Mission Creep on a D-150

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halfafish

Damn those rabbits, and their holes!
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I started documenting what I thought - haha - was going to be a quick timing chain fix on my 82 D-150. I did so as a short - haha again - aside on my Start of a Dart thread. About five pages, nine months, and $6k later my $200 truck is back on the road. I hijacked my own thread pretty bad, so I'm starting this one to clean up the mess. I'm going to copy the truck info here and delete it from the Dart thread. I don't have a good way to do a 100% copy and paste, but I can get the text and photos pretty easy. There are side conversations on this but there's no easy way to copy all the quotes and so forth so I'm going to have to leave those out for now. Once I get done I can continue with the rest of the work on the truck, and the Dart can move forward on its own.
 
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Having tried something different, namely starting a project and actually finishing it, I decided to go back to that well. The Dart gave up its spot in the shop so I could get this thing running. The tranny in my 94 TCD 2500 blew up and I don't have the $4K to fix it so this one is getting a quick once-over so I can have a truck again. I found this one about 150 miles away and picked it up for $200. It didn't run but it's in very good shape. No rust whatsoever other than the usual underside stuff. Body is pretty straight and the interior is quite good. It shows about 59K on the clock and I think that's the first time around.

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All unhooked and ready to come out. Exhaust removal got an assist from Mr. Sawzall. Score: Sawzall 1, Exhaust 0. Why a slant had dual pipes AFTER the muffler escapes me. Turns out the timing chain was the culprit for why it doesn't run, it had over 3/4" of slop in it. NAPA to the rescue!

My buddy brought his forklift for the extraction which was a huge help.

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The nice thing about working on a truck is it has this nifty spot to put all yer crap and keep it out of the way, and it has the bonus workbench right on the back end. What's not to like?

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It's all stripped down. I am mostly done doing the block mods in Doug Dutra's book. Good ideas there, I took a ton of crap and flash out of the water pump area.

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I'm off to the junkyard this morning for a few parts (door sills, rear window, mini-starter, maybe wing windows too). Then it's back inside to finish up the block and take the head apart for a little look-see.
 
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So where are we today? We are in stall mode with the Dart as the Great White Ghost gets a new heart. The engine is torn down to nothing at the moment. This is one crusty turd for sure. The clock say about 59K and I think that's the first time around. It's the original engine, still standard bore in good shape showing some crosshatching, and the interior is not beat 160K or 260K worth. I think all the crud is from short trips piddling around town never getting it hot enough to burn off any carbon. What started as a 3-day $100 timing chain swap is turning into a full $1000+ refresh.

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Mirror, mirror on the wall. What happens when somebody wants a vacuum fitting you will never use, so you pull it off for them and for the next two years the intake is now exposed the elements? Luckily, this is all surface rust and will clean up easily.

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Then since we are swapping from the hydraulic cam to solid, we go to the Volare engine to raid it for adjustable rocker arms and cam (to get reground). Said Volare was "running till it wasn't". Hmmm, upon disassembly, where is the cam bolt washer? Well sir, I'm not sure so LET'S JUST LIFT THE ******* CAM GEAR OFF BY HAND WITH THE BOLT STILL IN PLACE and see what's going on.

Surprise! We can find a piece of the washer, about 20% of it. The rest I expect to find in the oil pan. I'm no rocket scientist, but I suspect the cam gear rattling around loose inside the cover made for some challenging timing issues.

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And it's Fun-Fun-Fun till her daddy takes the T-Bird away!

More to come soon on the Great White Ghost. I need to do a bit of grinding on the head, then send that and the block in for a hot tub session - er, make that a hot tank session. I will be busy cleaning up all the seriously nasty parts getting them ready for a reverse trip on the new engine.

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From dentaldart:
Couple of questions- What is this engine stand thing you speak of? Should you pull the engine when rebuilding the transmission?


j par is close enough to be a neighbor. A bit of backstory, we have a hugely different approach to things. He will take a new-to-him vehicle down to whatever level to do everything all at once. However, his skill level and experience far exceed mine. He knows what he's doing and I'm the blind pig in search of an acorn, learning and figuring it out as I go. I seriously never thought I'd find a 69 Dart with a 340 in it at a price I could afford. I figured it would be a slant or 318 car. So before I ever found the car I already had a complete 383, A833, 8-3/4 drivetrain to swap in. I have never owned a fast car or muscle car so I don't know what to expect from a 340, 383, or anything else but a slant which I know fairly well :rolleyes:.

