'Wintergreen' 1969 GMC Build

[jkeating1]

Your comment about the 4 different hubs brought to mind another LT1 issue that you are probably up to speed on. Refresh my memory. The Optispark ignition was basically the same on the different years and models, but I recall that there was a redesign on the later ones to correct an issue with moisture. Something to do with a drain, or a seal. I remember that there was a retrofit technique to fix the earlier ones. Do you know what I'm talking about? I keep that engine in the back of my mind in the event that I ever have need for a SBC without a distributor, for clearance.

[rusty_67]

Originally Posted by Snowbound

Hey Russ, I'm the guy who texted about the steering shaft. Ed mentioned you were on the forum, so I thought I would look you up.

Nice job on the build. I like your attention to detail.

There is a GMC in Pick'n Pull with the roof hacked off. Not sure if the trailing arms are there. I've got to go there tomorrow so I'll check it out.

Hope to see some of you locals around this summer!

Brian
Posted via Mobile Device

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the good words!

I didn't realize you were talking about the steering shaft, for some reason I was thinking driveshaft. I don't have an extra steering shaft, sorry.

I was at pick n pull last weekend and saw the gmc you're talking about, its a 1 ton i believe. I found a set of trailing arms a while ago though. A lady out in winfield is parting a 69 chevy. If you were desperate for that intermediate shaft might be worth the trip. Its listed in the wrecking section on castanet (she calls it a 69 gmc). She is a little out to lunch on pricing though so don't bother asking for a price, just tell her what whats its worth to you.

See you around hopefully!

[rusty_67]

Originally Posted by jkeating1

Your comment about the 4 different hubs brought to mind another LT1 issue that you are probably up to speed on. Refresh my memory. The Optispark ignition was basically the same on the different years and models, but I recall that there was a redesign on the later ones to correct an issue with moisture. Something to do with a drain, or a seal. I remember that there was a retrofit technique to fix the earlier ones. Do you know what I'm talking about? I keep that engine in the back of my mind in the event that I ever have need for a SBC without a distributor, for clearance.

Yeah there are lots of little differences that sneak up on you with these engines. The difference you are talking about is the vented/non vented opti. When the LT1 first came out in 92 up until 94 they used a non-vented optispark distributor. Due to various reasons, one being simply water from puddles splashing up another being water pump failure resulting in the waterpump essentially peeing on the opti, the opti would get moisture inside it and with no easy way out it would eventually cause failure. In 1995 (the year of mine thankfully) they switch to the vented type. All it is a ~1/4in outlet on the bottom of the opti that you have the option of putting a small hose on to direct any moisture away.

It is possible to convert a 92-94 to a vented but its not at all simple. It requires timing cover and camshaft mods. Although I'm not sure what the aftermarket has to offer.

[rusty_67]

Managed to get the water pump finished up this weekend.

The stock LT1 pump has the impeller on a shaft that is driven by the cam (timing chain) gear. Eliminating this and going to an electric pump meant that I could go to a gen 1 roller timing set. Which is significantly cheaper.

So I pressed the impeller shaft and bearing out of the pump housing (forgot to take a before picture). Then gave it a clean up.



The electric pump requires some clearance notches for installation.



So I notched out the housing and installed the plug to fill the old impeller shaft hole.



Then gave a coat of paint and installed the CSR Pump.



Then mounted it on the engine.





As you can see I started fitting up the new spark plug wires... Unfortunately, I ordered the stock LT1 plug set hoping it would work with the management system I bought. Nope no such luck, half the wires are too short. Oh bother... Anyone know how to make spark plug wires longer?

[67cheby]

wow, pretty cool mod there on the pump !

[jkeating1]

Once again, you pulled a slick LT1 move out of the hat! Even though those are just a small block Chevy, they have a lot of cool ways to make them unique. You know some stuff!
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[Snowbound]

Wanna borrow my wire stretcher?

Engine looks good!
Posted via Mobile Device

[rusty_67]

Been over a month since my last update and I'm sad to say there hasn't been all that much in the way of progress. I did however make a trip down to the good ol' US of A and managed to find a couple really good box sides for a steal of a price ($75 a side). After sandblasting them there was only one small spot that needed a patch, so I was pretty happy with that. Also found a guy locally that had all the other parts (cross sills, box front, etc) in decent shape for only $60! So after sandblasting I'm only into the box for $410! Couldn't be happier about that, especially with the shortage of boxes around here. It is now sitting at the body shop awaiting touch ups and assembly.

