Dug's 1959 Fleetside

[dsraven]

some transmission cooler kits I have installed over the years have come with a pretty nice edging material for around holes like this where a line needs to go through. it is plastic edging and can bend pretty tight, maybe not as tight as a 90 degree bend though. it is U shaped and made for the purpose. maybe a trans shop could help you out with some of that stuff if the door seal idea doesn't work like you want it to. or possibly some edge welting used in upholstery shops, like this stuff

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/door-...trips/6191714/

or this

https://quartermax.com/shop-all-depa...-strip-edging/

or this

https://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Moldin.../dp/B01M9HH4UW

maybe you can source some cheap used stuff at a wrecker. door edge trim may also work but has less of a gripping surface, depth, so it may come off easier.

nice work, again.

[dug224]

Dennis: A good bit of the fun I am having doing this build is re-purposing things and discovering how much stuff there is out there that I had no idea was available.

Just bought my first Cruisin' the Coast ticket. It runs from 6 - 13 October and is about 45 minutes away on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We will head over for an all day visit on 9 October. Come on down and beat the cold!!

Thanks for the info...dug

[67Mal]

We’ll be at CTC all week, hope to see you there.
Your truck is looking great!
Malcolm

[dsraven]

quote
Dennis: A good bit of the fun I am having doing this build is re-purposing things and discovering how much stuff there is out there that I had no idea was available.
Doug,
yeah, me too. trying to "keep my GM all GM"
remember those stickers that used to be stuck to the air filter housing on GM vehicles in the 70's and 80's? promoting the use of GM only filters etc? I find it a bit fun to try to source modern stuff from newer vehicles at the pick n pull so my old truck is "all GM" when done. the plus side is the parts are generally all available at any parts store in the middle of nowhere if I have a breakdown sometime. the downside is you gotta remember what the part came from, lol.
nice to see you working on your truck again. I am also finding my old project under a pile of stuff in my shop, haha. working on a rear stepside fender that was squashed in the middle loooooong time ago. this old steel has an attitude and doesn't wanna "conform to my will". it's gonna lose the fight though.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by 67Mal

We’ll be at CTC all week, hope to see you there.
Your truck is looking great!
Malcolm

I'll be on the lookout for you. Will you be bringing the Chevelle?

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

quote.....working on a rear stepside fender that was squashed in the middle loooooong time ago. this old steel has an attitude and doesn't wanna "conform to my will". it's gonna lose the fight though.

Yep, that old steel is tough and thick. You will will win!

[67Mal]

Originally Posted by dug224

I'll be on the lookout for you. Will you be bringing the Chevelle?

We will probably drive the Chevelle down.
I was in hopes of getting a rusty 71 C10
far enough along to haul it down, but that’s not
looking like it will happen.
Malcolm

[slammed57]

Originally Posted by dug224

I'll be on the lookout for you. Will you be bringing the Chevelle?

If everything works to plan. and I get mine done by next summer ,then I'll join you all for next cruisin the coast 2020... Ive never been to it and have been dyin go ,all I hear is thats it a MUST DO! car show hope you all have a good time

[slammed57]

Oh, I forgot to add . I just been reading through your thread for the past 1 1/2 hours. Yours doing a outstanding job my brother

[dug224]

Originally Posted by slammed57

Oh, I forgot to add . I just been reading through your thread for the past 1 1/2 hours. Yours doing a outstanding job my brother

Thanks!!! I may even have some paint on mine by then. I KNOW I'll have AC in it.... I typically go as an observer. Excited to finally participate. See you in '20. dug

[Purcell69]

Man that is coming along nicely!

-Joe

[dug224]

Originally Posted by Purcell69

Man that is coming along nicely!

-Joe

Thanks Joe....it's been a long and mostly enjoyable adventure.

[dug224]

Still working away at getting the AC/Heat in. Mocking up the refrigeration line routes. Got the bulkhead fitting installed in what appears to be the only place it could have gone. A little close to the back edge of the inner fender but it will have to do. You guys that chose to have the AHU in hand early and were able to establish the bulkhead fitting location when the cab was off definitely did he right thing. Still living and learning. Ended up mounting the filter/dryer near the radiator overflow tank since the fittings are all pretty long and I ran out of room to make any decent turns.

