Projects 1950 3100 Truck Project

So over the last couple weeks I have gotten back to where I started. Not that it took that long, just have been busy.

So a couple things I did different which made it easier. I put light coatings of filler on bare metal that was sanded and cleaned. I then used the DA with 80 grit to flatten it back out, and the areas where it still had the darker top coat I knew were still too low. I scuff those by hand and put another coat, and so on. It came out much better than the first time. I then shot the primer and went on much heavier, that way I could sand it smooth before color. I plan on up to 400 wet. Then color.

So my next question is pretty dumb. In theory, if the primer is smooth and the gun sprays the color out nicely it shouldnt need to be sanded before clearing, right? Or do you always sand color before clearing? I dont know...

I just reposted the pics from last page as it looks the same, but hopefully will have time this weekend to finish and put the inners back on so I can mount the radiator and then get it running. I need to start mounting my column and steering shaft too.

 

Beautiful day today so I finally got the firewall and inner fenders painted and cleared. Came out bad ***...





Put the front end back together



Annnnd fail.....radiator doesnt fit....



For some reason the side brackets are put on so the radiator has a forward tilt at the top. Dont know why, but I am going to have to modify it to get it to work, any ideas?




Put the hood hardware on that I had powdercoated a year and some change ago..



CLR'd the LF, LR and left bed side. I am going to have to run the truck without paint for a while, so I thought it would look a little better without all the white **** on it.



So that was a pretty big step, now I can pull the bed back off and do the rear of the cab next. Should go much easier as it is flat. Ordered so fuel line fittings so I can get the fuel line hooked up at the carb. Ordered my driveshaft, and still need to order a steering column dash and floor mount, shaft and u joints so I can steer the thing. Coming along pretty good if I do say so...

 

Looking good...

 

Super nice, sorry about the radiator not fitting...Jim

 

Firewall looks great. It's gotta be a good feeling to be putting things back together. Sorry I'm no help with the radiator issue - I know you'll figure out a solution, though!

 

That ****s about the radiator, seems like there has to be something wrong in every step! I know you'll figure it out, looking good man!

 

Looking good,that firewall kicks ***.

 

Grind off the side rails for the rad. Reposition them back about 1 ", moving the radiator foreward in the truck. Now re weld the rails. I had to do that with a 53 using a large br*** radiator and a 235 swap...the 235 is a little longer than the 216.

 

Dont think I can do that because the top tank hits the cross bar at the top. I think I am going to have to cut it out, notch the hood latch panel, fab up some sort of bracing. But I still really have not sat down and put serious eyes on it which I will do this weekend.

My wife just text me and said I have three packages at home!!! Driveshaft, trans cooler lines and fittings to hook up fuel line to carb. Cant wait to get home and play!!

BTW, ol chevy, coincidently I was just now reading your thread "how to ***emble an AD" on a different site. I came back here and saw your post and recognized you avatar. What are the odds?

 

BTW, I think I have the hood springs on backwards and upside down...yes or no?

 

I'm guessing you're using an electric fan setup since I don't see a pulley for the fan. Seems like you need quite a bit of clearance in there...especially if you take into account a little frame flex too. It's always these unanticipated issues that mess with our heads and distract us from the overall build, but from what I've seen that you've accomplished so far, it's my bet that you come up with a great solution that works well. I'm digging this build...

 

Yes, the fan is electric. It is a pusher that is supposed to go on the outside. In my limited experience that is probably the worst spot for a fan as it blocks flow as it pushes air through if that makes sense, but as yo can see I dont have many options at this point. I was trying to avoid further hackage as much as possible. I try and look at it as a positive, although frustrating it forces me to figure it out which helps me in the future when the next cluster appears.

 

Springs are on backward. You can also drop the rad a little lower to clear the hood panel....there is usually a fair amount of room below it. In that How to ***emble thread, I show how I relocated the rad. mounts.

As far as the fan, with the cooling of an aluminum rad, it shouldn't block too much air flow. I have found that with a Flowkooler water pump, aluminum rad. and a good electric fan (I like the Black Magic from Flex a Lite) most anything can be kept cool.

Join up over there at cl***ic parts, we can answer most any question on ADs. Also check out my tech thread collection....
http://talk.cl***icparts.com/showthread.php?t=17990

 

Is that an s10 under there? That may limit you in the downward mounting of the rad. The engine looks quite bit foreward, I also have a 350 with a long water pump. I have 4" clearance to my radiator. I also mounted mine inside the radiator mount, slid it down from the top and used spacer nuts and bolts.

 

Nope, no s-10. Has a 74 Camaro clip grafted on. Thats how it was when I got it. And yea it does seem like its all a bit forward, I didnt have any clearance issues with the trans and lower firewall where most V8 conversions do. Anyway, I have a habit of talking myself into a big deal in here, then when I actually get to trying to figure it out it takes me just a few seconds, ha! I will switch the springs around figure it all out this weekend. Thanks, and I will go back and review your thread tonight...

 

Just swap them side to side. There is always solution, sometimes you just need a new outlook.

 

New drive shaft. 3.5 dia with ****er xl joints and a new yoke. Good to 800 horsepower which I wont even come close to.



In its new home...



Trans cooler lines and fittings..I know, listing said black fittings and lines dammit...



So net question, I need to put these 1/4 npt to -6AN adapters in the trans...



