1975 Jimmy 454 Magnum Project

[frogman68]

Try Napa. The one by me has Marine Books to order from

Or how about one of these?

http://bpi.ebasicpower.com/c/DIPSTICK/Dipsticks

[Mike Phillips]

Try Napa. The one by me has Marine Books to order from

Or how about one of these?

http://bpi.ebasicpower.com/c/DIPSTICK/Dipsticks

I'm heading to NAPA here shortly and I'll see if they can help.  For now I'm going to stick the Mr. Gasket, chrome automotive BBC dip stick and tube into the hole and use some high temp silicone to seal it to the oil pan receptacle.  Not a perfect match but my primary concern is to keep oil from sloshing out and to keep dirt from getting into the oil pain via the hole.

I change my oil often enough and because it's a brand new engine, dripping and burning oil shouldn't be a problem as far as oil loss goes.

Then when I can obtain the correct tube and dip stick I'll swap them.

Right now I'm trying to science out the lower and upper radiator hoses for the aluminum radiator, I'm trying to get as close to a perfect match as I can so as not to put any stress on the water necks coming off the aluminum radiator.

Then test some wiring I installed and then hopefull try to start the engine and time it as well as add the rest of the tranny fluid.

I honestly never thought it was going to take this long to get the engine in and running.  It's a very snug fit and that just tends to complicate everything.

Thanks for everyone's help...


Mike

[Mike Phillips]

***Breaking News!***


Right after the above post, a Marine Engine shop in San Diego returned my voice mail and they said they have lots of used engines and they think they have the correct tube and dip stick for my engine.  The parts guy is off until tomorrow but I should find out first thing tomorrow morning.

Then I'll take my 1974 BMW Truck down to San Diego and in a few hours I'll be able to keep the dirt out, keep the oil in and know when if the engine is ever low on oil.

Shazam!

Persistence and patience pays off...

[VileZambonie]

Do you have a pic of where your dipstick tube enters? Is it like this?



If so this one will work http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ALUMINUM-CHEVY-BB-ENGINE-OIL-DIPSTICK-CHROME-TUBE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZQ7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a30QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em14Q2el1262QQhashZitem4ce9edda77QQitemZ330342193783QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ebayphotohosting

[Mike Phillips]

Do you have a pic of where your dipstick tube enters? Is it like this?



If so this one will work http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ALUMINUM-CHEVY-BB-ENGINE-OIL-DIPSTICK-CHROME-TUBE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZQ7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a30QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em14Q2el1262QQhashZitem4ce9edda77QQitemZ330342193783QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ebayphotohosting

The triangle patch welded to the side looks the same but the receptacle is flaired out like a funnel, not cylindrical like the one in the picture.  I'm hoping one of two SoCal boat shops I've contacted will be able to supply me with the correct tube and dip stick.  I should find this out tomorrow.

Thanks though for your time looking for a solution.

[VileZambonie]

The one shown is tapered... That's standard bbc oil pan dipstick. Usually I install the dipstick and bend the tube and baracket accordingly. Then I bolt it in and take it back out. A small bead of RTV and reinstall.

[Mike Phillips]

***Update***

Test fired the engine a little; that is we turned it over and it tried to run but we shut her down until tomorrow.  Waiting on two lower radiator hoses, hopefully one will fit.  The aluminum radiator I bought for the truck has a larger lower neck outlet than a stock radiator so the hoses in stock didn't fit.

2 problems discovered and fixed.  

The first problem was I hooked up the gas line to the fuel pump backwards.  This was a simple mistake and fixed by switching the lines.  The reason this happened was because the first time I scienced out the fuel system I had the custom bracket mounted in a different location and when located in that location the routing of the lines would have been correct.  When I changed the location I forgot to switch the in and out lines to the new position of the pump fittings and thus put them on wrong.  This is fixed and the carb now gets gas.

Second problem:  Somehow didn't see the rear oil pressure hole in the block so it was unplugged  and after turning the motor over a few times my son noticed oil pumping out of the engine and onto the ground.  This is now fixed with the right plug in the hole.


One more little problem, before installing the spark plugs I squirted some oil into each cylinder to make  sure the rings and cylinder walls were well lubricated.  This engine sat wrapped in plastic for 4 years and I wanted to insure the the cylinder walls were well lubricated before turning the motor over.  End result was hard to start and lots of smoke coming out of the headers as she tried to fire when turning the engine over.

We turned it over enough to blow-out most of the oil and as soon as she tried to run/idle I shut her down to wait till tomorrow when we get the radiator hose installed so we can  put water into the radiator/engine.

The good news is, so far, no other problems have surfaced.  The MSD system appears to be working, I appear to have installed the distributor correctly and the fact that when you put the key in the ignition and turn it the starter motor works without any problems and the motor turns over is a very good sign.

