Gary Lewis Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Big progress today. First, a small but nice thing. I got my new lug nuts from lugnutguys.com, the only place I was able to find all 3 combinations I needed in the same "lug nut" style (9/16-18 RH, 9/16-18 LH, 1/2-20 RH). Out with the old: In with the new: Funny how some things hit you in odd ways. This truck has not been driven since I parked it in my driveway to start restoring it. You can see some dust/dirt... but also lots of white specks. That's ash. From the fires. ... Anyway on a bigger note I started reinstalling my panel. It went really well but if any of you have pulled yours, you know it's a big job. Nothing ever seems to line up right, the wiring harness is always pushing back at you, etc. With the ARA aftermarket A/C, it's SUPER tight back there and you have to work the dash back into place a little bit at a time, coaxing each side or spot that's binding to go a little further. I have it mostly in place and screwed in, but didn't install any trim pieces yet. I need to do some final wiring hookups for the climate control and stereo, and I'm waiting for a new wiper switch among other things (I broke my old one). But this will at least let me start doing some integration testing, like the brake controller (I'm falling in love with this REDARC, it looks really nice on the dash, see the driver's side photo below, it's just to the left of the turn signal lever) and instrument panel lighting. The lug nuts look great! I just checked their site and may order a set from them. Their prices a very good. On the ash, that is such a huge tragedy. I cannot get my head around that. On the dash, yes it is a lot of work to get everything in place at the same time. Lots of wires going everywhere. But zip ties and patience got mine back on. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted January 4, 2022 Author Share Posted January 4, 2022 The lug nuts look great! I just checked their site and may order a set from them. Their prices a very good. On the ash, that is such a huge tragedy. I cannot get my head around that. On the dash, yes it is a lot of work to get everything in place at the same time. Lots of wires going everywhere. But zip ties and patience got mine back on. Good luck! Change of subject. Got a new problem, or maybe two, now. Maybe related. I just took a chance and started it for the first time in awhile. It took a few seconds of cranking but it's cold out and hasn't been run in a month so I wasn't surprised. When it started I was pleased to see my tach worked immediately so that was a bonus. I let it run for a few minutes but noticed two new problems. 1. When I hit the gas, the pedal is VERY stiff. Like, I had to stomp on it as hard as I could just to get it to rev to 3000rpm. It felt like the pedal or the linkage was stiff or something like that. I was very careful not to touch the pedal or linkage while working on the dash, so I'm pretty confident I didn't do something stupid like drop a screw into the hinge or whatever. And I haven't touched the engine at all, other than adding the headlight relay - nowhere near the carb. Is there some kind of common "stiff gas pedal" thing I should know about, whether an issue or something I may have caused? 2. If I put in neutral and let out the clutch, it "ticks" very noticeably. It was not doing this when I first parked it. The sound is coming from the transmission (I think) and I did have THAT cover off, but only the top cover where the shifter cane goes in. I was careful extracting the alignment pin, I had cleaned the area before taking the cover off, and protected the hole with plastic while working on other things (before reinstalling the cane). I don't think anything "fell in". An obvious guess would be a broken tooth and some metal floating around in there, but that couldn't have happened while it was parked, and I'm sure I was careful while it was in my driveway. The one common factor is that it's much colder now than when I first parked it so maybe there's some cold related issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted January 4, 2022 Author Share Posted January 4, 2022 Change of subject. Got a new problem, or maybe two, now. Maybe related. I just took a chance and started it for the first time in awhile. It took a few seconds of cranking but it's cold out and hasn't been run in a month so I wasn't surprised. When it started I was pleased to see my tach worked immediately so that was a bonus. I let it run for a few minutes but noticed two new problems. 1. When I hit the gas, the pedal is VERY stiff. Like, I had to stomp on it as hard as I could just to get it to rev to 3000rpm. It felt like the pedal or the linkage was stiff or something like that. I was very careful not to touch the pedal or linkage while working on the dash, so I'm pretty confident I didn't do something stupid like drop a screw into the hinge or whatever. And I haven't touched the engine at all, other than adding the headlight relay - nowhere near the carb. Is there some kind of common "stiff gas pedal" thing I should know about, whether an issue or something I may have caused? 