Wife's 48

[OutlawDrifter]

Originally Posted by 8man

I've recently heard that that can be daunting or some kind of PITA. If it goes well the doors will be on the cab next week and then it'll be all fun after that, right????

It's not terrible, just time consuming. Take your time and make sure to let the weatherstrip adhesive get tacky before you start.

[8man]

Thanks.

[6DoF]

good color!

[8man]

Thanks.

[Tempest67]

Wow looks great

looking forward to seeing this go together

[8man]

Thank you. Laura is really excited about the color. She has all the parts covered with sheets or blankets to keep them from getting damaged.

[youngrodder]

Very nice..Love that color (and shine)

Marc

[NorCalGal]

WOW! Congratulations Robert, I hope to get there on day.

[OutlawDrifter]

Looks good!

[NorCalGal]

I can’t wait to see it all come together.

[8man]

Thank you both. I have to admit I'm starting to get more than a little pumped!

[joedoh]

just staggeringly beautiful, very very nice!

i install the door seals on the passenger seat for the next owner to install

[8man]

Funny guy! Thanks for the compliment on the color.

[rnrdthefox]

Wow. Nice and shiny. Envious. I can't wait until I get to this point.

[8man]

Thanks.

[Gregski]

any luck with the doors? do they fit with the weather strip on 'em? (fingers crossed)

[8man]

Funny you should ask. I just got some pics.

First is the cab on the frame. It's beginning to look like a truck.
IMG_0917 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Then the door question. The weather strip on the door was dry, so time for a fit. Before the test fit, let's check the Altman latch. Went in like just like the last time. Then I got the new outside handles in this week, so I installed them prior to putting the door on the truck. NO BUENO! The new outside handle didn't fit right. Some Dremel tool on the door and more on the door handle and it fit. There will be some black touch up paint under the handle, but it will never be seen and with some paint hopefully not rust.

Earlier, I drilled some holes in the door and hinges for a pin so I could get the door set right for the door gaps. This was supposed to allow the door to go right back in the correct spot. So the door was installed on the truck and the gaps looked good, tried to close the door and it closes like it never did. Steele rubber was soft and the door opens and closes great.
IMG_0919 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Didn't have time to put the riders door on, but I'm very pleased with the drivers door fit, gaps and open/close mechanism.

[OutlawDrifter]

That's great news, glad it went together without TOO MUCH effort!

[8man]

Thanks. It really was a "wow" moment.

[Gregski]

awesome news, fingers crossed for the other side, and do you recall what thickness of weatherstripping you went with I opted for the thicker kind and maybe that's my problem

[8man]

Thanks Greg. I'll measure it and see what it is, but I got the kit for the 48.

[8man]

Well, Friday was to be the big day, I was going to do the start up. I have never started a freshly built motor and so the guys at the shop offered to help.

So we got it all set and fired it up, trigger to the battery and starter, oil gauge hooked up, hand held temp gauge, timing light and various tools. The plan was to run it to heat it up, turn it off and let it cool down then do that a couple more times.

IMG_0924 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Click on the video to hear the first run. It fired right up, but was a little ragged. They were checking oil pressure, good, temp, good, but the ragged didn't have them concerned, yet. Second run and they adjusted the carb and the timing a little. It took a while to heat it up as it was running pretty cool. But, after the second run they checked the temp on each of the header tubes. Houston, we have a problem!

Number 8 tube was a couple hundred degrees cooler than the other 7. WTF! I wasn't quite in full panic mode, but getting there.

So they pulled the spark plug. No visible signs of damage. Checked the wire and it was getting spark. Got a different spark plug out of the storage cabinet, put it in, and tried it again. ALL 8 cylinders were firing. I had a bad brand new plug. That's when I learned a new acronym - NEW - Never Ever Works. One of the mechanics is a real pessimist and that was what he says because he had been working on a early 60's Caddy and had been through 3 brand new window motors to get 1 that worked. He was also the guy who said check the spark plug.

We were running out of time as it was almost noon and they close at noon on Friday. I wanted to get it home so I could continue assembly, as I did get the passengers door on while waiting for it to cool down. So we fired it up again, the shop foreman got in and put it in gear to pull it out and put it on the trailer. NO JOY!

It didn't move, neither in drive nor reverse. So, Monday I'll go back over and with a little more time see if we can get it to move. If not, it'll be pull the tranny and get it checked out again.

[OutlawDrifter]

Sounds about normal. That's wrenching for sure.

But it is progress, keep pushing forward!

[dsraven]

Awesome you got the engine running. Now the trans. Fluid level check? Sometimes the cooler and piping takes more volume than expected and since the engine was taking priority possibly the fluid check was missed? Then when trans is placed in gear, a new trans will use a little more volume to fill clutch application piston bore areas. It's good to go through the shifter gears so forward and reverse clutch packs can each fill and release then check fluid after giving the trans some off time to disperse bubbles in the fluid from all the spots that had to fill up with fluid and push air out to do that, torque converter, pump cavity, valve body, clutch pack pistons, cooler and lines, etc. Dont sweat it yet, could be just low on fluid or the fluid foamed up from all the air.

[8man]

Thank you both.

Outlaw, yes it was progress to get the it running and ultimately pretty smooth with the timing set better. That's why I didn't panic on the tranny.

Raven, thank you for the advice. I hadn't thought about all of the things you pointed out, so I'm not in full panic mode yet.

One of the things is the tranny cooler isn't in place, the two lines run to the front and have a hose connecting them, one to the other. However there is a kink in that hose you made me think about that could be restricting fluid. We did check level prior to trying, but didn't get into anything else on the tranny as they wanted to lock up the shop and go home Friday.

MONDAY I will get back on the tranny see if it can be coerced into gear.