Starting my engine build

[geezer#99]

Sorta!!
Are you taking each valve to zero lash and then turning one turn more?
Are you wiggling all the play out of the pushrod or twisting the rod to find zero lash?

[Mrturner1]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

Sorta!!
Are you taking each valve to zero lash and then turning one turn more?
Are you wiggling all the play out of the pushrod or twisting the rod to find zero lash?

Yep, just finished and that was fun. I twisted the pushrods and slowly tightened the lock nut. When I felt tension on the pushrods and couldn't wiggle up and down anymore, I went another 3/4 turn. I've read 1 whole turn on Google, and 1/2 turn on my actual instructions so I split it

[Mrturner1]

Now that I've done this the distributor and wires are gonna be child's play! This is cool really getting to know this engine

[Mrturner1]

All adjusted, on to the next step!

[Mrturner1]

Actually, time to buy an intake manifold lol that might be helpful

[Mrturner1]

This is a little off topic but still a part of my C10 build. Some of you guys know about my transmission crossmember/mount issue, or just lack thereof lol. Truck was once a Manila trans, now it's a TH400. My question is this, what kind of crossmember and mount do I get? Is the TH350 and 400 the same as far as mounts? And do I need just a crossmember with trans mount, or do I ALSO need the peice that goes across the frame at the tail of the trans?

[Captainfab]

That's pretty much the same thing. You need an auto trans crossmember for a '67-'87 truck with an auto trans. The trans mount itself is the same whether you have a TH350, 400 or 700R4. It is just the location of the trans crossmember in the frame that is different. If your truck still has a bellhousing crossmember, that needs to come out.

Originally Posted by Mrturner1

This is a little off topic but still a part of my C10 build. Some of you guys know about my transmission crossmember/mount issue, or just lack thereof lol. Truck was once a Manila trans, now it's a TH400. My question is this, what kind of crossmember and mount do I get? Is the TH350 and 400 the same as far as mounts? And do I need just a crossmember with trans mount, or do I ALSO need the peice that goes across the frame at the tail of the trans?

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by Mrturner1

With #1 cylinder TDC I'm installing 1,3,4,8 exhaust and 1,2,5,7 intake. Then rotate one full turn until balancer Mark is back at "0" on timing tab and do exhaust 2,5,6,7 and intake 3,4,6,8. Is that what you mean by preload?

The fun factor is back now

When you are tightening the rocker nut you are lifting and lowering the pushrod feeling the slack, when the slack is taken up the pushrod will no longer move up and down, then you "preload" the lifter by turning the rocker nut an additional 1/2 or 3/4 turn, try to be consistent in the amount of preload.

[Mrturner1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

When you are tightening the rocker nut you are lifting and lowering the pushrod feeling the slack, when the slack is taken up the pushrod will no longer move up and down, then you "preload" the lifter by turning the rocker nut an additional 1/2 or 3/4 turn, try to be consistent in the amount of preload.

I was really paying attention and I think I adjusted the preload correctly, but I'm curious about what happens if you aren't really consistent? Seems like it would be common to over tighten because of the fear of things having slack, and also because even after the preload is set, you can still wiggle the rocker arm depending on which ones you grab and if they are open or closed

[GASoline71]

If they're too tight, the engine won't start. If they're too loose they will clatter like hell.

Gary

[Mrturner1]

I'm going to be transitioning into engine bay cleanup and re-paint. The wiring in this thing is something that has intimidated me since the start of the project, and since I'm waiting on intake manifold it's time to face it.

What are some techniques you guys use for hiding the wires? Especially the electric fan wire, that one I had a hard time hiding before but I really don't want wires showing now that the engine is all purdy.

I'm also a little worried about moving/removing wires and not knowing what they are for. The PO sprayed the whole thing flag black, wires and all so they have no colors now to tell what's what.

I also noticed that the passenger side shock isn't even bolted to the upper mounting position. It's just hanging from the bottom eye. There's nothing there where it used to bolt up so that's on the list of things to get.

And last but definitely not least, the heater never blew hard in this truck. It works and the defrost is warm air, but you have to put your hand right over the dash where it comes out to feel it. Is this a bad blower motor? And can I replace it without pulling the entire heater unit?

Thanks guys
Matt

[Mrturner1]

Mess

[Mrturner1]

Heater

[Mrturner1]

Shock

[Mrturner1]

This project is coming soon as well

[Mrturner1]

I also have a couple questions about the transmission. It's a th400, and its had some work done to it because it's barked 2nd gear pretty hard when I was on the gas. I got an adjustable shift modulator because some members of this site and I determined mine was bad causing a weird and premature 2-3 shift. I also got a new trans pan that hold an additional quart or two of fluid and has a drain plug.

So my question is this, do I pull it and have a trans shop go through it, or just do the modulator, trans pan, and stall converter and clean it up and paint?

It shifted fine before, and has never had any problems except the weird 2-3 shift when under WOT. It's gotta have a shift kit to bark the tires in 2nd right? This is something J really want from this build, to bark 2nd like it wants to rip the tires off. May be silly to some, but I'm still young and dumb and I love that 2nd gear bark ) Are there different types of shift kits? Firmness? Could mine be worn out or can they even wear out? I want the firmest one available I'm sure. Mine barked 2nd but not every time, could be because of the trans mount lol or lack there of.

Thanks fellas
Matt

[davepl]

If it were me, I'd get some rubber gloves and lacquer thinner. Strip the sprayed black paint off the wires so they're in their natural/original colors. I restored my entire wiring harness in my wife's laundry sink and it came out perfect! The sink, not so much. So I discourage that part of it.

