Re: Restoring Rusty
 

You're making progress. A lot of it really.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Yes, this phase kicked my butt.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

What product did you use to paint that blower unit? That is the perfect underhood finish, not too glossy, not too flat, just right.

Re: Restoring Rusty - Passenger Inner Fender Done
 

Finally some pics of the finished passenger side of the engine bay.

Blower assembly, painted - done
Inner Fender, replaced/painted - done
Battery Tray, replaced/painted - done
Frame Rail, painted - done

What do you think of the body color instead of black on the inner fender?

I only painted the lid of the air cleaner housing because I am going to replace it with the Retro one from LMC Truck next month.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I don't know if you have installed the oil pan yet but, the position of the pickup screen to pan needs to be 1/4"-3/8". I like to tack the screen to the pump as I have seen them fall off.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Awesome thread Greg,really entertaining and you do good work. Lots of good info for us rookies....keep it up.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Wow, had no idea about that requirement, figured Malory pump and Malory tube should have the proper bend to it, let's pray.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Thank you, I like it too. I've used KRYLON Rust Tough Enamel - Semi Flat Black on everything from the wheels, to the front bumper and now for bits under the hood. However it is getting too expensive at $7 bucks a rattle can. Thinking about switching to Rust-Oleum.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Thank you so much, yeah you have to have a sense of humor with these old wonderful machines, otherwise they'll break your heart!

Re: Restoring Rusty - You Got Mail
 

Good choices for manifold and carb! Can't beat that combo for a stock to mild small block.

I just bought the Vortec head version of that manifold for my 355 that's under construction, and will be using a 80457SA or 80458SA carb. (The latter has center-hung float bowls and dual fuel inlets on the passenger side).

Re: Restoring Rusty - You Got Mail
 

Man, that is music to my ears, so good to hear some validation, thank you. So what cam would you recommend, keep in mind I plan on buying aluminum heads to go with it. Looking for a street truck, nothing crazy, goal is 300 hp.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Comp Cams 12-235-2 will give you 290hp and 410lbft from a stock 350 with stock 76cc heads, as long as you put a dual plane manifold and long-tube headers on it.

If you're going with new heads like the Dart aluminum heads, it's pretty easy to get 400hp and 430lbft from a stock 350, using Comp Cams 12-238-2.

Basically, 300hp is a pretty low goal for new heads. Or another way to say it, you can get 300hp without spending big bucks on heads.

Download Camquest6 and play around with it. Just google camquest6.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Wow Rich, great recommend, I'm liking this one I believe they call it the Xtreme 4x4 pronounced "Torque" LOL, Good Idle and 1,000-5,200 RPM range, what's not to like, but doing more homework still, thank you very much

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I personally went with the 12-300-4, which is 285hp and 420lbft, because I wanted even more grunt in the bottom. Performance above 3000-3500 rpm isn't a prime consideration for me in a street machine.

Here is the dyno simulator run for the 12-235-2. The left side gives you all the parameters for the stock 350 you need to set. Then you can try all the cams you want.

http://users.rcn.com/weyand/smalls/C...onStock350.jpg

Re: Restoring Rusty - Oiled The Hood Hinges
 

oiled the hood hinges with some White Lithium grease, and my god what a difference I can open and close the hood with two fingers ~ keep 'em lubricated boys!

Re: Restoring Rusty - Hedman Hedders
 

scored some used but in good nick Hedman Hedders (Made in USA - warms the heart seein' that don't it) no idea what they came off, for $75 bucks on a handshake agreement that I pay only if they fit my truck, otherwise just return them

they measure 1 5/8" and 3" at the collectors

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Nice score. Have a set on my '76 or atleast in my shed....

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

LOL, your shed must sound great!

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Love the inner fenders.

I know what you mean on the hood hinges too. Might not last very long though. Mine lasted about 2 months with white lithium, so I went with heavy axle grease and it's been a year and still great.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Yeah the shed is loud....lol.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Paint and other items starting to ding your wallet? If you have an Advance Auto Parts near you, they always have coupon codes available for 30-40% off when you order online and go pickup at the store.