Also locally, I was able to find a set of box wood a guy had bought for his long horn and never used ($300, Pine). I figure it'll be easy enough to just cut them down for the long box. It came with bed strips, but I already have a set of smooth stainless strips with studs welded on the back. So if anyone needs some plain galv? bed strips for cheap (locally) let me know. They are longhorn but could be cut down I'm sure.

Sorry I don't have any pictures. I know everyone loves pictures. Hopefully this weekend!

[jkeating1]

good get!

[rusty_67]

Seems like my build is stuck in bull low... ugh

My luck with the box all but ran out once it got to body work. I was recommended a bodyshop (won't say which one... yet) by a friend that had his truck painted there. So I dropped the box off with them and they said they would get it into primer for me no problem. They were busy at the time but I told them once they've gotten a chance to go over them, let me know and we can discuss what should be done. Well a couple weeks went by with no word so I decided to drop in on them. They still hadn't had a chance to look at them, but said they would get to it the following week and let me know. The following Tuesday I get call saying they are ready to be picked up and that'll be $1000. I was kind of shocked and annoyed that they hadn't conferred with me before starting, but I figured they must know what they're doing and if its done and done well then I guess $1000 isn't soo bad. So I went to pick them up, and thats when my blood started to boil... no work done on the cross sills, they were just shot in undercoating and called good even though a couple had rust holes in them. The end sill was the same story, no body work and shot in undercoating when its a part that will be PAINTED! The front panel had a bunch of pock marks and some pitting that weren't fixed. Then the box sides, still had pitting, waves in the bottom edge, they had filled drill holes in the rails with bondo instead of welding them, and just a lot of shoddy bondo work throughout. Needless to say I was pissed, and I'm not very good in those situations. I started to call them out, but it was 5 against 1 and they were citing things like $250 a gallon for primer, and they had to pull a bunch of dents, and bodywork is hard... blah blah blah. I got to the point where it was either get out of there or get in trouble. I decided to take the hit, so I paid them and grudgingly loaded up the parts. At least then I could get my parts back.
After stewing about it all weekend, I went back there the next week and told the owner how unhappy I was. He just went on the defensive but agreed to take a few of the smaller parts back and do them properly. That was a few weeks ago and I haven't heard from them. Going back for another visit this afternoon hopefully it goes smoothly and I can clean my hands of these bozos.
I've now decided I'm going to tackle some or all of the bodywork and paint myself. Going to set up a poly booth in my garage. I'll try doing the inside of the fenders, doors, cab, and if that works out I'll go ahead and do the rest myself. So we'll see how that goes...

Other than that, I've done a bit of work here and there. Fuel rails polished and installed along with the injectors (pictures will come). There were a couple more frame mods to be done to complete the leaf to coil spring conversion. One was adding the mount for the track bar which I still need to do, another is the addition of what I guess could be called reinforcement plates for the trailing arm cross member. Here is a picture of the xmember as it is with leafs



Here it is after drilling out the rivets and installing the plate (done on both sides).



There are also reinforcements that go above the coil springs (or bags in my case), but the ones I have are in rough shape and I was thinking of designing something a bit different, or perhaps even boxing the frame there. Reason being, it is the location where my original frame had the bowing issue (as shown in one of my first posts). So we'll see what happens there.

Also, I'm going to be picking up my latest order from the states hopefully within the next couple weekends. This order includes (but limited to):

- Amereican Autowire Classic Update wiring harness
- TechRods LT1 Engine wiring harness
- Pypes race pro stainless exhaust system. 2 1/2" with x-pipe their race pro mufflers
- Cut to fit spark plug wire kit (no more short wires for me!)

Hopefully I can put a bit more work into thing soon, I hate not seeing progress. Almost done my bathroom reno though so that will free up some time. Summers are hard though, why sweat in the garage when you can suntan on the boat?

[rusty_67]

Pretty picture time!



Got the fuel rails, injectors, etc on the intake. Hopefully tonight I can start routing my new spark plug wires.

[rusty_67]

Alright, time for a bit of an update.

