- Thread starter
- #141
I thought about that - bet I could run something through the original choke cable hole...although I haven't done enough offloading to understand the value...
Build The Clustertruck Rides Again - Refurbishing a 1975 Chevota
- Thread starter RWBeringer4x4
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I thought about that - bet I could run something through the original choke cable hole...although I haven't done enough offloading to understand the value...
It really helps with hill climbing, getting through sand, mud and snow and when winching you can run the throttle up to help the alternator charge the battery.
- Thread starter
- #143
Sounds like I may have a use for that old choke cable after all 
- Thread starter
- #144
Setback...
Paying through the nose for my PO's hack jobs continues.
I have been traveling for business for 2 weeks, which seemed to be an excellent opportunity to drop the truck off to have the power steering rebuilt. Seeing as I don't have a welder, I had to outsource this job. Unfortunately, the situation I feared most has come true.
I got a call from the mechanic today, who let me know that the engine was not installed straight in the bay. Because of this, the new (slightly wider) borgeson shaft will not clear the exhaust manifold.
At this point there's basically two options - run a "middle" steering joint at the frame and basically dog-leg the shaft to clear the Ram's horn or - move the engine. Since the engine is crooked to begin with, this seems like as good a time as any to fix it...so I think I'm going to go with the latter.
He suggested moving the engine 1/2" to the passenger side (slightly more toward center) but, of course, the PO had cut off the extra mounting holes on one side. So - sounds like I'm getting new engine mounts. The shop I'm at does fabrication, so I'll just let him fab them up. My only concern is that my passenger side exhaust is already pretty close to the front driveshaft. I'm hoping we wont run into any clearance issues...
Urge to drive this thing through my PO's wall rising....
Paying through the nose for my PO's hack jobs continues.
I have been traveling for business for 2 weeks, which seemed to be an excellent opportunity to drop the truck off to have the power steering rebuilt. Seeing as I don't have a welder, I had to outsource this job. Unfortunately, the situation I feared most has come true.
I got a call from the mechanic today, who let me know that the engine was not installed straight in the bay. Because of this, the new (slightly wider) borgeson shaft will not clear the exhaust manifold.
At this point there's basically two options - run a "middle" steering joint at the frame and basically dog-leg the shaft to clear the Ram's horn or - move the engine. Since the engine is crooked to begin with, this seems like as good a time as any to fix it...so I think I'm going to go with the latter.
He suggested moving the engine 1/2" to the passenger side (slightly more toward center) but, of course, the PO had cut off the extra mounting holes on one side. So - sounds like I'm getting new engine mounts. The shop I'm at does fabrication, so I'll just let him fab them up. My only concern is that my passenger side exhaust is already pretty close to the front driveshaft. I'm hoping we wont run into any clearance issues...
Urge to drive this thing through my PO's wall rising....
Paying through the nose for my PO's hack jobs continues.
I have been traveling for business for 2 weeks, which seemed to be an excellent opportunity to drop the truck off to have the power steering rebuilt. Seeing as I don't have a welder, I had to outsource this job. Unfortunately, the situation I feared most has come true.
I got a call from the mechanic today, who let me know that the engine was not installed straight in the bay. Because of this, the new (slightly wider) borgeson shaft will not clear the exhaust manifold.
At this point there's basically two options - run a "middle" steering joint at the frame and basically dog-leg the shaft to clear the Ram's horn or - move the engine. Since the engine is crooked to begin with, this seems like as good a time as any to fix it...so I think I'm going to go with the latter.
He suggested moving the engine 1/2" to the passenger side (slightly more toward center) but, of course, the PO had cut off the extra mounting holes on one side. So - sounds like I'm getting new engine mounts. The shop I'm at does fabrication, so I'll just let him fab them up. My only concern is that my passenger side exhaust is already pretty close to the front driveshaft. I'm hoping we wont run into any clearance issues...
Urge to drive this thing through my PO's wall rising....************
That definitely sucks...hopefully you get it all figured and it doesn't break the bank.
Progress?
I think he's on a trip for work...
Well, he's posting in my thread so at least he's alive.
- Thread starter
- #150
Haha, good to know someone is keeping tabs.
Yes, I have been pretty consistently traveling for business and pleasure for the last several weeks. First Minneapolis (work) then Whistler (work) then the beach (play!) and starting Friday, Dolly Sods West Virginia for a hiking trip. Needless to say, time for ME to work on the 40 has been very limited. That doesn't mean there hasn't been progress! Unfortunately it just means I'm paying someone else to do it.
Progress - Between trips, I stopped by the shop to take a look at the clearance issues my mechanic had mentioned. Turns out, he'd welded the plate from Kurt's kit that was supposed to go on the passenger side frame rail to the driver's side, then was preparing to weld the box mounting plate on top of that plate.
This was resulting in the box being set about 1/4 inch too far to center, which was in turn causing the steering shaft to conflict with the power steering pump. I had him cut the plate off (the passenger side had already been boxed, hence the confusion) and set it up properly. I spoke to him today, and he has everything "dry-fit" and it is all clearing (barely) 
. So, I anticipate the truck being done sometime after the 4th of July holiday, hopefully by the time I get back from WV. Looking forward to actually driving it!
