Scott's 1972 Chevy K-20. A place to start.

[Dieselwrencher]

The seat is looking great in there! I hear you on the heat. The south bay in our shop is hotter than any Arizona day here when it's 90* minimum. There's no insulation on the bottom side of the tin roof and it is like an oven in there. I need to get that fixed soon.

[gerfunken]

So, I know that a couple of you had commented on this specific picture...



And I realized, that I did really need to get a push rod for the brakes to work properly. So, Monday morning I went down to the nearest pull-a-part to me before work. I found two suitable GM vehicles that used hydroboost brakes, and pulled two different pushrods. Bringing both of them home and comparing the two I realized that they were pretty much identical.

So, that being said, I decided to pour myself a beverage after work today and go about fixing the problem.



mmmmmmmm... tasty

Now, about that pesky push rod....



Let's see if I can put you where you belong...



yes, you'll do nicely....

put it all back together...



Now to find a black sharpie and fix the "need push rod" to "doesn't need push rod"

[gerfunken]

The other thing that I forgot to mention last week was that I was able to hook up the throttle cable. I was able to reuse the Dodge's cable, but had to make a couple of modifications to the gas pedal. The pictures are after-the-fact, but I can provide a brief explanation as to what I did.

Step 1) pull out the pedal assembly.

Step 2) saw from the top down into the open hole (mimicking the way the Dodge's pedal sat.

Step 3) cut the top portion off, about 1/4" down from the flat spot (right below the bend.)

Step 4) on the remaining pedal piece, cut another 1/4" off of the top.

Step 5) rotating the top piece 180 degrees, and resting the flat spot in the bend against the top part of the pedal assembly, weld it back together.

Step 6) (and actually, in between each step so I got it right....) bolt it back in place and test it.

Basically, I was able to move it down about an inch, allowing for full range of motion on the pedal, and covering the full play in the throttle.

Like I said, pictures are garbage, but here they are:

[6lcummins]

Originally Posted by gerfunken

Ryan, thanks for the reply. Since my speedometer used to be 10% off because of the new tire size, I'm guessing that a 40psi adapter for a 44mph O/D shift. Likewise the 52psi should be about 47psi. I think I understand that now.

I for one am not a fan of the pressure switches. When dad has his the truck didn't always want to come out of lockup or overdrive and would cause a really fun shudder. The way we now have it in his truck and in the Corvette are that we use individual switches for each. Each applying ground and you can choose your shift points accordingly. But I have seen the pressure switch way work, I'm just not a fan of Hobbs switches or electronics in general.

[gerfunken]

So today I started the day by pulling the wiring harness off of the cummins.

After that I decided to start looking at the plumbing on the transmission. I came up against an interesting item. One of the hard lines runs all the way up to the front, which I'd expect. But one of them runs under the transmission, up one side of the engine.



From there it plugs into a piece that seems to have both radiator and transmission lines running into it.



It looks like a heat exchange of some sort, but I can't quite figure it out. It also looks completely unnecessary, but I figured I'd ask the "Panel of Experts" on the board first before just blindly stripping it out.

Safe to remove, and re-plumb the transmission and water lines?

[brimc]

Originally Posted by gerfunken

So today I started the day by pulling the wiring harness off of the cummins.

After that I decided to start looking at the plumbing on the transmission. I came up against an interesting item. One of the hard lines runs all the way up to the front, which I'd expect. But one of them runs under the transmission, up one side of the engine.



From there it plugs into a piece that seems to have both radiator and transmission lines running into it.



It looks like a heat exchange of some sort, but I can't quite figure it out. It also looks completely unnecessary, but I figured I'd ask the "Panel of Experts" on the board first before just blindly stripping it out.

Safe to remove, and re-plumb the transmission and water lines?

You are correct. It is a heat exchanger. It is only on Automatics. It is designed to heat the transmission fluid in Winter/cold temps and cool the fluid in the summer/hotter temps. I also heard, but can't confirm, that the main intent was cold weather, not hot. The dodge also has a cooler up front.
My lines rusted out about 5 or 6 years ago on my Dodge. I believe it is unnecessary. I just bypassed it on both sides. I could not tell any difference. Even at -30* I would just run lines to a good cooler in behind the grill somewhere.
Truck is coming along nicely by the way. Keep up the good work!

[gerfunken]

Well,
It looks like my truck restoration funds have been re-allocated. My wife fell in love with this little baby, and the price was better-than-reasonable for the new toy. (Non-truck pictures follow)















It's a 1929 Ford Model-A. The restoration is from within the last 5 years, and only been started/run once in the last 2 years. It's pretty much all original, except for the 12-volt system, the addition of turn signals and a thermostat for the water temp. It's a beautiful little car. Now, trying to figure out how to get it down from the Bay Area to Phoenix.

[Dieselwrencher]

Scott, that is very nice! It's kind of ironic you just got this, and last week I picked up a 28 Sport Coupe............... I'm pretty sure this is what yours is too. Mine is just an empty shell though.

[ryanroo]

the difference is... Scotts wife knows about theirs.


BAM!

