Build The Clustertruck Rides Again - Refurbishing a 1975 Chevota

[RWBeringer4x4]

1. So I just took mine off last week for powder coating. I'm going semi gloss. Not sure about oem, but gloss seems too shiny, and flat, too prone to hold dirt.

2. The nut & bolt spreadsheet says this. Spacing will be taken away so I put in commas:

Description, # Used, Diameter , Thread Pitch, Length, Washer 1, Washer2, Nut size, Class, Notes 1
Bib Studs to hold Radiator Protective Mesh, 4, 6mm, 1mm, 15mm, split washer, flat, 6mm, N/A, Nuts 10mm heads

3. I think different points.trying to remember how it came apart. If you don't get answers on the this, I'll look tomorrow.

Thanks, I could have sworn I saw somewhere that listed a 5mm bolt but I can't find it anywhere. All sources seem in agreement @ 6mm now...

As for paint: I'm thinking I might go with a semi-gloss rustoleum Engine paint...Claims it should stand up to high temperatures (500 degrees)...

 

[Shark56]

Rick, you will be fine with that Rustoleum Paint. All mine were painted with that and all holding up well. Check the back side of the bib for the mounting holes. They should line up with the screen, if not then you might have a different year screen. I can't think of what years are different but some are. I have a couple spares if you need one. Jeff

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Rick, you will be fine with that Rustoleum Paint. All mine were painted with that and all holding up well. Check the back side of the bib for the mounting holes. They should line up with the screen, if not then you might have a different year screen. I can't think of what years are different but some are. I have a couple spares if you need one. Jeff

Thanks, Jeff! I'll keep you posted. The bumper is holding up great. Thanks again!

 

[1Fine40]

On that fuel situation, I had a similar problem a few years back on my 350. Turns out the internal diaphragm of the fuel pump was split somewhat. Not enough to not get fuel to the carb, but enough for the lines to drain....into the block!! I think I had almost more gas than oil in there til' I figured it out and swapped in a new pump...problem solved. Hope yours is just as easy to fix!

Enjoy the addiction!

Cheers!

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

On that fuel situation, I had a similar problem a few years back on my 350. Turns out the internal diaphragm of the fuel pump was split somewhat. Not enough to not get fuel to the carb, but enough for the lines to drain....into the block!! I think I had almost more gas than oil in there til' I figured it out and swapped in a new pump...problem solved. Hope yours is just as easy to fix!

Enjoy the addiction!

Cheers!

Yeah, I'm starting with the carb, and hoping a rebuild will solve it. I'll also most likely replace the soft lines forward of the pump. The drain-back issue is pointing to the pump, so that will most likely come next. Seems like a fuel pump is pretty easy to replace, anyway.

 

[pavieSD]

A follow-up question: This linkage can't possibly be right. Every other Q-jet I've seen has a "C" shaped linkage, with the return springs running back to the accelerator cable bracket. My springs run forward, to a mount welded to my alternator bracket. The are precariously rigged up to the linkage.

For laughs, I tried rigging the springs back toward the bracket tonight. As I suspected, this did nothing but hole the throttle open...Obviously, I'd like a safer, less rigged setup, but I'm having a hard time seeing how I would do that...

I had the same jury rigged setup on my carb when I bought my rig (return spring facing forward, with a questionable spring choice). You can buy or fab a bracket that allows you to mount your return springs at the same spot as your throttle cable. This will be cleaner and resolve your issue.

If you don't want to mess with that, you could also just flip your carb, so that the return spring is running back towards to firewall. Lots of hot rod folks do that when they are in a tight situation, and to have a cleaner install of the throttle cable (no tight bends). The carb shouldn't really care if it's facing forward or backwards. Something similar to this:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...RI/AAAAAAAAEUA/FA-f39uSwZg/s1280/IMG_3798.JPG

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Thanks Pavie, definitely something to keep in mind. There's actually a spring-mounting hole just aft of the throttle cable. It was hidden by the cable itself in the previous pictures. I'll probably get an intake-mounted bracket, and run the springs from the hole in the accelerator arm, forward. Should be a safe enough setup, I think.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Rear Bumper Bolts

So in preparation for the rear tube bumper I'll hopefully be picking up in a week or two, I took a look into rear bumper bolts. I found that they're supposed to be M12 bolts with 1.25 threads. All well and good, and makes perfect sense for the center 4 holes, but looking at the outer holes, there is no way they are M12. Seems like an M10 by eyeballing it, but can someone confirm?

