April 2018
I started up the rebuilt engine for the first time with help from my brother who was visiting. After fashioning a tool for my drill, we spun the oil pump to lubricate the engine, then inserted the distributor, and cranked it up. A little tweaking of the timing and idle mixture got it running smoothly, and we then let it run for about 20 minutes for cam break-in. Oil pressure and water temperature are good; sounds great.
The engine temp started getting a little warm just sitting there in the driveway at high idle on a 84 degree day, but putting a fan in front of the truck blowing on the radiator resolved that. The stock fan sits back 2 or 3 inches from the radiator, and there is no fan shroud; might be a good candidate for an electric cooling fan this summer.
There was a minor oil leak at the front of the oil pan, but re-torquing the oil pan bolts resolved the leak.
I fabricated some new rear upper shock mounts following the design suggested on this forum by Lakeroadster; this mount relocates the upper shock mount a little higher and further back so that the shock is more upright and will operate correctly (
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=451200 ) .
I don't have access to a mill, so I made these mounts using my side grinder with a cutoff wheel for the cutout area and my drill press for the holes.
After a little research, I chose to use Monroe Gas-Magnum 34904 shocks instead of the Monroe 32207 that are often suggested on this forum. The 34904 are very close in length dimensions to the 32207, but are a little beefier in that they have a larger diameter rod and cylinder. My truck has a tread plate rear bed floor that I estimate adds 250 to 300 pounds to the bed, so I think the additional damping may be helpful.
I haven't driven this setup yet, but it has very good damping when I put my weight on the rear bumper and try to bounce the truck.