Old habit S10

That middle seal in the saginaw is a MOTHERberkeleyER. enlist extra hands.

I don't remember the details, but i remember needing three of us to get the tail housing back on. 

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

I may not remove that housing all the way. I should be able to slide it back half an inch or so, enough to apply some silicone. I've watched a few videos and I'm pretty confident. The front seal and speedometer drive are the worst offenders. 

I owe my dad an engine to tear down as demonstration.  I hadn't had any bites for the duke, that is until Wednesday. Some gearhead drove 6 hours to pay me for the greasy mess. Helps him, helps me, good good. 
I paid $500 for the new engine/trans and I got $275 for the old stuff, so I'm actually having a pretty good time. 
 

In other news, the driveline shop I trust says they can't lengthen the shaft I have, they'll have to build me a new one for $400. I did find a junkyard unit from an avalanche that is about 1.5" too short. Frustratingly close. Here's the rub: eventually I want to drop the truck 4-5". Which would mean this other shaft is about perfect. Speedway lowering kit is $800, and I don't need to buy a shaft. 

Normally I'd just jump all the way, but I need to buy tires for the family rig this month, and I know from past experience that it's probably advisable to make sure the new drivetrain is operable before I make the truck harder to work on by dropping it. 

In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :

Sounds like somebody's got a case of the grownups. 🤘🏻

in all sincerity though, maybe you just need to spend a couple hours with a tape measure at one of those old-school JYs that has a trailer full of driveshafts.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

I've got a guy at the only local yard worth dealing with. Unfortunately they tend to crush stuff with some regularity. Even with scrap stew being mostly worthless these days. New, balanced, and shiny. It'll be fine. 
 

In other news, I finally got back on a particular horse. About 20 years ago I helped a buddy rebuild a transmission. It never worked again and I never even opened another. Until today. How hard can it be?

Cleaned the surfaces, added fresh gaskets and sealant, and BAM!

I found a neat tip online, removed the speedometer drive (broken anyway) and replaced it with a 7/8 freeze plug. It won't leak again. New seals front and back, new o-rings on the shift shafts, and it seems to go into all the gears so I'd call it a success. Don't be afraid! You can do it. 
 

Thursday should see good progress, and we may be on schedule to start it Saturday. Onwards.

Transmission is back in, new drive line should be finished tomorrow. 
Cooling system finished, but not full. 
Starter and ignition wired. Starter functional. Which is good since I got it cheaply from Amazon. 
I have no fuel? Pump is in tank, stock, and was working fine. I don't think it has failed. But rather I think I'm missing something in the wiring. I've simply unplugged all the old sensors and switches and tucked them away. Key on = 12v at the coil, gauges and warning lights work, but pump doesn't run. Anyone know if the computer needs to see a signal from TPS or anything to power the pump?

other than fuel, I need a belt. The three I've tried have been too short or too long, but I'm zeroing in on a fit. And I need to decide how best to attach the throttle cable to the carb. 
 

So that's all good. 

I even have a new PCV in my hot rod, so, you know. Excelsior! It's basically a Prius. 
 

But, my clutch hydraulics need refigured. The master cylinder/pushrod solution I made has already failed/broken (and possibly the cylinder itself) AND it's a PIA to install, so that's great. Time and money will provide a solution though. Hopefully!

Duster or another TBI expert will probably know for sure, but I think there is something in the factory ignition that will prevent the fuel pump from running if it fails.  With the HEI, I'm assuming the computer is not getting a "good to go" signal from it.

Worst case, the fuel pump wiring should be running along the driver side frame rail, so you can hook it directly to a 12V IGN source to test it.

In reply to eastsideTim :

That's kind of what I thought. I mean, worst case is I just jump a hot source into the pump directly, but I'd prefer not to add too many extra steps. The internet knows, I just need to do some homework. 
 

*edit. Ten minutes on the internet and I figured it out. There's a wire that went to the old dizzy, that I need to attach to the tach pin on the HEI. At least according to some guy on YouTube. Should be purple with a stripe? Maybe I just feed each wire 12v and see if the pump works? It's worth trying! Hopefully Saturday. 

Also, are you running an FPR somewhere?  I don't see one in the picture.  TBI has one in the throttle body if I remember right, so whatever is coming out of the pump is probably over 14 psi.

You didn't change any of the pump wiring, right? I've been befuddled by accidentally hooking up to 12V before that is hot in crank but not in run

In reply to eastsideTim :

Yes, Holley return-style regulator. It's above the transmission. I haven't tested it, but it should be 4-5psi out of the box. 

In reply to budget_bandit :

I didn't change anything. 

barefootcyborg5000 said:

In reply to eastsideTim :

That's kind of what I thought. I mean, worst case is I just jump a hot source into the pump directly, but I'd prefer not to add too many extra steps. The internet knows, I just need to do some homework. 
 

