Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[Low Elco]

Been there many times, walked up from hospital side, Corpsman 89-90.
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[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

Low Elco,
Yeah, I'm a retired Navy Squid (1st Class Engineman) I believe that name originated at a base enlisted club at "Great Mistakes" (great lakes basic training center in Waukegan,Il.) I'll look into the plating info, thanks!
Ben Smith

Hey, Ben! Aviation Electronics Tech 2nd class '66-'70 here. Chip is correct, I went to Detray on 11th in Independence. Good folks. Due to inflation and environmental regs, cost is higher than back in the 80's down in Houston, but still less expensive than all new hardware. Cost for everything, brackets, latches, rods, nuts, bolts and etc. was $175. That's $25 higher than when I had it done May of last year. Of course, they had a fire since then and the TV stations were crawling all over them.

[Vic1947]

Fired up the new plasma cutter this morning and hacked thru the cross pin on the 12 bolt. Glad I bought extra consumables. The space was so confined, the blowback wasted the two tips that came with it. However, it got the job done. Having never used one before, it was quite the experience. Pull the trigger and all hell breaks loose. Now I can get busy setting up the rearend. Think I'll go with the gov bomb and 3.08's to start with since there is no cost for that option. Later on, if it grenades, I can upgrade. Also managed to get the front down on the ground. Forgot to order new pittman and idler arms, so it will be Tuesday before they arrive from RockAuto and I can finish the steering linkage.

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
That's great! I did talk to detray this afternoon, said the bare minimum was $125.00 should just about cover anything I need plated. My uncle races Modified's at Valley Speedway, in Grain Valley,mo. He just built a powdercoating oven for all his modified cars, and he is coating my chassis "Ink Black" today. I am going to powder coat all the suspension pieces in "Super Chrome & clear, just to be different.my '71 is going to be all black with the factory trim. I'm going to install a LQ9 6.0 from a chevy 2500HD truck, LS1 intake and GTO manifolds. My Brother-in-law does tranmsmissions, and he is building me a stout 700R4 for this truck. I'm going a different route for a rear end though....I bought a 2001 Ford Explorer 8.8 disc brake differential, has 3:73 gears and a locker diff. all the hard work was already done for me-all brackets cut off, ground smooth and the axle tubes were welded to the center section, all I have to do now is weld my axle perches and set pinion angle and attach e brake cables and plumb hoses and tubing.....once I get the chassis done, on to rust repair and body work... this was a non air cab, I'm converting mine to air as I go. I have most of the parts to make it work, still looking for a pre-Vortec V6 air conditioning bracket for a R4 compressor to work with my LQ9 accessories though.....
well, I have to run, take care and great progress!
Ben

[Xeen]

I'm glad everything went according to plan with the cross pin, I bet that is a load off of your mind, now you can get the rear axle installed, bolt the wheels on, set it on the ground and smile with satisfaction.

[Vic1947]

Sounds like a great build, Ben. The new gen small blocks are becoming more and more popular. Brian (forum member a.k.a. Xeen) is doing a somewhat similar project and has a build thread. He's had quite a time getting the engine in the location he wants. There are several combinations of adapters and perches, each with its own set of headaches. However, they look great when all the stars line up.

When you get ready to weld your brackets on, keep in mind that I have a line-up bar. Normally use it for narrowing rearends, but lots of times when you weld perches and/or shock mounts on those tubes, they draw a lot. Can make it almost impossible to get the axles in and out. I use the line-up bar to check the final result and then notch/weld if needed to straighten the tubes back out. Just in case.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

I'm glad everything went according to plan with the cross pin, I bet that is a load off of your mind, now you can get the rear axle installed, bolt the wheels on, set it on the ground and smile with satisfaction.

Amen to that. Axle bearings and seals were junk. One came completely apart when I pulled them. Headed down to auto parts for replacements. The family car took a dump yesterday and we had to call a tow truck to haul it to the dealer. We're driving a courtesy car, so I may load up the housing and take it to the car wash while I'm at it. Outside is spotless, but the inside is seriously gunk'd up.

[Vic1947]

Spent more time than I planned on the rear axle, but it turned out nice which is what counts. After cleaning up the residue from burning out the cross pin, I installed the line up bar and found the axle tubes were tweaked. By applying some heat in the right spots, the tubes moved into place and I was ready to setup the gov bomb. Took several tries to get the pattern to come in ...I must really be getting old, but in the end it felt nice and smooth and the pattern was where it should be.

The urethane bushings for the trailing arms gave me fits also. When assembled, they were .100" too wide to fit between the tabs. Had to throw two of the pieces into the lathe and counterbore them so they would slip over the original metal housing. After that, they went together like they were meant to. Strong Arm kit for the trailing arms is on B/O, so they have yet to get a coat of paint. End result is, that after two days of "put together, take apart, repeat" I finally have it down on all four wheels.

The rest of the parts for the steering linkage came in today and once I got the pieces trial assembled, I began to torque the fasteners. Started with the steering sector and on the fourth bolt as I was drawing it up, the head sheared off. You can see from the photo that there must have been a fracture thru half of it. Hazards of reusing hardware I guess, although this particular bolt was grade 8 which makes the fail a bit more surprising.

Engine assembly is next.

