project drivabeater

[Code Red]

getting there buddy

[cantvalve16]

I think the rear wheels sit inboard too far. Those Iroc wheels are marked front and rear aren't they? Maybe swap the fronts to the rear as they offset more to the outside? Of course, that wider track width in the front might make it handle better. Looks better than the other wheels to be sure. Can't wait to see a small block in this thing.

[dusterbd13]

i agree that they do sit in a little too far. but if i swap them right now, they wont clear with the rears on the front. theyll hit pretty good on the tie rods. after i do the brake conversion, ill have another 1inch of track width up front, so i should be able to do it. well see.

anyone on what to do with the wheels? all black, cast iron/brushed, other suggestions?

Michael

[dusterbd13]

so when we last had an update, the grand total was 1028.20. a lot has changed in the last month. damn old trucks....

first, i had a slight engine fire right after the last update. apparently when teh valve cover leaks onto an exhaust manifold, it'll burn your plug wires, heater hoses, smog pump, etc. so i had to fix it. let me tell you, that was not fun. but it gave me the opportunity to clean up the engine bay a bit, reduce the weight, etc. while i was in there, i reset the timing, ran the valves, fixed the vacuum leaks, changed the intake and valve cover gaskets, removed the bad EGR and smog pump, replaced the serpentine belt, and put new plugs, wires, cap, and rotor in. i also cleaned all the electrical connections and grounds, as well as fixed some hacked up wiring i found underhood. the parts for this were quite reasonable, and purchased from my local Autozone. 16.99 for the manifold gasket, 9.99 for the valve cover gaskets, and 15.99 for the belt. the plug wires, etc, were covered by lifetime warrenty. the rest was just aggrevating and time consuming, but the truck has never run better. i also wound up disconnecting the EGR as it was bad. just havent put one on it yet.
i was told while doing all this that you couldnt remove the smog pump without reworking all the belts and brackets. that is not true at all. just use an 860K6 serpentine belt, and route like normal. after around 1000 miles, i havent had a problem.

so heres what it looks like now. i figured i shaved around 20 lbs off the nose between all the grease, dirt, smog equipment, and spare brackets.



while i was underhood, i installed my ZQ8 steering box. found a totalled s10 Extreme with 50K on it at pull a part of all places. so my box only set me back 32 dollars. bolted right on with my old hoses, belts, etc. i used the pitman that came for the extreme. and i must say, i LOVE that box. best steering i have had in a factory box. only better box equipped car ive ever driven is the FFI stage 3 in the duster.



after all this got done, i was daily driving it, and the rusty exhaust finally went away. fell off coming down 24/27 with a load of roofing tin. so back to Autozone i go. after spending a grand total of 71.96, its off to the shop i go. while removing my old exhaust, i found little pellets coming from my cat. so i gutted it, and proceeded to hang the new exhaust. let me say, that was by far the easiest to install exhaust ive ever done. just fell into place, and doesnt sound bad either. while i was under the truck, i also completed my battery relocation. i have 32 in battery terminals and cable form Advance, and 10 in steel from AL lowders. its made from 3X3X1/4 angle iron, with some 1/4 channel steel holing it in place. and youll have to excuse my welds, they suck. i routed the cable down the passengers side framerail, through the boxed in section in the front, and was done with it. heres some pictures from out in my driveway. couldnt get the truck back on the lift, as theres currently a totalled corvette on it.




lastly, i finally started to glue my weatherstripping in the truck, and work on the interior. got my verhead console plugged back in, and the weatherstripping glued on.


after all this, the truck is a blast to drive. the rear mounted batter and 30 some odd pound monster of a tray helped balance the truck a bit, and made it ride better. unfoutunately, the front is no longer level with the rear. i guess ill just have to solve that with my tall lower ball joints here soon.




total as i drove it to work today: 1217.16

michael

[brrymnvette]

Are you going to close off the battery so it doesn't get all the dirt, water, crap from the road on the terminals?

[dusterbd13]

to be honest, i hadnt really thought about that. probably will, when i find a plastic cover that will slode down over. also need to find and install some jump terminals back there somewhere for just in case.

Michael

[Chad-1stGen]

Why size is the battery? Will a group 24 fit? You could get a marine battery case/cover.

Cool to see the updates.

[dusterbd13]

so i went to my first autocross today. had a blast with the truck. throughout the course of the day, i managed to shave 10 seconds off my time, which i dont think is too bad. i got classed in STS, with some other really neat stuff that really kicked my ass. namely WRX STI's. best time of the day for me was an 87.4, best in class was a 75 something. not too bad for my dirst time i think. and to make it even better, there was a guy there with a brand new skyline GTR. his best was an 88 something. so we know hes having a bad day getting beat by a novice in a truck.

anyway, theres a new truck punch list being developed now.
1. fix leaking brake line.
2. get electric fan working again.
3. swap to seats with more bolstering. i was flopping around more than flipper.
4. different tires. the ones on my truck now have absolutely no stick in them.
5. rebuild front suspension. already have lower moog problem solver bushings, will be calling Marcus at SC&C this week to order my howe lower ball joints, and UB machine is shipping my UCA's with teh truck ball joints this week.
6. rear shackle bushings are toast. they need to be changed.
7. flush the brake fluid. its really old, and has air in it nbow due to the leak.
8. install window weatherstripping (already purchased for $1 each). my DS window fell out during on of the turns. it was embarrising. its still rattling around in the door right now, and its cold.
9. strap battery in. i almost failed tech.
10. increase rear spring rate (using some parts store "coil over"s that i had left over from my dakota. they bolt to the shocks with muffler clamps, but they should work.
11. weld in the rear sway bar brackets. lot of flex with just bolts.


thats the short list. most of the stuff i either already have, or will be on its way shortly. now i just need the time.

and pictures of the autocross will be up as soon as theyre posted on the message board at the SCCA.

