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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Members Rides => Topic started by: Captain Swampy on December 03, 2015, 09:27:21 PM

Title: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 03, 2015, 09:27:21 PM
This is my daughter's truck. She bought it when she was 14. We missed having it on the road for her 16th birthday by about a month. She's been driving it since August. It's an 87 4X4 350 TBI with 4.56 gears and 33" BFG KO2's. It's a blast to drive. Most of the pics are the wrong size, so it will take a while to resize and post them. Here are some to start though.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 03, 2015, 09:37:18 PM
The suburban donated the engine, trans, transfer case, and anything else we could use. 8) She bought it with a blown motor. It was originally a 305/ 700R4, but the kid that had it swapped in a 350 carb/ TH 350 combo. We used the engine harness out of the suburban also, as he butchered the other harness. It's now back to a TBI 350/ 700R4. The engine doesn't have a lot of miles on it, but sat for about 12 years. I put a small cam intended to work with the TBI in it when I rebuilt it. I can't remember what cam I used. The suburban finally had some power and got 13-15 MPG when my wife drove it.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 03, 2015, 10:18:38 PM
The first 2 pics are the day we brought it home. The second 2 are as it is now.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 03, 2015, 10:33:55 PM
I've never done body work, so I got fooled by slip on rockers and cab corners. The floor looked good from underneath, but rotted from inside because the carpet never dried out.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: 780K20 on December 04, 2015, 09:28:35 AM
Holy crap that's nice! I wish mine looked like that haha. Cool project!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 04, 2015, 02:19:35 PM
It still needs a lot of work. We have a better box but want to fix it and under coat it before we put it on the pickup.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: blazer74 on December 04, 2015, 05:30:31 PM
That is fantastic to the three of you.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 04, 2015, 08:22:24 PM
The engine that was in the pickup when she bought it. We kept the heads, intake, and carb. Other 2 pics are the inner cab corner.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 04, 2015, 10:15:12 PM
The start of surgery. I had never attempted body work before. I thought the cab was in good shape. That's why Brooke bought this pickup, I know how to do the mechanical work. We also now have a pretty good understanding of body work, LOL. I must thank Curt from Black River Body and Custom. He made many trips to point us in the right direction and borrowed us tools. We could not have done such a nice job without his help. God bless him!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 04, 2015, 10:20:58 PM
Removing the cancer. Wondering what the heck we got ourselves into :o
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 04, 2015, 10:39:30 PM
Brooke cut the spot welds and got the footwell panel out. I used part of the old floor support and made a patch panel. 8)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: werewolfx13 on December 05, 2015, 03:30:12 AM
Wow, is all that heat damage on the block due to the engine failure, or did you take a torch to some of it? Looks like the cam was cut part way with a torch and half of it beaten out with a hammer  :o

Nice family project. Weren't too many square body drivers in my high school, much less any willing to get into a restoration/repair project...and that was 12 years ago..Good to see some younger blood taking interest.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 09, 2015, 01:47:22 PM
They had pulled the oil pan, so I sprayed white lithium grease over everything to stop rust. The rod broke taking out chunks of the block and busting the cam shaft. We scrapped the short block, and kept everything else.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 09, 2015, 07:19:58 PM
We used POR-15 to help keep future rust away. We used weld through primer also. Weld through primer works good when fresh, but is hard to weld after sitting a few weeks. Sand it off and re-apply if it sits awhile. We mocked everything up with sheet metal screws first. I'll try to find a few of those pictures. We made the patch out of an old door skin that Curt gave us.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 09, 2015, 08:36:20 PM
Here's the blown engine that was in it when she bought it. It's amazing how many times it gets assembled and disassembled to get everything to fit nice. I hope all the pictures help someone, I found this site while looking for help with the rocker panels. Thanks to all of you who posted pictures. They helped us a lot. 8)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Irish_Alley on December 11, 2015, 08:45:23 PM
i dont think you ever properly introduced yourselves. but welcome from maryland, i hope to have a couple projects with my kids also when they get older.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 12, 2015, 10:04:44 PM
Sorry about that. My name is Lance. We're from northcentral Wisconsin. Thank you all for the imformation on this site. I hope you get to wrench with your kids! We really enjoyed it for the most part, but every build has it's headache's. I had to walk away a few times. :o :-X
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 12, 2015, 10:14:21 PM
Here is some of the fitting process. Some what overwhelming, figuring out how it all goes together and what to trim or bend to fit. This was when I found this site by searching for rocker panel repair. :D
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on December 12, 2015, 10:23:51 PM
Great project and some quality time. Hope my daughter asks for a 73-87 someday. Regardless....
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 12, 2015, 10:32:55 PM
HAHA helps if I add the pics!  Yes, I hope your daughter wants a square body too!!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 12, 2015, 10:39:01 PM
I'm getting quicker at this resizing thing. I had to shorten the inner rocker on the front piece and weld a piece on to the rear part, so it reached the back of the outer rocker properly. Don't throw away any scraps of trimmed panels til you're done. You can see the long part in the 3rd pic.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 12, 2015, 11:03:04 PM
Getting started on the inner rocker. The floor pan was flat, but seemed like it should bend where the front to rear cab brace is. Had to cut the slit so it would open as I bent it. Seems to run downhill to the side of the cab from the cab support, for water drainage?
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 13, 2015, 10:33:43 PM
We put POR-15 every where we could before welding it shut. Used that door skin for a patch for the lower cowl.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 13, 2015, 10:52:12 PM
I've read about butt welding, forming a lip, and other methods. We decided to butt weld everything. We didn't want the lip underneath to hold calcium chloride and salt. When it's all ground flush it's hard to tell there was a repair also. 

