Hello From Texas

BetsyRed63

BetsyRed63

Well-Known Member
First off, I would like to say thank you to all of you for sharing your knowledge.
I have lurked on a lot of forums for a while now and figured I liked this one. My better half calls me and my 14 year old lab her grumpy old men... I can relate.
I basically lived and breathed cars when I was younger. I put it aside while I started my first business around age 21. I worked myself to death (construction) and now here I sit late 30's with a 61 chevy c10 short bed big window. I have forgotten a lot, I remember little.

I'm not building a show car or restoring this truck to original state. I am keeping the body as is for now, I love the patina on the truck. I do furniture restoration and or refinishing and upholstery, so the truck fits me and what I do. Love shopping for junkie furniture in this thing.
It's on a 63 frame, new ball joints, springs, and shocks. Dropped a couple of inches. New wiring harness, new gauges, new glove box, wiper motor and arms, all new door and window mechanics, etc... Right now it has a 305. I have a fresh pump gas friendly 383 I will be dropping in soon, lacking a carb at the moment and few other parts.

I'm sure I will have a lot of stupid and not so stupid questions in the future, nice to have a place to ask them.

mA8q4zVl.jpg

75rZJyil.jpg
 
welcome too the site!
btw Im old enough to have driven several trucks like that when, they were almost new when, I was a "outside plant TECH" or maybe better known as "telephone lineman" in my early years with AT&T
 

Well you certainly got off on the right foot with photos ..... welcome to
the forum !!!

You should fit in real nice here with your DIY attitude. We LOVE questions
here, even stupid one! Ok you all in the background, if you have never asked
a stupid question, then you can cast the first stone! I'm waiting ............
Ok, so I don't see rocks coming our way. I think you are good to go ..... ask
away!!! :p

How about some details on that 383?

 
Thanks for the warm welcome. A DIY guy I am, I like to push my boundaries and challenge myself on what I can do. Sometimes it gets me in trouble because I want to figure things out on my own.

383, it is .030 over
Coated keith black pistons
Scat 5140 crank, GM rods
Moly rings and clev racing bearings.
New stainless valves and chrome moly retainer and locks
Multi angle valve job and mild port work.
Flat tappet cam 500 lift 112 dur
Double roller timing set.
Performer series intake
Looking for a 650 cfm mechanical sec to throw on it.

The truck is going to be a somewhat a daily. I probably drive less than the average.
 
BetsyRed63 said:
Thanks for the warm welcome. A DIY guy I am, I like to push my boundaries and challenge myself on what I can do. Sometimes it gets me in trouble because I want to figure things out on my own.

383, it is .030 over
Coated keith black pistons
Scat 5140 crank, GM rods
Moly rings and clev racing bearings.
New stainless valves and chrome moly retainer and locks
Multi angle valve job and mild port work.
Flat tappet cam 500 lift 112 dur ???? thats MUCH MORE likely to be the LSA (LOBE SEPARATION ANGLE) and an all too common mistake made,reading the cam spec card. the duration will fall in the 190-to-250 deg. at .050 lift range on 90% of street cams
Double roller timing set.
Performer series intake
Looking for a 650 cfm mechanical sec to throw on it.

The truck is going to be a somewhat a daily. I probably drive less than the average.
Click to expand...


that sounds like a good combo,do you know the brand and part number on the cam?
links that may prove useful
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=1477

viewtopic.php?f=52&t=324

viewtopic.php?f=52&t=1070
 
BetsyRed63 said:
New stainless valves and chrome moly retainer and locks
Multi angle valve job and mild port work.

Flat tappet cam 500 lift 112 dur
Click to expand...

That 383 should make that truck fun to drive for sure!!!

What heads and camshaft part number are you using. It will interesting to
look at all the camshaft parameters.

What transmission and rear gear are you running?

 
Hey BetsyRed, welcome aboard! one of my high school buddies had one just like her, cept he put in a 454 and she was wild and crazy. Good looking ole truck my friend!
 
Sorry, been pretty busy lately.

Here are some specs on it.

