Hello all.

[JohnnyPopper]

Good call, with that beast you're going to need them!

[jeremy.farlow]

I’m at the shop today to reinstall the gas tank, with the most expensive fuel pump I’ve ever purchased:


Aeromotive “Stealth” 340 LPH drop in unit.

Got wiring to do for the electric water pump as well:



Hopefully I’ll get the oil and transmission dipsticks in place today as well.

After that I’m getting SCARY close to making this thing run. I’m excited... and terrified.


Wish me luck.

Please.





Be safe and stay healthy.



Jeremy

[JohnnyPopper]

breath...

[jeremy.farlow]

I’m breathing. But wiring is neither my forte, nor something I particularly enjoy doing.

I’m working from the cowl connector into the engine bay:

I know I’ll NEED all of this stuff... alternator, coil, starter, charging power.

I’m fairly certain MOST of this pile will be headed to the scrap bin...

Factory engine and transmission management wiring:


Thankfully I downloaded AND printed the factory wiring diagrams for this model and year:


Absolute godsend... but this group of wires is still flummoxing me:


I’ll get there... unfortunately I can’t put this wiring off any longer.


Be safe, stay healthy


Jeremy

[frotosride]

Progress is awesome, shop sparks a little envy to be honest... Oh a lathe, mill, drill press and brake, 

[jeremy.farlow]

Thanks for saying... it’s a blessing and a curse. I love having the equipment... don’t like paying the tax bill on the space... don’t like having to constantly maintain all the equipment. Can’t imagine life without a lathe ever again.

Honestly, I’ve spent the last ten years working towards the shop I have and the suburban is the most all-encompassing project I’ve had the gumption to attempt. I’m really glad I didn’t pursue the chassis work I’d ultimately like to. There’s a big difference between building the future trash of movie stuff and something I WANT to drive and engage with for the foreseeable future.



Sorry all... today was bittersweet at best... I had some great breakthroughs with the truck, but 2020 as a whole can eat... something horrid. This fourth as well.

My family had to put down the family dog today. Mickey was supposed to be my dog... but 12-hour days and periodic on-the-road work isn’t conducive to dog ownership, so I introduced my parents to Mickey and they took him.

No one is certain what happened exactly. He went from apparent perfect health to near total paralysis in an instant. Best guess was either a stroke or embolism. Initially the prognosis was hopeful as the dogs vitals were good, despite his diminished capacity. Unfortunately he took a severe downward turn overnight and the most compassionate thing was to put Mickey to sleep. His chances for recovery were slim and this wasn’t the sort of dog that could live life paralyzed. He trended mostly towards a bully dog, but *HOLY MOSES* what the dog would do for a ball. Definitely a mitigating factor in the shoulder troubles I’ve had this year.

He’ll be sorely missed, but I’m certain there’ll be someone to toss him a tennis ball at the big farm in the sky.



I made good progress on truck wiring. I got the gas tank reinstalled. Fuel pump and level sender are wired. I’m pretty sure I have everything BUT a/c figured in the engine bay. Gauges SHOULD be dialed, excepting speed.

I’m gonna spend some time on the phone with technical support at F.A.S.T. tomorrow. Their instructions are good, but I’m missing something.

I was in the process of getting the truck off the jack-stands when my mom called about the dog. Today’s productivity ended with that phone call.




RIP Mickey






Hug your loved ones... even if it’s the dog.


Stay safe and healthy.




Jeremy

[JohnnyPopper]

Wow Jeremy, so sorry.

Reminds me of my son, John, losing his dog, Chaos, to some silly thing: he got caught under his house, (regular hang out) and somehow broke his back. Paralyzed from the waist down.

I was able to  say goodbye, hard to lose a good friend like that. 

[Shifty]

Sorry about your buddy Jeremy.

[jeremy.farlow]

Me too. He was a good boy and will be missed. I’m not looking forward to having “the talk” with my son about it. He handled the death of my grandmother well, but was significantly closer with the dog... by all metrics.

On the truck front, I’m dangerously close to getting the beast started. I just picked up a handful of 30A, 12V relays for fans and water pump. The batteries are charged and ready. The Android tablet for the Edelbrock is charging. I’m not planning on even attempting to fire the truck until probably Friday, but things are progressing steadily.

