rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[rattle_snake]

The coolant system had a little rust in it after about 10 drive cycles so I flushed it. I pulled the heater core return hose off the water pump to prevent recirculation in the block regardless of thermostat. Run until clear. Drained radiator and block. It's nice to work on a completely clean engine with cleared out block drains. 2 gallons old school green and top of with distilled.

 

[Boosted1]

Good call on the seatbelt. How did you weld the B pillar bracket to the cab?

 

[Bob Heine]

Justin, I grew up in a time when lap belts weren't even an option. In June 1952, a head-on collision in the family's 1950 Chevy left my mother with a broken ankle from hitting the brakes as hard as she could. My father was sitting sideways in the passenger seat marking final test papers and went half-way out the windshield. The solid steel dash kept most of him inside but a fractured pelvis and ruptured spleen meant his summer vacation was spent in bed. A body shop put the front clip back on but Dad gave the car to our cleaning lady/babysitter the following year. He bought a very slightly used '53 Olds 98 sedan in preparation for our first cross-country road trip. First thing he did was have Sears Roebuck install woven plastic seat covers and four lap belts. The car's interior looked weird with muted green plaid seats and the fresh grass green lap belts. The belts didn't retract so it looked like a snake mating ritual in the car. Putting on the belts was like a pre-flight checklist item.

It took a long time for the 3-point shoulder belt to become the standard. My '68 GTO and '71 Vega didn't have them and neither did my '69 Corvette Convertible. My '72 Corvette Coupe came with a shoulder belt but you could easily detach it from the lap belt (the keyhole on the shoulder belt end attached to the lap belt pin with a slight tug).

I have never been a big fan of the airbag in the steering wheel. Aside from being fugly it doesn't take much to set the bag off. Swerve off the road to avoid a head-on and hit a speed limit signpost and the bag explodes. With your face in the bag and hands torn from the wheel, avoiding the concrete bridge just beyond the speed limit sign isn't guaranteed. I also don't trust the one in our nearly 22-YO PT Cruiser. Buckling up is so ingrained in me that I often buckle up to pull the car out of the garage for a wash job.

To be honest, I also flip the directional signal when I pull out of the driveway (I never back out onto our busy street). In tourist season I see a lot of out of state drivers who have been signalling a turn since they left Chicago.

 

[PhantomEB]

I need to figure out if I just gonna run shoulder belts for 95% of the time then add in the harnesses for the stupid ****? No way will I ever just run lap belts.

 

[ntsqd]

"You might wanta buckle in those 'Hold ma Beer' belts..... "
--Me, to my co-pilot, just before trying something I saw in a movie in 1983

 

[rattle_snake]

Good call on the seatbelt. How did you weld the B pillar bracket to the cab?

I used a rivet to hold the back plate in place until the loop bracket is bolted to it.

I need to figure out if I just gonna run shoulder belts for 95% of the time then add in the harnesses for the stupid ****? No way will I ever just run lap belts.

I would just do a 3 pt. I put 5 pt. belts in my 77 bronco and only used the lap 95% of the time.

 

[rattle_snake]

Left brake light was not working although the blinker was. The combination of these signals is done in the turn signal switch. I pulled the switch assembly out and could get the issue to resolve with pressure on that side. The assembly was dirty so I cleaned only the suspect area with brake clean, and now it is fixed for free.


While the steering wheel was off I rehab'd it by filling the cracks with epoxy putty and hit with spray can. I did a 90% job as I plan to use a different one with no cracks my dad found on a parts truck.


One less ghetto aspect of the interior for the eye to catch on.

 

[rattle_snake]

After cleaning the underside of the hood I painted the hood hinges as they became the only rusty ugly thing.


I also added slip loom to the right side of the engine bay and tucked the harnesses below the cowl pinch weld.


Now the hood won't fit or shut. And if forced shut It jams and cannot be opened.

 

[ntsqd]

Lube the hinge pivots?

 

[rattle_snake]

I did that made it worse. sticks up farther as the spring is doing it's job to lift the hood....

I did managed to solve my hood fitment issues. Had to step back and restart one thing at a time.

Removed the latch, because that is the only way to open the hood.
Removed the spring from right hinge. It is still a disaster and deflects badly in multiple places. Won't fold shut completely. The pivots were loose allowing the arms to twist and deflect. So I re-swedged them in the press with some custom dies.

Reinstalled hinge and now it functions properly and the hood will close on that side. Put the spring back on, and it's still OK.

On to the latch. The hood is offset to the left farther than adjustment allows. I loosened the bolts from frame to core support and was able to move the front over 1/4" or so. Now the hood catch would line up with latch. But the catch was bent, so I fixed that.
Hood still gets stuck. I was able to determine that the secondary safety hook was pushed back behind it's opening and jamming. Aghhh... So I pulled the latch off, beat it back into shape and tweaked the safety hook back into position. And with that the hood can be closed and opened.

