Super Blue

[Portmod7]

For the relay/fuse setup I cut out a flat piece of aluminum, drilled and tapped some mounting holes for the relays and fuse block, and used some Velcro to attach it to the firewall insulator. That way I can pull it out and add to it or whatever easy enough. My wife even showed up to "help" a little, by taking pictures of me concentrating a little to hard on tapping the holes in my relay/fuse mount to post to facebook.

I've still got to add an LED and calibration button for my 02 sensor under there somewhere, change the MAP connector, and wrap the wires. Then the injection wiring is DONE! Well I think anyway..... Then I think my next concentration will be on firing it up before I put the front clip on so it's easy to work on if something isn't right.

[NewType72]

digging all the time you put into doing the work yourself instead of just buying the parts keep rollin brother!

[Portmod7]

Originally Posted by NewType72

digging all the time you put into doing the work yourself instead of just buying the parts keep rollin brother!

Thank you! I find it more enjoyable that way.




Made a little more progress. I got all my brackets, PS pump, water pump, and pulleys from KRC. Real simple, clean, and gets the job done. I'm not sure if it's cheaper than any other options, just seemed much cleaner and simpler to me, plus I already had the pump.

If anybody tries to do this, the alternator is tricky. You need a CS121 style, and trying to figure out what car it came on to tell the guy behind the counter wasn't easy for me to figure out. Long story short, I went to CarQuest and got a 7937-11A. You can buy racing units, and single wires from Powermaster and others, but that's not what I wanted. Plus, they are EXPENSIVE. Be warned though, you are limited to an 80A output. I'll have electric fans and fuel injection, I think I'll be ok, fingers crossed!

I also got my fuel injection harness all covered up. I wanted something similar to Painless Classic Braid, but I didn't want to have to order 10' or whatever their minimum is of each size that I needed, and I didn't want to pay $150 or whatever they charge for their generic harness kit. So I did some searching, and found "F6 Wrap Around Braided Sleeving". I ordered mine from here. I think I spent like $27 including shipping, and had a fair amount left over. I thought it came out pretty good. Now, if it doesn't all melt, I'll be happy.

I also fired it up last weekend. I'd post a video, but the results were less than desired. It popped right off, no problem. But once it got warm and the O2 started taking over the fuel mixture (ECU configuration settings), it started surging real bad. Long story short, I need to reprogram the outputs on the O2 sensor and should be good to go. The USB to serial adapter I was using to tune was also not adequate, my laptop kept disconnecting from the ECU every time the engine would fire up. I've got a cable coming to solve that I hope.

BUT, I shut it off and started it numerous times, and it fired every time, even with the baseline tuning. I think it's going to be pretty awesome to have the old ride injected once I get it all figured out.

I hate even admitting this, but when I put the engine and tranny together, I measured the clearance for the throwout bearing like you are supposed to. I came up with 1/16" interference (you need .050-.100" clearance). Well, I convinced myself that since all the parts I had SHOULD work together, it would be ok. So I left it like that, and went on. Well, now that I'm getting "close" to driving it, its been bugging me. And upon further inspection, I need to do something about it. So the tranny has to come out and I need to figure out how I'm gonna get some more space in there.

The bad part of taking the tranny out, is that I thought I planned ahead and configured my exhaust so I could get the tranny out. Well, I forgot that little aspect when I built my hangers, and now the tranny crossmember won't slide out of the way.... So I am currently trying to come up with a CLEAN solution without ruining the work I've done so far OR pulling the exhaust.

As quoted in one of my favorite movies, and as my wife reminded me; "Without disappointment, you can't appreciate victory." It was a one step forward, 10 steps back kind of weekend, but I'll get it figured out.

[Rusbuilt]

very nice work!

[Portmod7]

Originally Posted by Rusbuilt

very nice work!

Thank you!




NOBODY PANIC.... I got it.... Ha ha ha...

Pretty dumb move to put it all together when I knew it was wrong. But, at least I came to me senses before I smoked a clutch over it or something. AND, now I know how to get my tranny out if I ever need to again. Between my exhaust and having the motor on the 6-cylinder pedestals, it's a tight fit. And removing factory rivets under the truck, not a whole lot of fun.

Now to figure out how to fix my problem... My throwout bearing is SUPPOSED to work with a Saginaw transmission... My bellhousing is the same depth as the stocker.... And the clutch is SUPPOSED to be a stock replacement unit... The only thing I can figure is that the flywheel is thicker than a stock style, which I doubt... Or I've read about different clutches having the release "fingers" sticking out further than others (this is pretty much what I've concluded has happened).

