Builds Work In Progress aka: Badass (13 Viewers)

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Seriously! Following @OSS awesome directions I primed the fuel pump first but tho the battery had been charged I got nothing w/ the turn of the key. My wiring isn't the best under the fuse panel area... (yeah another task I foresee) so after some fiddling and such I finally got lights. I tell you... as a guy I imagine that would be equal to something blue and a bit painful. As a girl, the elation bubble simply puttered!
Thank god it resolved or I might have actually cried!

 

[Ian Crawford]

Good stuff!! I'd wait for the heat to pass before tackling under dash wiring (laying upside down in the foot well) !!

 

[gregnash]

Awesome F... I know the feeling when you get that first start up!!! Same elation when you take it for the first drive after all of that and she is running like a top!

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Well its been awhile since I spoke up. Truck fired up well after my earlier post Sept 26... drives but I def still have a manifold vac leak. I did find that the hard line from the carb insulator plate had a jiggle so I pulled the plate, cleaned up the cracked factory epoxy and jb welded it.

(Vent) I'm not really happy because my beater Nissan is down and have no choice but to ignore the trucks' manifold leak for now. Me and a friend did the front struts on the Nissan and little pisser wouldn't start up after, she just cranks. I have gone over every wiring harness I can see and nothing is unplugged. Swapped out the wires, cap and rotor tho it decided to be stuck tight on so I had to pull the diz. Talk about a let down when it came free... nothing to the wonkin' LC diz! finally got it off and all reinstalled only to find my plugs are getting fuel but no spark. Apparently the coil is internal on these. So waiting on a new diz and crossing my fingers.

In the mean time will drive the truck with the idle a tad higher than I'd prefer to override the manifold leak. When I had reinstalled I went with just the oem gasket alone. I think back now I really wished I'd taken the manifolds with me when I had the valve job done with just to be 100% sure the first place resurfaced it "right." Whats that saying about hindsight? Yeah. Take a lesson or 5 from me... double and triple check the work. I do have a Remflex still in the package I know I can turn to if need be.

I have her set at the BB (7*), IM out about 3/3.5 but truck is def surgy as good ol' @OSS noted from my video. Has a downhill "put put" and a hesitation like the fuel decel is not right... I know I just need to get my ass out there to test it. Aisin carb is rebuilt by me, carb base had new throttle bushings installed by Mark Beno in OR (his info in my sign line) so adjusting the IM only requires minute turns. Diz is recurved by me with new springs and gap set per factory specs. Brand spanking new vacuum advance hooked up with primary port as it should to carb port. Lighter weight holley spring placed in the secondary carb diaphragm.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Manifold Vac Leaks - confxxxingtinued.

The last few weeks frustration links attached.... slowly but surely getting there. You know that saying about banging your head against a wall? well it seems to come naturally to me. When I am old old and way more white I'll have it all down pat. To err is human... luckily the truck will forgive. This is still with all the love and lust for this truck that I have such tunnel vision.

To hell w/ this....

 

[gregnash]

Yeah can definitely be disconcerting and frustrating when things aren't going your way. Like others have said in the other thread, if you can, maybe take stock of what you have done and then step away from the truck for an extended period. With winter coming and trying to work on frustrating things, at least for me, the cold will only compound the frustration. Step away, let the emotions and head cool and then get back at it.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

I’m cool. I feel deep in my gut I can’t let the truck sit idle. Especially not w/ all that new metal sitting in it. I’m waiting on a couple gaskets and will be busy w/ my son the next 4 days and work this weekend. If the weather is good I’ll break it down. I may take up the friends offer to come back and help when he is able.... a second set of eyes, ears and hands proved to be a valuable resource.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Been awhile... weather, anxiety, distractions, life in general held me up and I let the fire under my ass peter out. Today I had to have my DD Nissan towed away. No start, cranks... I put a new fuel pump in cuz we could barely hear the old one. Still nothing. And the truck has just sat in the driveway... I was having no start issues with it too but no crank. The feeling of "oh fxxx" officially creeped in today and I got pissed and put some effort into the truck and within 30 minutes I had her running. Day began at 11 degrees and has gone up to a whopping 20 here in fugly CT.

