[Project] JUST ENUFF

Here's the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200365545387&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_7869wt_1165

It was ordered on Monday and I received them on Wednesday.

I was also looking at a 2 row alum. radiators, but the the 2 cooling fans that came w/ the 3 row sold me. Along w/ their lifetime warranty and 60 day money back guarantee.

OK OK
Maybe our project threads should be supplemented w/ "PROBLEM" threads. Rolling Eyes

First was my overheating issue (note: nothing to do w/ the suspension mods I've been doing). I got the radiator, fans, grill and bumper installed. Very smooth installation for the most part. Drove it in to work yesterday, it never went above 210 degrees, so that seems to be working rather nicely. No complaints, problem solved.

On the way home the truck just died while coming up to a stop light. Little bit of a back-fire and just shut off.... no warning. Discovered I have no spark, no other obvious problem w/ the ignition system. Past experiences w/ my Chevy's when this has happend, has been the Ignition Control Module needed to be replaced. I rolled the dice and decided to get a new one. BZZZT! still no spark angry3
Since free towing is part of my insurance plan, decided to get the truck back to my house to do more troubleshooting. First time this truck has been on a flat bed since the V8 mod many years ago.

Right now I'm inclined to think it could be the internal coil inside the distributor cap (it's an HEI). Though I don't hear of these going out very often.(?)


BTW: Suspension is working great though Cool .... need stiffer springs in the front, UCAS, LCAs, power steering, etc... but those front end mods will be coming later this year. I'm keeping the variable rate springs in the rear.... I see no reason to change to linnears. I'm surprised by this.

Anyhow, any input on my "no spark" issue is appreciated

Check the fuse?
Test the coil. It happened on my old TBI 350 and I thought the same thing, they never go bad. Asked an old timer and he said to test it.

Took it for a 5 mile beat run yesterday. Running like a champ.
A bad coil was the cause of my ignition issue. When the windings start to separate within the coil, it creates more heat inside the distributor cap. Ignition Control Modules don't like repeated exposure to overheating. So the ICM ended up failing to heat exposure caused by the failing coil. I'm sure the over-heating prior to the radiator swap contributed to the failure. Getting a cowl hood would really help getting that hot air out of the engine compartment. Since I'm a sheet metal fabricator..... I have a unique plan for addressing that issue. Maybe this fall I'll get started on that.

Here's a shot of the installed radiator and e-fans.

(http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv144/journeyman66/IMG_4216.jpg)

And a side view.

(http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv144/journeyman66/IMG_4217.jpg)

I'm prolly gonna fab an aluminum sheet metal shroud since I now have plenty of clearance w/ the new dual fan setup.

New unbent bumper and grill. Just need a new bow-tie.

(http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv144/journeyman66/IMG_4218.jpg)

looks good man

lookin awsome man.

much better!

are those the rad mounts that you can flip and mount the rad in the support for fan clearance?

Thanks guys.
I just made those Z brackets and utilized the rubber bushings that were used on the old radiator.
I suppose you could fit the radiator in that opening, but it would be a tight squeeze. Also some notching would have to be done to get the cap off & on.

The JTR manual recommends doing that to gain clearance if you want to run a clutch fan.

for some reason they swear by clutch fans over efans...

only downside i found to the manual is that there are a lot of personal opinions in the book, not to mention there is hardly nothing about wiring and the 2nd gen section is garbage.

I wish I would have gotten one of those manuals when I did my swap. Probably would have saved me some time & headaches back then.

I tried a pulley driven fan when I did the swap ages ago. I don't remember exactly which kind it was (clutch, flex, solid?). It fit, but I got better cooling w/ the e-fan. Using a shroud would probably help the most, no matter which style of fan is used.
I drove the truck into work today. We are looking at a temp in the high 80s today. This will be a good test for the new radiator on the way home this afternoon.

BTW: This morning I trounced a newer Mustang GT at a stop light .... felt gooood! haha

I found a link to this thread today on pro-touring.com 

So when do we get a video?

"off camber" ? Running from the law? 