Went and had lunch, then came back and welded the footwell panel in. Thought I was having trouble because it was vertical...... :o So I struggled with them all and went back to the floor and still couldn't weld. It welds so much better if you turn the gas back on!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 13, 2015, 11:03:48 PM
Don't let people tell you a big welder is necessary to get started. I started with flux core and converted to solid wire with gas. It welds easier and cleaner with the gas.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 14, 2015, 12:53:05 PM
 8) Happy to have the new floor in!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 14, 2015, 01:01:07 PM
It penetrated pretty good. I did weld some spots on the back side also.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Engineer on December 14, 2015, 09:38:26 PM
Cool project.  8)

You know while you have all of this other work going on it wouldn't be that much more work to go ahead and take the sun visor off and patch weld the holes shut. Jus sayin'  ;)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 14, 2015, 09:58:53 PM
Inner rocker. I cut the rocker along the line I drew, tapped the end in, and welded it back together. It made the panels match. The last photo is the piece I added and then trimmed to fit the lip on the outer rocker.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 14, 2015, 10:07:53 PM
Yeah, Brooke hates the visor. We were trying to get it together by her 16th birthday, so that didn't get done. We have to get a new radiator support, and repair the passenger side yet, so there will be time to do it then. Both doors are cheap and don't fit well. Does anybody make good doors or do we need to search for original GM doors? It will be awhile before she saves enough money for the other side. She wants to put on the shorty headers Vile uses, and a new dual exhaust next. We used the exhaust off our old suburban for now.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 14, 2015, 10:23:16 PM
The frame wasn't broke, but we added the brace for the steering box so it won't crack. I think it will interfere with the bumper support when we try to put it back on. The outer rocker was wide, so I made a cut on the yellow line. Looked good after welding back together. The lower cowl patch is welded in also.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 14, 2015, 10:38:02 PM
The engine doesn't have a lot of miles, but sat for about 12 years. It's burning some oil. Any suggestions? I'm guessing rings are stuck. She's been driving it since August. Was told to try Restore. We're running 5W40 Amsoil.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Engineer on December 15, 2015, 06:26:23 AM
Try finding OE doors, hood, and fenders from a 1988~1991 Blazer or Suburban. They are galvanized and resist rust better than the steel up to 1987.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: 1967KaiserM715 on December 15, 2015, 11:40:36 AM
To paint inside rockers and such, Eastwood sells a product called internal frame paint. I won't vouch for it(never used it) but the wand extension it comes with can be used on aerosol cans. You can also do a search on Google for aerosol can extensions with a 360 degree spray pattern

Sent from my LGL34C using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on December 15, 2015, 03:59:31 PM
It also looks like someone is goofing off a little while someone else is doing all the work. Haha
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Irish_Alley on December 18, 2015, 07:15:39 AM
It also looks like someone is goofing off a little while someone else is doing all the work. Haha
im usually the one goofing off if i can get someone else to do the work also lol.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 18, 2015, 11:00:42 AM
It also looks like someone is goofing off a little while someone else is doing all the work. Haha
True story, I try to avoid the camera when goofing off. Brooke probably has a few though. She's been reading this, I'm surprised she hasn't jumped in with some comments yet.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 18, 2015, 11:44:24 AM
Just to prove she worked very hard on her pickup.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 18, 2015, 12:02:57 PM
We cut holes so we can wash out behind the inner rockers. Painted rockers with POR before we welded the outer on. Lots of spaghetti, scotch locks, and stripped wire with a wire twisted around it covered with electrical tape.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on December 18, 2015, 06:50:55 PM
Looks like someone's got some wiring to do. But coming along nice!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 19, 2015, 12:16:27 PM
We used the front clip and engine harnesses from our suburban. Most of the stuff inside, we could remove the garbage and fix with a heat shrink butt connector.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 19, 2015, 01:03:05 PM
We did have fun though! Brooke has a great sense of humor. Put new spider gears in it. It has a 12 bolt swapped in. When we put the axle shafts in the drivers side had gunk on the end so we pulled the carrier and found this mess. I almost talked myself into running it a month and then changing the oil. Thank God for that nagging feeling that wouldn't let me do that!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 19, 2015, 01:31:14 PM
Not sure where the pictures of the finished metal work went. Here's starting to finish it.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 19, 2015, 01:34:13 PM
We started a lot of other stuff once the hole in the floor was gone and the under side of the cab painted.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 19, 2015, 01:35:42 PM
 8)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 19, 2015, 01:43:10 PM
The "on the shelf" spray bombs of primer suck. The crap plugs your sand paper. Curt got us a nice high build primer (in a spray bomb) from Carquest. Expensive but fills and sands so much better. Ask for the professional quality stuff, the have it in the back, not on the shelf.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 19, 2015, 01:46:05 PM
Looking pretty good?
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 19, 2015, 01:48:21 PM
We used a semi gloss black for now to kind of match the rest of the pickup.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 19, 2015, 02:48:58 PM
It's a shortbox tank but has the baffle for the electric pump and was in good shape. New Wagner Thermoquiet brakes.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 24, 2015, 06:02:31 PM
Replaced inner axle seals, drivers side ball joints, u-joints, and drag link. The pinion had a lot of play, but we left it go at the time. We looked at it again last month. The transmission took a poop so we took it where our semi gets worked on. Mike helped me swap in a rebuilt transmission and fix the front axle. (Brooke was in school) He noticed the yoke moved, even after we tried tightening the nut. The nut and washer were getting tight against the radius from the threads to the splines on the pinion. Mike put the washer in the lathe and chamfered the inside hole. That let the pinion travel farther into the yoke and  compress the crush sleeve. We changed all the bearings and races.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 24, 2015, 06:20:19 PM
We took the exhaust off the suburban. It's a 3'' system. A little rusty behind the muffler but I made it work. Brooke wants to get a set of the headers Vile uses, and run a dual exhaust. Maybe get it done next week or in January.  The tires are 33x12.5xR15 BFG All Terrain KO2. 8)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on December 27, 2015, 10:05:43 PM
Looking REAL nice!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on December 28, 2015, 08:26:54 AM

Looking REAL nice!
[/quote]

Thanks! Wish I had pictures of the floor and underside of the cab after paint. I'll look for them or see if Brooke will post her pics of it.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on January 02, 2016, 05:01:25 PM
A few new pics
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on January 02, 2016, 10:16:11 PM
So, wait a minute, is that the finished truck??!!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Irish_Alley on January 02, 2016, 10:35:36 PM
That was fast
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on January 03, 2016, 10:49:09 PM
We were trying to get it on the road by her 16th birthday in July but got it going in August. I'm a little slow sometimes. That's the case with getting them on here. I found this site while looking for help with the rocker panels. I thought I'd share the pics to maybe help someone else. In my case, pictures were priceless. It's far from done. The radiator support, right side rocker panels and fender need replacing. She bought a better box this fall but it needs work before it goes on the truck. When we get close to paint we'll need better doors also. So I'm trying to get caught up on here to where we are on the pick up.

 We got her a set of the shorty headers Vile uses for Christmas, so the next project will be dual exhaust. We ordered a Magnaflow Tru-X muffler #12568. She's saving for having the system bent and installed, so maybe in a month or so. Found some sound clips. Has deep tone and didn't seem to loud. Hard to tell for sure though. Any opinions?

