Working Man's Burbon

[HO455]

No new data at this time. I am looking to change distributors before doing any further tuning. It has been tough to find time lately for the truck and at this point my focus is on upgrading the defroster. Up to this fall I never had a problem with the windows fogging up. Now they seem to start fogging up the minute I close the door. My guess is the old wood floor allowed so much air flow it was like a fan blowing in back. Now that things are sealed up I need a new way to move air.

[HO455]

Some follow up on the door panel wetness issue. I thought all was good but the 4th door panel started showing water after some particularly heavy rains as of late. So off it came and after examining the seal it was clear it was pretty deformed (see photo). So I cleaned it up and used some shower sealant to build the old seal back up so it will make full contact with the door panel. Once again I waiting for rain to prove my theory. Good thing that this time of year it won't be a long wait.

I got time today to get my test defroster finished up and installed. (Photo #2) I'm using a 12 vdc computer fan. The air is drawn in the front rectangular hole and blows out of the rectangular opening in the back and out of the hole in the side. (Last photo) The idea being it should defog the back window and the driver's side window. During the quick test after I got it installed I could feel it blowing on the back of my neck while sitting in the driver's seat. I believe that's a good sign. I used some double side tape and some more shower sealant to glue in position. (Thus the ceiling jack in the picture) I didn't want to go drilling holes if it doesn't work as well as I want it to. The plan would be to have 2 units like this one with one on each side.
I just can't wait for the rain to start!

Posted to some vintage Steve Earle.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...nv1XtYt4dvy3H_

[LockDoc]

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Looks like the fan should work pretty good. I have a bunch of those in different sizes that I have stripped out of old computer cases. Some of them move a lot of air.

LockDooc

[Average Joe]

You are a crafty feller! This looks like a great idea. Thanks again for sharing your ingenuity!!

[HO455]

Originally Posted by Average Joe

You are a crafty feller! This looks like a great idea. Thanks again for sharing your ingenuity!!

Thank you sir. Necessity is the mother of invention. Time will tell how ingenious it really is.

Happy New Year everyone!

[HO455]

Hopped in the WMB and drove north to Tumwater where I met a nice man and gave him $900 for an overdrive upgrade. It came out of a 55 Chevy street rod that got converted to a 700r4. It came with a drive shaft and everything else, including all the paperwork. Dropped it off at the transmission shop for a going over. (It is supposed to have less than 10000 miles on it.) Just to be to be sure it is as represented. I do it need it to be reliable.
Anyone know if T400's and T350's use different dipstick tubes and cooling lines?
In my perfect world they would be the same.

Sorry about the fuzzy photo it's from the C/L ad.

[Average Joe]

Thats a find! ^^^^^

Gear Vendors?

[HO455]

Here is a link to a good overview of a Gear Vendors unit.

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/eng...evrolet-camaro

[HO455]

Parts have been coming together. I had a turbo 350c rebuilt and mated to the gear vendor unit. I didn't even know about 350c's until a month ago. They were only built from 80 to 84 and came with a lockup torque convertor. Now I just need to round up some parts for lockup wiring and the time to do the swap.
The standard 350 in front and the rebuilt lockup 350 in the back.
In other less than exciting news the fuel pump died so I replaced it with the smaller Mallory series 110 pump. As part of the change out I cleaned the pump prefilter. (2nd photo) I was surprised to find about 10-15% of the screen plugged with fuzz and silver flakes. Which after some thought I am assuming came from the changing of the fuel fill. Unfortunately had gasoline all over me so I didn't get any pictures.