I started to dig into the fuel delivery situation. I'm trying to work with what I have, which might not have been the best idea, but I think i've got it worked out. My tank is a 16gal RCI fuel cell. It fits nicely in the rear under the bed. and since I won't be lowering the truck, I'm able to mount it a bit lower to give me room to route the fill line, possibly even without notching the cross sills. My plan is to rig up the DS rear taillight so that I can just push it in and it will swing out exposing the filler. Still some thinking to do there, but first I need to rig up the fuel cell with an in-tank pump. Rather than messing around with foam baffles and whatnot, I decided to fab up a fuel pump sump of sorts to mount the pump in. So here we go...

I started by cutting out a plate to mount my supply and return bulkheads.





Then I needed to build the sump itself. I had some 22ga sheet so I drew up a flat pattern to cutout.



After cutting out, I bent it up and welded the corners and the top plate to it. The corner welds are a hack job, the metal is too thin for my skills/welder. I should have just taken the scraps from cutting out and wrapped the corners and just used rivets. might still do that yet. we'll see.



I bought a walboro 255lph in-tank pump that came with the assembly from jeep. So I hacked that up and used what I could. Also cutout a second plate to mount on the outside and sandwich the wall of the cell.



Here is the pump inside the sump. It should work well the keep fuel supplied to the pump. I might drill some small holes in the side walls so the fuel can slowly escape and fill up just so that if the tank level does drop below the wall height (although I would hope I don't run it that low), it will be able to replenish itself.



Feel free to give your opinions on this setup. Like I say I'm just trying to work with what I have. Also, was wondering whether or not to coat it with something, and if so, suggestions as to what. I was considering some kind of 2 part epoxy paint, or I know hobby shops have the 'fuel proof' paint... not sure.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[rusty_67]

Also, I sold my boat, so I decided to I needed to buy another less expensive toy...



Its a 1974 Honda Elsinore MT250. I've never had a bike before, in fact I've never ridden anything bigger than a 50. Pretty stoked to get out on the trails with this beauty. It runs great and is in pretty good shape for the vintage. It will be my next project after the truck. Until then it'll be a great bike to learn on, and enjoy some of the back country around here.

[rusty_67]

First post since August. Not very impressive. Oh well at least this one has a bit of an update on the truck! I seem to get more done in the winter months anyway. One of my projects this fall involved getting the garage well insulated, so it should be pretty comfortable to work in there right through the cold season.

I got the accessory bracket cleaned up, painted, and bolted on.



Having issues with th alternator. Not only do the holes not line up (bracket bent maybe?) but it interferes with the valve cover. This is do to the fact that I'm using the corvette accessory bracket and the impala valve covers. More LT1 Fun! Guess I'll try to track down some corvette valve covers. I've heard of guys notching the alternator, but I don't like the sounds of that. Could also swap the valve cover left for right. The Right side is notched for the impala alternator, but then the breather holes are on the wrong side. So I'll weigh my options there I guess.

Also got the rear brakes put together...



Thats always fun. Hopefully more soon!

[jkeating1]

Originally Posted by rusty_67

.....Could also swap the valve cover left for right. The Right side is notched for the impala alternator, but then the breather holes are on the wrong side. So I'll weigh my options there I guess.

If it works with the valve covers swapped, it sure seems like it would be easier to do that, and re-route the breather lines than notch the alternator. Do injected LT1's have a PCV valve in one VC, and an oil fill cap in the other? I am just curious as to what would prevent you from just swapping L to R. Also, any vortec valve cover would bolt on. Surely some other body type has the alternator on the same side as a Vette, huh? And last but not least, how noticeable would a ball peen dent in the valve cover be under the alternator? (that's my inner redneck talking)

Edit:
ahh...I see now--PCV and oil cap in the RT and nothing in the left. A pic is worth a thousand words!

[lenguini]

Lookin good buddy !

[rusty_67]

Originally Posted by lenguini

Lookin good buddy !

Thanks Ed!

