1970 cst project

[crimespree]

This is going to be a long arduous project. this is my situation. one of my best friends has a 67 lwb fleet that i saw in his garage about a year ago. i instantly thought about what i would do if i had it. bag it, chop it, blow it out so it was the coolest thing on the street. to make a long story short, this guy i work with had one 1970 lwb cst) sitting in his yard for the last 10 years and told me to come get it. so i did. now with 2 carb rebuilds, and some other small glitches its running strong . here she is before i took it home.

[crimespree]

now it is in my friends shop on jack stands with brake trouble. cant bleed the brakes... we replaced the mc then bled it and got the pv to get fluid through it and then tried to get the brake cylinders to bleed but got nothing but a rock hard pedal. so now i am replacing the flex lines and wheel cylinders to alleviate (hopefully) my lack of brakes.

here it is cleaned up a bit.

[nuke1]

looks nice, but the first thing you know, it is bleed the brakes then, well i might as well clean the frame up a bit, then the box comes off.... you know the rest, lol. good luck

[my67chevytruck]

nice lookin project.

[gonline71]

I ended up taking off the bleeder valves and each wheel...took a small wire and cleaned them up. Little bit of rust deposits in each and they would not bleed as a result.

[crimespree]

gonline71, we pulled all the flex lines and stomped the brake to no avail. im nervous about a possible rust problem lurking in the hardlines. we have a big compressor so hopefully we can blow out any contaminates if the flex lines are not the problem. new flex lines are on the way as well as new wheel cylinders for each corner. im itching to take it on its maiden voyage with me behind the wheel. pictures soon to come.

the issue with this build is time, i work out of town 5(at least) days a week and dont get to see my house but 8ish days a month. so everything is done usually saturday morning. its hecktic but i have the wheels and tires swapped out, the interior is clean kind of and i have a new grill. i need to sand, grind and prime the body but want the mechanical value to be there. please drop a line withideas and possible solutions to problems. this is a first for me, before this the only motor or vehicle for that matter that i have messed with is a 79 yamaha xs 650 so it is a big difference with a real ride.

[crimespree]

i was out in the shop over the weekend working on brake issues... all 4 wheel cylinders were gone, flex lines got replaced, and broke 2 hardlines in the process... luckily they were for the front and not crazy long, so it wasnt too bad replacing them. after we bled the brakes, we were set to take it on its maiden voyage. man we were excited. cranked her up, let her get warm and stood on the brake and pulled her into gear... nothing, no drive no reverse no nothing... including fluid. that put us off another day. here are some pics from over the weekend though.



new door and fender...



350 bored 30 over (allegedly)





back up stuff



nitrojunkie383's '67

[crimespree]

AND WE HAVE LIFT OFF!!! This week we finished the brakes, put fluid in the transmission and took her for a spin. brakes are good, transmission has a shift kit in it and was made abundantly clear that it was working fine. however the truck has no off the line power. even if it were a stock 350 it should have a little jump to it. it tachs up fine but no spinning rubber or even a jump off the line. why? and more importantly, how do i get the power that i know is there to be transferred through the drive train?

[nitrojunkie383]

Originally Posted by crimespree

AND WE HAVE LIFT OFF!!! This week we finished the brakes, put fluid in the transmission and took her for a spin. brakes are good, transmission has a shift kit in it and was made abundantly clear that it was working fine. however the truck has no off the line power. even if it were a stock 350 it should have a little jump to it. it tachs up fine but no spinning rubber or even a jump off the line. why? and more importantly, how do i get the power that i know is there to be transferred through the drive train?

Anyone feel free to chime in and give us your opinion.

When we took the truck out the other day, the truck seemed to be ok. Shift the truck into gear, let off the brake, and give it a little gas to get it rolling...everything fine. Pull out of the drive way, start to accelerate, and the truck seems sluggish, but is still pickin up rpms and shifting out of first into 2nd. After that, give it a little more gas, and the truck shifts into 3rd.

At this point, we are crusin around 40-45 mph. I tell crimespree to give it the gas and he puts it to the floor and it was disappointing. the truck bogs down and very slowy creeps its way to 50mph. So we slow down, manually shift the truck into 2nd, give it the gas and have the same result. The truck just seems to bog down and has almost no responce to the throttle while the truck is moving.

My initial reaction is that the timing is off. I was going to pull out my timing light and check it, but there is no timing pointer on the timing chain cover.
I guess at this point to adjust the timing, we will have to do it the time consuming way. Slowly make adjustments to the distributor, and then take it out for a test run. if it gets better, we are heading in the right direction, if not then, go the other way until its right!

Any thoughts on making the timing issue any easier?

[Palf70Step]

Nice looking project. Lot of things could be the sign of weak power. Timing as you mentioned. I'd also do a compression test of all the cylinders. I'd also still wonder how much slip is going on in the tranny.

Could also be something like a very tall rear end gear.

[crimespree]

Timing was indeed the issue. we had it timed as though the motor was a stock 350. since it has a different cam and some other mods that i was unaware of, we needed to clock it over to where the number one plug wire was almost pointing straight down the middle of the motor. after that she ran like she was supposed to. here are some pics of her out of the shop and basking in the sun...