Fast forward to the 340 Dart. It ran and sounded healthy and moved, but hadn't seen the street for 25 years. The PO passed away so I have no one to answer questions. I am the proud new owner of someone else's half-finished project with all the surprises that entails. I am stuck taking EVERYTHING apart and see what's going on. I seriously don't know what direction I'm going here. The 340 may be all the engine I could want for my purposes. Maybe I will want a BB. I'm a three-pedal guy, but maybe I'll be OK with an auto. I like bench seats and this is a GT bucket/console car. I just don't know.......so for me, I will get this road worthy and drive it a bit to see what I think. Enter j par stage left, who is if nothing else, quite clear in his thoughts to take it down to the last nut and bolt all at once.

OK, back to today. I have an empty heavy duty engine stand that could easy take a SB or BB. The rebuild the trans thing was a response to me finding some crud in the tranny pan. My action plan for the 727 says clean it (I did) service it (I did) fill it back up and drive it to see what it needs. Or doesn't need. I'm not going to dump money into the 727 if I decide to swap it out for the 833.

And to answer your question, no you don't have to pull the engine to work on the trans, but I'm not going to do either one till I drive this thing some and see what I want to do with it.


From dentaldart:

I will say I somewhat agree with this statement Jpar makes though. For me pulling the engine wasn't in the cards because of my limited space, knowledge, and money... for you having all that space, knowledge and monies I'd say pull it and do it all at once.


Haha, you flatter me. I do more or less have room, but my knowledge is spotty at best (but getting better thank God) and I'm hardly made of money. My work is down a heart-stopping 90% since we started all this COVID crap so I need to not be a financial idiot. The engine runs, the tranny moved it well enough to get it out of the PO's back yard, on and off the tow truck, and up/down the street a time or two before I started taking it apart. I will do what I need to getting it safe to operate, drive it for a while, then finalize my plans.

So where are we today? We are in stall mode with the Dart as the Great White Ghost gets a new heart. The engine is torn down to nothing at the moment. This is one crusty turd for sure. The clock say about 59K and I think that's the first time around. It's the original engine, still standard bore in good shape showing some crosshatching, and the interior is not beat 160K or 260K worth. I think all the crud is from short trips piddling around town never getting it hot enough to burn off any carbon. What started as a 3-day $100 timing chain swap is turning into a full $1000+ refresh.

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Mirror, mirror on the wall. What happens when somebody wants a vacuum fitting you will never use, so you pull it off for them and for the next two years the intake is now exposed the elements? Luckily, this is all surface rust and will clean up easily.

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Then since we are swapping from the hydraulic cam to solid, we go to the Volare engine to raid it for adjustable rocker arms and cam (to get reground). Said Volare was "running till it wasn't". Hmmm, upon disassembly, where is the cam bolt washer? Well sir, I'm not sure so LET'S JUST LIFT THE ******* CAM GEAR OFF BY HAND WITH THE BOLT STILL IN PLACE and see what's going on.

Surprise! We can find a piece of the washer, about 20% of it. The rest I expect to find in the oil pan. I'm no rocket scientist, but I suspect the cam gear rattling around loose inside the cover made for some challenging timing issues.

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And it's Fun-Fun-Fun till her daddy takes the T-Bird away!

More to come soon on the Great White Ghost. I need to do a bit of grinding on the head, then send that and the block in for a hot tub session - er, make that a hot tank session. I will be busy cleaning up all the seriously nasty parts getting them ready for a reverse trip on the new engine.

From j par:
Because he's not Jpar... He's already informed me that...
Squirrel!!... On to the truck... LOL...