[rusty_67]

Originally Posted by jkeating1

If it works with the valve covers swapped, it sure seems like it would be easier to do that, and re-route the breather lines than notch the alternator. Do injected LT1's have a PCV valve in one VC, and an oil fill cap in the other? I am just curious as to what would prevent you from just swapping L to R. Also, any vortec valve cover would bolt on. Surely some other body type has the alternator on the same side as a Vette, huh? And last but not least, how noticeable would a ball peen dent in the valve cover be under the alternator? (that's my inner redneck talking)

Edit:
ahh...I see now--PCV and oil cap in the RT and nothing in the left. A pic is worth a thousand words!

I thought about swapping the valve covers, but it wouldn involve more clearancing inside, which I wanted to avoid.

Managed to find a alternator at picknpull that fit without modificating. Its 105amp so should be enough for what I'm doing. Now that I know it fits, I'll pick up a rebuild kit and give it a coat of paint, it'll be like new.

[rusty_67]

Started running the ignition wires (again). At least I know there won't be any length issues (bought the cut to fit kit, and a set of LT1 terminals/boots. Left bank was easy:



Also got the coil bracket cleaned up/painted, new thermal paste between the module and heatsink, and new ignition coil installed.

Right bank requires a little more thought to get around the accessory bracket. I think I've got it figured, but will have fab up a couple little brackets, it really is slim pickings out there for simple 4 wire brackets.

[rusty_67]

Also got my Rear sway bar installed. I followed the detailed ADDCO directions to a tee.

1. Assemble Sway bar and endlinks.
2. Position swar bar and mark hole locations.
3. Drill holes
4. Bolt in place.
5. Tighten Bolts.

Should work... In theory.

[rusty_67]

I've almost got my exhaust mocked up. I bought the Pypes kit from summit. Its decent quality, all stainless and mandrel bends. it is definitely taking a bit of massaging to get in there though. The directions are similar to that of the rear sway bar. Which I get as no 2 trucks are created equal, especially in the custom world.





I'm going to have to get the pieces between the transmission cross member and header collector made up locally. Then I'll just have the collectors welded on to that.



I think I'm going to add a slight bend to the outside on the straight section behind the mufflers. Otherwise clearance to the fuel tank is only about 1/2 an inch on either side. I'd be more comfortable with an inch.

[rusty_67]

Got the exhaust to the point I could on my own. I had some trouble with the passenger side tailpipe. Between the track arm and the fuel tank it just wasn't going to get enough clearance. Will have to get something bent up for that as well.

I pulled my driveshaft apart, cleaned it up and painted it. Then installed new u-joints and a new carrier bearing assembly.

AND THEN! I put the cab on!






Still nee to do fuel lines and airlines, but those are things that I need to run partially on the cab.

[rusty_67]

Finally got my ignition wires finished. The drivers side was the tricky part. I made a little bracket out of some leftover stainless exhaust hanger. That combined with the routing of the wires keeps everything away from the headers.

[rusty_67]

Another LT1 Hurdle defeated. Since I was using the impala valve covers with the corvette accessory bracket, the alternator fitment was a bit of a squeeze (no indentation in the valve cover). So I went on a mission to Pick n pull. Armed with the dimensions I needed to make it fit and tape measure I was able to find a candidate from a 1993 Buick regal.



Output on this model is 105 Amp. Should be plenty for what I am running.

There was no way I was going to put this ugly piece on my motor, and without knowing its overall condition, I decided a I'd rebuild it. So started taking it apart.



Had some trouble separating the stator leads from the diodes, and all the twisting and pulling on the old leads caused them to eventually break. So along with a rebuild kit I had to spring for a new stator. Here are all the old parts layed out



And the new parts, I was going to polish the casing, but about 3 hrs into sanding and buffing the front face, i decided that was ridiculous. so I kind of half-assesd finished the face, then wire wheeled the rest. Then I gave it a thick coat of clear. I really liked the way it turned out. Very new looking...



New bearing in the rear:



New diode trio, regulator, brushes, etc:



New Stator, I trimmed the leads and Crimped them in place. I chose not to solder them as I think the crimping will be enough and if I ever want to rebuilding it again I won't have to deal with the solder ( the reason I had trouble with the original stator):



new bearing in the front:



And voila, pretty well new alternator that fits!



I was able to find a polished stainless shroud on ebay that covers the alternator and ac compressor. So it'll be covered up for the most part, but at least it'll look good until that gets installed!

[cdngearhead]

Looks nice
Been meaning to call, need to look at your trim pile, as all the trim is missing off mine
Barry