Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[Elliot949]

It sounds like you are slowly working out the bugs... This build is soooo far above my head I can't even fathom the work in it...

Great Job Vic...

[Jason7121]

I've had my share of bugs myself haha. After you get them worked out you won't regret all the upgrades and time you have spent. I just fixed my fuel tank vent smell and a few small items. I had to redo my exhaust as well it was to loud for me too.

[Elliot949]

Iy is funny you guys ate redoing your exhaust... I just had mine redone last month for the same reason... LOL

[Xeen]

Two Cherry Bomb Vortex might do the trick, it isn't straight through like a turbo muffler or a glass pack but way less restrictive than a traditional muffler and still sound great.
https://cherrybomb.com/project/vortex/

[sduckworth13]

Glad to hear that your transmission isn’t giving you issues anymore Vic. I’m so glad your finally able to enjoy driving it after all the work you’ve done.

[Vic1947]

I'll probably wind up getting whatever the muffler shop has in stock. They have a website with some pictures of custom exhausts they've done that look real nice. The problem will be finding something quiet that fits in the available space. Although, when it's on a four post lift, possible solutions may be more readily apparent. They're the experts, so I need to let them handle it however they think best.

I'm working on a faceplate to cover the area with the ignition switch, ac/heater controls and the power outlet. I got side tracked a long time ago when smoothing the filler and now there are some deep marks visible. The shop missed the gouges too and painted right over them, so the best approach at this point is to cover them. Will post photos later. It's supposed to snow today, so it's a good day to stay in.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Glad to hear that your transmission isn’t giving you issues anymore Vic. I’m so glad your finally able to enjoy driving it after all the work you’ve done.

Thanks, Scott, but have you looked out the window recently? If this keeps up I'll need snow tires. Sure wish spring would get here and stay! Good weather for inside work though. Finished the faceplate/bezel for the area around the ac/heater controls.

[rustytruck50]

Wow...I can't wait to see it in September!

[mcbassin]

Very nice to see all the progress on your build Vic! Awesome work!

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
I believe there is a muffler shop in Kearney that does custom exhaust for reasonable cost, he’s done a few cars that have gone to Barrett-Hackson,
And Mecum auctions too. I think they wanted and don’t Quote me in this price but I believe they said $500 all the way out back.
Have a good one!
Ben

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Wow...I can't wait to see it in September!

I'm looking forward to it too! For the last four or five years, Chip has hauled me out there on the back of a trailer. Will be great to actually drive there.

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Very nice to see all the progress on your build Vic! Awesome work!

Thanks, Mike!

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

Vic, I believe there is a muffler shop in Kearney that does custom exhaust for reasonable cost, he’s done a few cars that have gone to Barrett-Jackson and Mecum auctions too. I think they wanted and don’t quote me in this price but I believe they said $500 all the way out back. Have a good one! Ben

I've got an appointment with Kev's Muffler in Gladstone for tomorrow morning. Don't know anything about them, but their website had some photos of nice custom work they've done and it says they've been in business 20 years. If I get there and it doesn't pan out, I'll get with you for the name of the guy in Kearney. Thanks!

[Vic1947]

Went and picked up CRLS from the muffler shop a little while ago. It still has a nice sound, but is way, way quieter in the cab. Drone is all gone. They fit a couple good size muffs in where the 4" round turbos formerly resided. Less than a hundred bucks and solved the problem very nicely. I need to deburr the turn downs, but other than that I'm done with exhaust.

Kathy took a ride with me and isolated the wind noise coming from the passenger side. It's coming from around the triangle in the front corner of the window. I guess I should have known that installing it without any sealant was just asking for noise. I taped along the gaps and filled them with clear RTV. Once it's cured, I'll go for another ride to see if that fixed it. I'd prefer not to have to do the outside, but if that's what it takes... so be it.

[Vic1947]

Short update... My Dad's in the hospital so my truck time has been curtailed somewhat but he's doing better so I've been able to sneak away for an occasional break. A few things to report, though. I decided the tailgate didn't look right with the late model trim around the tail lights. So I added the moldings that run between the lights. Gives it a more finished appearance I think.

I also took it to a local tuner to have the factory tune upgraded. With all that was on my mind, I forgot to take along the camera, so I have no recordings of the dyno pulls. (Apologies!) That part was pretty cool, though. The rest of it was not so enjoyable. The guy doing the work seemed to be having a bad day or perhaps he's just burned out. But long story short, he was less than enthusiastic. He didn't even introduce himself, just asked for the keys and said he'd pull the truck in. The whole time he was setting up, he didn't say a word. He did a baseline pull and then I think he connected to HP Tuners and wrote a new program to the ECU. He did a second pull (all the while not saying a word) and made some changes. When he tried to write the update to the ECU it aborted halfway thru. He first blamed the radio for some reason, then he said it was probably because this wasn't a "factory" GM setup. At this point, the truck wouldn't even start and he was saying that when this happens, all you can do is buy a new ECU. I'm starting to add up the cost of a tow truck and ECU and wishing I'd researched this guy more. He tried disconnecting the battery a couple of times which didn't help, but he finally turned the key on and off quickly as he was preparing to flash the ECU. That worked and the program loaded so he was able to make a third dyno pull. According to him, the baseline pull was 300 HP and the final was 366. You can see the graph he texted me below. No printouts, no other supporting info, just a crappy photo of the laptop screen. And that will be $360, buddy. I will say this... the truck drove fine on the way home, although I haven't given it a really good test yet. The shift points are a bit different but okay. If you believe the conversion factors floating around the interweb, the HP at the crank was around 375 to start and 450 by the last pull. That also assumes he was honest with me about the baseline. He said the major change was to the A/F ratio which he adjusted from 15 to 12.8. I realize a lot depends on what he enters for tire slip, how tight it's tied down and other factors, but since nothing changed except the programming, the incremental increase should be a function of the tuning.

