My Unexpected '66 SWB-Fleet-Restomod Project!

[Palf70Step]

Sorry to hear the news. Hope it gets worked out soon.

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Oh Man that blows,,,, Hope its an easy fix.
You got it shut down in time before any major damage happened?!!???
Hoping for the best.

Thanks Greg.
I don't know if, or how much damage was done.
I did some research, and it seems that the LT1's had a problem with the Billet roller cams eating up the oil pump drive gears (distributor gear in a normal small block) if a melonized (heat-treated) gear was not used.
I didn't put the motor together, so I am guessing that the wrong type gear was used...
GM performance states in their description for this gear as "must be used with most late model crate engines or with billet roller cams, or serious damage will occur"...

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

That's a drag man but it may be a blessing in disguise too. Get that motor pulled and the truck put away, then start eyeballing your winter project! Is there anything in that department that you wish you had done differently anyways?

Maybe.....Nitrous?

Originally Posted by Trsmotrhed

That sucks. Keep us updated on what's going on.

I will definitely keep everyone posted on the outcome, thanks!

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

sorry man, but it may not be too bad. chevys are tough and lifter are easy to replace. i know you'll get it figured out, at least you got to cruise a bunch this season and like jlsanborn said, might be a good time to upgrade in the horsepower department.

Yeah Clem, got almost 1392 good miles out of her on a totally comfortable, and awesome looking seat, and every one except the last was a total blast!!!
Maybe nitrous?...Or did I say that already?

Originally Posted by dwcardfan

Sorry to hear. Like the guys said maybe it's not that bad.

Thanks, I hope that it isn't as bad as I expect, but we all know how that goes...

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Sorry to hear the news. Hope it gets worked out soon.

Not as sorry as me!
Loaded her on the trailer tonight for a trip to the shop in order to start disassembly....Gosh I hate that word!


Thanks guys, for all of the encouragement!
I really was kinda hoping that this winter would be good break from a great project. Not sure yet how I will address this bump in the road based on the complexity once that I get it apart.
Hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst!!!
I had to post a pic of my baby leaving on the trailer tonight....This wasn't exactly how I pictured seeing it go down the road for the first time....

[Modges'66]

Well guys, This week I dropped the oil pan to inspect what I suspected to be the problem, & also to inspect the rod & main bearings.
I had suspected that the oil pump drive gear (distributor gear on a normal small blocks) had been chewed-up by the billet steel roller cam, and it has....
The rod & main bearings do not look that bad, but they don't look great either.
But while I was rinsing out the oil pan in the parts-washer, I found a badly chewed 9/16" press-in freeze plug... Where do think that this may have come from?

I have now made the decision to pull the motor, in order to replace the Rod & Main Bearings, replace the distributor drive gear with the correct one for a billet cam, and replace the housing that retains it with a billet unit because the stock GM piece is plastic and becomes brittle. Oh, and also check-out the oil galley plugs for the camshaft, among other things...

Here is my current status:
I received the melonized pump drive gear (correct for a billet-steel roller cam).
I obtained a set of Clevite-77 Rod & Main Bearings.
I received the Billet LT1 stub-shaft housing for the oil pump drive.
I also have obtained the Intake, Timing chain, & Oil pan gaskets for my LT1.

So, here are a few pics of my accomplishments today, working all by myself.









I may be taking some time off from work this week in order to turn things around!
I would really like to to put this truck into storage in a somewhat completed state...

[lowlife4life]

I would be scared to even remove that motor for the chance of scratching that engine bay.

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by lowlife4life

I would be scared to even remove that motor for the chance of scratching that engine bay.

I know, right?
I did it all by my self just for this reason!
I didn't want to watch someone else put any scratches in it!
I took my time, and worked very slowly!!!!
I am so happy now that it is out, because I don't have to lean over it either...

[Mechanic77]

Sucks that you're having trouble, but I would look very hard at the oil galley plugs behind the timing chain. I would suggest tapping them for 3/8" pipe plugs anyway while you have it apart....easy to do, just make sure you don't go too deep.

Of course now is the time to put a bigger cam, more compression, etc....you can never have too much horsepower

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by Mechanic77

Sucks that you're having trouble, but I would look very hard at the oil galley plugs behind the timing chain. I would suggest tapping them for 3/8" pipe plugs anyway while you have it apart....easy to do, just make sure you don't go too deep.

Of course now is the time to put a bigger cam, more compression, etc....you can never have too much horsepower

Ha-Ha-Ha!
Good call on the oil galley plug, I was only joking about where it may have come from.
I was gonna tap them for plugs, but didn't want to introduce any steel chips into the mix... And when I saw how whoever installed these plugs executed the task, I decided to just replace them correctly.... They had driven them in with something less than 1/4" in diameter which dented the center, thus reducing the diameter for the press fit. Not only that, they never thought to remove the factory peening that originally retained them before installing the new ones.
For removal of the old plugs I drilled a .062 hole in the center, and attempted to screw in a sheet-metal screw to pull it out with. But before having the screw inserted securely, the plugs spun in their bore without effort & I pulled the remaining 2 plugs out by hand. You could see score marks on the diameter where it had been driven in over the factory peens, so they had to have been leaking.

This thing already has a really healthy cam & is faster than I expected. I haven't even had a chance to start working on adding the nitrous yet!!!
I just want to store this thing in one piece before the snow!
Thanks for chiming-in, I appreciate the comments, and I will post pics on the progress soon.

