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Just wanted to share this story with the bolters...

I had been watching an add for a 67 c 10 w/a 400 small block...started at 3k...a few weeks later it was back at 2k then 1900 and yest it came back up at 1495...I thought man this must be junk if nobody has still bought that truck but I gotta see it...I rode the 30 min down to Hammock fl and checked it out...
and for the money this thing was imo a heck of a deal...I haggled him down to 1350 and brought it home...now I have it AND the 'green meanie' (67 c-10 250 3 on the tree) and threats of being in the dog house with trusty rusty the redbone hound

the truck was from Oregon accd to the title and underneath was killer solid...almost everything works...some rust bubbles but not major in the sheet metal...the po said he brought it to fl 6 yrs ago..I asked did you drive it on the beach much? he said 'are you kidding? I don't even drive it on A1A
po told me the tranny was a 'rockcrusher'? I know it has a granny gear...he said he swapped it's orig 250 for the 400 for power reasons and said the way it is tuned it should rival the 250
on MPG...? I was a bit skeptical on that..I dunno
'quadrajunk' was how po referred to the carb...

at any rate now I will need to sell the green meanie so anybody int e-mail me...recovering some of that money might get me out of bunk mate stautus with rusty...:)in the meantime if the bolters want to see some pics of
the green meanie or 'red man' lemme know I'll send 'em e-mail or post em here if I get told how...

I liked the old 250 in Green Meanie and was just about to get it running pretty good (motor wise) but when I got in and fired this new one up and took off down A1A I knew it was going home with me...the
400 would move it down the road and all the front end seemed really tight...it would go down the road straight as an arrow with no problem...

no doubt I'll be back with some more issues...thanks all bolters for sharing your hard earned know how...just had to tellya bout my newest 'bolt' hee hee...(scoot over rusty)

Surf

previous owner sounds as if he doesnt know very much about chevies, but heck nice deal there

rockcrusher is just a name

means crap

what trans does it have 4 speed or what ?

if its 4 speed(the big toploader 175lb tranny) then its the SM420
[img]http://www.stovebolt.com/features/bigtrucks/sm420.jpg[/img]

if its three then its the sm318(little side loader car style tranny, 4 bolt side cover)


good luck

I'm not too versed in the old chevs either like you guys here couldn't tell...hee hee

I've had a bunch of old trucks over the years but I have always been more int in driving them than crawling under them...I know..don't throw that at me...

anyway it is a 4 speed...he said it has a granny gear...I assume so because first is so low...

I see a little leaking around the valve covers but the motor sounds good...and accel is smooth and peppy...

really not too familiar with 400 sb eng...been told they are decent? had one in an old 74 pontiac
catalina back in like '85 or so...'the beast of the beach' hee hee 'pick a panel' brown hood, orange grill, and green fenders with the vinyl tore off the top...people would get
outta the way when that thing was coming...but it ran like a scalded dog...

A 400 Chevy is not the same engine as a Pontiac. It's still a good engine with lots of torque, but br VERY careful not to overheat it. The heads have a nasty habit of cracking with even a little overheating. A 400 is the same size as a 350 externally, but it has a bigger bore and a longer stroke. It uses an externally-balanced crankshaft, which requires a different flywheel and harmonic balancer than any other smallblock Chevy engine.
Jerry

Florida,

I'd like to see pictures of your trucks...

At your convenience...

all truck 4 speed were granny first

except for the 435-C

otherwise all were granny first Low

good luck

Thanks HRL...shows what I know about motors....

I always thought a 400 was a pontiac motor in firebirds and grand prix/catalina and such...

it seems to run nice and cool so far and based on the way this truck looks it has been cared for
the oil is even clean...

I don't punish my vehicles too much anyway...it has an aftermarket vacuum gauge...not sure what to do with or learn from that but it seems to work well..the po said you can use it to get better fuel economy? also an Aft mkt intermittent wiper and cruise...didn't notice a servo tho..not sure the cruise is even hooked up...

Jed:

sent you a couple pics each of red man and green meanie...lemme know if you get them ok...

the body on the red one is really straight...

I sent to this addy :
[email protected]

is that good? I'd post them here if I knew how...

surf

The "rockcrusher" moniker is/was applied to the Muncie M-22 car transmission. It was so names because of it's straighter cut gears that had difficulty meshing even with the syncros in good condition. Helical gears mesh better and don't make as much noise as striaght gears. It also had a tendency to whine going down the road. If it is a truck 4-speed with granny low, it is not a rockcrusher.

The 4-speed you have is likely the sm420.

Florida,

Doesn't work to the toy-box address.

Would you mind resending to:

[email protected]

At your convenience.

Thanks.

