COHI's 1966 Longbed

[Cohi]

Gauge panel day... there was a guy on this board that posted his dash and he’d used Patina’d copper behind a set of dolphin gauges. Im copying his idea with the copper on the glove box door as well like he did but we’re adding an extra trick once the copper is installed (stay tuned). Two additional gauges will be used on the dash - one for the trans temp and another for the air tank pressure. Gauges are auto meter traditional chrome.

I've got extra water temp and oil pressure guages that'll mount somewhere in the engine bay.

[Cohi]

Three days after filling with antifreeze, a leak developed at the water pump rear plate. not a huge one, but any leak is enough for me. Engine hasn't been run yet so its not even at pressure. Summit was kind enough to warranty the item with zero fuss and send a new one with a ups call tag. I've got the antifreeze drained back into its original jugs, will likely pull the defective pump tonight and should have the new one on tomorrow after work. Never had an issue with Summit in over 30 years.

[aggie91]

Your build in going great. Really like how the seat came out. Did you do the Ridetech in the front too?

Also, How did you get the 20" tires to fit so nice on those 15" rims?

Originally Posted by Cohi

Wheels are Riddlers:
Rear: RID-695-2173G (15x10)
Front: RID-695-8873G (18x8)

Backspacing info available if ya lookup the part number.

Tires are BF Goodrich g-Force Comp-2. All season
Rear 275-40ZR20
Front: 255-45ZR18

This isnt full drop or ride height... it's just kind setting there waiting to be pushed into the garage

[pdxhall]

Nice work so far. I'm looking forward to following your build.

[Cohi]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Your build in going great. Really like how the seat came out. Did you do the Ridetech in the front too?

Also, How did you get the 20" tires to fit so nice on those 15" rims?

Thanks for your reply and nice catch!! I'll get that fixed

Manny's done several seats for me and has a bunch more to do on this truck once the floors are fixed. We're building it a little out of sequence as I want it running and driving sooner than later. If anyone's around Denver and wants to talk with him about upholstery, just reach out and I'll introduce.

Front suspension is Ridetech as well, pretty straight forward install. Mostly drilling to get the plates installed. The only real issue was getting the drivers side lower control arm to lock into the locating pin. The pin was a little beat up and had to be slightly dressed to fit with a grinder. Some of the bolts in the kit were a little too short so I just went ahead and swapped out where necessary.

When I cut the original front suspension out, I fire-wrenched the lower control arm u-bolts off. The beefier ones from NAPA went in. Those originals looked a little flimsy to me.

Tie rods and idler arm are all new Moog stuff.

[Cohi]

Originally Posted by pdxhall

Nice work so far. I'm looking forward to following your build.

Thanks!

[Cohi]

Can't edit the original post - so here's the fixed wheel specs:

Wheels are Riddlers:
Rear: RID-695-2173G (20x10) 5.5 Backspacing
Front: RID-695-8873G (18x8) 4.5 Backspacing

[roll_the_dice]

Nice looking build. The interior is awesome looking...love the color and pattern. Making great progress!

[Cohi]

Thank you Sir

[62 short step]

Looking good!

[Cohi]

thanks!

[Cohi]

Originally Posted by 62 short step

Looking good!

Thanks!

[Cohi]

New water pump on, lines hooked up, radiator refilled and a/c lines cut to fit. I still need them crimped but my neighbor said he can hook it up for free at his job. I have such great neighbors.

[Cohi]

Copper for the dash came in.... It's called "Verde"

I was hoping for a more splotchy patina with more spots of copper exposed - but this has really large areas of green.

I need to clean up the edges and drill out the mounting holes but you get the idea... And it needs to be covered with a few coats of lacquer to stabilize the patina.

copper will also go on the upper portion of the glove box door and the 2 gauge panel above the radio - which may have too much chrome going on...