I could have just spend money on new hinges, waited for them to arrive and added to old to the landfill. but I'm cheap and and impatient.

 

[zmotorsports]

I did that made it worse. sticks up farther as the spring is doing it's job to lift the hood....

I did managed to solve my hood fitment issues. Had to step back and restart one thing at a time.

Removed the latch, because that is the only way to open the hood.
Removed the spring from right hinge. It is still a disaster and deflects badly in multiple places. Won't fold shut completely. The pivots were loose allowing the arms to twist and deflect. So I re-swedged them in the press with some custom dies.

Reinstalled hinge and now it functions properly and the hood will close on that side. Put the spring back on, and it's still OK.

On to the latch. The hood is offset to the left farther than adjustment allows. I loosened the bolts from frame to core support and was able to move the front over 1/4" or so. Now the hood catch would line up with latch. But the catch was bent, so I fixed that.
Hood still gets stuck. I was able to determine that the secondary safety hook was pushed back behind it's opening and jamming. Aghhh... So I pulled the latch off, beat it back into shape and tweaked the safety hook back into position. And with that the hood can be closed and opened.

I could have just spend money on new hinges, waited for them to arrive and added to old to the landfill. but I'm cheap and and impatient.

Tightening up hood hinges and lubing them was something I did quite a lot back in the 80's and 90's to the square body GM's Justin. I had more than a few hoods come to my shop that had been taco'd from the owner after years and years of neglect.

 

[PugetDude]

....I am cheap and and impatient.

You are not alone, Justin. We meet on Thursdays at 7:00 in the church basement. I encourage you join our 12 step program.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Tightening up hood hinges and lubing them was something I did quite a lot back in the 80's and 90's to the square body GM's Justin. I had more than a few hoods come to my shop that had been taco'd from the owner after years and years of neglect.

Did you ever see the video of the Barrett Jackson auction where they fold the hood on a high dollar squarebody as it's rolling across the block?

 

[PugetDude]

Did you ever see the video of the Barrett Jackson auction where they fold the hold on a high dollar squarebody as it's rolling across the block?

Or the videos of the big tents blowing down on top of hundreds of cars from the microburst during the freak winter rain storm?

 

[LXCam]

Did you ever see the video of the Barrett Jackson auction where they fold the hood on a high dollar squarebody as it's rolling across the block?

I’ve had a dozen square bodies and every damn one ended up with that crease of shame 🥹


Looking good Justin.

 

[SilverJimmy]

I’ve had a dozen square bodies and every damn one ended up with that crease of shame 🥹


Looking good Justin.

That’s why you Mopar guys aren’t allowed to have GM stuff, you don’t understand the subtle ways of how to close the doors (Just slam it just right!) how to open the hood (you have to hit it just to the right of the centerline!) or how to get the power(less) windows up when it starts to rain (lift up the glass right in the middle! DON’T get your hand caught in there!) or any other joys of GM!

 

[LXCam]

That’s why you Mopar guys aren’t allowed to have GM stuff, you don’t understand the subtle ways of how to close the doors (Just slam it just right!) how to open the hood (you have to hit it just to the right of the centerline!) or how to get the power(less) windows up when it starts to rain (lift up the glass right in the middle! DON’T get your hand caught in there!) or any other joys of GM!

So what’s you fn point sterling??

 

[ntsqd]

That creased square body hood comes from the same problem Justin is having, compounded by the deliberate thin sections that GM put in the hood bracing so that it would buckle in an accident rather than guillotining thru the windshield.
Recently saw an OBS F series on FBMP that had the same crease and given the simple, single pivot hinge on those I'm struggling to understand how they managed to bind up the coil springs enough to do that.

 

[zmotorsports]

That’s why you Mopar guys aren’t allowed to have GM stuff, you don’t understand the subtle ways of how to close the doors (Just slam it just right!) how to open the hood (you have to hit it just to the right of the centerline!) or how to get the power(less) windows up when it starts to rain (lift up the glass right in the middle! DON’T get your hand caught in there!) or any other joys of GM!

Funny you mention the Mopar guys not understanding our GM's Sterling.

My FIL will slam my truck door so stinkin' hard if feels like the windows will shatter. I continually tell him "this isn't your damn Dodge, you don't need to slam the doors that hard". But I still cringe every time, and my wife looks at me like "I know, I know, he did it again".

 

[Jgaz]

Tightening up hood hinges and lubing them was something I did quite a lot back in the 80's and 90's to the square body GM's Justin. I had more than a few hoods come to my shop that had been taco'd from the owner after years and years of neglect.

