The Wanderers build

[superbuickguy]

there's little left of the 'other' brake tree...

note to self - pull the master cylinder before trying to put the tree in...

fun how the master cylinder just blends into the firewall..

to make the old fit in the new - take the return spring bracket off

then the part off the clutch arm

the hard part - connecting the clutch master cylinder... many parts were reused
but the benefit is the clutch arm bolts on - thus if I don't like the action of the throwout - I can move its pivot point

to remind - the problem - the throttle cable/cruise control solenoid occupy the same space as the dual thermostat crossover

flipping it over solves several problems - but there are others... first of which the bleeder is now under the thermostat...

plumbing this will be entertaining and I'm likely going to re-aim the inlet so that the throttle position sensor has room to rotate. In addition, there will be provisions for bleeder lines from the back of the head to the crossover (along with another bleed port).
despite my stupid camera not opening its lens... this is the dual thermostat crossover for a 6.5 - clever solution, actually, I'm going to make it even better but here is one of the ways to make a Detroit diesel survive.

now the fast idle solenoid hits (and I'll truly need to figure that one out)

getting close to a solution

this gets the throttle cable to attach and leaves just figuring out the cruise control (which I'll probably just move up

all clears so far

 

[superbuickguy]

nothing warms my heart more then household electrical wire ties.

now the tree is back... in black

and installed

then time to remove the wiring nightmare....

an overview is the prior owner added a bunch of extra grounds... and had bare wires dangling under the dash... oh Bubba - you obviously stopped with Corvettes and went to Blazers...
now let me whip out this big thing... and steal bolts off it

the 6.5 crossover - will work fine but I'm going to add a flex joint in an attempt to save exhaust seals

The steering column would be back in but I'm replacing some parts - and they haven't yet arrived (won't be here until next week)... if I remember, I'll show how one threads the cruise control wire back down the column... it's not fun. then convert it to manual

There will be a break here for a week or so while I go race in the Optima Challenge. I get to drive to Willows California (700 miles) - to go race in the rain... should be fun, coming back, it looks like I'll be doing that in a snow storm. fun fun (no really, I love this stuff - but I also love doing Search and Rescue so I may not be normal - at least not in the traditional sense of the word).

 

[superbuickguy]

worked on 3 things tonight... throttle bracket, turbo oil return and coolant (which is related to the throttle bracket



I welded the wrong bung on the oil return... the right one

all ready to go

after moving the fuel bypass line... it works

cut at 22.5 degrees

reweld the piece back on

not pretty but it will do

installed.. we have clearance

 

[superbuickguy]

so this happened in the last week... fun stuff

If only the bacon brothers did steering columns...

I hate doing steering columns... I've done dozens... hated every one. GM problem - they ran a small wire from the cruise controller down the column. It'd break in at least 2 ways - either at the pivot of the tilt steering or at the signal (usually the signal). This one broke in both places

it literally means taking the steering column apart - don't even try to thread in the 3" or so ... it won't go because of the end ...
this is me giving up for now

and a new problem - I knew it was coming...

the fix is changing the a/c system... I'm thinking about putting a suburban system in as I'm building a camper for this once this step is done... but I may not - I bought a 24v a/c system for my wife's kennel - and it works pretty well, so I may simply use the 24v system to augment the truck's system or an aftermarket system. Bonus there is I get rid of the vacuum hvac system and remove one more part that can fail.
but first, put the clutch together

looks like it fits but it's about 1 1/2 inches too far forward

that said, I'm quite stoked that my guess at springs came out pretty close

 

[Todd780]

Love that Vette!

 

[superbuickguy]

Love that Vette!

thanks!

a tranny

nothing to see here....

it's in... what an utter pain

 

[superbuickguy]

driveshaft is a bit short...

time to seal this up

and this one too

bit of silicone

a lot of scrubbing

apparently 3 levels of gasket was the order of the day

but easy enough to make clean

and even more silicone

it's actually great stuff... love that stuff

seal hubs to axle

and done

picture of gearset for posterity

 

[superbuickguy]

so it was finally time to get the shop more reasonably organized... and get the Suburban inside to work on it

injection pump is bad - so going to use the one that came with the H1 motor

so in the front shop, the Sledanette is gone and in its place work space and Paul's C3

in real work, filling everything

yes, I tied it up

how to fill a transfer case - a hose adapter and drill bit

I told myself there was no way my flexifunnel would reach down to fill the transmission
and yet it did

and since I can't find the adapters - time to make something far more hokey

 

