2 for 1 Part II...

[aggie91]

This weekend was a good one for this truck!

My wife let me have pretty much the whole day on Saturday to work on it. I did a few things around the house too, and I grilled venison burgers for Lunch that day, they where awsome! I stopped around 5:00 pm so that we could great ready to go to a get together with her Women's Bible class. That was a good time.

Anyway, I finished all the wiring for the engine and got the ground straps in place. I tested all the systems and everything checked out OK except for two fuel fittings that leaked. Luckly these were easy to reach and a quick tightening with a couple of wrenches and we were good. I need to get a couple of male spade terminals for a couple of wires for the ALDL connector install, but it is all wired and ready to go.



This motor has been sitting since Jan 26, 2014. I changed out the oil and filter and made sure there was fuel in all the lines and pressure against the rails. I did a quick bump of the starter with the relays for the fuel and coils removed. I heard a noise that did not sound right to me (like something was loose) so I had to check it out. Turns out I never put the torque convertor bolts in when we put the trans and engine back together when we dropped the combo in this truck back in the summer. So, I found the bolts and got that corrected. Put the relays back in and tried again. It came to life like it should.

It had A LOT of oil smoke on the first start up come out of the exhaust, but has seemed to diminish the next couple of times we started it up. Since it did not have any water in it, I only let it run a minute or so this first time.

Sunday after lunch, we put water in the cooling system and started it up again. I let it run a bit longer, the smoke was less, but there is a funny sound coming from the top side. Not like a rod knock or a lifter tapping, but something. It has good oil pressure at idle, but it is hard to pin point the sound since there is no exhaust on it yet. I think it maybe just from sitting for so long, but not sure. Found a water leak where I installed the temp sender, so I will need to correct that this week. I will finish up the cooling fans and get the new range selector switch installed this week too and shoot to get some form of an exhaust on it before starting it up again. This next time I will let it come up to full operating temperature and see if the sound changes or goes away. This motor has well over 200k miles on it so I am going to chance it that the sound in nothing major at this time....

Here is a pic of the grill with the new headlights and turn signals installed. I do not think this grill had ever been out of the truck till I got it. It was cracked and broken in a few places, but all the bits and pieces where there. I cleaned it up and glued are the parts back together. It mounted up good and seems firm in there.

[aggie91]

Here is something I tought I would share with y'all.

Here is a hole in the firewall of this truck that I needed to plug up, but I did not want to put in a plastic or rubber plug in it. We have these metal hole plugs with seals at work for our electrical boxes. They are a Hoffman Conduit Hole Seal product that you can get a electrical supply houses. Here is the one I used, it is for a 1" emt conduit hole, the cover is 1.5" diameter. Theya re about $10-15 each. This one is brushed stainless, but that have them in a paintable gray finish too.


Here is the hole I need to cover up. It was originally for the kick down wires for the TH400 that was in this truck.


Here is the plug installed and finished. It is sealed using the black foam gasket in the first picture. The firewall is sandwiched between the SS cap and gasket and the silver/gray back up washer that is held on with the wing nut to the stud welded to the back of the SS cap.


I think it looks clean and is a simple solution. This is a great way to cover holes without having to do any welding and/or paint and bodywork.

[Raceaprilia]

Love the radiator holder.

[aggie91]

Originally Posted by Raceaprilia

Love the radiator holder.

I think it fits the trucks name...

[LSX408]

Nice work, love the direction you took with this truck! Can't wait to LS swap mine.

[aggie91]

Worked on the truck a bit more over the weekend. Got hte hood latch to work correctly and its now functional and back on. Finished up the wiring under the dash and put the bezel and dash pad back on. The connector and terminals for the transmission range selector switch came in on Sat. so that part got repaired and put back on. I put on a couple of 4' sections of pipe just after the collectors and fired the truck back up. This time I let it run a full heat cycle to get it up to operating temp and get the cooling system filled with water. With the extra length of pipe and a quart of Lucas oil treatment added to the engine, the troublesome sound I was hearing has gone away. I bet it was just from sitting for a year. The smoking and oil dripping from the exhaust is now gone too.

