A '54 named Busty

[joedoh]

looking good! you could maybe keep that mechanical fan if you moved that motor back a little or a lot.

[Gregski]

been chassin' exhaust manifold threads like a Boss last night

[Gregski]

got the modified C10 4x4 transmission crossmember on for the final time

[Nut Case]

"Gregster"

Looking good, strong work, good flow, fun to follow!!!!!!!!


Nutz

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Nut Case

"Gregster"

Looking good, strong work, good flow, fun to follow!!!!!!!!


Nutz

Wow, thank you so much for the kind words. I just want to show folks you don't have to be a master mechanic nor fabrication expert to have fun with one of these great old trucks.

[Gregski]

so this is embarrasing but although I have built a small block Chevy or two in my lifetime I did not realize there is a special tool to put on the harmonic balancer, now I knew there is a tool aka a pulley to take one off but not to put one on

so this is how I stripped the harmonic balancer 7/16-20 fine thread bolt, the darn starter got stuck in the flex plate and as I was tightening down the harmonic balancer I thought the engine would eventually turn over and nothing bad would happen to that bolt

[dsraven]

yup, seen that before. some guys will also hammer it on. whaddya think that does to the thrust bearing?
I have some threaded rod that I screw in and then use a stack of lubed flat washers for that fancy pants bearing with a nut on the rod to pull the balancer in. the end of the rod is beat up from the special tool (vice grips) I use to remove the rod after. works like a charm. it was a home made late at night tool.

[joedoh]

I never knew that either, I did a timing chain on a 98 and just used the bolt!

[Gregski]

so this is how I spun the engine over to ensure it still rotates freelie

[Gregski]

and than the dance began - no matter how many taps and dies I have you never have the one you need, and this being a rare fine thread, we had to go shopping

Top Tip: a magnetic tip screw driver really helps extract the metal shavings

[jocww]

nice

[Gregski]

and here's how I kept it real for the rest of the day, removing rivetes to install a proper battery tray

some I even had to drill out a little center hole to releave 70 years of pressure, man they sure built things to last back then

Fun Level = 0

[Gregski]

I know this thread is really boring right now, I promise it will pick up, here I was shortening that timing tab, it's the little things on a project that exhaust you

I know that thing was chromed so I sanded it off and tried to tach weld it but my welds didn't stick and I had to be gentle as not to burn through it, so I went the rivet way and Bob's your Uncle

Top Tip: I drill a hole on the 0 mark as on some tabs it's hard to see / find the zero

[8man]

Nice tip.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Gregski

and than the dance began - no matter how many taps and dies I have you never have the one you need

yep. I need a drawer for all the taps I needed just once.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by 8man

Nice tip.

Good One! ;-)

[Gregski]

so my -6 AN Russell adapters for the power steering box showed up

going to run a steel braided high pressure line and a regular rubber return one but use -6AN hose ends on both lines since I had to cut the end off of the tube coming off of the power steering pump and use a compression fitting on it so that it would point the right way

[Gregski]

and here's what the pump looks like

[Gregski]

so things were going great until it was time to install the radiator with the electric fan

the darn Vortec water pump sticks out 7" and interferes with the electric fan

[Gregski]

the short SBC water pump only sticks out 5 1/2" so I tried that, that also did not work with the electric fan

[Gregski]

so back to square one, short water pump and mechanical fan, plenty of clearance now, I am even going to add a 1" spacer to move the fan forward a little bit closer to the radiator and fandangle some sort of shroud for it

[dug224]

Love that "TIPS"!! Entertaining build. Keep it coming....

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by dug224

Love that "TIPS"!! Entertaining build. Keep it coming....

Thanks mate I appreciate that... sense of humor is important or these trucks will tear your heart out

[Gregski]

OK, so let me just say that having three trucks things get a little confusing sometimes and I forget what goes with what and how. An '01 LS swapped '74, a 71 cab on a '69 chassis, and than this 99 Vortec engine in a second gen '78 Camaro subframe on this '54, so cut me some slack ha ha

so now that it is all coming back to me, I realize that non of the three alternator mounting bracket sets that I have will work, because they are all for the long water pump (one of the three shown below)

I think sometimes in the 70s GM decided to switch from mounting the alternator on the driver side to the passenger side, and the general rule of thumb is and I may be totally wrong, keep in mind I am only talking about the small block here, also they decided to mount the alternator bracket to the long water pump, I HATE THAT, I hate it when one component hangs off of and needs to depend on another one, WHY?

short water pump = alternator on driver side

long water pump = alternator on passenger side

[NeoJuice]

Is it a push or pull fan. Could you move yours to the other side? I have my fan on the front of my rad and it leaves plenty of room between the rad and water pump. Just a thought.