[superbuickguy]

back to the Suburban... need crows feet wrenches...

believe it or not, these help me with the blazer too

and now I realize I need to take another picture again... stupid camera...

onto something else
time to blow out some flanges so i can move the turbo

there is a lot of grinding

somewhere in this neighborhood

ordered a 90* 2 1/2" schedule 40 stainless pipe
and that's it for tonight

 

[superbuickguy]

onward

and out. be sure, when you're doing this, to note where the pin aims

look, a big, dirty hole

pro tip... there is no need to take the passenger side lines loose from the injectors... this will save you hours

and back in place with the 'new' one

I forgot to take a picture of the wrench I made which saved me a lot of time too.... next time.

 

[superbuickguy]

it runs... for a minute.
but first.. if you do this swap... this is how you get the bolts off the front of the injection pump

the gear can fall - and it would take a lot of work to get the timing off... possible, but hard to do (the gear meshes with another gear to drive the pump, you'd have to pick up on the gear with the pump out to screw with timing... and it's pretty close to the top so it would take some pretty impressive work to screw that up)
the injector line wrench

and how to turn the motor to get all 3 bolts

and it runs great... until the PMD gets off stone cold

it's common that the PMD is killed when the pump goes - and it was missing from the H1 motor - so I wait for a replacement ($50).

 

[superbuickguy]

In today's story, we're talking wind

swinging or flapping dog doors blow open on our slightly-breezy 40 mph wind days... so now we have an electric door.... but what does this have to do with the Blazer?
I need to make this windmaker fit

but first, 24v isn't going to do, so find a core that fits

first with the CAD

then positioning the turbo where it should fit

to be honest, I don't know - this is the crankcast vent - and that hole to shoot the exhaust down looks very tight

it does clear the hood

schedule 40 stainless bend.

so that's it for today, I also spent the day on my wife's JunK ... what did you get done today?

 

[superbuickguy]

tonight's task, get the steering column back together with the new stalk

pull the horn stuff off

remove the lock ring

pull the signal actuator (learning that the horn bit is screwed up and I need to replace it)

So... this is hard learning on my part - no one ever explains that the cable runs down the same tunnel as the other wiring..
first, install the stalk then run the wire 'down' and under the signal assembly

feed a (in my case, cable tie) stiff wire down the tunnel

see the cable tie end? don't bother trying to get it down the same tunnel as the signal wiring - it will try to go that direction but eventually stick where the wires because a single assembly

and here it is back together.... or together enough to go to the next step (which will be to eliminate the shifter and make it stay in position)

but that's tomorrow...

 

[superbuickguy]

two things going on at once, let's start with the 'burb'
$50 PMD controllers work just fine.
nice box, I observed

all new stuff, keep in mind that this stuff cost at least $300 the last time I priced it

nicely packaged

and it works. I need to time the Suburban - but my wife happily drove off in it about 30 minutes after I got it running... she claims to 'hate' it.... of course, if the PMD goes TU then she may not be so happy driving it... ah well, it's $50.

onto other stuff...
time to make the automatic column into a standard column (and those are rare as hens teeth)
first, weld the arm to the column tube

like this

I've done everything from buying the right parts and taking them utterly down to their last nut.... this way is easier and has the same result
then remove the lever and cut the stand off

like so

stuff anything into the hole then epoxy the holes... and in this case, the lower cover to the upper cover (it was falling off so it's fixed, now)
other tip is have the tilt in the lowest position - otherwise you'll glue the pivot to the housing.... ask me how I know... that's also why you stuff the hole full - otherwise the epoxy will make what should be moveable immovable

tomorrow sanding then blackening

and driveshaft angles are going to be an issue - this is full droop and the driveshaft is jammed in place...

I'll drop the t-case a bit more but I don't think it'll be enough. need to find a NP205... until then, I need to put limit straps in place

 

[superbuickguy]

for today's fun... getting rubber covers on pedals

easy, no?

time to sand and paint... and no, this is NOT a SEMA build - this is a truck I'm going to drive the tires off

a bit of paint

and now for that great game of "where do I plug this together... it works in 3d because not only do you have to know where the plugs go but also how to route them.. otherwise the column won't fit