Sir j par. I am reminded of something my sainted mother told me once. She said she wouldn't sell me for a million bucks (I'm feeling pretty good at this point.). Then she said, but I wouldn't give ten cents for another one just like you. (Youch!) If this shoe fits sir please feel free to wear it.


From j par:
One thing you can depend on from me is the truth whether you like it or not..
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@j par is close by to you? I'm so sorry.
 
The Great White Ghost is moving forward nicely. The block and head were dropped off at the machine shop last week and I think (hahaha) I have all the parts I need to get it going again. I was hoping to get by with new rings and bearings but it needs bored .030 and a touch-up on the valves.

This was one grubby little pig so EVERYTHING has had a date with the pressure washer trying to get the 40 years of untouched grime off. The trans is ready for a reseal session, and the rest of the goodies are getting painted today while it's still sunny. Slow progress but it will make for faster assembly when I get the block and head back. Next up, washing all the smaller parts, wirewheeling all the fasteners, and rebuilding the carb. The head and both manifolds will get a little porting love this week.

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News Flash! Things take way longer than you think they will when you start working on your vehicles!

I dropped off the block for the Great White Ghost, it checks out very nicely. The mechanical head I had was no good though so I had to get the hydraulic head to the machine shop. It checks out OK but two of the rods are no good. I'm back to gutting the Volare block for a couple of pistons and rods to drop off at the machine shop this morning.

A local slant buddy came by to show me how to clean up the head. He brought his foot-control Dremel and some burrs. He did one cylinder and I took over till almost midnight last night. I got the first three sets of runners cleaned up but decided to bag it for the night. Here's a before and after.

Before, ridges inside the valve seat area and rough corners throughout.

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Before, a choke point on the backside of the valve seats that got trimmed out and radiused.

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After, excess crap cut out, smoothed out all the peaks and valleys, and all the edges and corners radiused.

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This is the first time I've tried porting anything but I have been carving wood with a pocket knife since grade school so it is a process I think I can figure out. Going back to carving wood, remember some of your early lessons Mr. Halfafish.

1. Go slow. There is no contest to see who can complete this job the fastest.
2. Work in tiny increments. Once you cut it out, if you go too far you can't glue it back together.
3. Most importantly, don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good. This is a low-revving motor going into a big clunky truck. The porting doesn't have to be perfect in an engine that will never see 4500 RPM. Get it cleaned up and move on before you ruin something.

The MS says they can have the block done fairly soon with the head done in a week or two. I can get the bottom end put back together and back in the truck with the trans, then put the head on as it sits in the truck. We are making progress! :D
 
The head for the truck is stuck in machine shop jail. I made the mistake of thinking it would be done soon. Haha. The block is going back together this weekend and I'm going to reassemble it all and put it back in the truck, then add the head when I get it back. That way I can move the truck out sooner and get back on the Dart. Summer is coming!

Out of the blue, one of my competitors stopped working so I've been super swamped lately. It is for sure the feast after the famine. I can't complain too much, it's nice to see some moolah going into the checking account lately. And the heater for the shop took a crap as we hit the middle of winter, so I wasted a bunch of time trying to fix it, then replace it with a defective unit, and so on. I dug out my old stand-by so at least I can work without mukluks and parka. And Bernie Mittens! :D:D:D

Progress report, even though it's on the truck which is just like a Dart but bigger. Oil pump and dizzy are rebuilt. All the engine sheet metal is cleaned, prepped, and painted.

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The intake and exhaust manifolds got a gentle porting and clean-up, they are off for a date with the hot tank tomorrow.

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The block has the cam installed and is getting the rest of its innards today so I can get the measurements and have the head shaved.

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Next up, go through the tranny and do all the seals and whatnot.

Time for an update on the space-hogging truck. It's been a long slow slog, but the finish line is in sight. The head was in machine shop jail for over two months but it's finally back, shaved .060, mild bowl blend, and oversize valves. All the accessories are cleaned, painted, and going back on the block. All that's left is to button up the distributor, rebuild the carb, and reseal the trans. Putting things back together is WAY more fun then taking apart greasy nasty crusted over parts to scrape, clean, blast, clean again, and paint. It's all very time consuming but will be worth it in the end.

