48 chevy truck

kb426 · April 01, 2024, 05:57:06 PM

As I pulled in the shed yesterday, I heard a strange noise. Turned out to be the electric fan. It was scheduled for replacement but maybe a little sooner.

After thinking about this for most of the day, I ordered a copper radiator. I have run alum. radiators in most of the builds. I wasn't happy with the welding on the tank on the one in the 48. Rather than chance it, it's going to be replaced. I found a unit that is meant for the 5.0 conversion with the outlet on the correct side so the changeover won't be too terrible.

The grille shell has to come off to change out the fan so it made sense to do it all at once and get it over. The new trans had a different speedo gear on it. I'm running down the road looking at the tach and speedo and see that there is a 10 mph difference from where it was. I had to dig out the instruction manual to relearn the setting procedure but it just takes the time to drive one mile.

kb426 · April 03, 2024, 06:43:33 PM

O&S modified the throttle pedal today in hopes of finding long hours comfort.

I had the rear tires balanced. Things are smoother now.

jaybee · April 03, 2024, 10:09:45 PM

Little things make all the difference in being able to be comfortable on the road.

kb426 · April 05, 2024, 06:13:56 PM

O&S had another day of exercise. I removed the alum. radiator and fan. I installed the 3 core copper radiator and then cut to fit and made brackets for the Ford Taurus fan. I have it running on the low speed right now and I can see that won't be enough. I will install the 70 amp relay and wiring the next time it's in the shop. The fan is quiet like the good oem units are.

kb426 · April 06, 2024, 03:09:15 PM

O&S implemented his latest idea. LOL. The wiring mess in the pics is an 80 amp relay and the wiring to run it including a maxi fuse. The spade connectors can be swapped and run the fan in low speed on the 30 amp controller that is also used to trigger the 80 amp relay. Mind set is 1st: to have a backup in case the 80 amp relay quits and 2nd: if I get into a winter situation and just need the low speed, I can change it quickly. Might be a waste of time in doing that but I was going to try it before I went forward.

jaybee · April 07, 2024, 04:20:45 PM

Those pics really help you see how dramatically the hood angles out from the radiator shell to the cowl.

kb426 · April 10, 2024, 05:22:16 PM

After I swapped the trans out, the stereo wasn't sounding right. A few days ago, I went looking and found that I had unplugged the sub woofer cables by accident when I thought I was going to have to pull the trans tunnel. I had plugged in the wrong plug out of a 3 plug cable. That left me with no sub. This was do to no memory again. When I started working on this over the weekend, I figured that out and corrected it. I still had distortion at low volumes like the amp wasn't working. I unplugged the amp and that shut the sound off completely. I changed a bunch of settings on the head unit and it didn't go away. I called Crutchfield's tech line yesterday and asked questions. The tech said I needed to set the gain on the amp. He told me the way they do it so today I went to work. Now, I'm pretty happy. But here's what I don't understand. Before I disconnected the battery for the trans swap, I thought it was fine. I haven't touched the 2 gain switches. I wonder if for some reason they could have vibrated and changed the settings? Maybe I'm just missing a little more brain power. I'll see what happens in the next few weeks to see if it goes to pot again.

??

kb426 · April 12, 2024, 08:19:21 PM

Today's tasks were quite simple. I tackled exhaust leaks and the drain plug leak. One of the mufflers had tell tale black around the seams in 3 places. I have had both header pipes loose and only found one spot that needed attention. I bought a tube of Permatex high temp silicone and ran a small bead around the offending areas. The tube says to let it dry for 24 hours before putting into use. I let the truck set for several hours before starting it and driving to the shed. I'm cautiously optimistic about the outcome. While the truck was sitting in the air, I connected the shop vac to the oil fill tube on the engine and turned it on. I removed the drain plug and inserted a rubber plug in the hole. I removed the steel and copper washers on the plug and replaced them with a nylon unit. I replaced the plug and shut off the vacuum. It looks dry so far.

The steel washer was a strato seal unit that the o ring had lost it's capacity to seal. I left it on because the copper washer I had didn't cover the entire flange of the drain plug. Tuned out that the leak was in between the strato and the other washer. The nylon unit seems to have rectified that problem. My mistake for reusing the original strato washer.

When I put the truck in the shed, I noticed the dome light was still on. I found that the right side switch came a part, letting the dome light stay on all of the time. Another new reproduction part bit the dirt. I can order a different brand but they all look the same so you just have to get lucky and get a good unit. Nice.

I'm using the same style as a Ford F1.

kb426 · April 14, 2024, 07:05:06 PM

I had some sound mat left. I jacked up the truck and wire brushed and blew until it was as clean as it could be short of media blasting and then put 2 pieces that are approximately 17" x 17" under the floor. Now I feel better because it's all used up.

jaybee · April 14, 2024, 08:56:25 PM

I've used that Permatex before on pipes that almost but didn't quite seal. Much better than the old school exhaust putty, the stuff that got to be sort of like baked mud.

kb426 · April 17, 2024, 07:33:59 PM

O&S is pleased to report that the latest spring change has resulted in good ride quality. I'm going to lower the front ride height about .5" but the short ride I took over known bumps and railroad tracks left me with a smile. This was the 3rd change. LOL. I used an online calculator as well as previous exp. to pick the 1st set of springs. After that, I've been going down 100lbs at a time. I would say that my original calculations were very poor.

chimp koose · April 18, 2024, 12:09:18 AM

I wonder how many vehicles built like yours never get the attention to detail you have given . I would think many would still be riding on the first set of springs and the owner just learns to live with it . Good on you for sticking with it and seeking out the best combination .

kb426 · April 19, 2024, 05:29:06 PM

O&S installed the new dome light switch today and raised the rear shock preload just a bit. I have about 5/8" of rake, and there is not quite 8" under the frame rails. That part is about where it needs to be. I gave the machine shop owner a ride today. He said it rides good. I said "it does now. " LOL.

jaybee · April 20, 2024, 04:14:13 PM

Wow, That's a big spring rate change. It's also potentially the difference between a car that gets driven and a car that sits in the garage between polishings.

kb426 · April 22, 2024, 06:42:22 PM

O&S tackled the exhaust leak that seemed to be coming from the left side. I removed the header. The front tube was leaking from the bottom where I couldn't see it. I used 3 pieces of 2X6 tubing for risers to hold it in place in the mill. I removed about 20 thousands to make it flat. The flange on these is better than 3/8" thick. I think the reason for that is so that don't have to mill them after welding. LOL. The 2 pics are from that operation. I have installed and gone for a test ride. It's better. There's a tiny leak but I don't know if it's from the collector flange or the seam on the muffler that I put the silicone on. My hearing isn't good enough to tell.