They dont screw into these, so, do these need to come out and then the adapters go in?

 

So I snuck outside this morning before the festivities start and knocked out a few things. Got the trans line adapters at the trans replaced, easy. Got the fuel line hooked up to the carb, found a 5/8-20 to -8an adapter at summit. Got the radiator mounted. Drilled out the spot welds on radiator support for the hood latch panel and removed it. Ground the sides of the radiator brackets and trimmed the bottom of the brackets a little and it slid right in place. After that I could reinstall the hood latch panel support...





Still pretty close, I'd say about an inch and a quarter. Anyone see any problems with this setup?

I had to order 90 elbows for the trans cooler lines, so it'll be next week before I get those. I bent up some clothes hangars so I could go to Napa and get some radiator hoses and clamps. For now I am going to loop the heater hose from the manifold to the pump until I figure out what kind of heater system I am going to use.

Oh, I also got a heat riser spacer to take up the space at the bottom of my ramshorn manifolds. I am going to use porter gl***packs when the time comes for exhaust...


Lastly for the sake of the website. I realize that a lot of these items don't fall into the traditional theme, but I bought them early on before I had rid myself of the street rod approach that seems pretty common with newbs. Really don't have a choice at this point, but plan on going back later on with some finned valve covers and a less blingy belt system.

 

Got the upper hose put on. Napa part #9258. Had to trim it a little to fit...



Lower hose on, Napa #8565, also had to cut up...



Dip stick tube mounted, trans cooler fittings installed and lines hooked up..



Electric fan mounted. Was not about to use the stupid plastic strips the expect you to jab through the radiator, so I made up some side brackets, fit like a champ...



Last night I had a dream about starting it up. I forgot to hook up the fan in the dream and it overheated. Least my brain is trying to tell me something!!

Just need to get my cooler line elbows then I can cut the hose to length and hook it up to the radiator. I think I can fire it up after that!

 

Looking good. You know you've got it bad when you start dreaming about it.

 

And all this time I thought it was normal for all us car and truck junkies...Jim

 

impressive work.

 

Thanks guys. Got some stuff done this weekend.

I had been fighting this brake pedal, it wasnt the right shape and dragged along the brake pedal hole opening in the firewall, plus was just a general pain in the ***. So I cut the end off where the pad bolts on as it barely fit through the firewall to begin with and was very hard to get into place with the engine in. Then I cut it about the middle and tacked iton the front so it could be bent around until its arch matched. I realized it was out of line with the hole so I welded it over to one side about 1/4 inch and then welded and ground until it looked like one piece again, put it in and if fit and operated perfect. I will have to weld the end back in in the truck.





Then I set to work on getting the steering column mounted..RickS was kind enough to send me a factory steering column mount he had laying around. After grinding it slightly it fit perfect, threw a little paint on it and mounted it up. I used a clamp type lower mount and got it all fit up, I think it will work perfect. Dont worry, the self tapping screws are temp, just needed to get it in place, then I can take them out 1 at a time and drill the holes a little bigger for some real hardware.







The holes at the dash were slotted, and the hole in the firewall was a bit bigger, so I slid the column over into the notch where the shifter was and angled it slightly so it matches up with the steering gear better. Technically it is not straight but you cant tell visually. That Chevelle steering wheel looks kick ***!!





Just need to work on firguring out how to seal it all up next, and I ordered the u joints and collapsible shaft a few minutes ago from CPP and the fittings I needed to get my trans lines hooked up so then I can work on getting a battery, cables, and fluids to get the thing broke in. Then bleed the brakes and I can at least cruise around the neighborhood, bet the neighbors will like that win no exhaust!!

Oh, also got the front fender to firewall braces cleaned up, painted and installed that I bought from another Hamb'r last week, those things really shore up the front end. I also need to trim the lower splash pan for the thicker radiator then I can install the grill and related pieces, getting closer!!!

 

good work dude. keep at it

 

this may be a stupid *** question, but what all is actually holding the wheel on. im gonna make my own column for my truck and all the steering shafts i find are splined on one end for the wheel. are the splines tight enough to keep the wheel on alone, without some sort of nut attaching it ? im running a 64 impala wheel so im sure its somewhat similar to what youve got with the chevelle wheel. i think all the gm wheel splines were the same for a LONG time. sorry for the dumb question . rookie builder here hahah

 

Yea there is splines and then the end is threaded for a nut if I remember right. I put it on over a year ago, but really cant remember what I did last week, ha...I have to take if off in a few days to put my linkage together and then get everything centered so I'll see for sure.
Thanks...

 

great jb so far
just wondering if you recogise mine as it came from your kneck of the woods ?
I as owned by a guy called Bo Southern before she was shipped over the pond to the UK

 

I remember test driving mine with just a cab on it, no front, bed or exhaust. Good thing I was the president of the HOA!

For the floor mount of the column, I make a plate, then weld on a short length of pipe that just fits over the steering shaft, then weld a nut on the top for a lock bolt. Mount to the floor and everything is sealed.

 

Moving right along and everything is looking great.

 

I also did mine lower mount like "ol'chevy". I moved mine over about 2" for better header clearance, and aligned the column top at dash over also. I used a large washer to clear the column shaft, used exhaust pipe to clear the column and welded it together. Here are a couple pics...Jim