February 20th Update: Running and DRIVING!
The day everyone dreams of, a day that lives in our memory forever, the day the wife never thought would happen. The first drive of my first major car project.
Having President's Day off from work and all the parts i needed, it was time to make this project a driver again. The last part i needed was the driveshaft that would fit between the th400 and the rear differential.
Drivelines NW was the shop that everyone recommended and they got the job done. Cut to length and balanced, plus new u-joints on both ends. The driveshaft came as a "bonus" when i got the truck, along with the th400 and a seized small block, all of which came from a mid 70's truck according to the serial numbers on the block. I brought the driveshaft from the '61 with me to the shop and they were able to measure for the correct size u-joint to connect to the rear diff. With a new set of straps for the front u-joint the installation was a piece of cake.
A few other items were quickly crossed off the list; a better alternator bracket so it didn't shake, "fill" the trans with fluid (i'll explain in a minute), slap on some temporary exhaust flex pipes, reinstall the seat and hood (neither super easy by myself) and finally clean out the bed and windshield from a year+ worth of dust and garbage collection.
With everything i could think of prepped, i started her and warmed up the engine. She still runs a little rough and needs some more tuning/adjustment to the idle mix and timing.
Since this is the first time i've ever attempted anything like this, and i was flying solo today, i was on the nervous side. I set up some wood blocks about 6' behind the truck so i wouldn't roll into the neighbor's cars if there was a catastrophic failure. With the engine warmed up I jumped in and shifted into reverse, maybe...or neutral...oh yeah there it is, reversing slowly, brakes work and we're stopped. Letting her idle a few seconds in park i reveled in my accomplishment; reversing for a whole 5'. It felt great.
Drive didn't seem to catch so i used 1st and rolled forward. Ok good, i can go backwards, forwards and i can stop. After repeating this twice more i figured we were ready for the alley.
Backing out of a garage door that is only 10" wider than your truck, into an alley with neighbor's cars really close, with a fresh engine and tranny swap and not having power steering makes you a really cautious driver. Luckily i had done this a few times when the truck had the inline 6 so i knew what the pattern was. Now that i was lined up and pointed down the alley I dropped her back into 1st and drove 100', then backed up, then drove it again. The brakes are spongy, the idle is rough and stalled out a time or two, and the trans hesitated going into gear, but i was driving a truck that i had pulled the engine out of and replaced with a V8! I felt like a bonafide hotrodder.
Killing the engine and starting it a bunch of times finally trained the battery (sidenote, i need to check and make sure the charging system is working). My neighbor was home and able to give me a quick jump and i pulled the Boomstick back into the garage after her maiden voyage. I claimed the day a major Win.
After talking with Hotrod Erik he informed me that i didn't use enough trans fluid and that was causing the shift delay. I poured 6 more quarts in for a total of 12 and the dipstick reads full. Quicky internet research had only given me the pan capacity, not the whole system capacity. I can't wait to get more time behind the wheel