Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[cornerstone]

My. ohhh. my.

[AKC]

D... d... d... d... ayam! Yeaaaaahh, boy! You should be proud of yourself.

And uh, yeah, riiiight. Sure Vic, whatever you say...

[Elliot949]

Congratulations Vic... She is absolutely beautiful... I will be at the house Saturday... a cruise on down and give her that real good shake down run...

[saltynuke]

Outstanding work Vic! Your attention to detail really comes through in this build. I've enjoying following this one from the beginning!

[Low Elco]

Awesome Possum! Great to see it headed for the streets! Super stoked for you.

[swamp rat]

Ya know that hood really looks sweet in that shot from above, nice touch!

[Xeen]

She's a beaut Vic you've done yourself proud.
I love the hood, it's probably my favorite customization that you have done.
I like the tailgate badge too that's cool.

[Ol Blue K20]

It looks absolutely stunning Vic!!!!

[supercheyenne]

Beautiful truck Vic. The subtle mods are just amazing.

[Bennett68C10]

Truck looks amazing Vic, awesome job.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Well, I'll have a proper, cohesive response after I mop up the drool puddle!!! WOW!!!

Originally Posted by cornerstone

My. ohhh. my.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by AKC

D... d... d... d... ayam! Yeaaaaahh, boy! You should be proud of yourself.And uh, yeah, riiiight. Sure Vic, whatever you say...

I seem to be getting that a lot. One of the hazards of project creep I guess.

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Congratulations Vic... She is absolutely beautiful... I will be at the house Saturday... a cruise on down and give her that real good shake down run...

Hey Dan, won't have the tags on it by tomorrow, but would love to make a quick trip to check things out before the big road trip in May. I'll let you know.

Originally Posted by saltynuke

Outstanding work Vic! Your attention to detail really comes through in this build. I've enjoying following this one from the beginning!

Thanks, Shawn, I'm already having project withdrawal shakes. The shop is empty this morning with CRLS out getting the front end aligned and an inspection. Looks weird in there.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Awesome Possum! Great to see it headed for the streets! Super stoked for you.

Thanks, Chip. Looking forward to some cruises this summer parked next to you and Vern.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Ya know that hood really looks sweet in that shot from above, nice touch!

Thanks, Mike. Hope your weather makes a turn soon and you can get back on the rat. I'll be living vicariously thru other builds now.

Originally Posted by Xeen

She's a beaut Vic you've done yourself proud.
I love the hood, it's probably my favorite customization that you have done.
I like the tailgate badge too that's cool.

Thanks, Brian. Good talking to you the other day.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

It looks absolutely stunning Vic!!!!

Thanks, Dale.

Originally Posted by supercheyenne

Beautiful truck Vic. The subtle mods are just amazing.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Bennett68C10

Truck looks amazing Vic, awesome job.

Hey Keith, I can't wait to see how your 'burb turns out. I love everything you've done so far and have no doubt it will be one cool ride when you're done.

The trip down to NKC Brake this morning went pretty well. I stopped to top off the gas at the station and the engine stalled just as I went to pull out. It fired right back up, though, and didn't act up again. Seemed like the converter wasn't locking up. RPM was 2000 at 65 mph which seemed higher than yesterday when I drove it around the block. The guys at NKCB are swapping out the rear tires for some Nitto NT555's, so I'll have to hook the laptop back up to adjust for the increased tire diameter. I'll be able to verify TC lockup on the virtual dashboard. The PWM (pulse width modulated) fan controller seems to be working okay. It sings a little bit, but I left the stereo off so I could listen for any strange and wonderful noises.

I have to tell on myself, though. Since the first time I started the engine, it ran a little rough. When I pulled it out to take some photos the other evening, I was getting a pop, pop, popping noise thru the stereo speakers. Later in the evening, the light bulb went on in my head and I went back downstairs and lifted the hood. Sure enough, the plug wire on the back cylinder was hanging down. (You can see the tip of the spark plug in the photo near the red arrow.) I remembered I'd removed it when I was fitting the modified brake lines to the MC but never put it back on.

Thought maybe that might clear up the MIL issue, but it didn't. Somewhere I read that the MIL gets 12V from the ECM when the engine is running and 0V when sending a code or the key is on with the engine not running. However, I haven't been able to find that blog anywhere. If that were true and there was a small differential between the ECM signal and alternator voltage, it could account for the dim LED glow I'm seeing. Anyway, it's not a big issue as it's not really noticeable when driving down the road.

[Jason7121]

The mil light gets ign power from an ign source and the ecm controls the ground side of the light. Truck looks great and I'm sure it runs even better.

[builtbyKane]

Job well done. I really enjoyed your problem solving skills through out the build. I'm sure it's helped several of us out.

[tune_1]

Vic the truck looks great.

Don't let the thread die, it would be great to know how it used and the enjoyment you get from it.

Dwight

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by tune_1

Vic the truck looks great.

Don't let the thread die, it would be great to know how it used and the enjoyment you get from it.

Dwight

What he said!

[rustytruck50]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

What he said!

Absolutely....

[swamp rat]

>>Thanks, Mike. Hope your weather makes a turn soon and you can get back on the rat. I'll be living vicariously thru other builds now.<<

Yea I'm so sick of having to work on the thing outside in rain or snow., another holdup is this pup we have and not having a fenced front yard, I cant be under that cover and keep an eye on him too so we currently have feelers out for some bids on a front yard fence and driveway gate, then I can be under that cover and not worry about him getting in the street or leaving him in the house ect.