[HO455]

Finally the weather and my days off coincided. Went out and changed the oil in the WMB and in the process noticed the left front wheel bearing was a bit loose so I tightened it up and in the process noticed the dust cover has a small crack in it so I need to locate one of those. I have noticed the truck wanting to wander a bit on the highway hopefully tightening the wheel bearing will help with that.
I swapped out the driver's side interior door handle relay. The old one has a broken spring. (Photo 1) Not to mention the well worn hole for the shaft. When I got a used relay from Mel at Classic Bowtie he pointed out that there is a difference between 67 relays and the later years. He didn't have any 67 relays but had some later ones and he gave me a later handle to use. I never noticed that I had 1 67 handle and 2 later year handles. Now they all match but I would rather have them all be 67's. Which would have been a great thing to put on the swap meet shopping list, but the Portland Swap Meet has been canceled due to the Covid-19. Ugh so I guess that will have to wait a while.
I also tore the old fuel pump apart to see what failed. The brushes are quite worn but the real culprit turned out to be the lower bearing (2nd photo see arrow) failed and was locked up. I will see if I can locate a new bearing for cheap then I can have a spare. And the last photo is the new pump installed.

[LockDoc]

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If the wheel bearing was bad enough to make the Burb wander I would think it would have ruined something inside. Hope that cures it though. If not, start with checking the steering box.

Looks like the pump is pretty simple inside. When the bearing went out of my furnace purge blower motor I found out it was the same bearing used in skate board wheels. They were really cheap on Ebay. If you can find a number on it (they are usually pretty small) type it into the Ebay search box and it will probably come up....

LockDoc

[HO455]

I got it cleaned up enough to see numbers, but I didn't have my glasses handy to actually read the numbers.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by HO455

I got it cleaned up enough to see numbers, but I didn't have my glasses handy to actually read the numbers.

Sounds like you need to get a small magnifying glass for the shop....

LockDoc

[pwdcougar]

Damn I love reading all the cool stuff you do to your burb. I spend my time putting on filler and sanding it all off!

Keep up the good work!

Paul

[CG]

Originally Posted by pwdcougar

Damn I love reading all the cool stuff you do to your burb. I spend my time putting on filler and sanding it all off!

Keep up the good work! Paul

I totally agree with this. I have re-read his thread from start to wherever he has left off many times.

[HO455]

Aww shucks guys. Thanks!
I guess I should go get busy now the weather has turned better.

[HO455]

And on that note I took the nylon block I scored at the Rebuilding Center (I love that place.) and cut it to size and then flycut two pieces to the proper thicknesses (One .800 & one .700) to replace the spacers I had to put under the 2nd row seat bottoms to make up for the curvature of the floor. The two bolt set up and the spacers had a tendency to wobble. Next step is to get some material for doublers underneath the floorboard.

[HO455]

Back on post 590 I covered the installation of my electric choke, but I never posted any follow up information as to the adjustments. Mostly because they were done at 0445 in the morning prior to departing for work so photos weren't possible. (Man sometimes I really hate being addicted to food and shelter!) So I finally took time to get a set of photos to use for this post. I have also gotten a new Think Pad and the camera has way too many variables and so the quality of my photos has dropped. Hopefully I can get a better at them over the long run.
The idea is to get the truck to run with a slightly elevated RPM immediately after it starts (and is on the fast idle cam.) And rising no more than about 300 RPM over the next few minutes.
To do this you have to get the choke plate open the correct amount. If not you then you end up using the fast idle screw to bring the RPM up until the engine stays running and then a minute later the RPM has gone up to something like 1800. And since the choke stove hasn't warmed up enough you can't get the fast idle to kick down. Frustrating since no one like to drop it in gear at that RPM.
One note before I start. Most carburetor rebuild kits have choke adjustment measurements shown in the instructions. They are your base line starting point. I won't cover those here. Due to wear, manufacturing tolerances and your particular engine's combination you will need to fine tune those to get proper choke operation.
Picture one shows what your choke looks like before you get in the truck when it is cold. The blue arrow points to the fast idle cam. It is in the lowest position where is should be when your engine is warmed up. Notice the choke plate is fully open. (Vertical)
When before you start the engine you need to pump the throttle once to "Set" the choke. (In weather below freezing I will pump the throttle a second time to give an extra shot of fuel to ensure a quick start) This causes the choke stove to pull the linkages and causing the choke plate be in the fully closed position. See photo 2. Notice the fast idle cam has moved to the highest position. Any time the fast idle cam is up from the lowest position the normal idle adjustment screw is not touching the throttle shaft and the idle is set with the fast idle screw on the passenger side of the primary throttle shaft. The choke plate must be completely closed at this point. If not then the choke stove needs to be rotated (blue arrows) Loosening the 3 screws that secure it and rotating it will cause its linkage to move up or down. (Green arrow) This in turn will open or close the choke plate. (Orange arrow) This is an initial adjustment that may be changed later.
Once you start the engine the choke pull off will pull in (4th photo blue arrow. Compare to the position in the 5th photo) and that will open the choke plate a small amount (yellow lines) This amount is very important for if it is wrong your engine will not idle at a reasonable RPM. Open to much and the engine runs lean and dies. Closed too much and the engine dies from being too rich. To adjust the choke plate position the linkage from the choke pull off needs to be bent slightly. (Photo 5 bend at blue arrow) 2 small vice grips work well for this. Once the engine runs you can adjust the RPM with the fast idle adjustment screw. As the engine warms up the choke stove moves and changes how high the fast idle cam is held up. So as your driving the cam will be dropping when your not at idle. As it drops it won't hold the throttle shaft open as far. With a well adjusted choke your idle RPM will stay about the same (Slightly higher than when the engine is warm) as you drive until the choke is completely open.

