1970 in CT (1 Viewer)

[ryanwk628]

Took me 8 hours by myself straight through taking my time, including disassembling and lubricating the front leaves. Finished after dark

I’ll have to shorten one steering link now that the angles changed and I’ll retorque everything in a bit.

Can’t say enough about how much it improved ride! I don’t know if that’s due more to what I put in or what I took out. My wife was happy, said it was like a different vehicle. I was especially happy with the back which was always pogo-ing around and jarring. Now it’s as good as it can be in a 90” wheel base vehicle. When they say soft ride they mean it!

For the front, the bilstein I got was the one they recommend for 2-4” … which was the same size as my 4” lift shock. It doesn’t have a ton of compression so I’m going to either swap it for the shorter one or go with the Ford shock tower mod.

Very happy with the KYB shocks and the skyjacker springs. L20FS and L20RS. The skyjacker bushings were noticeably more flexible than what came out of it and than some energy suspension bushings I had bought on amazon just in case and will return Monday. Also the energy suspension bushings were kind of a sloppy fit with the skyjacker spring eyes.

For lean I looked at the springs and biased them to the driver side. They were very close but it wouldn’t hurt

Lift before and after from fender to axle center. You can see the blue tape marks on the fenders

DF 23.25 …… 21.0
PF 23.5 ….: 21
DR 22.75 …: 20.75
PR 23 …. 20.5

It dropped it about 2.25" in the front and back. Now part of that was probably the Rough Country springs being more than 4" but I would say this is a 2" lift.

I’m soooo happy with it

I don’t think the pictures do it justice. Looks much more stuffed than high mud truck. You can feel the lower CG while driving

One thing to add, the rear had 2 degree shims with the 4" lift. I had reused these with the 2" lift because I had read they would be needed. Checking pinion angles once it was back on the ground I realized I did not need them and ended up pulling them. These shackles are stock length. If I had longer shackles, which may give more travel allowing for a longer swing, that would push down the rear spring eye and change the angle.

Pulling the shims took a little time, not because it was hard to jack it back up, support the frame and lift the axle while loosening the U bolts, but for what ever reason I couldnt get one of the pins into the hole until I fully took it apart. Something about the u bolts and the other spring being attached was fighting me. I should have removed both tires and loosened both at the same time, but didnt want to while working alone incase something dropped and initially tried to avoid it.

 

[ryanwk628]

One thing to note is the flanges on the skyjacker bushings were a little thick. To fit in the 3” hanger I had to take some off on one. Checked against the other bushings I had for reference. Would have been much easier if I had just done this from the start instead of fighting it as long as I did

 

[ryanwk628]

Pressing the bushing into the KYBs. It was easy to get it out of the old shocks with two sockets and the vice. These are MUCH softer than any of the other shocks. I actually may throw a set up front for the time being considering they are only ~$30 each

The bilsteins are long, probably too long for these springs if I do much beyond driving on the road. I’ll need to do Ford shock towers anyway if I end up using the scout power steering box I have in the future.

The rough country shocks were made in Mexico if that provides any insights into who manufacturers them. Their springs were from Indonesia

Slid the boot way up the shock body because it was so bunched up. No bueno. If you use these springs get the shorter 5100s

The shocks for 4” springs were damn close to the ones I took out of my 2016 4wd Silverado rear if that opens any options for people

 

[Green Bean]

View attachment 2790469
Pressing the bushing into the KYBs. It was easy to get it out of the old shocks with two sockets and the vice. These are MUCH softer than any of the other shocks. I actually may throw a set up front for the time being considering they are only ~$30 each

View attachment 2790459
The bilsteins are long, probably too long for these springs if I do much beyond driving on the road. I’ll need to do Ford shock towers anyway if I end up using the scout power steering box I have in the future.

The rough country shocks were made in Mexico if that provides any insights into who manufacturers them. Their springs were from Indonesia View attachment 2790466

Slid the boot way up the shock body because it was so bunched up. No bueno. If you use these springs get the shorter 5100s

The shocks for 4” springs were damn close to the ones I took out of my 2016 4wd Silverado rear if that opens any options for people

View attachment 2790477

View attachment 2790475

Excellent writeup. Thank you for the useful information.

 

[ryanwk628]

Looking at front shocks, Bilstein lists shocks as - For Rear Lifted Height: 0-2"- For Front Lifted Height: 4" So from that Im getting that the only difference is the front length is 2" shorter. Given I have a 2" lift now, stock length rears should work in the front as well.
33-062518 are the 5100s that are recommended for front 2" lift, but 24-002585 4600 or some other stock length rears should work as well. KYB for $28 or OEM perhaps (if they are not the same) until I decide to do my shock towers - not really anxious to cut fenders. Just more options I may consider.

