Get ready, King Of Trucks is coming...

Out the side with straight pipes? Mine with the flow 40's will make your brain itch after a ride on the highway with the windows down.

That heater switch will get hot and you will smell burning plastic. Then the melted knob will fall in the floor, where you will burn yourself trying to retrieve it.....ask me how I know.

Truck shop will have their booth at autofair, take a shopping list like I do.
They are actually the retail side of Counterpart.

 

Kevin, you really ought to use relays to run your heater. They will take the brunt of the current while the dash switch flows very little current to operate the relays. You switch will then last indefinitely and there won't be any overheating of the switch or wiring.

You can buy nice Bosch relays on ebay with pigtails for 10 bucks or so at the most.

 

I really don't know what I'm going to do. I think all three options would end up looking and sounding good. I need to decide soon!

I had straight open pipes exiting just behind the cab on my '63 with a 350. I love the sound of a loud well tuned engine. Any engine. It's like music. I don't take a lot of long road trips in my rides (the wifey's got a late model caddy for that), so it won't be too bad. I just like the noise! The mufflers don't just quiet the noise, they change it. I like it natural.

I think I have the switch thing solved. I didn't know the Truck shop was the retail side of Counterpart. No wonder everything I get from them is such good quality. I prefer them over any of the other truck catalog places.

That's a pretty good idea and one I immediately thought of when that switch got so hot after just a half a minute or so. Thanks for the tip.

 

Kevin, I was going to say it was my pleasure helping you out. Then I read the rest of the thread...

 

Al,

No worries bud. How could I complain for only paying shipping? Seriously, it's not an issue at all. I knew I was taking a chance, we all do when we get old stuff. And I knew worst case scenario was I'd have a factory box and rebuildable heater core. You know they don't repop these. You did me a big favor and I appreciate it. No need to feel bad! Pat yourself on the back for being one of the good guys on here always ready to help a guy out. And after your other PM about wires twisted together, I got the motor to spin. So thanks a bunch again. I do really appreciate it!

 

Kevin,

Thanks man. I just wanted to make sure you was happy. I wouldn't have wanted you to think I was cheating you at all...I know we all take chances on the old stuff, but there are people around that tell ya something it good, perfect, working as we speak, etc., and when ya get it it is junk, broke, not working etc.!! You are more than welcome, and it was my pleasure being able to at least supply you with something you could make work.

Just remember tho, that pat on my back is only a couple foot higher than a swift kick in my ass!!!

Take care and happy trucking!!! Al

 

man, I love this place.

 

Me too! Al felt really bad the heater core leaked. I felt bad for him, cuz he felt so bad for me, lol. Out of the goodness of his heart, he offers to send me the parts I need for free if I'd pay shipping. It's not his fault the core leaked. He still did me a huge favor. At the worst, I've got a good factory heater box, motor, and rebuildable core. None of which did I have before.



Here's a copy of the PM I sent him that kind of sums up my feelings on this place...

This place is THE best place in the innernetz! For sure the most REAL! I didn't know there was this many stand up guys left in the whole world, let alone all in one place like the hamb. This place is like an oasis in the middle of a barren desert of anonymous car forums. It goes deeper than "we all love a certain kind of car". It's the emotions that stir our souls that we have in common. It's almost spiritual like kung fu monks. Like I said, it's a trip. Just a bunch of guys who "get it".

 

I'm waiting on a gasket then I can do the intake/exhaust swap. I pulled most of the old exhaust off today. It was some 2" straight pipe with a glass pack held up with coat hangers or bailing wire. Now it's just the one piece pipe from the manifold to right under the cab. Just trying to make the swap go quicker when the gasket comes. There's really nothing else I can do til then.

I have been driving the mess out of the truck lately though. It's nice to be able to jump in and take off with music. I've been driving it pretty much every day. With the glasspack off, it's louder, especially when you really get on it. Idle sounds nice, so does blipping the gas. But it is kind of mixed up sounding, it'll be just right with that split exhaust manifold. I can't wait! Pics and vids soon!

