Well, got some wires up through the floor to mount the fuse panel and computer under the seat. I need to make a plate to cover the tool hole to mount everything on top. I'm going to have a real minimum approach to wiring with capacity at the fuse panel to add when I have to. I have an October deadline. My buddy is threatening to get an era correct station wagon to use as a push car if I don't get this thing going. Unfortunately, that dragster also requires a lot of work and the funny car needs to be ready for October, also.
I hooked up the battery. Cranked the motor until I had oil pressure ( temporarily hooked up the oil pressure gauge. ) First time this thing has had a cranked motor or oil pressure since I bought it in 2006!! Maybe tomorrow I'll put some spark and fuel to it to see what happens!
Minor set back. That poor brand new fuel pump has been sitting in an empty tank for almost 7 years. I put 12v to it and it was a no go. Need to order a new one, drop the tank and replace. Which is a good thing anyway since I think I still had one pin hole left in the tank that needed attention. Wiring is coming along fine. Maybe today I can get get some wires on the back of the fuel gauge.
Trust me Alvin, when I get it fired up I'll take some video and post it up on this thread! Still a ways to go but getting much closer.
Alright, let's see. Fuel pump parts should be in tomorrow. I don't have any lights but all the wiring is there. I just need to hook them up! I have no radiator fan. Well, at least not installed yet. I need to put the plug wires on the drivers bank of cylinders. I need to put the correct Delphi connector on the harness for my HEI. Otherwise, all sensors are hooked up. I guess, once that fuel pump is in, I just need to check for pressure at the rail. Hopefully those dormant injectors will be fine. If I have the time, I don't see why I can't fire it up. Getting excited, for sure!!! I need to find a place for the temp sender. I think the only place I have is in one of the heads. Most of the wiring went under the plenum, down the bell housing and under the cab. My goal wasn't to make it a super clean look, but it's looking clean enough. This is gonna be fun! I'm going to need new tires as the old ones are separating just from sitting so long. They weren't the newest in tires to begin with. AND, I still need to have the VIN verified and registration finished up! A lot of five minute jobs! Hopefully I will post more pics soon.
Okay. Got the fuel tank back in. Got all the ignition wiring done. Found a way to properly install my idiot lights. Cranked for oil pressure, put the prom in, put all the fuses in, key on for fuel pressure. I can hear the pump whirring, so that's a good thing. Checked the schrader at the rail and I have fuel ( with pressure.) Boy, you can smell the varnish! That worries me a bit more as the injectors might be sticky. Now, I know I said I'd take video of the first fire up, but I want to crank it to see if it would even catch. So I crank. Very tiny signs of life. Mechanics 101. Check for fuel, check for spark. I do two birds with one stone, I throw some ether down the throat. Yeah, it has spark. It kicks over good. So those injectors must be stuck.
I spray ether and crank, spray either and crank, etc. It's actually to the point where it will start on its own and idle roughly. But there are still some stuck injectors. Between the heat and the work, I'm feeling pretty beat. Me hands hurt a bunch too. So, I have it on a rough idle and you can really hear the air draw through that K&N filter. I can also hear a knock coming from the passenger lower area??? Remember, I'm on the West coast, and I bought the engine / trans from back East. Supposedly good condition with only 88k on it. I haven't run this enough to really warm it up. I also still have a little more cooling system work to do. Set up the fan, find a place for the temp sender and install the overflow. So I really don't want to run it just yet until I can see what the temp is.
The engine showed up dry but the old filter with oil still in it was on it. I still have that old filter. So I cut it open to see the contents. No metal, nothing abnormal. Definitely no bearing pieces. So, I need to do something about my cooling issues. Then I want to run that motor through a heat cycle, see if it will loosen some stuff up. Who knows what moisture or whatever got in there while it sat when I owned it. I mean, I kept it covered when it rained, but I did have the headers off and exposed throttle body. Maybe that "knock" will go away.
I'm tired. This was stuff I did over the past few days but today I spent the whole day not doing anything. Did I mention that I also worked on the dragster putting the blower back on, new header and some other stuff. Actually, today I measured stuff and started making my next parts list. And I managed to break the overflow nipple at the cap housing. Gonna have to fix that.
On a positive note, at one time I put it in gear and I could feel the transmission engage. That and the idiot lights look like they are working. The CEL goes out after the engine starts running and so does the generator / alternator light. I haven't checked voltage yet, but I'll take it as a good sign. Yes, it is the alternator that came with the motor.