 

[ryanwk628]

Still waiting for parts. In the meantime I did this for the early hood support which comes down from the center and props off the bib at an angle. That doesnt provide a ton of access. With the spare tapped holes in the 2F valve cover I’m not using I drilled a hole in a copper pipe cap and put an M8 fastener inside. So much more room for activities!
It’s the little things.

Not sure why it reorients photos to horizontal from my phone but not desktop

 

[ryanwk628]

Well looks like I will be lucky if I have everything I ordered by Friday. Doing DUI and making my own wires. Also ordered a vacuum gauge which is late.

The only thing that came in are my Toyota valve covers. Yup, after years of mocking people who bought aftermarket valve covers I did it and got them myself (just like Crocs.) What do you think? Tacky or a nice subtle detail?

 

[ryanwk628]

I am getting a DUI HEI distributor from Summit racing, along with a set of 8mm plug wires, boots, new plugs, and wire labels. In researching the DUI I read that they set it up for manifold vacuum. Manifold vacuum sees the vacuum at idle while ported vacuum does not. This was an emissions thing pre catalytic converters and makes your exhaust hotter which I dont want.

I am running a Trollhole carb until I finally make the change to a Sniper. In the meantime I want to set my distributor up for manifold vacuum. I asked but did not get a response on the fitting on the carb.

Turns out its ported

Checked the fitting at the t case vac port and that has full vacuum at idle

So in order to get the best out of the DUI, Im going to be looking to pick up vacuum somewhere off the manifold. That will either be stealing one of the existing ports, using a tee, or tapping one of the blank bosses for a pipe to barbed fitting. I think the DUI install is growing into a bigger job than people make it out to be.

 

[ryanwk628]

UPS pushed my delivery. No HEI over the weekend so I messed with some other things. I played with the carb using the vacuum gauge. Not sure it is much different. I need a way to measure RPM for idle speed. Also there’s a resonance point where the bib, grill and batch buzz like crazy. I’ll pull and isolate them with washers.

I took my valve cover off to have a look and check the head bolt torques. Looks like I’m going to need a 19mm crows foot

Any good recommendations on a heater hose reroute? I was thinking of doing something with hard pipe using the 2F valve cover.

 

[Green Bean]

UPS pushed my delivery. No HEI over the weekend so I messed with some other things. I played with the carb using the vacuum gauge. Not sure it is much different. I need a way to measure RPM for idle speed. Also there’s a resonance point where the bib, grill and batch buzz like crazy. I’ll pull and isolate them with washers.

I took my valve cover off to have a look and check the head bolt torques. Looks like I’m going to need a 19mm crows foot
View attachment 2803608

Any good recommendations on a heater hose reroute? I was thinking of doing something with hard pipe using the 2F valve cover.

Ryan-- The timing light that I purchased includes a tachometer which is useful for monitoring and adjusting idle speed. Amazon product ASIN B000EVU8J8I ended up routing our heater hose along the base of the valve cover and between the distributor. Used some rubber/SS clamps from McMaster Carr. Not sure if that will work in your application.

 

[ryanwk628]

My package from Summit came in. The DUI is HUGE! Seems really well made too. Summit had it in stock which was nice. It came with the connectors and a hold down clamp which I did not expect.

I’m going to make my own wires. 1) I want to learn how, 2) it’s cheaper and 3) I’m not crazy about the look of the fabric wrapped live wires. If my engine bay ever gets to 1400 degrees I’ve got bigger things to worry about.

I found a set of 8mm Taylor wires for 6 cyls with 180 degree plugs with comparable resistance all well below what is required based on my research. Taylor also makes 180 degree HEI connectors which I got. I’ll use the extra 90s to practice stripping and crimping spark plug wires. I also ordered some heat shrink wire labels and got a set of new spark plugs.

 

[ryanwk628]

I want to have manifold vacuum available for the distributor, and since I plan to leave the other two ports available for their intended purposes (vac t case and vac booster which is a possible future mod), I removed the manifold to add a fitting in the boss.

I used a 90 and a barbed fitting. Tapped easily, made sure I didn’t go too deep.

One problem, one of the studs that sandwiches the intake with the exhaust came out. It had a helicoil so I’m going to bring it to work to see if I can’t replace it there. Fingers crossed

 

[ryanwk628]

Got a helicoil in and made a new stud by cutting the head off a bolt. The old stud was all chewed up and worn. I zipped the coil flush with my dremel tool and a tiny cut off wheel.

Added a little JB Weld to fill the void from where some PO wallowed out the hole and to help lock the insert in place. Google says it is good up to 500 degrees, 600 for short durations, and searching here says 400 to 500 about what exhaust manifolds get to. The AL should be slightly cooler as it dissipates heat.

I also installed the Cruiser Outfitters heat riser block off plate Ive had but never got around to putting in so that is another item separating the two. I reused the gaskets with some copper gasket sealer on there. I also had the manifold stud at the front of the head come out and the fit did not feel great so I did not go crazy torqueing that one down like the others (future insert candidate if/when I have the head off.)

