Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

then it was time to try something I've been dying to try - the Alan Grove style mid mount alternator bracketry

and I love where it sits now, and although it came with its own 3" spacer I prefer to use the stock one as it is more than just a tube it has a bracket that bolts to the back of the alternator, so its much sturdier

[Gregski]

however now the stock 44.5 inch V belt part number 15445 is about 2 inches too long, so a trip to the parts house will have to be made for a shorter belt, as I do see they have a 15425 part number which translates to a 42.5 inch long one

[flashed]

Looking great .

[lkfldredneck]

Great looking engine man! love it when you can see a pretty sbc sittin there ready to go

[Gregski]

another issue I may have with the relocated alternator is the location of the electrical plug, I may have to clock this bad boy over to a new location or procure a new one

now there was a gentlemen on here who knew all things alternator and explained the part numbers of ones that had the plug in different spots, if you are that gentlemen can you give us a refresher, if not and you know who it is, could you PM me or him, thanks so much

[Gregski]

Forum mates, one last issue and that's about all the problems I have encountered so far

My water pump is eating fan/pulley bolts like their going out of style, do you guys know if these newer water pumps come with METRIC threads or something? cause as you can see the fan is only held on with two bolts that made it in ok, or did they?

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Forum mates, one last issue and that's about all the problems I have encountered so far

My water pump is eating fan/pulley bolts like their going out of style, do you guys know if these newer water pumps come with METRIC threads or something?

I have seen them with 1/4"-28 and 1/4"-20 threads. GM went partially metric in the 80s, so who knows for sure. Closest thing to 1/4" is 6mm x 1.0.

My real GM water pump #88894341 (also AC Delco 251-544) has 1/4"-20 threads.

[Gregski]

Well that's it for today gentlemen. I swear I want to cuddle up with that engine and sleep in the garage tonight, lol.

I will either take tomorrow off ( Easter ) or start cleaning the engine mounts, cross member and frame rails for some POR15 action. The last thing we want is for this freshly assembled enjin to just sit there in my garage, it needs to go vroom, and the sooner the better.

[enaberif]

1) I ran a spacer not sure if it made any difference but the truck ran good
2) Retap the holes or up size the bolts you will want 4.

[rusty76]

Is that a clutch less fan? I changed the water pump out on mine a few years back�� And had no problems.

[Gregski]

Good morning and Happy Easter everybody (who won't be offended by that these days, the rest of you don't read that, ha ha)

So as I sit here on a Sunday morning enjoying my Kona Hawaiian coffee I figure I would do some Spark Plug Wire Math - SPWM.

Last night I took off all my existing current stock AutoZone Duralast (I think) plug wires and laid them out on my workbench. Then I sorted them by length and measured each one, here are the results.

3 @ 22"
only 1 @ 26"
3 @ 32"
only 1 @ 40"

I entertained both routes: under the headers as well as simply over them the traditional way, and you may have guessed it by now, the wires I need the most of are the 26" and the 40" LOL

but here is a Fun Fact for you all - if we assume the standard 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 firing order with #1 on the dizzy pointing at the #1 cylinder, there are two, and exactly two problem wire runs, #2 and #3 are opposite on the dizzy to their respected cylinder head, those be the ones requiring the longest run, if we are to run them neatly around the backside of the dizzy, using the 40" wire(s) if we only had two of them, ha ha, The Greg may pick up another identical wire set, nothing like buying 16 wires to get 8 good ones out of them, or The Greg could put his Bib Boy Pants (BBPs) on and make his own darn wires.

heres a really cool simple wire run diagram, I like how they run the #2 and #3 wires through and across the dizzy instead of around it, now why didn't I think of that?

[rustyescott]

google madsen hei dist cap

[rustyescott]

crossfire dist cap

[Gregski]

well my mission should I choose to accept it


... honey can I borrow your toothbrush

[Gregski]

gentlemen last question I swear before I go transferring all that dirt and grime off the frame and on to my pretty self, ha ha

can I / should I drill some 3/8ths or bit bigger holes in the lowest part of the lip on this cross member both front and back to properly drain out all the oil, coolant, and gosh knows what else that loves to accumulate there, or will that cause any structural harm?

[enaberif]

drill away you will be fine.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by enaberif

drill away you will be fine.

and we have drainage, Git 'er done!

[Gregski]

so got the Passenger lower motor mount off, took a bit of doing first to excavate the nuts of these bolts to get our 9/16th socket on them, second to get under there to hold the bolt head and prevent it from spinnin'

[Gregski]

and the anatomy of a dirty Passenger side upper and lower motor mount, both top and bottom sides

[rusty76]

Your crossmember looks ten times cleaner than mine. Lol

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Your crossmember looks ten times cleaner than mine. Lol

bro, I know what you mean, I've been cleaning it a little at a time for almost 2 years, lol

[Gregski]

well guys and gals, The Greg wants to get that motor in this truck as soon as he can, that's why he is pushing so hard

under the premise of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, I decided to cover as much of the engine bay and cab as possible with some thin (pronounced easy to work with) 2 mil plastic, to keep the crud that the wire wheel was going to spit out from sticking to my [ahem] patina, lol

hey, when I pull this plastic off you won't be able to see through it, I guarantee it

decided to dull up the sharp hinges to keep my own eyes in their sockets and keep the plastic from tearing

[Gregski]

no hon, I have NOT seen your old comfy black gym shorts, what would I be doing with your black shorts... where did you say you left them... in the garage?

[Gregski]

alright, let's start a wheelin'

[Gregski]

maneuvering around the proportioning valve and the brake lines is proving to be a chore even with them unbolted from the frame, will have to come up with some sort of solution quick