Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)

[6DoF]

so after buying a metric crap-ton of fittings and hoses ... i have realized i forgot to buy about a standard crap-ton. i feel this becoming a theme for the rest of the build, haha. also after finding fittings in a different pile that i had just re-purchased ... went thru and organized eeevveerryything.

got the doors on and aligned, seat in (for now, it needs recovered), pedals, brake booster/master, drilled for the air line bulkheads, laid out the air lines ... and made a list of bolts and fittings i'm missing.

[joedoh]

are those firestone manual paddles?

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by joedoh

are those firestone manual paddles?

"yes" just not sold as firestone

edit: my thorbrosDOTcom url get edited to a broken link ... why are they on the profanity list?

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

"yes" just not sold as firestone

edit: my thorbrosDOTcom url get edited to a broken link ... why are they on the profanity list?

i had firestone paddles on a toyota in the late 90s, I could throw a mean side-to-side in about 14 minutes manual vales are the BEST, I have always used them, firestones, MIC toggles, little larry/airjax paddles. very very rarely electric


thorbros probably blacklisted because of their neverending backorders on parts. which is funny because when jason started it, their motto was "this aint no d*mn corporation" and he only sold stuff he had in stock. then everyone started ordering his s10 arms, and eventually the wait stretched out to a year. i guess he is a corporation ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by joedoh

i had firestone paddles on a toyota in the late 90s, I could throw a mean side-to-side in about 14 minutes manual vales are the BEST, I have always used them, firestones, MIC toggles, little larry/airjax paddles. very very rarely electric


thorbros probably blacklisted because of their neverending backorders on parts. which is funny because when jason started it, their motto was "this aint no d*mn corporation" and he only sold stuff he had in stock. then everyone started ordering his s10 arms, and eventually the wait stretched out to a year. i guess he is a corporation ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

he doesn't care much about he website and updating it because he's not corp ... the number of times i've called him and everything was available, or available the next day is more than not. my assumption is he gets enough business still by phone it doesn't matter.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

the number of times i've called him and everything was available, or available the next day is more than not.

i think that was the problem in the first place, he said in stock which changed to built to order as soon as payment processed. you can check on s10forum, i think the waiting list for control arms is still 13 months, bolt on 4/6 links are over that.

I am not complaining, just explaining.

[6DoF]

got a reasonable update from the weekend, and found a lot of other little bits i was missing or bought the wrong thing.

made a mechanical tuner for the mechanical injection. lets me have 2 "tunes", one full-on, and one limited for a cleaner, smoother drive. there is a bypass valve for full-on. then there is an adjustable orifice to slow down how quickly the pump see's the boost, a pressure regulator to limit the max boost the pump will see, and a gauge to visualize the "tune". there's a diesel shop that sells the same thing in a fancy AL box for $450, but this was only $100. still need to make a sexy mount.

- batteries grounded
- battery + tied together
- main power run to the starter as a distribution point (loop by fuel tank for future battery cut-off)
- starter installed
- clutch master installed ... need a longer hose
- replaced the tappet cover with one that hopefully won't leak
- new injection pump oil line ... fitting in the block, ordered different bits
- oil priming pump made from the old stock one and tested with new oil (dipstick depth worked out great)
- fwd section of driveshaft installed, axle is now tied to the motor.

and i 3D printed a template and centering hub to make timing marks on the balancer. this will let me adjust away from the stock "pined" timing.

[joedoh]

i would be lying if said i didnt do a truth table for your bypass setup

nice solution on the degree marks too

[6DoF]

hit up a huge car cruise this past weekend and saw one of those fender bikes in person, i feel like i need one now!

got the injection pump timed 6deg before stock, should be about 20deg advanced now. got that locked down and buttoned up the whole front of the engine.

-ran the oil prime pump for a few minutes
-swapped in new oil pump
-new front crank seal
-new timing cover seal
-power steering pump is on
-injection lines are back on
-intake partially bolted (need to fab the pipe inlets)
-clutch master installed with full line (need to swap an AL coupler for steel)
-brake lines run (needs a line lock mounted, more mounting points, and a -3an coupler)
-coolant plugs where the auto trans cooler used to be

more to come tonight!

[lower50's]

Ooo Baby I love this part where things get to go on for the should be last time lol.
I have had a 2 stage tune switch on my IDI for years. I used a 12V pneumatic switch with 2 flow controls, works great but I'm finding I have it flipped up more than down now .

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by lower50's

Ooo Baby I love this part ...

me too! except now i don't remember what is torqued and what isn't making me go twitchy. i'm going to have to take a few hours and fuuuully nut-n-bolt the whole thing now/again.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

me too! except now i don't remember what is torqued and what isn't making me go twitchy. i'm going to have to take a few hours and fuuuully nut-n-bolt the whole thing now/again.

