Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

You getting so good at this, some day you'll be able to do the job blindfolded while drinking coffee.

yup, ha ha, actually I hope not

[Gregski]

So the transmission is fixed, it no longer makes the strange Chubaca noise, however it is not a quiet / silent transmission like a modern day Toyota one, ha ha, don't get me wrong it doesn't grind or rattle but it just kinda sounds like an 80s transmission ought to sound, even after a proper rebuild.

So do I like it? Short answer is not really.

Which transmission do I like better the NP833 or the Saginaw? The Saginaw by far. Why? it is a much more fun truck to drive, it is peppier. Compared, the NP833 feels like I am haulin a load of cement in the back, ha ha. Keep in mind this Saginaw came from a little Vega or a Monza so it was geared for less torque which makes it quicker rather than faster, I may be explaining this wrong, but you know what I mean.

So here is what I learned, so I will share / repeat (cause you all know this already)


GEARS-----NP833 RATIO-----SAGINAW RATIO
1st-------------3.09------------------3.50
2nd------------1.67------------------2.40
3rd------------ 1.00------------------1.65
4th-------------.73-------------------1.00

the bigger the RATIO number the quicker the truck in that gear (of course assuming the rear differential ratio stays the same as in my case it did, I did not run out and swap the rear end to the 4.11 gears, although yes I am thinking about it especially now that I have Overdrive again), so stay tunned

[Gregski]

on to the post transmission swap tasks

my original GM stick (yes welded in by the factory until I freed it) was broken and I was just sort of getting by with that junk black plastic ball and a counter screw holding it on instead of any threads

[Gregski]

well it was time to fix it permanently... this time with a white ball, ha ha

ACE is the place: got this 3" 3/8ths threaded bolt and nylon nut

then flew some sparks around and...

[Gregski]

and scratch another item off the list... I like it, just the right height for my long arms now

and yes the heater core did take a leak today... (I don't think it lasted 1 year)

[Gregski]

the Saginaw stick sat further back so I had to notch the turtle shell more sum, I had the foresight to keep the pieces do to the compound bends and turns, smart man

so back they went

of course I have the little square screw in clampy thingies that you should use for welding, those would give you nice perfect gaps too, but they are still MIA from the last house move, oh well, work with what you got

[Gregski]

a little tacking from front and back and a ton of grinding later we were ready for some primer, what ever black paint we had within reach, and that magical undercoating from SEM for the final coat, it's winter so in a couple weeks it should be dry, LOL

hey, good enuff for government work! technically I took these pics before all the welding was completed so it was a bit better than this in the end

guys drinking beer, reading this, get out there and get your hands dirty, if I can do this (poorly I know) you can do it, it's so much fun!

[Gregski]

got to work on the truck a little bit today, so through the ol' turtle shell back on and the rubber shifter boot, fumes be gone!

[Gregski]

now no sooner than i had a chance to open up a celebratory beer did Rusty dump coolant from the Heater Core, let's just say we aint on speakin' terms right now

[Gregski]

now some of youz might recall that a year ago last November we replaced the 43 year old brass heater core with a brand new aluminum Spectra one, so this is a bit of a let down

so I called up AutoZone and they said it has a life time warranty so come on down bring your old one and we will replace it

well that's fine and dandy, but how do you all feel about replacing an inferior part with another exactly the same quality part, hmmm? makes you wonder

fortunately and trust me when I tell you this, you will not find an easier vehicle to replace the heater core on [yes I am looking at you Volkswagen Corrado]

of course I yanked the old leaky wet heater core on the coldest night of the year so far, burrr and opted to get the free replacement

[Gregski]

ok, so got the heater core replaced, now can we have a beer?

wait what? are you kidding me?

[Gregski]

so looking back at my own thread last May I put on the whole brand new Edelbrock Top End (aluminum cylinder heads and aluminum intake) I think the mistake I made was re using my old tin 43 year old valve covers, how can I be so dumb, well I was broke and I thought how crucial are stupid valve covers anyway, well one greasy driveway and oil all over my engine bay I say they are pretty important, so I ordered some brand new tall style ones from Summit (back in June, but didn't install them, neck punch!)

[Gregski]

honestly I think the problem may have been the stupid hard rubber gaskets that I got instead of the cork ones, but either way let's install some brand new valve covers, how hard could it be?

oh yeah, also got some of these wide/long [cancer causing, but only in California] valve cover hold downs

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Oh yeah, also got some of these wide/long [cancer causing, but only in California] valve cover hold downs

Just about any car part I get now has that warning attached. I wonder if every car and truck sold in CA gets one? Toaster, refrigerator, frying pan?

Talk about a "nanny" state. Politicians there are totally out of control.