 

I got my gasket today and got all the nuts and bolts to put it all together in case I break any during removal. And so it'll look nice, no sense in having old ugly bolts with all this new gear. So I now have everything I need except new lines for the oil filter or caps for the engine block to block it off. I started a thread asking for the size of the fittings in the block, but no sure answer yet.

I want to have parts in advance so I don't get stuck in the middle of the install having to make trips to three different parts places only to find out all their brass pipe fittings in the size I need is out of stock and then get to Lowes five minutes after they close. That's usually how it goes for me. But this is now officially my only daily driver so whatever I do on the weekend has to be done by Monday. If all else fails, I'll just use this as an excuse to change the oil and take the stock filter with me to fit up new lines and get caps so I'll be covered both ways whatever I decide to do.

My plan is still to do the swap this weekend. I've been driving around without the glasspack. I am really digging the sound. It's only going to get better when I add the split manifold!

 

Also, I was talking to my buddy Jeffrey James tonight and we decided I should polish the intake between now and the weekend. I have less experience polishing than I do welding. But it really needs to be done. Whatever valve cover I end up going with will be polished or shiny paint. The intake just has to be shiny too. That's all there is to it.

This conversation drifted to the question of "just how nice was I going to make this truck?". I said I wanted it to be quality nice, over the top. I want King Of Trucks to be a proclamation, not just a name. I was trying to explain my style being an amalgamation of a lot of things. Maybe most akin to the japanese cars, but on another level with a twist.

So I told him when I got home I'd PM him a link with some killer japanese cars. Here's a copy of the PM I sent him that sort of explains what I'm jibber jabbering on about...

So anyway, long story short, that's why I have to polish the intake. Pics of the polishing results and pics of the install and a vid of that sweet sound will follow. Probably Monday. That's if it goes smooth. Which it probably won't.



And seriously check out that dekatora link. That stuff is a fucking trip! To the max, and so on...

 

Aim high man!

- joe

 

Great truck. Good luck

 

I really like hearing this. It makes me smile that there is someone else out there that thinks this way.

 

Thanks Joe!

Thanks!

I appreciate it. There's no use to spend time and effort on inferior work and junk parts "for now". It's just a waste of time, money and effort. And 99% of the time, "this'll get me by for now" turns into "I'm too lazy to change it later". This is gonna be my masterpiece. No use cutting any corners!

 

Today, I got the bypass oil filter off and plugged the holes. As usual, this was not without issues. I was told the fittings would be 1/8"NPT, turns out it was 1/2"NPT. And they were stuck in the block like cement. I had to wait on a neighbor to borrow a pipe wrench to get them out. I had to go back to the parts place to get the right fittings. I also changed the oil during this fiasco since a bunch was going to leak out anyway when removing the filter and it's fittings. So as usual, I ended up finishing up after dark with the test drive to check for leaks having to wait til tomorrow.

I decided to remove the filter and block it off because it wouldn't fit on the offy intake and it doesn't filter very much oil at all anyway.


Also, today I picked up a couple of glass bowl Holley 1904's. They probably need a kit, but they're complete, move freely, and in good shape otherwise. I'd really like to find a way to use these on my engine. They look 100 times cooler than a Rochester B.

It will take some figuring out to make it work. The Holley bases are 2 3/4" and the offy studs are 2 15/16". That is easily overcome with an adapter plate or just slotting the holes in the base a little. Deciding whether to run a progressive linkage or not and getting/fabbing one is another matter. But still doable if I want to put the effort into it.

For now, I'll run the Rochesters. When I rebuild the Holleys and get the mounting/linkage issues sorted, I'll switch. I really think it will be totally worth the effort for the for the good looks!

I'm still working on polishing the intake. My fingers hurt!