Confidence is high that I'll be test driving the Jimmy up and down the road in my neighborhood tomorrow.  Once we get to that point then it will be time to take her to an exhaust shop and have the exhaust system hooked up to the new headers.  

Fingers are crossed no other surprises show up.

[Mike Phillips]

The one shown is tapered... That's standard bbc oil pan dipstick. Usually I install the dipstick and bend the tube and bracket accordingly. Then I bolt it in and take it back out. A small bead of RTV and reinstall.

The Mr. Gasket BBC oil dip stick and tube resemble this one but it isn't fitting into the receptacle.  I'll try to bend it a little as the tube is straight but the path between the headers and the block isn't exactly  clear, straight path.

Thanks and will post what I find out.

[VileZambonie]

you can see how I routed my dipstick in the pic I posted in your other thread. It worked fine. I've never had a direct bolt in fit on a bbc

http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=12799.msg96982#msg96982

[Mike Phillips]

***Success***

Well almost... 


Fired the engine up yesterday and so far so good.  Somehow the rear flange of the duel feed gas line for the carburetor was leaking gas onto the intake manifold so that's going to be replaced today.

Somehow missed plugging the hole in the back of the block for an oil line and had oil pumping out of the engine when we first started the engine so we plugged off that hole.

Ran the water temp sensor into the intake manifold and forgot to put a plug in the head where I originally was going to install the sensor so when we added water to the engine that hole had water flowing out of it.  Plugged.

After plugging all the leaks we added the tranny fluid to the transmission and topped off and cycled the new power steering pump.  Then we cycled the transmission by driving the truck backwards and forwards in the driveway selecting all the gears.

Next we had a local Tow Truck company tow the truck down to one of the local muffler shops to cut and fit the old exhaust system to the new Hedman headers.  The old exhaust system is Flowmaster mufflers and is in great shape but needed the Ball & Socket flanges welded on to mate to the Ball & Socket flanges on the headers. 

After that, I got to drive it for the first time!  When you push down on the throttle the truck wants to jump.  Nuff said. 

Just for fun I drove it to a friends shop to show the guys the results and that's where I discovered the fuel leak so I left it there until the local speed shop opens up and I can get the new duel feed gas line and then go install it.

While the truck was at my friend Fernando's shop Fernando started inspecting the install and since firing up the engine and then driving it about 10 city blocks the engine has already shifted as the new rubber motor mounts settled in and now the headers are hitting the frame in at least 2 places and maybe 3 places.

Fernando said he could do a little cutting here and there and in one place do a little bending and make it right.

Summit Tech Rep helped me to order the right MSD Spark Plug Wires and in so doing sent me a set with 45 degree boots which snugged right up against the headers so we installed Belden wires for now and hopefully Summit will send me the right boots so I can install the correct wires for this ignition system.

That's about it.  We're going to try to get everyting dialed-in enough today to hook up the boat and take off and go camping tomorrow morning at Big Bear Lake.  Just had a Bimini Top made for the boat so we don't get sunburned.




If everything is working good with the truck and boat at Big Bear then we're going to either take off for Lake Havasu or Oregon for a week for some more fishing and camping.  Probably will go to Lake Havasu as it's closer and this project used up too much of our time we planned to use to drive to Oregon and back.


It's been a ton of work with more surprises and setback than I ever imagined, but driving the truck yesterday and knowing the truck now has the power to pull my boat to Florida where I'm moving in about 2 weeks for a new career is comforting.  (And a ton a fun)


More pics and some videos shortly....

[GoatBeard]

Congrats!  Looks like everything went seamless (for the most part )

Man, I am seriously jealous!  Your K5 is awesome!

[Mike Phillips]

She's up and running.  Didn't take into consideration the effect the extra weight would have on the suspension so I need to upgrade the springs in some fashion in order to put the 35" Boggers back onto the front axles.

It's very fun to drive and sounds very nice too.  Without further ado,






Will install the grill tomorrow.





Won't mention having to replace a brakeline, cut the frame again in two places, re-do the gas lines to the carburetor and replace two brake caliper bolts.   

At this time the lock-up is getting power but it's not locking up.  Going to troubleshoot it tomorrow so I've been driving it around in 3rd gear.

Haven't really put my foot into it too much but the two times I have it's spun the rear tires.


A HUGE thank you to everyone on this forum that has helped me with this project.  Without your help it would have taken much, much longer.

[ccz145a]

Don't neglect a front end alignment, the extra weight has an effect and you'll ruin your tires within 300mi.

I put a 396 in my 79 305 LWB and after 300mi of highway driving, was showing cord.

[eventhorizon66]

Cool.  Now what about those videos you promised?

[SUX2BU99]

No doubt. I want to see one going WOT from a dead stop, just to see the tires light up