No prob jed...will do...just lemme know what you think ok...

Florida,

Nice trucks. The red you picked up looks like a good deal. Congratulations.

A 400 in good shape, with a good radiator and the proper steam holes drilled in the heads shouldn't have a problem. There is a bare 4-bolt main block in my garage right now waiting to be built for my Corvette.

I took this truck (67 C-10 400ci) on a spin yest...it is cold natured and hesitant till it gets warm but once it does it will boogie..

I don't think the choke is hooked up...

anybody have any pearls of wisdom for when I do the tune up on this truck? maybe starting this weekend...

I plan to take a bit to really look things under the hood over...

in particular since I don't know what year the eng is only that it's not the orig how can I specify to the parts counter guys and not get the wrong parts?


TIA

One bit of advice- - - -if it's got the original Quadrajet carburetor, DO NOT swap it for a Holley, Edelbrock, or other aftermarket carb. A properly-built Q-Jet is the very best carburetor for the job. Just be sure the part nunber is the right one for the engine, since the QJ has been installed on everything from a 230-cubic inch Pontiac OHC 6-cylinder to a 500 CI Cadillac. No, they're not all the same inside, even if they will bolt on. The part number is on the driver's side, beside the passageway for the secondary throttle bore. It should be an 8-digit number that identifies year of manufacture, size of engine, and other things such as standard or auto trans, etc. Get a well-qualified pro to build it, since on average, there are 22 consecutive adjustments to make on reassembly. With a good cleaning and assembly job, the hesitation should go away.
Jerry

Thanks HRL...


when I was talking to the po during the negotiations I wondered why he called it a 'quadrajunk'??? carb...I hadn't heard bad things about them that I could remember much...

For the forseeable future and till I sell my other 67 I will be sticking with smaller scale stuff for this one...like you suggest maybe a carb re-build kit...I know a pretty good carb guy I think...I was wondering about the accel pump in the carb maybe...but the hesitation is not near as bad when that thing finally warms up?
I will do the points,plugs,wires ect parts of the tune up...

what type of plug do you think for this motor?

I notice my oil gauge is stuck...I'm not sure of the loc of the gauge's line on the motor to check it...I was thinking it may need to be blown out?
the po gave me an extra inst cluster with the truck that has another gauge in it...

I gotta spend a little time under the hood going thru some of this stuff over this week and weekend coming...

What Jerry said in this answer and the previous;
EXTERNALLY Balanced Meaning,the balancer AND flywheel matches that crank.
So be careful if you do a clutch job and resurface the flywheel.
Along the other side,That truck,if it,s a fact.4 spd an SM465
Dead telltale for a SM420,when reverse pulled TO you on the stick and then back toward the seat.
SM465 push the stick AWAY and back to the seat.
Great find and good luck with it!
Regards Steve sr.

If the PO reworked the carb so it would get the mpg of a 250 it would be "Cold Natured". PO has it running real lean, if it's not over heating when you push it for a while, it's OK. Don't over advance the timing. Hotrod is right Qjets are the best carb for no hassle. Check your choke should be 1/4 to 3/8 open when cold. Floor once before starting the motor to get it closed, then check. The oil gauge in my 68 went out at about 120k. You should be able to see an 1/8 inch oil coming out of the fire wall up and behind the wiper washer lines. If is like my 327 then it will go to the back of the block to the right of the dizzy. Learn to read the vac gauge lot's of things it can tell you as to how the motor is running. Wish I had one in my truck.
Larry

I pulled the choke lever for the first time tonite and it didn't seem to have much effect...funny tho it was dark out when I started it and a little light came on in the knob when I pulled the choke...never noticed it in the day...I wonder if that means an electric choke? or just a night time idiot light?

I did push the pedal down all the way before starting(cold) tonite and didn't seem to get any choke...

LG: irt overheating,re: lean mix, so far the night I brought it home was it's farthest ride and hardest push...about 1/2 hr on open road about 50-60 mph...not a hiccup...of course I had tons of pedal left at the ready at those speeds...which I guess also speaks to the rear gear the po put in this truck when he swapped eng from the orig 250...

Steve: thanks...the shift is in toward me then in toward the seat ...that's conclusive for an SM420?

thanks guys

Yes,to my knowledge sm420 was the only one"to you and down"in a toploader,granny low,truck 4spd.

Florida,,,,1st things 1st.
If it were me I,d wanna know what the previous [censored]/owner cobbled together to put in this truck.
Get the VIN off the doorpost that will give you all orig equip and where it was built.
2nd get the serial # off that motor to find out if it REALLY is what he says it is(behind alt on right side blockdeck in front of rt cyl head).
Regards Steve sr.