gaskets for the whole transmission, including the rear bearing.

[swamp rat]

Dang, a hydraulic lift in the dirt, at least ya got one!

[dohcdoh]

Haha it does come in handy. There is a tire machine in front of it too, hence the wall of tires. Got a nice compressor, and a few other tools. It isn't set in the dirt though, There is a concrete pad there...just hard to see with all the dirt. I live out off a dirt road on 10 acres. I have a range on my property, I build guns, work on cars, built my house, etc. I'm a little odd. Not your typical "Californian" at all.

[mcbassin]

Wow you have your hands full. Looks like some pretty nice projects.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by dohcdoh

Haha it does come in handy. There is a tire machine in front of it too, hence the wall of tires. Got a nice compressor, and a few other tools. It isn't set in the dirt though, There is a concrete pad there...just hard to see with all the dirt. I live out off a dirt road on 10 acres. I have a range on my property, I build guns, work on cars, built my house, etc. I'm a little odd. Not your typical "Californian" at all.

You have a machine shop too?

[dohcdoh]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

You have a machine shop too?

No, just a few tools. Ive been able to complete my firearm projects on my little mill, my friends larger mill, and another buddy's cnc mill. I would love to have a machine shop, or just a nice cnc. But having friends with them is just as good for now.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by dohcdoh

No, just a few tools. Ive been able to complete my firearm projects on my little mill, my friends larger mill, and another buddy's cnc mill. I would love to have a machine shop, or just a nice cnc. But having friends with them is just as good for now.

My older brother keeps asking if i could machine parts to use on the range too ( I'm a journeyman machinist ) I keep telling him if i had some milling machines i could but..

[dohcdoh]

If you have a drill press, pm me. I have jigs that can be used with a drill press.

[dohcdoh]

Update time, the black truck transmission is fixed(I put the details in the other thread). It has a hard time idling though, when it's warm it gets better. I'll have a video in a bit, but where should I start? It starts right back up every time, it just won't hold an idle til it's good and hot.

[dohcdoh]

Found the problem! Haha I'm used to fuel injection, I didn't even think choke. It has no choke! There is a block off plate on the intake where it goes(you can see in the picture of the engine). Now next question. Manual choke? I like knobs and levers, my dads old truck had a manual choke. Should I swap the quadrajet for the edelbrock carb I have sitting here when I go manual choke?

[dohcdoh]

All done!

[dohcdoh]

Choke is installed, along with a new air filter and bolt for said air filter(who the hell has an air filter just sitting on the motor?). Truck starts and idles cold now, woo! Tire is coming Wednesday and then she is ready for the road! Can't wait to drive this thing..except the mileage will be horrible.

[dohcdoh]

Ugly truck!

[dohcdoh]

New tire mounted. Love having a tire machine.

[dohcdoh]

Hey carb bros, I need help. My sbc truck is running pig rich. What should I check first? I know that all the spark plugs are hooked up now... It ran rich before I did the work, and I don't know carbs.

[dohcdoh]

The hot air choke...could it be that the passage for it is blocked in the head? Would that cause the choke to not work correctly?