The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1952 Chevrolet 3100 Project

9/12/19: I had a little time to start reassembly of the front brakes. I mounted the backing plates, the steering arms to the steering knuckle with the bolts, spacers lock washers and nuts using anti seize in the appropriate places. I then torqued them all to specifications and inserted the cotter pins to retain the nuts. I tried the new AC Delco wheel cylinders and they appeared too wide to fit between the tabs of the keeper bracket. When I previously removed the old wheel cylinders, the boots were damaged in that same spot. To me that throws up a red flag, so now, I wondering if the wheel cylinders are correct or the maybe the backing plates may have been changed. Tomorrow is another day and hopefully will supply the answers to this issue.

9/13/19: After posting the issue on “Stovebolt” forum, I found that the bracket is there to keep the pistons from overextending and may pinch the rubber dust cover a bit. I also found out that I can compress the boots and pistons on the new AC Delco wheel cylinders enough to get them installed. Armed with this new information I proceeded to install the new wheel cylinders and new brake shoes. Installation went really smooth with no issues.

Next on my list was to install the brake drums. Not that I have a written list, but a mental list that basically follows what I consider is the proper order of reassembly. Getting out my previously cleaned and inspected bearings in zip lock bags, I was getting ready to do a final cleaning on the bearings making sure that they were spotless when I noticed a spot on a single ball that started to spall. darn, I had previously done what I had thought was a through inspection and had not spotted this. The races were perfect and the balls looked to be in good shape. Previous to disassembly I spun each drum to feel for bearing problems and they were both as smooth a silk. This is another set back as I now need to order a new set of bearings. I think I will use this set back and turn it into an opportunity to upgrade to roller bearings.

Next is to install the tie rod. I had already cleaned and painted it so reassembly and installation was next. This went relatively smooth. I greased each piece as I assembled. After installing it on each steering arm, I tried to do the ball and socket adjustment. The adjustment was not as straight forward as I thought but I believe that I did manage to get it right. Installation of the cotter pins and a final greasing completed the job.

Next was to adjust the steering box. Although the Service Manual makes this sound relatively easy, it is no easy task. The locking nut at the very bottom for taking the slack out of the worm gear is not easy to loosen. It is large, about 2-1/4” and is blocked by the oil filter. I did manage to get it loose after removing the front and loosening the back clamps on the oil filter which enabling me to slide it forwarded enough to access the locking nut. Using a large slip joint pliers (water pump pliers) I did manage to loosen the nut. After unsuccessfully making the first adjustment, it became apparent that I needed a special wrench for that nut or I will risk damaging it with the water pump pliers. The pliers kept slipping and was hard to loosen and tighten due to the ill fitment and limited room I had to work in. I think fabrication of a proper wrench is in order. Tomorrow is another day.

9/14/19: Today I wanted to finish adjustment of the steering box. I needed to fabricate a tool for loosening the worm gear adjustment screw lock nut. I decided that a spanner attached to a 3/8” ratchet would be the easiest to make. I used a piece of 1/4” x 1-1/2” flat steel about 4” long. After getting the spacing of the pins to fit the nut, I drilled two small holes, slightly smaller than 3/16” to press in pieces of round stock. I cut the chuck end of an old 3/16” drill bit to use as pins. To get a 3/8” ratchet to fit, I drilled a 3/8” hole then filed it square to fit a 3/8” ratchet. This fit the lock nut perfectly and I was able to finish the steering wheel adjustment as per the Service Manual.

During the adjustment, I noticed the steering wheel was not centered. To center, I turned the wheel and counted the turns lock to lock, then split the difference. I then pulled the wheel, re-centered, reattached then reattached the drag link to complete job.

10/01/19: I finally got back to working on the truck today. I previously bought two new u-bolts to to replace the two that were not long enough. This was due to the spring liners I installed which increased the stack height when I rebuilt the front springs. I started on the passenger side, removing the lower shock hardware then compressing it to release it from the lower shock mount. I then removed the nuts and washers and removed the u-bolt and the lower shock mount. Looking in the Factory Assembly Manual, I noticed that the washers were sandwiched between the axle and lower shock mount. I don’t believe that was the way it was when I disassembled it. Following that illustration, I reassembled the longer u-bolt with the washers, lower shock mount and the nuts, running them up snug. The rear u-bolts were also a bit short but the ones I removed were longer so I used them instead. The Assembly Manual didn’t show any washers so I reassembled them accordingly. I torqued the nuts to 80 ft. lbs. I repeated this on the drivers side.

When I had previously assembled the front leaf spring shackles on the drivers side, I noticed a bit of side to side movement so I ordered a new shackle assembly. This included new bushing and pins. The new main leaf on the rebuilt spring assembly, had the bushings installed so all I needed to replace was the frame mounted bushing and the pins. I tried the new pin in the old upper bushing and it seemed to have a bit of slop. I tried it in the new bushing and that also was sloppy. I decided to leave the existing bushing as it’s a bit of a chore to remove the old one’s. The instructions in the Chevrolet Truck Shop Manual say to tighten securely then “Strike each end of the shackle a sharp blow with a hammer to insure seating of the tapers and retighten the draw bolt.” I did not do this the first time I tightened it. I surmised that that may be where the slop came from. I tightened both shackles per the instructions. I can’t really tell if it is fixed, but my gut feeling says it is.