I threw it through one heat cycle. A lot of rust in the antifreeze. Going to have to flush that. The more I fire it, the smoother it gets. The knock isn't as loud but you can still hear it pretty good on the video. Guess I should bring home the vacuum gauge to see how the valves are doing and maybe the compression gauge.
Well, I think you have a big smile on your face this afternoon. No cigars yet but it does breath! Mark, give yourself a pat on the back, its OK, then go get two hot dogs and a big Pepsi. Kick back and take it all in. You are well on your way to a road trip. Thanks for posting and updates. I'm watching you
Well, y'all talked me in to it. I wasn't going to install turn signals but I modified all the lights for them in case I wanted to down the road. Guess I'm going to throw on the bullet lights out back and a turn signal switch. At night, that single tail light just isn't enough! Plus I'm a big fan of glass lenses, so two more out back will be really nice!!
Wiring continues. All those little 'street legal' details that need to be accomplished!!
Hmmm. If AAA is open Monday, maybe everything will be in place for me to inaugural drive it down to the office to finish the registration process?? Get me some plates and be legal?
Okay. That was a fail. I got a lot of parts in. Still waiting on tires and headlights. Been installing some little items.
Amongst the parts I ordered was a speedometer needle. Took apart the speedo to find out that it was bad anyway. Tried to jimmy it to get the needle to work somewhat, that was a fail. Oh well, took a deep breath, found a red lid from my creamer container to make a new high beam indicator lens. Repainted some other parts some non traditional colors. Installed the needle any way. The thing has a bad clock spring. So it will either indicate 0 mph or 60 mph all the time until it finally breaks. But it should count miles just fine. If I need MPH, I'll just break out an old GPS that I have. I don't use it much anymore because I use my smart phones' Google Maps to keep me from being lost.
Got the cooling system locked down. Fired it up again. Really let it cook this time! That "knock" is quieter and quieter. Maybe a bit of rust on something that is cleaning up? Maybe I'll roll it forward on its own power to clean up my work area. Still have a little more wiring to do, brake light / TCC switch. I really need to clean up all my tools and work areas so I can readily find all the tools I need. I think I'm close enough. Friday might be the day I make it legal then start all the shake down runs! Still a lot of little things to do!!
Wow. It's a little loud in the cab. Need to get some insulation going. Also, time to work on security. Gotta get the window locks back in and the door locks. The engine will need some finessing. Trans, brakes, etc., will all need fine tuning.
Oh wow, what a good story. Have got this update in the Gallery now, including the video! Will be anxious to see the October story at the race!
Thanks for all the work - here and there.
Peggy
~ Peggy M 1949 Chevrolet 3804 "Charlie" - The Stovebolt Flagship In the Gallery || In the Gallery Forum "I didn't see this one coming. I don't see much of anything coming. :-O"
I know what that knocking is!! Time for a new power steering pump! I think the alternator is letting go too. Gonna replace both of them! The little bugs are starting to go away. As they do, the motor is getting quieter and the RPM's are becoming more acceptable. I'm driving it more. At least more further distances and higher speeds. I'm getting more comfortable with this old machine as time goes on! A new speedometer head should be delivered today. That will give me, at least, a ballpark idea of how fast I'm going. Fuel gauge is giving me issues. Sender?? Gotta do some testing. I hope I don't have to drop the tank again! I decided to go electric on the wiper motor. It was the path of least resistance. That should be coming in the mail pretty soon.
Doh! And here I'm thinking the fuel sender is a 0-30 ohm like stock. I dug through my old receipts to verify and it looks like I have a 240-33 ohm. New gauge ordered. Thrashing and fixing continue to get it ready for the road trip in three weeks. Wiper motor showed up. Time to install that, too!
So, I'm tired of the drivers door popping open. I figure it's time to get new latches. BTW, I spent all night testing out the push bar on the dragster while at the same time we were adjusting the clutch on the dragster. Push up to one end of the yard, then back down. It was almost comical. Somebody should've been taking video!! Finally got the clutch adjusted and was able to push to 35 mph and spin the Hemi motor. I think that part of this whole project is ready to go. Just got to drive the whole mess up to Bakersfield!!