[Low Elco]

Progress is looking great! Thanks again for the help today, Boppa's pretty stoked.
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[sduckworth13]

All I can said Wow, you are so meticulous with everything you touch. You're build is fun to watch.
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[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Progress is looking great! Thanks again for the help today, Boppa's pretty stoked.
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We had a great time ...just two old guys trying to get some work done while trading lies. And as they say in Tejas, "First liar doesn't stand a chance".

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

All I can said Wow, you are so meticulous with everything you touch. You're build is fun to watch.
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Thanks, Scott. You'll get a chance to see the rolling chassis at the Nats. Chip (Low Elco) will be trailering it out there behind his new ride.

[sduckworth13]

Great, I'm looking forward to meeting you guys, seeing the work you've done on your builds.
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[El Campo]

Any idea how well the plating holds up? Looks like a good way of doing it
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[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by El Campo

Any idea how well the plating holds up? Looks like a good way of doing it
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As you probably know, very few coatings stand up to Mother Nature over time. I've had better luck with cad plating than zinc, so I specified yellow cad for this batch. I have several buckets of hardware that I had done at Del's Plating in Houston in the 80's that still look pretty good. The coatings (some zinc, some cad) have dulled a little, but no rust. However, when you put the fasteners into service, typically the corners where the wrench makes contact is where the problems start. Putting them thru several cycles of assembly and disassembly will quickly remove the sacrificial coating at the pinch points and cause the onset of oxidation. My expectation is 3-5 years of service for these fasteners. If I were to drive the truck on salted roads in winter, I'd be lucky to get 1-2 years. You shouldn't have that problem in El Campo.

Not all plating companies are created equal so you can't assume their process will give great results if you take them junk. I spent a lot of time prepping the fasteners by first soaking them in muriatic acid then neutralizing the acidic reaction with a baking soda and warm water rinse. After thoroughly drying them, I cleaned the remaining light surface rust in a glass bead cabinet. Doing this gave me the best shot at a nice finish. Just remember GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). One last thing about cadmium. Most plating companies have small tanks that won't accept really large items. For the big stuff you'll have to live with zinc. Both coatings are available in clear (silver) and yellow. However yellow cad has a very pleasing variegated finish with red and green highlights which is another reason I prefer it.

[Xeen]

<crowd_chanting="on"> Pictures, Pictures, Pictures! <crowd_chanting="off">

[Vic1947]

Today was do or die for getting some color on the engine. Decided at the last minute yesterday that the Championship White I'd picked out was too light. The guys at Wholesale Paint adjusted the tint until I was satisfied with the look. More closely resembles heavy cream now than off white. No work tomorrow as we're having a family get together that will chew up the entire day ...but you gotta take time for family every once in a while.

[El Campo]

That white looks great! Plus it makes it easier to find oil leaks when they start! Lol I admire you having the guts to paint an engine white, it really DOES look great and I'm not sure I trust my mechanical abilities enough to trust white paint on an engine of mine
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[knomadd]

I don't think I've had a gasket/seal last long enough to pull off white. But it does look awesome when it's in the vehicle.

[Xeen]

The only thing about that color that would concern me is that since this is a daily driver the first time there is an oil leak and the heat bakes the oil on the paint and stains it you will be very irritated.
It's not really a set it and forget it color of paint you will have to monitor for oil leaks regularly and that seems like a more trouble than it's worth type deal to me.
Unfortunately it wouldn't be a gen 1 small block if it didn't leak which put's an even finer point on it.
I just hope you don't end up regretting it and find yourself pulling it out and repainting it a dark color after the first oil leak.
Having said all that, the paint job looks very nice.

[sduckworth13]

Nice job Vic, I like the color. Knowing how meticulous you are, I think your one of the few guys that can pull off the white engine and not have to worry about a leak.
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[Xeen]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Nice job Vic, I like the color. Knowing how meticulous you are, I think your one of the few guys that can pull off the white engine and not have to worry about a leak.

I agree with you and I'm not trying to be a negative nancy here but at the same time I'm trying to be realistic and state facts, Gen 1 small blocks leak and they leak often and are very difficult to seal and keep sealed for long periods of time, it will be a constant battle of wills, the Universe vs. Vic: An epic saga.
To complicate matters he is doing a Vortec to original design valve cover retrofit which introduces a unknown variable in the sealing process and in effect defeats the improved Vortec seal design.

[Low Elco]

Looks great!
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[Vic1947]

While the sealing technology for the Gen I small blocks is inferior to the newer models, gasket manufacturers have done a good job of addressing some of the deficiencies. I use a one piece pan gasket from Milodon as well as the expensive ribbed, metal sandwich style valve cover gaskets. Where there might be a chance the stock gasket could leak, I use RTV. I lightly tighten the part until the RTV has a chance to setup, then torque to spec. Teflon tape and Loctite round out my arsenal of leak stoppers. But in the end, there's no such thing as a perfect trap, so eventually there will be some seepage. Just hopefully not at startup.

The color reminds me of heavy cream like we used to skim off of raw cow's milk. It's not a bright white at all, so it should be a bit more manageable. I have extra of the color in case of a hiccup. It looks great up against the Toxic Orange Pearl that will be the body color. I plan to paint the pulleys, harmonic balancer and oil pan that color for contrast. Should have some more pictures in a few days.

[Vic1947]

Some progress to report. Short block is assembled and the pan, balancer and pulleys are painted body color. Ran into a minor snag ...the one piece pan gasket I bought off eBay was for a one piece main seal, not the two piece that I have. Speedy Bill had one in stock and it should be here in the morning. Meanwhile, I'll finish up the top end and install the pan last.