Barn raising

[Mike Bradbury]

I painted the grill today after three years of saying I was going to.

I did it by hand vs. masking and spraying it. I bought a pin striping brush and just went slow.

I think it came out real good, I was concerned about it being too glossy but there is such little surface area that you really do not notice.

[NewType72]

Looks super clean mike great job man
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[brn agn]

Nice work! It looks really good to me.

[Palf70Step]

Very Nice!!

[54Caddy]

Looks good, how well did the brush strokes flow out??

[Mike Bradbury]

They flowed pretty well but I had to go back and touch up some of the letters and they did not flow as well there but all in all it turned out good.

[54Caddy]

Good think i will pick some up this week and redo my hub caps.

[Mike Bradbury]

I used a lettering/striping paint, I did scuff the alluminum with a scotch brite pad before I painted it.

[Mike Bradbury]

Are you going to Brothers this year?

[54Caddy]

Trying to make my schedule work around it mike. Alot of side jobs keep coming my way and its not slowing down anytime soon it looks like. I hope i can still make it down there for the show and to visit my brother. We will see how it goes its a few weeks away.

[Mike Bradbury]

I hope it works out this year. I know the feeling when the jobs just keep rolling in. In this economy it is a good problem to have.

[54Caddy]

exactly not sure if i want to sacrafice a 3 to 4 day weekend with times like this.

[truckmanloco]

Good to see you this weekend Mike. Great job on the truck very well thought out and great craftsmanship.

[Mike Bradbury]

Thanks Travis, I will definitely be wanting a ride in that beast when you get it done!

[Mike Bradbury]

A while back I purchased some fabricated valve covers and I also picked up some rubber gaskets that were supposedly for the fabricated valve covers. I installed them when the engine was out so I know I lined them up exactly and they had not slipped around. Before I had even driven the truck out of the driveway when I had the tranny problem, we discovered that the valve covers were leaking on the bottom rear corner, just a small weep but annoying on a nice clean and detailed engine.

The covers were tightened to spec and still leaks. Finally removed the gaskets and put a finger smear of RTV on the top and bottom of the gasket. Next day the same oil drip was on the pan. I then removed the valve covers again and installed the FelPro rubber ones that were on the truck before the bent push rod. They are a much better design, I guess I was just going on the thought that since the new ones were designed for fabricated covers they should be better for my application.

So far I have driven the truck about 30 miles on the better gaskets and they are not leaking, but time will tell.

Pic #1 leaky on on the left and Felpro on the right. Pic #2 you can see from the crease that is on the gasket that the stock SBC heads do not fit correctly on these gaskets. They just do not have enough meat in the corners to prevent leaks. Pic #3 where as the Felpro design has little ridges that direct oil that gets between the cover and the head back into the engine before it leaks out.

[Mike Bradbury]

I still have a small oil leak in between the valve cover and head. It is a lot less with the Mr Gasket seals than it was before so I am not pulling my hair out but eventually I will have to do something about it.

I went to a local show and cruise last weekend and took my dad along with me. I usually tell people as a standard exit phrase; "watch the side pipe when you get out". Well I forgot this time and he really burned himself good on the back of his legs. I am now looking into some sort of shield that does not ruin the clean look of the pipes but also will protect any unsuspecting passengers. You really only burn yourself once, then you learn but I have had too many first time riders that have become victim on the pipes.
Ford has a cool electrically activated step for the 4x4 F350's the rolls out when you open the door. I might see if I can modify the step so it is more of a heat shield rather than a step.

[FrankieD]

[QUOTE=
The covers were tightened to spec and still leaks. Finally removed the gaskets and put a finger smear of RTV on the top and bottom of the gasket. Next day the same oil drip was on the pan. I then removed the valve covers again and installed the FelPro rubber ones that were on the truck before the bent push rod. They are a much better design, I guess I was just going on the thought that since the new ones were designed for fabricated covers they should be better for my application.

So far I have driven the truck about 30 miles on the better gaskets and they are not leaking, but time will tell.

They make extra thick ones for the cast valve covers that is what I used because with the stock ones the valve covers hit the intake runners causing them not to tighten down all the way

[Low Elco]

Saw in the C10 video, truck looks cool!
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[Mike Bradbury]

Thanks it was a fun show. Glad we got it well documented

[ThreeQtr]

I went back to pg.5 where you made the spoiler, maybe you could bend a piece of metal like you did there and mount with spacer tabs towards each end of the doors (not on the doors)for air flow.You could paint the metal to match the the exhaust or to match the truck like they did on the 50's rods.

Or even design (you are good at that) some kind of shields you could pop on for the ride, but take off for shows, They would have to attach securely enough to stay on for the ride, but easy enough to take off w/o alot of trouble obviously. Wear gloves.

[Mike Bradbury]

Yes that is what I need to do but I am thinking more of an active rather than passive method. Because I know that one time I forget to take something on or off that is the time someone will get burned. I will probably use the rest of the tube from the spoiler in this project though, good idea!

Here is an idea of what I am thinking. It will use a windshield wiper motor or power window motor and will be activated by the door being opened or closed.

Sorry for the crude sketch I only have MS Paint. I would love to get this done in Solid Works so I can see it move and refine it before I break out the plasma cutter.



Here is another version with a chrome shield attached to the bar for added protection.

[hgs_notes]

If there is enough room between the pipe and the rocker, maybe a rotating half circle shield that would turn 180 out and over the pipe in the area where your leg would reach, then 180 back to hidden under the floor. Less cumbersome and probably easier to make. It actually would not need to be circular either, but would rotate like a clock as you look down at it. Would not have to be metal, but that would work. Maybe some plastic or plexi type material, since it's not a step, just a guard.

[ThreeQtr]

I see where you were going with the Ford power running boards idea.

While expensive, the smaller Amp bed steps may work - or if you find a big truck with one that you can look under, it you may get more of an idea on how to fit what you want.

http://www.electricstep.com/AMP-Rese...dStep2-c98.htm

[Mike Bradbury]

There is not much space in between the rocker and pipe. It is tucked up pretty tight. I see what you mean about being a little complex but it really is just a simple 180 turn on a worm drive motor. The main thing is that whatever the mecanism is it needs to be far enough away from the pipe while driving so that the shield does not heat up just as hot as the pipe. My motor cycle has a metal heat shield on the exhaust and after a long ride it is pretty hot also.

[Mike Bradbury]

Originally Posted by ThreeQtr

I see where you were going with the Ford power running boards idea.

While expensive, the smaller Amp bed steps may work - or if you find a big truck with one that you can look under, it you may get more of an idea on how to fit what you want.

http://www.electricstep.com/AMP-Rese...dStep2-c98.htm

There is one for the bed too? I have never heard of that one. Cool