Restoring Rusty

[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)

[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

[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]

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]

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]

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."

[Palf70Step]

So True!

[Gregski]

I am giving this update to my brothers and sisters who found themselves at one point going 55 MPH in reverse like me the last couple of days, man it's been ruff, nothing was going The Greg's way

I got to the point where all I had to do is tighten that last 3/8th inverted flare fitting in the fuel pump and take the truck for a test drive, but and you can already see where this is going

but even though I used that two wrench technique to hold the coupling that's welded to the fuel pump while twisting the fitting into it, I still managed to ever so slightly twist the darn thing, which you guessed it caused a massive fuel leak

so I was crushed, it was late at night and I decided to walk away....

[Gregski]

realizing I need to replace the fuel pump anyway I thought why not give an electric one a go, so I went out and got the Mr. Gasket #12S (it being for the 8 bangers)

I mean how hard could it be?

being a simple man I opted out for a simple basic two wire gitty up, black wire (ground) goes to the frame, red wire plus 5 AMP fuse goes to the fuse panel key on slot

[Gregski]

X marks the spot

well this is where it went, I need to take a pic with it installed, it got too dark and I already lowered the rig

[Gregski]

"Sometimes God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers" thank you Garth I couldn't have said it better myself

well not exactly but that leaky fuel pump was a blessing in disguise, since after I pulled it off I saw this...

gentlemen/ladies let me be blunt... WE FOUND THE EXHAUST LEAK !!! LOL

that's right, a set of stock exhaust manifolds, two sets of headers, and God only knows how many different exhaust gaskets and two/three years later, what I swore sounded like an exhaust leak, clickitty clockin' noise was this darn busted fuel pump rod spring thingie

[Gregski]

TEST DRIVE

Oh my goodness I am now hearing noises rattles and squeaks that I didn't know existed, and I mean it in a good way, I may even be hearing "Road Noise" lol, Honda style, jk

• No more transmission noise
  
• No more engine noise

So how is the electric Mr. Gasket fuel pump? well Mopar Seth insisted that it will be noisy, well it ain't, now I may not have the quietest mufflers on the block, ha ha, but still I don't hear any fuel pump noise, the one CON I have is that it aint no 3/8ths fitting on either end, they are more like 5/16ths so you gotta crank down on those hand cutting hose clamps to get the hoses snug

I only driven it around the block and then to the gas station, so I still need to take it on the freeway, and i will report back, but for the time being, thumbs up for that little $40 dollar guy, complements of AutoZone

[daddyjeep]

I have a similar pump feeding my big block so I think you will be ok.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

I have a similar pump feeding my big block so I think you will be ok.

cool, is it also a Mr. Gasket brand?

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Gregski

TEST DRIVE

Oh my goodness I am now hearing noises rattles and squeaks that I didn't know existed, and I mean it in a good way, I may even be hearing "Road Noise" lol, Honda style, jk

• No more transmission noise
  
• No more engine noise

So how is the electric Mr. Gasket fuel pump? well Mopar Seth insisted that it will be noisy, well it ain't, now I may not have the quietest mufflers on the block, ha ha, but still I don't hear any fuel pump noise, the one CON I have is that it aint no 3/8ths fitting on either end, they are more like 5/16ths so you gotta crank down on those hand cutting hose clamps to get the hoses snug

I only driven it around the block and then to the gas station, so I still need to take it on the freeway, and i will report back, but for the time being, thumbs up for that little $40 dollar guy, complements of AutoZone

Looks like it's mounted back near where the dual tank valve would be located on an NL2 optioned truck. You mostly shouldn't be able to hear it run back there.

[y5mgisi]

Still one of my favorite threads.

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by Gregski

cool, is it also a Mr. Gasket brand?

To be honest Gregski... I don't remember what brand I went with.