72 C10 for my 25th wedding anniversary

[sfont66]

The original coil harnesses were getting hard and brittle, I didn’t think I could modify them or move the big main connector back towards the firewall more out of sight.
The Holley coil harnesses are made so that the connector is towards the rear, so that was a plus. Summit had them on sale, so they weren’t that much more than others. They still were kind of expensive for what they are, but new harnesses were necessary.
More in a bit……

[sfont66]

Since the radiator was empty it was a good time to add a zinc anode, just as a precaution /cheap insurance. I have never had any sign of electrolysis, and always use distilled water in a 50/50 antifreeze solution, but the anode was only $12 on sale,so why not. It just replaces the drain petcock

I’m not sure if I like the new look of the coils and harnesses on the valve covers, in time it may grow on me. My son offered to have them powdered coated for me, but I chose to leave them raw for now, because I may weld on a AN fitting to loop in a catch can. But I would rather pull PCV from the valley I think. I have been trying to buy a Ls6 valley plate so I can pull Pcv from the valley rather than the valve cover but every place I have tried has been sold out for almost a year now.
I still think a nice set of coil covers would look good.
I can’t afford a new FAST intake or throttle body yet to complete the mods, I’ll have to wait a bit longer.
Next up is to fill all the fluids and fire it up.

[cornerstone]

I think it looks

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

I think it looks

Thanks
They are starting to grow on me. At this point I will be running them for at least this summer, or longer. It would be expensive to change to coils that will fit under the coil covers I have found that I like. That money could go towards a larger throttle body, and then I will need a different intake…..

[sfont66]

The cooling system was filled with nearly 3 gallons of coolant, filled through the top radiator hose so that the block and heads were completely filled first. Then the balance of the coolant filled the radiator.
Then 6 quarts of oil with zinc were added to the crankcase through the priming port in the front of the engine just behind the timing cover on the driver side.
As before I used a simple garden sprayer with a hose barb and a fitting from ICT Billet. The last time I used a larger 2 gallon sprayer, this time I used a 1 gallon sprayer. Both work equally well the smaller version is cheaper, At just $10, but the hose is plastic and is very stiff and doesn’t straighten out easily. It also requires the end of the hose to be heated with a heat gun in order for the hose barb/fitting to be inserted into the hose. I recommend checking out the quality of the hose if buying another sprayer. Otherwise both produce adequate pressure to prime the system.
More in a bit….

[sfont66]

The mechanical pressure gauge shows the sprayer produced enough pressure to force the oil through the system, it may have been able to produce more, but I didn’t have a clamp on the end of the hose and didn’t want the fitting to blow off the end. As far as the larger sprayer producing greater pressure, I think they are very similar, the first pick is from the smaller sprayer used to prime the engine this time, the second pick is using the larger sprayer 2 years ago, pretty close to the same.
I did release the pressure and remove the pressure tank before the oil ran out so that no air was forced through the system.
With fluids in the system, I left the same tune in the Holley Terminator from the previous setup. After waiting for the fuel pump to prime I turned the key to start, and the engine fired instantly. Oil pressure was instant as well, which was a relief given the process of installing the O ring, pickup tube, and oil pump different this time, given the inability to remove the oil pan out of the way.
After checking for leaks the RPMs were varied as the engine came to temp.
I may have to raise the idle for this cam and possibly a few other things in the Terminator, but otherwise initially everything seems great for a first fire up.

I think I may have a Pro tune the Terminator once I have installed a different intake and throttle body, in order to optimize the mods and not leave power on the table.
I haven’t been able to get the truck out yet to let the Terminator learn. After an unusually warm and brown winter, we endured a winter storm producing a lot of snow, at least 16”. So now it must melt, warmer weather is forecast for the end of next week, but I like to wait until after a good rain, so that the roads have had a chance to have been washed clean of the salt.
Can’t wait till then.

[sfont66]

We have had some good spring weather, a few beneficial rain storms have washed the roads of any remaining salt from the past winter.

I have been able to get the truck out for a few short trips, totaling approximately 75 miles. The truck runs pretty good really, but I think it would benefit from some additional tuning. I’m not an expert at all but I’m hoping to make some adjustments to make things better at idle and lower RPM’s. At higher RPMs the engine pulls hard, lots of power.
My initial start up and tune has been setup using the small handheld Terminator x unit, it’s a bit limited compared to using the Holley software on a laptop but I didn’t have a choice this time because I fried my only laptop shortly after tuning the truck for its initial start a couple years ago. I had left it on the front seat opened up and forgot about it when I backed the truck out of the garage for a quick wash. Unfortunately it must have gotten a small amount of water on it somehow, possibly the window was down a bit or door not shut tight.
Anyway, I needed a new laptop, Best Buy had one on sale for a decent price last week, and my wife had a couple of gift cards to use up so I was able to pick one up fairly reasonably. As I said previously, I’m not really very techie and am more comfortable with an I Pad or Smart Phone than a laptop. Additionally the Holley Terminator software has been upgraded to a newer version than I used last time, so I will have to do more research on how to update the Terminator x before creating a new tune. I not 100% sure but I don’t think v3 plays nice with the previous v2 software.
Hopefully I can make an acceptable tune to make things better until I can add a better intake and throttle body and have a Pro familiar with the Holley software make some adjustments in the future.
But……… before I can focus on the truck again I need to finish the first stage of converting our 3 season porch to a 4 season porch. We are upgrading some of the framing in the walls and floor, adding 9 new windows , with new doors, and replacing some of the siding. Then the interior will need to be finished, likely with T&G pine. Lots to do this spring and summer. Weekends are filling up with weddings, graduation parties, vacation plans etc.

I can’t make it to the Street Machine Nationals in St. Paul this year , as I already have plans that require me to be elsewhere, so I will be looking for a couple of other car shows to attend. The show in Rush City Mn has been great the past several years for a small show. Lots of variety and some high quality cars, along with affordable builds as well, so I will definitely try to get to that one in August this year.
Long update with no pics
I will have pics next time I promise.