datsunfreak Posted August 10 Author Report Share Posted August 10 14 hours ago, dimlight65 said: This big old girl prefers long sweepers to tight twisties. Are you talking about you, or the van? 😉 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted August 11 Report Share Posted August 11 5 hours ago, datsunfreak said: Are you talking about you, or the van? 😉 Yes 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted August 15 Report Share Posted August 15 (edited) We decided to do a "test tickle" to make sure everything fit, lined up, and rotated freely. Start by removing the stock hub/rotor and caliper... then pop on the massive 13" rotors and four-pot Brembo calipers... rotate the greasy fingerprints out of view... and slap on a wheel... That was with the 1" spacer we had on before. We took that off and tried again... There's about a gnat's gnose gnugget of clearance! I spun the wheel and took a couple pictures of the motion blur... to prove it really does clear. We are going to put at least one 1/4" spacer in there (more likely 1/2", but we'll see) just to be on the safe side. The hydraulic gubbins to hook it all up are ready to go as well... They fit together something like this... So, as my grandmother used to say, "Lord willin' and the crick don't rise," we should have it all installed Saturday. Keen eyed viewers might have noticed that the "stock" picture was of the driver's side, whereas the "test tickle" happened on the passenger side... They might also have noticed that we put the wrong rotor on. We acknowledge this, and assure you that we will put the rotors on their correct sides when the final install occurs. Edited August 15 by dimlight65 3 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted August 17 Report Share Posted August 17 (edited) After we greased the bearings, we popped new seals in the hubs... and bolted the mo-fo's on permanently... Juan can see the two 1/4" spacers we're running for clearance insurance. Here they are with some wheel well for scale... Then we installed the hydraulic lines. Driver's side... and passenger side... There's a plugged 3/16 reverse flare port there just in case I go all data log crazy and want to add a brake pressure gauge in the future... After bleeding the system, we put the wheels on and dropped it on the ground... And then it was test drive time! The BNSF Family Day Car Show is coming up in October, and I do not want to miss it again this year! Therefore, we are going to wait until after that to start looking at the rear disc brake conversion. Also, John has convinced me that it needs a lighter flywheel so... Edited August 17 by dimlight65 2 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 (edited) 22 hours ago, dimlight65 said: Also, John has convinced me that it needs a lighter flywheel so... I'm off (my meds, and off) to Summit... Never mind. Summit doesn't want my money after all. But at least it wasn't a totally wasted trip... I had a nice Italian Beef sandwich on the way home. Edited August 18 by dimlight65 2 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted August 22 Report Share Posted August 22 I mooched a Benjamin from my sister and went to the gas station... That's way better than the $4 per gallon Hi-Test that the Smart insists on! Pumping in the van... until it pukes onto the ground... Oops! Feh, what has the environment done for ME lately? I managed to get 28 gallons into the 35 gallon tank... So I think there might be an air pocket on the top of the tank that I'm not venting properly. Well, I'm not dropping the tank to try and fix it right now! We'll just see how far this takes me and decide if I can live with it. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted August 22 Author Report Share Posted August 22 Also, we tried to get a good rolling photo on the way to the petrol station, but failed due to me using a phone instead of a real camera. Will try again with a real camera soon... 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted August 24 Report Share Posted August 24 (edited) I drove her to work Thursday and Friday. She tootles down the freeway very nicely. Someone at work asked how fast it is and I mumbled something about seeing 120 once. Of course, I got to thinking about that statement and began to doubt myself. I put my foot down on the way home and saw 110... um, when I took that detour to the racetrack, of course! I probably had a few more revs in there but my exit... I mean, the next corner, was coming up. I am also convinced the rear axle is moving side to side too much. We really need to install the Panhard bar. I have the axle mount, rod ends, and bungs to make a rod, but the mount... is for a 3" tube whereas the axle is like 5"! Also there might be a gas tank in the way. We'll have a good grok when we get serious about installing the rear disc brakes. Stay tuned! Edited August 24 by dimlight65 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted August 25 Report Share Posted August 25 That imagined top speed run might induce some smiles. How is it for balance? Lots of road-hugging weight? 🤣 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted August 25 Report Share Posted August 25 1 hour ago, EDM620 said: That imagined top speed run might induce some smiles. How is it for balance? Lots of road-hugging weight? 🤣 The googles tell me it's curb weight should be around 4,000 lbs. We've added... ok, ok, I have added some weight to it (John is innocent of any added heft). But I bet we're still in the neighborhood as we've also removed some weight as well. As to your question, it is very balanced and takes turns... um, better than my candy-ass is willing to attempt. (See the comments at the top of this very page about "This old girl.") Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted August 26 Report Share Posted August 26 Well, I am in a bit of a quandary. I re-ordered the flywheel from a different vendor at a much better price, but the donk is beginning to smoke a bit. Yesterday on the way to the gun show, my buddy Larry was following me and said it puffed out blue smoke when I would lift off the throttle. Today when I fired it up at work, I saw a cloud of blue. So... I guess I need to start looking for another motor to rebuild... and put the light flywheel on... and stick my rumepety cam in... and put aluminum heads on... and... and... 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted August 29 Report Share Posted August 29 (edited) Well, the lightweight flywheel is here! 13lbs vs 27lbs stock! I don't know if we will try putting it on this tired old donk, or just add it to the growing pile of parts for the next motor... which will be coming soon, because... We ran a back to back acceleration test today to try and convince me that the Smart car is, in fact, NOT quicker than the Dajiban... I am almost embarrassed to admit that the Smart IS, in fact, just a bit quicker than the Dajiban. Yes, a 900cc THREE cylinder is quicker than my 5,200cc V8! Edited August 29 by dimlight65 1 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 6 Report Share Posted September 6 On 8/28/2024 at 7:53 PM, dimlight65 said: the next motor... which will be coming soon We have decided to go with a reman 5.2 Magnum. I have one good reason and a few justification/excuse reasons. J/E 1: With a 4.02 first gear, and 4.10 R&P, I want an engine that will rev. (Therefore, a 5.2 instead of a 5.9.) J/E 2: The 5.2 is internally balanced whereas the 5.9 is an external balance donk. (I don't like the idea of external balance.) J/E 3: With my 500 CFM carb, a 5.2 won't run out of air at the top end like a 5.9 will. (I have no parenthetical statement for this one.) J/E 4: The rumpety cam I bought is better suited to a 5.2. (Ok, that one is total bullshit that I pulled out of my ass... but I'm still going with it.) J/E 5: The Googles tell me that the 5.2 Magnum iron heads are capable of about 400 horsepressure at 6000 RPM. (I don't expect that much though.) But the real reason was something our engine rebuilder said. What he said was, "We have three 5.2s on the shelf, ready to go... but no 5.9s." 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted September 7 Report Share Posted September 7 3 hours ago, dimlight65 said: I want an engine that will rev. (Therefore, a 5.2 instead of a 5.9.) I like that J/E alone Giv'er 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 7 Report Share Posted September 7 19 hours ago, EDM620 said: 23 hours ago, dimlight65 said: I want an engine that will rev. (Therefore, a 5.2 instead of a 5.9.) I like that J/E alone Giv'er To be honest, the reason that is a "justification/excuse" is the fact that I will probably never rev the thing past what even a 5.9 is comfortable with. Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 7 Report Share Posted September 7 So, you might have noticed in recent pictures that the headlight tint was looking a bit grotty... Ok, totally grotty! We gave them a respray today... and they look so much better! We also removed the (also grotty looking) hood for a respray... gave it a sanding... and a few coats of paint... But we didn't like the finish so we're holding off on final pictures for now. 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted Saturday at 07:15 PM Report Share Posted Saturday at 07:15 PM (edited) A new oil pan arrived... along with a pair of 1.3 quart extension wing thingies... the plan being something like this... So I grabbed the angle grinder and cut into a brand new oil pan... and kept trimming until... And from the inside... I will do the same to the other side and zook them in place. I'm quite chuffed with how this side turned out. Oh, I also scored a pair of SRT Brembo calipers for the rear... They are identical to the ones I was going to use but are already Brembo red and don't say Chevrolet on them. Edited Saturday at 07:21 PM by dimlight65 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted yesterday at 06:32 PM Report Share Posted yesterday at 06:32 PM 23 hours ago, dimlight65 said: and don't say Chevrolet on them Bonus! 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted 22 hours ago Report Share Posted 22 hours ago I decided to see if it was a "Tim Can Weld" day... They aren't pretty welds, but let's see if they leak... One tiny pinhole leak. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. With that side mostly done, I cut a whopping great hole in the other side of the pan... fit the wing and beat on the metal to get it where I wanted it... and it will look something like this when I'm finished welding... I ran out of welding rods so I couldn't continue. But I think it's going to be pretty cool. I hope it fits in the chassis. 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted 22 hours ago Report Share Posted 22 hours ago 26 minutes ago, dimlight65 said: let's see if they leak.. Can you test with some pressure? Crankcase pressure levels... 26 minutes ago, dimlight65 said: I hope it fits in the chassis. 🤞 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted 19 hours ago Report Share Posted 19 hours ago 3 hours ago, EDM620 said: Can you test with some pressure? Crankcase pressure levels... Not sure how to do that, but we'll finger something out. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted 2 hours ago Author Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 19 hours ago, EDM620 said: Can you test with some pressure? Crankcase pressure levels... With a functional PCV valve (and good rings), there is no crankcase pressure. It should be under a vacuum. 👍 All that is really needed (in my experience) is to gravity check for leaks with a fluid that is thinner than motor oil. Quote Link to comment
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