I've been a little stressed and worried. How is this Suburban gonna do out on the open highway?? I really haven't taken it out for any freeway runs! I already know the front sits a tad bit too low, so the tires rub. I put in some of those little twisty-doo coil spring thingys and brought the front up a little. That will work out great with the 50+ lb push bar on the front bumper, the tuner and crew inside, all while pushing that top fueler down the return road. Eventually, I'll have to get some proper, non-sagging springs or mess with the wheel offset. You know those Camaro clips are a little wider than the stock track.
So, doors popping open. I figure, let's go 30 miles south to The Truck Shop and pick up some new latches and outer handles. What better way to test the 'Burb than to drive it down there. Without getting in to a whole lot of description, what a pleasant ride!! A whole lot less stress and worry. I'm going to have a lot more confidence when I head up to Bakersfield. I'm even to the point to where I want some tunes in my ride. The iPod and little speaker will have to do for now. On the plus side, no commercials!
And another plus. I topped the tank before I left. Drove down, drove back, topped the tank again. The 1986 Corvette is rated at 22 mpg hwy ( less than the same year Camaro. ) By my rough math, I did 20-22. Not bad. The mpg and overdrive, it will be a nice drive when I go on my little journey.
Okay. Back to work. Latches, middle seat, horn.............
Yesterday, I got to push start the fueler on a practice run. THAT WAS COOL! This is going to be fun. I hear this can be watched live on Bangshift.com The parade of cars starts at 6 pm Pacific time, Saturday. There are a few Stovebolts here and there doing push duties. There is a panel around here that, if it wasn't a panel, could be a twin to my ride. I think I'm the only AD Burb here. There are other Burbs.
OK. Thursday. Packed my bags, a tool bag, some fluids, a bag of safety gear, my ipod with a little external speaker system, extra jackets and two coolers full of ice and water. I cranked up the engine and let it warm up a little. My wife put my boy on the bus then sat in front of my Burb 'cause she didn't want me to go. I leaned out the window and told her, "I built this thing, do you really want to sit in front of it??" Play time was over. Time to go.
I hopped on the California freeway system and.....sat in traffic a bunch. Yeah, I shoulda left real early. A lot of stop and go traffic. Everything was working good. Music was cranking. A good test for the cooling system which passed with flying colors. Didn't really have any issues except when traffic speed picked up and I went to merge in to the lane to the right of me. I looked to the right and when I looked back, my lane was stopped. I had to swerve to the right to avoid hitting the guy in front of me. Next on the "to do" list, a rear sway bar.
I got to the Castaic area when my 2 cups of coffee started talking to me. Stretch time! I stopped at a McDonalds and figured I would get an Egg McMuffin or such. Duty done, time to climb the Grapevine. When this thing drops in to overdrive, the RPM's are pretty low. The whole vehicle buzzes! You start noticing when you climb the grade and it drops out of overdrive. Climbed the hill, no problem but felt like horsepower was dropping off near the top. Anyway, up the Grapevine, through Gorman and back down the other side. Good time to see if the brakes work well. They do!
Got to south of Bakersfield and figured it was a good time to check fuel. Remember, the gas gauge isn't working just yet. The Suburban has a 16 gallon tank. I put 7.5 gallons in. That makes me feel good! I should be able to do the whole weekend AND drive home. Onward and upward. Through Bakersfield and on to the track. I actually took the wrong off ramp and had a nice drive through some groves. Got to the gate and called my people for my credentials and passes. In I go. I install the pushbar and kick back, take in the place. Not much going on in the place as it is move in day.
Friday. Some more move in going on. Some cackling. Some testing. Some racing. The Burb is parked in a designated push car parking area. Early, we fire up the dragster to do some tuning and make sure everything is working well. Our driver arrives. By late afternoon it is time to try a push start. The dragster is one of the longer ones made back in the day. I bring the Suburban around, we push the dragster out of the pits and I get behind it. We haven't even made the right turn out the pit road yet. They need to push it backwards. I need to back up. Pit road is full of racers trying to get to the staging lanes. I have a golf cart right on my back bumper and they aren't moving backwards. Chaos multiplied. We finally get the dragster around. I get behind it. We finally start moving towards the staging lanes. http://www.bunchobikes.com/chrrstaging.jpg After getting up through the staging lanes, we finally are waved forward to do a push start. The dragster roars to life with a bang like an M80. http://www.bunchobikes.com/1952suburban159.jpg All works well. We push back to the pits, park the dragster and I park the Burb. The big show, Saturday night is next!