 

So today I got some killer news! Turns out my engine is actually a '58 261 with a 235 head! The perfect inline combo! I found out totally by accident and as it turns out, saved my engine from blowing up. See, when roddin iron here on the hamb read where I posted the oil filter fittings were 1/2", he said that indicated full flow and that it can't be plugged up without blowing up the motor in short order. So, luckily I never made that test run after plugging those filter holes or it would've been disaster!

So now I'm going to get a remote mount filter to hook those lines back up (or a simple rubber line from one fitting to the other). Oil has to flow from one fitting to the other in order to properly lubricate the engine.

Now back to the killer news. The 261 block/235 head combo is about as good as you can get for the '50s-early '60s inlines. While there are larger displacement inline sixes from later years, they don't have the same visual appeal of the earlier true stovebolts. Now, the 235 has the same good looks as the 261 so they're even as of that. But that's where the 235 gets left behind. First off, the 261 has more power due to it's larger displacement. The 235 head on the 261 block gives it higher compression which equals more power. The 261/235 responds better to mods than the 235, with a higher percentage power yield given the same mods.

With the 261/235 engine, two carbs and split exhaust, you can make good power. With boring, decking, combustion chamber smoothing, and a cam, you can get pretty close to 200 hp! Needless to say, I'm extremely excited to find out I've got such a neat engine. The 261/235 combo was a pipe dream I had in the back of my head. It was my "dream" inline engine I thought I'd never have. Turns out I had it all along, lol. This truck just keeps getting better and better!

If you haven't seen this article from an issue of Hot Rod from '55, you should check it out...
http://www.selectric.org/55chevy/soup.html

And many thanks to squirrel for helping me decode the numbers!

 

Too damn cool!

 

Hey Terd, I dig the project...and keep up the good work, by the way if you wanna git rid of the filter off the 235 let me know I have been looking for one. I have the lines but need the filter for my brand new rebuilt motor that will find it's new home if it ever warms up around here!!!

 

For sure!

Thanks! I'll let you know if I decide not to use the filter. It's a 261, the fittings are bigger, but you'd have to get new lines made anyway. I think my NAPA does that? I need a filter, but for now I'm running a short length of hose from one fitting to the other. I want to run something cool, not just an ordinary stocker or a modern Mr. Gasket type. But if I don't find something soon, I'll have to use the stocker.

 

I didn't get a whole lot done over the weekend. I did a whole lot of research on the 261 and learned a shit ton. I read the '55 Hot Rod article "Soup That Chevy!" about 12 times. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out. Even if you have a 235 instead of a 261, you'll get a lot out of the article. They're almost the same anyway. Check it out......

http://www.selectric.org/55chevy/soup.html

I spent some time polishing the intake. And man does that suck! My fingers hurt, my arms are sore, I don't have any fingerprints left, and my hands are greasy grey. So many places on this piece like the fins make it a real pain in the ass. But I can tell from just the early work it's totally going to be worth it. Here's a quick pic, looks nasty but I'm making progress......



I've been kicking around an idea over the weekend. After all, I had plenty of time to daydream during all that sanding. I got two glass bowl holleys that are sized for the 216. Why not get another one, and a 216 triple manifold, adapt the runners and use that? I think I will. Finding another carb is not a big deal, I think the guy I got the pair from has another. Rebuilding them isn't a big deal, they're even simpler than the Rochester B's. The 216 manifold would allow the carbs to bolt right up and adapters for the runners are easily available. Langdon's sells the linkage for the carbs.

The Carburetor Shop has a killer article on carb selection (and synchronization) along with a bunch of other valuable carb info. Check it out......

http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Dual1barrelcarbs.htm

So, conventional wisdom says if you're gonna run two carbs they should be smaller than the original. For instance use two 216 carbs on a 235. And while I thought I'd be running two 235 carbs on a 235, turns out I'd be following the same principle running two 235 carbs on a 261. Since the Holleys are smaller than the Rochesters, I want to run three with a straight linkage. I really think the Holleys look so much better and maybe I can find an even cooler 216 triple intake.