Yes sir. Those square bodies starting in the 70’s would kink the hood and eventually crack the sheet metal.
In the chevy dealership we were always on the lube rack guys to take a minute and lube the pivot points on the truck hinges especially on a commercial (aka neglected) vehicle.

 

[SilverJimmy]

Every once in a while I’ll come across an old 73-80 GM full-size truck that will have the hood “Un-Taco” reinforcement kit installed. Remember those?!

 

[Jgaz]

Every once in a while I’ll come across an old 73-80 GM full-size truck that will have the hood “Un-Taco” reinforcement kit installed. Remember those?!

Yes sir!

 

[plain2car]

aaww man! why all the hate on the Squarebodies! .... LOL!! I completely sympathise... I drove '79 "big10" SWB during H.S. and the hood was juuusstt starting to show the weakness when I sold it (would give anything to get it back now ). I currently drive a '86 LS swapped SWB (red) and by that time the hood was no longer an issue. I am intrigued by the fix that you did on the hinge Justin, pretty smart there - if I may say so .... for a ford guy!! .

 

[ntsqd]

Not hate, one of my current semi-DD's and what it's about to get:

 

[LXCam]

Not hate, one of my current semi-DD's and what it's about to get:

No hate here either. I fn luv your truck. I had a 74 step side and too this day I regret giving it to a buddy of mine. But he needed it worse then me and back then stuff was cheap.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

You really don't see many stepsides anymore. On top of that, all the good square bodies are getting snatched up by the guys that grew up in the 90's.

 

[rattle_snake]

My motorhead neighbor has a stand alone AFR setup for carb tuning that I could use.
Step one is a *********. hehe hehe.
I located sensor right after collector reducer. Used lathe to cut a step on the bung to help locate it in the hole and fit together better.


Clamp and apply enough pressure to deform the tube at the bung for tighter fit and easier weld. Also keeps boogers out of the threads. Tack and test fit.


Angle was good so burn in and hit with paint.


I choose right bank as it had more room.


Innovative MTXL in a project box. Calibrate and go.

 

[LXCam]

That’s so much easier than reading plugs, good choice Justin.

One of these days I’ll get a little time to run down to Scott’s place with my wideband and help him dial in his carb on that goldwing contraption

 

[Ohmthis]

Swapping out the 50 year old lap belts for 3 pt retractable setup in black. This truck had no provisions for a ring on the b-pillar. Picked a spot similar to my 72 that did. A rivet is used to keep the plate captive.


I made an anchor plate for the B-pillar and a bracket for the retractor and end tab.


The retractor should point at the ring so the webbing doesn't chafe. The end of the webbing also attaches with the retractor. Should have made the bracket a bit longer.


The ring and webbing cover up the rivet. Not too exciting but safety is important.

Justin, did you slide the captive nut plate up the back and use the rivet to hold it in place? I don’t have any interior in my truck and seat belts are a must. Thank you for posting this!

 

[PugetDude]

That’s so much easier than reading plugs, good choice Justin.

One of these days I’ll get a little time to run down to Scott’s place with my wideband and help him dial in his carb on that goldwing contraption

Reports of his appearance have been greatly exaggerated.

 

[rattle_snake]

Justin, did you slide the captive nut plate up the back and use the rivet to hold it in place? I don’t have any interior in my truck and seat belts are a must. Thank you for posting this!

Yes that is what I did. I believe the B pillar in your 66 is open at the bottom on both sides.

Reports of his appearance have been greatly exaggerated.

To clarify,
His appearance has been greatly exaggerated?
or
The reports of his appearance were greatly exaggerated?

 

[rattle_snake]

I was able to get the Holley carb tuned pretty well with the AFR gauge. It was way lean at any part throttle, and good at WOT. I swapped the 68 jet in primary for the 70 I had, no change. Then I swapped the prim and sec jets so 76 in prim and 70 sec. Now part throttle was way rich, but at least responding to changes.
There is nowhere near me to buy jets so I decided to drill what I have to keep going. I drilled the 68 jet to a #47 measuring 0.077, which is about a 71.5 jet, call it 72. With that change everything fell into line, adjusted idle and done.

72 Prim, 70 Sec, 8.5 PV, 0.033 nozzles

Idle in gear is 12.8-13.0
tip in is mid 13s
part throttle accel is high 12s
WOT is 12.5
Light cruise 35mph high 14s
Cruise 55mph mid 14s

Light to heavy throttle downshift never goes leaner than 13.5. It is possible to see enrichment from PV at it's threshold with vac gauge and AFR. It seems to do what it needs to do to maintain the numbers above.