I turned my attention to installing the bearings. When I previously tried to install the hubs, I noticed that one of the roller bearings had a small spot that was spalled. Needing to order new bearings, I used this opportunity to upgrade to the new style tapered roller bearings. After removing the old races, cleaning up the hubs and brake drum, I installed the races by lightly tapping with a sawed off hammer handle and a small ball peen hammer working my way around. Once the race was flush, I used a brass rod to finish seating the race. I repeated this process on the outer race. After cleaning the hub and drum assembly, I greased the roller bearings, installed the inner bearing, followed by the grease seal. The grease seal was a bit tricky to get it started but I did manage to get in installed tapping it in place.

I then set the dust shield in place on the spindle, slid the hub onto the spindle then installed the outer roller bearing, washer and nut. I torqued the nut to 33 ft. lbs. while rotating the drum, then backed off 1/12th to 1/6th to align the cotter pin. I installed the cotter pin and center dust cap. I then installed the wheel and torqued the nuts to 80 ft. lbs.

Adjustment of the brakes were next up. Per the instructions in the Shop Manual, while the anchor pin is just loose enough to move, tighten the shoes until a heavy drag is felt on the drum, then tap the anchor pin and backing plate lightly to allow shoes to center in the drum. If the drag on the drum changes, tighten the adjustment screw a few more notches, tap the anchor pin again and repeat until the drag remains the same. Once this was achieved, I torqued the anchor pin to 80 ft/lbs. At this point I backed off the adjustment nut 14 notches and the wheel spun freely so all is good! Tomorrow I get to do this again on the drivers side!

10/02/19: (morning) Second thoughts haunted and interrupted my sleep last night about the wheel bearing adjustment I did on the passenger side yesterday. It suddenly dawned on me that the tapered bearings would not be adjusted the same as roller bearings. I’ve adjusted tapered roller bearings dozen’s of times before so I don’t know why I feel so unsure about doing it. I guess I don’t want any re-do’s. I reached out to my fellow “bolters’ and posted that question. It set off a string of reply’s and the general consensus was it’s not the same as setting ball bearings. Nobody had the same answer as to the proper procedure. I’m sure some of them are right on, some are close enough and some are dead wrong. It’s up to me to apply logic and sort out the reply’s. In the past I have always applied enough torque to seat the bearings, back off, retighten to take of all slack, then back off at least 1/2 flat to the first notch. This had worked for me in the past and seems to line up with most of the reply’s I received. This is the procedure that I applied to readjust the passenger side bearings.

The drivers side was next to install. I wasn’t too thrilled with the way I installed the bearing races yesterday,. Since I have a 20 ton press, I decided that I would use that to install the races. The races are recessed into the hub and after looking for and not finding a suitable socket to finish the press, I took the old bearing races and ground the OD enough to slip into the hub. My 20 ton HF press needed a little tweaking to get the spindle parallel to the frame. It was welded in crooked and the only options were to remove the weld and re-weld it in place or just grind the face of the spindle flat. I choose the later as it was easier, took much less time and accomplished the same goal.

Pressing in the bearing races went perfect. Using a steel plate to press them in flush then using the old ground races to finish seating. I used the flat plate and the press to install the grease seal and that went flawless. I finished greasing and installing the remaining wheel bearing components, the hub and final wheel bearing adjustment. I installed the wheel, torquing to 80 ft/lbs, then adjusted the brake anchor pin and shoes.

This completed rebuilding the front end. YEA! I opened up this can of worms on July 22 and it took over ten weeks to close it back up. Unfortunately, during this debacle, I noticed that the brake master cylinder was weeping so I won’t get to test out my newly rebuilt front end until I fix that leak. I ordered a rebuild kit and removed the MC but found the internals too rusted to be rebuilt so I ordered a new master cylinder and I’m just waiting for it to arrive. Does it ever end?

10/2/20 (afternoon) Awhile back I ordered a new 12 volt gas gauge to replace my 6 volt with a shunt. My gas gauge, sending unit and wiring has plagued me since I bought the truck. Since my new master cylinder hadn’t arrived, I decided to install it. I have been putting this job off for awhile dreading the grueling task before me. As anticipated, this was not easy. Removing the cluster from the dash went fairly well but I had no clue how to get the gauge out of the cluster. Trying to minimize the work involved I didn’t completely remove the cluster from the truck so I could work on it at a bench. This later proved to be a mistake. The bezel is crimped in several places around the perimeter and I carefully pried at the crimps with a screwdriver and managed to separate the bezel from the cluster. To my surprise, the fuel gauge has lips on both sides that go under the adjacent gauges, requiring their removals prior to releasing the fuel gauge from the cluster. All this while the cluster was hanging under the dash, making working on it fustrating. I did manage to get the new gauge, the adjacent gauges and the bezel reinstalled only to find that the fuel gauge did not move. I had tested it outside if the cluster so I knew it worked. I had read on “Stovebolt” forum about this exact issue. Some of the Chinese made gauges are a bit higher and hit the inner frame of the bezel and that was indeed the problem. I did not find the issue immediately and it took a couple of times removing and reinstalling the bezel before I realized. I remedied the issue by gently pressing the interfering frame toward the glass in the bezel. Now the gauge responded as expected.

Reinstalling the cluster into the dash went as expected, grueling and punishing to my back. I did however stumble into a little better way to install the tiny nuts that hold the cluster to the dash. Having trouble getting my hand on a deep socket and having the ability to turn them, I thought an extension would be the answer, only to find some braces blocked getting the socket straight. I tried a flexible extension and that worked perfect. I was able to get the socket on the nuts and tighten. I only used my hand to tighten as I’ve heard some horror stories about cracking the glass. I did not want to take that cluster out again.