2. If I put in neutral and let out the clutch, it "ticks" very noticeably. It was not doing this when I first parked it. The sound is coming from the transmission (I think) and I did have THAT cover off, but only the top cover where the shifter cane goes in. I was careful extracting the alignment pin, I had cleaned the area before taking the cover off, and protected the hole with plastic while working on other things (before reinstalling the cane). I don't think anything "fell in". An obvious guess would be a broken tooth and some metal floating around in there, but that couldn't have happened while it was parked, and I'm sure I was careful while it was in my driveway. The one common factor is that it's much colder now than when I first parked it so maybe there's some cold related issue? Scratch the first one. I forgot, I did do one thing around the engine, just weeks earlier that I forgot. I replaced the air filter. So I'm a newbie to carbureted engines (in cars anyway) so I don't know what this is called. But there's a hefty air tube (1"?) from the top of the valve cover up to a port in the throttle body. The way my tube is routed if you take the air filter off and put a new one on, that tube is so stiff it wants to rotate the base plate under the filter a bit counter-clockwise. When it does, the tube impinges on the throttle plate lever the linkage attaches to. Here you can see I've rotated it back to the left so there's clearance again: It's a worry though. Any of you guys have a pic of a similar tube properly installed? I feel like this is a failure point, something that could easily vibrate its way around again and cause the throttle to get stuck. Biggest worry would be being on the highway and having it get stuck open. Is it supposed to be a different length, or tied to other things or something? This may not look like your engines because this is that aftermarket Holley carb, but if you have any advice LMK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzFace2 Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Scratch the first one. I forgot, I did do one thing around the engine, just weeks earlier that I forgot. I replaced the air filter. So I'm a newbie to carbureted engines (in cars anyway) so I don't know what this is called. But there's a hefty air tube (1"?) from the top of the valve cover up to a port in the throttle body. The way my tube is routed if you take the air filter off and put a new one on, that tube is so stiff it wants to rotate the base plate under the filter a bit counter-clockwise. When it does, the tube impinges on the throttle plate lever the linkage attaches to. Here you can see I've rotated it back to the left so there's clearance again: It's a worry though. Any of you guys have a pic of a similar tube properly installed? I feel like this is a failure point, something that could easily vibrate its way around again and cause the throttle to get stuck. Biggest worry would be being on the highway and having it get stuck open. Is it supposed to be a different length, or tied to other things or something? This may not look like your engines because this is that aftermarket Holley carb, but if you have any advice LMK. That hose / fitting in the valve cover is factory and is the fresh (clean) air supply for the PCV system. The factory air filter had a fitting on the side of the main housing and on the inside has a little "breather filter". Because you have that aftermarket open air filter they put the supply for the PCV on the bottom. If you have the factory air filter housing you could put that back on, it should fit the Holley carb, you could use it and not have that issue you have now. OR Get a longer hose, just make sure it is rated for oil & vacuum, and turn the base so it clears the linkage. A picture of mine would not really help as I have a 300 straight six motor but it dose have that same hose from valve cover to side of filter housing. Dave ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted January 4, 2022 Author Share Posted January 4, 2022 That hose / fitting in the valve cover is factory and is the fresh (clean) air supply for the PCV system. The factory air filter had a fitting on the side of the main housing and on the inside has a little "breather filter". Because you have that aftermarket open air filter they put the supply for the PCV on the bottom. If you have the factory air filter housing you could put that back on, it should fit the Holley carb, you could use it and not have that issue you have now. OR Get a longer hose, just make sure it is rated for oil & vacuum, and turn the base so it clears the linkage. A picture of mine would not really help as I have a 300 straight six motor but it dose have that same hose from valve cover to side of filter housing. Dave ---- Thanks Dave, that's super helpful. I feel like the simplest short term answer is a longer hose. Right now the hose is within a half inch of the right length. It's sort of exactly the wrong size, because it's "just long enough" to "cam over" to the right depending on how you hold the base plate of the filter as you tighten it. I think if the hose was even an inch longer, it would be forced to stay to the left, out of the way, and would never get a chance to switch to the dark side. Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Thanks Dave, that's super helpful. I feel like the simplest short term answer is a longer hose. Right now the hose is within a half inch of the right length. It's sort of exactly the wrong size, because it's "just long enough" to "cam over" to the right depending on how you hold the base plate of the filter as you tighten it. I think if the hose was even an inch longer, it would be forced to stay to the left, out of the way, and would never get a chance to switch to the dark side. most factory air cleaner housings have a made-on tab at the rear which folds down beside each side of the secondary vent tube. it is there to locate the lower and hold it in the proper position. aftermarket ones often do not and that is why it can spin around. i used one on my last build like yours and the best i found was to put the fitting on the passenger side and ran a little longer hose. the hose swept neatly under the front bowl only a little forward, so it cleared everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 most factory air cleaner housings have a made-on tab at the rear which folds down beside each side of the secondary vent tube. it is there to locate the lower and hold it in the proper position. aftermarket ones often do not and that is why it can spin around. i used one on my last build like yours and the best i found was to put the fitting on the passenger side and ran a little longer hose. the hose swept neatly under the front bowl only a little forward, so it cleared everything Now that you mention it... Is there anything sacrosanct about this air cleaner base plate? It seems like it would be simple to rivet on a small tab like the one you're describing - I have some stainless rivets right on my workbench from another project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Now that you mention it... Is there anything sacrosanct about this air cleaner base plate? It seems like it would be simple to rivet on a small tab like the one you're describing - I have some stainless rivets right on my workbench from another project. it's a great idea! my only caution would be to not use anything that could come loose and get drawn into the engine. aftermarket air cleaners need proper fitting. "Universal does not fit a damn thing" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 it's a great idea! my only caution would be to not use anything that could come loose and get drawn into the engine. aftermarket air cleaners need proper fitting. "Universal does not fit a damn thing" Fair point. https://photos.app.goo.gl/2SpLzRPEM2R3bAJ79 With the throttle obstruction resolved it revs pretty well. Gary, this "bud's" for you - those are the HiPo LEDs in the panel that you recommend. They look great. The empty hole is my ammeter, out for the "Rocketman" voltmeter conversion. Guys, I'm really counting my blessings here, and want to thank you all again for all your advice so far. I think I got lucky with this one. It had a dump truck full of issues but most were cosmetic. This thing obviously had some love before me. It's 25F out right now and it starts on barely one rotation, runs strong, has a new exhaust, passes emissions (if barely), and my wife actually likes it :) Starting tomorrow I have all the "little projects" to start: parts will be arriving from all over over the next few weeks, basically everything I couldn't get shipped faster (without signing over Rocky's title!) Should be a lot of little updates and a busy few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Fair point. https://photos.app.goo.gl/2SpLzRPEM2R3bAJ79 With the throttle obstruction resolved it revs pretty well. Gary, this "bud's" for you - those are the HiPo LEDs in the panel that you recommend. They look great. The empty hole is my ammeter, out for the "Rocketman" voltmeter conversion. Guys, I'm really counting my blessings here, and want to thank you all again for all your advice so far. I think I got lucky with this one. It had a dump truck full of issues but most were cosmetic. This thing obviously had some love before me. It's 25F out right now and it starts on barely one rotation, runs strong, has a new exhaust, passes emissions (if barely), and my wife actually likes it :) Starting tomorrow I have all the "little projects" to start: parts will be arriving from all over over the next few weeks, basically everything I couldn't get shipped faster (without signing over Rocky's title!) Should be a lot of little updates and a busy few weeks. The gauges look great! Well, all save the voltmeter. And the throttle obviously works. Engine sounds sweet. Can't wait to see the incremental updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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