57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'

[knomadd]

That classic instruments fuel sender is pretty neat. It works well and doesn't have a lot of movement in the needle since fuel doesn't slosh around inside the tube. I'm not using mine anymore because my aluminum fuel tank has a raised platform for the sender, so the tank never registered more then 7/8 full. It would come out of the fuel pump vent before it ever read full. You're lucky that you have an indented location in your tank to mount the sender. Had mine been done that way, I'd probably still have it installed.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by knomadd

That classic instruments fuel sender is pretty neat. It works well and doesn't have a lot of movement in the needle since fuel doesn't slosh around inside the tube. I'm not using mine anymore because my aluminum fuel tank has a raised platform for the sender, so the tank never registered more then 7/8 full. It would come out of the fuel pump vent before it ever read full. You're lucky that you have an indented location in your tank to mount the sender. Had mine been done that way, I'd probably still have it installed.

Thanks for mentioning that, Duane. My only info about this style sender is what I've read on the Google. Good to know details from someone who's actually had one installed.

The engine arrived at the freight terminal last Thursday and I picked it up the next day. Trans stuff will be delayed a few weeks due to some sort of problem with the hardened input shaft. Performance Automatics rejected a batch of them so they're running behind on the 4L70E's.

Now that the LS is here, I've got a bunch of detailing to do. The FITech LS intake reminds me of the sign on my wall, "Looks great from 8ft ...after 8pm." The runners and welds are great but the curved top of the unit looks like it was formed by hand. Plus there's a big spot in the middle that appears to have been heated or distressed somehow before anodizing. I'm mulling what I can do to camouflage the whoop-de-do's but haven't landed on a solution yet. The injector wiring is a little easier to address. I welded some ends on a piece of 1x2 aluminum rectangle tubing then cleaned them up. Corner rounded the top edges and milled a decorative slot into the top before opening up the bottom. It fits down over the injector plugs nicely. I still need to trim about 5/8" off the bottom and have them powder coated, but they look better than nothing ...IMHO.

[Vic1947]

The Holley shorty headers arrived this week and are a mixed bag. On the one hand, the overall appearance and welds are very nice. On the other hand, the fit leaves a lot to be desired, plus the included hardware was SAE rather than metric. A straightedge across the flanges revealed fairly large gaps. They may pull down but the torque on the bolts is only 24 ft/lbs. If that doesn't work, you'd have to mill or grind the flanges flat.

Another passenger side issue was interference between the collector ring and the block which forced me to grind the corner of the block for clearance. The driver side doesn't have any block clearance issues, but two of the spark plug boots are hard up against the header tubes. It's like they welded the tubes in at the wrong angle. I'm probably going to make a run at their customer service and see if they can swap them out for some that fit right rather than trying to modify these. This is why I stuck with the stock exhaust manifolds on my last build.

[Vic1947]

The twins that lived next door to us in Houston (our pretend grandkids) were here all week, so progress was hit and miss. Ryan and I worked on assembling a square body model truck kit. Between paint and glue drying, I patched the passenger side fender. I was impressed with the quality of the reproduction parts. They're a nice heavy gauge material AND they actually fit like they should. Pleasant surprise.

The fender had been lightly hit up front and after media blasting I used the hammer and dolly to clean it up a little better. Also used the shrinking tool to bring the flange where the front molding bolts on back to flat. It was good to be able to restore the original sheetmetal which I already know fits very well as opposed to spending more on a reproduction piece that may or may not fit.

[Ol Blue K20]

Sucks about the headers but that fender looks great.

[swamp rat]

Great fender work!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Sucks about the headers but that fender looks great.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Great fender work!

Thanks guys. I'm getting closer to squirting some epoxy primer on the fender pieces. Tomorrow looks like the weather will cooperate. Had 60mph winds and almost a half inch of rain this morning but it's well out of here now.

Haven't heard back from Holley's tech support about the headers so sending them a web contact is not the hot tip. Will call them instead. Shoulda known.

[jhrusk]

Welcome to not so great work of FItech. I hope you don't have any issues. You project is awesome by the way. I look forward to updates

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jhrusk

Welcome to not so great work of FItech. I hope you don't have any issues. You project is awesome by the way. I look forward to updates

Thanks, Jay. I skimmed thru your build thread and man is it ever impressive! You and I share a lot when it comes to how we do stuff. I've had some of the same experiences when outsourcing work. I often think I come across as being too particular, but like yourself, I know what I want.