I previously had removed the sending unit so I could test full movement on the fuel gauge. After inserting it into the tank the new fuel gauge went right to empty. I expected an 1/8 of a tank or better. I removed the sending unit and found the float had gas in it. More Chinese reproduced crap. I’m running about 50% good vs. bad with the parts I’ve received. The float is made of brass and soldered together. I removed it from the arm, inspected it and found the seam leaking. The float was half full of gas so I used a small drill and reopened the previously drilled hole on the end to drain the gas. Leary of applying heat to the float that was just submerged in gasoline, I decided on using epoxy to seal it. I sanded it with 220 grit paper, cleaned it with degreaser then mixed enough to just cover the seam and hole in the end that I just drilled. I set this aside to remount allowing 24 hours to dry.

10/03/19: I reinstalled the float on the sending unit and installed it in the tank using black gasket maker to seal it to the tank. I went to turn the ignition on only to discover that I had left it in the on position he night before. dammm! I’ve done that before and know the consequences. I popped the distributor cap off and sure enough the points were closed which burned the points and drained the battery. Who knows what else I destroyed.

I placed the charger on the battery and left for the day.

For the gauges I like using knurled nuts. Avoids having to use any wrenches

That’s a great idea. It would also avoid over tightening and breaking the glass!

10/03/19: I reinstalled the float on the sending unit and installed it in the tank using black gasket maker to seal it to the tank. I went to turn the ignition on only to discover that I had left it in the night before. darn! I’ve done that before and know the consequences. I popped the distributor cap off and sure enough the points were closed which burned the points and drained the battery. Who knows what else I destroyed. I placed the charger on the battery and left for the day.

10/06/19: My master cylinder arrived on Friday, so today I wanted to install it. I bench bled the master cylinder in my vice by plugging the outlet, filling the reservoir with new Dot 3 Fluid then pumping the piston gently until no more bubbles appeared. I installed the master cylinder and adjusted the clevis to the brake lever, installed the pin and cotter pin. I removed the plug that I previously installed to bench bleed. I quickly installed the distribution tee and tried hooking up the brake lines. The one for the rear and right side went on with no issues. The one line that goes to the front left brake would screw in only a few threads before locking up. After removing it I discovered that the flare was not made up properly. I have a flaring kit but it is missing the 3/16” anvil to perform the initial flare for the double flare so I couldn’t re-flare the end.

I am getting so frustrated trying to get the truck back on the road. It seems I take two steps forward and one step back, making progress to the end goal but keep pushing back driving her again. It’s been over 2 months (7/22/19) since I started diagnosing the “Wandering Truck” issue. I’m only one fitting away. Still very frustrated and disillusioned.

10/8/19: I picked up a flaring kit and a tubing bender from from HF yesterday in addition to a 50” length of 3/16” steel brake line with pre-made ends from my “FLAPS” in case I couldn’t re-flare the the bad flare that attaches to the master cylinder. I attempted to double flare the end that was leaking last night and was unsuccessful. It appears to me that the cheaper flaring kits aren’t strong enough to do a proper flare on steel lines consistently, so today my plan was to form the new brake line using the old one as a template. The routing of this line was not run as the original, but due to the limited room I decided this was my only viable option. I plan on replacing all the lines when I do the frame off restoration so at least this will get her safely back on the road.

The first problem I faced was the new line was 50” long and the old was 46”. If I was confident that I could re-flare the end, I would have cut it down to fit, but wasn’t the case. I figured I could make a u-bend to shorten it. I duplicated the installed line, then put a u-bend in it and I was still too long by about an inch. I added another small u-bend and that did the trick. I finished making up the line and prepped to bleed them. I previously bench bled the master so I needed to bleed all four lines going to the wheel cylinders. I own a vacuum bleeder but it is in South Carolina where I spend my winters. Not any help here!

I took a 2’ length of tygon tubing that fit the bleeder valve and found a salad dressing bottle in the recycle bin. After unscrewing the top, the shaker hole in the inner cap matched the tubing perfectly. I added a cable tie under the lid to keep the tubing from pulling out and submerged in the brake fluid. I added some tie wire twisting it around the neck then formed the remainder into a hook so I could hang the bottle.

I opened the bleeder on the drivers side, installed the tubing then started pumping the brakes. This was supposedly a one man bleeder I found on Youtube. This worked, however I could not see what was going on. I surmise, if you pumped it enough times you would purge the air, but you would go thru allot of fluid. Before I purchased my vacuum bleeder, I relied on my wife to pump the brakes, so off to get my helper. With my wife pumping the brakes and I, operating the bleeder, I quickly ran the master out of fluid. I didn’t even get one wheel completed. Apparently not much of a reservoir. Adding fluid and a few short pumps purged out the air from the master so I continued this bleeding and filling until I did all four wheels. With the help of my wife, this went relatively well. A bit tedious working thru a 3” hole, getting the cap off the master cylinder, filling without overfilling, reinstalling the cap then repeat another dozen times. You get the picture. I did overfill it a couple of times, “cleanup on aisle four”, but the job is done.

