The big day finally came (May 4, 2013)! Time to breathe some life into this iron. Surprisingly the engine fired up with in a few seconds of cranking and ran like a champ.
Problem #1
After a few minutes my helper noticed gasoline pouring from the seam of the fuel pump. Fortunately I had an extra pump on hand. Got the new pump installed after fiddling with the pump pushrod for an eternity and fired it back up.
Problem #2
Now there is a fuel leak at the flared fuel line at the fuel pump. Retighten.
Problem #3
Now there is a fuel leak at the flared fuel line at the carb. Retighten. Still leaks. So we replace with a few stubs at the pump and carb and connect with rubber hose.
Problem #4
Are you kidding me? Still have a small leak at the carb! Leak is small enough that we set a rag under it and continue with break in.
Problem #5
Loud screeching terrible scary noise emits from engine bay. Panic sets in! After some investigation it turns out the power steering pump was way low on fluid. I installed a new steering gear and pump and did my best to pre-prime it by hand. Note to self, there is over a quart in the system now!
Problem #6
My helper notices the transmission is spewing copious amounts of oil on the ground. We ignore this and continue with the break in. Later on I would pull the transmission (again #$*&@! and find that I forgot to install an alignment dowel pin in the bearing midplate).
Problem #7
Due to the transmission issue I didn't get to drive the truck.
Picture explanations:
Can you imagine the fortune cookie message! I got that dinner the night before the break in!
Let it be forever documented here at hotrodders.com the mileage at the rebuild lest I forget someday.
I saw a lot of this tachometer during break in.