I got the truck “back on all four” for the first time in months:




One issue with the aeromotive fuel pump is that the vent is like 1/4” ID hose. No more GM, 5/8” ID vent-hose. I splashed gas all over the truck and myself filling from gas cans, through a funnel today. I’m hoping this doesn’t wind up being a disaster at the actual gas station pump.

I didn’t get the wiring done today. I did get 14 gallons of gas in the truck, and the balance of the fifteenth on myself, the truck and the floor. Raptor-liner was apparently unaffected.

Tomorrow will be finishing wiring. I promise. Plus probably ANYTHING else that I can think of prior to wiring.

Be safe, stay healthy


Jeremy

[jeremy.farlow]

Panel for relays and auxiliary fuse box:



Crazy how fast the space starts filling up.

Primary electric is hooked up... batteries are in and charging:


The starter is hooked up. 2/0 the whole way.

*Theoretically* I hook up all of these wires:

And everything works great, no issues.



I don’t have a fuel filter in place... or a radiator. An alternator. Without a fuel filter I can’t power ANYTHING up.

But I’m thinking, provided a fuel filter shows up, I can start this thing maybe Friday.

*Stream of consciousness mental checklist*

FUEL FILTER

power up, check gauges...
prime oil pump and verify oil pressure.

Water pump

Verify fans work

Mount MAF sensor

“ air filter



Hopefully engine starts immediately.

*Check for leaks*


I’m thinking I’m gonna try for the first start “total-loss”... no accessory drive, running wholly off the batteries.

We are MOMENTS away.


Be safe and stay healthy






Jeremy

[JohnnyPopper]

Looks good, I think some of us share your anxiety in a good way.

I've never built a roller cam motor; I assume it doesn't have the need for 2500 RPM for 20 mins, but will you do that to wear in the rings?

Seems like a dumb question, but someday I hope to build a beast similar to yours.

[jeremy.farlow]

Whelp... I’ve never built a roller cam motor either. Actually, I’ve never built anything that didn’t have the cams on top of the valves.

As to engine break in, here’s my thoughts:

I still haven’t installed the distributor. I want to pull the valve covers, verify oil pressure, as well as complete top-end oiling using the priming rod a friend lent me.

Install distributor.

The Edelbrock instructions are pretty clear on their start up procedure. The Edelbrock EFI uses the distributor for crank position, so that’s another item on the pre-flight checklist.

Hopefully it starts and runs well enough to do some form of static cam/ring break in.

Provided it runs and idles and will hold RPM my plan is for an abbreviated cam run in.

I plan to vary engine speeds between 2-3k rpm for run-in. Not the full 30 minutes, but a couple minutes at a couple different throttle/RPM settings. Enough to get things hot.

One of the checks I want to make in this period is for proper climate function.

After running it I’m gonna kill the engine, drain the oil, cut the filter and inspect it. I’ve got several rare-earth magnets on both the filter and oil pan that are hopefully strong enough to keep any ferrous stuff from circulating.

The truck is likely to sit for a while after that while I get it drivable.

Sorry it’s so long-winded, but I don’t want to run the engine very much without being able to really load it up. Theoretically rings will start to bite at 2500 RPM, but I’m gonna do the “Pops” Yoshimura plan. Fast break-in makes fast motors.

Basically the plan is to get the truck on the road and really hammer it. Hold it in gear and go up the steepest hill I can find. Really build cylinder pressures to force the rings against the cylinders.

After a couple hundred miles I’ll drain the break-in oil, cut another filter for inspection and hopefully have a good running truck to enjoy.




Jeremy

[jeremy.farlow]

Today (HOPEFULLY!!!) is the big day. My dads gonna come help... I’m hoping that the engine starts and runs well enough.

Ironically enough, after railing about stickers and how “ain’t none of them going on MY truck”, my girlfriend blessed me with this one yesterday:

As was discussed in one of my posts, I’m not really one for naming vehicles. I think I said then, “you name children and pets, things you don’t sell...”
Typically speaking, that’s the gospel for me. But Megan, my girl, doesn’t agree at all. She’s held fast to calling the suburban “Moby” or “The Whale”... and had these decals made up for me. This one is just a test. It’s a little bit big still. She’s gonna have them resized down, and mirrored, and I’ll sport one one each rear window.
I think having them mirrored will look great. Imagine this guy, 20% smaller:


It’s a cool little detail and I’m thinking of it as a good luck charm for today.



Be safe and stay healthy




Jeremy

[Shifty]

I love it...

[VileZambonie]

Sorry to hear about your dog