Initially I was getting almost nothing with the turn of the key, not even a click. I reached down and fiddled the relays and turned the key and heard some electrical noise like something was gonna happen and my wipers went up. I text'd guru Marc @mwebfj60 and he reminded me of the bump starter he gifted me. I hooked it up to the new starter I didn't really need to buy a few weeks ago since the one I had did bench test all around positive but it was an old crappy reman'd (Pure Energy from Rockauto) so now its got a reman'd Remy, a step up at least. The bump start initiated the starter so once I got that confirmation I tried the key. I was able to prime the carb till the halfway mark and then pulled the choke and let her fly. She struggled tho I knew the battery was charged at 12.6+ I put my jump starter on her and tried again. I had to fight her a bunch with gas and she finally caught hold and held. Wipers were still up and wouldn't go down. My volts were doing a bit of a dance from 14+ down to 12. I think I have some funky gremlins under the dash.

Vac gauge was around 15, some dips so not a tons different from before.

Got her off choke... turned up the idle speed some so she appeared to be about 700/800rpms then the tach gauge started creeping up to 3k tho engine RPM not affected and lowers when I hit the window but creeps back up so I ignored it.

Took her for a spin around the lake and she's running pretty good. s*** eating grin and I am bouncing all over the place... funny how complete tractor they really are. A hard brake and she stalls but starts right back up with gas while still rolling... that happened a few times with either slowing or down shifting. And have popping from the tailpipe with down shifting but feels stronger and more solid while trolling along than previously with that poorly resurfaced intake manifold.

Not sure I'd trust her without pulling the choke in a busy area for slowing and such but seriously from the start of a day with two dead cars to one back up and running I feel a million times better. Talk about living on the edge.

 

[mwebfj60]

Haha, good work F.

 

[lastresort576]

I like it. Keep up the work! I was just thinking the other day that I haven't seen any updates in a while.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

I like it. Keep up the work! I was just thinking the other day that I haven't seen any updates in a while.

Thanks! I wish doing the carb settings were easier. I understood it once while on the phone but it disappeared quickly. Realizing now too at 5am that that carb place could potentially be closed today...

 

[Ian Crawford]

Glad to see it back on the road! Running is the hard part, fine tuning is the fun part!

In my experience most electrical gremlins relate back to corroded or rusty ground locations.

Good luck!

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Carb guy was totally cool on the phone but can't see me today. He suggested since my vac advance pot is brand new that having the truck timing set at 10* (desmogged and recurved) that it could be its getting too much vacuum. He suggested porting it or not at all... thats the friggen mumbo jumbo that befuddles me!
Worse comes to worse he said to drive it with the choke out a 1/4. He said he could look at it but he'd need a few days notice which I totally get, I knew it would be hit or miss if he could check it out today. He's an hour minimum drive from me too.

 

[OSS]

You know when the vacuum advancer is advancing too much because you'll definitely hear the engine ping (detonate) at light throttle cruising. If it's not pinging at any rpm or load, the timing isn't too advanced and there isn't an issue w the advancer.

 

[roadstr6]

Fel,

Did you fiddle with the secondary advance on the carb? Did you take the secondary pot off the carb for any reason? I did this once and misaligned the small sealing o-ring between the carb body and the secondary advance pot and when the secondary was supposed to kick in, it just sucked air around the seal and totally drove like crap above 2K rpm unless the choke was pulled. Once I fixed the o-ring it was fine.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Nope Dave... I did pull it and replace the fig 8 gasket but other than that it’s on. I don’t have issues over 2k that I could feel yesterday. My tach gauge was being wonky as heck but I could feel the engine wasn’t at the RPMs that were showing as well as the timing guns readout while it was off choke in the driveway. I’ll go out there now and start her up and see how she is today.
And I hear you Fred... no pinging that I could hear, imno expert on the sound but nothing seemed hokey.
I had a little skip twice at higher RPMs but mostly the popping from the tailpipe on decel and the stalling on slowing and downshift is my main concern.
Temp sucks out there right now.... it’s a whopping 18. It’s taken me all this time to get double layers on and the gumption to go outside. I h8winter!

 

[roadstr6]

Not to re-hash what you probably already know but I'd be looking at vacuum leaks if I were you. To me that sounds like what is going on.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Ppppsssshhh.

 

[MoaByte]

Why is your tach all skiddywampus? If you don't have good spark to all cylinders and/or correct timing, adjustment of the carb will be a waist of time.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Hmmm well tach is all hokey guessing due to truck sitting and stuff getting warm cold warm and loaded w/ corrosion and who knows. It’s sill being wenchy. I tap on the window and it bounces down then creeps back up.
W/ the timing gun I can see where it’s at and at this point I’m fairly good at gauging by ear where my idle is around.
And low and behold I gave her a few spritzs of carb spray and she’s sucking at the middle and fan side port. Pisser.
I feel like I’ll never will w/ this truck.