As for the FITech setup, it came with the crate engine and at least has been tested by the engine builder / dyno shop. We'll see how it performs once I get on the road (next year sometime). The main reason I took a pass on the GM connect and cruise package I used in my last truck build was that GM is of little use if you have a problem. They tell you to take it to any dealer for issues, but when I tried that, they wouldn't even let me roll it off the trailer and told me to take it to an independent shop. This way, if I run into a hitch, I have someone I can call and talk to at least. I'll keep my fingers crossed and thanks for the heads up.

I got some of the parts in epoxy primer the other day. I had a gallon of red oxide left over from a previous build, so pardon the color. The metal repair is coming along slowly. The doors (especially the passenger front door) will need a lot of love. No one sells door patch panels for four door wagons or sedans, so I bought a couple of skins for a two door and will split and modify them to fit mine. Meanwhile there's a lot of work to do on the inner structure before I can address the outsides. I had hoped to have the doors pretty well lined out by the time we go back to pick up the body in mid-August, but it's looking like my goal may have been too ambitious.

[Vic1947]

Been doing some metal work little by little. A couple of "after" shots below to go with the "before" shown above.

I've been on Craigslist and FB marketplace the last few days looking for a decent low buck truck. Hard to find. Most of the low priced stuff is eat up with tinworm and anything nice is beyond my budget. I finally ran across a 2003 Ford F150 XLT I picked up for $2500 that should work. It has a little rust but they covered most of it with wheel flares. Biggest issue is that the driver door is sprung from being whipped open in a 60mph wind. It folded all the way into the front fender and is now hard to close. The drivetrain (5.4L V8 / auto trans) is solid and the interior is nice. I can fix the damage for about $300 in parts. Already have a fender and hinges on the way.

Decided it was just too expensive to keep renting trucks to haul parts around the countryside. When the wagon is finished, I'll put the truck up for sale and maybe wind up ahead in the cost department. If I do, it will be a first, but hope springs eternal.

[Ol Blue K20]

I'll probably get strung up for saying this. But, the F150 looks very serviceable. You can't beat the price......

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

I'll probably get strung up for saying this. But, the F150 looks very serviceable. You can't beat the price......

I agree, Dale, I think it will be a good work truck and it was the best I could do at that price point. This will be the fourth Ford I've owned and I've only had one "Found On Road Dead" experience previously, so statistically I'm ahead.

I went to Sedalia yesterday expecting to pick up my powder coating, but it wasn't quite done, so I brought home what was and will return for the rest next week. What I really wanted was to have my buddy Steve cut out the vinyl I bought to cover the FITech intake. Unfortunately, my measurements left a bit to be desired, so I revised the drawing and will have him re-do it next week.

Meanwhile here's some photos of what it looks like. The close up shows the pattern, but when you're several feet away, you don't really see it. Instead, it looks like a textured surface. I does hide all the ugly on the top of the intake, though. I'm on the fence about the 6.2 LS3 embossed emblem. Without an identifier, some folks at the cruise-ins ask what the engine is. But still, the emblem may be a bit too much.

[mongocanfly]

That looks great Vic..!!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

That looks great Vic..!!

Thanks, Greg.

The coil covers present a different problem. Seems like whenever you attempt to polish cast aluminum, it never goes well. The Holley covers are rippled and striated from the factory polishing process. The photos don't show it as well as in person, but for what they cost, they look like warmed over death. I picked these because they had the "Chevrolet" script cast into the cover in a way that resembled the early small block valve covers. The script looks great but everywhere else... not so much. Right now, I'm leaning toward glass beading just the covers and powder coating them silver. I hate to give up the polished look I paid extra for, but I hate how they look out of the box. Sure Coat offers a "chrome" coating, but you need to spray urethane clear over it to protect it. Otherwise, it deteriorates very quickly. You don't want to use clear powder over it as it changes the color too much. Decisions, decisions.

[mongocanfly]

im slowly losing faith in holley...lately near evrything ive bought holley has made in china on it....
sucks about the polish job...i bet theyd look good black or similar to the intake...

[notsolo]

Read through your project again, awesome. The chassis and wheels are nicely displayed, the engine is looking amazing. If not happy with the covers, like you said bead blast them except the script, maybe paint or powder coat charcoal to match the top cover. Orange or red over the script would look good too.....2 cents added..?Your Metal work is really nice...Makes my project look positively average.

[Low Elco]

Good lookin' stuff!

[Clyde65]

May I make a suggestion on the headers? Send them back and order some CSLS1 shortie headers from Sanderson. I have them on my LS and had absolutely no fitment issues...10 years ago and they are still great!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

im slowly losing faith in holley...lately near evrything ive bought holley has made in china on it....
sucks about the polish job...i bet theyd look good black or similar to the intake...