Cylinder Heads are GM Cast Iron 72cc Chamber
1.940 In valves
1.500 Ex valves
3/8 rocker studs
7 degree keepers
1.25 valve springs

350 GM Engine Block
GM Early 2 PC block Used
Block was line honed
Block was honed with honing plates
Engine was trial assembled
Lifter bores are honed

Keith Black .030 coated pistons

.030 Filt Fit Moly Rings

Scat 5140 Cast steel crank

Engine is balanced to a 400 wt

Stock rods 5.7 long

Stock style oil pan

Clev 77 large radius Main and rod bearings

Seal Power cam bearings

Brass Freeze Plugs

Set of Hyd. Lifters

Stock Rocker arms

Mell oil pump and drive

Mell oil pump pickup

ARP head bolts

ARP main bolts

Double Roller timing set
A mild street cam 480 lift 112 cen 224 dur at 50

I have an rpm air gap, thought about maybe doing away with the air gap, but I am going to use it for now. Trying to decide on a carb now. Leaning towards a holley 650 vac sec, electric choke. Although I do like mech secondaries and I am use to a heat type choke.
350th trans, not sure of the rear gears yet. I might remove the plate this weekend and see what I have in there.
Honestly I just picked the motor up today and already wish I had went with a fairly stock 454. I have a soft spot in my heart for a big block... Maybe next time!
 
BetsyRed63 said:
I have a soft spot in my heart for a big block..
Click to expand...

yeah! Ive build several dozens of small blocks and probably three times that many big blocks , because I've always felt the big blocks in almost all configurations have both better options in heads,bigger ports and valves, larger displacement , longer rods and stronger more robust components, guys go nuts over a 406-421 SBC but Ive yet to have any issues building a 402-427 that won,t run with or in most cases exceed the power the sbc produces.
a big block has the option to use 2.19-2.30 intake valves and 1.72-1.90 exhausts , ports generally range from about 235cc with peanut ports to over 405cc with the larger rectangle port heads.
its a rare factory small block head that will exceed 240cfm flow in stock form, even the peanut port big block heads will exceed that flow with minor clean-up porting and they are the worst available


BTW IM not alone there
http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/0707ch ... big-block/

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/projec ... m#cxrecs_s

viewtopic.php?f=69&t=5123&p=14765#p14765 (a great deal of related info)

http://www.maliburacing.com/patrick_budd_article.htm
 
Good articles, informative!

Short story, someone had this 383 built, fell on hard times, shop sold it to me. Got a really fair deal on it and that probably influenced me a bit.
Trust me, I have already thought about selling it and finding a bbc. I need to make up my mind before I drop the 383 in.
 
Indycars said:
BetsyRed63 said:
350th trans, not sure of the rear gears yet. I might remove the plate this weekend and see what I have in there.
Click to expand...

There is a much easier way to determine your gear ratio. Basically
you jack up the rear end and turn the wheel and count the
driveshaft revolutions.

http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/gear-ratio.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNgjS5mHI0E
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I have done it that way in the past, but I was not sure how accurate it was.
 
Looks like 3.55 gear ratio? 1 3/4 drive shaft revolutions to 1 tire revolution. Tires spin in opposite direction, so I only jacked up one side.
I don't think I want a true posi, maybe a limited slip might be better than open.
Trying to decide if I need anything over a stock converter.
 
BetsyRed63 said:
Looks like 3.55 gear ratio? 1 3/4 drive shaft revolutions to 1 tire revolution. Tires spin in opposite direction, so I only jacked up one side.
I don't think I want a true posi, maybe a limited slip might be better than open.
Trying to decide if I need anything over a stock converter.
Click to expand...

I bet it's plenty accurate for your needs. If you want to take it a step further, then rotate the wheel 10 turn. Then divide by 10 on the driveshaft revs, but I bet you can't be off more than one gear set ..... example 3.55 to 3.73. Do you need more than that kind of accuracy?

I'm not sure from your comments about a "true posi" if you understand what that really is. They are made to slip internally when the outside tires needs to turn faster than the inside tire when making a turn. I'm running a Ford version of the Pos-trac in my TBucket and even thou it only weighs about 1800 lbs, I don't have any troubles making a turn. You maybe thinking of what's called a Spool, where the two wheels are locked together.

Now whether you need one is kinda of grey area in my opinion for your situation as I perceive it. Sure two tires accelerating the truck is much better, but at what cost and how much will you really use it. Give more about your goals, and maybe we can all chime in with our thoughts to give you something to think about.

If you mean torque converter, then that will open a can of worms when you start talking about that. :D Maybe not so much on this forum, but I've seen that discussed on other forums and everybody likes something different. I would say sure go a little bit higher and it can ONLY help with little down side, but lets see what you have to say.

 
Indycars said:
BetsyRed63 said:
Looks like 3.55 gear ratio? 1 3/4 drive shaft revolutions to 1 tire revolution. Tires spin in opposite direction, so I only jacked up one side.
I don't think I want a true posi, maybe a limited slip might be better than open.
Trying to decide if I need anything over a stock converter.
Click to expand...

I bet it's plenty accurate for your needs. If you want to take it a step further, then rotate the wheel 10 turn. Then divide by 10 on the driveshaft revs, but I bet you can't be off more than one gear set ..... example 3.55 to 3.73. Do you need more than that kind of accuracy?