She's been driving it since August. I didn't think of doing our own thread at first and am trying to catch up to the current state of the pick up. The last 4 picks were taken yesterday.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on January 04, 2016, 09:54:34 PM
Is that snow i see, what state?
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: AZ87V10 on January 04, 2016, 11:58:29 PM
Sorry about that. My name is Lance. We're from northcentral Wisconsin. Thank you all for the imformation on this site. I hope you get to wrench with your kids! We really enjoyed it for the most part, but every build has it's headache's. I had to walk away a few times. :o :-X

I've been following along with this build because your truck is the same year as mine! You're both doing a great job! It's more involved than I could ever get! I'm just glad I don't have to deal with rust! Lol!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on January 05, 2016, 09:49:06 PM
Wisconsin, ok. I been to lacross and eau clair. Beautiful state.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on January 07, 2016, 07:44:04 PM
I'll have to resize and post more pics. I was busy fixing my work truck. I'm glad you like the build. I have to admit I thought the truck was in better shape than it was. The slip on rockers fooled me. We went and looked at it at night, which didn't help. As you'll see, we rebuilt almost everything on the pickup. I do feel bad, because if we had been patient and looked at more trucks, we could have found a better one. Everything the previous owner touched was cobbled. On the bright side almost everything is new, so after we get the body done, it will be almost like new.

Yesterday, I think the head gasket blew  or a head cracked. Brooke almost made it home before it quit. She said the exhaust was white. Any way, mom took the excursion and rescued her. So they dragged it home. Tam (my wife's name is Tammie) said there doesn't appear to be antifreeze in the oil. It started once, but won't start now. She said the tailpipe smells like antifreeze. What do you guys think? Gasket or head? Any way to test? Or just have to tear it apart and look?

Would you rebuild or replace it? I gave her the engine so I'm going to warranty it, LOL. I thought about buying Chevy Performance #12530283. It's 4 bolt main, vortec heads, with a roller camshaft. I think we would need a different intake manifold. Or I thought of rebuilding our block and putting vortec heads on it.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: bd on January 07, 2016, 08:16:33 PM
You will need to tear it down for inspection to learn the particulars, but it is best to at least narrow it to one or two cylinders beforehand.  You should be able to tell which cylinder with a compression check or leak-down test.  It may become obvious when you pull the spark plugs if any are wet with coolant.  Otherwise, crank the engine with the spark plugs removed and someone watching each bank from in front of the truck (out of the line of fire) to see which cylinder expels liquid.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on January 07, 2016, 08:53:52 PM
Thank you
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on January 07, 2016, 09:17:16 PM
POR-15. My wife helped with this project. 2 coats, then we painted it.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on January 07, 2016, 09:19:57 PM
The light gray paint is awesome when you're working under the truck.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on January 10, 2016, 01:46:20 PM
I'll backtrack a bit. I found more pictures. ;)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on January 10, 2016, 01:54:16 PM
More patches we made from the door skin Curt gave us.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on January 10, 2016, 02:07:39 PM
The cab corner wasn't big enough to cover the hole. It wasn't a mistake, we had to open it that far to get all the rust. We made a small patch to fill it in. Always have your replacement panels on hand so you don't make the hole bigger than the patch. :o It just couldn't be avoided in this instance. Brooke made most of the patches we made from scratch.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on January 10, 2016, 02:14:43 PM
I'd like to congratulate Brooke on 2nd place yesterday in a dance competition. Last year they got 5th. She is Co-Captain of the team this year. And as your pondering a gear head on a dance team, I'll mention she likes to hunt and fish.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on January 10, 2016, 09:23:45 PM
Hunt and fish too!! Sound like you have a smart young lady there. Nice to keep them busy doing those hobbies with their dad. Beats hangin out at the mall doin nuthin!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 03, 2016, 05:50:29 PM
I started with the simple stuff. I stuck an extra plug on a plug wire and had spark. Then I dumped some gas down the TBI and it fired right up. The stink must've been from running lean and the white smoke from the temperature. We put in a new fuel pump and sending unit and it runs great. We used a EP381 pump from 96 and newer instead of the stock pump. It has more pressure and flow. We'll need it in the future when add mods to the engine. 8)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 03, 2016, 06:19:49 PM
The engine doesn't have many miles on it, but sat for 12 years unused. It has a small cam, so it would still work with the TBI. Tam could get 13-15MPG with it in the suburban. It pulled pretty well compared to the stock cam.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 03, 2016, 07:07:56 PM
 Sure felt good to have the engine and tranny in!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 03, 2016, 07:19:56 PM
We rebuilt the TBI unit. They are actually simpler than a carb to rebuild.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on February 04, 2016, 10:01:37 PM
Lookin good capt. If you happen to notice a spare 350 small block getting kicked around your shop floor,,,send it my way.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 13, 2016, 04:53:55 PM
Lookin good capt. If you happen to notice a spare 350 small block getting kicked around your shop floor,,,send it my way.

I know where there is a (hopefully) rebuildable engine for $75 :-X
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 13, 2016, 04:58:16 PM
We took the exhaust off the suburban. It's a single 3" system. The left exhaust manifold had the bolts rusted into the manifold and had to be cut off. The bolts unscrewed by hand out of the head because I had anti seized them. Learned a lesson there, we anti seized the whole bolt (not just the threads) when we put the new manifold on.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 13, 2016, 05:50:02 PM
It was pretty rusty where I took it apart after the muffler. I wrapped the joint with aluminum tape,  cut a piece of pipe in half, and clamped them over the joint with 2 clamps. I had to work a bit to get the clamps over it and start the nuts. It's still holding! LOL.

We got Brooke a set of the headers (the shorties Vile uses) for Christmas. We ordered a Magnaflow Tru-X muffler #12568. It has dual in and out with an X in the middle of the muffler. She has the money saved for installing the exhaust and is waiting for me to have time to help install her headers.  :)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 13, 2016, 09:13:08 PM
We tried really hard to have it done by Brooke's 16th birthday. We missed by a month. Mom and I got her the BFG's for her birthday.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 13, 2016, 09:49:46 PM
2 coats POR-15 and then we painted over that.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 14, 2016, 05:15:34 PM
We had most of the under side stuff done. The fuel tank is in, we finally set the box down.  The front clip is on and we're hooking up/ repairing wiring.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 14, 2016, 05:50:54 PM
We tested the fuel pump, but it didn't work in the vehicle. The system powers the pump for a few seconds when the key is on and then when the engine is cranking or builds oil pressure as a back up. The plug in the picture is from the fuel pump relay. The orange wire supplies power from the fuse box. The red wire is for testing the pump. The pump worked when we applied power to it.