Final fitment of the condenser lines.


Inside of firewall where fittings come through. Had to drill and remove a small threaded plate (rusty place between the two lower holes) that I left in place from the factory. Because the bulkhead fitting is not mounted on a flat surface, I ran out of threads and had to shorten the nut on the #10 90 degree refrig fitting so the O-ring would seat.


Final routing with bulkhead fittings loosely in place. I've since moved the HW shutoff valve and heater hoses closest to the engine.

[the1ted]

Three Dug Night-e-mail me plz. tedzeppelin@live.com

[dug224]

Originally Posted by the1ted

Three Dug Night-e-mail me plz. tedzeppelin@live.com

ted...done...dug

[dug224]

So far, real happy with the Southern Rods AC system. Excellent customer service. Had a crack in the fan housing from shipping and a poorly machined fitting in the bulkhead assembly. They replaced them immediately. All but two hoses are complete. Fortunately, I was able to borrow a crimper from a fellow truck guy. Saved a bunch of time and money. I finally found a guy that could TIG the new #8 and #10 fittings onto the factory compressor manifold. All I have left to do is mount it to the compressor, route the last two lines, run the vacuum pump and give it a 134a charge. I left all the wiring long so I have room to relocate things when it comes time to do the center console project. I backed the truck out and ran the heat today. No leaks and plenty of heat especially on a 99 degree F day in Lower Alabama!!! I ended up installing the heater valve that is controlled by the AC/Heat control panel in the engine compartment. Simply could not find enough room in the cab for it and end up with decent turns. Actually worked out better.




There's just about only one way these fittings could be welded onto the manifold and still have all the lines fit. I'll post a photo tomorrow with it in place.


Honda minibikes keep finding me. While at the welding shop, the guy mentioned this '74 Honda Elsinore 50 was for sale and his nephew wanted $100 for it. It's a two stroke. Never even knew they made them. Had to buy it!! I'll send this one on its way as-is since I am supposed to be focusing on the new house.

[dsraven]

a buddy of mine had an elsinore 125 growing up. great little 2 stroker.
good to see forward progress on the truck. I'm sure the a/c will be appreciated in your temps. how do you find your tire sizes as far as gear ration and land speed/rpm? I am thinking of going with 235/60r17 (28.1" tall tire) tires with a 3.73 diff ratio. curious how yours worked out for speed vs rpm at highway cruising speed.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

a buddy of mine had an elsinore 125 growing up. great little 2 stroker.
good to see forward progress on the truck. I'm sure the a/c will be appreciated in your temps. how do you find your tire sizes as far as gear ration and land speed/rpm? I am thinking of going with 235/60r17 (28.1" tall tire) tires with a 3.73 diff ratio. curious how yours worked out for speed vs rpm at highway cruising speed.

Agree. I really wanted a Elsinore 125 back in the day. My parents were pretty aggressive about keeping me off of motorcycles. As a result, I don't have a permanent limp like most of my motorcycle friends!!

Speed vs RPM seem to be reasonable. When driving around town in the 45 +/- range engine rpm I do note that engine speed is at about 1,500 rpm. Never even considered it when choosing the tire size but should have. Just went for the look. I'll soon be driving it more and will gather some more precise information. I photographed the Service Part Identification tag that was in the glove box of the body that came off of my frame. It shows that I have a GT4 (Photo: 1st column 3rd row) rear differential which is the 3.73 ratio as well.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

a buddy of mine had an elsinore 125 growing up. great little 2 stroker.
good to see forward progress on the truck. I'm sure the a/c will be appreciated in your temps. how do you find your tire sizes as far as gear ration and land speed/rpm? I am thinking of going with 235/60r17 (28.1" tall tire) tires with a 3.73 diff ratio. curious how yours worked out for speed vs rpm at highway cruising speed.