Me too, Greg.

Originally Posted by notsolo

Read through your project again, awesome. The chassis and wheels are nicely displayed, the engine is looking amazing. If not happy with the covers, like you said bead blast them except the script, maybe paint or powder coat charcoal to match the top cover. Orange or red over the script would look good too.....2 cents added..?Your Metal work is really nice...Makes my project look positively average.

Thanks! The covers have been bead blasted and will get silver powder coat next week. Will post pics when I get them back.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Good lookin' stuff!

Thanks, Chip. I need to get down your way to see the truck progress. Your dad showed me some pics on Instagram the other day and it's looking great.

Originally Posted by Clyde65

May I make a suggestion on the headers? Send them back and order some CSLS1 shortie headers from Sanderson. I have them on my LS and had absolutely no fitment issues...10 years ago and they are still great!

I may have to go that route. Ship date for the replacements from Summit have been pushed back to 8/30. Still don't know if they will fit any better. If I were to go to with the Sanderson headers, I'll need to wait for a Black Friday sale, though.

I haven't been posting thanks to my "work truck" fiasco. I took it in for inspection and the mechanic implied I should push it off a cliff and start over with something else. Never being one to shrink from a challenge, I proceeded to replace nearly all the front end components, shocks, the gutted parking brake assemblies, and assorted filters, belts and etc. At the same time I replaced the driver side door hinges and check strap along with the fender on that side. Beat the dents out of the door panel and painted it all. My color match sucks, but at least it works like new.

Once the truck was done and had tags, I got back on the '57. I'm rebuilding the lower part of the doors piece by homemade piece. In my spare time, I disassembled the Roadster Shop chassis and have it ready to go to Sure Coat this coming week.

I also got word the Performance Automatics 4L70E tranny will be delivered on Wednesday. That should be the final drivetrain component from Ohio Speed. The stainless trim is finished and the body shell is nearing completion. It should be finished with e-coating and ready for pickup in a week or so. Lots of things coming all together at once. Kathy has pretty well recovered from her final chemo treatment and is doing great. She starts four weeks of radiation on 9/3. We're ready to put all this in the rearview mirror.

[CG]

Im curious to see what this dip and coat job is. Never heard of it before.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by CG

Im curious to see what this dip and coat job is. Never heard of it before.

It's a lot like the black EDP coating that comes on reproduction body parts. The folks at Restoration Specialists in WI oversaw the process. They do the chemical stripping and then bolt the body and or parts to a large metal frame after the final rinse. It is then transported to an outfit in MI that does the coating. Probably the best way to describe it is a "wet" powder coat. The parts bolted to the fixture are placed in a large tank. Water with paint suspended in it fills the tank. They apply an electric current to the metal and the paint is drawn to all the surfaces, inside and out. They drain the tank, rinse and then bake the parts in an oven. I think there's more to it than that, but in general, that's how it's done.

The finished product is quite nice. There is just enough gloss to be able to see every little hiccup in the body. Any area that needs body work can be sanded and recoated with self etching primer or epoxy. The rest of the panels can be scuffed with Scotch Brite or whatever you prefer prior to applying 2K primer and paint.

It's not 100% perfect. There are a few very small spots where it appears the coating was contaminated by something or other. They'll sand out easily though and a quick shot of self etch primer will make them good as new.

[Ol Blue K20]

Sounds like an expensive process. But it probably helps with corrosion were we can't reach.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Sounds like an expensive process. But it probably helps with corrosion were we can't reach.

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't but when I compare it to other methods, I'm desperately trying to convince myself I got my money's worth. I had them do the body shell and the hood and it was a little over $3K. Plus, I had the expense of transporting the parts to and from WI. But in the end, I know every bit of the tinworm is gone and the raw metal has a protective layer over it that should last forever.

The hood by itself was around $250 and looks like brand new. Danchuk gets $800 plus freight for a comparable piece made in the USA. While it's true I could have used aircraft stripper or a DA to remove much of the nasty, it would still not have been as thorough. There's a guy locally that can media blast parts without warping them, but he charges around $250/hr plus materials. So there's that.

It's no wonder so many rodders have fallen in love with "patina".

[CG]

Seems like a good process. I always hear chemical dipping does a great job but there is a chance of chemical left in tiny nooks and crannies. This process sounds like it takes care of that possible problem and gets where you cant get with rust preventative surfacer.

[mongocanfly]

Looks good Vic..