Project "Booger"

[BigDaddyV]

Awesome!
as far as better... I doubt that.

[Low Elco]

Glad Boog is working out well.
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[americanthunder]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Glad Boog is working out well.
Posted via Mobile Device

Hes working out great actually which is quite surprising! (knocking on wood) Put some new shocks on the old man this weekend and it drives like a new truck now. Spent some time topping off fluids and rechecked the timing and somehow it had moved considerably. I added 1.5 quarts of ATF as it wasnt reading on the dipstick and it puked some of it back out on the ground for me this morning after sitting overnight. I'm hoping I just spilled some down the side of the stick. Any ideas?

[jlsanborn]

Not leaking out the tail shaft past the slip yoke is it?

[americanthunder]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Not leaking out the tail shaft past the slip yoke is it?

Nah its coming from the front...Dust cover. Funny I didnt have a leak until I added a quart and a half of fluid. There is a breather up top I think maybe its overfilled now?

[americanthunder]

Still fighting with this darn tranny leak. Appears the filler tube is leaking even though I pulled it, installed a new o-ring, and siliconed around it Anytime its parked downhill it leaks and seems to still be coming from the base of the trans dipstick/filler tube. Oh well I just park it up hill a$$ end down from now on

Got some goodies in the mail yesterday to round out ol boog..TUNES!



Ended up going with the Custom Autosound USA-630 300watt jobber from a seller on ebay. Slick unit as it plays MP3's and has alot of modern features yet when its off it appears as if it belongs and I didnt have to cut the dash! Also picked up the cheapo kickpanel speakers which required ALOT of Modification to fit around the Fresh air and Recirc vents and this is an AC truck. In the end they look pretty good. Sound is marginal but Im not really that picky. Maybe someday I'll upgrade the speakers and add a sub or something. For now it works just fine!

Also added the MR Gasket 1" phenolic spacer under the carb yesterday to try and help with the hard starting the edelbrock gives me when its hot. Todays gonna be 100+ degrees so I'll report back if it actually makes a difference or not. Pops right off in the morning but Im tired of cranking and cranking when its hot out!

[jlsanborn]

Cool looking radio! I've been looking at some of them kick panel boxes and always wondered how well they'd fit and look. Any photos of them?
I'd think the oil level should be below the tube interface? Did that trans come with the tube / stick? Don't think there were different lengths but who knows??

[americanthunder]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Cool looking radio! I've been looking at some of them kick panel boxes and always wondered how well they'd fit and look. Any photos of them?
I'd think the oil level should be below the tube interface? Did that trans come with the tube / stick? Don't think there were different lengths but who knows??

I'll try and snap a photo of the kick panels when I get a chance today.

I think it is below UNTIL the truck is parked on an incline (in my case my driveway) and the fluid is in the front of the pan. I used the old dipstick but did remove the pan to verify that the hash marks were in the right location before I installed. On level ground the fluid is dead on, leaning downhill its overfilled. Thus the reason I think its weeping out around it. The leaking is just a drip on instead of a puddle. I just hate having leaks or I wouldnt even worry about it!

[jlsanborn]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Hmmm no experience here but it sounds like you spun that pilot in the end of the crank and she's seized in there. Whether you do it now or after the trans is out you're gonna have to get them apart. Prolly a lot less messy if you can do it now. Pry bar? Good luck man and I hope that crank is ok!

This has me wondering about your trans leak. I've seen where that pilot on the converter gets spun then won't center up perfectly with the crank. The bolts from the flex plate and converter have clearance. It's the pilot that precisely centers things up. The seal in the front of the trans is holding back pressurized fluid, so just a small imperfection will generate quite a leak.

[americanthunder]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

This has me wondering about your trans leak. I've seen where that pilot on the converter gets spun then won't center up perfectly with the crank. The bolts from the flex plate and converter have clearance. It's the pilot that precisely centers things up. The seal in the front of the trans is holding back pressurized fluid, so just a small imperfection will generate quite a leak.

Yea thats been rattling around in the back of my mind too. Just odd that I drove it 2000+ miles no leaks. Then I remember I never topped off the trans fluid and add a little. Its definitely leaking from the dipstick tube then appears to be running down and dripping from the TC dust cover. Im gonna pull the cover tonight just to make sure its all dry in there. Gotta change the oil again already since now Im at about 3600 miles and havent changed since 600.

