Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Looks good! I remember the first set I did...more than a couple decades ago. No cool tools included back then, and I butchered a couple wires up pretty good. Those wires got a little short before I was done. lol

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Used those last year on my truck motor. Just as nice as the higher priced spread, IMO. I bought them because it was supposed to be a "budget build". But just bought some upgraded valve train parts, and am looking at replacing my $150 worth of cast iron manifolds with headers. With my luck the plug wires won't work with headers. But, hey, this thread is your rant.;)

http://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL38.../412656022.jpg

That's pretty high tech. I use dielectric grease.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

That black "goop" is just non-conducting electrical paste. You can buy that stuff in jars/cans form most automotive stores.

I personally would veer away from those types of caps.. But hey whatever works for you.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Looking good.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I hear you brother, I was quite surprised my first few turned out as good as they did, and that's why two (#2 & #4) are a bit longer cause I built in some length in them just in case I messed up, ha ha

well here's one half done

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Great to hear, thanks for the feedback, and the pic

Um yeah, I saw those manifolds in your pic and was like damn, smart man, and those be nice, than I read on and I was like oh oh, so here's a tip for you setup a Cuss Jar before you go bolting on those headers and you should be in the green in no time, ha ha (I constantly talk to my Hookers)

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

well after attending three birthday parties this weekend it was time to get back to work on the truck

I made one mistake in terms of making my own spark plug wires

I should have tested the wires for resistance before cutting and building them

MSD makes two types of wires (that I know of) their high end Super Duper Conductor wires RATED AT 50 OH MY GOSHes per foot and their cheaper ones called the Street Fire RATED AT 500 OHMs per foot (we got the Street Fire ones) hold on to that thought

... but all is not lost, just wanted to give you that tip

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

so after The Greg made all his 8 wires this is how they tested in terms of resistance, now keep in mind the magic number is 500 Ohms per foot

#1 - 26" long scored 5,600 so 2,584 Ohms per foot - BAD

#2 - 26" long read 5400 so 2,492 Ohms per foot - BAD

#3 - 25" long read 1020 so 489 Ohms per foot - GOOD

#4 - 25" long read 1050 so 504 Ohms per foot - GOOD

#5 - 36" long read 1,418,000 so 472,666 Ohms per foot - INSANE

#6 - 20" long read 873 so 523 Ohms per foot - GOOD

#7 - 22" long read 911 so 546 Ohms per foot - GOOD

#8 - 22" long read 53,800 so 29,345 Ohms per foot - TERRIBLE

NOTE: 22" and 26" are standard generic universal wire standard lengths, so four of the wires I made were sort of a wasted effort

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

here's a picture of #8 and it shows that the problem was not with my crimping but even after I cut the crimped ends off the wire still read high

Note how the Multimeter is set to 200K Ohms that's 200 thousand, so 200,000 is the scale, so 50.3 x 1,000 = 50,300 Ohms

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

now I never made my own spark plug wires before so I decided to cut them in such a way that if things went South I could maybe recover by being able to make another wire from the part of the long wire that I cut off

so for example if I had to make a 22" wire I did not make it out of the 31" one but I used the 55" instead that way I could make two 22" wires out of it if need be, follow me Vern?

anyway this way I had enuff wire to make another 22" wire for #8 also MSD threw in 3 extra crimp ends so I was golden

this time when making the wire I tested along every step of the process

so cut the wire to length and test it

crimp one end and test it

crimp the other end and test it

and it turned out good, it now reads 948 so 517 Ohms per foot - GOOD

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I also made a new #5 wire though its now only 32" long but with some creative re routing it works, it reads 1322 so 495 Ohms per foot - GOOD

Note: I had to remove and reuse one of the crimped ends but taking my time I was able to pry it off with a small flat screw driver and a 12oz can of Bud Light

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

hey look fellers if I am going through all the trouble of making my own wires I do want them to be perfect you know what I'm sayin'

so I think I have enough wire to make one more 26" one, to replace #1 and I will use the extra coil wire they provided to make a new #2 wire it is also 26"

I think I will be giving MSD a call tomorrow, interesting that they included such a card along with their product, hmmm makes one wonder how many "difficulties" people had with their product

you know what? 50% failure rate that ain't too good!

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Wow, that's not good! Makes me wonder if their pre-cut sets are within spec...or any other brand for that matter.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Mine are MSD Street Fires like yours, so I just went out and measured them. Only did five wires due to attack of laziness.

nos 1 and 2: approx 1.9K (They are the longest, so this makes sense)
nos 5 and 7: approx 950 ohms
no 4: 1.45K

So, I'm gonna call mine good until I get motivated to do the remaining three. It's hot out there!

Will probably have to make new wires when I install headers, so will go with better MSD or Taylor wires then.

