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Couple of minor updates from today’s activity.
Finished wiring up the MSD box᠁ not the neatest job but it will do. Did some more shaping of the floor and outside of some clean up work it’s pretty well completed. Started playing with my floor mat, it was listed for a 41-46 truck and said that some trimming might be required for 39/40᠁ with my assorted modifications᠁ it’s going to take a lot of trimming᠁ but I like the look so it’s worth it.

Couple of updates᠁ fuel sender is wired, floor is oh so close and the last fender is painted. Sort of, someone put a couple of deep scratches in it, not sure if it’s fixable but at this point I don’t care.. trucks not perfect, was never meant to be and never will be.

YEAH RIGHT, this thing is flawless....

It’s far from Flawless᠁ but in the dark of night she’s a looker.

I love my truck and I’m mostly thrilled with how it’s come together ᠁ but some things could have turned out better.


Got some mock-up done on the passenger side exhaust today.. plan on cutting the last bit of tubing tomorrow.. weld it, throw some paint at it and mark the exhaust of the to-do list.

Spent a few hours working on the truck. Got the floor done᠁somehow it looks like a riot shield. Passenger side exhaust is cut and routed the speedometer cable.

Floor is finally finished᠁ at least for now

outstanding!!!!

^ thanks

Got the shifter connected and adjusted. Using an aftermarket plate that acts like a true slapstick between first, second and third.
Decided the red cable wasn’t ideal so used leftover wire sheathing to blacken it out.

Yesterday was welding ..eh᠁ grinding the rest of the passenger exhaust together and throwing some high temp paint at it. Today it gets assembled.. one more thing off the list

Exhaust is done᠁ had some heat concerns on the passenger side᠁ so header wrap it is. Actually had a decent weather day᠁ natural light was a nice change

Lost the fight with my self canceling, push button turn signals, I wanted the column to be clean but it wasn’t meant to be. So on goes the old stand by᠁ which actually doesn’t look too terrible. Finished up all the overhead wiring᠁ one more thing off the list.

That looks good, just like it belongs! Nice job!

^ thanks

Spent yesterday pulling down the overhead and chasing a short...which of course turned out to be at the neutral safety switch. The B&M neutral switch is turning out to be a pain. The plate was slightly bent and the micro switch is making constant contact...so rather than only starting in N or P, it's starting in all gears and causing issues with the ignition switch. Truck tries to turn over in ACC, On and Run positions.. not ideal. At this point I'm ready to move on and delete the darn thing.

Wasn't all bad though as I had joined the exhaust cut outs power with the wiper switch, rather than the making the join with the gauge power wire᠁ Needing to turn on the wipers so the cut outs work would have been interesting. So that got fixed while looking for the short

Things left on the wiring list... horn, neutral safety switch, and the wipers, which were working at one point.
Just about time to fire it up

It’s been a few long days and a 99% failure rate.
Started at filling the radiator with antifreeze.. forgot to put in a block off plug in the pump᠁ dumped some liquid onto the concrete. Didn’t appear to have a plug so a quick run to the hardware store for a brass plug and it’s off to the races᠁ later found 2new stainless plugs in an unopened Jegs package.

First attempt at firing up the truck and I had to chase a couple of fuel leaks.. killed the battery.

Put the truck on a charger overnight᠁ spent the next day revising the timing and tracking down an issue᠁ which turns out to be a partially functioning MSD box.

So annoyed at the MSD that I’m moving to basic points. Ripped out the distributor, the box and all the associated wiring. Needed to remove the floor to access the wiring and the rear carb in order to pull the distributor.

For the time being I’ve borrowed dad’s gm dizzy and ballast from his model A᠁

It’s pretty well back to where I started before the weekend᠁

I'm dealing with a similar problem on a BB F@#d, I have been chasing wiring gremlins in an original harness. The MSD A6 ignition is a proven product and is tried and true as long as it's wired correctly. In your case it just take time to source the issue. In my case I'm paying for the sins of everyone who has ever touched the wiring.