[americanthunder]

Just an update on ol boog..As of last week I hit the 5000 mile mark since putting the old fella together so it was time to tackle a few of the things that had been bugging me since day one and it was time to tackle a few things that I had to tackle in order to keep driving the old fella.

First, I finally got the trans dipstick to quit leaking. Had to pull it about 3 times and put lots of RTV where it enters the pan. Pain in the a$$ but it finally stopped leaking. Then Friday I could smell burning trans fluid again and this time it was leaking from the supply side where it enters the radiator. When I put the old fella together I was a little worried as the threads didnt seem real good on the radiator but it wasnt leaking. Maybe all the jarring I did searching for the last leak was all it took. In any case I just installed a remote tranny cooler and that solved the leaking issue.

I also had a rattle behind the seat that was driving me crazy. Removed the seat, tightened all the tank bolts but found that the seat belt bolts allow the belt to rattle. Not sure if there was a bushing or something in there when I took it apart that was a long time ago! Anyway it still rattles.

Gave boog his second oil change. Really wasnt that dirty. Reset the timing to 12 Below again to try it again. He seems to like more advance but he runs pretty darn hot here in AZ and even after installing the carb spacer he starts a little hard. Hoping something solves that issue since its embarrassing as hell having to crank and crank to start when its hot. We'll see what today brings.

Now for the fun stuff...I never really liked how the LMC exhaust fit, or the sound of it. Was far too loud for my taste and didnt tuck up nice under the truck so I took it to a muffler shop in town and had everything redone from the manifolds back. Guy did a really nice job and installed two flowmasters so now boog has a nice growl without all the annoying rasp! here is a pic of how I had it exit the rear:


Still would like to get a spare tire in there I hope there is room. Sounds wonderful though!

Speaking of sound. The speakers that came with the Custom Autosound kickpanels had all but given up the ghost in less than a month so I had ordered some 3 way kenwoods and I got those installed. Heres a pic:


Sound is sooo much better but I think it still needs a sub

Got done installing the speakers, went to start the truck and nothing..hmm..Checked the battery and it was dead. Off to Napa I go to get a new battery. Put in the new battery fired boog up and shut down for the night. Came out the next morning and it was dead again Something was drawing the battery dead quick. I unhooked the neg cable and attached a test light and sure enough it lit up with everything disconnected. after pulling every fuse it was still lit. Finally I pulled the hot side of the alternator and sure enough the diode in the brand new alternator was fried. Took that down to Napa and swapped it out and now all seems good! The lesson of the story here is just because the parts are new doesnt mean they arent the problem. Ive been through 3 fuel pumps before one finally worked and my first starter only lasted 2 days. Hope I've worked all the bugs out now.

Finally, I gave the old guy his first waxing. I wanted to make sure the paint was totally cured. What I've learned is this paint stays pretty soft even when cured. The good news is its easy to touch up.

Heres the old fella all shined up and ready for work this week:



Time to work!

[Low Elco]

Good to see Ol Boog livin the good life! Do customers dig on him? My Camino used to be a great icebreaker when I went on field visits!
Posted via Mobile Device

[americanthunder]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Good to see Ol Boog livin the good life! Do customers dig on him? My Camino used to be a great icebreaker when I went on field visits!
Posted via Mobile Device

Man it makes it hard to get work done sometimes Everyone always want to talk about the truck It is a great icebreaker though!

[jlsanborn]

Nice work! Exhaust looks way better and I bet the Flowmasters sound sweet. Does the driver's side speaker box get in the way of your feet at all? They sure look clean and I bet the KW speakers are a big improvement too.

[americanthunder]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Nice work! Exhaust looks way better and I bet the Flowmasters sound sweet. Does the driver's side speaker box get in the way of your feet at all? They sure look clean and I bet the KW speakers are a big improvement too.

Yes the exhaust sounds sooooooo much better! The drivers side speaker box didnt get in the way of anything. The KW speakers do however get scraped when you apply the parking brake since they are quite a bit taller than the speakers that came with the kick panels. You can still depress it though!

[Palf70Step]

Glad Boog is hanging in there and getting better!

It looks great!

[americanthunder]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Glad Boog is hanging in there and getting better!

It looks great!

Slowly working the kinks out...So far they have just been minor and normal routine for driving and old vehicle..Kinda feel like Im back in high school again standing out in the driveway with the hood up every evening