The orange end of the wire going to the junction on the firewall is a fusible link that supplies power to the fuse panel. It powers the orange wire that feeds the fuel pump relay. If you look close, the fusible link is melted. A new one fixed the problem.
Title: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: roundhouse on February 14, 2016, 08:41:43 PM
Nice build !
Great to see today's teens interested in old cars

  TBI is a nice improvement over a carb

We did that a couple years ago but the old 350 is about to croak  and are thinking of doing a LS swap 

This is my sons pickup
He wanted a Stepside 4 speed
We got it for him when he was 16 as a reward for him learning a foreign language

We've swapped the old 4 speed for a NV3500 5 speed from a 2007 Silverado , 14 bolt and 8 lug Dana 44 rotors , added a 4" lift, TBI ,and swapped in a newer interior.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160215/9e1079f56339e4d2aafd78c85ce8292c.jpg)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on February 14, 2016, 10:07:08 PM
Lookin good capt. , boy, you guys (and gal) dont look stressed at all. Not a care or worry in the world. Always smiling. , good job.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 19, 2016, 08:34:15 PM
Nice build !
Great to see today's teens interested in old cars

  TBI is a nice improvement over a carb

We did that a couple years ago but the old 350 is about to croak  and are thinking of doing a LS swap 

This is my sons pickup
He wanted a Stepside 4 speed
We got it for him when he was 16 as a reward for him learning a foreign language

We've swapped the old 4 speed for a NV3500 5 speed from a 2007 Silverado , 14 bolt and 8 lug Dana 44 rotors , added a 4" lift, TBI ,and swapped in a newer interior.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160215/9e1079f56339e4d2aafd78c85ce8292c.jpg)

Thank you! Your son's pickup is really nice. I like the TBI along with the 700R4 and lock up converter. Check out tbichips.com for a lot of good practical info.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 19, 2016, 08:44:31 PM
Lookin good capt. , boy, you guys (and gal) dont look stressed at all. Not a care or worry in the world. Always smiling. , good job.

Well.......got quite frustrated trying to get it on the road for her birthday. We kept getting the wrong parts and stuff just quit going well. We took a break and got it together a month late in August. Sometimes you just have to walk away for a while. :o  For the most part we had fun and enjoyed the build.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on February 19, 2016, 08:59:07 PM
Mom helped quite a bit at the end to help get it on the road. :)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on February 19, 2016, 09:04:11 PM
Quality family time!! Stick with it!!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 02, 2016, 09:28:01 PM
One of the rear springs had a broken leaf. The original plan was to pull the same leaf out of both rear springs and use them. Brooke isn't going to haul much anyway. Once we pulled the pulled the packs apart the other side had a broken leaf also. We bought a set of BDS 4" springs.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 02, 2016, 10:07:55 PM
The shackles were a pain in the butt. We used polyurethane bushings, in my opinion they don't come with enough grease, buy some extra from Energy Suspension. The rear springs ride nice, eventually we'll replace the front springs as they're really harsh.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 02, 2016, 10:50:36 PM
The wiring wasn't hard to fix, just time consuming. Lots of splices covered with black tape. The engine harness was cut up when they swapped in a carbed 350 with a Turbo 350 tranny. We swapped the harness from our suburban in, along with it's TBI 350/ 700R4/and 208 transfer case. It's a much better package with the 4:56 gears.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 03, 2016, 02:20:47 PM
We had to buy a new radiator. It's aluminum with plastic tanks. I'm not real happy with plastic tanks, but we haven't had a leak so far. :)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 04, 2016, 09:39:24 PM
We put Brooke's headers on earlier this week and had the exhaust built over the weekend. Picked it up today. Sounds great!  8)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 05, 2016, 08:59:24 PM
I have to thank everyone at our local Carquest for their help. Some parts were hard to find and I was getting a little cranky. They're really good people. Curt was still stopping and helping us get the body work right. We were getting pretty close to driving it! 8)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 05, 2016, 09:21:20 PM
Had a few small equipment failures. LOL. Still chasing down the last of the wiring gremlins.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on April 08, 2016, 04:47:57 PM
Looking good Cap'n. Will you be painting
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 08, 2016, 09:33:03 PM
Eventually we'll paint it. Brooke bought a better box, but it needs some body work yet. The passenger side needs rockers, cab corners, and fender. Both doors are cheap aftermarket, so we need different ones. Brooke is still in high school, so it takes her a while to save money for each project. Now that the exhaust is on, I think she wants to fix the box and put it on. The weather has to get better though, it's been snowing like it's January lately.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 08, 2016, 10:09:59 PM
We finally got it running. It ran really rough. Turned out that one of the new injectors wasn't spraying properly. You could see the difference in the spray patterns. It ran fairly well after we changed the bad injector. Even if stuff is new, it can still be junk  >:(.

The first oil change went good til I dropped the filter! LOL
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on April 08, 2016, 10:44:42 PM
Yup, done that before. Just have her hit her old man up for a little loanski. Lol.  Just kidding, teach her to NEVER borrow.

Debt is dumb and cash is king.
- dave ramsey.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: LTZ C20 on April 08, 2016, 10:48:08 PM
Oil spill for the win....
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Irish_Alley on April 08, 2016, 11:40:36 PM
no matter what it always seams i make a mess when changing oil or trans fluid lol. the one time everything was going good till my cummins was supposed to have 3 gallons and i found out it has 5.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 09, 2016, 10:24:01 AM
Yup, done that before. Just have her hit her old man up for a little loanski. Lol.  Just kidding, teach her to NEVER borrow.

Debt is dumb and cash is king.
- dave ramsey.

Yes! That's why she's driving it now. We have thought about buying a different cab to repair while she's driving it. We don't have a shop though. The one in the pictures is our neighbors. We were in it for 8 months. Many thanks to Jeff and Cassie for letting us use it.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 09, 2016, 10:26:25 AM
Oil spill for the win....

LOL :D
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 09, 2016, 10:36:01 AM
no matter what it always seams i make a mess when changing oil or trans fluid lol. the one time everything was going good till my cummins was supposed to have 3 gallons and i found out it has 5.

Hahaha, isn't that a sick feeling, expecting it to quit and it just keeps going? I cut the end off a 55 gallon barrel and put handles on it. Don't leave it under a truck that has an air drier next to the oil drain though. LOL it makes a heck of a mess in 10 gal of oil!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 09, 2016, 12:25:28 PM
So after spending hours trying to figure out vacuum hose routing....... the diagram was there the whole time, LOL.

The radiator was low and wouldn't suck it out of the overflow tank. A little investigation and I discovered the hole for the overflow tube wasn't drilled through. Works great after I drilled through the tube.

