The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1946 Chevy 1/2Ton in Utah - "Here We Go"

Ok. That's different than mine. I don't know what shape core that one has.

Good luck with that fuel pump.

The gold top one died after a couple hundred miles. The silver top one wouldn't pump a drop straight out of the box.

Funny you say that. I rebuilt the glass bowl pump and it seems good to go. The second pump I pulled out the box and it did not pump. Ebay ad said it was rebuilt. I was able to take it apart and fix it. The hook that goes to the diaphragm was not connected correctly. Seems to work OK for now.

What years are your pumps? I like the IN/OUT 180 from each other. Are they for a 216/235 engine?

Last night I finished up the brake line install. Got the master cylinder mounted and connected the brake line to the junction block on the passenger side frame. I had to bend the line just a little to fit it under the transmission. At some point I'll get brake fluid and bleed the system.

Hi Utah, my truck is a 1950 with a 1951 engine.

Those two pieces of junk in the photo are what is specified in the parts catalogs. I highly recommend installing your glass bowl pump before you begin your engine break-in run. You don't want to be fooling with the fuel pump after you've finished the restoration.

The pump you have installed is CRAP! There are numerous people on this forum who have had the same experiences as me with the Chinese made garbage pumps. Brand doesn't matter. They all come from the same factories in China.

Problems range from not working at all, too high pump pressure, weak pressure, torn diaphragm, improperly installed lever arms, lever arms with incorrect throw, etc.

These problems are not unique to Chevy Stovebolt fuel pumps. I've had the same problems with new Ford and Cadillac mechanical pumps.

This pump was crudded up with ethanol and still worked better than the new ones. I had Then and Now rebuild it and it's got 10,000 miles on it now.

I think that pump you have with the 90 degree inlet outlet is for a later model stovebolt.

Yep - that pump is for 1960 235. So much crap out there. Anyway, I have second glass bowl pump and maybe I'll order another rebuild kit from Then and Now and have it as a back up.

John, I don't want you to think I'm telling you how to build your truck. I'm certainly not an expert. I just want you to benefit from my experience and not have to deal with the same problems I've dealt with in working on this truck.

I actually use my truck as regular transportation and for haulage so the problems I experience are not due to lack of use which is a huge factor in many antique car troubles.

When the first pump failed, I replaced it with a new one that didn't work at all. I naturally assumed that the problem was rooted somewhere else. After all, the fuel pumps were brand new. I even thought the cam was wiped because the new pump wasn't engaging at all.

After I took pictures of the cam wear and then looked at the wear pattern on the first fuel pump, I realized what pieces of junk they were.

I pulled out the original, gunked up pump and manually moved the arm. It shot a gusher of nasty gas all over the shop.

It was then that I decided to rebuild it and install it. No problems since then.

Notice the wear pattern on the cam. The pump arm was only contacting the cam in a 1/16" wide strip. Looking at the matching wear on the arm, you can see that the three pieces of steel were improperly assembled resulting in the arm contacting the cam with only one of the three parts of the arm.

Appreciate the input Otto. I read everyone's responses and search this forum and the internet to gather lots of information. I have read many posts talking about crappy fuel pumps - brand new ones that don't work. Hard to find quality these days. I'm glad Stovebolters like you are willing to share experiences - good and bad.

Last of the "greasy" parts? I hope. I'm tired of cleaning old gunk off parts, but I need to get a distributor ready for installation.

Which one are you using?

Both are 2403. I’ll clean and see which is better. Not sure what is still on my 216?

Update: I'm using the one on the left. Everything feels snug on this one. The one on the right feels like it has a little more play in it. I'll probably rebuild both though.

I took a small file to flatten down the rivet on the distributor shaft that was holding the gear and then punched it out. Dismantled a few more items and sprayed degreaser on the parts. I'll clean everything up tomorrow. I was thinking about those sonic cleaners? They seem to work pretty good on small parts. Maybe I should look into one.

Used a sonic washer years ago in printing and it worked great. Not sure what one would cost today but it may be worth checking out......and of course a blasting cabinet earns its money.
You continue to do superb work👍

I've been struggling the last few weeks to find the correct gasket that goes between the intake and exhaust manifold. I've ordered different part numbers, but get the same gasket. The mounting studs on my exhaust manifold are about 2 1/8" apart. I have Fel-Pro gasket 8988 and the holes for the studs are 2 7/16" center to center. I've now tried to order Fel-Pro 8597 and hoping the holes are 2 1/8 inches. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I really want to get this intake/exhaust manifolds installed.

Not sparkling clean, but lots better than it was. I've painted the main body and will start assembly later when my new vacuum advance shows up.

After waiting a couple weeks for the correct gasket, I was able to get the intake/exhaust installed today. Also, I picked up my alternator bracket that had the slots milled longer and I could slide the alternator forward a 1/4 inch to line up with the balancer and water pump pulleys. I put a rope around the pulleys and measured - I think I'll try a 37 inch belt.

Only three trips to O'Reilly's to find the right fan belt. First trip they gave me a 41.5 inch, but it was 1/2 inch wide and didn't sit down in the pulley grooves. Exchanged it for a 1/2 inch wide belt and 39 inches, but I couldn't get it to fit over the pulleys. This last one fits good and still has some adjustment if needed. But now I just read on the packaging, "For Equipment of 3 to 17 HP use"? Or is that saying use part number 6740 for the lower HP? Nothing is easy.

Also, I got the distributor competed today.

Think of the belt this way.

