512 cid C series on Dakota chassis- build thread

[DJ194950]

Works great!

Just beware that oil based paints can only be top coated with another oil based paint, which I believe you probably know, just adding for other new to the old car/truck repair forum readers.

 

DJ

[Plymouthy Adams]

the Rustoleum rusty metal primer is top stuff....given your prep is correct and you allow the proper time for the fish oil that DOES NOT FIND RUST TO CONVERT is allowed to work itself back to the surface and dry to the touch.   This stuff sands fantastically if you use it right....if your paint clogs the paper or rolls into beads.....you still full of fish oil.  You cannot use this stuff and be in a hurry at the same time....

[RNR1957NYer]

I've put a WD 40 nozzle with the tubing extension on a can of the Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer and sprayed the heck out of the crimp inside doors and behind fender reinforcements, etc.

[Los_Control]

21 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

beating a header full of ding probably does about as much as a pair of skivvies restricts a fart....but then its all hot gases...

I actually think, but admit I was never paid to think.

Beating or "massaging" the headers, was a acceptable way .... way back when Radarsonwheels was in diapers.  

I personally do not want to say if it was acceptable when I was a kid, would be a hint to age.

Myself, I will stand by and hand the correct size hammer for the job.

[DJ194950]

Radarsonwheels

Hopefully you marked on the headers before taking it apart- the location of that area needing clearance.

Instead of just a hammer (ballpean), use a socket and hit it to make the clearance needed. Much cleaner appearance!  ?

 Just my OP.

 

DJ

[Dave72dt]

Before beating on the headers, take another look at the set screws.  Most set screws on steering shafts are set into the shaft vis a drilled pocket so it can't slide or move.  If you haven't done that,  try that first or if you have, try drilling it a bit further so the set screw is no longer proud of the locknut.

[Plymouthy Adams]

dog point grub screws are ideal for this application.....

[Los_Control]

Hit it with a hammer!  

[Radarsonwheels]

I want more clearance for my front clutch pack- I have thinner than stock raybestos stage-1 red clutches and I can fit 4 pairs of fibers and steels in there but I need some more room so they don’t burn up when I’m not in R or 3rd. A machinist friend is going to take the pressure plate and thin it out for me.

[Radarsonwheels]

I’m also looking at making some triangles to weld in front of my running board mount plates under the frame. I’m worried that since they are the lowest part of the truck when they do hit a bump or whatever I want them to skid not dig in. Probably would be smart to do all four front and back both so they don’t catch and mangle my frame and also so if I do catch something it will come on and off it smoothly. The mid mount exhaust hangers need to get welded to the pipes as well so I can delete the clamps- another contender for catching a speedbump or tall gas station manhole cover.

 

I’m also debating about whether it would be a good idea to extend my motor mounts 3/16” higher. I think that would really help with header clearance issues on both sides with minimal impact to my exhaust routing, driveline angles, and hood clearance. Lotta work for minimal change though.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Radarsonwheels

[Radarsonwheels]

Of course after I primered everything it rained. I knew it was coming and covered the cab and the motor but the bed panels I did with the brown rusto oil primer I’m giving another day to dry in the sun before topcoating. 

 

Today I got a few hours to work while my mom took my kid to the movies. I trimmed some brackets off my slapper bars that looked like they could hit the frame under load, trimmed the dakota front cab mount stubs off a little cleaner, welded my exhaust mid hangers to the pipe and deleted the low hanging clamps that used to hold it, and finished welding around the bottom of the 3” to 3.5” slip fit where the exhaust was leaking a little. 

 

I also removed the battery box I had welded to the frame and the medium size battery I had in there. I replaced it with a red top optima which has more capacity for spinning the big block if it needs a few tries to light off. Another benifit is I can mount it sideways for access and no liquid acid to spill or much venting to powder up the terminals. 

 

I bought a nice battery tray/hold down but even that didn’t have room to swing open without dropping the gas tank. Not the end of the world but how many times have I cursed engineers that designed stuff you can’t easily service?

 

So I drilled two 3/16” plates with four 7/16” holes, bolted them together, and welded the nuts 360° with a nice strong bead. Then I flipped that plate around to use the nuts as standoffs and welded the plate in to box out the frame. The other plate got the holes enlarged to 1/2” to make lining up the bolts a little easier, then I welded the battery tray to it. 

 

So now I can easily access my battery terminals and the whole tray/clamp/battery can unbolt from the frame by the four 7/16” coarse bolts. Should be better in every way than the old setup except for 10-15lbs heavier!

 

 

[Radarsonwheels]

Overhead. 

[Radarsonwheels]

Got the bed and cab all topcoated with a nice layer of semigloss black oil enamel. I’ll feel much better about hiding these spots when it goes back together

[Radarsonwheels]

That paint isn’t too stinky until you’re laying under the cab breathing it. Got a little queasy and had to take a break in the middle. So glad that’s done

[Radarsonwheels]

Finished topcoating all the rusto oil primer in the inner fenders that tuck away. My machinist is supposed to drop off my thinned trued and polished 727 front clutch pressure plate today so I can re-assemble it tonight.

 

I’m not sure if I want to flip the doghouse over on my lawn or deal with it on my buddy’s lift but I also want to brush paint and rubberized undercoat inside the front fenders. Probably easiest to deal with while it’s apart. 

 

I’m still planning to weld in struts to steady the back wheel lips in the tubs and replace the front bedside corners under the stake pockets which were cut up and rotten and now cut out clean. I have the panels from sectioning the bed which don’t have the stock curved step beads but would probably look nice as patch panels.