Major items left to work on are the cooling fans, the transmission cooler and lines, and getting the seat installed. Owen and I worked on the seat a bit on Sunday and relized the sliders that I have will not work with the seat frame and the floor. I think these sliders came from a 1980 Suburban and the seat frame is from a 1982 C10 truck. It looks like to me, the sliders and the seat frame changed some time in the progression of that body style. Should not be an issue IF I can find the correct sliders at the pick your part yard this week.

[aggie91]

I went to Lowe's last night to get some house stuff. While I was there I looked at some aluminum trim that is labeled as edging for 3/4" plywoood. I had the great idea that I could use that for fabricating mounts for the cooling fans. So for about $15, I got an 8 foot stick and 10 each of a #8 SS machine screws and lock nuts.

I got home and looked at what needed to be done and came up with a plan to make my mounts for the fans. I used a hacksaw, file, drill with a 11/64" bit, and a 6" cresent wrench to make the mounts.

The radiator has a flange on the top and bottom that I made a clamp out of the trim to attach the mounts to the radiator. There are 4 ears on the fan shround that are now attached to the mounts with the screws and notches in one flange of the trim. Here are pics of the what I came up with and where I stopped last night.





The top and bottom edges for the shroud extend past the mounting surface of the channels, so I marked where I need to trim that off at tonight. I need to get some 3/4" wide weather stripping to line the side that sits on the radiator of the mounts and shroud. Once I have that, I will get this whole set up mounted.

Here is where I need to trim:


That's where I cleaned up and called it a night. I will take a picture of how the "clamp" part holds it to the radiator tonight when I get them mounted.

[SamsAutoParts73-87]

just wanted to mention just in case you are not aware, the suburban seat sliders are not the same as the pickup sliders, if your seat is from an 82 you should be fine using 1978-1987 sliders from a 2DR pickup (crew cabs used suburban sliders).

Looks great so far, your helping to convince me to do an LS conversion on one of my trucks in the near future.

-Sam

[aggie91]

Thanks Sam. I went to the U-pull-it yard on Saturday. I learned a few things about seat sliders. First truck I found with a bench seat in it was about an '83 model. Pulled the seat out and flipped it over. To my suprise the brackets where COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from any that I had seen before. SO, I can tell you from experience that there are ATLEAST 3 different styles of seat sliders for bench seats in these trucks.

I finally found a seat and sliders that where the correct ones that I was looking for. I pulled those and took 'em with me. I should have got the whole seat since the foam was in realy good shape, but I did not want to spend another $100 for the seat...

[aggie91]

I did a VERY small amount of work over the weekend. I pulled the radiator to mount the fans. Here it is all mounted up and ready to go back in.



Here are some detail shots of how my "clamps" work to hold the shroud to the radiator:



Here is the harness I made for the fan motors. It ties the grounds together and ends up with 3 wires going over to the dual relays that will control the fans. Last picture is the start of the relay block...




My Trans crossmember came in yesterday, but I did not have time to open it or get any work done...

[aggie91]

Originally Posted by SamsAutoParts73-87

just wanted to mention just in case you are not aware, the suburban seat sliders are not the same as the pickup sliders, if your seat is from an 82 you should be fine using 1978-1987 sliders from a 2DR pickup (crew cabs used suburban sliders).

Looks great so far, your helping to convince me to do an LS conversion on one of my trucks in the near future.

-Sam

One other thing about the sliders I had, the rear two holes are too close together to mount to the seat frame and the distance from the single front hole to the rear two holes is about 1.5"-2" short. They would not even bolt to the seat frame correctly. They lined up to the holes in the floor of the cab fine...

The sliders I did find at the yard came from the rear seat of a crew cab truck. I do not think they were the OEM ones since they where mounted to the floor of the cab with large sheetmeal screws instead of the correct bolts into the weld nuts on the floor.

[SamsAutoParts73-87]

The crew cab rear seats originally mounting with fixed brackets, but seats are a common mod on these trucks, I even had an 81 K20 with a F*rd seat complete with its original F*rd sliders!