He he. Pictures. I wish. I was the guy doing the work. No time to take pictures. There should be plenty on the web by now. Pics and video.
So, Saturday. We get there early. I see a guy using my push bar as a rest so he could take pictures of the parade of cars going by. No worries. We do a morning cackle to make a little noise and make sure all is good with the dragster. Sometime during the day, an engine builder comes by and asks our crew chief about the tune up. After a little discussion, he gives him a few tips to use. We do a late afternoon fire up to make sure the dragster has heat in it for the big parade. Boy does it sound and look good! Those tips really paid off. When I'm not busy working or helping with the dragster, I go wander. I look at other cars, the small swap meet, etc. I wander after the afternoon fire up and when I get back, I see everyone getting busy. Time to get to the lanes! We end up near the front of the mass of dragsters. Funny car finishes running. Seems we are in the way of some roadsters. The roadsters have guest of honor and such. We are told to push up past the mass of dragsters so the guest can drive through. So there we are out where everyone can see us. I hear over the loud speaker the crowd being given the details of our car. Cool! The parade hasn't even started and our dragster is being pointed out. Of course, my Burb right behind it. We wait, and wait. Then, a few dragsters start to push / parade down the track. Two cars go then I have someone banging on the back of my Burb saying " Go, Go, Go!" Mind you, I've never done this before. I don't want to go first. I want to watch a little so I can see what has to be done. Oh well, down the dragstrip we go. Uneventful. Although I could have paraded slower.
We get to the other end and turn on to the fireup road. Now we wait for the other 60+ dragsters to parade. While I'm sitting there, Steve Gibbs, the guy running the whole deal, sneaks up to my drivers window and startles me a little. He ask if I would volunteer to come around and push another dragster that doesn't have a pushcar. What am I going to tell him, no? He gives me quick instructions, then disappears. A few moments later, he comes back with white shoe polish and writes a big "2" on my passenger windshield. He squeezes a little too hard and white stuff goes all over my cowl. He tries rubbing it off. Whiles he's doing that, I tell him "Don't worry, I got more black paint!" This gets him laughing. That's a good thing, to get Steve laughing!!.............
So, let's see. Steve Gibbs is laughing. Steve Gibbs. Who is Steve Gibbs?? He is THE MAN!! He ran NHRA as the Competition Director for many years. Some say the NHRA has gone down hill since he retired. http://www.bunchobikes.com/stevegibbs.jpg After he retired, he MADE the NHRA Museum. He is now semi retired. http://www.bunchobikes.com/stevegibbstoday.jpg He runs most of these NHRA Nostalgia shows. So when Steve asks if I'll push another car, you bet!!
So, we're in line waiting. Off goes the first car. Steve then asks us to roll up and wait. He sends off another car. We wait. Then he waves us on. What a thrill!! Our dragster fires up. Funny, later on when I talked to our driver, he says that that is the earliest he ever fired up. See, he knows how to put on a good show and he knows it is about the show. When they used to push start for racing, they would wait until the very last minute to fire so that they could conserve fuel for the race. Weight is everything and having that heavy nitro in the tank helps keep the front end from flying up in the sky. Tonight, this thing is going to burn fuel for a half mile. 1/4 mile down the fireup road and 1/4 mile up the track. Plus a few extra minutes to wow the crowd.
In the Suburban, I have the Crew Chief, the Crew Chief's wife, the owner, his wife and me. Since we are going to push another car, the Crew Chief is going to roll out of the Burb as I drive past to go to my next push. I ask the owner of the dragster to stay with me in case I need any help at the other end. The ladies stay with us too. I only have the front row and the middle row. Enough for all of us.
So, the dragster fires up. I follow him but then I need to stop. That darn dragster is so long it won't make the turn back up the track. It needs to be pushed back and turned again. Up he goes. Now, the volunteers or workers aren't clear on how things work. Half of them want me to go on the other side of the wall where most of the push cars will end up going. The other half say, "No. He has the '2'! He goes up the track!!" I follow the dragster up the track. Our driver makes his way down the track and turns in to his spot as directed. I slow enough for the Crew Chief to get out and I continue down the track with the rest of my passengers. Hey! First time I've ever been down a drag strip and it's in a 1951 Chevrolet 3106!!
But why am I telling you all of this???? Watch for yourselves!! In HD with sound!!
By the way. Watch as that engine takes heat and the flames get longer and longer and longer........... More to come. Next, I go around to push another car.