*edit. Ten minutes on the internet and I figured it out. There's a wire that went to the old dizzy, that I need to attach to the tach pin on the HEI. At least according to some guy on YouTube. Should be purple with a stripe? Maybe I just feed each wire 12v and see if the pump works? It's worth trying! Hopefully Saturday. 

Now I'm finding on s10forum that it's the white wire that went to the coil that I need to attach to the tach pin? 
I guess we'll see what happens and hopefully I don't burn the truck down first!

Gonna just run a switched 12v straight to the fuel pump relay. Easiest. 
 

What are folks' thoughts on push vs pull for radiator fans? I think I'm gonna jam a couple 12" jobs, just not sure if there's a "better" method. Here's my real estate:

Tomorrow should see the engine running. Video proof when it's real. Can't drive, because while I did find a clutch hydraulic solution, the parts won't arrive in time. But running, timed, and idle set should be good progress. Then it's just clutch plumbing. Driving next week with any luck. 

Pull with shrouds is best, but pretty much just do what you have to do to get the fans fitted.  The big thing is to keep as many of the plastic pieces that keep the air from getting around the radiator instead of through it.

Shroud, duct, and seal. 

Then puller if they fit. 

I don't have fans yet, I don't have a clutch yet, but I do have oil pressure!

Ignore the paint burning off the headers. The wind is blowing pretty well and I'm outside so it's not too bad. 

Bitchin

The only things I really had to do today was

Terminate the throttle cable thusly:

identify the wire from the ECM to the pump relay and run it to a switched 12v source I got from one of the old distributor plugs

fill the radiator. It seems to be holding, which is nice 

fill the transmission. Also seems to be holding fluid. Big success 

The I turned the key and it fired immediately. Then it died immediately. Flooded. Float was stuck. Fixed and fired it again and it stayed running. It's idling high. I haven't put a timing light on it yet. Or a vacuum gauge. That's left to do today. After lunch.
 

Clutch stuff arrives Monday. Have to finish before Saturday or I'll be unable to touch the thing for a month of saturdays. 

barefootcyborg5000 said:

No returning from here. I had to damage some stuff  

it doesn't look like much, but I managed to disconnect all the electrical hoopla, clutch hydraulics, shifter, driveshaft, throttle, fuel lines, and cooling system without damaging anything. As far as I can tell, the only things left are the engine bolts, and transmission crossmember and we can yank the whole thing out. Hopefully this coming week. 
 

Yet to do:

buy fuel reg. 
solve clutch hydraulics. 
throttle linkage. 
buy clutch. 
modify crossmember for shorter trans. 
find longer driveshaft. 
cut floor for new shifter location. 
figure out an exhaust system. 
plug/plumb all the little ports and holes. 
 

Calling it for tonight. I'm pooped. Slow progress today, and wife is starting to realize how big of a time commitment this project is which means progress may slow a little. Still planning to be done by April. 
 

onwards

I missed my April goal, but only be a week or so. I found the fittings online to be able to use my stock clutch master cylinder. Sorry if someone mentioned the fix earlier and I missed it, but in case anyone else can benefit from this info:

apparently a lot of late model GM manual stuff uses these same roll-pin fittings. Which are readily adapted to AN-3 

anyway,  didn't know these existed, but they do. And I can verify they fit 1st gen S10 hydraulics. 
 

Tonight and tomorrow are booked, but Thursday my list is fans, hydraulics, and change the oil. I should be able to do that before dark and get a test drive in. Possibly drive it home. Friday for sure. Unless something comes up unexpectedly. Onwards. 

In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :

That is a good and timely word, I need one of these for a master cylinder from an 80s f-body!

Awesome news!!!

Looking forward to your impressions on first week of driving 

Ended up having to set the fans up as pushers. Two 80w 12" units should be up to it. I wired them up with a relay switched from a 180* sensor I plugged in just below the thermostat (160*)

Also, I removed the wilwood mc (annoyingly difficult, I'd installed it with the engine out) and reinstalled the factory unit, which was very profanity-inducing. I attempted to bench bleed it since it lives at an angle that almost guarantees air to get trapped in the cylinder. I'm not sure I got it good enough. Gonna borrow a mighyvac and try my best. 
 

I did drive it though. Without actually setting the timing, which is not even close to where it needs to be. But I painted the timing marks to make it easier. Went halfway up the street and decided it wasn't ready. But it counts! 
 

tomorrow should see it drive home. Just needs adjusted to see the timing and idle stuff, bleed the clutch, and put the hood back on. Hopefully. 
 

Also scored a nice big drop-base air cleaner for $10. 

Best post ive read all week!

I bought the S10 V8 conversion book many years ago. One clever thing they recommended was to recess the radiator into the core support which enabled running the long water pump style like you have with a mechanical fan and clutch. No need for electric fans and they run cool that way.