[aggie91]

Time for updates that have happened recently...

Got the Trans Dapt universal 3" drop transmission crossmember installed. I changed to this one over the fctory crossmember because I did not like how I would need to run the exhaust....This one fits my exhaust idea better now.



I got it lined up and had to drill 4 holes in each side of the frame for the mounts, got lucky and there was a factory hole that lined up with one hole of the mount. Made locating and drilling a snap from the outside of the frame.

[aggie91]

We had great weather here over the weekend. I had stopped at the local Parker Store on my way home Friday and picked up a few fittings for my Transmission cooler install. I decided to use the smaller factory cooler and the cooler in the radiator tank for my system on this truck.

The fluid goes from the trans to the top fitting of the radiator tank cooler, then out the bottom to the bottom of the air to fluid cooler behind the grill, then returns to the transmission. I used the tubing sections from factory lines that use the spring clips to hold them in place in the fittings.

Here is the air to fluid cooler, factory 2000 Chevy Silverado cooler...


Here are the fittings and hard lines I used...

I ended up cutting down the black hard lines more during the install. The lines in the pictures is after cutting them from the rubber lines at the wrecking yard...

Mounted the cooler to the core support infront of the radiator. Might have to move it for the AC condensor, I think I left enought space between them, but I will cross that bridge when I get there...


Lines done coming in and out of the front cooler...


Here you can see the lines coming in and out of the radiator tank...




The rubber line and brass fittings are Parker Push Lock hose. The hoses from the transmission run along the inside of the frame rail and use a -6 JIC (AN) bulkhead fitting to pass thru the top flange of the frame. I think it looks clean give that I used factory parts and some compression fittings without having to bend any tube...I have about $52 in fittings just in this set up...

Thats where it ends for now...

[GAc10boy]

Looks great! killer progress.

[aggie91]

I am getting the itch to drive this thing. Stuff keeps getting in my way of finishing it...

I got a little time last night after work to work on the exhaust for the truck. I was going to reuse the complete exhaust system from Sunburn, but that would not work with the engine placement and trans crossmember on this truck. It also has a big hole just past the X pipe in one tube from the wreck when the drive shaft came out and the yoke poked the hole in the tube.


Since the system would not fit and it has a big hole that would need repair, I decided to cut it up...I used a hose clamp to mark my cut so that I can make a square cut with a cut off wheel in a 4-1/2" grinder. I made the cut just in front of the cut-outs after the X pipe.


After getting them cut apart and the cuts deburred, I figured out where to mount them and measured for the pipe from the header collector to the reused parts. I ended up cutting 2-1/2" off the 48" straight pipes I had. Once all the cuts where made and cleaned up I had both sides of my exhaust made up.


It was dark by this time, so I will hang it and take installed pics later. I think I will make an H pipe for this set up as it will be easier to install and will give me a seat of the pants comparison between X pipe and H pipe for the exact same set up. No dyno numbers to prove anything, but just a feel and sound comparison.

[aggie91]

Well over the last couple of weeks, I have gotten the exhaust hung under the truck, the rear shock mounts fab'd up and shocks mounted, changed out the bolts in the trans mount for the correct grade 8 ones, and got the seat mounted in the truck.

On Saturday before the weather turned crappy, I was able to take it out for a spin. Seemed to ride OK for now, but noticed that the trans did not work right in 1st or reverse. Took it home and checked the trans fluid (which I had already done once while it was on stands), well it was low. It took 2 quarts to get it full. I was dark by then, so I did not take it back out to see if that was the problem.

Yesterday was the Dayton 500 and I was scheduled to leave for a business trip to Milwaukee, so nothing got done.

Wasted 5 hours going to the airport and having flights delayed and cancelled because of the weather. I decided not to go since I had a flight cancelled and now would miss the whole first day of the training. So, I came home before the weather really got bad. So, this morning its freezing rain here and expected to get worse today. Wife and kids had school cancelled so they are home warm and dry and I'm at work...