Letting it all set up and tonight I will see if it leaks.

It would have been much easier to just Tee off the vac transfer case line or use and adapter in place of the brake booster plug (though Im not sure that would have come out without removing the manifold.)

 

[peesalot]

FWIW IMO the stance is perfect, a little break in and weight from gear will be a good ride, shackle angle will improve a bit as they work in, the bushing width issue has been experienced on my 40 as well, even with stock bushings, The ears get sucked in when tightened or overtightened.

 

[ryanwk628]

Last night I began to install my DUI HEI distributor I got from Summit Racing. They had it in stock and have great customer service. It was also where I was buying spark plug wires anyway. I watched several videos and read threads on how to do this easily without starting over and resetting everything off TDC.

The old vacuum retard dizzy has been capped off and has running on mechanical advance only, which makes it a dog, especially under load. This was origionally set up to work with my old carb and a vacuum switching valve which took an input from a speed senor that I dont think ever worked while I had it. The PO had converted it to Petronix, but I could never tune it well enough on mechanical advance only to work with the trollhole carb (which will eventually be replaced with a Sniper.) This is simpler, cleaner and I can get parts for it.

Step 1 was removing the old stuff. I took lots of photos, noted the position of the #1 spark plug wire on the cap

I used blue painters tape to document the direction the rotor was pointing as well so I can stab the DUI in in the same orientation.

While I was in there I decided to remove the side cover which I suspected was leaking, clean it, give it a quick coat of paint, and replace the gasket with a new OEM one. That was a nearly 4 hour job and my knuckles are all cut up. A lot of the effort was removing the stuck on old gasket with a razor and making sure none of the old gasket material landed in the engine.

Right now the heater hose is just zip tied out of the way. I disconnected the fuel line to pass it under on that side. I will figure something out and route it at the same time when I drain the coolant to replace my engine block heater valve. I am leaning towards a section of 5/8 OD tube with beads rolled on both ends and clamping that somewhere so it looks clean, perhaps off the head or a bracket off the battery tray mount.

I lined the DUI up and noted the orientation of the oil pump gear. It was 90 degrees to my mark so that was easy to move with a long, but not too wide, screw driver. It was slightly off the first time but stabbed right in once I got the oil pump right. I painted the hold down bracket with some of the same engine enamel I used on the side cover since it came in raw.

I have this relay that came with my head light housings. I thought I would wire the BY direct to the HEI since it does not have a resistor, however after looking at the wire in my harness Im going to use the relay method. I have everything I need so I might as well.

Hopefully I can get the wiring done and make the spark plug wires tonight. I am using this as a reference.

 

[ryanwk628]

Made my plug wires. Very easy to do. I referenced this thread on lengths and terminals. I may actually shorten two or three of them since I have a ton of terminals left over

 

[ryanwk628]

Well, I made these very nice wires that I was proud of, and was all set to post photos of how I rigged it up. Then went to start it and hissssss.

Yup. In my excitement get it it done I misinterpreted the little diagram on the relay. I don’t know why I thought that side was the trigger. I feel so foolish because I had the HEI wiring thread open and still got it backwards.

Now I need pull at least part of the harness to see how extensive the damage is.

 

[EWheeler]

Dude, what a bummer. Been there and done that though. Its crazy how quickly hours and hours of work can turn into smoke in just one second.

Have you made any progress digging into the extend of the melted wires?

 

[ryanwk628]

Dude, what a bummer. Been there and done that though. Its crazy how quickly hours and hours of work can turn into smoke in just one second.

Have you made any progress digging into the extend of the melted wires?

Thanks. Im sure Im not the first one to do something this dumb, but you sure feel like it when you do. I pulled the heater, labeled the harness and snaked it out back to the fuse block with the drivers side still rigged up behind the dash. I could have just wired the BY circuit separately but want to unwrap it and do it right. I ended up waiting for 20' of 14ga BY wire to keep the colors right and am going to replace all of it, and will test the other circuits while it is out to avoid gremlins. I just got back from 10 days of work travel to the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show so I am hoping I can pull the seats and spend some more time under the dash this weekend.

 

[Green Bean]

Thanks. Im sure Im not the first one to do something this dumb, but you sure feel like it when you do. I pulled the heater, labeled the harness and snaked it out back to the fuse block with the drivers side still rigged up behind the dash. I could have just wired the BY circuit separately but want to unwrap it and do it right. I ended up waiting for 20' of 14ga BY wire to keep the colors right and am going to replace all of it, and test the other circuits while it is out. I just got back from 10 days of work travel to the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show so I am hoping I can pull the seats and spend some more time under the dash this weekend.

Sorry for the mishap, but I'm always impressed by your abilities to sort things out and return them back better than the way they were before. Use of the original color coded wire is awesome. Your patience and persistence will pay off. Good luck.
Mark.