Would be nice if that was the case... according to the MSD instructions the box is wired correctly, get 5 flashes in the run position, cranking flashes the LED... have power in the small red wire, coil has continuity, tested with another known coil... shorted the MSD green/purple plug and it fails the spark test.
Last night the points distributor got hooked up and we got spark on the number 1 plug.

I'm convincing myself that an old points type ignition suits the theme of the truck a bit better. Ordered a small black cap and some black 8mm wires to go with the new dist.

This is my first time with a ballast resistor, turns out they get really warm. Going to have to space it out from the firewall or that paint will probably end up blistering .

Barring any other set backs...truck could be firing up pretty soon

So after some minor profanity and 2 days of suffering᠁ the trucks alive.

Went over the timing countless times, redid the valves and finally got all the stars to line up.

Truck is running up to about 3k at start up.. so some carb tuning is the next step

Two updates in one day᠁ I’ll be good for the year

Spent a little time tinkering tonight and determined that the carbs weren’t returning to closed᠁ hence the race to 3k. Dad pulled them back after starting and the truck dropped into a 1000rpm idle᠁. Truck sounds sweet at idle.

Relocated the front return spring to get more leverage and that seams to have helped.

Pic with the new 8mm wires and points cap

I wish you would post a video link, I would love to hear that monster run!!!

Hey Tuts,

I will post videos of the truck running before this thread is finished. Throttle linkage got resolved a couple of days ago... I think. Right now I'm waiting on a fan belt and fighting the brakes.

Spent yesterday replacing the wiper switch in the overhead panel (wipers now work) and attempting to bleed the brakes. I have an issue with the pedal/rod binding which wasn't present before, so currently the rod won't go deep enough to engage the front brake ports.

After that it's down to putting gas in the tank and looking/waiting for leaks...have been running the truck out of a jerry can, also need to verify that the alternator will charge the battery.

So very close, yet the truck is really fighting the last remaining items.

It's always the details that take the most time, it will be worth it...

Spent the weekend fighting the brakes᠁ after much trial/error, finally got the push rod to engage the front brakes᠁ life shouldn’t be this hard but there it is. Need to bleed the brakes and clean up the toe board where I ended up making a longer hole than I needed. Idea was to cut it for the pedal to travel enough without bottoming out. Since achieved with a longer push rod, moved the master up in the bracket to reduce rod angle᠁fun stuff

String around the pullies for fan belt length came up a bit short.. so the belt I ordered was᠁ wait for it᠁ also short. Now waiting on a 44.5 and a 45 inch belt.. possibly getting smarter as I’m pretty sure a 44.5 will fit but ordering the 45 at the same time seams like a bright idea᠁44 inch belt was oh so close.

Sir. Just convince yourself how fun it is to have brakes & a powerplant that cools properly rather than pay someone's excessive labor rate. Oh, & your pretty modest using words like "unskilled" in your journal title. I'd like to know what "skilled" means then cause I looked in on your journal entries & it's full of beautiful work. Thanks 32vsnake. V/r, Nick

Thanks^

Now if only my skill level would let me figure out how to make the darn brakes work᠁ update is as follows᠁ still fighting with the brakes. To be fair, I have a history of struggling with brake setups᠁ it’s my Kryptonite.

Something more akin to my ability, changed over my wire looms from red to black

Cleaned up the wiring to the ballast resistor and ripped out my front brake lines᠁ just to prove that there wasn’t a pinched line or blockage

Sorted the pedal pivot/rod angle issues, pulled the master, the rod and the mounting brackets and the rod is now parallel... attempted to blead the brakes and failed again at bleeding the brakes. Figured out that something in the system was sucking air in, turns out the corvette style dual master sucks...literally. Disassembled the master and it looks like the seals aren't doing a very good job of sealing.

