Frankentruck

[Johns 66]

Truck looks good....Love to see younger people so involved with these trucks

[roll_the_dice]

I enjoy reading your thread...because, like John said, I enjoy younger people that love old cars and trucks Good job on everything.

[cwcarpenter98]

Thanks John and Andy! It's been a fun project, and I've been able to spend a bunch of time with my dad working on it



Today's update:

Still haven't figured out why the overdrive won't engage, but the truck drives great as a regular 3 speed. It is definitely something electrical related. I believe the relay works, the kickdown switch is new, and I took the wiring harness apart today and fixed the last few areas that needed to be fixed. I still need to check the governor and the solenoid tomorrow, but I don't think I will be driving the truck back to Milledgeville on Saturday. That really sucks, but that's how it goes sometimes

[Johns 66]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Thanks John and Andy! It's been a fun project, and I've been able to spend a bunch of time with my dad working on it



Today's update:

Still haven't figured out why the overdrive won't engage, but the truck drives great as a regular 3 speed. It is definitely something electrical related. I believe the relay works, the kickdown switch is new, and I took the wiring harness apart today and fixed the last few areas that needed to be fixed. I still need to check the governor and the solenoid tomorrow, but I don't think I will be driving the truck back to Milledgeville on Saturday. That really sucks, but that's how it goes sometimes

Its so awesome that you are getting to work on your truck with your Dad...you will have these memories forever.

You can figure out the tranny issue Im sure....Mine has a late lockup valve so I don't have a wiring harness that goes with mine

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Johns 66

Mine has a late lockup valve so I don't have a wiring harness that goes with mine

All those memories are why I don't want to sell the truck even if it has to sit for awhile.

Is your trans a 700r4? Mine is a Muncie sm319 from a 65 truck. Same length as the old 3 OTT, but has a planetary gear set in place of the tailshaft. When functioning properly, the trans is designed to shift in and out of overdrive by itself. I have a plan tomorrow to execute after work so I can hopefully get it to work right

[roll_the_dice]

Hey Christian...do you remember what color green you painted your valve covers and other engine parts? Thanks

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by roll_the_dice

Hey Christian...do you remember what color green you painted your valve covers and other engine parts? Thanks

I used a rattle can because that's all I have access to. Detroit Diesel Green, also known as Alpine Green. I think it was Duplicolor brand, but I don't remember the brand for sure. It's the closest match to the 292 and 327 color in rattle can form, and I like it better than painting the engine grey

[straight6chevyguy]

Wow! I don't know why I didn't look at this thread sooner!
This is one cool truck build!

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by straight6chevyguy

Wow! I don't know why I didn't look at this thread sooner!
This is one cool truck build!

Thanks! Sometimes I hate it, and other times I love it

[cwcarpenter98]

Well, I have some unfortunate news... Solenoid is bad. Full of gear oil, which causes them to fail, and won't do anything when I put direct power to it. I did pull the governor out and check it, and it seems that it is ok. The governor isn't really a common failure point like the solenoid is, so I'm not too concerned about that part

[Johns 66]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

All those memories are why I don't want to sell the truck even if it has to sit for awhile.

Is your trans a 700r4? Mine is a Muncie sm319 from a 65 truck. Same length as the old 3 OTT, but has a planetary gear set in place of the tailshaft. When functioning properly, the trans is designed to shift in and out of overdrive by itself. I have a plan tomorrow to execute after work so I can hopefully get it to work right

Yeah mine is a 700R4....Luckily for me my brother in law has been building transmissions for 30+ years.....so the cost is cheap...He likes beer...LOL

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Well, I have some unfortunate news... Solenoid is bad. Full of gear oil, which causes them to fail, and won't do anything when I put direct power to it. I did pull the governor out and check it, and it seems that it is ok. The governor isn't really a common failure point like the solenoid is, so I'm not too concerned about that part

Good news is you found out the issue and now you can fix it...Im sure once its fixed your mileage will be a lot better

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Johns 66

Yeah mine is a 700R4....Luckily for me my brother in law has been building transmission for 30+ years.....so they cost is cheap...He likes beer...LOL



Good news is you found out the issue and now you can fix it...Im sure once its fixed your mileage will be a lot better

Lol, that's a great exchange system

It is good that I figured out the problem, but it is bad in that fixing said problem is not cheap

[Johns 66]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Lol, that's a great exchange system

It is good that I figured out the problem, but it is bad in that fixing said problem is not cheap

The gas you save will make it look free..lol

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Johns 66

The gas you save will make it look free..lol

I sure hope so! Once it is working right, I think it will be a neat transmission

[roll_the_dice]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

I used a rattle can because that's all I have access to. Detroit Diesel Green, also known as Alpine Green. I think it was Duplicolor brand, but I don't remember the brand for sure. It's the closest match to the 292 and 327 color in rattle can form, and I like it better than painting the engine grey

Thank you! Love that color on engines. I have a new crate motor in black, I am thinking about painting.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by roll_the_dice

Thank you! Love that color on engines. I have a new crate motor in black, I am thinking about painting.