After frying the points the other day, I purchased a set of points and condenser from O’Reilly’s Auto Parts yesterday. I tried installing the points but quickly found out they were not the correct ones. This was the second time that I received the wrong set. I need to figure out what the difference is so it doesn’t happen again. Off to town to get another set of points. The local Napa didn’t have a set in stock. Living in the Adirondack Mountains in NY, I have always considered it as a blessing, however, cell phone service is scant at best. I wanted to see if there were any auto parts store nearby and I had no service. I decided to drive to the next town a couple of miles away, to see if reception was any better but no such luck, so I headed back home to clean up a set of old points that were not previously burnt. On my way home I passed a Car Quest that I never noticed and they had a set. Once I got home and installed the points and a new condenser and after a long road repairing the front end, I finally got her started. After sitting for over two months, the hydraulic lifters were clattering like crazy. I figured a short drive might silence them and after about five minutes they started quieting down. She also was not wandering all over the road and no longer had slop in the wheel. The braking was better but I suspect could be much better as I still have the rear brakes to go thru.

I took a short 15 mile trip beaming over my triumph. A long fought battle but another big success! On to the next battle!

Great going. Seems like all the little steps take the longest. I know your pain with using the flaring tools, I have 3 different kits and not happy with any of them. I'll invest in a quality kit prior to doing my brake lines.

I plan on doing a frame off in a year or two after I straighten out all of the mechanical issues and I’m leaning toward copper-nickel. From what I heard, Cu-Ni double flares nicely because it’s soft and has the added benefit of being corrosion resistant. I’ve looked into quality flaring kits and they run around $200 and it may be a one time use tool. I can’t quite justify that expense. I have one questionable brake line left to replace on the rear end and picked up a 25’ coil of Cu-Ni for $25 from Amazon for that purpose. I see how that goes.

10/15/19: I got around to addressing the distributor advance slop. I previously found the pin connection was worn so I fabricated a shoulder bolt on my lathe and it tightened it nicely. When I pulled the distributor, I also noticed that the gear was turning slightly on the shaft. I ground out the pin, and found a suitable roll pin to take it’s place. It is now tight to the shaft. After reinstalling the distributor, resetting the points and timing the engine, the timing mark is still bouncing around about 3 degrees.

10/21/19: I removed the distributor from the truck, disassembled to troubleshoot the wandering timing and this is what I found.
* The grease cup had the spring and the fiber disk
* There was no noticeable lateral movement between the shaft and the housing
* I ran a dial indicator on the shaft and on the lobes using v-blocks. The shaft was perfect and the lobes ran out about .002”.
* I also measured the vertical movement on the assembly that contains the point cam and that read .035”.
* The shaft had quite a groove where the fiber washer rides. I measured it on V-blocks with a dial indicator and it ran true.

My thoughts:
* The .035” of vertical movement (on the cam assembly) will be lessened by the spring on the rotor and should not be an issue.
* The .002” runout on the cam lobes will make the timing vary.
* The groove on the distributor shaft is not good but since its even should not be an issue.

After cleaning and painting, I reassembled the distributor and installed it. I reset the points, re-timed it and readjusted the carburetor. This time I used a vacuum gauge to set the timing. I plugged the vacuum advance, set the idle to 450 RPM, adjusted the timing to the highest reading then backed off 1Hg. It ended up to be about 10 degrees advanced and still jumping back and forth, but it doesn’t seem to be quite as much. The engine is running better but I know that the distributor will need to be replaced in the future.

Maybe a HEI is in her future!

10/22/19: During the last test drive I noticed that she was pulling hard to the left during breaking, so I wanted to readjust the brakes. The drivers side was close to adjustment but the passenger side was real loose accounting for the uneven braking. I readjusted the rears also.

I also re-torqued the front spring u-bolts to 80 ft/lbs.

10/23/19: After frying the points one too many times, I wanted to install an idiot light telling me when the ignition was on. I had previously bought some small red LED lights from eBay and set out to get it done. After posting this idea on Stovebolt, I had some diagrams on how to do it. Unfortunately I couldn’t get it to work. At this point, I am not sure my one wire GM clone alternator is capable of hooking up an idiot light so I decided shelve this idea at this time.

Part of my plan of not frying the points is to install a battery disconnect switch. I bought a high amperage switch from eBay and drilled a 3/4” hole in the passenger side seat pedestal. I temporarily installed the switch to locate the holes for the battery cables to pass thru the floor and to measure the battery cables length required. Drilling small holes in the floor pan to route some wire, I was able to determine the lengths I need. I going to switch the negative side so power is not under the seat in the off position. I ordered the cables from eBay.

10/28/19: My battery cables came in today so I set out to install them. I started with the positive cable and it installed without a hitch. I drilled out the floor where the cables pass thru from the switch, a little bigger than 5/8” to install a grommet. I used silicone spray to aide installing the 2 gauge wires thru the grommet and the floor pan. One cable was about an inch too long but I was able to turn the switch to accommodate the additional length. Installed the switch and tested. I feel much better having a way to isolate the power if ever there is an electrical fire. All is good.

11/2/19: I purchased two 3 point seat belts and another lap belt for a center passenger from Seat Belts Plus. After living with seatbelts for over 30 years, I feel naked driving or riding in a vehicle that doesn’t have them, so today I set out to install them. With the gas tank still in the truck, I opted to install them strictly with bolts. I figure I can weld the mounts in when I do the frame off restoration.

I studied several websites, YouTube videos and several posts from fellow “bolters”. It took me more time to decide how to mount them then the actual installation. I utilized the Deve Method with the exception of welding in the L bracket on the floor. Instead I fabricated a 1-1/2” x 4” x 1/4” plate and tapped it 7/16-20 to install under the cab to accept a thru bolt installed in the L bracket. So the L-bracket has two bolts holding it in place. First picture shows the plate that is installed under the floor. The second shows the L-bracket (overhead view) that holds the retractor. That L-bracket is bolted thru the floor into the plate. Note the bolt that the retractor is bolted onto, wasn’t long enough so I replaced it with one that accommodated the retractor, washer, lock washer and nut.

