The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Archived Journals 1951 Chevy 3100/3600 Project

Since my last update I've been busy with actual 'work' stuff, so progress on the truck has been slow. When I fitted up the drive shaft I discovered that the yoke at the tail end was not the same size as the yoke in the differential. I purchased the correct size 'weld tube yoke' from a local drive shaft supplier and have prepped the tube for the new, larger yoke. I also shortened the tube 3/4" so that the splined expansion joint between the two drive shaft sections wouldn't be bottomed out. I could weld the new yoke onto the tube, but I think I'll let the shop do it so they can re-balance it at the same time.

In the meantime, I finished installing the rear brake lines and with my son's help, have bled the entire brake system. I also installed new parking brake cables. That completes the brakes until I install the cab and can adjust the parking brake cables.

Going back to getting the motor ready to start, I put water in the block one day to let it set a couple days and check for leaks. About 5 minutes later, I saw water drooling down the side of the block from behind the exhaust manifold. I removed the manifold and found the water coming out from behind the brass rebuild tag affixed to the block. Whomever installed the data plate drilled through to the water jacket and the little brass rivets were not water tight! I wanted to keep the plate in place, so I drilled and tapped the holes for 8-32 screws and installed them with Permatex. After a couple days, I filled the block with water for another check and everything was dry. So the manifold went back on and I looked into a new exhaust system next.

After doing a fair amount of research, I chose an exhaust kit from Chev's of the 40's. They are located about 2-1/2 hours south of me, so I figured I'd save on shipping by picking it up in person. The owner has his own car museum at the showroom site, too, so visiting that was a bonus. Also, a few miles away is a wrecking yard called "All American Auto" that has a field full of pre-60's autos and trucks, so my son and I had to spend some time there as well (picked up a suitable air cleaner and a proper remote oil filter housing).

After getting the kit home and checking it against my truck, it became obvious very quickly that the header pipe was not correct for my truck. I have a 235 motor, but it has the older 216 style exhaust manifold that exits straight down. Ok, so I called the vendor and arranged to swap out the header pipe for the correct one. My son and I were headed to Oregon anyway, so a stop at the vendor's warehouse to make the swap was easy. When we got home and tried to fit the new header pipe, again it was not quite right. The new pipe is for a '41-'46 truck with a 216, so the vertical portion going up to the exhaust manifold wasn't really the right shape.

I went through my options and finally decided to just make what I had fit. So I cut the flared end off of the new header pipe and temporarily installed it into the exhaust manifold. Then I heated up the bend in the header pipe and straightened out the vertical portion to line up with the manifold. I then MIG welded the two pieces back together. With that done, I installed the muffler to the end of the header pipe and attached it to the frame with the proper clamp/strap. With that all hardened up, I then fitted the tail pipe which also required a small amount of heat at one bend to get it lined up properly, but it's done!

Now to get that carburetor rebuilt and I can find out what my engine sounds like!