When it gets back to me it will have:
* All new tie rod/drag link ends
* New Steering Stabilizer
* Completely new steering assembly from box to the steering wheel
* A steering wheel that is not off by 90 degrees!!
* No more pops in the steering
Really looking forward to it!
- Thread starter
- #151
Also - some new problems found or confirmed:
It seems that my radiator is, in fact, installed slightly crooked. This may be due to the fact that my engine is also installed slightly crooked - sort of like this: |\E\| in the engine bay, although not to that extreme. I'm not sure exactly how to confirm that though - does anyone know a good point of reference to measure on the engine to confirm whether or not it's actually mounted straight in the bay? Since the bay isn't "flat" or uniform, I'm not sure how you would determine this...
Normally I'd just hook it to a tree, unbolt the engine and straighten it, but the PO CUT OFF the rest of the driver side mount. What are these people thinking?
Either way, the radiator seems to be set at an angle that is causing clearance issues between the grille, bib, and radiator, which explains why the grille mesh was simply "floating" between the bib and radiator when I bought it.
This project is starting to feel like a game of whack-a-mole. Knock one out, two more pop up!
It seems that my radiator is, in fact, installed slightly crooked. This may be due to the fact that my engine is also installed slightly crooked - sort of like this: |\E\| in the engine bay, although not to that extreme. I'm not sure exactly how to confirm that though - does anyone know a good point of reference to measure on the engine to confirm whether or not it's actually mounted straight in the bay? Since the bay isn't "flat" or uniform, I'm not sure how you would determine this...
Normally I'd just hook it to a tree, unbolt the engine and straighten it, but the PO CUT OFF the rest of the driver side mount. What are these people thinking?
Either way, the radiator seems to be set at an angle that is causing clearance issues between the grille, bib, and radiator, which explains why the grille mesh was simply "floating" between the bib and radiator when I bought it.
This project is starting to feel like a game of whack-a-mole. Knock one out, two more pop up!
Rick, are you saying it's leaning back or twisted? Some sort of shims if it is leaning back, (or forward), would help the angle. If it's twisted then I'm not sure what would be your best move. Maybe elongate one of the mounting holes? After meeting you and reading your thread, I will, as long as I stay in my right mind, never do a V8 conversion! LOL. Keep at it you will win this!
Love Dolly Sods area. Hit in August if you get the chance. Blue Berries are outstanding up on top! I've been there in April for Turkeys, Oct. for Deer, but late summer is my favorite! Jeff
Love Dolly Sods area. Hit in August if you get the chance. Blue Berries are outstanding up on top! I've been there in April for Turkeys, Oct. for Deer, but late summer is my favorite! Jeff
- Thread starter
- #153
Thanks for following up Jeff, good to hear from you!
The engine seems level, and flat - but it seems like it is actually installed at a very slight "diagonal" in the bay - how this was accomplished without jacking up the whole driveline is a mystery to me...But if you were looking straight down on the engine, it seems like it might be "pointing" slightly to the passenger's side. It may also be an optical illusion, but the radiator is crooked, and the engine/fan seems to be in line with the radiator. I'd "modify" a mount hole, but as I mentioned, the PO was kind enough to cut any unused mount off...leaving me with next to nothing to work with...So, if it causes a problem later, sounds like new mounts are in my future as well.
I gotta say, I'm not loving the conversion, BUT in the V8's defense, it works, 100% of the time, no smoke, no fuss - just leaks - Which is more than I can say about most of the truck!
The issue here is not that a V8 conversion was performed, the issue is that a SHI++y V8 conversion was performed. Along with a SHI++y power steering conversion. Let us not forget the SHI++y, half installed auxiliary tank too. I'd still take a 2F, but I think once I get done going through the Clustertruck and fixing all the PO's hack jobs, it wont be half bad! (Maybe only about 1/4 bad).
Gotta have a sense of humor about it I guess
I thought I knew what I was getting into, but it keeps finding new way to surprise me. At this point, I'm in too deep. Only thing to do is keep digging!
Unless it's going to make you lose sleep, I wouldn't stress too much about the crookedness. My truck ran that way for many years without issue. However correcting it was at the top of my rehab project list. If you can make your radiator happy, the rest may be ok
- Thread starter
- #155
Definitely not losing sleep over this - This conversion and the components used appear to be older than time itself (Even the engine is a decade older than the truck). It has clearly been running this way for years - though it does make me wonder about all the clutch issues I have, along with the exploded T-case...
My only concern is, I have about 3/4in between the fan and the radiator as everything sits right now. If I have to move the radiator back about 1/4in to get clearance for the grille...we're talking about sub 1/2 inch between the fan and the radiator...which makes me worry I might put my fan THROUGH the radiator under acceleration. A project for another day, though...
