55.2-59 1956 Chevy 4x4 Big Block Mini-Thread

[daveshilling]

Gents, brought another one home to tinker on for a little while and then send it along. This won't be a build as much as a place to share some photos here and there and give yall a lil more entertainment.

She's a 56 Long stepper, with a '68 396 and a TH400. It's got oil in it, it turns over by turning the fan...I'm guessing they had either some carb issues or transmission problems and parked it for 20 years.


Plans:

Remove the plants and animals
See if this big block will run
Figure out all the little quirks she has, take pictures.
Probably sell it because I can't keep 'em all.

[daveshilling]

First thing's first...Try to piss off the neighbors a bit less and get some tires on him... Found some mudders on Facebook for $100.

Unfortunately I learned a lesson the hard way. This truck has 1973 Dodge W100 axles, and the driver side studs are left-hand thread. I discovered that after snapping off all the lugnuts.

5 studs one the way with left hand thread... I'm gonna stop the madness!

[dsraven]

quite the lift kit there. probably no pinion angle changes under hard accell....
keep posting, doesn't look too bad from a distance, whaddya REALLY got?

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by dsraven

quite the lift kit there. probably no pinion angle changes under hard accell....
keep posting, doesn't look too bad from a distance, whaddya REALLY got?

The body is very straight, and the rust is down low only, and pretty minor. Not enough for me to fix, but I could see someone wanting to go to town and patch things up. Even the hinge pockets are solid!

[6DoF]

that cap is awesome

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

that cap is awesome

Trucks with camper shells just seem to find me! This is my fourth one, but it has all of its glass and is in good shape!

[daveshilling]

FINALLY got these wheel studs delivered, and found a great tip online to use a ball joint separator to press these in so I didn't have to remove the hub. Saved TONS of time and effort.

[daveshilling]

And now... with new used mudders, she is ready for her photoshoot!

[daveshilling]

hosed down the interior a bit

[G&R's57GMC]

Time for an update ?

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by G&R's57GMC

Time for an update ?

Replacement hi-torque mini starter is in but heck if I cant sort out how to wire thing... switching from GM 3 post to a 2 post, but it already has HEI, and leaving the run wire off isn't the answer, it doesn't even try to turn over. Internet says "some ignitions use the run wire with HEI"

I did fuss with the old starter, and a bench test seemed sort of hopefulish...it extends and turns, but sounds sort of weak. I might try reinstalling that and seeing what happens

[dsraven]

just to clarify, the HEI distributors take a large wire for power. the stock coil supply wire is not gonna work.
the starter usually has a big lug for the power supply from battery and a smaller connection to energise the solenoid and get the starter working. the old solenoid has 3 wires and the 3rd wire was to supply power to the dist when the starter was in motion because the normal power supply to "run" at the coil is a lesser voltage with a ballast resitor wired inline so the coil doen't burn itself up. what do you have for an ignition switch, the old fashioned key on the dash? a 10ga wire could be run from the ign post on that to the HEI as long as the ign switch also has a 10ga power supply that is fused. then the distributor should power up. if your truck was originally a 6 cyl it likely had a foot starter with a totally different style of starter that you are used to seeing and wouldn't have had a "start" position on the ign switch. the newer switches with that function for start are available, even at farm equipment stores, for cheap enough.

[dsraven]

show a pic of the starter if you can, the high torque one.

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by dsraven

just to clarify, the HEI distributors take a large wire for power. the stock coil supply wire is not gonna work.
the starter usually has a big lug for the power supply from battery and a smaller connection to energise the solenoid and get the starter working. the old solenoid has 3 wires and the 3rd wire was to supply power to the dist when the starter was in motion because the normal power supply to "run" at the coil is a lesser voltage with a ballast resitor wired inline so the coil doen't burn itself up. what do you have for an ignition switch, the old fashioned key on the dash? a 10ga wire could be run from the ign post on that to the HEI as long as the ign switch also has a 10ga power supply that is fused. then the distributor should power up. if your truck was originally a 6 cyl it likely had a foot starter with a totally different style of starter that you are used to seeing and wouldn't have had a "start" position on the ign switch. the newer switches with that function for start are available, even at farm equipment stores, for cheap enough.

Ignition is a column mount from a 1972 Buick Electra. Since there's no coil and ballast resistor due to HEI, there's no normal reason to have the run wire attached to anything, but somehow they had it connecting and functioning somewhere. i havent traced it back yet, its a nest of wires.

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by dsraven

show a pic of the starter if you can, the high torque one.

not much to see, looks like all of them. typical two post bat and run

[dsraven]

gonna hafta trace it back and see where it goes I guess.

[G&R's57GMC]

Humm ‘72 Buick column, the switch should be mounted low on the column . It most likely is pre HEI . I don’t think HEI came out until ‘74 so the switch would be different than the ‘72 switch . The HEI requires a 10 gauge wire so the switch would have to be able to carry the higher current .
Food for thought if your switch doesn’t have a 10 gauge wire feeding it and a 10 gauge wire to the distributor from it then it also won’t have the circuit inside to supply the distributor during crank and run .
But what do I know it’s been 26 years since I retired from the auto repair trade .

[G&R's57GMC]

An other thought you mentioned it had the bypass wire hooked up to the original starter solenoid and the new starter doesn’t have that lug .

I wonder if that wire was tied into the distributor feed circuit by whoever did the swap and that wire is too small to carry the current the HEI requires.
I also wonder if there’s a relay somewhere in the circuit to provide the current to the distributor , again done by the swapper .

[dsraven]

unless you are the one who rewired it, I would go to the HEI and see what ga of wire is power supply, then follow it back to see where it goes, should be the ign switch, and see that the feed for the ign switch also has a large ga power feed (fused of course). Then follow the secondary wire at the starter and see where it goes, shouldn't be required with the proper ign switch installed.