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For today's update... I've been buried at work lately so there's been little wrenching time the last two weeks. Plus, I hit a couple of set-backs. I went to install the rocker arms and found they were pitted more than I was comfortable with so I had to source a replacement set. That took a little doing but they are set up now. Then I went to install the intake/exhaust manifolds with all the three-handed monkey business that entails, but before I got there the Car Part Fairy showed up with a set of Clifford long tube headers so all the time and effort getting the Super Six ready has gone by the wayside. The still-rusty half is getting a vinegar bath then they will both get fresh paint.

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Instead of going with the Super Six, I dug out my Clifford 4-barrel intake and an Edelbrock AVS 500, and we are in the process of getting them cleaned and painted for install. Yes, the carb is on there sideways but it's just sitting there for mock-up. The intake is getting painted later today.

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The head is back on and I got the new(er) rocker arms on last night. Since I'm using the 4-barrel now, I don't need to rebuild the BBD so the next project is to reseal the tranny and I'll be well on the way to final assembly and sticking this back in the truck.

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Ugh. Work continues to intrude on my wrenching time. I figured when the COVID crap eased up the backlog of work would be a flood. Score one for me, I was exactly right - I'm working 5-6 days a week and hating it. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and I make small progress anyway. The longblock is all wrapped up.

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Who doesn't love clean freshly painted parts?

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The trans is resealed with the exception of what needs a full tear-down to replace. I will take my chances with it not leaking from the few seals not replaced so far.

I'm lucky enough to know a local slant guy with a run stand. Barring something requiring a reschedule, I will be taking this thing up there next week for an initial fire-up and break-in. I continue to cross my fingers that I didn't screw the pooch somehow on this build. It's the first one I've attempted.

It's update time, and it was a Big Day in the halfafish world. I loaded the engine last night and took the drive to my buddy's house early this morning, about 40 miles away. Sometimes it pays to be lucky instead of good, and this was such a time. He has a full run stand for slants so it was off for today's big adventure.

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It took a little over an hour to get the engine unloaded and hooked up to all the stuff needed for the stand.

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Once everything was hooked up, we did a double check to make sure nothing was out of order, dumped a little gas down the carb and hit the starter. Bam! Two spins and the motor caught. We stopped for a quick verification on timing and hit the starter again, it was running before we could let go of the switch. 20 minutes later of cam break-in time and it was time to break it all down to take it back home.

Next up, fix all the intake/exhaust studs to seal them against the water jacket since I forgot to do that initially. :eek: Then I need to install a new oil pump o-ring and thermostat gasket and it will be time to bolt on the flywheel, clutch, and trans for a trip back into the truck. Saints be with us, this big white turd that's taken over the shop appears to be on the way outside as a running vehicle.

Soon it will be time for Re-Start of a Dart!


It's time for the next installment of "I'm almost there". The throw-out bushing was a major PITA to get out. I tried the "pack it with grease and hit a tightly fit dowel with a hammer" thing to force it out hydraulically but it didn't budge. I had to make a sharp awl out of an old punch and score it till I could chip it out a piece at a time. Very carefully, so I didn't booger up the crank. Then more hassle getting the new one in. However, perseverance pays off, as I got it in with the new flywheel, pressure plate, and bellhousing all ready to go.

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I'm sure glad I decided to do a test fit with the shorty headers before dropping this in the truck. It turns out there was a blop of welding bead at the collector for the rear half that made contact with the bolt holding on the brace from the trans to the block. Measure-fit-grind, measure-fit-grind, measure-fit-grind, it finally clears. I had to thin down the head of the bolt to get some air between the two but it's good now. Today is the final install for the intake and headers, here it is in mock-up. Do I hear ZZ Top in background, singing about a sharp-dressed man?

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There are two last things to do before the install. Haha, or so I think. Nothing brings on problems like thinking you are past them. Anyway, I need to clean up all the excess wiring under the hood. This was a lean burn truck, and that stuff is long gone but the wiring is still there. Out it comes. Also, I found this beauty at the pick-n-pull last week.