So now I am an internet certified carb tuner. Cold start/run is OK without a choke. It was in the 30s today and can start and drive away without warm up period. Once warmed up, the truck drives like it should and has no hesitation. I can stomp the accelerator from a stop and it just goes. Tires are right on limit of traction all through 1st gear and upshift to 2nd knocks them loose. Pulls smooth to 5500. The vac advance really helps with lots of timing (34*) at cruise and idle. I have no idea how much power the engine makes now. I would guess low 200s with 300 torques.

 

[rattle_snake]

After getting truck tuned in I circled back to fluid leaks. The trans was still leaking in two places. One cooler line that I already snugged, so gave it some more. And the speedo cable o-ring. I found a suitable replacement in my stash and popped it in. The speedo cable is heat damaged from laying on exhaust but still works.


Have I mentioned how nice it is to work on a completely clean vehicle?

I implemented a permanent fix with a piece of slit hose and zip ties. Also found that I forgot to tighten the mount bolts on the trans mount. Finally no more clunks. I made a clamp to secure the trans cooler lines to keep them from rattling.

 

[PugetDude]

To clarify,
His appearance has been greatly exaggerated?
or
The reports of his appearance were greatly exaggerated?

Both.

 

[rattle_snake]

I have been planning an audio system for the 76 Ford for awhile. The main constraints are:
-cheap
-light weight
-loud
-not cut up the dash structure or bezel

No need for radio, backup camera or a head unit with a screen, just BT. Although I can get Rockford equipment at cost, it takes my wife forever to actually order it and I don't want to over use the favor. For the same cost or maybe less I can buy some turds on amazon. I already had a new P3 shallow sub from another install, so just need main speakers, amps and a BT interface. ....and wire, cables, a box, stuff to cover it and so on.

I chose some bottom-of-the-line Orion amps. The power number in music peak in thousands of watts are laughable but consistent with other brands in the same price point. I picked the smallest 2 ch for the door speakers, 1500W. One of the amp's manual lists RMS of 300/ch. Even if it is half that it is still way more than needed for a mid and tweet. I picked the medium Mono sub amp as the little one was out of stock, but was delivered the big brother of 4500W. RMS claim is 1200W. Maybe for a really short time.

Of course the first thing I do is take the cover off to see the guts. I see only 2 power transistors on each channel. Even without knowing what they are, they aren't going to deliver high power for very long. Heat up and go into thermal shutdown. For my use they should work fine.

 

[plain2car]

2 things..... 1) heh...hehhh... he said "*********" hheehh 2) your funny!... "bottom of the line" ORION amps... followed with "my wife can get RF at cost"...... WWHHHAAAAAAAAATT!! (doing the "home alone" face slap)

 

[ntsqd]

Am curious to see what speakers you end up with. I eventually need to acquire a sound system for the Wagon and I've no idea what to buy.

 

[rattle_snake]

2 things..... 1) heh...hehhh... he said "*********" hheehh 2) your funny!... "bottom of the line" ORION amps... followed with "my wife can get RF at cost"...... WWHHHAAAAAAAAATT!! (doing the "home alone" face slap)

The price markup on RF amps is fairly low, whereas the markup on speakers is high. So to get the bottom-of-the-line 'prime' RF amps would still cost me more than the Orion stuff, and take months instead of days. The Prime amps are higher quality, but the Orion stuff is small and light weight comparatively.

Am curious to see what speakers you end up with. I eventually need to acquire a sound system for the Wagon and I've no idea what to buy.

Door speaker are $43 Cerwin Vega XED 6.5" 2-Way Components. I chose them as they are cheap, separate mid/tweet with (crude) external cross-over and use a 5" mounting hole. The door has a 5" diameter speaker cutout (unhacked) which is an odd size. Most 6.5" speakers use a 5.5" hole, and 5-1/4" use a 4.5 hole. So this set addresses the size issue.

Amazon.com

I have had a few high end (~$1000 MSRP) sets of component speakers. MB Quart, Polk, SAS, Rockford, ect. The location, mounting and tuning is as important as the speakers themselves. I prefer simple systems with only front speakers and a sub or two. A DSP can be magic.

 

[rattle_snake]

Original heater loop valve crumbled when I installed new hoses. I changed to a 4 port style valve that works much better by diverting flow back to pump instead of just trying to pinch it off. Big improvement in A/C performance. Who needs a heater?
I was forced to buy six matching hose clamps, well because.
Sheet metal screws are banned from this project. Only riv nuts are acceptable. Much harder to slice your hand open on a riv nut/machine screw.


I bent up a hard line for the radiator overflow. I bought a roll of Zinc plated 5/16 steel tube instead of the green PVF coated.

 

[plain2car]

Justin, thanks for the reply info. I just remember wwaaaayy back in my audio comp. days that ORION, ROCKFORD FOSGATE (RF) and PRECISION POWER were the names along with JL AUDIO, PIONEER and PHOENIX GOLD .... . nowwa days everything bluetooth and streaming...