The top backing plate, purchased from Seat Belts Plus, I trimmed and bent it to fit the contour of the roof pillar similar to Deve’s installation. I also installed one 3/16” pop rivet to hold the plate in place so the seatbelts could be removed easily when I do a frame off restoration. I replaced the plastic grommets with steel bushings I fabricated on my lathe so the d-rings could freely rotate. I ended up adding an additional washer against the cab so the d-ring would clear the windless weather stripping. I should have added additional length to the steel bushings had I known, but the washers did the trick.

The next step was to attach the buckle straps and the middle seat belt. I opted to fabricate these brackets rather then mount the belts to the floor and use the big flat washers provided in the hardware for two reasons. I could make one bracket to accommodate two belts and I could mount the attachment points closer to the seat using a tall L-bracket. These were made from 3x3x 1/4” angle. I also tapped 7/16”-20 threaded holes in the plate under the cab floor so I didn’t need to use nuts. I radius’d the corners and the edges that were against the cab so the sharp edges of the plate wouldn’t cut thru the cab floor in case of an accident.

I am very happy with the result.

Additional Seatbelt Installation Pictures

Working by myself, I had to get creative assembling the brackets. The last picture shows how I utilized two magnetic welding holders to hold the backing plates in place while I threaded the fasteners thru the angle brackets from above the floor into the backing plates.

Hey there;
In my area at least, most of the parts stores have a tool loan program. Tools like; pullers, brake piston reset and possible a flaring tool may be available. The only other suggestion I would have, aside from purchasing one, would be to take the brake line down to a local shop and see if they would flare it for you. As long as you have an accurate measurement for where the flare needs to be... could go either way

Keep posting!
Looking good.
Steve

Great suggestion Steve, next time I have another option. Thanks!

11/3/19: After installing the seat belts, I was concerned what could happen in an accident now that we the occupants were securely strapped to the cab and the seat was not. I was looking at the seat and how it was attached to the cab. There is four 5/16” bolts that attach the seat frame to the seat riser. One of mine was changed to a bolt with no identifiable marking, wasn’t re-welded in, necessitating the use of a second wrench to tighten it. Since I had to change out the bolt and weld it in, I decided to change all of them to 3/8” grade 5. I used a die grinder with a cut-off wheel to remove the spot welds. Installed new bolts, welded them in, then added bigger, thicker washers and lock washers to complete this upgrade. While I was working on the seat slides, I noticed that the brackets holding these bolts were only spot welded in. I added a few welds to strengthen that attachment. I’m sure that there is still some weak points, but with these mods, I have eliminated the obvious ones.

11/15/19: I have been experiencing low oil pressure once the engine warms up, since I got the truck last February, I posed this question on Stovebolt forums a week or so ago. The general consensus was 5 lbs. at idle, was way too low for a full pressure 235.

I suspected that the bypass oil filter may not have had the restrictor orifice installed but was schooled on this forum that the orifice was internal to the filter housing. After removing, inspecting the filter and finding no issues, I installed pipe plugs to eliminate the filter until I diagnose the problem fully.

The lifters are prone to collapsing and take too long to pump up so it was suggested I clean and inspect the hydraulic lifters. Today I took out all the hydraulic lifters, one at a time, cleaned, reassembled, filled with oil, then reinstalled. At the same time, I cut slight grooves into the bottom of each pushrod to alleviate any trapped air as suggested by HRL. I followed Chev235Guyguidance.

They all looked like new and I found only one that collapsed. I reassembled everything and I’m waiting for a pushrod cover gasket I ordered before I continue. I want to run the engine to see if that solves the problem before I go into the crankcase.

11/24/19: My push rod cover gasket came in and I installed the cover to start the engine. The engine ran terrible with the same #2 cylinder still missing. I shut down the engine, thinking the lifter was still collapsed so I removed the subject lifter and disassembled to do a thorough inspection. After cleaning I blew thru it and it appeared that the check valve wasn’t working properly. I blew it out with compressed air and it now seems to work correctly. After reinstalling, It still ran terrible with the same lifter cylinder missing. Now I’m thinking that maybe a valve is bad. Never having done a compression test on this engine, I decided now would be a good time. The test came out good, with all cylinders between 150 to 160 PSI. That eliminated any piston or valve problems and points right back to low oil pressure.

The plugs looked like they were burning overly rich, but I can’t really relate that to the rough running, because at this point, it won’t run without the choke being pulled out at least half way. I media blasted the plugs prior to reinstalling and as I was reinstalling I noticed that two gaskets were missing. Thinking that I blew them off in the sand blast cabinet, I emptied out the blast media thru a strainer, but couldn’t find the gaskets. I searched high and low but could not find the gaskets. Now I’m thinking that they may not have been installed in the first place. In any case I need to get new plugs.

11/25/19: I purchased new AC R45 plugs and installed them today. I started the engine and it still was missing with another collapsed lifter. This time it was a different lifter. I also noticed that none of the rockers were not getting any oil so I quickly shut her down. I had removed the distributor and side cover several times to gain access to the lifters so apparently the last time I didn’t get the distributor seated enough to engage the oil pump. I pulled the distributor and reset it, this time I measured to insure I engaged the oil pump. I restarted the engine and it sounded so much better. Running on all cylinders, oil weeping at all of the rockers but it still has one lifter that was clattering. I think at this point I need to drop the oil pan to measure the crank and rod bearing clearances.