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It's a cold air intake that sits on top of the driver's side inner fender well and routes below the battery to the radiator support frame, coming out behind the bumper. It will be perfect but getting access to make the hole for it will be a little challenging. I think the battery and tray will have to come out for some elbow room.

Wake up, Mr. Dart! It's been a long cold winter but it's almost time to get back in the shop for your front end work-over.

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Lookin real good, buddy!
 
The intake and headers are installed and torqued down. Two minor oil leaks at the sending unit and drain plug were fixed, they just weren't tight enough. Thar she be folks, ready to go back in the truck.

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Here is some work that's above my pay grade when it comes to fab skills. The cold air intake had to be measured, double checked, and then the hole cut in the area below the turn signal.

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Then the piping installed.

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Ands what it looks like when the battery tray is back in.

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I'm pretty happy with how it came out. It's discrete and fits like a glove. There is about a 3" space between the engine side of the front support, and the grill side of the support. From either side it looks like it's only one sheet of steel but it's hollow - this is where the inlet goes. The next update should be this puppy back in the truck and running down the road.

Hello gentle readers,
I've come to the conclusion I should have started a separate thread for the truck build, but honestly I thought it would be a two weekend $100 project. Hah. That was wildly off course. So I have decided since I've done a stellar job hijacking my own thread, I'm just going to wrap up the project here, and get back to the Dart. So, you ask, what's new?

The first good news, the engine is back inside the truck. I still need to do all hook-up stuff, but it's in the frame.

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After that victory, there's lots of stupid stuff. Everything I touch takes five times as long to complete as I would have thought, and involves many delays for parts and fasteners. For tonight I got the starter wired up which meant cutting the factory wiring job and splicing in the different wiring for the solenoid as I went to a mini-starter. I got the carb throttle bracket and choke cable junk sorted out. That involved robbing a throttle cable bracket off a junkyard truck, cutting it down to fit, and grafting it onto the bracket I got on Amazon. It will work, but it's a bunch of hillbilly engineering. However, being an honorary hillbilly this doesn't concern me.

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More info as I get it. This process is mind-numbingly slow, but I am indeed making progress. This would go much faster if I knew what I was doing as opposed to having to figure everything out as I go. Multiple times.


Some days I think I must be channeling Bill Burr - I keep losing my ****. I absolutely, positively know I pulled a throttle cable from the junkyard. I have the pedal, but where did the cable go? I think it evaporated. And it took my shorty 7/16" socket with it, I can't find that either. Over an hour was lost scouring the shop for the two of them. Perhaps they eloped and are off on a Mexican Honeymoon. I hope they enjoy Cancun and come home soon.

It was wiring day today. I started with trying to figure out what of this mess I need, and what I don't. This was a lean burn truck but it was all removed by the PO except for the wires. After unwrapping all the looms, I picked out the stuff that went to nowhere. That resulted in this double handful of spaghetti wires.

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And here's the engine bay after the wire-ectomy.

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Then I started cleaning up and re-routing wires. I moved the HEI module, moved the coil, and ran new wires to both. It looks pretty decent at the moment. I'm not going to wrap this stuff till I make sure everything is working. The truck was a daily driver before the timing chain took a dump so I'm hopeful all is well. I have a couple of wires I can't figure out, it will be time to get out the FSM and peruse it over a cocktail for clues.

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Oh, and one project not mentioned earlier, I also pulled a receiver hitch from the junkyard off an 86 D250. It was filthy and rusty so it got all purdied up, then with an entire day of finagling with the hitch, bumper, and mounting holes it is in place. Lots of labor but it was only $35.

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I need to level the engine in the bay. My slant is overly slanted so I'm going to see how to rotate it to get it flat. With any luck tomorrow will be transmission day if I can get my buddy to help me manhandle it into place. It's a snail's pace at the House of Halfafish, but I keep chipping away at it.


Tonight's progress, such that it is. I swear, every day I work on this POS I spend hours on the job but have, basically, jack **** to show for it. Tonight is a prime example of that. I was in the shop for about 5 hours, and only got the carb plumbed, and the alternator and PS pump installed. Part of the problem is I have to climb into the engine bay to do anything, which means if you need a different wrench, fitting, zip tie, or whatever you have to climb back out, get the whatever, climb back in, lather, rinse, repeat...