So.... What to do.... I'm considering having some machine work done to the bearing retainer to let the throwout sit further down on it. BUT, I'm not sure I've got enough material to work with on that. I can also buy a different bearing they sell for a T-5 tranny, but it's $150. I guess we'll see... I lack .1625" from being where I need to be. A little over 1/8"...

[gringoloco]

Nice work! Everything is so clean, methodical, and meticulously detailed. Glad you didn't let it beat you...

[Portmod7]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Nice work! Everything is so clean, methodical, and meticulously detailed. Glad you didn't let it beat you...

Ha ha, NEVER! Thanks man! I'm so close, I've been having dreams about driving her lately... I can't freakin wait!!!

[sourkraut]

Very nice build, excellent work. Will be watching

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by Portmod7

Ha ha, NEVER! Thanks man! I'm so close, I've been having dreams about driving her lately... I can't freakin wait!!!

Man, I am really enjoying this build; I am learning a lot as you go along. The point that is made in this build is there are many roads that lead us to a destination, each with its own lessons along the way. It takes creativity and perseverance to take the road less traveled, and in many cases the journey is much more meaningful at its conclusion, this build is great example of this. Really impressive so far! Keep up the good work, I'll be watching patiently.

[Portmod7]

Originally Posted by sourkraut

Very nice build, excellent work. Will be watching

Thank you!

Originally Posted by BucksSS

Man, I am really enjoying this build; I am learning a lot as you go along. The point that is made in this build is there are many roads that lead us to a destination, each with its own lessons along the way. It takes creativity and perseverance to take the road less traveled, and in many cases the journey is much more meaningful at its conclusion, this build is great example of this. Really impressive so far! Keep up the good work, I'll be watching patiently.

Thank you very much, that means a lot! My wife was all proud of me when she read it, lol..

I learned it racing cars. I figure they are all just hunks of "iron" with an internal combustion engine between the rails and a few things in between to fill the gaps. You can fill the gaps with whatever you want, as long as you get the power to the ground. Might as well fill them the way you want.

Ordered tires and wheels today. Not the ones I wanted, but they'll get me through till Eagle makes another batch of the 225's in a 5" BS... Which could be never, nobody seems to know...

Ordered a shorter throwout bearing for my clutch dilemma, that should be here today.

Got speedo gears coming.

Entropy radiator showed up last night, and my buddy bucket seats the day before.

It's SO close.... Now I just need to find some time to work on it.

[CC69Rat]

Looks great man .. In for the build.

Did you go with the MB wheels?

[67cheby]

killing it man, keep up the great work !

[Portmod7]

Originally Posted by CC69Rat

Looks great man .. In for the build.

Did you go with the MB wheels?

Thanks!

I did. Stupid cheap (AND AVAILABLE) until I can get my hands on the 225's. Sure thought hard about yours. I'm glad you found a way to hang on to them, if nothing else so they stay with your project.

Originally Posted by 67cheby

killing it man, keep up the great work !

Thank you! I need to get it wrapped up! Money like water through your fingers, ha ha.

[C10_ustacould]

I wanted to ask how are the push-loc hoses working for you? I used braided lines, and unfortunately they must allow some fuel to seep through because they stink. My garage always has a strong fuel smell when the truck is in there. Wondering if the push-loc hoses did better... lmk!

[Portmod7]

Originally Posted by BucksSS

I wanted to ask how are the push-loc hoses working for you? I used braided lines, and unfortunately they must allow some fuel to seep through because they stink. My garage always has a strong fuel smell when the truck is in there. Wondering if the push-loc hoses did better... lmk!

It's hard for me to say on that one right now. They were easy to put together, I know that The shop I work in is pretty big, and smells like a shop, so it's hard for me to tell if I'm getting any smell from the truck or not. BUT, since I have put fuel in the tank, fired it up, etc., I have not noticed any new smell of gas, so maybe it's working out ok? Hopefully I'll have it running before too long and I can get it home, in my garage, and be able to tell then. I'll try to remember to give an update, remind me if you think about it.

I made some progress in that last few days. My wheels and tires showed up, my new throwout bearing, and so did my speedo gears.

Wheels and tires look good, I am happy with the purchase. For as cheap as they were($1600 total), I am very happy. Plus, I ordered on Tuesday, they were sitting at my door when I got home from work on Friday. I won't have any pictures of them on the truck for a little while yet, but soon.

Got a shorter Howe Racing throwout bearing from Speedway Motors. They advertise it to use with a T-5 transmission. The only difference between it and the unit advertised for the Saginaw is the compressed length and the stroke. I'm still not sure what's funky with my clutch setup, but I stuck this one in there with NO shims and it's perfect. I have yet to come across another one this short, sometimes I feel like I live in the Bermuda Triangle.