We inherited a shop dog on the hot days ;D
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on April 09, 2016, 03:32:09 PM
Cap'n, give that old hound a nudge, i'm  not so sure its alive. Lol
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: LTZ C20 on April 09, 2016, 05:07:59 PM
I work for a Chevy dealer, I'm currently in Certified Service Express, it's always nice to tell one of the guys right before I go to lunch, "DON'T make a mess on my rack while I'm gone." 30 minutes later I return and find oil all over the ground, the used oil caddy and rags strung all over the place. Spilled oil is a daily occurrence for me unfortunately, I know it's not as easy on your back, but even when we give people a rack, the proper tools and equipment to do the job, some still manage to make a huge mess on a consistent basis.

Lol actually I just remembered, they spilled some trans fluid on my rack last week, I must have done 4 cars on it after and had no issue, we were very busy, car number 5 I walked thru the fluid, slipped and landed straight on my @$$. I jumped right back up hoping no one saw, I was wrong, there were witnesses.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 09, 2016, 05:43:57 PM
I hate witnesses, and even worse when they get a picture! LOL
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on April 09, 2016, 08:21:07 PM
I concur.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 09, 2016, 10:32:03 PM
That stupid clip was worn out. It was a pain to find one that fit. We changed all the weather stripping and the window regulator and motor. We should have changed the regulator and motor in the passenger door also.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 09, 2016, 10:51:55 PM
There was a nasty sharp rust hole into the wheel well. Brooke made a patch that we attached with self tapping screws. It was ugly and couldn't be hidden so Mom thought we should have some fun with it!  8)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on April 10, 2016, 02:53:41 PM
Your gonna leave that like that?! Lol...
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 10, 2016, 05:36:17 PM
Well....yeah, for now. Brooke has a better box to replace that one eventually.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 12, 2016, 10:03:54 AM
Mom helped us a lot. Our other daughter Tessa brought us lunch and lots of parts. :)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 12, 2016, 10:33:15 AM
Brooke painted the headlight trim black. It matched much better than the silver.

The shocks only had an inch or two of rebound travel. Everyone was trying to sell the same length shocks for a 4 inch lift. Finally found a place that listened and got us H7058/H7073 Skyjacker shocks. Installed they are halfway between the extended and compressed lengths.

Put the steps on also.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on April 12, 2016, 04:24:55 PM
Did she hit her old man up for those skyjackers?? Lol $$$
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Bedazzled on April 19, 2016, 01:39:50 PM
The skyjackers actually aren't that bad of a shock. It would ride A LOT smoother if we would put new springs in the front.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on April 19, 2016, 02:35:41 PM
I would like new HD front coil springs. When i park ever slightly facing down hill, the front end is not even. Even when parking level, front end dips a little. I have to have everything perfectly even. Left/right, up/down, front/back.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: LTZ C20 on April 19, 2016, 04:41:33 PM
I just put the HD springs on my truck this weekend when I did the  front end.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on April 19, 2016, 10:26:16 PM
Hard to install, or are they so easy even i could install them?
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: LTZ C20 on April 20, 2016, 12:59:14 AM
Jump on over to to suspension thread. I'll cover it all there.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: philo_beddoe on April 20, 2016, 07:32:11 AM
Got it.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 21, 2016, 09:33:26 PM
The skyjackers actually aren't that bad of a shock. It would ride A LOT smoother if we would put new springs in the front.

Yes it would. Glad to see you on the forum! You want to do the springs next?
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Bedazzled on April 26, 2016, 01:25:27 PM
I would prefer to get my windows fixed since it's going to be summer. I don't think my tape job is going to hold up much longer. lol
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on April 26, 2016, 04:47:44 PM
I keep forgetting about the rear window. I think the passenger window is the switch. I don't know where to get a rear sliding window. I did some research when it broke, but don't remember what I found. Maybe Curt, Carquest, or Glass to Go can get one.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 10, 2016, 08:15:33 PM
Well, we got  a new sliding window in, new BD springs in the front, and fixed the right side windows. She got the dual exhaust put on also. I still haven't put the pictures on my new laptop yet. Sorry. I'll try to load them when I get home. I know, "pictures, or it didn't happen". LOL
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 10, 2016, 10:57:37 PM
So when we first got it running we had a few issues. The first was that one of the new injectors didn't spray properly. It ran pretty good after that, but not quite right. I know better than to throw parts at something, yet I did it anyway. LOL. We bought a new distributor and all new sensors. It turned out the TBI unit was worn at the throttle shaft and sucking a lot of air. Pete sold us a used base and it ran great. I kept the old one to send in and get bushed and bored out to 46MM someday.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 10, 2016, 11:23:09 PM
So after a month or so of everything running good, I was tired of the tranny fluid leaking from the torque converter seal. It would have been so easy to replace before we installed the tranny and engine, but let's not throw salt in that wound, LOL.  :-X So I was busy and hired someone to drop the tcase and tranny to change the seal. And then a couple weeks later the tranny puked  :-[ >:(. So we bought a GM reman from Handel's and put it in.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 10, 2016, 11:29:07 PM
We put a new rear main seal in also.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 10, 2016, 11:43:18 PM
When we assembled the front axle, the pinion was looser than it should have been. With winter getting close we decided to fix it. We tried tightening it to crush the collar, but it wouldn't budge. Mike figured out that the radius on the pinion from the threads the the splines was larger than the stock pinion. It  has 4.56's. What happened is the washer between the nut and the yoke was hitting the radius on the pinion before it hit the yoke and tightened against the crush collar. He put the washer in the lathe and chamfered the inside hole. That was enough to let the pinion come out farther and tighten properly. Hard to believe whoever set it up originally didn't catch that. Sorry I didn't take a picture of the pinion to show what I'm talking about.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 11, 2016, 12:00:55 AM
We took the truck to Handel's and they adjusted the TV cable. It works good now,but you don't really feel the shifts. In my opinion they should be firmer. They said that's as far as they can adjust the TV cable. What do you guys think? It works fine, but that smooth of a shift is hard on the clutches, in my opinion. I'm after a firm shift,  not bone jarring. I was thinking of putting a shift kit or if Sonnax has a Surecure for it. I'm sure from a GM standpoint it's working properly. Some opinions please.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: LTZ C20 on September 11, 2016, 01:21:14 AM
The trans is going to feel soft if it's a factory unit, like the SeRTA you bought. The only way to get it to shift firmer is to modify it in some way, voiding the warranty of course. If the shop properly adjusted the cable based on the GM procedure then there is no reason to change it. It will not damage the clutches as long as it is not abused and service schedules are followed. Note: I did notice the tail shaft housing was installed 90° off but obviously you fixed it. I have the same trans currently being rebuilt. I do recommend an external cooler be plumbed inline with the radiator cooler.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: hatzie on September 11, 2016, 12:08:32 PM
If the TV cable is properly adjusted then don't mess with it.