4/11/19: 4/11/20: This will be my last post in “Project Journals” for a while as we are wintering in South Carolina and won’t be returning to New York (where the “ole gal” is) until mid to late May. I’ve been playing catch-up with my posts since I started this journal and finally reached the point where I have caught up.

When we left NY in early January, I was battling a low oil pressure issue. The general consensus from this forum back in December was the lower end bearings needed to be looked at. I was a bit reluctant to pursue this road as I was not convinced that other discrepancies were not at least contributing to the issue.

One of the contributing factors is I have a ‘59 235 with a ‘61 “848” head and hydraulic lifters. The rockers are pre ’59. The earlier 235 (pre ‘59) had a 1/16” restrictor installed in the oil supply to the rockers presumably to limit the amount of oil being supplied to the rockers preventing oil spewing all over the place. In ‘59 they opened the restriction up to 11/32”, closed off the overflow tube and offset the weep holes in the rocker arms in relation to the supply holes in the rocker shaft, which now pressurizes the shaft. I have pre ‘59 rockers with the supply overflow tube so it won’t pressurize the rocker shaft. I have since obtained a set of original ‘59 style of rockers and plan on installing them when I return.

The engine was rebuilt by a supposable reputable engine rebuilder in 2013 and I don’t know if they put in any type of restrictor nor if they knew that was a change in the rocker oil system. This truck sat for six years before I bought it in February 2019, so there is little mileage since the rebuild, thus my reluctance to check the lower end.

However, I was able to locate and contact the PO that had the engine rebuilt. He was more than happy to talk to me about the truck and told me some history about the engine rebuild. After the original rebuilt, he had a main bearing ceased up due to a bearing being too tight and the builder remedied it by adding .001” shims to all the main bearing caps. He had also experienced low oil pressure issue after the rebuild.

Finally conceding to the fact, that the main and rod bearings need to be looked at, I am contemplating which direction I should head when I get back to NY, to fix this issue. As I see it, I have two roads to go down:

Remove the pan, inspect and plastigauge the main and rod bearings and replace the rockers to the correct ‘59 style.
* PROS:
* Should take allot less time unless I find a bigger issue
* CONS:
* This would involve me doing most of the work on my back which is something I’m not looking forward too.

Remove engine and totally go thru it.
* PROS:
* Much easier on my back
* Can do a much more thorough job
* Can paint engine
* Easy access to clean up engine bay
* CONS:
* Much, much more time consuming

Presently, I’m undecided in which direction I should go. What are your thoughts?

Phil,
While I'm all for the least invasive method to a solution I don't believe you'll find the piece of mind in having really isolated the problem unless you pull the motor out. You stated that the PO had the same issue with low oil pressure after the main bearing caps being shimmed, maybe this wasn't the right answer to the problem. I don't think you'll be happy until your able to mic the crank and bearing completely.... Just my thoughts. The rocker arm situation is a head scratcher there are a lot of issues going on with all the different parts.

The plus side is being able to clean up the engine bay and paint the block, I'm sure you'll find some other projects in there as well. Good luck, I'll be following.

Y’all do know he’s documenting a build that is already finished?

Justhorsenround, At this point, my journal is caught up, so I’m now at real time. As I said, my truck is in NY so I contemplating my next moves to solve the low oil pressure issue when I get back in May.

My bad, I was looking at the 2019 date. Carry on.

Sorry, my bad it should have been 4/11/20 not 4/11/19.

I thought I was reading this correctly, now I'm scratching my head

l’m back in NY now but I’m busy getting all of the chores done first. Quite a few things need to be done after winterizing a house for four months. In addition, I’m going to install a new T&G floor on my porch, and that is the priority so it will be a few weeks before I start working on my truck.

I have decided to pull the engine and Tuts 59 nailed it when he said... This in addition to a few other issues that can be sorted out if I pull the engine, was the deciding factor.


At least I’m putting my truck to good use. I didn’t have a dry place to store the T&G Douglas Fir.


I have my grandson here to help and he’s as anxious as I am to get going and figure out this problem. I’ll start my journal when I get started. Till then...

7/12/20: I finally got to pay a little attention to our ole ‘52 yesterday. She’s been sitting since last December and started right up so I took her for a little spin. I didn’t go far, but it sure felt good driving her for a few miles. The oil pressure was pegged at 30 lbs. when I left but didn’t take long to go down to 15 lbs. while driving and about 5 lbs. @ idle.

I have to make some unexpected repairs at our home in NY so I can’t spend the time required to pull and possibly rebuild the engine. As many of you know (if you’ve followed my journal), the rocker arm assembly is pre ‘59 and my engine is a ‘59, so the pre ‘59 rockers offer no restriction at the end of the line. This always had me thinking, that the miss matched parts might be the cause or at least a contributor to the low oil pressure.

Jumping on an opportunity last December, I found a complete rocker arm assembly on eBay for $65 that was described as “Some of the arms are hard to move”, making me think that they must not have much wear if they are tight to the shaft. This was not the case. After disassembling, I found that the shafts were severely worn and needed to be replaced. In addition the rocker arms were worn where they contact the valve stem. Another lesson learned. Last January, just prior to going south for the winter, I cleaned up the entire assembly, soaked them in oil and bagged them to prevent any further damage until I decided what to do with them.

Over the winter, I had decided to replace both shafts with new and reuse the arms as there was no appreciable wear on the ID of the arms where they contact the shaft. The worn ends that contact the valves could be refaced to get them serviceable again. When I got back to NY in May, I bought new shafts on eBay for $94. Now I’m into this for $159.

