57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'

[Ol Blue K20]

Sounds like a fairly successful trip. It sounds like you're getting the bugs chased out.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Glad you got there and back ok.

Me too, Chip. We have one more trip planned to a car show in Sedalia a week from now. It will be a good chance to tweak the transmission calibration.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Sounds like a fairly successful trip. It sounds like you're getting the bugs chased out.

That we are, Dale. Slowly but surely. My punch list for the winter is growing, but I hope the car will be good to go after all the revisions. My main source of heartburn is the overheating. After much research, I ordered a pair of SPAL fans to replace the Perma Cool ones that aren't keeping up. I'll probably have to pull the core support to install them since they're 11" instead of 10" and will have to be staggered to fit in the available space.

[Vic1947]

Received an email from Speedway with a link to some radiator tech. One thing led to another and I ran across a thread on a forum that suggested that at least some overheating issues might be traced to using an aftermarket thermostat and housing. Apparently, the LS water pump has a bypass hole used for warmup that when left uncovered by using a SBC thermostat will cause hot water to recirculate in the engine rather than being routed thru the radiator. The LS thermostat has a plunger that supposedly blocks this flow once the engine reaches operating temperature. It looks like the housing on my FEAD from Synister Products is an aftermarket piece. No way to know without removing it what type thermostat is in place. So I reckon when I pull the radiator and fan shroud to replace the fans, I'll have a look.

Another post suggested that replacing the water pump with a high volume unit would help reduce overheating. I can't tell from the numbers on my w/p what it is exactly so I'm unsure whether a swap would be useful. There may be other numbers cast into it, but there's too much stuff in the way to tell. While I have it apart, I want to do all I can to address potential cooling issues because I only want to do this once.

I bought a replacement 4L60E case off eBay. It looked really nice in the listing, but what they sent wasn't the same as the picture in ad. Filthy as all get out and a totally different part number than they showed. When I asked them if the case they sent was identical to the one they advertised they said "should be". How's that for commitment? This kind of practice is why I hate buying eBay junk.

[Vic1947]

Over the last couple of weeks we attended a few car shows / cruise-in's and I've had enough for the season. I'm ready to get on with the repairs the old gal needs. First up is to remove the radiator, ac condenser, fans, shroud and wiring. Then off comes the intake, carbs, regulator and etc. After that, I'll remove the front seats and console. Last of all, the exhaust pipes back to the mufflers, the driveshaft, the rest of the wiring and nearly all the hardware holding the transmission.

Once I get to that point, I'll have Hot Rod Express haul it to their shop and yank the tranny the rest of the way out. It goes to Nicholls Performance Transmission to have the internals swapped into a different (un-cracked) case. They will also inspect and repair anything they might find. They will also source a different converter for it that doesn't flash to 3000 rpm every time you tip in the throttle a little bit.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I've been preparing for the switch back to EFI. All that will remain of my original setup is the sheet metal intake. It has a new (correct) Nick Williams throttle body, new FIC 60lb injectors and a new Holley Terminator X ECU and harness. I've been building a calibration file based on my sensors and other engine components. I'll write it to the ECU when I get everything assembled and see if it will start. It has a self learning feature, so I hope to be able to get it running well enough to make it to the tuner down in Belton if need be.

I'm keeping the Painless trans controller which I hope isn't a bad decision, but I've been tweaking it some recently and it's made a lot of difference in the way the tranny performs. I'll probably have to start over with the new converter, but I have a route I run to test my changes with convenient places to stop and make adjustments on the fly.

So the radiator is getting pumped out today in preparation for removal. It will probably look a bit sad over the next couple of months but it will be worth it.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Over the last couple of weeks we attended a few car shows / cruise-in's and I've had enough for the season. I'm ready to get on with the repairs the old gal needs. First up is to remove the radiator, ac condenser, fans, shroud and wiring. Then off comes the intake, carbs, regulator and etc. After that, I'll remove the front seats and console. Last of all, the exhaust pipes back to the mufflers, the driveshaft, the rest of the wiring and nearly all the hardware holding the transmission.

