The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Re: What did you get done on your 'Bolt today?

link to article & photos / gas tank filler neck adventure, 1965 C10 Chevy

My small wrenching adventure today.

-W

Needed to jury rig a temporary repair to the drive shaft steady bearing carrier. We were at a two day show and were still about a three hour drive from home on a late Sunday afternoon. But it worked and the 55 truck is now in the home shop.
Good old common GM parts, Today the local NAPA had a new one on the shelf. Next show is on July 1, Canada day

Good job and thanks for the tech pics. I don't remember ever seeing a pictorial of the gas tank filler hose rebuild.

Got the spring perches for changing the rear housing on my 1949.

Well, it was too good to be true... I finally was able to get out on the road for a good stretch and could plainly hear the old 216 was knocking. Now I know why it was parked and put to pasture so many years ago.

The good news, I already have my hands on a replacement 235. It will be a good opportunity to eliminate a myriad of nuisance leaks from the front seal to the differential.

Up grades are good.

got the chassis engineering front engine mounts located and welded in for the 283 in my 49 sub so today I am cleaning and painting the mounts and the mounting area. took 2 tries of putting the engine in and out before we found the correct location. CEs instructions tell you to locate the front mounts 15&1/8 inches from the center crossmember rivet but we ended up at 14& 1/8. to get he mounts in the right position. This is a big jump forward for me. so maybe now I am closer to putting the engine back in and then the radiator and front clip with its new chrome grille. slow progress but I am getting there.




Weeds

Picked a hot day to disassemble the donor 235; it's from a '51 Chevy sedan and is a splash oiler, same as the original 216. Crankshaft and connecting rod journals look great, nice and smooth. So far it looks like I'll replace main bearings only. There were also a slug of shims on the rods so I can toss 'em to tighten up the babbits if clearances are too loose after reassembly.

Downside... some water managed to get on to the lifters after it was set aside, so I was only able to partially extract them (rusted in place). There were 5 still stuck in the block which will be marinating in PB-blaster until next weekend!

Going under the '53 to replace shocks and see if the king pins, bushings, springs, etc are tight and secure. Trying to find the source of an unusually rough and noisy ride.....

Yesterday, I drove a Penske one-way 16' box van from NY to NC.

It mostly contained the last metal-ready and primed sheet-metal parts for the '54 pickup we are restoring. Also in the van (with just a few household items on this trip) were a mish-mash of hardware and A-D parts, collected/stored back in 1979, when they were moved from VA to my NY garages.

We unload the van this afternoon - the biggest truck-part is the metal-prepped and primed cab (thanks to my good NY-friend, Dave). 5 NC "locals" have offered assistance this afternoon unloading the '54 pickup cab and a large blast cabinet.

This is my last (5th) Penske van trip with household items and shop/truck parts (the largest van I rented was 26' box). I highly recommend one-way Penske Truck Rentals (via Home Depot).

Yay - I am fully (finally) an NCer, again.

Super, Tim. As soon as he weather cools off, and you get settled in a little, I think its time for BBQ, hot dogs and cold Pepsi. Time to relax and spend some of that filthy lucre you been hiding! hehehe

Well we've all had that moment. Several weeks ago while doing our annual Smalltown Weekend Cruise the float stuck on the Edlebrock carb and we had to limp it home missing the cruise. Changed out the carb to a Holley and all was well. A couple of days later I felt the urge to tweek the Holley a little for a quicker off idle response. Pulled the carb off to re-jet it. Now for the moment. I had placed the air cleaner assy on the running board and I guess I left the hold down bolt on the fender cover. The good ole Oklahoma wind was blowing pretty good that day and when I returned to the truck to put the carb back on I found the fender cover laying on top of the intake manifold. Put it back on the fender and installed the carb (guess where this is going) and fired it up. Gosh awful noise and the engine wouldn't idle. I wish I could say that I hadn't heard that noise before but that's another long story. After much debate on what course of action to take, I decided to purchase a Bore Scope (best $20 I ever spent on a tool) and see what was down the intake. Found the Air Cleaner Bolt stuck in the #8 intake valve. Since it's been 100+ here for the last 2 weeks and I have no shade to work in, I've been doing an hour or so each morning. Took the intake off and using one of those cheap spring loaded grabber tools got a hold of the bolt. Then using a flat pry bar I moved the valve down until the bolt was free to come out. Inspected the valve and seat and found no damage. The bolt was soft metal. So yesterday morning I put the intake back on and torqued it down before the temps got too hot. This morning I stabbed the distributor and put the alternator back on. Another couple of mornings and I can fire it up again. Son helped with the bolt removal since it required more than two hands. I'm getting too old for this stuff.

