How to: Ruin a perfectly good C10

[gringoloco]

These things always come apart easier than they go back together... it’s getting a full inspection, cleanup, and reseal before getting stabbed back in for the (hopefully) last time. Finding lots of little things wrong, so I’m glad I decided to tear into it. Fingers crossed for full function and no leaks

[smbrouss70]

Get it taken care of before it hits the road. Smart guy!

[mcbassin]

Awesome progress Chris! digging the stick shift!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by smbrouss70

Get it taken care of before it hits the road. Smart guy!

Well, I don’t know if I’m smart so much as I hate leaks. Prolly should have chosen a different trans for that, as I’m learning that marking territory is part of the Muncie charm, but I’m doing everything I can to make it as dry as possible. Maybe someday I’ll grab a t56 or TKO cheap...

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Awesome progress Chris! digging the stick shift!

Thanks a lot, I’m just ready to get it stabbed and get to rowin’ gears

On that note, it’s back together with no major parts still laying on the bench, seems to be functioning properly, and is almost ready to stab. Need to torque a new front bearing nut and plumb the hydro throwout first...

[gringoloco]

Got the hydro slave all setup and plumbed, then stabbed the tranny back in for the (fingers-crossed) last time. Once it was in place, I got to assembling the entirely too complicated Hurst shift linkages. I am happy to report that it all seems to be working properly and that the throw is actually nice and compact, despite the extra-long shift lever.

[gringoloco]

...and fabbed up a mounting bracket for a modified set of ICT Billet coil relocators to bolt to the back of the cylinder heads. These are designed to stack the coils in a row; I rearranged them to suit my needs and to fit the space I have available. Mounted them back where a distributor would be to maintain the small-block ruse

[TexasLS1]

Holy crap that is awesome

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by TexasLS1

Holy crap that is awesome

Yes it is.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by TexasLS1

Holy crap that is awesome

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Yes it is.

Thanks dudes! We won’t talk about how many different ways I flipped the coils and brackets around before settling on this setup that just barely fits, but fit it does...

[65StreetCruiser]

The end result is all that matters, my friend! Everything that you are doing is spot on!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by 65StreetCruiser

The end result is all that matters, my friend! Everything that you are doing is spot on!

Thanks, Kevin. Much appreciated. Let’s just see if it actually runs and drives after all of this...

Still chipping away as I poked a couple of 9/16” holes in my nice, shiny valve covers tonight for the PCV system. More to come on this as I finish up with all of the plumbing hopefully tomorrow.

The -6an bulkhead elbow fittings are on the back side of the valve covers, near the firewall where it is starting to get a little crowded. What’s that saying about putting 10 lbs of something in a 5 lb sack?

[67chevemall]

Stellar man. Looks great! good work.
And thanks for taking that bed off, I was worried at first.
3 hours later page 77 all is great

[67chevemall]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Got the hydro slave all setup and plumbed, then stabbed the tranny back in for the (fingers-crossed) last time. Once it was in place, I got to assembling the entirely too complicated Hurst shift linkages. I am happy to report that it all seems to be working properly and that the throw is actually nice and compact, despite the extra-long shift lever.

Please show more of the throw out bearing set up when you can.
Complete awesomeness.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by 67chevemall

Stellar man. Looks great! good work.
And thanks for taking that bed off, I was worried at first.
3 hours later page 77 all is great

Originally Posted by 67chevemall

Please show more of the throw out bearing set up when you can.
Complete awesomeness.

Haha, yep, that bed had to go! Thanks for hopping in and appreciate the positive comments

As for the hydro TOB, it is a Ram 78125HD, which reviews well, is rebuildable, and looks and feels like a quality unit. It setup nice and easy using all but one of the provided shims, though I did have to extend the locating pin. No real pictures of it at this point as it is tucked away safely inside the bell housing. Will update here once it’s all bled and (hopefully) functioning properly.

[knomadd]

Nice work on the coils. I had that idea floating around in my head but thought it would be too difficult and time consuming, so I moved on. Looks like it worked out great! Maybe I should rethink this...

Do you have some sort of baffle on the valve cover fittings to keep oil from coming out through those fittings?

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Nice work on the coils. I had that idea floating around in my head but thought it would be too difficult and time consuming, so I moved on. Looks like it worked out great! Maybe I should rethink this...

Do you have some sort of baffle on the valve cover fittings to keep oil from coming out through those fittings?