Yesterday, I got 3 ton jack stands, two rust removal wire brush kits, and two cans of primer for $30. Ordered from home and went and picked it up immediately. That $7 can of paint drops to $4.20.

http://promocodesforyou.com/index.ph...g9YaAnfg8P8HAQ

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

I use this all the time too. I do always check the Oriely's and Autozone sites though too as they all run different promotions at times. I'm lucky in that all three shops (plus NAPA) are within only a couple of miles of my house. Become part of their memberships too and earn coupons that they will mail to you after buying so many $$$ in parts.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Unfortunately I don't, I have NAPA (the closest, but expensive) then Pep Boys, then O'Reilly's, then AutoZone, of course I go to the furtherst - AutoZone. I have their points card which says for every purchase over $20 bucks you get a point, and when you get 5 points you get $20 bucks credit, works for me.

I actually make a point to buy at least $20 bucks each time (when I'm short I just throw in a quart of oil, you always need some oil, LOL) and since I have another AutoZone by my work, I walk there at lunch time so it all works out. Hey I'm a man on a budget so every bit helps.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Absolutely right. I use my Autozone card to help me get alittle bit extra, lol.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

DANG great work, that's a LOT of manual labor going on there. Hours that I don't have with 4 kids and a testy wife. I'll have to get down your way. Im up north just before Marysville.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Thanks, and yup it is a labor of love

Re: Restoring Rusty - Another Freeze Plug Replacement
 

another day another freeze plug replacement, I know once one of them goes you should probably replace all of them but that is easier said than done, since there are 8 total freeze plugs and only 2 seem to be accessible whilst the engine is in the car, I believe this is the one exactly on the opposite side of the one I replaced a week or two ago

first pic shows you how the exhaust manifold flange is smack dab in the way, the exhaust manifold would have to come off to hammer in the new one

one of the other pics shows how the plug looks as you try to remove it, it's sort of half way in half way out, looks bad, but that's actually a good thing

in another pic I show you how much metal crud I pulled out of the freeze plug hole with a telescoping magnet thingie, I don't even wanna know how much other crud is still in there

Re: Restoring Rusty - Exhaust Manifold
 

I had to remove the driver side exhaust manifold in order to get the right angle to hammer in that freeze plug

note the air tubes that stick out when I flip the manifold over, I had no idea that's what they looked like on the inside, would sawing those off help the exhaust flow better? if one was to keep the stock manifolds instead of going to headers

Re: Restoring Rusty - Headers Test Fit
 

well with the exhaust manifold off I decided to try test fitting those Hedman Hedders, as you can see there is quite a difference

and soon realized they will not fit, since what is the 3rd cylinder exhaust pipe hits the lower control arm, also they interfere with the oil filter

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

don't mean to ask a stupid question, but:

Shouldn't there be a gasket between the cylinder head and the exhaust manifold?

mine did not have one

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Hi Greg, I've got headers on my truck so I took a quick look at the bible and it looks like you should have gaskets. Hopefully it's ok to attach this picture no ill will intended.

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Stock manifolds to heads ,any I've removed did't have a gasket.
I clean my bumps right out,(older style)I've found it helps,I'd remove the tubes.
May want to change out the pipe studs,while they are out

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

looks great, thank you for the advice

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Nice build, and I enjoyed the thread very much!

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

removed the air injection tubes from the stock exhaust manifold, I believe they were just pressed in so I was able to use a bit of gentle persuasion and slide them out and since I am going to go with long tube headers eventually there is no sense in porting and polishing these or painting them

FYI: the truck bed makes for a nice work bench, I keep forgetting that

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

Thank you very much, appreciate it

Re: Restoring Rusty - A bit of degreasing
 

decided to clean up the cylinder head and the block a bit, it's nothing to write home about, not pristine, but cleaner, and good enough to see new leaks, am I right fellers?

Once again I used a 3:1 ratio of elbow grease to Mineral Spirits to clean this, LOL

Re: Restoring Rusty - Exhaust Manifold Gasket
 

decided to use an exhaust manifold gasket when reassembling although it was pointed out to me that the truck did not come with one from Fremont California

splurged $13 large on a Fel Pro three piece gasket not only because they are "the leader in aftermarket engine sealing and the brand professionals trust "but since they usually come with instructions, LOL

installed steel faced side toward the manifold, as shown in second photo

installed 3 slotted bolt holes to the front of the left-hand bank

Re: Restoring Rusty - Torquing
 

yes The Greg owns a Torque Wrench and is not afraid to use one, tightened the six exhaust manifold bolts to 20 lb. ft.

decided I know better than the GM engineers and opted not to put the tin heat shields back on, hope I don't regret it, but it's just to hold me over a month or two till I bolt up some long tube headers

Re: Restoring Rusty
 

so just a quick comparison of the way this exhaust manifold/head looked originally when I got the truck, and how it looks now, still work in progress but definitely better wouldn't you all agree?