The master was a new one of off ebay and I'm now leery about any of the "not made in NA" parts... So I ordered a Wilwood 260-8555-BK. Now I just need to patiently wait for it to show up in the next week or so. I hate brakes

Was having issues with the air horn that I picked up from amazon. It worked roughly 2-3 times before it started making less horn noise and more of a grinding noise. With nothing to lose, the sealed compressor got dismantled. Found a broken plastic fin that wouldn't keep the "blades" spinning and it had basically wedged itself into the housing...sweet, another new parts failure for my growing pile of junk.

The answer ᠁of course is to pull out an air horn compressor that Dad used 45yrs ago and has been sitting for the last 40yrs. Connected it up and off it went. So the truck has turning indicators, a horn and wipers. Now it just needs some brakes and it will have all the modern safety features

"What about 3 point seat belts?" says the guy who had his 3 point belt equipped (and in use) '57 GMC T-boned, rolled and totaled. Only damage to me was a small scrape on my left elbow.

Finally got the fan belt sorted.. ended up with a 43.5 inch belt. Fit and alignment are both pretty good.

The wilwood master showed up tonight᠁ so tomorrow will hopefully be a win. If I still have braking issues after the install᠁ where’s the section in the forum for listing project vehicles 4 sale

Just went through this post from the beginning and it is inspiring. Just really beautiful truck.

Thanks^᠁ it’s been a journey

So the truck finally has 4 working brakes and a couple gallons of fuel in the tank. Tuts᠁ you almost had your video of it running.

Only thing stopping me is a weak battery᠁ so it’s on the charger overnight.

This truck really has no interest in being back on the road᠁ maybe it will finally stop fighting me tomorrow.

Your going to wear the lug nuts out if you keep changing tires and wheels, I like both looks though. Yep, I would really like to hear that monster come to life, nothing beats the sound of a BBC.

The truck will wear me out...long before it wears out

Anyway as promised, link to two short and awkward sound clips of it running. There is an odd knocking noise from the drivers side that has me slightly terrified.... but that's a problem for tomorrow

First start up

Running

Dang she sounds good! The knock sounds like a rocker arm, without being there to actually listen to it sounds like top end.

Put temp insurance on the truck to move it from dad’s to my place᠁ it’s only about 5km but it was enough of a drive. Brakes got soft, drivers side hard line to soft line has a leak. Trans was reluctant to shift, shifter needs adjustment, couldn’t find reverse. Carbs need tuned and if you don’t put the radiator cap on all the way᠁ well you get a nice misting of coolant.

Ran through a few things that might have caused my ticking sound and it’s looking possibly like a lifter᠁ sweet

Took a vid with the cutouts open᠁ truck is junk but it sounds pretty good. Made it home without breaking down, so there is still some hope.


Cutouts

I suppose the Northern definition of Junk is a far cry from what it is here in the South. Beautiful Truck, glad you were able to take it out for shakedown run !!!

Looking good! Congratulations. A big milestone accomplished.

Thanks^

The dash cam in my follower car was running and the truck looks pretty decent going down the road...I'd post the video but YouTube would have music copyright issues with it.

Took the transmission inspection cover off and found some minor self clearancing going on... spaced it out slightly with some washers.

Yanked the spark plugs and next will be readjusting valves 5 and 7... still chasing my tick and hoping it's not the lifter.

Adjusted the valves using a method I’ve never tried before.

Ran down the drivers side 1,3,5,7 and tightened them all ex/in᠁ rotated the engine roughly 90dg and felt for loose pushrods᠁ repeat and rinse several more times. Did a 1/2 turn for preload, make that 3/4 turn. We shall see what happens.

Also dropped the spark plug gap to .35.

Need to put the plugs and wires back in, then it’s time to see if I still have a tick

Rocker tick sounds better᠁ or I’m just in denial. Truck has brakes, reverse and 90% of a parking brake. Mostly needs plates and insurance.

Rolled it outside and turned on the cut outs᠁ sounds pretty decent.

Another short video

Parking brake is done and working᠁ bonus. I merged a knock off lokar style unit with some of the original pieces.

Having an issue with my electric oil pressure sender᠁ so trying a small mechanical unit, just waiting on the tubing and compression fittings to arrive.