[gerfunken]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

the difference is... Scotts wife knows about theirs.


BAM!

LOL... my wife made me buy it, I swear!

[gerfunken]

Originally Posted by brimc

You are correct. It is a heat exchanger. It is only on Automatics. It is designed to heat the transmission fluid in Winter/cold temps and cool the fluid in the summer/hotter temps. I also heard, but can't confirm, that the main intent was cold weather, not hot. The dodge also has a cooler up front.
My lines rusted out about 5 or 6 years ago on my Dodge. I believe it is unnecessary. I just bypassed it on both sides. I could not tell any difference. Even at -30* I would just run lines to a good cooler in behind the grill somewhere.
Truck is coming along nicely by the way. Keep up the good work!

Thanks, I got the heat exchanger out of the truck on Sunday, so I won't be dealing with that any more. It's amazing how much room it freed up for the exhaust system. I keep plugging at this slowly, so eventually it'll start up. I hope that I'll have her running soon enough.

[6lcummins]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

the difference is... Scotts wife knows about theirs.


BAM!

Hey now, she walked around MY 28 Sport Coupe on sunday and didn't say a thing... Well it's mine if SHE asks lol

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by 6lcummins

Hey now, she walked around MY 28 Sport Coupe on sunday and didn't say a thing... Well it's mine if SHE asks lol

Yeah, so there half bachelor man.

[ryanroo]

one word.


facebook

[gerfunken]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Scott, that is very nice! It's kind of ironic you just got this, and last week I picked up a 28 Sport Coupe............... I'm pretty sure this is what yours is too. Mine is just an empty shell though.

Originally Posted by ryanroo

the difference is... Scotts wife knows about theirs.


BAM!

Originally Posted by gerfunken

LOL... my wife made me buy it, I swear!

Originally Posted by 6lcummins

Hey now, she walked around MY 28 Sport Coupe on sunday and didn't say a thing... Well it's mine if SHE asks lol

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Yeah, so there half bachelor man.

Originally Posted by ryanroo

one word.


facebook

Wow, my build thread is being leveraged as a means for hiding new toys from wives as well as veiled threats to rat out that knowledge to aforementioned spouses. This reads like a jealous bromance gone bad.


Hahahahaha
Posted via Mobile Device

[ryanroo]

Sorry Scott, we have a tendency to go wildly off track. seems like every thread in the diesel conversions category has a few "off- topic" pages in it... whoops

i cant help that Ryan is jealous of my half- bachelor status...

[gerfunken]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

Sorry Scott, we have a tendency to go wildly off track. seems like every thread in the diesel conversions category has a few "off- topic" pages in it... whoops

i cant help that Ryan is jealous of my half- bachelor status...

no worries... I actually thought it was funny...

[6lcummins]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

one word.


facebook

I ain't skerd

Originally Posted by gerfunken

Wow, my build thread is being leveraged as a means for hiding new toys from wives as well as veiled threats to rat out that knowledge to aforementioned spouses. This reads like a jealous bromance gone bad.


Hahahahaha
Posted via Mobile Device

You should hear the Voxer conversations. It's rather comical

Originally Posted by ryanroo

Sorry Scott, we have a tendency to go wildly off track. seems like every thread in the diesel conversions category has a few "off- topic" pages in it... whoops

i cant help that Ryan is jealous of my half- bachelor status...

It's because we go with the flow and like shiny objects. BTW you're so called "half-bachelor" status still doesn't help you get sh!t done.

[Dieselwrencher]

Cough, cough, anyway, how's the chevy doing?


Ryan, the facebook threat can go both ways son.

[ryanroo]

yeah hows that chevy?!

Just cause i dont post pictures doesnt mean i aint getting stuff done...

my wife has no facebook

apply ice to burned area, repeat as necessary.

BAZANG!

[6lcummins]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

BAZANG!

It's BAZINGA, jacka$$ lol

[ryanroo]

maybe if you eat to much corn....

[gerfunken]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Cough, cough, anyway, how's the chevy doing?


Ryan, the facebook threat can go both ways son.

So, my truck, for any that may be interested, seems to be stalled while I'm trying to figure out some details:

Transmission: Still trying to review my options for the transmission cooler. Having removed the heat exchanger, I'm left with some odd routing that I've got to come up with. The radiator I have has a transmission cooler (right side), but the dodge lines ended on the left side. I'm planning on getting some hard line and getting most of it bent up this weekend (if I'm lucky.) I still haven't figured out what to do with the overdrive and lock-up. There's a lot of people on the 4btSwap forum that prefer to use the PCM, and there are others that prefer to run the oil pressure switches. I honestly haven't decided which way to go yet.

Exhaust: Until I removed the heat exchanger last weekend, I didn't have a lot of clearance. Now that it is gone, I seem to have a bit more space to deal with exhaust routing. Right now I'm just waiting on a delivery of 3" mandrel bent scrap that I can start mocking it up.

Intercooler: I have an idea, but waiting on the same set of 3" mandrel bent exhaust scrap to fab something up.

