"New" Daily Driver Pickup "Project"

Yep, that’s one of the reasons I live further south.

 

What ya mean our weather is perfect!


For a polar bear.
You got snow tires for the truck? Lol
Dan

 

Well, the tires that are on it now are a sort of all terrain. But, this stuff should be gone by the time it is out of the shop. Heading to the parts store now to get that stuff that I put on a list last night. Maybe I can finish up all the hoses, transmission cooling lines, etc. this evening.

 

Got transmission mount and crossmember bolted up, transmission cooling lines on, fan shroud mounted, radiator hoses and heater hoses on, motor mount bolts tight, speedometer cable hooked up, and figured out that one of the torque converter bolts was standard and was supposed to be metric… Anyway, kinda nice that the previous owner had bought new transmission cooling lines. I likely wouldn’t have. Little by little…. Still need to put the exhaust manifolds back on to ****on up the exhaust as well as a few other little things under the hood. Maybe I can try to fire it up this week.

 

So, just came out to the shop with all the broken bolts out of the manifolds thinking I could finish up the exhaust this evening. That is right until I realize that one of the flanges that should be hanging on the exhaust tube is missing?!?! Guessing they decided to cut it off instead of figuring out some other way to get the exhaust loose? So, I’m seeing only one way to get one back on and that involves cutting the exhaust in half and sliding another on since it won’t go over the flared end of the tube where it mates up to the manifold…. Or, looks like maybe I can cut a couple small welds at the muffler and slide it on from that end. The crazy things people do not thinking through the extra work they are creating. I guess I’ll find out if the part store stocks the flanges or if I am going to have to make one tomorrow.

 

It is a three bolt flange and I will have one tomorrow. Had to order it at the parts store. I’ll put everything else together tonight and see if that joint comes apart easy at the muffler. If it doesn’t, that idea seems like a good one.

 

That wasn’t terrible. Can’t finish the exhaust this evening, but making forward progress. Replaced all the studs in the manifolds, put new flange donuts in, cut the exhaust pipe apart at the muffler just grinding one half inch weld out and taking the clamp off to get that flange on, and mounting the manifolds back on the engine. Oh, and wondering how long this thing may have sat outside with the hood off after dumping a bunch of water out of the pipe I pulled off. Also swapped out all of the torque converter bolts since they seems to have lost one.

 

So close! Those wheels look great, that C notch is *****in!

 

I can't tell from the pictures, but an R10 should have a bung for the oxygen sensor on the back of the driver's side manifold. You may find it easier to install the oxygen sensor on the bench and then install the manifold.

 

You are correct and I did pull that oxygen sensor out after I pulled that manifold off to get the broken studs out. I definitely appreciate the reminder and now know that there was more than one reason I quit last night at 9:30 after getting the p***enger side manifold on. For some reason I fought that one more than should have ever been needed to get all the bolts started. I was trying to get the back two in last and was struggling. I finally pulled all the others out and put those two in first since I would rather fight ones that are easier to reach. Guessing the manifold is a slight bit deformed or something as they seem to get. Anyway, if it would have gone easy, I likely would have put the driver’s side on as well wondering why I didn’t first put that sensor back in while it was easy. Thanks for saying something!

 

...the later manifolds like yours had a stiffener bar between the ports, the ones like yours tend to "move a bit.

 

Yep, still have a pair of 'spreaders' sitting in the tool box for those. I have no use for them, but haven't found a local that needs them either. Cheap enough, and they do work!
https://www.jegs.com/i/Lisle-Tools/616/13000/10002/-1

 

Interesting...not sure I knew that even though that might have been the case with the ones that were on a 92 pickup that I rebuilt the engine in about 25 years ago. I don't remember fighting them like I did these and also haven't ever had that issue on older ones like the rams horn style on most things I have worked on.

Strangely enough, I either read about or was talking to someone about these spreaders just in the last few days for some other context. But, I was sure thinking about them last night wondering if I wasn't going to need to get some. In the end, I was at least able to get all 6 bolts in that p***enger side and everything tightened up good. And, since the driver's side was already on, I think I can get those back in as well with just lots of wiggling while starting bolts.

 

In my experience at the used car lot that had to get modified vehicles back to smog legal, heavier trucks and RVs were the worst. More WOT hot usage. The p***enger side rear tended to be the more commonly warped. Don't know how useful this is, but that was what I saw.
Hope you slathered the bolts and washers with anti-seize.

 

Hmm…I didn’t use any anti-seize and never have on SBC’s. Am I missing something there? I know some other engines have had issue with bolts getting seized up in heads but have never seen that on a SBC.

 

The reason the holes in ends of the manifolds are bigger than the bolts is because the manifolds get hot and expand. That's why they have the washers, too. So the manifold lengthens when hot and shrinks when it cools. If the holes were tight around the bolts, they would snap them off.
Add in the way the heat cycles tend to cook it all to bare metal that rusts, and you can really help future you by helping things slide and unscrew.
It's true they aren't as bad as some other designs, but an ounce of prevention...