Anytime, man. I say go for it! I think it will look good if you are keeping the exterior white

[cwcarpenter98]

Yesterday morning I messed with the solenoid some more. I read on several places online that I needed to make sure the contact points were adjusted properly. Mine were nowhere near close, so I spent some time cleaning and adjusting them.

I went to Macon yesterday with my friends, so I didn't get a chance to test it until today after church. I hooked up the solenoid to the battery in my Civic with jumper cables because that was all I had .

Sure enough, the shaft snapped out just like it was supposed to! I will be going home on Friday to install the solenoid, with a new seal at the trans, and hopefully have overdrive!

[cwcarpenter98]

I have been tossing around the idea of lowering the truck a little. Only a 2/2 or 2/3 drop to just tighten up the fender to tire gap in the front, but still keep a nice rake and stance to the truck.

My dilemma is that I have stock height, disc brake spindles that are 3 years old, but don't have a lot of miles on them. I also don't want to sacrifice ride quality and towing ability.

From my understanding, a drop spindle is the best way to go for the front, and I was thinking about a drop block for the rear so I can use factory rated springs.

Just kicking this idea around, and was wondering if anyone has any ideas or suggestions TIA!

[Johns 66]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

I have been tossing around the idea of lowering the truck a little. Only a 2/2 or 2/3 drop to just tighten up the fender to tire gap in the front, but still keep a nice rake and stance to the truck.

My dilemma is that I have stock height, disc brake spindles that are 3 years old, but don't have a lot of miles on them. I also don't want to sacrifice ride quality and towing ability.

From my understanding, a drop spindle is the best way to go for the front, and I was thinking about a drop block for the rear so I can use factory rated springs.

Just kicking this idea around, and was wondering if anyone has any ideas or suggestions TIA!

Heres what I have been told and know.....so take that with a grain of salt.....If you want to lower your truck you will sacrifice something...not really sure what but that's what "They" say...whoever They is...…

If you wanna drop the front...use stock springs and drop spindles...maintains ride quality....don't know if it does or not...again its from "They" but makes sense.

Now as far as lowering the back...well Im pretty sure you will lose in towing weight...the tongue plus bed weight.

Me myself I decided against doing the 2/4 drop

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Johns 66

Heres what I have been told and know.....so take that with a grain of salt.....If you want to lower your truck you will sacrifice something...not really sure what but that's what "They" say...whoever They is...…

If you wanna drop the front...use stock springs and drop spindles...maintains ride quality....don't know if it does or not...again its from "They" but makes sense.

Now as far as lowering the back...well Im pretty sure you will lose in towing weight...the tongue plus bed weight.

Me myself I decided against doing the 2/4 drop

Thanks John, I think we gathered information from similar sources

I like the idea of spindles and stock springs in the front, but I would need to acquire a set of drop spindles and sell my stock height ones.

On the rear, I just want to still be able to tow my dad's 84 Champion bass boat. Still trying to convince him to let me bring it down to Milledgeville with me.. not successful yet.. Lake Sinclair is only a 15 minute drive

[cwcarpenter98]

This weekend has been a busy one, and I have not had much time for the internets.

Drove home on Friday after I was done with classes so I could put the solenoid back in. Got the solenoid back in, but was not getting power to the solenoid even though the relay was clicking. I had used the relay that was still bolted to the truck. Once the sun went down, I was too cold to continue working outside, so I went in for the night.

Saturday morning, I sold the Chevy Luv center caps that I mistakenly bought for my truck rallies. Made 10 bucks off of them, so that was nice.

After that, I tested the old relay and confirmed that it was bad. I tested the relay that came with the transmission, and thankfully it still worked. Plugged it up and took the truck on a test drive.

Test drive of about 5 miles went well with no issues, so I decided to risk it for the biscuit and drive back to Milledgeville that evening. Loaded up the stuff I needed and hit the road around 4. Had a couple of stops to make for some friends who needed stuff from home, so I ended up rolling in to Milledgeville a couple minutes after 7.

Frankentruck performed great, and it was super nice to be able to cruise down the interstate without feeling like the engine would sling a rod out the side of the block

I still need to figure out if the speedo is accurate (yes, I also need a new odometer, but that will happen eventually).

I definitely got better MPGs with the overdrive. Frankentruck feels like a whole new truck, and I am excited to see what road trips I will go on next.

[Johns 66]

Glad you got it fixed Christian...I know that is a welcomed sight.

[roll_the_dice]

You beat me to it John! Congrats Christian...I know you feel better now!

[cwcarpenter98]

Thanks guys, I was smiling ear to ear almost the entire time on the interstate. That's something that almost never happens

[jhrusk]

U gonna have to give me a demo one day. Lol