You'll figure that out on the first test drive when you return home and your missing stuff..ha ha. I had a few bolts come loose on my first real long drive. New squeaks/sounds also present themselves. Good times.

Marc

[6DoF]

power steering lines all built and tight! though, i still need return line clamps.

1/4" plate brake line bracket for the T fitting on the rear axle ... Check

and finally the crazy new fuel lift pump installed too. this truck really deserves the mechanical bits, so i wanted to keep the factory mechanical lift pump. too bad it's only good for about 500hp before it's really limiting you. this little guy is capable of well over 1000hp and is supposed to last over 400,000 miles. they have also shown that better fuel pressure in the injection pump helps with high RPM HP. if i'm going to run down my wife's car i need every advantage i can.

my only major issue is space. not only is this Fluidamr thicker, but the belt then sticks out in front of that. i'm 98% sure that belt might currently be rubbing my radiator as placed in mockup. so this is going to be some re-work. right now i think i'll have to modify the radiator mounting flanges and eliminate the bottom 2 of the 6 bolts. this will actually also let me move the body mount from under the frame to above and give me a much better bumper mounting solution too.

[burnin oil]

Good luck with 1000hp and 400k miles. I was at 750 rwhp on the factory lift pump and could still block out the sun. Anyways my point is that head gasket swaps will be a regular thing. I averaged 10k miles each on a cummins gasket. I ran studs and an o ringed head and played around with retorques also. 75lbs of boost was just more than it wanted to take.

I don't know if you addressed this yet but the rear freeze plug near the head will blow out with repeated 4k RPM shifts. They make a bolt in plate for that or a bypass used for air brakes. The latter promotes coolant flow. One thing bad about these motors is that the coolant pressure builds towards the back of the block. Right foot controls the EGTs

I preferred keeping the AFC housing and grinding the foot for max travel. I also ditched the fuel plate. I let the AFC limit low fueling but was basically a switch. Have boost and its out of the way. I had a slight haze but nothing to bad unless I went WOT. Great drivability and towed well. You will just have to find your flavor on this one.

[layinrocker65]

Any chance you can flip the hydroboost so your lines go down instead of up?

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by layinrocker65

Any chance you can flip the hydroboost so your lines go down instead of up?

tried that actually, the hydraulic accumulator ends up pushing the clutch master way out to the side too far.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by burnin oil

Good luck with 1000hp and 400k miles. I was at 750 rwhp on the factory lift pump and could still block out the sun. Anyways my point is that head gasket swaps will be a regular thing. I averaged 10k miles each on a cummins gasket. I ran studs and an o ringed head and played around with retorques also. 75lbs of boost was just more than it wanted to take.

I don't know if you addressed this yet but the rear freeze plug near the head will blow out with repeated 4k RPM shifts. They make a bolt in plate for that or a bypass used for air brakes. The latter promotes coolant flow. One thing bad about these motors is that the coolant pressure builds towards the back of the block. Right foot controls the EGTs

I preferred keeping the AFC housing and grinding the foot for max travel. I also ditched the fuel plate. I let the AFC limit low fueling but was basically a switch. Have boost and its out of the way. I had a slight haze but nothing to bad unless I went WOT. Great drivability and towed well. You will just have to find your flavor on this one.

haha, right! just cuz the pump has that marketing claim doesn't mean the rest of the engine can!

so right now i've not really done anything for engine prep, it's basically bone-stock from the crank to the injectors. only current power mods are the MAC plug and 20deg timing. since i built the "AFC Live" thing, i still plan to pull the plate and finish the max travel mods here soon. i also need to get some opinions and find a T4 turbo that'll spool as fast as possible. that stuff should take me around town pretty well for a year or 2.

recently i bought a spare 96 12V and will be swapping the p7100 onto my 93 W250 (i freaking HATE the VE). the plan is to build out that long block with a cam, low compression pistons, CNC ported head with big valves, bunch of ARP nonsense, and leaning o-ring over fire ring currently. shoot for 750hp with compounds on that engine, and if i still can't beat my wife's C7 in a 1/4 mile ... spray it til i do, or i window the block.

my goal is to keep it real clean for most of the time, especially rolling into car shows. once playing stupid games though, all bets are off.

[6DoF]

check out my automatic cordless lawn mower, and the new compact version!

[6DoF]

really started to button things up this weekend, am feeling pretty good about my progress. started Friday night with a full nut-n-bolt. that was more satisfying than i thought it would be.

brake lock valve hidden up under the dash, one more obstacle for a would-be thief. these are the best parking brake too by holding full pedal PSI on the calipers. my rear axle brake hose routing bugs me a little bit, but i just can't come with with a great solution i like yet. it's at least totally functional now, they are fully bled and no leaks.

clutch is fully bled and no leaks. threw the trans in gear, had the wife push the pedal, and i was able to smoothly spin the drive shaft. that must mean it works right!?!