Power Steering/Hydroboost/Cooling: I think I've relegated myself to the fact that I'm going to have to go with a local shop, get the pieces I need, and have the lines made to my spec. I know there's a place (http://www.hosepower.com) that is between home and work that I can check out, but that's likely not very high on my priority list right this second.

Vacuum: I have the new switch for the transfer case, but I still need to get in and route the lines from the vacuum pump to the transfer case.

Electrical: I think that I've got an idea on the fuel shut-off solenoid, but I need to pick up a relay to get things to work properly. I've actually been playing on the computer, pouring over electrical diagrams (page 8) and trying to draw out the schematic that mine will be running. That's not a quick process... <sigh>
(reference


Cooler lines: Well, I've got the top hose figured out, and have it temporarily mounted. The bottom line is becoming more problematic. When the engine was installed, they tweaked the outlet on the block up about 45%. The proper flexible hose I ordered (17" 2 1/4" one side, 2" on the other) is about 2" short, and I haven't found one that's a little bit longer. Also, I'm worried about the kink that's being put in the hose at those angles, and think that I'm going to run into interference with my intercooler line from the turbo. Additionally, with the removal of the heat exchanger for the transmission, I've now got two extra lines. I think that I'm just going to run a quick bypass for now until I can come up with something different. The only other thing that I'm trying to figure out is how to route the existing lines back to the heater core without interfering with the turbo, intercooler, or exhaust. I'd prefer a clean look, but that may have to come at a later date.

Vintage Air System: So, aside from the heater lines mentioned above, all of the A/C lines I had are now too short. Additionally, the unit I have includes a plastic cover for the firewall. If I leave that in place, then I'm about 90% positive that it'll get melted by the exhaust aft the turbo. It looks like I'm going to have to weld in a patch panel on the innermost opening. The outer opening is perplexing. The adaptor that I have has 2 A/C lines coming straight out, 2 heater lines coming straight out, 2 vacuum lines and 2 electrical connections. I've got to figure out exactly what I'm going to do with that... we'll figure that out after I check-off some of the other things.

Brake Lines still need to be run for the back brakes. Apparently, the line was problematic, so it was removed from under the cab. (Heard it was plugged, so they took it out.) Need to re-do that, back to the rear axle, then get some fluid and deal with the brake lines. The other thing of note was that in the move to the hydroboost, the proportioning valve was removed, which includes the brake safety switch. I need to get that put back in place.

Exhaust: I was smart enough that I saved the old exhaust system, but now I need to get it put into the truck.

That's all I've got on the conversion process... but there's still a list of things to do on the body that I haven't finished yet. Windows aren't in. Weather stripping isn't in. Still need to put seam sealer on the driver's side. Fuel tank solution needs to go in. (I think I've decided on a 30 gallon square body suburban tank, but will need to come up with new cross mounts, and a fueling solution.)

So, that about sums up my lack of progress for the week.....


How are your projects?

[Dieselwrencher]

Scott, for the trans cooler lines, get a 1/4"pipe to -8 jic male fitting. Get some parker -8 rubber steel braided hose and the fittings. This should be able to be had at any heavy truck shop. It is tough, and lasts a long time. On the trans cooler, I'd try to put the biggest one you can fit in there. Also look for one with pipe thread ports rather than slip on style. Less place for leaks.

The fuel shut off solenoid: On the Longhorn I'm going to install a ford starter relay that will trigger the starter and shut off sol. I will use an automotive relay to run the power side of the fuel shut off solenoid.

Trans: I realize a lot of guys like the PCM to control the trans, but then that adds more items in that can fail or fight you. I'll let you know how pressure switches work as that is the direction I'm going in the excursion. But it'll have toggles in it anyway to over ride the pressure switches if need be.

[gerfunken]

Well, I got a little bit of time in the garage this weekend, and a little bit of help. My daughter had volunteered to help me out a bit (which is extraordinary since none of her older brothers ever volunteer for things like this.) She's also convinced that she's going to get the truck when she turns 16.

So, my beautiful helper:


I got my hands on a box of 3" pre-bent 45 & 90-degree exhaust tube.



Put the saws-all in the hands of the beautiful daughter:



Then you put the welding helmet on her head, making sure that you adjust it properly. I call this one the glamor shot.



Finally you give her a quick set of instruction and let her go.



The two of us built up the tubes for the intercooler. I'd say that she did a pretty good job.







Then we moved on to the exhaust. I was able to get the down-pipe done as well. Once I got that heat exchanger out of the way it really did free up a lot of room for me to route the exhaust. It's still a little bit close to the firewall for me, but it's not touching anything, so I'll live with that for now. Also, the exhaust is tight between the rear spring and the transmission, with not a lot of play in either space. I think that I may have clocked the end a little too much, but I've got something place for now.







Other things of note, without any picture updates. I was able to get the old transmission hard-lines out. I also cleaned up the rear brake lines. The old one was cut, and I had to work it back a bit to find a flat spot to get the new nut on and re-flange the line. I didn't get the line completed yet as I found out that the dodge rear axle runs the 3/16 and my existing and repaired line was 1/4. I just need to get back to the store to get the new part.

Slowly but surely the items are getting checked off the list.