[Raceaprilia]

On post #43 and 44 u mentioned electronic spedometer that u got. Did u ever hooked it up or I missed that? I got same cluster today but need to hook it up and dont want to use it as learning tool and end up buying another lol. Thanks

[aggie91]

Mine is hooked up and works, but my PCM needs to be reflashed for the gear change and tire diameter so that it is correct.

I had to swap pins around on the connector in the harness that plugs into the back of the cluster. I do remember that pin #18 is for the speedo and it takes the VSS signal wire from the PCM in that position.

There are other pins that have to be swapped too for the other gauges and the turnsignals and such to work correctly. I don't have the info with me now to post here, but I will see what I can get together tonight...

[68Timber]

That cross-member let you run straight pipe from the collectors to the muffs? How much clearance and how low are the collectors?

[Hankster]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Time for updates that have happened recently...

Got the Trans Dapt universal 3" drop transmission crossmember installed. I changed to this one over the fctory crossmember because I did not like how I would need to run the exhaust....This one fits my exhaust idea better now.



I got it lined up and had to drill 4 holes in each side of the frame for the mounts, got lucky and there was a factory hole that lined up with one hole of the mount. Made locating and drilling a snap from the outside of the frame.

Do you have a part number for that cross member, and do you mind telling me how much it costed you?

[aggie91]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

That cross-member let you run straight pipe from the collectors to the muffs? How much clearance and how low are the collectors?

Originally Posted by Hankster

Do you have a part number for that cross member, and do you mind telling me how much it costed you?

Here is the part number i ordered from Jegs.com:

#969-4539 TRANS CROSSMEMBER $69.99

The exhaust is 2.5" OD and yes, there is a straight pipe from the header to the muffler on this truck. It does not hang below the frame more than about 1/2" at the collector. The collector is actually up in the frame and the 45 degree bend I added to the collector reducer is what actually hangs below the frame. When viewed from the side, you barely notice the exhaust and none of it is below the factroy front crossmember or the gas tanks mounting brackets. Over all I am please with what I put together, but I do want to add a crossover pipe to the system.


I sent off the PCM yesterday, my tuner should get it on Saturday and turn it around so that I have it sometime next week. Hopefully next weekend I can finish up the small stuff for the engine & trans and take it for a spin. If it all works out, I just need to inspect and register it so I can start driving it.

[Hankster]

Thanks for the reply sir!

[aggie91]

Well I woke up this morning to a small amount of a wintery mix. Looks like about a 1/2" of accumulation. Wife and Kids have a delayed start of school today, but the roads looked good on my way to work.

Thought I would snap a picture as I walked out to my dailly driver...

White Trash looking like Snow White this morning...


Still waiting on my PCM to return. He got it on Monday and we spoke breifly on Tuesday. I should have it by Monday I hope...

[aggie91]

Well, here it goes. This is what I did for the temp sensor, so I was drilling into the water jacket and did NOT want any chips/savings getting into the water jacket.

Since I already had a hole in the head, there was no need to center punch the location.

To keep the chips out, I packed the flutes of the drill bit with wheel bearing grease. Once I started drilling, I went slow and pulled the bit out to check on chip build up. As I checked, I wiped off the chips and replaced the grease as needed. It worked really well.

When I tapped the hole, I did the same thing, pack the flutes of the tap with grease.

I was pleased with the results and looked in with a flash light and did not see any chips inside.


Since you are not taping into a water jacket and each hole should be a blind hole, I would just center punch the location of each hole, drill a pilot hole with a 1/4" drill bit. Step up to the 5/16" drill (drill size for a 3/8"-16 thread). Use a drill stop so you do not go too deep. I think the holes are only 1/2"-3/4" deep. Verify this before drilling...

Tap the hole with the correct taps. SInce it is a blind hole, I would start with a taper tap and go till the tap bottoms out in the hole. Switch to a Bottom Tap and tap the hole again till the tap bottoms out.

I would just cover the rest of the engine and tape off any openings there might be to avoid the potential for any stray chips getting into anything. I do not think you need to use the grease trick...