The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks 5 questions for you gents

Hey guys,,have 5 questions for you,I put SBC in 65 chev truck,now putting new guages in,1(have electric auto meter oil pressue guage,there is a small metal tube going from the rear of block to under dash to instument panel,is this a mechanical oil pressure,did these trucks have mechanical oil pressure? I assume yes ,left signal light flashes faster than right,(ground issue?)why are dash lights so dim,is this normal?hood springs,will chroming them take the spring out of them,thanks

The tube is the oil pressure (Mine has the same thing) I dont think chroming the springs will hurt them. The other questions I am not sure about.

1. The small metal tube going from the rear of the block to instrument panel is the oil capillary tube, so there is technically not a sender, just the oil pressure from the oil galley in the block. If you are running an electric Autometer oil pressure gauge, you will need the corresponding oil pressure sender, to match your gauge.

2. I am not sure why one would flash faster than the other, but grounding is a very common issue with the lighting systems on these truck. Check current at the sockets, to determine, for sure if it is voltage, amperage or ground.

3. The headlight switch has a rheostat in it and by rotating it counter-clockwise, the dome light will light and by rotating it clockwise, the dash lamps will dim, so you need the switch rotated counter-clockwise, just before hitting the detent, thus the rheostat is in the highest setting and the lights are at maximum brightness. Have you checked the sockets on the back of the dash cluster, to be sure there are no faulty bulbs? This will cause the backlight to seem dim.

4. Chrome-plating or powder-coating the hood springs will not cause them to loose their optimum spring-rate.

The only potential problem with chroming springs is hydrogen embrittlement which can eventually cause the spring to fail if not baked correctly to relieve the hydrogen. I first became aware of this back in the 1970’s when I worked for Peterbilt. One of the major wheel suppliers to the industry dropped all chrome wheels from their line due to failures in the field. I’ve also seen chrome hot rod axles and suspension springs break in service. Of course I’ve also seen about a zillion chrome springs that didn’t break, and losing a hood spring isn’t the same as breaking a suspension part. It’s just something to consider. Here are a few links explaining Hydrogen embrittlement:

http://www.bikeguide.org/guides/chrome/

http://www.finishing.com/1600-1799/1747.shtml

http://www.nmfrc.org/crarchive/jun06a.cfm

I would suspect the cause of one side blinker light flashing quicker than the other to be a burned out bulb on that side ? Easy enough to check out !

"The most vulnerable are high-strength steels, titanium alloys and aluminum alloys."...none of which apply to the hood springs found on these trucks. Endura-shine may be the powder-coating alternative, if there is a concern of hydrogen embrittlement.

Thanks for the information, Markeb. Interesting read.

thank you gents,will check out your suggestions on weekend,thanks for your time,

I had the same problem with one flasher blinking faster than the other. It frustrated me to no end figuring out what was causing it. In the end it was the headlight switch and the rheostat. By turning the switch it corrected the issue and the flashers blinked in the correct fashion. I would go right to the switch first as I tried everything else first (voltage, grounding etc) and it was as simple as turning a switch.