I'm not sure from your comments about a "true posi" if you understand what that really is. They are made to slip internally when the outside tires needs to turn faster than the inside tire when making a turn. I'm running a Ford version of the Pos-trac in my TBucket and even thou it only weighs about 1800 lbs, I don't have any troubles making a turn. You maybe thinking of what's called a Spool, where the two wheels are locked together.

Now whether you need one is kinda of grey area in my opinion for your situation as I perceive it. Sure two tires accelerating the truck is much better, but at what cost and how much will you really use it. Give more about your goals, and maybe we can all chime in with our thoughts to give you something to think about.

If you mean torque converter, then that will open a can of worms when you start talking about that. :D Maybe not so much on this forum, but I've seen that discussed on other forums and everybody likes something different. I would say sure go a little bit higher and it can ONLY help with little down side, but lets see what you have to say.
Click to expand...
Yes sir, I meant a spool. I think for my purpose the current rear end will be enough. My goals honestly are just to have a solid dependable mechanically sound truck. I just don't want to cheat myself by not improving on small things like torque converter etc...
I feel like there is no need for more stall cruising around town, but I hate to cheat my self on performance by skimping on something so easy to replace before dropping the motor in.
 
BetsyRed63 said:
My goals honestly are just to have a solid dependable mechanically sound truck. I just don't want to cheat myself by not improving on small things like torque converter etc...
I feel like there is no need for more stall cruising around town, but I hate to cheat my self on performance by skimping on something so easy to replace before dropping the motor in.
Click to expand...

Something around 2200 rpm stall would help accelerate the truck from a stop and give you a little room for a higher idle so you don't have to stand on the brake at the stoplight. Even higher if you main goal was the best performance possible. Dependability should not suffer. But only you can decide if the gain is worth the cost.

Maybe someone else would share their thoughts on a torque converter.

 
one of the very common misconceptions I hear repeated endlessly is that a higher stall speed converter will make the car used on the street a P.I.T.A. to drive and that if you select something like a 2800rpm stall converter the car won,t move until, the engine rpms hit near that rated stall speed.
the truth is that if you select the correct stall speed for the gearing and application your car will be far easier to drive on the street.
that of course mandates you know a bit about how to select a converter stall speed and match it to your cars power curve.even thought I have a 3200 stall converter the car pulls fine at 1900rpm-2200rpm at part throttle, but no longer wants to jump the car forward and stall the engine when its put into gear like it did with the stock converter stall speed, or bog and not move untill the rpms build
heres my current corvettes 383, its most efficient power is produced in the 3100rpm-6300rpm power band , I selected a 3200 rpm stall and 3.73:1 rear gear ratio, with 25" tire height and the trans shifts at near 6400rpm under wide open throttle
my383dcoma.jpg

the 383 sbc has 11:1 compression, and this cam, installed 4 degrees retarded and runs a extensively ported stealthram with 36lb injectors and a 58mm throttle body and long tube headers, with ported trick flow heads
crane119661.png

notice the power band in theory should be from about 2100rpm-thru about 6100rpm, but the tunnel-ram type intake and extensively ported heads and intake runners and retarding the cam timing move it up to near 2800rpm-thru-about 6400rpm, usiong a 3200rpm stall means I,m nearly instantly in the power when the throttles held firmly on the floor, and the 25" tires and 3.73:1 rear gear helps
Duration_v_RPM-Range_wIntakeManifold01.jpg

gear-chart.gif

camcomp.jpg


READ THESE THREADS
viewtopic.php?f=71&t=1715

viewtopic.php?f=71&t=741

viewtopic.php?f=71&t=555

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=430
 
Thanks for the info guys. I will read through those links you posted Grumpy.
I ran a hughes 2500 stall on the 85 chevy I had, 350 vortec heads, mild cam, 373 gears with limited slip. Accelerated and ran great.
I have a little knowledge of how they work, but less on how to determine the right one for my application. This info should help me chooce.

Thanks!

P.S. Could anyone link me to any fuel gauge trouble shooting links? Searched the forum but came up empty.
Don't think it's the sending unit, but it could possibly be.
 
Looks like it's been a while since I was here last. Work has kept me from doing many things I enjoy. I finally got to drop that 383 in (still wishing I would have found a big block). I think those stock heads are a really restricting the top end. It's pretty responsive and does suck you back in the seat a bit, but it's just not very overwhelming at all. Think I will try to find me an old 454 block that I can build myself over several years. It will be a really fun project anyways.

It's 10x better than the 305 that was in it for sure.
My wife thinks I am crazy, just got the 383 in and I already want to start a big block build ha...
 
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