However, progress made.

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I couldn't even make a subsistence income as a mechanic. I'd have to join all the lifer welfare slugs and give up as a contributing member of society.


After three previous attempts I'm very happy to post today's update, I finally - FINALLY!!! - got the transmission back in. It took three of us and a stand-up trans jack to get it done, but this cantankerous thing is bolted up.

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I'm still fighting a number of stupid small things. The belts and pulleys don't line up right, I'm working through that in another thread. I can't seem to find the right u-joints for the driveshaft. I'm on my third set and none fit - that will get more attention today. I have to change the heater hose routing as it will interfere with the alternator belt once I get that crap sorted out. I got the stereo wired up so all I need to do is a test run to make sure it's working right and I can get the dash back together. Lots of time and effort for little results, but I'm plodding my way to the finish line. This afternoon I'll get the shifter re-installed and hopefully the driveshaft if I can get the right u-joints. Who knows, I just might be able to drive this truck in the not-too-distant future. What a concept...


Today's update. The shifter and linkages are all in and work nicely. However, I can't seem to recall what the hell I did with the clutch pedal return spring. (Sigh...) I shall have to go excavating to see if I can find it. If not it should be simple to rig up another one.

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I finally got the right u-joints. Four hours to get the old ones off, another hour to clean up the holes in the driveshaft, and another two hours to get the new joints back in. This seized up mess was almost more than could be solved even with a 20 ton press. I thought I was going to bend or break something but I finally got it.

The fan belt for the alternator is done. I had to press the pulley mount over a half inch toward the pump to get it to line up. That was an all-night project as I'd push it on a little, do a test fit, push, test, push, test, till I was dizzy. Again, perseverance pays off. It lines up just right. Somehow the fan belt is now too short so it's off to NAPA for a longer one. Go figure.

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The pulley for the PS pump is next up. It's backset about a half inch from the crank pulley. While fiddling with it I discover a ton of slop in the shaft so I got a new pump which will go on today. Maybe I should splurge for new pressure and return lines instead of these crusty 40 year old ones? Not so fast, Bucko! Napa discontinued the pressure line, AZ and O'Reilly say many weeks out as a custom order. I found one on Rock but it will be almost a week till it gets here. Boohiss. Ah well, there are plenty of other things to keep me busy till then.

Another trip to P-N-P and I cobbled together enough parts to finish the cold air intake. It came out nicely if I do say so myself. Or maybe, this is just a case of setting your goals low enough that you are likely to hit them. :rolleyes:

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I'm off to NAPA for the belt, then back to the shop. If I don't get busy @j par is going to lap me, and he's doing a spit shine resto down to the last nut and bolt with more holes than metal at the moment.
 
I swear, if I wasn't going backwards on this project I'd be going in no direction at all. The new (and long-enough) alternator belt was installed but now for reasons I can't fathom, it is virtually in contact with the head. Clearance is maybe a 32nd of an inch. No Bueno.

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Out comes the grinder, we whack off a bit of excess meat, and now it clears by about 3/16", good enough for me.

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Next up is to change the rear end fluid. I've been all over this thing and for the life of me, can't find a drain plug or fill plug. I mean nowhere. It's an 8-1/4, first one I've had, and I can't figure out how to drain or add fluid.

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After many, many trips above, beside, in front, below, you name it - no plugs. I'm thinking this is impossible. How could there be no way to do this other than to remove the axle, take off the cover, drain, refill, install the cover, and back in the truck. Then I see this little blip in the orange circle. Yep, sure enough, under all that scrunge is a plastic fill hole cover. So today I'm off to get a gasket so I can pull the cover, drain, fill, and put this deal to bed.

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The one bit of good news is I got the stereo all wrapped up. The truck came with a pretty decent head unit from Sony and a pair of 6x9 Kenwoods. I added a dual voice-coil speaker for the dash and a subwoofer, it sounds very good. Progress!