[Gregski]

with the thicker gasket I needed longer bolts

and here's how the short pressure plates compare to the more longer ones (I dig the black ones, most local parts stores carry the chrome ones and in a pack of four, ie two packs needed)

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Gregski

with the thicker gasket I needed longer bolts

and here's how the short pressure plates compare to the more longer ones (I dig the black ones, most local parts stores carry the chrome ones and in a pack of four, ie two packs needed)

I think I'd consider the center bolt valve covers. They seemed to seal better.
The Mr Gasket 6856G valve covers look like 70's hot rod parts... similar to the Micky Thompson valve covers on my last smallblock. There are a lot of those style valve covers out there.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by hatzie

With the Vortec heads I think I'd consider the center bolt valve covers. They seemed to seal better.
The Mr Gasket 6856G valve covers look like 70's hot rod parts... similar to the Micky Thompson valve covers on my last smallblock. There are a lot of those style valve covers out there.

I ditched the Vortec heads brother cause all three or four pairs I got from the junk yard were cracked. These are standard outside bolt pattern aluminum heads.

[Gregski]

well even after all the wandanglin' and shandanglin' after careful examination and re examination the Summit brand tall valve covers (be as nice as they were) would not properly mate with these aluminum Edelbrock E Street heads, it kept on feeling like I was hitting metal on metal and my only option was to glue two cork gaskets together but I had another idea...

I used the rusty chrome MOROSO valve covers I got off of Pontiac Mike for a twelve pack (of Taco Bell tacos)

he cleaned one up for me with sum steel wool, I guess he thunk I would treat the other one with the same respect, ... Not!

I like to goop the valve cover side of the gasket with red bare back buffalo snot to hold the gasket semi in place as we mount it

[Gregski]

well Gentlemen and Ladies the circus continues

with the taller valve covers we now had heater hose interference as the hoses were resting on the valve covers and pressing against the hard line fuel rails - presenting us with a dilema of epic proportions

we decided to throw money at the problem and blew a ridiculous amount duckets on fittings and hose cutters (to the tune of $90 bucks maybe) the hose cutters we got at Home Depot and oh man worth every penny, the guy at the fittings and hoses specialty shop was super kind and recommended I try a home improvement store instead of an auto parts store for the cutters in order to save some money so I got them for half the price they are technically PVC cutting thingies, so so so nice straight cuts every time

[Gregski]

and here is the fruit of my labor, I have yet to fire it up to see if it will leak, one disappointment at a time though, ha ha

I am very pleased how it turned out and quite proud of that rubber hose pedistal idea off the alternator bracket, zip tie action at it's finest [Roadkill would be proud]

[Gregski]

as the Dominos were falling and I'm sure you all can relate, you want to change one thing and end up changing 7

I decided to ditch the dual hard carburetor fuel line, for two reasons

1. it defeats the wonderful modular design of the Holley carburetor, more specifically it prevents you from rejetting the carb by only removing the front float/fuel bowl since now the front and rear bowls are joined by this metal aparatus with no give in it

2. in my case the hard line was literally resting / pressing on the 5/16th heater hose line (not sure if that is the supply or the return, I think that's the return line) where it was connected to the fitting going into the intake manifold

we are going to run a DIY 3/8th rubber fuel line solution instead with ample bendability

[Gregski]

this is where we start taking one step forward and two steps back

that hard fuel line was such a P.I.A. that I had to lift the carburetor up in order to get the 5/16th heater hose off the fitting on the intake manifold

well as I did that I tore the carburetor gasket, we couldn't have that, so I removed the carb and was rewarded with the ugliest gasket sticability factor I have ever dealt with on a carb, I mean this thing was damp for some reason and came off in dime sized pieces if not smaller, there went 2 hours of my life with a razor blade I will never get back

and how about that rusted up passage, not sure what it is for but clogged up like that can't be good

[Gregski]

so a few final updates for the day and it was a busy day, got it about 99% done

I want to share what I learned about carb fittings because I was truly in fittings hell trying to convert from the hard lines back to rubber lines, apparantly you can't just go to the Auto Parts store and get a NPT 3/8th barb fitting and screw it in to your carburetor, oh no

I'm sure there are many ways to do this, but I like the way I did it as it eliminated some extra hardware, in particular these inverted 7/8-20 to 5/8-18 intermediate buggers

here I show one from the front and the other from the back so you can see how they look

[Gregski]

I found these Mr Gasket Inlet Fittings for a 3/8ths hose with the large 7/8-20 thread which allows them to screw right into the carb bowls without those intermediate buggers from before

and of course I didn't use any tape on those threads, ha ha

[Gregski]

presenting the Roadkill Repair [Starter] Kit

"If you can't find the right tool in this garage Mr Arizona, you don't belong near a car."