[Zimmo]

Originally Posted by gator412

Thanks for the info on locating the motor. I am running a 1969 350 with all original gear, distributor, stamped valve covers, two barrel, etc. I have a pertonix kit to convert my distributor to an electronic set up so hopefully I won't need a larger after market one.

if u get tired of your 2bbl, i have a 4 bbl intake off a z28 that you can have for free if you want it. its an aluminum intake off an 84 (i think) before they went to efi. just pay shipping ($15-20)..you will need to fab a block off plate for the egr. there's a pic of it on my web page - look under olds intake manifolds. you will see a pic with 2 intakes side by side, it's the small one on the right. i also have a couple of mallory dual points, but you probably dont want those - caps hard to find

[gator412]

Originally Posted by Zimmo

if u get tired of your 2bbl, i have a 4 bbl intake off a z28 that you can have for free if you want it. its an aluminum intake off an 84 (i think) before they went to efi. just pay shipping ($15-20)..you will need to fab a block off plate for the egr. there's a pic of it on my web page - look under olds intake manifolds. you will see a pic with 2 intakes side by side, it's the small one on the right. i also have a couple of mallory dual points, but you probably dont want those - caps hard to find

Zimmo, thanks for the offer. I might have to take you up on that. I do want to make it a 4bbl. Are you in the LA area? I go down there (Clairemont) about twice a month for work meetings. I have been looking for a holley or a quadrajet for the right price too.

[Zimmo]

Well, I'm in Connecticut. I don't think the shipping will be over $15 to CA. Stick with a Q-Jet. Way better for a driver. I've heard that they give better gas mileage than a 2bbl if you keep your foot out of it. You should be able to find a cheap one online. There's also a big wreaking yard in Santa Fe Springs that sells rebuildable cores. 2 types of qjets: Early (up to '73) & late '74+. The late style has more parts available - Edelbrock sells a good deal of late stuff.
90% of all Qjets are 750cfm. There are a few 850's, but you won't need one.
The overhaul support online on these carbs is great. I have a lot of reference data & can walk you thru a open-up & mild rebuild..

[gator412]

Originally Posted by Zimmo

Well, I'm in Connecticut. I don't think the shipping will be over $15 to CA. Stick with a Q-Jet. Way better for a driver. I've heard that they give better gas mileage than a 2bbl if you keep your foot out of it. You should be able to find a cheap one online. There's also a big wreaking yard in Santa Fe Springs that sells rebuildable cores. 2 types of qjets: Early (up to '73) & late '74+. The late style has more parts available - Edelbrock sells a good deal of late stuff.
90% of all Qjets are 750cfm. There are a few 850's, but you won't need one.
The overhaul support online on these carbs is great. I have a lot of reference data & can walk you thru a open-up & mild rebuild..

LOL...I thought you were in SOCAL (Southern California) from your avatar info. I think shipping will be more than that. I ship stuff to my daughter in WSU and it weighs less than an intake. But I do appreciate your offer. Thanks for the info on the Qjet. I'll keep my eye out for a newer model.

[OLNOLAN]

Originally Posted by gator412

Hey zimmo nice truck. I have (or had) the same swaybar set up at DD. I bought mine from Brothers and made the custom mounts from DD's design. It makes a world of difference on the handling. I also have a rear sway bar also. I am sure DD will chime in here shortly about his sway bar.

I installed my new 4wd front axle. Its bolted in with new u-bolts and sway bar. The sway bar was from a 70's suburban. I am trying to find some roller rims for the front. My daughter cleaned out the side yard and my 6 bolt front rims got tossed....by me. Sad sad day...I threw out good parts.

So guys I am getting ready to install my motor, sm465 4 speed tranny with a 205 transfer case in my truck. Whats the best way to locate the whole drive train. I will be using a 2 piece drive shaft due to my long bed. I remember someone saying to move the engine forward about an inch so an after market distributer will fit. Plus they had a easy way to locate the engine.