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What a difference a day makes. It's probably a bit premature to claim victory, but the PS pump is about to cry uncle. I've been fighting this POS for a week, trying to get the pulley to line up, messing with the brackets, and trying to get the hoses loose. Yay for Rock Auto, the new lines showed up and are correct for the truck. I keep working on the hose flare fittings on the steering box but they won't budge. Many applications of Kroil and PB Blaster later, and still............they won't budge. I can't seem to get a good grip on the fittings either, 11/16 is a hair tight, and 3/4 is a bit sloppy loose. I spend a while cleaning up the fitting thinking it's 11/16 and the 40 years of crud is keeping the wrench from seating right. And then, (drum roll please...) the light slowly goes on - if one standard size is a hair small and the other standard size is a hair too big, COULD IT POSSIBLY BE ******* METRIC?!? Yes indeed, my 1982 made in good old Detroit truck has a power steering pump that is all metric nuts and bolts. I dig into my metric stuff and the fittings are 18MM, all the rest are 14 and 15. I have to order a set of metric flare fitting wrenches as I don't have any. Amazon to the rescue, 25 bucks for the set and 30 seconds after arrival the fittings are loose and the pump is on the bench.

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And just in case we needed a little help with this mystery while adding insult to injury, is this casting on the side of the pump.

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I might point out that this metric info is on the side of the pump under the pulley, where nobody would ever see it to have a clue. Next up is getting the old pulley off the old pump, it's also rusted in place for the last 40 years. Once I get that off the pump can go back together and go back in the truck. Radiator, hoses, fan and shroud, and we should be able to fire this thing up for a trip to the muffler shop.


So how's it been going with the PS pump, Mr. Halfafish?

Let me describe it thusly...

:BangHead::BangHead::BangHead:

My buddy (who is a pro mechanic) stops by for a beer and sees me starting to pull the pulley off the pump using a cheapo HF gear puller. He says he has the masterful tool for this if I can wait till tomorrow. Sounds good says I.

Tomorrow comes, and after setting up the tool he says the pulley will come off in less than 10 seconds using his Dewalt 20V 1/2" impact. Haha. Not to be. We hammered on that pulley for over 20 minutes before it came loose. His impact got too hot to touch. I fired up my Craftsman air impact and drained my 60 gallon tank twice. However, it did indeed come off. That's the good news. The bad news is, when we went to reverse the puller's center bolt it wouldn't budge. The threads are all chewed up (yellow arrow) and this is a Snap On puller. I think we welded the two pieces together or something.

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So now the puller is captured in the pulley. You can't get it out, and there's no way in hell it will rotate ever again. Since the puller is now junk and there goes a Benjamin or so to replace it, I pull out the cutting wheel. Presto. Problem solved, sort of.

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I go to install all the brackets on the pump, and find out it's not the same. Everything looks good except where one of the brackets seats. The old pump has a stud only (green arrow). The new pump has about a 5/16" collar on the stud, and there's no way the bracket will fit (red arrow). I order another one from NAPA and also one from Auto Zone, crossing my fingers one will be correct.

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So today's progress was reduced to getting the brackets all cleaned and painted. I swear, there must be a voodoo doll of this truck somewhere with a fistful of pins sticking out of it.

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More slow progress. I had to shell out $75 to get a custom pressure hose made for the PS pump. It fits fine, but now it appears the pump isn't pushing fluid? I cranked the engine over and no action getting the new fluid to purge the old stuff in the steering box. We will revisit this situation this afternoon.

The radiator is back in and hooked up. I had to get a spacer for the fan since I pushed the flange on the water pump back about a half inch to get the pulleys to line up.

I got the horns replaced (they were wimpy to say the least).

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I tried to do a quick test fire to make sure the fuel pump was working OK with my gas tank, and while the pump is good, I found out I have no spark. The engine ran fine on the test stand, so it has to be something in my wiring. More investigation to be had after work today. I must be channeling @DentalDart. If I wasn't going backward on this project, I wouldn't be going any direction at all.
 
Just in case there is someone still tuned into this first-class thread hijack, The story of the truck is over.
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Hey, wait a sec - where is the truck? Oh, it is outside because I moved it under its own power. It is done, barring some unforeseen disaster. It runs, drives, is registered and insured, and has about 80 miles on it so far.