Installed the power steering pump using the Alan Grove brackets only to find out that the hose connections are right in the way of the input shaft on the rack an pinion. I need to get the pump up about an inch higher or mount it in another place. Will call Alan Grove tomorrow to see if he has adapters to place it on the other side of the block. Got the alternator on and belted up.The Hooker headers look like they will work out. The Lokar shifter bracketry on the TH350 hits the underside of the floor pan. Have to dream up a fix for that now. Anyone have suggestions. All help appreciated. This project is taking forever. cruising season is slipping away.



Weeds

Well today was the magic day for the "48 Burb after removing a bolt from the intake valve of #8 cylinder. Finally got everything buttoned up and replaced the fluids. Hooked up the battery cable and poured a touch of gas in the carb. Turned the key and she fired right up. Idled smooth and no stumble on acceleration. Still need to fine tune the timing and hook up the accelerator linkage. Then it's time to get er back on the road. Too hot to finish today so early tomorrow morning to finish up.

modified the Alan Grpve power steering pump brackets so as to move the pump up out of the way of the rack and pinion input shaft.

If you change one thing it makes you change a lot of other stuff. Keeps the brain working to figure out all the other needed changes. Slow going but I WILL get there.


Weeds

Sadly, I got rid of the exhaust stacks on my 58 (routed the exhaust underneath like most trucks!)

Martin, you might consider changing the oil and make sure no metal is in it... you got lucky my friend

Fred, already done. Thanks for thinking of me.

Woo hoo, big weekend at HQ -- Ole Charlie got a 261 installed (thanks ODSS 261 Install Ninja Squad!) and a Juliano's 3-pt Seatbelt kit.

Just have to replace the hood to cab seal, and put the headliner back in without damaging it further -- after 67 years, it's a little brittle. Anyone have any tips on how to get it back under the fossilized cab windlace?

After I had washed the truck I decided it was time to replace the antifreeze, since it hadn't been done since I've owned it. I was pleasantly surprised to find the radiator petcock was not frozen & could be turned by hand. After it had drained, I installed a bottle of Prestone flush solution then refilled the radiator. I'm going to do the power flush, so I'll drive it several times over the next week to let it do it's magic in cleaning out all the crud. I read up on the sodium citrate and it seems to be a very mild cleaner, so I hope it does the trick. NAPA had Xerex concentrate antifreeze on sale a couple of weeks ago for $8 so I bought 3 gallons. Should be able to drain again and install the antifreeze by next weekend.

Back on the road again! After almost 11 months since I broke my driveshaft, and then the mission creep of fixing other things I hadn't planned on, I finally got the brakes bled today and took the truck out for a test drive.

She seems to ride a little smoother after replacing the rear leaf spring bushings, but of course that happens after just washing it too.

Can't wait to take my grandson out for our ice cream runs!

Installed filter in fuel pump to carb line and hooked it up. Also reassembled the Lokar shifter and with some help from a friend, installed it on the transmission and hooked up the shifter to trans linkage. It seems like there is always one more thing to do. But I am slowly getting there. Steering next then exhaust. Hope to get done before



the snow flies here in WI.



Weeds

I got my club plaque mounted on the '56.

Nice plaque Charlie.

Installed an electric wiper motor.

I put the exhaust stacks back on my 58. They won't be hooked up but will add the character back that it lost when I took them off!

Got the wall art hung up in my daughter's room last weekend! no, it is not a truck, but the front of a 58 big bolt!