Hey Gatr, I had turkey and andouille gumbo tonight, made with the leftover injected fried turkey from t-day, with a big scoop of potato salad in the bowl to cool it down a little. Ha, got yo attention now boy? The engine placement was covered a bunch a posts back, DD pointed out that the carb flange can be aligned level to achieve 3 degrees down. Remember? I did find the measurements I wrote down before I pulled my engine. It was setup for stock small block w/front mounts. From bottom of front crossmember to centerline of the crank is 7 inches, from the bottom of the floor pan to the centerline of the transmission output shaft is 5 1/2 inches. This will get you in the general position, move it fore or aft to get your valve cover, distributor and front pulley clearance. Set the rear crossmember to achieve 3 degrees down from there. Thats how I did mine. I haven't set up the drive shaft in mine yet. Seems to me, that on yours, with the two piece shaft, the alignment might be easier? My rear end is 3 degrees up so I'm dead on, but I might need to shim the rear end down a degree or two to account for axle windup even with traction bars. DD's is setup inline and I haven't heard him complain of any vibrations. And he's honking on the rear with a 427. No excuse now, get yo butt to work. Show photos. olnolan

[OLNOLAN]

Hey Man , What brand of headers/size did you use on that ramjet engine? I've got a set of Hedman's picked out, but was curious about yours. Also,were they D-port flanges? They sure look good. olnolan

[J.Vale]

i finally got my ifs tuesday so now onto bigger issues. after my extensive research on the web, the manufactures instructions and a couple calls to some local rod shops, im pretty sure im ready to give this thing a go. these next couple days should be interesting. ive got my cameras ready. pics coming soon.

DD- sweet deal on the 98 but not so sweet that a perfectly good truck had to get sacrificed in the process.
Gator- im holding onto my side mount for the same reason. as soon as i get this beast in safe drivable condition im hitting the road. no trailer queen here.
Ogre- good news is got the vents out yesterday with minor cutting, bad news is now i have more cancer to cut out. good lookin out, i probably would have just trashed them, just cause i aint using them aint no reason to make them useless. im definitly gonna try the fiberglass vent.
57 half ton- once i get my tank ill reinstall the rear crossmember. it does look a little flimsy back there without the cm.
Olnolan- i think if any of our wives did that none of us would be saving 50 yr old metal from the scrap yard. the mansions great especially the forklift. its been a real back saver.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by OLNOLAN

Hey Man , What brand of headers/size did you use on that ramjet engine? I've got a set of Hedman's picked out, but was curious about yours. Also,were they D-port flanges? They sure look good. olnolan

those are headman shorty block hugger headers. i'm not too keen on the look though.
i don't think i needed block hugger style, regular headers probably would have been fine.
block hugger put the pipe too close to the starter, i had to turn both sides out right away.
block huggers also forced me to move the knock sensor to the drivers side above the oil filter.

but i realy wish i had put a set of long tubes on it.
anyone out there have long tubes on their truck?
what headers are others using?

[ogre]

Originally Posted by J.Vale

Ogre- good news is got the vents out yesterday with minor cutting, bad news is now i have more cancer to cut out. good lookin out, i probably would have just trashed them, just cause i aint using them aint no reason to make them useless. im definitly gonna try the fiberglass vent.

j.vale: how much rust/leaves/mold/slime/crap was back there?
everyone should shave the cowl vent on their trucks and cars.
shave cowl should be step 1 in every old truck/car restoration.
why gm put them there in the first place is beyond me.
the leaky cowl vent is why our trucks need new floors and hinge pockets.

the 1 car i owned was a 57 belair that had the vent intakes above the headlights.
i thought that was a good idea.

i also shaved the standing seam where inner cowl, outer cowl and the firewall come together.
in some places the metal was so thin, i ended up blowing out and welding an inch from the seam.
picture shows shaved standing seam and cowl vent

[ChevApache59]

I am also curious about some long tube headers. I'm on a very tight budget and I've been doing a lot of checking over the last few days to see what options there are. Hedman #69269 is a long-tube style that's supposed to fit '55-65 Chevy trucks. When you look at the application information for this part number on Summit Racing's website, one of the applications listed is for '57 Chevy 150, which leads me to wonder how well a set of '55-57 car headers would fit on trucks like ours. If tri-5 headers fit well enough, this of course opens up more (affordable) options. Hooker #2819HKR is a full-length Super Comp for '55-59 trucks, and they have #2458HKR, which is a full-length Comp for '55-57 cars. Their website has great pictures of each, and the two look very similar, only the truck header is over 2x the price of the tri-5 header. I'm going to take a peek under a tri-5's hood next chance I get and see how things look in there, regarding header clearance. Seems like I remember the tri-5's being similar to the trucks in this aspect. Of course, I might just be overthinking this, but it never hurts to do a little looking around.