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Here's the mangy mess, getting ready for its first bath in at least 3 years and probably quite a bit longer.

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Four hours of hard labor later, it's about 27 shades whiter.

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Three buddies came over for a bit to help wrestle the hood back into place.

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Here's the superb job done on the new exhaust. This guy was a master craftsman of tubing. He didn't even use angle measures on anything, just eyeballed it, measured for length, and started bending tube. 90 minutes and $500 later I'm driving away with my snazzy new exhaust.

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Seat cover is installed. I'll have to fiddle with a bunch of small things that you never know about until you drive the thing, but it's good enough to take out on the streets. New tires this weekend and I should be good to go.



Barring some hideous disaster, the self-hijack of the Start of a Dart thread is over. The truck is done with the wheels cleaned up and painted, new tires, and AFAIK everything works with no leaks that I can find.

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It's time to drive this bad boy for a while. Yoo-Hoo, Mr. Dart, best to awaken from your 8-month siesta. It's time to get back to work...
 
Seems like you have everything for your very cool truck but should you need any parts, I have this 90 parts truck. I'm going to be parting everything off the truck except the frame and the driveline.

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Nice write up.
You stole that truck, nice find for the money.
I have a slant powered 83 D150 that I did a complete off frame restoration on 10 years ago. It is an April - November daily driver, will never see snow again.
It is a fun truck to drive and I enjoy mine a lot. Those are really strong trucks. Well built.
 
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Saw the post above on the 90’ D150.
A lot of project creep here but I used the gauge cluster out of a 90 D150 in my 83. That gave me a 100 mph speedo, oil pressure and voltmeter gauges and a VSS powered speedometer. Get the VSS sender off the transmission.
There are wiring changes but nothing crazy, I have a wiring drawing that I made if you are interested. I also swapped in the 90 fuel tank, gave me a 23 gallon tank, an in tank electric fuel pump and the fuel level meter then matched ohms with the instrument cluster. The fuel tank was a bolt in, I did add a support to the very front of it.
I am still running a carb in the D150 so had to add a fuel return line and a by pass regulator to cut the fuel pressure from 45 to 6 for the carb.
 
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Oooooooh! PM on the way, I'm sure there are goodies I can use!
The 90 is actually a D250, so if you want your slant six truck to feel like a heavy hauler, then i have the emblems that will turn your truck into a heavier truck in seconds with some emblem glue :poke:
 
Saw the post above on the 90’ D150.
A lot of project creep here but I used the gauge cluster out of a 90 D150 in my 83. That gave me a 100 mph speedo, oil pressure and voltmeter gauges and a VSS powered speedometer.
There are wiring changes but nothing crazy, I have a wiring drawing that I made if you are interested. I also swapped in the 90 fuel tank, gave me a 23 gallon tank, an in tank electric fuel pump and the fuel level meter then matched ohms with the instrument cluster. The fuel tank was a bolt in, I did add a support to the very front of it.
I am still running a carb in the D150 so had to add a fuel return line and a by pass regulator to cut the fuel pressure from 45 to 6 for the carb.

I will shoot you a PM on the gauge cluster. I'd like to see what that entails. My fuel tank is about 25 gallons already so I should be good there. I do have a return line for the carb, it will be hooked up after the initial fuel filter gets replaced in another 200 miles.
 
The 90 is actually a D250, so if you want your slant six truck to feel like a heavy hauler, then i have the emblems that will turn your truck into a heavier truck in seconds with some emblem glue :poke:

How funny would that be? Add those to the PM shopping list I sent you please.
 
How funny would that be? Add those to the PM shopping list I sent you please.
Glad you can use some odds and ends from that truck. I bought it from the local police for the driveline (360) and frame because it's the 3/4 ton. It was involved in a shooting/Drug bust (see the bullet holes in the windshield) so it's parts only, It HAS to be parted or destroyed per the conditions when I bought it. It would have been a good builder because its completely rust free but I'm not going to jail over a truck so its coming apart into a thousand pieces, hopefully real soon.
 
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