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p494/69B-Cuda/1958%20Viking%2060/Wall%20art_03.jpg

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p494/69B-Cuda/1958%20Viking%2060/Wall%20art_01.jpg

That looks awesome

I have that exact same light fixture---------------Plus, the wall art is way too cool.

Decided to chase that 216 side pan and valve cover oil leak again. And once again I failed, somewhat....

This time I've seemed to slow it down pretty good though. Instead of a flow when warmed up I get a drip.
Used Permatex #2 on both sides of the gaskets and made sure all bolt holes were flush. Used a thick valve cover gasket if just to raise it up alittle and punched out the two holes for the hold down acorn nuts.
This was the last shot. It's replacement is on deck ready to step up to the plate. But it just keeps swinging away

I don't know how the factory was able to produce a leak free 216 if it ever did.......

Whew! Got the last piston out of the donor 235. Remarkably, the cylinder walls look like they'll clean up nicely with just some honing. As hard as the pistons were stuck, I'd have expected significant pitting.

We (pop-in-law) also just realized we're gonna have to pull the 216 out of the truck before we can reassemble the 235 (from '51 sedan) so we'll have the 216 front cover with the correct front motor mounts.

Out driving the '48 Burb last night and went to restart it and only got a click. Wiggled the positive cable and she lit right up. So, this morning I put her up on the lift to tighten the nut on the positive connection on the starter. I have a slow leak in the R/F tire so I aired it up while I was in the area. I have been experiencing some tailpipe dragging at certain times so I checked the exhaust while I had easy access. Muffler broken loose from the header pipe. Aligned that back up and welded the joint. Part of the dragging problem was associated with the need to adjust the coil overs for a bit more ground clearance. Having accomplished that I gave the underside a good inspection. My son was over assisting me and he found an improper install on the L/F shock. The top was loose and the bushings were out of place. Pulled it out and put everything back into place and reinstalled it. We took advantage of the cooler weather to get quite a lot done. Called it quits about 12:30 and retreated to the A/C.

Some of you may recall I pointed the '54 Suburban towards Salem, OR last May. About 200 miles out I checked the oil. WTH? It needed 3 quarts. Eighty miles later it needed 2 more. I thought the rear main seal gave out. We turned it around and headed back home. Ended up adding 10 quarts in 565 miles. What a mess on my shop floor the next morning.

I hadn't looked at it until today. I backed it out of the shop and degreased the engine. Then I cleaned and mopped the shop floor. I pulled the truck back in and ran it for 20 minutes trying to find the source of the leak. I could not find one drop of oil. I guess I'm going to need to open it up on the highway. The problem with that though is the oil will be slung all over making it hard to find the source.

My COE's 270 poured/slung out oil from a bad front seal (crankshaft seal behind the harmonic balancer).

I had a 350 in my 59 Suburban that would sling oil out when I loaded it or got on it hard. I think it was out the front seal as well. It would throw oil out and sling it to the passenger side. It almost looked like it was coming out of the fuel pump for a while!

Today I went to town and bought some UV oil dye and a UV flashlight. This evening I found my oil leak. It is coming from the left rear corner of the valve cover. A new gasket is on order.

Cletis, that's brilliant. Would not thought of the UV dye. Great that it's a simple fix.

Good test.
Hope you have better success than I. I'm unsure of how the GMC VC bolts down but it's got to be better than the 2 top-bolt 216 method.

My last foray into the leaking VC battle has produced a single leak from the VC in the area above #4 & #5 plugs. The steady flow from the rear and manifold side(s) seems to be stopped. So I'm at a quandary on whether to pull it again or just put up with a steady drip over a once steady flow.....

This time I used a thick cork VC gasket and #2 Permatex on both sides of the gasket.

Good luck

Switched out the water temp sender unit. It was new but the readings were way off so I put the old one I took off a few weeks ago back on. Ready to go now.

I got my gas gauge working at last! Original 6V gauge quit working, so I replaced it with a 12V. Couldn't get it to work. While running some test leads I discovered an inline voltage reducer on the power wire, evidently installed by the previous owner. Removed that and now my gauge works! Taking a lunch break now, will reassemble the dash afterwards.