- Thread starter
- #156
Back from the Sods - beautiful area, but a very soggy camping trip!
Stopped by the shop to take a look at the progress. The dry-fit looked good - now everything is tacked in. In took one (bad) picture while I was there. Here's the new steering shaft in place - it's (really) tight between the side of the pump and the frame, but it fits! Hopefully I wont run into issues as the frame flexes. Time will tell, I suppose.
Final welds should be going in next week, then the (hopefully) much less complex task of replacing all the Tie-Rod ends, new power steering hoses, paint, alignment, etc.
Stopped by the shop to take a look at the progress. The dry-fit looked good - now everything is tacked in. In took one (bad) picture while I was there. Here's the new steering shaft in place - it's (really) tight between the side of the pump and the frame, but it fits! Hopefully I wont run into issues as the frame flexes. Time will tell, I suppose.
Final welds should be going in next week, then the (hopefully) much less complex task of replacing all the Tie-Rod ends, new power steering hoses, paint, alignment, etc.
Doing a quick review of your posted photos, it looks like your alternator is mounted above your PS pump. Mine is mounted on the opposite side and my pump is higher. This photo is from about 2-1/2 years ago and much under my hood has changed since then but you can easily see the configuration.
Since this photo was taken, I've moved the PS pump up higher by drilling some new mount holes in the bracket, the low pressure return line was hitting the steering shaft from below. You can see where it was wiping it in the photo. I've also shortened the upper bracket on the alternator as I'm in the process of mounting my battery in the same area as you have yours, but behind the overflow tank. You'd need to rework a bit under the hood, but if your concerned with clearance, it's an alternative.
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- #158
Doing a quick review of your posted photos, it looks like your alternator is mounted above your PS pump. Mine is mounted on the opposite side and my pump is higher. This photo is from about 2-1/2 years ago and much under my hood has changed since then but you can easily see the configuration.
Since this photo was taken, I've moved the PS pump up higher by drilling some new mount holes in the bracket, the low pressure return line was hitting the steering shaft from below. You can see where it was wiping it in the photo. I've also shortened the upper bracket on the alternator as I'm in the process of mounting my battery in the same area as you have yours, but behind the overflow tank. You'd need to rework a bit under the hood, but if your concerned with clearance, it's an alternative.
Remind me, Pixel Wrangler - Is that a 350 in your rig, or a 283? The issue I've run into on the 283 block is there are really no accessory mounting points. Virtually everything is bolted to the manifold or otherwise "rigged" which makes repositioning things a definite challenge.
I THINK the clearance will be OK as-is, but it's good to see an alternative setup. I do like the high-mounted PS pump. Accessing mine where it's currently mounted is tricky. The mount was also cut-through at some point (again, my PO left me all sorts of awesome gifts) so someday I'll have to go in and install something new - seems to still hold everything in place OK for now, though.
Yeah, it is a 383, so there are maybe a few more options. In doing a google search to refresh my memory, I see that the 283 heads didn't have mount points on the end. A few did so maybe they had modified their engines. I didn't do any reading as I'm trying to get out of here to work on my rig today, but I saw several posts on other forums looking at the same issues your having with accessory mounting on 283s. If it becomes an issue for you with the clearance, I'm sure there are many options to get to where you want to be. Just remember anything is doable if you through enough money at it.
Good luck!
Good luck!
- Thread starter
- #160
Well - only a minor update to report. While we managed to get the steering shaft clearing the power steering pump, it was still barely contacting the ram's horn as the wide side of the DD shaft moved past it. While it would have worked (as it did before) I really want this job done right, once - so the engine is moving over 1/2 inch, and a new mount is being made to replace the one cut by the PO.
While this makes everything more expensive (again, paying a mechanic for this part) it will alleviate a lot of other small issues:
1. The engine will now be straight in the bay.
2. I'll have improved clearance between the front driveshaft and exhaust.
3. The steering will no longer have clearance issues
4. The radiator will be moved back toward center, along with the engine, while will allow for proper mounting of the grille.
So, when all is said and done, I think this will make a lot of future work on the truck go more smoothly - plus, it will improve the aesthetics somewhat as well - what with a properly mounted (now black) grille.
Looking forward to getting back on the road! The goal is for the truck to be finished next Thursday. After that, I just have to hope the delaware rain lets up so I can drive it! We have had 7 rain free days since June 1.
While this makes everything more expensive (again, paying a mechanic for this part) it will alleviate a lot of other small issues:
1. The engine will now be straight in the bay.
2. I'll have improved clearance between the front driveshaft and exhaust.
3. The steering will no longer have clearance issues
4. The radiator will be moved back toward center, along with the engine, while will allow for proper mounting of the grille.
So, when all is said and done, I think this will make a lot of future work on the truck go more smoothly - plus, it will improve the aesthetics somewhat as well - what with a properly mounted (now black) grille.
Looking forward to getting back on the road! The goal is for the truck to be finished next Thursday. After that, I just have to hope the delaware rain lets up so I can drive it! We have had 7 rain free days since June 1.