The coils honestly weren’t too big of a deal to do. I think if I took some more time, I could come up with something a little more compact, but this worked well for a modified off-the-shelf solution.

As for the PCV fittings, yes, the “dirty” side will be baffled, using vacuum hose connected to the internal valvecover baffle (pictures of this coming soon). The “clean” side shouldn’t need to be baffled, as it will only be providing fresh air into the crankcase. I also decided to use Earl’s stat-o-seals (rubber o-ringed crush washers) on the fittings to help quell any oil leaks at the bulkhead pass-through.

[gringoloco]

Special delivery today, couldn’t help but to go ahead and install the “easy” stuff:

[65StreetCruiser]

Wow!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Do you have some sort of baffle on the valve cover fittings to keep oil from coming out through those fittings?

Here’s that info/pictures:

-6an bulkhead elbow with 3/8” barb adapters on both ends, then drilled/tapped the valve cover baffle for a 1/8” npt x 3/8” barb elbow, and connected them with a piece of 3/8” silicone hose held on with oetiker clamps. Pretty simple setup that I hope keeps the oil out of the PCV, if not it will just help keep the spark plugs lubricated

[sprint_9]

I like how the coils turned out. You have so much room with that intake, lol, it looks like a dream to work on compared to mine.

Originally Posted by gringoloco

As for the PCV fittings, yes, the “dirty” side will be baffled, using vacuum hose connected to the internal valvecover baffle (pictures of this coming soon). The “clean” side shouldn’t need to be baffled, as it will only be providing fresh air into the crankcase. I also decided to use Earl’s stat-o-seals (rubber o-ringed crush washers) on the fittings to help quell any oil leaks at the bulkhead pass-through.

I would baffle the clean side as well. Under certain conditions (WOT) it will pull a vacuum on that side. Its a smaller percentage of oil loss through the clean side but it will still make a mess over time.

[rustytruck50]

Awesome work!!!
You've got a lot to be proud of!!

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Here’s that info/pictures:

-6an bulkhead elbow with 3/8” barb adapters on both ends, then drilled/tapped the valve cover baffle for a 1/8” npt x 3/8” barb elbow, and connected them with a piece of 3/8” silicone hose held on with oetiker clamps. Pretty simple setup that I hope keeps the oil out of the PCV, if not it will just help keep the spark plugs lubricated

That set-up clears everything ok? Hard to tell from my monitor.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by sprint_9

I like how the coils turned out. You have so much room with that intake, lol, it looks like a dream to work on compared to mine.



I would baffle the clean side as well. Under certain conditions (WOT) it will pull a vacuum on that side. Its a smaller percentage of oil loss through the clean side but it will still make a mess over time.

It’s still a bit of a nightmare back there, and I have yet to run the main engine harness, plug wires, or throttle cable...

Good point on the clean side, I may reassess

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Awesome work!!!
You've got a lot to be proud of!!

Thanks a lot, I’ll just be happy to get it running

Originally Posted by SCOTI

That set-up clears everything ok? Hard to tell from my monitor.

Yes, it tucks inside the valvecover completely, which is all well above the rockers on the LS. This would not work on an SBC at all

[gringoloco]

What I’ve been up to the last few days:

Tore down the original 3-on-the-tree steering column to gut all of the unused everything and take 8.25” of length out of it. This will help put the upper steering joint closer to the firewall, hopefully keeping my angles the way I want them and also clearing everything with the steering shaft.

Ended up deciding to cut my own DD into the end of the shaft as opposed to taking it to a machine shop. Measure twice, cut once, used an angle grinder and finished it off with a set of calipers and a file. Not too bad to do, just a little time consuming. Actually was a little therapeutic (and a little stressful). I will say if you attempt this, do not use the ididit instructions, as their measurements are way off (or I was just to dumb to figure them out)...

Also used a slick little piece from CPP, the “column saver”, which slips into the end of the column and has a bushing and thrust bearings for the shaft to ride on. Made figuring out how to terminate the hacked-off column a no-brainer.

[cornerstone]

I can relate to your "therapeutic" comment on that kind of work. It's nice to step outside of your day to day thoughts and saturate yourself into something that 99% of people will never even think twice about. My problem is I tend to do this on almost every task I undertake when it comes to my truck project. I admire some of these guys who just knock it out and move onto the next step. Great work as always Chris,