Project Muscle Truck (again!)

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  • #27
I was workin' on it tonight Steve... the new intake manifold got here today. Tomorrow the carb, fuel pump, camshaft, and some other engine goodies are being delivered.

A new front light and alternator wiring harness are on the way too...

I cleaned up the heater box tonight. I need a new heater core as well... I cleaned up the head bolts and all the other fasteners that I am going to reuse.

I started on cleaning up the firewall, and scraped alot of the old greasy junk off of the crossmembers and lower frame. I will push it out of the garage soon, to give it one last pressure washing before i start painting the frame and such.

Engine will go to the machine shop this week sometime. Then I need to clean up the tranny, put a shift kit in it, new seals and bushings, and order a stall converter.

She's comin' along right nicely. :)

Those twin turbos would be cool as hell... but like you said... they are a "dream" of mine too... ;)

Gary
 
You can do the tranny? Impressive Gary. I have decided that as a mechanic, I suck. I'll give the details in another thread.
 
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  • #34
Somehow I just can't see Gary doing a tranny... :|:

LMAO... :lol:

Uh... no way.

:P

Anyhoo... I have never gone through the clutch packs or anything like that. But I have installed/changed bushings, seals, pumps, modulators, shift kits, valve bodies, and put in new converters.

I have an old TH350 tranny sittin' at my Dad's place... I am going to try my hand at a complete rebuild/overhaul on that one some day soon. Just to see if it is all that difficult.

Gary
 
I've done several trannys,the mechanical kind in auto's ,not he-shes . I have reasonably good luck but this damned A4Ld Ford in my Ranger has given me fits .Chevy t-350's are relatively simple and the parts are reasonably inexpensive as compaired to some .

Now regarding the other type,had I encountered one in my wilder days it would have been strictly by accident and outcome would not have been pretty . :(
 
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  • #38
The GM Turbo Hydro-matics (excluding overdrives) are pretty straightforward easy to work on trannys. I just have yet to fully rebuild one. Parts are really easy to get and best part is... they are as Al siad... inexpensive. :)

Gary
 
It may sound odd but what tears most trannies up are soft shifts especially on high horsepower applications . They made them shift soft for the comfort of the users . A harsh bang into the next gear is actually all a shift kit does for them .

Around here what tore up the t-350's was rocking to get out of a snow drift.The reverse brass clutch packs couldn't take that transision from forward to reverse at half throttle . Then reverse would lock up,shift it into forward and tear out the clutchs and maybe the cluster in the process .Voice of experiance speaking on this one . I'm tellen ya,a heavy foot can cost you money at times,how well I know .
 
LMAO Al!! I had a '75 f-250 with a 429 PI in it. STUPID fast for a truck that size!!
I had it to where I could pull it in the garage, change out the C-6 and back it out in an hour and a half! Actually cracked the case on a couple of them.
The trannys aren't supposed to be that bad to do, but the way I understand it the tools needed kill the deal. I don't know, I've done a shift kit or two:roll: and changed out the seals, but never went deeper.
 
my '80 Z28 had a borg warner gearbox in it, I blew the main drive gear twice. oops. Guess the hurst shifter and SUPER heavy clutch in it were not the best combo for learning to drive a stick ?
It had a hopped up 350 with a bunch of stuff I didnt know much about.. edelbrock performer manifold, lumpy dumpy cam, Holley 750 double pumper carb (I think, never did really figure the exact specs beyond eyeballing it), headmann headers, 2.5 inch pipes running through some dinky 10" mufflers, no cats...
should NEVER sold that beast.
seriously.

at least when I traded it in I took it home AFTER making the deal with the dealership, stripped ALL the chrome bits outta the engine bay (engine bay struts, rad hose upper connect, alternater bracket and housing, master cylinder cover....etc) :D, the stereo head unit, the speakers, my airhorns and the airfreshener....
part of the deal of course, not pulling any fast ones... :shifty:

Big G, that pile of parts looks like a brakestand waiting to happen ;)
 
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  • #44
It is Paully... and that is one "lumpy dumpy" camshaft sittin' there too... :thumbup:

Gonna take the engine over to the machine shop today after work... :)

Gary
 
I am looking forward to hearing it idle..

One of my favorite sounds is a late 70's corvette (or other muscle car) with a real lumpy cam, one where you it fires a couple cylinders then hesitates so long before the next that you think it stalled :D
 
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  • #46
All the stuff that needed to hit the machine shop went yesterday. A couple days later than I wanted... but oh well. Got busy. :)

So it should be ready for pickup in a couple of weeks or less.

Gary
 
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  • #47
Picked up a lil' bling for the engine today. :D

Chrome, tall valve covers... and some chrome intake bolts.

Gary
 

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cool, next is rad shroud, alternator mount, master cylinder and cover... engine bay struts, oil check tube...
:D

edit: upper rad house neck, some flashy low pro oil pan... wicked color pluig wires with handy wire seperators...
 
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