Now that I've put a few miles on CRLS and have all the outside work done, I'm about to hook up the push button start. I'll report back in when I get that finished. Later!

[sduckworth13]

Hope your dad is feeling better so you guys can go cruising.

[Jason7121]

Hope your dad is ok. Glad you got it tuned I also need mine Dyno tuned I think it will make a big difference as well.

[Low Elco]

Great to see you the other day, Vic. Hope your Dad improves and your trip goes well!

[Vic1947]

Thanks everyone. My ol' Dad is home and doing much better. The home health care folks have been great and will monitor him at the assisted living facility where he'll be staying while we're on our big adventure. I'll be posting photos and video from our trip along the way... especially the LMC truck show in Ft. Worth next week. We got our preregistration packet recently, so we're ready to rip.

I finalized the installation of the Advanced Keys security module / push button start and have posted a video below. Only one minor bug remains that I want to address. The needle on the volts gauge is a bit erratic at low rpm. Once you rev the engine above approximately 850 rpm, the needle holds steady at the charging voltage. It wouldn't be a big deal except that the engine seems to want to surge in sync with the voltage. The tuner guy said the injectors are sensitive to the input voltage which could be the cause. So I called Mechman Alternators (the manufacturer) yesterday and spent a half hour going thru some troubleshooting steps. At the end of the session, they said the likely culprit was the regulator so they're sending me a new one. They offered to install it for me if I sent the alternator to them, but I don't have time for that. Hopefully that will cure the problem. If not, they said to send it in and they'd dyno it and figure it out. Stay tuned...

AK_PB06 - YouTube

[Ol Blue K20]

Good luck with pop. Have a great trip.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Good luck with pop. Have a great trip.

Thanks, Dale, we're almost ready to go. Hauled some of Dad's stuff to the place he's staying while we're gone. It's not quite a load of gravel but it's a start.

Also waded thru a long line of procrastinators at the license office (last day of the month) to pick up my new tags. When I applied for them, I had to say what CRLS stood for. I put down Crusty, Rusty, Leaky, Squeaky but later on it dawned on me it could also mean "See our LS". Serendipity.

[cornerstone]

Yall drive safe, Im looking foward to getting up close to your trophy winner. What day will you be rolling in to town and do you plan to do the Painless Performance tour? You do realize you will have to carry a "before" picture when someone asks you the meaning of your plates.

[Ol Blue K20]

Wow!! I never thought it would see a load in the bed........lol..... The plate looks great

[Jason7121]

Vic I have a question for you. Do you remember what your trans and rear diff angles were set at? I'm having driveshaft vibration issue with mine. Thanks

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Wow!! I never thought it would see a load in the bed........lol..... The plate looks great

Yep, and a small scratch on the inside of the tailgate to boot. Work truck, work truck!

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Y'all drive safe, I'm looking forward to getting up close to your trophy winner. What day will you be rolling in to town and do you plan to do the Painless Performance tour? You do realize you will have to carry a "before" picture when someone asks you the meaning of your plates.

We're staying with good friends in Granbury, TX and will arrive there mid Thursday afternoon. We won't be along for the Painless tour. From what I can tell, we'll be driving thru thunderstorms all day, so I'm probably going to be on cleanup detail after I arrive at Jay's. Plus, he's gonna have a brisket in the smoker for supper and I wouldn't miss that for anything. Good idea on the "before" snaps. I'll print out a few.

Originally Posted by Jason7121

Vic I have a question for you. Do you remember what your trans and rear diff angles were set at? I'm having driveshaft vibration issue with mine. Thanks

My angles are probably not ideal, but luckily there's no vibration at any speed. My trans is 3.1 degrees and the pinion is 2.3 degrees. I think most of the experts say the angles should be less than four degrees with the projected centerlines of the pinion and tailshaft as close to parallel as possible. Some will argue that zero degrees is not advisable for u-joint lubrication reasons, but I don't know if I buy that. But zero to four degrees and centerlines as parallel as possible would be my goal. Hope you get it sorted. That's an aggravating problem.

[swamp rat]

Never thought I’d see the day with a loaded bed! Have a great time... and throw a buffing towel over that scratch when parked LOL! ��

[Jason7121]

My trans is 4 degrees down and rear end is 0 I'm thinking my issue is with driveshaft. Thanks