Throttle cable is in there, but needs work. i need to weld a new tab onto the bracket to move the cable up off the fuel line fittings to start. i also can't decide if i want to cut the cable down real short or leave the current loop in it. i feel like shorter should be smoother, but ya only get to cut it too short once!

the pedals in general actually feel ok, i really worried about the clutch ratio being correct. brakes i really need to feel with the boost though. placement at least is about as good as i can make it without cutting out the floor or extending the cab. The steering is also in there and tight for the first time ever. i'm worried that the angles are too steep on the shaft joints and i'm going to end up with a weird steering feel. again, should know pretty soon once the power steering fluid starts to flow.

started on what is really the last thing, the fuel lines. i have all the fittings figured out and should even have enough hose. wish me luck. only thing that i don't have that will need changed is the fuel filter itself. i either need a new nipple adapter from M20 to M16 to use the skinny fleetguard filter i had previously found ... or i need to find a taller, skinnier filter with the M20. would be nice to use the same filter on both trucks either way.

waiting on Amazon delivery:
-Ground strap for the starter
-16 lug nuts
-power steering return line clamps

[lower50's]

Very cool!! I believe that if you need to buy hot rod motor parts buy ones that will handle more than you are planning then you have room to turn it up without buying everything again. Just curious why did you use braded brake lines everywhere and not hard lines?
What are your peddle pads from?

[burnin oil]

I settled in on 18 degrees of timing. A cam helps a little but not much over stock as far as spool up. Be warned that a decompressed motor is a slug until you build boost. You need all the air volume to get the compression back. Just a little from my experience. I forgot to mention they tend to haze also. If I was to build another 12v I would use a HE351 into a s475. Build the blow off valve to bypass back into the 475. My 62 was alright but it slowed the truck up daily driving.


The 180 pump is where it's at for stock pumps. Same cam as the 215 but doesn't retard timing up top. The mack plug works well as do delivery valves. Then you can have the pump barrels maxed when you get serious.

[youngrodder]

You did make some great progress...Well done!!

Marc

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by lower50's

Very cool!! I believe that if you need to buy hot rod motor parts buy ones that will handle more than you are planning then you have room to turn it up without buying everything again. Just curious why did you use braded brake lines everywhere and not hard lines?
What are your peddle pads from?

agreed on the over-built-ness theory. with the 12v is there is kind of a line in the sand around 750hp. after that you need to add rods and block girdle. i'm torn if i want to drop the cash to go that crazy. that level sort of dictates the $1100 head studs vs the $400 ones as well as fire rings over o-rings, etc etc, cha-ching, cha-ching.

i first ran all -3 braided lines in my crawler jeep. everyone always says "you can't run all flex cuz pedal feel! yar yar rabble rabble" ... it's 100% false. 3 rubber lines and all hard lines were softer than all -3an Earl's braided. it's a little more spendy, but WAY easier to run, join, and work on. just pull it around wherever you need! plus in the crawler i carry a -3 plug with me in case i do crush or blow out a line on the trail.

pedal pads came with the firewall pedal assemblies i modified together.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/HLI-324490

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by burnin oil

I settled in on 18 degrees of timing. A cam helps a little but not much over stock as far as spool up. Be warned that a decompressed motor is a slug until you build boost. You need all the air volume to get the compression back. Just a little from my experience. I forgot to mention they tend to haze also. If I was to build another 12v I would use a HE351 into a s475. Build the blow off valve to bypass back into the 475. My 62 was alright but it slowed the truck up daily driving.


The 180 pump is where it's at for stock pumps. Same cam as the 215 but doesn't retard timing up top. The mack plug works well as do delivery valves. Then you can have the pump barrels maxed when you get serious.

i threw a dart at the 20deg honestly. seams like everyone does/loves 18, but there are so many running 22, 24, etc, that i just picked 20. i plan on the PDD adjustable timing gear when i really build the motor so i can play with and dial it in then.

and i only just recently realized the blow-off was actually a thing for diesel! i've never seen anyone use them, but started talking more in depth about race prepping a 6spd manual truck and it keeps coming up. when i put my throttle linkage on there this weekend i re-used the stock bracket with the TPS just in case i go there. i had never heard about blowing back into the atmospheric though, that's an interesting thought. would limit the cool noises though

also interesting note on a lower compression hazing more, and taking longer to spool. i'm just so used to the idea of doing that for big PSI engines, i just never thought about it. i still need to put a lot of research into that build.

have you ever called Ferrell Diesel? Hamilton told me to call and talk options about what they can tweak and tune with pump cam and different timing. for not only the 55 on the strip, but the 93 as a built tow machine.

[joedoh]

fine work!

is that gucci print on the seat or fendi? fancy!