My intention had always been to replace the rocker arm assembly with the correct assembly. I made the decision to do this first, since I could accomplish this in a relatively short amount of time. There is a chance, that this may be the issue and if not, I’m not wasting any time as I would be replacing these anyway when I pull the engine.

I read, in this forum, that the rocker arm valve contact surface could be refaced on a belt sander or grinder. I surmise by keeping the flat sides of the arm (where the shaft goes thru), one could grind the contact point with reasonable accuracy. I found that the table on my belt/disk sander needed to extend around the face of the disk in order to grind the entire arc of the contact point. I clamped a 1/8” plate on one side to wrap around the existing table on the disk side sander and squared the table to the disk. I followed up with a medium grit flat stone and hand stoned it smooth. The pictures show before and after.

After flushing and blowing off each of the parts, I reassembled the rocker arm assembly with the new shafts. The installation went easy once I backed off all of the adjusters. I tried first without doing so, but quickly realized by taking the alignment of the push rods out if the equation it made aligning the six shaft stands much easier. A quick adjustment of the hydraulic valves and she was ready to start.

She started right up, the valves were quiet and the initial oil pressure was about 40 lbs., a bit higher than before. All of the rockers were getting oil, so I was real hopeful that I solved the problem. After running it for about 10 minutes, the pressure dropped to 15 lbs. I shut the engine off so I could install the valve cover in order to take her for a short ride. The ride proved that the pressure did come up a bit but not significantly enough for me not to continue to look further. The pressure at 30 MPH was 15 lbs. and dropped to about 5 @ idle. Strange thing was when I slightly accelerated, the pressure would drop and when I let off the pressure increased significantly. I can’t explain that. Another strange thing was the new oil pressure gauge that I mounted last year on the engine, is now showing 0 lbs. at idle and the dash gauge (which originally matched the new gauge) was showing 5-7 lbs. At any rate, it looks like the next step is to remove the engine to look at the bearings. Unfortunately that will have to wait.

At least I can now rule out the mismatched components.

7/23/20: Today I removed the engine from my truck, to diagnose a low oil pressure issue. It went quite well with the exception of the actual removal of the engine.

I started by draining the transmission and removing the floor cover to gain access from above. Listening to fellow Stovebolters, I super cleaned the drive shaft housing where the bell collar slides and it slid back perfectly with little effort. I borrowed a friends engine lift and used it to lower the transmission to a tire dolly, a trick I also learned by reading prior post on this forum. The engine lift also made easy work of removing the hood.

Next was the dreaded exhaust. As images of using OA torches and broken studs danced in my head, they broke freely with no issues. After removing all of electrical connections, linkage, gauge lines and the motor mounts the engine was ready to be removed. I fabricated a plate to bolt on where the coil mounts to act as one lift point and used a chain around the front of the intake manifold for the other as suggested again on this forum.

That’s when Murphy’s Law came into effect. My first attempt at removing the engine, the front mount got hung up. Having never removed this engine, it felt like it was still bolted in place and I thought I may have missed a bolt. The back came up but the front didn’t move. Relooking at the mount, I assured myself that it just needed a little more persuasion. I rocked the engine a bit more aggressively and it finally broke free. Thinking I was on the home stretch, the lift stopped lifting while needing only six more inches. Now I’m stuck halfway in and halfway out. I previously tested the lift, by pumping it up to the my nine foot ceiling and successfully lifted my hood off. I surmised that it needed more pump oil due to the additional weight. Looking for the fill plug, all I found was a rubber plug about a third of the way up. I pulled the plug, added fluid until it ran out, replugged the hole and proceeded to pump the engine up. Yea! It works. Disaster averted! I proceeded cautiously and got the motor high enough to clear the radiator support. I didn’t have enough room in front to clear the truck so I had to back the truck up which I had previously planned on doing. My plan was/is to store the truck outside while I work on the engine, parked under a temporary canopy. This will enable me to to clean the engine bay outside so it won’t make a mess inside my garage. Backing out was easy as my garage floor has a pitch for drainage purposes. Now Murphy wasn’t done with me as when I was lowering it down, pump oil started spraying out of the fill hole thru the rubber plug, squirting about six feet all over the floor. I suppose I may have overfilled it. What a mess! I did land it on some blocking and spent the rest of the day cleaning up and putting away my tools.

Please note that the rope was not used to support the engine. After putting a sufficient amount of strain on the chains I used, I got an uneasy feeling that disaster might occur and added the rope as a fail safe measure.

I started this project about 10:30 this morning and the engine and tranny was out by 3:30. Unfortunately my grandson was not available to help so I did this solo. Not to shabby for an old geezer!

Don't you love it when a plan comes together. I hope you don't find anything catastrophic once you open it up. Man I love the look of your wheels and cap with that paint color, gets me thinking about painting my Ralley wheels..

7/27/20: I started disassembling the engine and here is what I found under the main bearing caps.

First a little history: I was able to locate and contact the PO that had the engine rebuilt six years ago. He was more than happy to talk to me about the truck and told me some history about the engine rebuild. After the original rebuilt, he had a main bearing ceased up due to a bearing being too tight and the machine shop remedied it by adding .001” shims to all the main bearing caps. He had also experienced low oil pressure issue after the rebuild.