My "camera mounted to the dash board w/ duct tape" system was a complete failure. Now my wife is all pissed about the tape residue on her camera... women! sheesh!

Pro-touring website and corner carvers are the 2 best places for suspension tech on the web IMO. Look for any post by Norm Peterson and you will be provided w/ lots of terms to Google in order to understand his posts. I am actually at the point where I understand about 55% of what he writes. haha

Yeah, Norm is awesome. It's a shame, I used to live about 3 miles from him in NJ. Found out after I moved.

LOL @ the camera.

And the name. Well I'm a little off so it fits...haha

It was pretty neat rereading this thread. I must say I hate multi quotes now...lol

Norm Peterson? The guy that was on Cheers?

Thank you off camber for transferring this project from the old site!!! Helluva lotta work. I'm very grateful.

I don't have any updates yet, but thought I'd share some insight---

If I did this all over again:
I woulda just back-halved the frame and started from scratch. With the notch, new x-bracing and boxing the frame, it created a lot more work than just purchasing some tube steel and forming the frame to accommodate a completely  different suspension design. I probably would have been able to cut quite a bit of weight w/ the back-half too (not that our trucks need to be even LIGHTER in the ass end!).
I must confess… in May I almost cut the whole frame off right behind the cab mounts and started over. I had some drinks in me and was 2nd guessing myself. I had the sawzall plugged in and in-hand when I decided “I just need to finish it and move on.”

Every body knows (including me) you should finalize your design BEFORE cutting into your project. I wasnÂ’t even aware of how ignorant I was about 4-link geometry until I had the frame notched and all the original suspension components tore out and thrown in the back yard. I read a couple decent articles about these suspensions and figured IÂ’d follow the basic guide lines written in places like Mini Truckin, Sport Truck, s10 Forum and other bagger sites. I soon began to realize that most of the designs I see in the magazines are about as safe as a seat belt made out of rubber bands. It was sites like this one that taught me what I didnÂ’t know, so I could research important information I need to design a performance minded suspension.

Suspension geometry is a deep rabbit hole to dwell into. The more you learn, the more you realize what you donÂ’t know. I suggest using a suspension calculator after you understand design basics and can know what parameters you want to fall within. With this type of knowledge, youÂ’ll be better able to make decisions on what compromises you WILL need to make.
 After the geometry is established, then you need to figure out structural engineering (bind, travel, bars, bushings, mounts, spring rates etcÂ…). My particular design didnÂ’t have many examples to learn from, but itÂ’s best to see what other people are using with like-minded goals. Google is your friend. So is the “search” function in every forum that you visit. If you donÂ’t know what something meansÂ…. Look it upÂ… itÂ’s out there somewhere in the internet.

I forgot to ever mention why I named this project “JUST ENUFF”: I figured I have just enough brains, just enough skills, just enough resources, and just enough balls to pull this build off. We shall see…..

My project isnÂ’t done. I thought this might be a good point to pause and reflect ...:-\Â….
I will now move onto some body modifications and getting the front end geometry and braking improved.
 More research!

I went through the same thing with the last truck except mine got cut up and scraped. You made a lot of very good points in that post and pointed out what most people overlook.

Suspension geometry is a deep rabbit hole to dwell into. The more you learn, the more you realize what you donÂ’t know.

I kind of scares me at times how that works.

Like I said, this is a very important project for the forum. Lots of info and as you learned we all learned. You are very good at explaining your thoughts and theories which is very helpful.

After beating on the truck for a few months, now it's time to pull it in the garage & finish what I started.
I had a scrap piece of aluminum kicking around, so I took measurements and formed up a shroud for the new radiator and e-fans. The aluminum was pretty oxidized, as you can see:



But just some scotch-brite and a little elbow grease can clean it up fairly well:



It fit well. the fans now have about 5/16" clearance from the water pump pulley.... I hope that's okay!



Next up is some touch up paint for the frame, fab that aluminum bed floor, and stick some roll-on bed liner to finish it off.

That came out really nice. Good to see you working on it again.

What kind of brake did you use for that? It turned out really good.