[Cohi]

Pin striping by Stan Weaver on Sunday

[Cohi]

the cut down jobox contains all the compressors and such for the air ride

[Cohi]

Bowtie Overdrives 700r4 stage 2 pressure testing completed

TV Connected @ 1000rpm

P - 94
R - 150
N - 95
O - 94
3 - 94
2 - 245
1 - 250-260 bouncing

TV Disconnected @ 1000rpm

P - 96-97
R - 150
N - 97
O - 95-96
3 - 95-96
2 - 260
1 - 250-270 bouncing

Full TV @ 1500 rpm:

P - 210
R - 250
N - 205
O - 200
3 - 190-230 bouncing
2 - 255
1 - 255

They said numbers were good and it passed its test drive. Locks up at 2300 rpm, disconnects with brake tap or heavy throttle. As for bouncing numbers, they asked about a lopy cam, mine does lope that bad but it does a little and they said it was fine.

Other Q&A:

Linkage cam (theirs) rotated clockwise smooths shifts, rotated counter clockwise firms them up. No TV cable adjustment needed, just rotate the cam to where you want it.

Max trans temp...195. If it's hitting that regular, they advise an external cooler. Said the trans should run about 30 degrees cooler than the engine, but cooling lines run through the radiator so it matches the 180 engine temp once it gets up there.

Now for further engine break in, alignment and charging of the ac system)

[Cohi]

Next thing is to get the air/fuel mixtures and secondaries set up properly. The blueprint engine 390hp, 355 sbc came with a 600 cfm electric choke holley 4160.

I'm presently in Denver, about 5500 feet above sea level - so a bit less air up here.

Carb runs pig rich out of the box. I adjusted the float levels. Original mains were 66, i've dropped them to 62. Original power valve was 6.5, I've dropped it it 5.5 as the the best engine vac I can get at idle is 11 inches. Sticking an inline regulator in soon as the parts arrive.

Plugs are beginning to clean up with the jet change but I suspect the secondaries aren't opening as the spring is to strong for this altitude. Hopefully my theory is right.

[Cohi]

Door lock day. Lmc Keyed alike set. Required mods to work with the oem handles. The wings need to be shaved back to match the ones on the original. Once that was done they work great. Don’t shave them back and the key won’t turn.

[Cohi]

Door lock day. Lmc Keyed alike set. Required mods to work with the oem handles. The wings need to be shaved back to match the ones on the original. Once that was done they work great. Don’t shave them back and the key won’t turn.

[Cohi]

Power Steering Weekend.

Parts List:

Cardone #27-7501 remanufactured power steering box - Summit Racing
Power Steering Pump - Endurance #7011 - AutoZone
Lars Steering Coupler #201 - Advance Auto
Pump Brackets - Billet Aluminum #ICT 551745 - Summit (this was a complete set, billet aluminum for alternator, power steering & sanderson AC unit)
Captain Fab Mounting Plate and Adapter sleeve (Very well done pieces - highly recommended). Comes with Grade 8 bolts.
Moog #K-6131 Pitman - Amazon
High Pressure Hose - Duralast #70911 - Autozone
Low Pressure Return Hose - Duralast #70551 - Autozone
Carquest Inline Filter #20-0038F - Advance Auto
V-Belt - 37" (Crank to pump) - Continental #13576 - Summit Racing
PS Pulley - Spectre Performance #4487 - Speedway (single pully aligns with the middle crank pulley, which is occupied by the alt belt.
Crank Pulley - Summit racing aluminum 3 groove - v belts

[Cohi]

The original manual steering box had a bout a half turn of play. I cut the shaft at the the rag (right where the shaft enters the rag) and will back a second cut later for final fitment. I wont be reusing the original rag joint coupler, opting instead for Captain Fab's adapter sleeve.

[Cohi]

After cutting the shaft and separating the pitman from the cross link, the three holes used for Captain Fab's template are exposed. Disconnect that brace on the left and swing it out of the way allows better cleanup and welding on the frame rail.

[Cohi]

Captain fab's template is spot on. I used a razor to cut out the EXISTING HOLES on the template, then attached the template to the frame rail running bolts through the holes i'd just cut out. The template layed flat and I used a center punch to mark the holes of the new holes that had to be drilled. Pilot holes were then drilled for three of the holes.

I didn't center punch the lower left hole yet as it was really close to the existing hole and needed to be welded up first (as shown in the pic). The template was reapplied and this last hole was center punched and drilled out.

[roll_the_dice]

Looking good...Great job...maybe I missed it, but are you going to do a repaint or just keep the green and clean it up?