The first shim under the rear main is not .001” thick, but .009”. I had planned to Plastigauge all of the bearings and ordered a set on line last year. That’s when Murphy’s law came into effect. I went to use them and there wasn’t any plastic line in the package. Neither the green (.001”-.003”) or the red (.002”-.006”) that I ordered contained any gauge. I figured I could go to the “not so local” NAPA dealer 20 minutes away and buy what I needed. The only gauge they had was .001”-.003” so I settled for that.

I Plastigauged the rear main bearing and it is larger that the .003” the gauge is limited too. It just started to squeeze out but not measurable on the scale. I needed the red package. I stopped right there as I don’t think Plastigauge is going to tell me the story.

I was anticipating having to pull out a small shim, but when I encountered the .009” shim, that has me really perplexed. It would seem to me if they needed a little more clearance, why would they put a .009” shim in? At this point, I’m going to pull the crank and get proper mic readings. That way it will tell me what the real story is.

Sounds like some machine shop magic, Not Good. I would thing that undersized bearing are still available for that engine. Glad you were able to discuss this with the PO, answered a few of your questions about low oil pressure. I think your going to be fine once you correct the bearing issue.

7/29/20: Yesterday, with the help of some knowledgeable Stovebolt experts, I was finally able to disassemble the engine and pull the crankshaft. What I found was not unexpected. The crank was already reground .030” under and the rear main bearing was ground to .027” under standard, which is .003” shy of what it should have been. We found the smoking gun.

Jerry suggested either find a shop that could handle regrinding the main journal the .003” it needs or find a another crank to regrind. If It could be reground, I would still need to address the rear main seal area.

I had a couple of Automotive Machine Shops in my area, recommended by some fellow “Bolters”, so I’m going to give them a call and see whether its possible.

8/04/20: After finding one cam bearing that has .005”-006” clearance, I’ve decided to take the entire block to a machine shop to hopefully straighten out my low oil pressure issue once and for all. They are going to check out all of the clearances then give me a call with their findings. They said if the other journals check out, they could grind the one oversized crank journal and go back with 30 over bearings.

I dropped it off early today trying to beat hurricane “Isaias”, so while its at the shop I’ll be cleaning the rest of the engine parts for reassembly and clean/prep the engine bay for painting. Once the engine is reassembled, I’ll be giving the engine a new paint job. My thoughts are I want to get rid of the “Chevy Orange” and go with the original gray paint from 1952.

I will also be replacing the leaky rear seals and brake shoes on the rear end.

Last on the list is a noise I have when I release the clutch. I originally thought that the sloppy clutch fork pivot wasn’t pulling the clutch release bearing away from the clutch far enough to disengage. After initial inspection of the transmission, I found that the pilot shaft is worn where it enters the pilot bushing. I need to measure to confirm this but the crank is at the shop. I suppose I’ll need to check the roller bearings too.

8/06/20: Today I started cleaning up the engine parts and engine bay. The left hinge for the hood was real sloppy. I found that the rivets that hold the two flat bars that attach to the hood were loose. I removed it figuring I could tighten the rivets with a ball peen hammer. I started peening but it wasn’t tightening to the ID of the hole the rivet passes thru. Using my lathe, I made a tapered punch I used on my 20 ton press to expand the rivet. I finished it off with a hammer to get the flange of the rivet flush. The rivet tightened perfectly and now the two bars have no slop at all. A quick trip to the sand blaster and its all set for paint. The bolts I removed are not shoulder bolts contributing to the slop, so I’ll need to order new hardware. While the hinge was off, I removed the hood to cowl seal, cleaned and sanded the passenger side cowl area under the hood, then gave it a few of coats of satin black. I was able to save the clutch head screws and clips but the seal will need to be replaced as it came off in sections.

Nice work.

8/22/20: One of the items on my list while the engine is out was a noise that was coming from the clutch/transmission area. When I release the clutch fully and the transmission is in neutral, there is a noise that sounds like the the clutch throwout bearing was still engaged. When I was investigating the noise, I found that the clutch fork was loose on the pivot ball. When I removed the bell housing, the pivot was indeed worn needing replacement.

Unfortunately, that was not the end of my problem. I checked the transmission and found the both the input shaft and the output shaft have slop. Today I disassembled the transmission to diagnose the issues and found that the input shaft (sometimes referred to as the clutch shaft) ball bearing was bad. I believe that accounts for the noise I was hearing. I found that most of these parts are readily available. Unfortunately, I found that the rear bearing support bushing is severely worn. According the the shop manual, if this bushing is worn, You are suppose to replace the bearing support and bushing as a unit and I have not found where I could buy a replacement.

I removed the main shaft, synchronizer drum and first gear cluster and decided not to remove any of the other gears. They physically look great and have no noticeable slop. My plan is to get a rebuild kit, replace the input shaft bearing, the associated roller bearings, main shaft bearing and attempt to procure a replacement rear bearing support.

I suppose if all else fails, I could pick up bearing bronze, press in a bushing and cut it down to a finish size.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning the parts and getting the casing ready for a satin black paint job.

8/29/20:For the last week, I’ve been cleaning up and painting the engine bay, prepping for the return of the engine. To say it is a laborious task is a huge understatement. I didn’t plan for a show quality result, but instead wanted just to clean it up. My plan (for those that have not followed my “Project Journal”), is to do a frame, off once I get her 100% mechanically sound so at this stage, I wasn’t planning on doing any body work. In addition, one PO many many years ago installed an after market heater and butchered the firewall. The heater core is shot and the blower motor is 6 volt so I removed it. I’m undecided as to original heater or aftermarket heat/AC unit. I hammered out as much as I could, then pop riveted a few patches to close up the holes. Overall, I am happy with the job.