For what it's worth, I read where brand new carbon core wires have 10K ohms/ft resistance or more.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

The MSD Heli-core wires come with this type terminals. Not that they would have solved your problems, but they make for a better crimp than folding the conductor down between jacket and terminal. Unfortunately they don't seem to make Heli-Core sets anymore, so the next step up is insanely expensive Super Conductor sets. Hello Taylor Spiro Pro!

https://images.msdperformance.com/SP....jpg?width=560

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Good job, now catch a second wind and finish the other three, ha ha

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

OK, I just rebuilt the #2 spark plug wire and the resistance went down from 5400 to 967 so 483 Ohms per foot - Outstanding

and I also made a new # 1 spark plug wire and it went down from 5600 to 985 so 492 Ohms per foot - Spot On

well the good news is I can now build spark plug wires in my sleep, ha ha

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

fellow truckers just wanted to give you a quick update on what The Greg has been up to, check it out last Thursday was a 50% Off sale at the local Pick N Pulls, so I found this 1977 with some goodies on it

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

so although I was broke I scrounged up some moneys to get a couple things

1. I bought a manual steering box if for nothing else to use it as a core trade in for when I buy a brand new one. I paid $40 bucks for it and the core trade in value is $150 so I should come up ahead on this.

yeah still considering the power steering to manual conversion (like an idiot, I know)

glad this was an easy pull cause it was over 100°F by the time I got to the yard, it was so hot the metal wheel barrel handles that they loan you were burning my hands

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

2. I found this Hurst 3 speed shifter so I bought it, for the stick mostly, I paid $15 bucks for it, if the transmission was a 4 speed it would have come home with me too

the truck appears to have been an automatic that was converted to a stick

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Re: Restoring Rusty - Door Weatherstripping
 

Door weatherstripping showed up from Classic Parts, I hope to get these on this weekend, I forgot to buy the special glue / adhesive from them so I hope maybe one of youz can recommend the proper one to use, thanks

I think I only paid like $30 bucks for the pair for these, score!

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

3m 08001. comes in a tube like rtv silicone. is yellow and slimy looking but once sticks is stuck. commonly referred to as gorilla snot around my area.

they also make it in black if you don't want yellow part number 08008

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

so then it was time to excavate the old weather strip off of the driver side, it too had the optional (not available till 78) rubber on the door itself - I am not going to install that one unless absolutely necessary "I want to keep the stock as original as possible" [ahem] pronounced I'm cheap! ha ha

hey did I just quote myself, whoa that's deep

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

thank's bud, I did see that one at Pep Boys, but I didn't get it cause I didn't know if the black was the same strength as the yellow (you never know with these things) or how much I would actually need to do both sides of the cab

anywho, it is worth noting that the yellow stuff (part # 08002) comes in a 2 oz tube and costs about the same as the black stuff which comes in a 1 oz tube (part # 03602)

also notice all the ways on the right Permatex got in the game too with their Super Weatherstrip Adhesive looks like its about half the cost of the 3M (pronounced: stay away from it, cause I bet its half as good)

now I aint splitting hairs here folks I am just trying to give you a report from the field, as it is a jungle out there, so wear a hat and sun block, hee hee and don't jump in the pool until 2 hours after you ate (any of youz old enuff to recall that nonsense) any of you still tell yer kidz that, ha ha

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Actually the weatherstrip on the doors was used on all years. It came standard on Silverados only. Why you ask, because Silverados are/were special ;). One possible reason yours might have them is they were installed at the dealership. We used to install them post warranty for wind noise issues. Back in the day they were a cheap fix, a few dollars a piece from GM Parts Div.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

sorry part numbers i gave you were for the 5 oz tubes. seriously doubt you would need that much.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

i was a little taken back by how long the door weather strips are, they are about 13 feet each, wow

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

and just a pic of the old Gorilla snot on the floor after stripping it off the driver's side

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I must say I am very please with the quality and fitment of these parts, Classic Parts does it again, I liked their rear window seal very much, and now they are 2 for 2 with the door weatherstrips as well

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

did I mention the wife is gone for the weekend on an all girls camping trip, well on with the show than, what's next

and the next patient is Steering..., Mr. Manuel Steering

Re: Restoring Rusty - Saginaw Manual Steering Box
 

and after a little belly rub we get our money shot, that's right folks The Greg is a Parts Numbers Junkie - PNJ

and a quick AltaVista search for 5698180 (yeah remember that site) reveals this there box is a box formely known as Saginaw - nice

Re: Restoring Rusty - Pitman Arm
 

now let's check out that Pitbull Arm

I bought it with the pitman arm because I recon there is a difference between the manual and the power arms

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

then it was time to make a mess - we tore into it because it sounded like it had square bearings inside, something wasn't right

TOP TIP: to get that three bolt cover off, don't tap it with a hammer or pull on it (I'm just sayin') unscrew the middle screw with a flat screw driver and watch it come off

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

a better look inside after cleaning it up a bit with some paper towels

I am in awe of this simple yet effective engineering, ah the good ol' days

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

getting the two big nuts off was a major P.I.A. I won't lie to you, after my adjustable wrench got me no where I had to go out and buy a 1 5/16 socket and use a 5 foot long cheater bar on it to loosen the pitman arm nut, jeez

than I had to use a puller to get the pitman arm off

Fun Level = 2.7

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

but we persevered and got that pitman arm shaft out and even managed to clean it up a bit

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Nice and simple the way it should be. I'm digging the S logo on the case.