Unfortunately I don't know when I'll ever have the spare coin to take this truck to a body shop for paint so maybe I'll have to do it low budget under that cover?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Jason7121

The mil light gets ign power from an ign source and the ecm controls the ground side of the light. Truck looks great and I'm sure it runs even better.

Thanks, Jason. I'd assumed that until I read a post (I can no longer find) that said the ECM doesn't just toggle between open and ground like a relay. IIRC, the poster said it sits at either 12V or 0V depending on the situation. If that were true, it could explain the faint glow from the dash mounted MIL LED with the engine running. It hasn't seemed to affect anything thus far, though.

Originally Posted by builtbyKane

Job well done. I really enjoyed your problem solving skills through out the build. I'm sure it's helped several of us out.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by tune_1

Vic the truck looks great. Don't let the thread die, it would be great to know how it used and the enjoyment you get from it.
Dwight

I'll endeavor to post updates from our travels and etc.

Originally Posted by cornerstone

What he said!

I know, I still have to post photos leaving Lowe's with a load of mulch.

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Absolutely....

Will do.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

...Unfortunately I don't know when I'll ever have the spare coin to take this truck to a body shop for paint so maybe I'll have to do it low budget under that cover?

I once painted a Chevelle in a one room shack with a dirt floor in the dead of winter with only a salamander for heat. Took most of a day waiting for each coat to flash enough to lay down the next. Didn't turn out half bad either. The HS kid that owned the car was thrilled with it. Loooooong time ago!

Speaking of paint... I noticed a spot developing on the bottom of the tailgate where it was rubbing against the filler panel. Removed the tailgate and panel and used my Paashce airbrush to touch up the offending areas. Will polish them out in a couple of days. Also modified the panel slightly for more clearance. As you can tell, I've mounted the spare tire, jack and fire extinguisher in the bed. I always figure if you have them, you won't need them. But sure as the world, first time you don't carry them, you'll wish you had.

[Low Elco]

Hey, I heard that someone's been out prowling the streets! We need an update! How's the debugging going?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Hey, I heard that someone's been out prowling the streets! We need an update! How's the debugging going?

Yep, been doing some short, around town test drives... but not without a few hiccups. Took Kathy for a ride last Friday and it was pretty ugly. Started off by backfiring when I first cranked the engine. Tried again and it started normally, but as we went down the road, it was banging and popping. Pulled over and found that the backfire had blown the cap off of the port meant for a vacuum brake booster. Thankfully we live in America where there’s no shortage of trash alongside the road so I was able to find a plastic cap off a water bottle and used it to temporarily plug the humongous leak. However, before we made it home, I noticed the radio and the gauges both went dead and then came back on a couple of times. The 200 amp circuit breaker between the alternator and the battery was partially tripped. Apparently, they’re polarity sensitive so that may have been the issue – I’m not sure. Regardless, I ordered and installed a fuse setup to replace the breaker which took care of the problem. The Painless wiring kit for high amperage alternators uses a fuse, but I did my own thing with the breaker and as usual, over thought the process.

When I drove CRLS home last week from the shop that did my alignment and inspection, it felt like the trans slipped a little on the 2-3 shift a couple of times. The fluid on the dipstick showed it was maybe a half quart low, so I topped it off but I didn’t think that small amount would cause a problem. When I went to Vintage Fabrication yesterday to have the AC serviced, it did it again a couple of times on the way home. On LS1Tech, there were several posts about how low fluid level could cause that. Posters also stated that a lot of the aftermarket dipsticks can't be trusted. When I rechecked the level it was in the middle of the hashed marks, so I added another half quart. I didn't detect the problem again, but I may not have driven it enough either.

Other folks also said putting the trans in tow/haul mode eliminated the problem. So, I pulled the console back out and located the plug that has the wire for the transmission A/B switch. Found out that if you ground that wire, it will change the shift calibration from soft to firm, probably the same as tow/haul on the trucks. I installed a couple of rocker switches into the tray in the console. One is for the tranny shift selection and the other is for a hack to allow me to send the video from the HD camera to the Pioneer screen while driving which is normally blocked.

A test drive with the increased fluid level and then with the shift program in the B (firm) mode did not exhibit the "flare" that was present before. Will keep an eye on it, though.

Crappy weather has its advantages sometimes as I can dink around with little stuff. I ordered an upgrade for the navigation system and got that installed as well as a four channel ground loop isolator on the amp for the front/rear speakers. There's some intermittent background noise coming from somewhere, but I haven't found it yet. The isolator wasn't much help, but the noise isn't noticeable going down the road.

And speaking of noise... even with all the sound proofing I did, it's extremely loud in the cab at times. Apparently, I'm now the subject of the saying that, "If it's too loud, you're too old." Even with resonators ahead of the mufflers, there are conditions where the sound really reverberates inside the cab. In fact, it was so loud that when Vern went on a ride along with me and a friend called on his cellphone, he couldn't hear what he was saying. So... I have an appointment on Tuesday at a custom muffler shop near me to have the exhaust revised. You can see what I mean in the video below.

Shift Test - YouTube

[Xeen]

The sweet sound of horsepower, I love it!

[Aberdare]

Truck is looking and sounding great, Vic. No doubt it must be a pleasure to drive.

[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