[Modges'66]

Hello Guys!
Today I really got quite a bit accomplished!
I had a hell of a time removing the balancer hub, but when I did, things started moving fairly well.
Does anybody see anything wrong with this picture???


Could it be that the oil galley plug is missing?
I guess that this could be one reason for loosing some oil pressure...

I have replaced all of the oil galley plugs correctly this time, so it shouldn't be a problem in the future (I have never worked on this engine before).


Looking way-better now!

Now, what about this? Does anybody see something wrong with this picture?



I guess that this is another really good for loosing oil pressure!
The wrong type of oil pump drive gear was used for a billet steel roller cam, and the teeth are simply too soft for a standard steel gear, they must be hardened!
And it's replacement!
A melonized GM Performance gear (hardened) & billet aluminum housing instead of the stock plastic one...



To top it all off, I installed a new set of Clevite-77 main & rod bearings, simply for piece-of-mind. The old bearings didn't look that bad, but I wanted to start over, because I already have it apart, and I drove it farther than I wanted without oil-pressure...
I plasti-gaged it all, and the worst looking bearings checked the tightest, at just less than .002" clearance... I am sure that all will be fine!



Chime in and tell me your comments!!
I will get this thing going again this week, I promise!!!

[clemdaddy]

hey Mike, we missed you and we talked about just exactly what you were doing then and sure enough... you were. glad you got ahead of the weather and glad to see all the weekend progress. keep at it bro.

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

hey Mike, we missed you and we talked about just exactly what you were doing then and sure enough... you were. glad you got ahead of the weather and glad to see all the weekend progress. keep at it bro.

Awe Clem,
Me & a buddy from work were seriously super-interested on making the trek to your party until all of this took place...I was getting so excited about attempting to pull this off!!!
It would have been such a blast to be there!

We were actually on our way to dinner the evening of the mishap, and his wife was riding with me because she hadn't been for a ride in the truck yet, and he was following behind. I was getting on it a little, and thought I had bent a pushrod...or maybe all of them!
I then babied it to my house & parked it.
The next morning I realized that there was no oil-pressure & began to research the subject, then started buying parts before I even took it apart!
The first thing that I changed though, was to rewire the computer to shut-off the fuel pump if there is no oil-pressure...
This wouldn't have fixed the oil pump drive gear, but would have saved the bearings, and maybe removing the engine.
I am truly bummed that I didn't get to make it to your party. I am sure that it was way better than I have imagined.

[Modges'66]

Well Guys,
SHE'S ALIVE!!!
Had the engine back in & running on Tuesday evening!
I put the hood back on it yesterday, and cleaned her all-up, only to get caught in the rain on my drive home from the shop!...I am gonna start calling it my rain vehicle, because every time that I get her spotless it rains!
I have put about 60 miles on it already, and it has way better oil-pressure now with all of the oil galley plugs in place!
Here are some pics that I shot this morning.

[Modges'66]

...And my favorite shot!

[dwcardfan]

Congrats on getting it back on the road. Man that was a fast resurrection!! And that thing looks sweet.

[Dino Driver]

Since you were dealing with the engine in this last go around I thought you might give us more motor shots!

[Bomp]

Need you to come on out to Oregon to stomp out Steiners running gear. That would only take you 3 1/2 days as fast as you work.
Truck looks Great.

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by dwcardfan

Congrats on getting it back on the road. Man that was a fast resurrection!! And that thing looks sweet.

THANKS!
I couldn't stand to see it in pieces all winter!

Originally Posted by Bomp

Need you to come on out to Oregon to stomp out Steiners running gear. That would only take you 3 1/2 days as fast as you work.
Truck looks Great.

Thanks Greg!
You need to start rounding up the parts!....This may be do-able!!!!

Originally Posted by Dino Driver

Since you were dealing with the engine in this last go around I thought you might give us more motor shots!

Here ya go!
Not much to look at really! LOL!

[Ta2Don]

[Palf70Step]

Glad she is back running and everything seems to be doing well. She looks great!

[deejaaa1]

your truck turned out beautiful. was a joy to read from the beginning and see the results. all the small details added up to make your work of art.
I have a sister/brother-in-law that live in Wyoming, MI. been there before but it's a long way from here.

[Modges'66]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Thanks AGAIN Don!!!

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Glad she is back running and everything seems to be doing well. She looks great!

Thanks! I have logged about 250 miles since the re-work, and have gotten caught in the rain twice!!
I think that I will be cleaning her up for storage in the next few days...

Originally Posted by deejaaa1

your truck turned out beautiful. was a joy to read from the beginning and see the results. all the small details added up to make your work of art.
I have a sister/brother-in-law that live in Wyoming, MI. been there before but it's a long way from here.

Thanks a lot for the comments!!!
Wyoming is just another suburb of Grand Rapids, and within a 15 minute drive from my home!
Shout out if you are ever in town during the summer season!

[Bomp]

Relieved to see you were able to get things back into shape quickly and go out driving.
One day we'll all be parked side by side.

[realvc]

Great looking truck, and a very interesting thread to follow.
Congrats. on the build and also on the engine repair.

[jlsanborn]

Nice work man!

[BUILT2LAYFRAME]

beautiful truck! awesome build!

[clemdaddy]

way to knock it out bro... she looks great and now runs great.

the only downer is old man winter is quickly approaching. chilled down in the 30's this morning but its OK I'm wearing flipflops, living in defiance.

hope you get some more miles in before hibernation time...