Drove it yesterday. 40 mph - 1,550 rpm, 45 mph - 1,600 rpm

[dug224]

Nearly complete on the AC/Heat install. Looks like I got an A+ for installing all the lines with NO leaks!!! Did have a couple of issues, however. The first was that I suddenly lost power to my condenser fans. Did trace it back to the downstream side of the fuse in the EZ Electrical panel. I'll pull it off its mount and try to discover what went wrong. Had a few more spare circuits with wiring in the vicinity so I grabbed a new circuit. Solved. Second problem that still exists is the compressor cycles off after it starts cooling and does not come back on. Remember, the compressor and clutch are not new and are original to the '04 Engine (now 15 years old). I'll look at the AHU mounted thermostat today on the NEW AHU to see if it is faulty. It is the only thing controlling the compressor at this time. I have no pressure limiting switches (low or high) in the system at this time. Once I solve the underlying problem, I'll wire in the factory pressure switch that is located on the compressor manifold I had modified.

Not too clean but it all fits with nothing rubbing. Note that the un-crimped line shown in this photo did get crimped before gassing up. My appreciation of you guys who can make these engine compartments look clean grows daily.


Using my Dad's old Vacuum Pump. Been so long since we used it, the oil was gone. Put some fresh oil in it and it still runs like new.


Stuffed all the new refrigeration and hot water lines among the remote W.S. washer filler, filter dryer, home grown transmission cooling lines, misc. wiring, radiator overflow tank and radiator hoses. Done!!


Went to look at some old Schwinn's yesterday and came home with some garage art for the new house. Couldn't pass at $10 each. Also brought home a fairly rare Schwinn Mini-Twinn (Tandem Stingray) that is missing a few parts. This stuff chases me down.

[dsraven]

Thanks for the rom info, appreciated.
Your beating yourself up on your engine bay, it looks fine.

[dug224]

UPDATE: "Second problem that still exists is the compressor cycles off after it starts cooling and does not come back on."

Turns out, the AHU mounted thermostat is bad/out of calibration OR the sensor is in a bad spot. Was getting supply air temps in the lower 60's. Wired around it and added a manual switch to confirm and to be able to use it until final repair. It dropped supply air temp to 48 degrees F. Plenty of cooling for the cab even on a 90 degree sweltering hot day here in Alabama. Got an email in to Southern Rods explaining my problem. Regardless of their fix, I'll still have to lower the AHU to repair and should be able to do so without blowing the charge.

[dug224]

Update on AC: Southern Rods is sending me a new Thermostat.

Decided to improve the road worthiness of the truck for Cruisin' The Coast so I replaced the differential fluid. Easily a 45 minute job. Eight long hours later, it's almost complete! Seems the plug you remove to check the fluid level was not going to come out in one piece. Broke multiple tools. Used heat, chisels, hammers and all kinds of stuff. Decided to commit to my set of Easy Outs. I managed to precisely drill out almost the entire plug without hitting threads. A first for me. Still no luck. Got out my least effect tool, the pneumatic body saw, and it saved me a again. It is moving up on my list. Cut 4 slices longitudinally and finally managed to get one piece out. The rest followed. Only cut into the threads in one place. When I removed the rear diff. cover, I realized the diff. case is aluminum which may explain why this high mileage rear end whose oil has probably never been changed was fused to the ferrous metal plug. Painted the diff. cover and got a new seal. It should all go back together this morn.


First sign that I the end was in sight.

[dsraven]

wow, looks like a fun time.

what has worked for me in the past is to heat the area some, give the plug a rap or 2 with a hammer and walk away. when it cools off the plug will sometimes give.
another thing I have done that usually works every time is to weld a large nut onto the plug. large enough so you can easily weld inside the threaded area of the nut. in this case I think the plug may have a flange on it so don't weld to that area so a slightly smaller nut would be in order. start the weld on the plug and ensure you follow the weld around the inside of the nut keeping the plug in the weld puddle for max heat and penetration onto the plug. the heat from welding expands the plug and seems to break the corrosion bond between the metals as they heat and expand then cool and contract at different rates. let it cool off completely and then try turning the nut you welded on. this idea also works well for removing a bearing race inside a housing. weld a bead around the inside of the bearing race but ensure not to touch the housing. turn the housing over before you walk away and when you come back sometimes the race is sitting on the floor because it shrunk so much it actually fell out of the housing bore.
anyway, glad you got it out and can carry on.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

wow, looks like a fun time....what has worked for me in the past is ...... is to weld a large nut onto the plug. .....anyway, glad you got it out and can carry on.

Man, for some reason I consistently fail to remember the old weld a bolt to the plug trick. Would have been tight but I'd sure like to have tried it. It's all buttoned up and I survived it. Thanks.