Then (a) it'll look cool, (b) be easier to work on, and (c) match the manual if you need to look up what a wire does.

No point having a fancy motor in an engine bay with black spray painted wiring!

Plus once everything is cleaned up and you've checked the connections, you'll have the benefit of not only a better understanding of what everything does and how it works, but I bet the truck is overall more reliable too.

If it were actually me doing it I'd remove the harness from the bulkhead connector, tie up the others, scrub the fenders and frame with TSP or good degreaser, and shoot it rattle-can-semi-gloss-black. Then you've got a blank canvas to install the harness and ultimately the new motor.

Scrub the brake lines with lacquer thinner and steel wool, maybe wire brush the master cylinder and paint it grey, all of those things go a loooong way towards making your motor look awesome (at least to people such as myself that are into detailed stock engine bays, anyway!).

You might say "Well, it'll be nicer than the rest of the truck and be out of place". But there's no such thing as too nice of an engine compartment. I guess I've been left stranded on the side of the road from rats-nest wiring jobs too many times!

[Mrturner1]

Originally Posted by davepl

Plus once everything is cleaned up and you've checked the connections, you'll have the benefit of not only a better understanding of what everything does and how it works, but I bet the truck is overall more reliable too.

Exactly!!! There's been a couple things that have intimidated me during this build so far, and now that I've done it I understand so much more. Before this, I couldn't tell you what cylinder was what, and certainly couldn't reassemble the distributor and plug wires in the right spots. But now that I've installed rockers and set lifter preload, I could tell you every cylinder number and which ones are open and closed at any given time. And plug wires is a peice of cake now. It's very cool having everybody here to help and point me in the right direction.

[Mrturner1]

I know those last few posts were a lot to read but I'm hoping to get some good feedback from you guys who have done rebuilds. This is kinda shifting from the "starting my engine build" thread, to "starting my first C10 resto project"

[Grumpy old man]

Just wait, it gets worse ! I replace every nut bolt and screw/washer/bushings/shims/brake lines /fuel lines/etc/etc that I can and detail many parts that the average guy wouldn't even bother looking for BUT when done I know it's right. I know your chasing the HP in your project but also remember as much as you want to stomp on it to get the thrill of GO you need to pay twice as much attention to the WHOA part of it . stock brakes and suspension don't perform well with higher horsepower and speed and turning it loose with no trans mount loose shocks and with the suspension questionable at best (whats up with those clamp on helper springs ) Your heading for a major disaster fast ! Fast is fun.... BUT CONTROLLABLE FAST is a real thrill ride and having it launch straight,track straight, AND STOP are just a few things that need to be addressed BEFORE your sitting in a ditch saying WHAT HAPPENED ? Have fun AND be safe it's just not you anymore you have a very young family waiting in the driveway for you to come back in one piece ...

[Mrturner1]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Just wait, it gets worse ! I replace every nut bolt and screw/washer/bushings/shims/brake lines /fuel lines/etc/etc that I can and detail many parts that the average guy wouldn't even bother looking for BUT when done I know it's right. I know your chasing the HP in your project but also remember as much as you want to stomp on it to get the thrill of GO you need to pay twice as much attention to the WHOA part of it . stock brakes and suspension don't perform well with higher horsepower and speed and turning it loose with no trans mount loose shocks and with the suspension questionable at best (whats up with those clamp on helper springs ) Your heading for a major disaster fast ! Fast is fun.... BUT CONTROLLABLE FAST is a real thrill ride and having it launch straight,track straight, AND STOP are just a few things that need to be addressed BEFORE your sitting in a ditch saying WHAT HAPPENED ? Have fun AND be safe it's just not you anymore you have a very young family waiting in the driveway for you to come back in one piece ...

I've been looking at some disk brake kits for the front, and shocks/springs for all 4 corners. I just need to decide whether I want to lower it or not. I definitely don't want to slam it and do the big rims thing. Sway bars are on the list to, and I've been tossing some ideas around about for bushing kits including body mount bushings.

I think brakes and suspension are going to be a part of the project I really enjoy.

[Grumpy old man]

Find a stock heavy front sway bar from a c-20 in the parts section and then buy a rear bar from one of the vendors and matching spring shock kits .

[Mrturner1]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Find a stock heavy front sway bar from a c-20 in the parts section and then buy a rear bar from one of the vendors and matching spring shock kits .

Are the C20 front bars better than aftermarket? Just curious because that sounds like one of those bits you've learned after doing a few truck builds

Also, I can't see what clamp you mean on the helper springs, but I'm wondering why it has helped springs anyway. Still can't find the SPID or I'd know alot more about this truck

AND...is there a benefit to switching to 5 lug when doing brake kits? Been looking around at lots of front disk brake kits and seems like a lot of guys go to 5 lug

[toolboxchev]

My suggestion would be to clean everything and just get your engine done first. Why? MONEY!

It starts getting expensive fast also. Look at some of the rigs on here, I read one about a driver that slowly turned into a drag racer over the course of 20-30 years.

You can always do more work to your project, fun ride. It can break the bank if your not careful.

Me I am going out to fix a heater wire.

[davepl]

One thing I like to do is to make sure I finish a sub-project such that the vehicle runs and drives. So if I was going to do some engine work and then some suspension work, I'd want to get it on the road and sorted out and debugged on the engine work before I started the suspension work.

Normally, since none of us are perfect and few of us are professionals, you build up a set of "bugs" that need to be fixed, but if you don't stop along the way to fix those, they just accumulate so that when you want to go out and test your new brakes you find out it stalls instead of driving. Too hard to fix multiple things at once, so get it back up and running right in between projects.

Hope that makes sense.