It doesn't look like this is on Coolerman's sheet, and SOR/CCOT just say "bumperette bolts" without an actual measurement.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

PARTS DAY!

It's like Christmas for the FJ40. UPS Showed up today and dropped off:

1. Borgeson Steering shaft/u-joints - found a deal here that solved that dilemma. Fitment will be...interesting though.

2. Carburetor rebuild kit from Cliff's High Performance - All of you running Q-Jets, I HIGHLY recommend Cliff Ruggles, very knowledgeable, and just plain awesome to talk to.

3. Quadrajet Well Plug repair kit (threaded plugs, epoxy) Hopefully there's enough structural integrity left in the heat-cycled aluminum to drill and tap for the new plugs.

4. New throttle cable (Lokar), mounting brackets, and return springs

5. A ton of M6 and M8 JIS Bolts, nuts, and washers (Not JIS Auto, didn't see a need)

6. Some high temp paint for my currently spraypainted blue grille

7. So teflon thread sealant to hopefully stop the oil leaking through my intake manifold bolts.

Some of that Eastwood strip calk is on the way, thanks for the tip DSRTRDR.

Now I just have to wait for Kurt to get back from the Australian outback to pick up the rest of my power steering components, drag-link ends, and tie rod ends.

In the meantime, a quick jaunt to Canada for work, then dying to dig into this Carb rebuild (said no person, ever)

 

[FJmoneypit]

Fuel in oil

Rick,

If you have a bad diaphragm in the fuel pump it can leak fuel into block/oil. I have had this happen back in my younger days. So if you continue to get gas in the oil after you rebuild the carb you might want to pull the pump. Can be a pain to re-install but doable.

John

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Rick,

If you have a bad diaphragm in the fuel pump it can leak fuel into block/oil. I have had this happen back in my younger days. So if you continue to get gas in the oil after you rebuild the carb you might want to pull the pump. Can be a pain to re-install but doable.

John

Hey John,

Yep, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it. The fuel line is draining back so the diaphragm is probably shot. That said, I am 100% sure my bowl is draining, so I'm starting there.

The pump looks like its kind of a pain to get to but otherwise it seems pretty straightforward.

 

[FJmoneypit]

The hardest part is positioning the fuel pump push Rod on the lever. Actually I still have repair Manuals that cover this if you need one to checkout.
Good luck, holler if you need help

John

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

The hardest part is positioning the fuel pump push Rod on the lever.
John

Yeah that's what I've heard. It doesn't look like that would be all that complicated, but it may very well be one of those - looks easy, but isn't situations...

I'm guessing this repair is in the near future, so I guess I'll find out soon enough.

 

[cruiserjunkie]

You can insert a longer bolt or grease to hold push rod up while you install fuel pump pretty straight forward repair

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Throttle Cable Firewall Bolt

This is probably not a big deal, since my currently throttle cable is "floating in space" but the new Lokar cable I bought has a set of adjuster nuts that are supposed to clamp down on the firewall and hold the cable in place.

Since I have an enormous hole in my firewall (see picture) there's really nothing for this bolt to mount to. The plan was to use some Eastwood Strip calk to make a grommet to plug the hole, but obviously that won't have the structural integrity to support the adjusment nuts.

I'm guessing this is a non issue, but if this will be a problem (issue with cable-angle, for example, I'll need a way to solve it!

Welding in a sheet-metal patch with the proper size hole is the obvious solution, but I don't have a welder...