Now all of this is a bit of a dance between the different adjustments to get good cold engine operation. If the choke takes too long to come open then you have to rotate the choke stove to the leaner direction.. This may require you to change the bend in the rod that connects to the choke plate to get the to fully close before starting. Or you may need to have the choke stay closed longer so rotating the stove the otherway will be necessary. I normally make 5 to 10 adjustments to get a choke dialed in. Usually do one adjustment a day when the engine is cold. Then I drive it to see how each change affected the performance of the engine.
Now I'm sure I have missed something as I've never wrote it all down before so if I have misspoke or made an error please respond.

[HO455]

Two steps forward one step back. Spent the morning searching for the leak in the air supply to my air control valve. I used about a quart of leak check with no results (Well I did find a small leak on one of the rear bag lines. Went in at lunch to see the old lady off to work and she said "why don't you use my stethoscope and listen for the leak?". So I did and it was slow going as I had to take them off every time I shifted position to keep from blowing an ear drum, but they were the ticket to success as I found a pretty good leak on the desiccant cartridge. I'll see in the morning if the tank is empty again.
And as so often happens one thing leads to another. Since I decided to remove the front seat to get to the leaking cartridge i decided it would be a good time to swap in the drivers side of the new set seats I got from a 2015 GMC. I wanted to try out the driver's side first just to be sure it wasn't going to cause my back to act up. (The seats in the old ladies Lexus start to bother me after about 20 minutes and the longer I ride in it the worse it gets). The old bench seat in the WMB doesn't bother my back at all but I certainly would like to have a taller seat with a head rest.
Anyway after mocking the seats in position it was apparent that they were slightly wider than the original seat but I'm pretty sure I could modify the inboard mounts to get things to narrow up about 1/2" and then the driver's seat would pretty well centered on the wheel and the passenger seat would not crowd the seat belt retractor too much. All was looking good until I thought to lay the rear seat down and see how much clearance I would have. Well it turns out that I don't have any clearance to fold the seat bottoms up and then flip the backs down. (See last photo) Even after trying several different placements the fact is I won't fit behind the steering wheel if the rear seat is down. There is too much material on the back of the seats compared to the factory seat. So the seat swap is a no go.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by HO455