I'm pretty well versed in Rochester single barrel carbs. I've rebuilt a few. I know nothing about Holleys. Synicing three carbs with a straight linkage is intimidating, but I think I'm up to it. This should be interesting! I'll still run the two Rochesters until I have everything ready or change my mind again. They're going on as soon as I finish polishing this intake. Shouldn't be too much longer.

 

Looking good Terd! Keep polishing till you bleed!

 

What do you mean "till you bleed"? Does that mean I can stop sanding when I start bleeding? Cause I'm not near done and I've been bleeding for a while!

 

I've been told, and the general consensus is, that the oil filter fittings are in pipe thread. I have found that to not be exactly true. NPT threads do not fit exactly right in the block, they'll screw in but they're a little "loose". Now keep in mind, the canister filter, lines and fittings may not be factory stuff. So this small tidbit of info is probably worth about what you paid for it. Here's a couple of photos for comparison......

This is 1/2" NPT on the right and 1/2" 'something thread' from the factory fitting on the left...




Because of that, I ended up using the factory fittings, some compression fittings, and some hydraulic hose to make up a new oil line. Actually, I had my buddy at NAPA make it up for me since I don't have the means to crimp those hydraulic hose fittings. Using the factory fittings was the only way I could be sure it would screw into the block with no leaks. Check it out...




I also wrapped my dump tubes I'll be using for my temporary exhast today. I wrapped them because they're awful close to that oil line and I want to prevent any problems before they happen. That oil line was expensive! Anyway, here they are...




I got the intake all shiny finally. Now all I have to do is get the sand paper scratches out with finer and finer paper. Not to say that's going to be easy, because it's not. But at least pretty much all that dull silver color and all the casting marks are gone except in the most hard to reach places and crevices like between the fins. I can see it getting better and better each time I go to a finer paper. I'm shooting for doing the final polish on Wednesday. It's going to look killer, I can't wait!




Thanks again for looking and thanks for this great place! You guys are the best!

 

to get a really nice finish on the intake, after you're done sanding to 320 or 400, take 000 or 0000 steel wool and a metal polish like autosol... you will be surprised how nice it buffs out. and that intake would look great on my motor- i just got done painting it... too bad i'm broke and have to run the stock intake for a while...

 

Thanks for the tip. I'm going further than 400 grit. I'm prepared to go to 2000, lol. But I don't think it will take that much. And I don't think my fingers can take that much either!

That's a good looking engine! I'm just now starting to whittle down my choices of engine color. After the intake is lowering. So maybe I'll take the doghouse off and do the engine and firewall the same time I drop the front axle. That would be the smart thing to do. Two birds with one stone and all.

 

thanks... i hate picking paint colors, but i really like the industrial look of the cast iron, so i went w/ that.... i like gold too, but only on v8s if that makes any sense... and just so you know, there's gonna be way more than 2 birds to kill when that doghouse comes off... you're not gonna want to put all those nice parts back on a crusty frame- all i wanted to do was swap transmissions!

 

Yeah, I figured I'd clean up the front frame and paint that too at the same time. When I do the rear suspension, I figured I'd pull the bed off and clean up and paint back there too. Since it's my full time driver now, I try to limit the down time to keep it from turning into a full on body off project. If you're not careful, before you know it, it's not even a truck anymore. Just a pile of parts, lol.

 

Hey Heatmizer... paint the stock manifolds GOLD. When they get hot the gold paint will bake to a killer dark pewter gray. Looks pretty funny while you are building it though.

Turd - that intake is gonna kill. Make sure you get video of that first fire rocking those shorty pipes... I wanna hear it!

- Joe

 

I'll get a video. It won't be too much longer. I want to have the intake ready for the final polish with the Mothers and the foose ball on Wednesday. After that, it's just bolting everything together. I wish I could swap just one manifold at a time. That would make it easier, I could already have the exhaust on. I can't wait to hear it!