 

Watching the video in my driveway I can really see the potential in the body. I’m tempted to buy a straight line sander and clean her up with some sanding and plastic for a quick respray. The lines, proportion, and stance came out really nice but it’s a 50 footer. 

[Radarsonwheels]

On 4/4/2019 at 8:33 PM, Plymouthy Adams said:

dog point grub screws are ideal for this application.....

 

I’m considering shortening the allen screw so it sits flush or just below the surface instead of having a lock nut proud of the universal on the steering. It’s really just insurance- with the bearing support bolted up I could even use it as a slip fit and not be worried about it coming apart. There is barely room to pull it apart with the spherical bearing dangling. 

 

I’ve heard of grub screws or set screws but dog point is new to me. The back has a small female allen and the front has a rounded point like a well used mini golf pencil. I’ll just thread the nut on, shorten and slightly re-sharpen the point, and use the nut to smooth out the threads when I remove it instead of digging out a die. I drilled a dimple where it holds the shaft so the point has a coned crater to grab. Blue loctite on clean steel is enough insurance for the insurance.

[Radarsonwheels]

And mostly just for myself in case I want to go back and read this later to remember what he did my machinist said he took off .050 on the lathe, .009 on the surface grinder, then flipped it and took .002 of curve off the back to true the faces. So the plate lost .061”

 

Add that to my existing .045 clearance for the front clutches to freewheel and I will have .106” which is right where I want to be inside a specified clearance of between .082” and .151” for four friction plates. 

 

The plate was .280” so it will still be .219” and plenty strong for its purpose. 

[Radarsonwheels]

It’s actually a beautiful day today! I dragged out the welder grinder chop saw and tape measure and got to work. 

 

I installed front running board brackets so they can’t vibrate or bend down if somebody steps on the front, put in patch panels in the front bottom bed corners, and added struts to support the rear of the tub openings. I already wirebrushed the blistered paint off around the welds.

 

Gonna kiss the welds on the patches with the grinder and get everything painted again, then move on to painting the frame, dinging the header, re-assembling the transmission, getting a clip to hold the passenger wiper linkage, welding the driveshaft loop back together, spraying the interior with lizardskin sound and heat insulation, and installing a disconnect for the bed ground strap for the tail lights.

 

Gettin there. It’ll be much nicer when it’s back together.

[Los_Control]

yeah well, uh ... I picked up a radiator for my truck yesterday, yeah was a full day for me. Now to clean it up and install it 

 

GO GO GO! spring is on your tail  

[Radarsonwheels]

Ha! Well that last paragraph was mostly wishful thinking. I hit the tub struts and bed corner patches with oil paint on the interior and john deere spraybomb on the exterior, and cleaned up my tools for the day. 

 

I’m still planning to button up the transmission tonight since it’s a quiet job I can do in the garage. I’m thinking about making a bolt in center section for the transmission crossmember to allow service from underneath (fingers crossed no more removing the cab for a while). I have it in my head that if I unbolt the stock crossmember the frame will spring and it’ll never line up again. Only one way to find out!

[Radarsonwheels]

Got the trans done and also just passed 666 responses on this thread whoah! 

[Radarsonwheels]

Allright! The trans crossmember not only unbolted easily but the frame didn’t spring one bit. I scraped and brushed that greasy sunofagun so it’s ready for paint.

 

I am all out of the rusto brown primer and semigloss black topcoat and bought some ace hardware XO-rust gloss black that doesn’t need primer to do the frame, bumpers, and running boards. My buddy swears by the stuff and did an expanded steel floor trailer with it a few years ago that still looks mint.

 

Speaking of the running boards it looks like I have enough extra from shortening the boards 12” to make four decent size patch panels with nubs and I can replace the rest of the rot with regular 16g steel. I was going to leave them holey but why not fix as much as possible without going wild and ending up back in the weeds till summer.

 

I had sawzall’d the driveshaft safety loop in half because we forgot to pull the driveshaft when my buddy was here helping to pull the cab. So now that’s welded back together. Just gotta remember to hit it with a lick of paint when I do the frame.

 

I also remembered to wrap the starter in a reflective heat blanket I had laying around and finished it with some bailing wire twisted tight with vicegrips. Should help a little with hot starts along with the new bigger battery. 

 

I got some more weatherpack connectors to tighten up the tail. The ground strap was cut when we pulled the bed and I had connected the tail light harnesses with spades- I did that wiring before I bought the weatherpack crimper. So there’s 3 circuits on each side- tail turn & stop and I am also going to add a licence plate light on the back of the bumper tied into the tail light circuit. 

 

My list keeps growing but it’s getting shorter faster than it’s getting longer.

Edited April 11, 2019 by Radarsonwheels
Added pic

[Radarsonwheels]

Ordered a holley sniper self learning throttle body master kit with fuel pump and filters. Now’s the time for a clean install with a surge tank and return line, plus I know the motor is healthy and the timing is reasonably good. It should make the truck more convenient to hop in and go instead of starting and warming up with a race carb. Probably better throttle response if that’s even possible and definitely better economy. 

 

I’m looking at welding up a small surge tank to keep full with a low pressure carter pump so the pickup won’t get uncovered when I’m below 1/2 tank. Not sure if I should vent it to a tee in the return line- going to the vent line would probably aerate the main tank. The return is supposed to be like 3psi so if I pump at 5 it should circulate.

[Radarsonwheels]

Trying to think through some surge tank ideas. Got an ipad for drawing tattoos at work. I still like paper but it’s pretty amazing. 

[Merle Coggins]

That seems a bit over complicated. If you’re worried about return flow causing aeration why not just run the return back into the suction line.