Let's say the alternator is putting out 60 amps (not likely, especially not for long) at 14 volts. Power (in watts) = volts x amps. So actual power delivered is 840 watts. Lets add another 10% for mechanical losses (produced as heat by the alternator) and call it 924 watts. To convert watts to horsepower you divide watts by 745.7, giving 1.24 horsepower needed to drive the alternator when it is putting out max power. The belt also needs to transfer some amount of power to the water pump, but I don't know how to compute that value. I'd be surprised it it were more than another horsepower.

Bill - Now that's a mouthful! I feel better that the belt should be able to do the job. Thanks!

I was able to turn the flywheel to align the BB with the pointer in the bellhousing. I believe I have TDC on #1. I used a method a saw on here where you can blow compressed air with a rubber tip in #1 and the air pops the tip out. On #6 I can hear the air just blow through. I'm hoping this is good and I'll get the distributor and wires installed tomorrow.

Ought to be close enough. The BB is actually a few degrees before TDC. TDC is the vertical line between U|C.

Thanks Bill. I did not know that.

I've not seen any info on what U C stand for.

I have the distributor, coil, spark plug wires and vacuum advance line installed. I was going to pick up an oil pressure test gauge from Harbor Freight. Now I need to read up on how to wire up everything to test run the engine.

(PS - I was going to wire it incorrectly to see if anyone noticed.)

OK - found this online, so I think I can do this: Guess I need to find a 12v battery.

"If the starter has the old-style manually-operated starter gear advance and switch on it, all you really need for temporary wiring is:

1. A battery cable from positive on the battery to the lug on the starter
2. A battery cable from negative on the battery to a bolt on the block for grounding
3. A wire from positive on the battery through a ballast resistor to the positive side of the coil (edited)
4. A wire from the negative side of the coil to the distributor (edited)

Use a big alligator clip on the wire at the battery. When you're ready to fire the engine, hook the alligator clip to the positive side of the battery and manually actuate the lever on the starter to crank the engine. To shut 'er down, just unhook the alligator clip."

(Added note: You do not need a ballast resistor for testing. If you were going to run it for more than an hour it would be a good idea.)

Nope

The resistor goes between battery and the + side of the coil.

Thanks Bill! I just found this: I'll edit my above post.

"Connect the positive battery cable to the starter lug, and also attach a 12 gauge wire to that same lug, through the resistor (if needed) through a toggle switch (or alligator clip) to the positive side of the coil. The black wire from the distributor connects to the negative side of the coil."

Wow John, lighting up your engine is a big milestone and pretty darn exciting. Good luck with it.

John - Here is an older on-topic thread that has some great answers on what the U C stands for, as well as the other markings. Lots of different flywheels to show the differences Chevy used over the years.

Instead of Top Dead Center, they use the term Upper Center for some reason. TDC is the line in between the U and C.

Thanks Paul! My goal was to get it started by the end of this month. I may be ahead of schedule. Pretty exciting for me.

Dan, Thanks for the link (and more links) discussing flywheels and timing. Lots to learn today!

Just doing some little things in the garage today. Let's see: I put gear oil in the rear end and the transmission. I decided to use Sta-Lube 90w from NAPA. I wanted something I could use in both. I did a re-torque of the oil pan bolts and I'll put the oil in tomorrow. I'm going with Valvoline VR1 30w for the first 500 miles, besides it was on sale for $6.99qt. I'm trying to find a fitting for the inlet on the fuel pump. I can temporarily run a rubber fuel line from a gas can for my test start, but looking for a way to connect it to the fuel pump.

I went to Ace Hardware for a screwdriver that I could destroy and use in my drill to turn the oil pump. I didn't feel like cutting up one of my old friends, so the new guy took it like a real trooper. I added 5 quarts of Valvoline and started the test. At first I didn't see any oil up top and was wondering how long it takes. After 20-30 seconds I could see some oil and then more. I ran it until I could see oil come out the hole on top of each rocker. I believe I should be good to test start. Oh, I did pick up an EverStart battery from Walmart - Group 35, 640 CCA. It fits in the battery tray nicely.

Absolutely fantastic work and planning. Enjoy riding along with you. Next time I'm in SLC I'm going to look you up. It may be next year fot the Root Tech convention on family history/search but ill3be there....also want to look up bolter Brad Allen. Have you ran across him yet?
Keep up the 15 minute a day. Your git r done!!

Only a little work today. I put oil in the engine, trans and diff a few days ago. I set a paper towel under each to check for leakage. The trans had a few drops of oil on the paper towel each morning. So today, I drained the trans and added thread sealer to the three bolts above the drain plug and I'll add the same to the drain plug. I also cleaned up and installed the down draft pipe. I've been reading about converting it to a PCV valve, but not sure which route I'm going yet.

I'd leave well enough alone. Your engine will be fine the way it is and last the rest of your life without a pcv system.

Looking good John. She’ll be running before you know it!

I put a PVC system on my truck. I was lucky to find a NOS riser (replaces the down draft tube) from an early “Big Bolt” truck which was the easy part. Finding the right PCV valve took allot of research and patience searching the internet and eBay before I found one posted and not made of unobtainium.

Obviously the best system would be taken direct from a “Big Bolt” truck but other’s have modified the existing down draft tubes and claim satisfactory results.

Just do a search on “PCV” and you’ll have enough reading for a few hours.

Gasp! No paint on your draft tube? We may have to stage an intervention. Please supply your contact info for scheduling purposes. 😂