 

[Shark56]

Rick you could cut a piece of steel or aluminum and rivet it over that grommet hole. Then you could drill the proper size hole for the Lokar set up.

 

[PixelWrangler]

Rick you could cut a piece of steel or aluminum and rivet it over that grommet hole. Then you could drill the proper size hole for the Lokar set up.

That's essentially what I did a couple of years ago when I installed my Lokar pedal and cable. I chose to use the existing threaded hole nearby to mount the plate though. I have a "no new holes" approach to updating my cruiser, so I try to use anything already available to bolt new parts to. The mounting plate was cut from a piece of 3/16" Aluminum plate that I had laying around. It's been trouble free since it was installed. A few weeks after these photos were taken, I also made plate that covered the parking brake hole that you see covered with gorilla tape to the left of the pedal.






Someday I'll get around to welding up the miscellaneous holes that the PO's thought would be cool.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Shark/Pixel Wrangler - That is sort of the approach I was thinking of taking, just wasn't sure the single bolt would hold it. I am also doing my best to not cut any new holes in my 40. Side note: that lokar pedal looks awesome...makes me kind of want to get one...

The one "bolt" size hole visible in my picture has, literally, a 1mm sliver of steel bridging it and the larger grommet hole, which makes me a bit nervous. Next time I'm over at the garage I'll have to see if there are any other local holes I could stick a bolt through.

Worst case scenario, I suppose I could cut some sheet metal to size, bore a hole for the cable in the center, then "Glue" it in with strip calk. might look a little but then again...you've all seen what I'm working with...

 

[Alz Toy]

Yeah that's what I've heard. It doesn't look like that would be all that complicated, but it may very well be one of those - looks easy, but isn't situations...

I'm guessing this repair is in the near future, so I guess I'll find out soon enough.

The fuel pump push rod works off a lobe one the camshaft. Just turn the motor over so that the rod is off the lobe ( will be positioned higher up into block ), this way you dont have to fight the pump arm/push rod pressure as much, to get your bolts started. HTH, Al

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

The fuel pump push rod works off a lobe one the camshaft. Just turn the motor over so that the rod is off the lobe ( will be positioned higher up into block ), this way you dont have to fight the pump arm/push rod pressure as much, to get your bolts started. HTH, Al

Thanks Al, I will keep that in mind!

So I picked up a number of new parts for the 40 from a mud member in Philly on Friday. Included in these parts was a JTO/Con Ferr style rear tube bumper (to match the front tube bumper).

Got started on the installation today, but pretty quickly hit a roadblock. The tail light guards were easy enough to remove (bolts were rusty, but nothing broke). The difficulty is the trailer hitch. Seems that is is installed using bolts and lock nuts (3/4 inch heads). The bolts broke loose, but now the lock nuts simply spin on the back. The obvious solution is to put a wrench on the lock nuts to hold them in place, then back out the bolts, but, as with anything else on the Clustertruck, there is always a catch!

The Aux fuel tank is installed close enough to the rear bumper that it pretty much prevents access to those nuts on the rear of the hitch. I'm hoping I can squeeze a flat wrench in there, but at the time, I didn't have time (or my SAE flat wrenches) to mess with it.

Instead, I decided to change the oil (which was not as diluted with gas as I thought, though still smelling strongly of gas) and then took it out for a 20 mile drive.

I noticed that when revving the engine while stationary, I'm getting black smoke out the tailpipe. I'm hoping this is due to fouling from the leaky carb and "running rich" situation, and the gas didn't wash my rings...

I have ambitious plans for next weekend. On the list already:

1. Rebuild the Quadrajet, including drilling out the well plugs, then tapping the holes for threaded plugs.

2. Clean up the accelerator cable and throttle return spring situation.

3. Get the radiator guard out, cleaned up, painted, and mounted properly.

4. Get the tube bumper mounted.

Hopefully, I wont have to add "drop the aux tank" to the list in order to make #4 happen...

The final pieces to my power steering refresh are en-route from Kurt. (thanks Kurt!)