A properly maintained TH700R4 will run well over 150,000 miles trouble free.

Any modifications will void your warranty.
If you want firmer shifts you can change out the 2-4 servo with a "Corvette Servo".
A shift kit can be installed.  It will require you remove the valve body and precision drill the separator plate according to detailed instructions.  It may also require different sized check balls that will be included in the kit. 
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 11, 2016, 12:13:59 PM
 I adjusted the TV cable following the manual. I bought the GM service manual, it's a 3 book set. The trans didn't work correctly. I can't remember exactly what it was doing, this was last October I think. S o we took it to the dealer we bought it from, they test drove it, and tweaked the TV cable. It has been working good ever since. I am not complaining in any way, shape, or form about Handel's. Their service was excellent. They got it in quickly and resolved the problem. IIRC they didn't even charge us because we bought it from them.

The tail shaft housing was on for shipping purposes. It's not used on a 4x4.

I'm sure it's working exactly as GM designed it, and will last a long time. I guess it's a personal preference thing. The clutches are slipping until they lock up. To get super smooth shifts, they allow a longer time to do that. That's why I prefer a firm quick shift. There is less wear and heat generated. In our application the tranny shifts a lot. It's Brooke's daily driver, I'd say almost half of her driving is in town between work, school and dance.There's one 5 mile 55mph section between us and town. I guess I think a firm shift is better and may slightly increase the life of the transmission. I'd like to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 11, 2016, 12:35:21 PM
Thanks LTZ and hatzie. I may leave it the way it is. I'm just after thoughts and suggestions. I like the servo idea. I don't remember if it has a 1 or a 3 year warranty. I did take an automatic transmission class in a Tech school many years ago, so some disassembly doesn't scare me. I wish you guys could test drive it. I don't want much, just a little feel of the shift. I'll do some reading on my own also.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: LTZ C20 on September 11, 2016, 12:59:11 PM
If the TV cable is properly adjusted then don't mess with it.

A properly maintained TH700R4 will run well over 150,000 miles trouble free.

Any modifications will void your warranty.
If you want firmer shifts you can change out the 2-4 servo with a "Corvette Servo".
A shift kit can be installed.  It will require you remove the valve body and precision drill the separator plate according to detailed instructions.  It may also require different sized check balls that will be included in the kit.
It does require what Hatzie has stated. Not worth voiding the warranty for personal preference. Does she want it firmer? My 700 shifted extremely hard, for that reason I'm switching some of the parts back to stock. Honestly I wouldn't open that transmission unless required (aside from regular services) regardless of warranty.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 11, 2016, 01:14:15 PM
Brooke is happy the way it is. I'm the one that feels it should be a little firmer.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 11, 2016, 01:42:25 PM

[/quote]
It does require what Hatzie has stated. Not worth voiding the warranty for personal preference. Does she want it firmer? My 700 shifted extremely hard, for that reason I'm switching some of the parts back to stock. Honestly I wouldn't open that transmission unless required (aside from regular services) regardless of warranty.
[/quote]

That's it in a nutshell. I think a little firmer would be better, but don't want to risk going to hard.  8)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: hatzie on September 11, 2016, 02:04:29 PM
The servo and spring is a pretty simple task.  You don't need to drop the pan.  It can be reversed fairly quickly.
A shift kit is a bit more involved.  The valve body comes out and the separator plate is modified.  To go back you'll need a new plate.
As I noted above these will void your warranty.

An additional cooler is easier and will not void the warranty.  A Low Pressure Drop (LPD) plate cooler is temperature regulating and will not affect the line pressure enough to be a problem.
I'd add on a transmission fluid filter in the return line too.  Either a spin on with magnets on the outside of the canister or a real Australian built Magnefine filter.  Welding a drain plug bung into the pan would be high on my list too.
The pickup strainer in the transmission pan is a 100-130 micron screen.  A fluid filter is 25 microns or so.  The cold pressure drop is taken care of by a mechanical bypass in the filter.
Once you install a drain plug and a real filter in the fluid return line you will not need to drop the pan and change the strainer.  I drain and fill my 4T65E-HD on my '09 Impala with every oil change and replace the 25 micron fluid filter in the return line.  It's literally just an oil change.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 11, 2016, 02:11:23 PM
Brooke has a welding class and a ABC's of auto class this year. Any ideas for projects? I'll try to get her to take a peak and chyme in.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 11, 2016, 02:17:39 PM
The servo and spring is a pretty simple task.  You don't need to drop the pan.  It can be reversed fairly quickly.
A shift kit is a bit more involved.  The valve body comes out and the separator plate is modified.  To go back you'll need a new plate.
As I noted above these will void your warranty.

An additional cooler is easier and will not void the warranty.  A Low Pressure Drop (LPD) plate cooler is temperature regulating and will not affect the line pressure enough to be a problem.
I'd add on a transmission fluid filter in the return line too.  Either a spin on with magnets on the outside of the canister or a real Australian built Magnefine filter.  Welding a drain plug bung into the pan would be high on my list too.
The pickup strainer in the transmission pan is a 100-130 micron screen.  A fluid filter is 25 microns or so.  The cold pressure drop is taken care of by a mechanical bypass in the filter.
Once you install a drain plug and a real filter in the fluid return line you will not need to drop the pan and change the strainer.  I drain and fill my 4T65E-HD on my '09 Impala with every oil change and replace the 25 micron fluid filter in the return line.  It's literally just an oil change.

Thanks for the ideas. I do miss having a drain plug! I like the filter idea, kind of a by-pass filter.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: hatzie on September 11, 2016, 02:20:56 PM
The servo and spring is a pretty simple task.  You don't need to drop the pan.  It can be reversed fairly quickly.
A shift kit is a bit more involved.  The valve body comes out and the separator plate is modified.  To go back you'll need a new plate.
As I noted above these will void your warranty.

An additional cooler is easier and will not void the warranty.  A Low Pressure Drop (LPD) plate cooler is temperature regulating and will not affect the line pressure enough to be a problem.
I'd add on a transmission fluid filter in the return line too.  Either a spin on with magnets on the outside of the canister or a real Australian built Magnefine filter.  Welding a drain plug bung into the pan would be high on my list too.
The pickup strainer in the transmission pan is a 100-130 micron screen.  A fluid filter is 25 microns or so.  The cold pressure drop is taken care of by a mechanical bypass in the filter.
Once you install a drain plug and a real filter in the fluid return line you will not need to drop the pan and change the strainer.  I drain and fill my 4T65E-HD on my '09 Impala with every oil change and replace the 25 micron fluid filter in the return line.  It's literally just an oil change.