Once I get to that point, I'll have Hot Rod Express haul it to their shop and yank the tranny the rest of the way out. It goes to Nicholls Performance Transmission to have the internals swapped into a different (un-cracked) case. They will also inspect and repair anything they might find. They will also source a different converter for it that doesn't flash to 3000 rpm every time you tip in the throttle a little bit.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I've been preparing for the switch back to EFI. All that will remain of my original setup is the sheet metal intake. It has a new (correct) Nick Williams throttle body, new FIC 60lb injectors and a new Holley Terminator X ECU and harness. I've been building a calibration file based on my sensors and other engine components. I'll write it to the ECU when I get everything assembled and see if it will start. It has a self learning feature, so I hope to be able to get it running well enough to make it to the tuner down in Belton if need be.

I'm keeping the Painless trans controller which I hope isn't a bad decision, but I've been tweaking it some recently and it's made a lot of difference in the way the tranny performs. I'll probably have to start over with the new converter, but I have a route I run to test my changes with convenient places to stop and make adjustments on the fly.

So the radiator is getting pumped out today in preparation for removal. It will probably look a bit sad over the next couple of months but it will be worth it.

I'm glad you got to have fun with it for a while. Looking forward to you getting comfortable to drive it cross country for a little "California Dreaming " and visiting here!

[Vic1947]

Thanks Dale. Kathy is already looking forward to our west coast road trip next spring. There's a lot we haven't seen and if we get ahead of fire season, we'll put you on the itinerary. Fingers crossed you get some extra rain this winter.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks Dale. Kathy is already looking forward to our west coast road trip next spring. There's a lot we haven't seen and if we get ahead of fire season, we'll put you on the itinerary. Fingers crossed you get some extra rain this winter.

I would love to meet ya two. We're hoping for rain too.

[nsb29]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks Dale. Kathy is already looking forward to our west coast road trip next spring. There's a lot we haven't seen and if we get ahead of fire season, we'll put you on the itinerary. Fingers crossed you get some extra rain this winter.

Just made that trip from Florida to 29 palms in so-cal took a lot of pictures here are a few

[Russell Ashley]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Over the last couple of weeks we attended a few car shows / cruise-in's and I've had enough for the season. I'm ready to get on with the repairs the old gal needs. First up is to remove the radiator, ac condenser, fans, shroud and wiring. Then off comes the intake, carbs, regulator and etc. After that, I'll remove the front seats and console. Last of all, the exhaust pipes back to the mufflers, the driveshaft, the rest of the wiring and nearly all the hardware holding the transmission.

Once I get to that point, I'll have Hot Rod Express haul it to their shop and yank the tranny the rest of the way out. It goes to Nicholls Performance Transmission to have the internals swapped into a different (un-cracked) case. They will also inspect and repair anything they might find. They will also source a different converter for it that doesn't flash to 3000 rpm every time you tip in the throttle a little bit.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I've been preparing for the switch back to EFI. All that will remain of my original setup is the sheet metal intake. It has a new (correct) Nick Williams throttle body, new FIC 60lb injectors and a new Holley Terminator X ECU and harness. I've been building a calibration file based on my sensors and other engine components. I'll write it to the ECU when I get everything assembled and see if it will start. It has a self learning feature, so I hope to be able to get it running well enough to make it to the tuner down in Belton if need be.

I'm keeping the Painless trans controller which I hope isn't a bad decision, but I've been tweaking it some recently and it's made a lot of difference in the way the tranny performs. I'll probably have to start over with the new converter, but I have a route I run to test my changes with convenient places to stop and make adjustments on the fly.

So the radiator is getting pumped out today in preparation for removal. It will probably look a bit sad over the next couple of months but it will be worth it.

Vic, I admire your patience and skills. You don't seem to get excited when you have to redo something, so that might be why your builds are always so nice. This wagon is over the top and I'm glad you are going back to EFI. I got hooked on that 57 Ford build a few years back and only recently realized that was you. You have had some nice rides.