-Matt

[OLNOLAN]

Hey Ogre & Matt, I have not bought mine yet, but I want full length headers. If you don't go full length(at least 30") you're leaving horsepower on the bench. Here's what I found so far in my planning phase;
2819-1hkr, Hooker, 55-59 pu, 1 5/8"primary,3" collector,32" tubes, 18ga.,5/16"flange,ceramic coated. $689.95

Hedman's are all 1 1/2" primary,3"collector,55-65 pu, no tube length given.
69260=painted,18ga,1/4"flange. $153.95
69266=htc coated,same. $439.95
69268=htc coated,elite series(14ga,3/8flange). $384.95
69269=same as 69260 except D port flange. $244.95
66269=same as 69266 except D port flange. $496.95

Before I buy, I'm gonna call Hedman to verify part numbers and D-port issue. I've read in a bunch of places that regular small block oval port flanges will leak or burn out gaskets when used on D-port heads. I compared the D-port MLS gaskets off my LT1 to a old pair of std. headers and can't really see any problem with the alignment. Might just leak on certain brands of headers or on heavily ported heads? There seems to be a pricing problem,the 69268 should cost more than the 69266? The elite is what they use for motorhome service, it's a super duty header. All prices are from Summit. That's all I know so far.olnolan

[DOUBLEDICK]

On the header issue when I ran a t5 trans I used headers for a 69 GMC 4x4.I had to put a small dimple on the drivers side to clear the stock steering box.But I have a big block.For a small block the 68 GMC 4x4 truck headers should be a direct bolt on.They will clear the crossmember.Zimmo posted a picture of the underside of my truck back a page post 1537.You can see how they clear the crossmember.When I switched to a 700R4 I had to relocate the engine.I used the same headers but I had to cut out 2 tubes.I cut up a set of wrecking yard headers and used pieces to route the tubes around the steering box.I tacked the pieces together then fusion welded them in with a torch.Now I am upgrading to a 4L80E so I get to do it again.I changed to a 67 style parking brake cable so I plan to make my own out the fender well headers this time.I have to by a TIG welder for that project.Zimmo as far as the sway bar goes I used a set from Brothers Trucks.You don't want to use the mount they send.In gators journal he has a pattern.Just make sure the bar is parallel to the frame.I used shorter grade 8 bolts and cut down the spacer to make it work.You will want a rear sway bar too.

[ChevApache59]

I'm glad you posted those part numbers, olnolan. I had found the Hedman 69269, and did not realize that they're for D-port heads, so thanks for pointing that out. I bought a set of headers at a swap meet for $15 a year or so ago, figured I'd just hang them on the garage wall. I put them on the truck one day just to see and they actually fit well enough, but they're poorly made cheapies and I wouldn't want to use them. Too bad I don't know what vehicle they're for. DD I would love to have a set of fenderwell headers myself (and a TIG, for that matter). I'm plenty confident in my welding, I just feel like I'll end up taking forever building a set, and I hate when my truck sits undriven.

Tonight I built a homemade vacuum reservoir. Or what I hope is a vacuum reservoir...they're just an empty can with fittings for vacuum lines, right? Just used a length of fat 4" diesel exhaust with some sheetmetal circles for the ends. I think I might not be getting enough vacuum to the brake booster. I'm loving those discs up front...I don't have to wrestle the steering when I stop anymore.

-Matt

[J.Vale]

ogre i took out tons of crap before the cab go sent to sand blast, after i took out the hinge pockets i dug a bit more and took more out thinking i had got it all. when i was taking out my vent i smelled something burning and quickly realized it was another rats nest. so now i think i got it all. after taking a good look at my swiss cheese firewall im gonna patch all those holes up. my list just keeps getting longer. and to add on to it, did you weld of fiberglass the seems? would you recommend something like jb weld?

update on my ifs.... cross member is in and the "top hats" are tacked in. after a quick mock up i realized my 15" wheels aint gonna fit. the lower swing arm grease fitting hits. but all in all its come along great. my goal is to get the suspension done hopefully before the new year.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by J.Vale

after taking a good look at my swiss cheese firewall im gonna patch all those holes up. my list just keeps getting longer. and to add on to it, did you weld of fiberglass the seems? would you recommend something like jb weld?

you have to weld the standing seam. first i welded the seam together from the inside (under the dash), then i cut out 4" slices of the seam and tacked all 3 pieces together. keep tacking, making sure all 3 are welded together. this is what i started with:


you can see the heat from welding inside. cut of the flange with a 4" grinder and a cutting wheel. for the bigger holes, cut a filler piece to weld in. for 5/8" and smaller holes just weld them closed. use a copper or brass heat sink to weld against. if you have swiss cheese you have to cut patch panels, fiberglass will crack, filler will rust from behind.


it's hard to believe some of these before & after pictures