Thanks for the ideas. I do miss having a drain plug! I like the filter idea, kind of a by-pass filter.

It's inline not a bypass filter.  An ATF filter will have a different bypass pressure than an engine oil filter.  The bypass valve is internal to the filter.  It keeps from starving the transmission while it warms up and it will also keep fluid flowing if the filter is plugged.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: LTZ C20 on September 11, 2016, 09:09:32 PM
For the price, this is a good upgrade as well. You can get it with and without the summit logo for the same price. All the reviews for it are good. Adds 3 extra quarts and has a drain plug. I'm going to get one this week and drill and tap a hole for a temp sensor in the side. You can also get a magnetic drain plug for it, GM part #19133162, 3/8" NPT.

https://m.summitracing.com/parts/sme-1008r/none/images

Also recommend this, since it doesn't come with a gasket. I'm also getting this.

https://m.summitracing.com/parts/lub-llt-g4l60
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: bd on September 11, 2016, 09:18:50 PM
One cool advantage of the sand cast pans is that flange gasket leaks become a thing of the past.  The pans also increase case rigidity.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: LTZ C20 on September 11, 2016, 09:41:44 PM
One cool advantage of the sand cast pans is that flange gasket leaks become a thing of the past.  The pans also increase case rigidity.
2 of reasons I recommend it and am getting it myself.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 11, 2016, 10:23:38 PM
Thanks for the suggestions. My wife took it for a ride tonight (and ended up chasing the neighbors cows) and she feels it's too soft also. We're going to have a couple other people we know drive it and get their opinions. I thought maybe it was just in my head, LOL.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: bd on September 11, 2016, 10:27:12 PM
If you elect to install a shift kit, avoid those that limit accumulator travel with spacers.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 11, 2016, 10:36:51 PM
Last winter. There is a video playing in the snow I'd love to share, but it needs to be turned a 1/4 turn and I can't figure out how to do that or share it on here.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 11, 2016, 10:40:57 PM
If you elect to install a shift kit, avoid those that limit accumulator travel with spacers.

Thank you, I won't rush into it. I should have some time to research tomorrow. Any places in particular to look? I'll try to do a search on here 2morrow.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: LTZ C20 on September 12, 2016, 02:07:48 AM
Thanks for the suggestions. My wife took it for a ride tonight (and ended up chasing the neighbors cows) and she feels it's too soft also. We're going to have a couple other people we know drive it and get their opinions. I thought maybe it was just in my head, LOL.
Be careful with the opinion of others who do not fully understand said transmission and it's functions/operations. They may agree with you based on personal opinion but without professional experience or training they may lead you to a solution that is not warranted or pointless. Have you considered taking it to a dealer and just asking for a test drive with a properly trained tech? Just asking for an opinion from a professional because you want to be sure it's ok may set your mind at ease. They should be more than happy to give it a run around the block, I know we do at work and we don't charge anything for a simple 10 minute ride like that.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Bedazzled on September 12, 2016, 02:26:23 PM
Brooke has a welding class and a ABC's of auto class this year. Any ideas for projects? I'll try to get her to take a peak and chyme in.

I want to work on my box, but I don't think the teacher is going to let me bring my box to class.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 12, 2016, 02:58:54 PM
Thanks for the suggestions. My wife took it for a ride tonight (and ended up chasing the neighbors cows) and she feels it's too soft also. We're going to have a couple other people we know drive it and get their opinions. I thought maybe it was just in my head, LOL.
Be careful with the opinion of others who do not fully understand said transmission and it's functions/operations. They may agree with you based on personal opinion but without professional experience or training they may lead you to a solution that is not warranted or pointless. Have you considered taking it to a dealer and just asking for a test drive with a properly trained tech? Just asking for an opinion from a professional because you want to be sure it's ok may set your mind at ease. They should be more than happy to give it a run around the block, I know we do at work and we don't charge anything for a simple 10 minute ride like that.

Yes, the dealer was one of the places I want to take it to.
http://www.tvmadeez.com/article/index.php   I want to read and understand this. I think it's been soft the whole time. We did put a different base on the TBI, I'm going to compare the bell cranks when I get a chance. From what I've read, the 700R4 shouldn't need a shift kit. Accumulator pistons and springs do seem to get changed though. If that link works, would you guys take a look and tell me what you think. I haven't read it all, but it seems like a really good place to start. Thank you
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: LTZ C20 on September 12, 2016, 05:29:26 PM
That link you posted I have seen many times before. I actually have the entire article printed out and included in my shop materials. It is the best source of information and set procedure I have seen so far.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: roundhouse on September 13, 2016, 06:15:29 AM
Last winter. There is a video playing in the snow I'd love to share, but it needs to be turned a 1/4 turn and I can't figure out how to do that or share it on here.
Easiest way to share videos is create an account on YouTube , upload the video  and send people links
You can easily do this directly from iPhone
And you can set the view ability on YouTube to one of three choices ,

to anyone , anyone with the proper url or require the proper url and a password


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 13, 2016, 10:53:29 AM
Brooke has a welding class and a ABC's of auto class this year. Any ideas for projects? I'll try to get her to take a peak and chyme in.

I want to work on my box, but I don't think the teacher is going to let me bring my box to class.

It's probably because it will take up to much room. You should post pics on here and see if these guys think we should hammer and dolly a bunch of it, or weld in patch panels.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 13, 2016, 11:10:00 AM
That link you posted I have seen many times before. I actually have the entire article printed out and included in my shop materials. It is the best source of information and set procedure I have seen so far.

I think we have a SSS condition. It mentions a 4th article which I assume tells how to fix the problems. I couldn't find it though. The original tranny  from our suburban had smooth firm shifts.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 13, 2016, 11:14:15 AM
Last winter. There is a video playing in the snow I'd love to share, but it needs to be turned a 1/4 turn and I can't figure out how to do that or share it on here.
Easiest way to share videos is create an account on YouTube , upload the video  and send people links
You can easily do this directly from iPhone
And you can set the view ability on YouTube to one of three choices ,

to anyone , anyone with the proper url or require the proper url and a password

Thank you. I'll have to try to figure the Ytube thing out.


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Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: LTZ C20 on September 13, 2016, 12:27:04 PM
That link you posted I have seen many times before. I actually have the entire article printed out and included in my shop materials. It is the best source of information and set procedure I have seen so far.