Two steps forward one step back. Spent the morning searching for the leak in the air supply to my air control valve. I used about a quart of leak check with no results (Well I did find a small leak on one of the rear bag lines. Went in at lunch to see the old lady off to work and she said "why don't you use my stethoscope and listen for the leak?". So I did and it was slow going as I had to take them off every time I shifted position to keep from blowing an ear drum, but they were the ticket to success as I found a pretty good leak on the desiccant cartridge. I'll see in the morning if the tank is empty again.
And as so often happens one thing leads to another. Since I decided to remove the front seat to get to the leaking cartridge i decided it would be a good time to swap in the drivers side of the new set seats I got from a 2013 GMC. I wanted to try out the driver's side first just to be sure it wasn't going to cause my back to act up. (The seats in the old ladies Lexus start to bother me after about 20 minutes and the longer I ride in it the worse it gets). The old bench seat in the WMB doesn't bother my back at all but I certainly would like to have a taller seat with a head rest.
Anyway after mocking the seats in position it was apparent that they were slightly wider than the original seat but I'm pretty sure I could modify the inboard mounts to get things to narrow up about 1/2" and then the driver's seat would pretty well centered on the wheel and the passenger seat would not crowd the seat belt retractor too much. All was looking good until I thought to lay the rear seat down and see how much clearance I would have. Well it turns out that I won't have any clearance. Even after trying several different placements the fact is I won't fit behind the wheel if the rear seat is down. There is too much material on the back of the seats compared to the factory seat. So the seat swap is a no go.

I couldn't figure out what you were saying until I looked at the picture. That's too bad, the fronts looked good in there, and I bet they would be comfy.....

LockDoc

[Beach-Burban]

Originally Posted by HO455

Two steps forward one step back. Spent the morning searching for the leak in the air supply to my air control valve. I used about a quart of leak check with no results (Well I did find a small leak on one of the rear bag lines. Went in at lunch to see the old lady off to work and she said "why don't you use my stethoscope and listen for the leak?". So I did and it was slow going as I had to take them off every time I shifted position to keep from blowing an ear drum, but they were the ticket to success as I found a pretty good leak on the desiccant cartridge. I'll see in the morning if the tank is empty again.
And as so often happens one thing leads to another. Since I decided to remove the front seat to get to the leaking cartridge i decided it would be a good time to swap in the drivers side of the new set seats I got from a 2013 GMC. I wanted to try out the driver's side first just to be sure it wasn't going to cause my back to act up. (The seats in the old ladies Lexus start to bother me after about 20 minutes and the longer I ride in it the worse it gets). The old bench seat in the WMB doesn't bother my back at all but I certainly would like to have a taller seat with a head rest.
Anyway after mocking the seats in position it was apparent that they were slightly wider than the original seat but I'm pretty sure I could modify the inboard mounts to get things to narrow up about 1/2" and then the driver's seat would pretty well centered on the wheel and the passenger seat would not crowd the seat belt retractor too much. All was looking good until I thought to lay the rear seat down and see how much clearance I would have. Well it turns out that I won't have any clearance. Even after trying several different placements the fact is I won't fit behind the wheel if the rear seat is down. There is too much material on the back of the seats compared to the factory seat. So the seat swap is a no go.

Well that's unfortunate...the contours of those seats look like they would cradle a person very nicely for long trips! I'll have to see if an upholsterer can craft a similar design into my front bench when I start shopping around! The rear "fold-up" seats look great, though!

Woody

[HO455]

I'm kinda of bummed about the seats. It took a bunch of searching to find a set of late model seats that weren't power assist with lumber adjustment. Oh well on to the next idea.

[HO455]

Originally Posted by Beach-Burban

Well that's unfortunate...the contours of those seats look like they would cradle a person very nicely for long trips! I'll have to see if an upholsterer can craft a similar design into my front bench when I start shopping around! The rear "fold-up" seats look great, though!

Woody

I may go with something like this. Or use the foam from one of these on the original seat like you were saying.

[Beach-Burban]

Originally Posted by HO455

I may go with something like this. Or use the foam from one of these on the original seat like you were saying.

That's really nice!

Woody

[HO455]

Stumbled across this this morning from a post on the truck side. The search is on for the new perfect seat. I would like to find a factory design I could install for a test run. Or best case find some one to let me take a 2 hour test drive of their truck.

https://azproperformance.com/product...-seat-foam-kit

This ford seat has potential too.
1992-1996 Ford F150 / F250 / F350 / F450 and 1997 F350 / F450 with a bench front seat