I've never messed with speedometer gears before, or manual transmissions really. Just the stuff we ran in the race cars. I thought I would be able to simply unbolt the tailhousing, pull it off, swap out the speedo drive gear, and off I go... Wrong. On a Saginaw, you have to pull the side cover to get in there and release a retaining ring to pull the tailhousing off. I didn't want to dump the new fluid I had in it, so I had it propped up half way on it's side, half way nose-down... Sometimes I make it really hard on myself, and wonder why. It's also tough to get a pair of snapring pliers, more specifically duckbills as I hear they are called, wiggled in to release the ring. So after a couple of hours, and some cussing, I finally got the speedo drive gear swapped out without dumping the fluid (on purpose or accident).

With my speedo gears correct, and the "right" throwout bearing, It was time to put the tranny back in. After the fight it took to get it out, I was ready for another put it back in. It slid right in, NO PROBLEM. The crossmember even went right back in. I did modify the crossmember slightly, I cut the corners off it around the mounting holes to make it THAT much narrower/smaller. Safe to say now, that if I do any more tranny work, it will be a breeze.

Next step I see is bleeding the brakes and clutch, then I'll put the doors and front clip on. Then I'll build my headlight and fan relays. Slap some gears in it, and it'll be pretty much ready for the road!

[bigguy69]

Just found this wow. Great work
Posted via Mobile Device

[Hart_Rod]

Nice progress!! Keep it coming...

[67cheby]

looking good !

[RWB-713]

Lol, I guess I should at least check in on the forum more often, rather than just let it lay dormant and pick up little bits of the good stuff from my buddy the forum king, because apprently he won't mention he started a build thread, and that there is now actual documentation of his project. I'll make sure I stay up to date and current now. Plus, seeing yours so close to hitting the road has ACTUALLY inspired me to get back on mine this time (as opposed to all those other times I said it did and then fizzled out, Pretty sure I'm serious this time) so i'm sure I'll be frequenting the forum(s) much more often than in the past!

This truck is really great guys, it's super clean, and he rarely overlooks ANY details. I assure you the time & work invested in this truck shine even brighter in person than the pics show.

Great thread buddy!

[Portmod7]

Originally Posted by bigguy69

Just found this wow. Great work
Posted via Mobile Device

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

Nice progress!! Keep it coming...

Originally Posted by 67cheby

looking good !

Thank you guys!

Originally Posted by RWB-713

Lol, I guess I should at least check in on the forum more often, rather than just let it lay dormant and pick up little bits of the good stuff from my buddy the forum king, because apprently he won't mention he started a build thread, and that there is now actual documentation of his project. I'll make sure I stay up to date and current now. Plus, seeing yours so close to hitting the road has ACTUALLY inspired me to get back on mine this time (as opposed to all those other times I said it did and then fizzled out, Pretty sure I'm serious this time) so i'm sure I'll be frequenting the forum(s) much more often than in the past!

This truck is really great guys, it's super clean, and he rarely overlooks ANY details. I assure you the time & work invested in this truck shine even brighter in person than the pics show.

Great thread buddy!

Ha ha, cat's out of the bag now! I almost told you about it when you were asking for pictures yesterday. Better get you a build thread started too! And thanks for the kind words. She's no show truck by any means, but it should be fun to drive. And I like your signature too....

________________________________________________________________

Made a little progress recently. I got my brakes bled, TRIED to bleed the clutch, got my Buddy Bucket frame modified, got the doors on, test-fit my wheels, and pulled the transmission and reinstalled it AGAIN....

The brakes bled very nicely, no leaks at all, I was excited! I love the tube nuts and sleeves that work with a single 37* flare. I've never had anything but trouble trying to make double flares like are on traditional brake lines. If I invested some decent money into a decent tool, it probably wouldn't be a problem. But as simple as a tube nut, sleeve, and a 37* flare is, I don't see any double flares in my future.

Case in point: I tired to bleed my clutch system. That's the only place I used a double flare, and it leaked. Not only did it leak, but it leaked so bad that the fluid ran down my flex line, into my bellhousing, and made me think my new throwout bearing was leaking. So I pulled the transmission again and took my throwout bearing assembly to my buddy at the hydraulic shop to test it. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing like beating your head against a wall I've got fittings that should be here today to do my clutch line just like my brake lines, should be good to go!