[crimespree]

Body work... i have to seal up the trim holes yet and replace rockers and a cab corner. but i did, while sanding, find a nice 5 layer thick coat of bondo. im wondering if i should have just left it alone or what but i had to get to the bare metal to weld the trim holes up. so darned if you do... darned if you dont. the hood has a bit of welding that it needs, has anyone grafted a nose on one of these things? what is the best way or would it be better to spot weld some of the bad spots and bondo it to match the line down center of the hood? here is what kind of bondo action she has going as of now... (not my doing)

[nitrojunkie383]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Nice looking project. Lot of things could be the sign of weak power. Timing as you mentioned. I'd also do a compression test of all the cylinders. I'd also still wonder how much slip is going on in the tranny.

Could also be something like a very tall rear end gear.

After the timing issue had been resolved, we take it out for another test ride. The tranny(TH350) seems to been running good...sorta. It has good firm shifts, but theres one thing that sucks. If your in "D" (3rd) and put it to the floor, the truck takes off with authority reachin speeds aprox 40mph+ then shifting into 2nd. Heres the funny part, the trans only holds 2nd for a short time before it decides to shift into 3rd. It just doenst seem to wind out the 2nd gear like it does with the 1st gear.

One thing that we need to do (and this might help) is to hook up and adjust the trans kick down. Its possible that it will hold that 2nd gear with the throttle position when the kick down is adjusted properly.

[nitrojunkie383]

This motor is a mystery motor to us. We have a good friend that knows a little about the truck's back ground and motor when it was built.

Here is some more info on the motor:
-350 bored to 355
-Crower Cam with around .504 lift (dont know the duration)
-Roller Rockers
-Edelbrock Performer RPM, Dual Plane Intake Manifold
-2" spacer w Holley 650cfm carb on top
-GM HEI ignition with Accel parts(coil, cap, etc.). It had an MSD ignition module, but was dead, and ended up going back to a stock GM ignition module to get it running.
-Headers are 1 5/8" primaries, 3" collector
-Exhaust is full 3" with "H" pipe into Flowmaster 1 chambers

The motor should be good for around 500+ ponies, but it needs some more tuning and bigger carb!

[Palf70Step]

Glad the timing issue solve the problem. It's always hrd to figure out a motor that had it's guts tweaked and you don't know what the tweaks are.

[crimespree]

so now im getting into the body work of the whole thing, does anyone know the best welder/welding technique to use to seal up the trim holes?

[jsmithbm]

Looking good! Once i get mine finished up i need to head down that way. My lil beauty is in Columbus, not to far from ya.

[crimespree]

i actually drove through there today. 185... im in atlanta this week, my job keeps me out a week at a time so working on my truck is more planning and studying up on the best ways to do things on here than actually working. whats your project?

[jsmithbm]

I live in Newnan just south of Atl. how long you going to be in here? I do not have a build post. I have a 1970 step side. here is a pic of it. I'm going to keep it stock and do some factory upgrades.

[crimespree]

man, the body is in stellar shape. we are currently doing a washington mutual conversion for chase banks. our company installs signs and we ended up with a big chunk of the chase conversion in the atlanta market. what motor is in that beauty?

[72BlckButy]

Great looking project, good luck with the build!

[jsmithbm]

she's got a 6' IL, 250. I've got the tank out right now and getting some tires so i can drive it back home. I'll send ya a pm.

[Rokcrln]

Originally Posted by crimespree

so now im getting into the body work of the whole thing, does anyone know the best welder/welding technique to use to seal up the trim holes?

A small MIG welder with .023 wire on a 25/75 gas mix is the best bet for you as far as welders go. As for how to do it I would first start with a step/uni bit and drill all the holes out to the next size. This will give you a nice clean hole for welding. Next cut or punch out small round metal disks that just fit the hole and weld those in place. You will want to just tack them in place and slowly work your way around the truck doing a tack on each hole and then move to the next one. This will keep the heat down and prevent warp-age as much as possible. The metal disk is so you don't have to fill the entire hole with weld also keeping the heat to a minimum.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[crimespree]

this is what she came with, i still have to work on the a/c and power steering. where is the best place to get a power steering set up?

[arm51]

Originally Posted by Rokcrln

A small MIG welder with .023 wire on a 25/75 gas mix is the best bet for you as far as welders go. As for how to do it I would first start with a step/uni bit and drill all the holes out to the next size. This will give you a nice clean hole for welding. Next cut or punch out small round metal disks that just fit the hole and weld those in place. You will want to just tack them in place and slowly work your way around the truck doing a tack on each hole and then move to the next one. This will keep the heat down and prevent warp-age as much as possible. The metal disk is so you don't have to fill the entire hole with weld also keeping the heat to a minimum.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

a friend of mine filled his holes by using electrodes(welding rods) cut them up stuck them in the holes welded them back on and smoothed them out with a grinder, i think its been a few years since he had that truck, and i wouldnt bondo them but thats just me sayin i really dont like bondo