Michael

[dusterbd13]

the trans is oficially toast. overdrive is gone, and its more metal than fliud. at least i had fun before it went.

five speed swap here i come!!

Michael

[jackfrost]

bummer. but then again, congrats.

[1971CHEVELLE]

Cool project. Looks good

[dusterbd13]

thanks for the compliments.

picked up a parts truck tonight. wie said i have one month to get it off our property. only paid 200 bucks for it.

supposedly it has a brand new clutch, and was running/driving great before it developed an electrical problem and the guy parked it. city told him monday he had seven days to get it gone. that was monday. so we loaded up BART (mega-cab diesel ram, red, BART stands for big ass red truck by the way) and the race car trailer, and went to gastonia to get it. we were in the middle of crack-town. rough place. had to push it 100 yards to where the truck and trailer were due to it being too narrow to get the rig back there. and too muddy.

so well see if i can get it running and check out the tranny. ill post pictures tomorrow.

anyone need parts??

Michael

[dusterbd13]

my new 200 dollar parts truck. been driving it around all morning.









it had a K&N air filter (already in my black truck), brand new radiator, brand new AC lines and condensor, and a brand new clutch. guy parked it because it quit running on him. after adding gas, replacing the fuel pump fuse that FELL OUT, and charging the batter, it runs like a champ. gonna drive it some more and see if the trans is really good, and ten swap the trans to my truck. or i might sell the whole truck and find another trans. think i could get 900 buckes out of it after i clean it up some?

Michael

[Mr Nick]

No flex coupling?

[dusterbd13]

by flex coupling, im assuming you mean the rag joint. if so, none whatsoever. i decided to delete it, as it had a bunch of play in it, and i got the cherokee shaft for a couple of dollars. really tightened up the steering, and after quite a few thousand miles, ive never noticed any bad vibrations, and the cherokke shaft has performed flawlessly. only problem is that it put my steering wheel 90 degrees out, which ill solve one of these days by redrilling the holes in the grant steering wheel spacer.

Michael

[Mr Nick]

Yes rag joint... I've always wondered about removing that and using a universal joint instead.

So thats from a Cherokee? Would that work on a 69 Cutlass? (A-body)

[claytonisbob]

I guess S10's are easy to come by huh? I really need to get a cheap truck like that to do parts hauling with. From what I hear putting a small block in them isn't too difficult. Add al. heads, al. intake, and al. radiator and you shouldn't add too much weight to the front of the truck.

That coupling looks like a good idea for anyone wanting to do a Monte Carlo or Cherokee steering box in a A-Body. I wonder if it would be easy/cheap to do. I know that (metric) rag joint is $80 or so new.

[dusterbd13]

i dont know if the cherokee shaft would work in an a-body or not. best i can say is to try it.

also, in my area s10's that are worth having are few and far between. theyve all been worked or beaten to death. so my black truck is kind of a rarity. the white truck isnt. it a dead soldier, to be honest. as far as the v-8 swaps, ive thought long and hard about it, and decided it was too much weight and too much modification to the truck. so im going with a close to 300 horse N/A v-6 in the truck.

Michael

[dusterbd13]

when last we left off, the grand total was 1217.16. since then, i sold the stock wheels and tires for 125. that brings total down to 1092.16. i also had a blown out transmission, and a 200 dollar parts truck. so with two truck, neither of which are road worthy, i have 1292.16 wrapped up in it. i did drive the parts truck around a good bit, until the electrical system released a lot of magic smoke on me. apparently when they installed the aftermarket security system, they didnt use any fuses, and it shorted. not worth fixing. so...

this morning i started stripping it for all its worth. so far for me i nabbed the 92 core support and brand new radiator hoses, aluminum radiator, new AC system parts, 92 air dam. tomorrow im pulling the axle and swapping it in the black truck (the new one has 3.42 gears, no pinion slop or wheel bearing play, unlike mine), yanking the tranny and all related stuff. we'll see if its really a fresh clutch like i was told. i also yanked all the accesory brackets and intake for the eventual 3.4 motor. ill grab the oil pan when i get the motor out.

supposedly a guy is coming tomorrow to buy the doors and fenders for 90 bucks. and another guy saturday for the motor and interior for 150. which means that ill have actually gotten paid for a tranny, etc. which is just cool.

anyway, i figured id share pictures of todays parts truck carnage.

started this morning with a complete truck, minus the hood my buddy haelped pull last night. too bulky for one guy.


brand new radiator (wanted to show proof)


interior after i nabbed all the nifty pewter trim


truck at the end of today


and heres the last picture i got before my camera died. i took the white doors (which were reall quite straight) and put them on the drivabeater. im thinking cop truck, complete with spotlights on the a-pillars and push bars on the front. paint the wheels black to go with the theme, and put something not police looking on the doors. dont feel like getting arrested for impersonating an officer. just the general theme of a black and white squad is what im after. so please, give me feedback on what i can do.



thanks for looking, and have a happy new year.

Michael

[dusterbd13]

budget update, now that ive stripped and sold more of the parts truck.

in the last few days, ive sold 361.00 worth of parts. brings the project total sown to 931.16

it has brand new front calipers, hoses, and rotors. theyre already in my parts bin for an eventual rear disc conversion, or just s[ares for the fronts on mine.

the trans is a world class t5, with a brand new clutch. unfortunately, it needs an inpuit bearing. way too much slop on the input shaft. anyone know how hard they are to swap?

and i also think i have an 8.5 inch rear in that truck. its got the small, square axle ends like the camaros. thats an 8.5, right?

lastly, how exact do i need to be on the clutch master cylender location on my truck? can i be off a hair or seven?
michael