The Buddy Buckets I ended up with came out of a camper truck with a pass-through cab. So for the seats, the factory just cut the center section of the buddy frame out and added on some legs. The essentially mounted similar to the 69-72 buckets. I want to have the buddy console, so I cut some tubing up, put a couple bends in it, and replaced the center section of frame. I will also be replacing the driver seat tracks with some universal ones, the tracks I got are etremely loose and do not work all that well.

It's been so long since I've seen the doors for this thing, I almost forgot it had doors. I dug them out of storage and bolted them on. Another EXTREMELY positive moment for me, THEY SHUT. I had seen on another build thread where they had replaced the floor of their cab like I did, but it pushed up on the rockers to the point where the doors wouldn't shut. I didn't think of that when I was doing mine, so I had a little nervousness that my doors wouldn't shut. I have no idea what would have become of my project if they wouldn't have shut....

I also put my GMC Paul's push-on weather stripping on. This stuff is AWESOME. It goes on so easy and clean, it was amazing. The only problem I have, is the doors are having a VERY hard time shutting. I've read that you need to cut a notch where the two ends of the weatherstripping meet under the door sill plate, and mine are just butted up. So I'll try notching them and see if my doors shut better. Hopefully I can solve it without getting away from the stripping I have, this stuff is too nice not to use.

Also replaced my window regulators. Wasn't very much fun, but my windows roll up and down butter smooth now!

I can't wait to get her out in the sunlight for some better pictures... The "lighting" in my shop is TERRIBLE, RWB-713 can confirm this.

[67cheby]

looking great man !

[RWB-713]

Originally Posted by Portmod7

Ha ha, cat's out of the bag now! I almost told you about it when you were asking for pictures yesterday. Better get you a build thread started too! And thanks for the kind words. She's no show truck by any means, but it should be fun to drive. And I like your signature too....

I can't wait to get her out in the sunlight for some better pictures... The "lighting" in my shop is TERRIBLE, RWB-713 can confirm this.

Oh, I actually do have a build thread started Here and oddly enough, I was giving you a hard time about not having a build thread at the time, two years later.... here we are.

I didn't even steal the quote in my sig. that one's all me , and 100% accurate.

And finally, yeah, your lighting is terrible, I imagine black holes to be better lit.

[steelhorse]

Can't wait to see how it turns out.

[Number98]

This is a pretty sweet build, I really like the attention to detail you have.....

[Portmod7]

Originally Posted by 67cheby

looking great man !

Thanks buddy! I'm enjoying the Square Peg progress, can't wait for the cutting and welding to begin!

Originally Posted by steelhorse

Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Number98

This is a pretty sweet build, I really like the attention to detail you have.....

I appreciate that. Sometimes I feel like my hard work gets lost in the places I didn't replace, or clean, or paint... It's good to know that some of the work still shines through.

_________________________________________________________________

Made some progress this weekend. FINALLY got my clutch all straightened out, the pedal feels like it could be a factory setup. That thing fought me the whole way, but once I got rid of all the inverted flares, I had no problems.

Then I conned RWB-713 and another buddy into coming over and helping me with the front clip. We dug it out of storage and got it set on. Got the body lined up as good as it's going to get. It's starting to look a lot more like a truck!

I also got my buddy bucket seats in. The driver's side tracks I got with them were pretty much shot. I ordered a set of universal ones from Speedway motors, and much to my surprise, they bolted right up. The only difference is the stockers have a raised mounting surface on the seat side, so I had to stack a few washers on my replacement units, but you can't even see them with the seats in the truck.

I got my Entropy radiator mounted up. I was able to use the 2-3 core mounts that I had with a little modification. I was having a hard time sourcing the 4-core mounts, unless I purchased them new (expensive), so I went the cheap route and modified what I had. I should have just ordered it for 2-3 core mounts, but I was trying to save some money. Lesson learned.

I also attempted to sort out the new headlight, fan, and charging system harness with no luck. Since I added fans, fuel injection, an electric fuel pump, internally regulated alternator, and had planned a headlight relay conversion I figured I ought to upsize the charging wire off the alternator. Well, to do it correctly and keep the ammeter gauge working correctly, you need to replace the factory 3-way connection near the left headlight. I'm going up to 8ga. on the wire, and will be feeding my headlights and fans with another 8ga. wire. Not only could I not figure out exactly what wires I was going to run where at first, but I found that getting terminals, junction blocks, etc. for my new 3-way connection was a little harder than I anticipated. I'm going to have to order a few things to get it done. But I've also since done some research and found out that not only will my current plan keep the ammeter working correctly, it also seems the correct way to do things. Not that other ways won't work, but supposedly they won't work as well as this.

I really should work on being more organized. As you can tell, I just kinda let stuff pile up everywhere I work... I should at least clean up before I take pictures, ha ha.