I think we have a SSS condition. It mentions a 4th article which I assume tells how to fix the problems. I couldn't find it though. The original tranny  from our suburban had smooth firm shifts.
Then I would not bother at all trying to diagnose it or fix it yourself. I would take it to an experienced, competent transmission shop or even better the dealer. Have it checked first professionally. It's a SeRTA, anything you do will automatically void the warranty. It's better to have a personal opinion of the way you like it and have it checked and it be fine than to do some type of repair in an attempt to fix something that isn't broken and damage the unit causing you to have to pay for a rebuild or another new SeRTA that may operate exactly the same.

I've driven a lot of vehicles with a 700, 4L60 and 4L60E at work and without driving it myself, it doesn't sound to me like it has an issue. If you don't like how it feels now, don't drive a new Chevy, truck, car or whatever, they shift very smooth and soft, sometimes you can't even feel the shifts, you will HATE it. But that's the way they are designed and they work.

I think you should have it checked by a dealer before you do anything. Just my personal opinion.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 15, 2016, 07:00:45 PM
Back to the build. The next problem Brooke encountered was was the truck smoking white and quit running. I thought maybe head gasket, but it was only the fuel pump. My wife suggested a new pump when we were building it, but it worked so I didn't. We upgraded to the EP 381 so we won't run out of fuel when we upgrade the motor later. Also replaced the sending unit.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: 1967KaiserM715 on September 15, 2016, 08:19:48 PM
pull the bed apart and repair it in sections, that way it will fit almost anywhere. ;)

hammer and dolly will be a little difficult on bed sides, but doable. any rust of course has to be cut out and patches welded in.

hopefully you figure out the transmission, I know I like to feel the shifts, but our new to us 2009 Chevy work has the smoothest shifting tranny, can't even feel it unless you aggressively accelerate with a full trailer, still don't know if I would ever buy a newer truck.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 15, 2016, 09:42:37 PM
pull the bed apart and repair it in sections, that way it will fit almost anywhere. ;)

hammer and dolly will be a little difficult on bed sides, but doable. any rust of course has to be cut out and patches welded in.

hopefully you figure out the transmission, I know I like to feel the shifts, but our new to us 2009 Chevy work has the smoothest shifting tranny, can't even feel it unless you aggressively accelerate with a full trailer, still don't know if I would ever buy a newer truck.

I'll have to take some pictures of the box. The bottom is crushed from being set on the ground. I think one spot needs to have rust cut out.

I'm going to start at the beginning with the tranny. We changed TBI units, so I need to compare the cable attachment points and length of pull. I'll measure the TV cable so I can return it to where it's currently set and then set it the way the manual specifies. I'll test drive it both ways. I'll make sure the throttle pedal  achieves WOT. I want to buy a gauge to check pressure like that link says. Maybe that will fix it.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Bedazzled on September 16, 2016, 10:36:30 AM
I think that we are going to have to cut out the parts that are bent in, unless we just want to put some bondo over it after we try to pound it out and finish it off that way. I will have to try to get some pictures on here of the box, but the one spot does look like it will probably need to have a patch welded in.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 20, 2016, 08:09:20 PM
I think in March or April (2016) Brooke got the money saved for her dual exhaust.   8)
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 20, 2016, 08:20:59 PM
This is the muffler we used. The headers are the ones Vile found on Ebay. Thank you Vile, they are nice headers. I had them book marked, but that computer died. We plugged the O2 hole and welded a new bung into the exhaust pipe. It has a nice deep tone and is quiet enough she doesn't have a daily escort to and from school. It ( in my opinion) sounds really nice.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 20, 2016, 08:52:38 PM
The old 3" single exhaust.  The transfer case was leaking out the breather, so we swapped in a different one.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 20, 2016, 08:54:19 PM
Nice headers!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 20, 2016, 08:57:32 PM
We also installed a 3 wire heated O2 sensor from tbichips.com
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on September 20, 2016, 08:59:37 PM
And some stainless tips finish the system   :D
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on October 06, 2016, 10:33:45 AM
Curt from Black River Body and Custom put a new sliding window in. We found a rust hole that we temporarily patched. We'll weld in new metal when we replace the passenger side rockers and cab corner.

We decided to make the passenger side look a little nicer for now. Still wavy, but better. I ran out of time. I bought a Hutchins in line sander after this. We'll have to try it out later and make this better. I finally got my nice air compressor home, so waiting for air will be a thing of the past.

Maybe Brooke has more pictures of the window install and posts them.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: 1967KaiserM715 on October 06, 2016, 05:05:55 PM
Looking good. Inline sander will help a lot, much easier to use, especially when trying to make a panel flat.

On a side note, is that a Honda 250SX I spy in the previous post?
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on October 07, 2016, 01:32:54 PM
Looking good. Inline sander will help a lot, much easier to use, especially when trying to make a panel flat.

On a side note, is that a Honda 250SX I spy in the previous post?

I wish it was a 250SX or 250R ! It's a 110, an '85 IIRC.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: 1967KaiserM715 on October 07, 2016, 07:00:07 PM
Looking good. Inline sander will help a lot, much easier to use, especially when trying to make a panel flat.

On a side note, is that a Honda 250SX I spy in the previous post?

I wish it was a 250SX or 250R ! It's a 110, an '85 IIRC.
Still cool. I have a '85 250ES Big Red and a '83 200S. They are some good machines.


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Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on October 30, 2016, 08:31:52 PM
My inlaws had a Big Red with reverse and shaft drive and a 200S. That Big Red got used hard, pulling wagons on the farm. It just kept going and going!
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on October 30, 2016, 09:14:11 PM
We finally put some new BD springs in the front in August 2016. Whatever was in it was terribly harsh. The new springs have plastic slides on all the leaves.

So something must have changed on my camera. I resized the pictures and they're still to big. Not sure how to fix it so I can post them.  >:(
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: bd on October 30, 2016, 11:20:49 PM
So something must have changed on my camera. I resized the pictures and they're still to big. Not sure how to fix it so I can post them.  >:(

Select a lower resolution.
Title: Re: Brooke's 87 V10
Post by: Captain Swampy on March 31, 2019, 02:39:24 PM
Well Brooke has been driving this and has bought a car now. We're going to try to get back to working on Bedazzled again. Not much has changed. We had got a reman trans from GM, I always felt it shifted soft. I was told it was fine. Also the TBI unit was changed because the original was worn at the throttle shaft. We sent the original TBI to RV Morse to be rebuilt and bored. When I compared it to the TBI unit we had been using there was close to a 1/2" difference in the location of the TV cable. It shifts much firmer now!