# 84 K10 Engine Build



## Marshy

So my weekend truck and firewood hauler is a '84 K10 and it had a small he's gasket leak at the end of last year. Long story short I thought I would take on rebuilding the engine. First I thought I would just freshen up the heads and replace the gaskets. That turned into changing cams which snow balled into pullin the entire engine deglazing the cylinders new bearings yada yada yada. Well I'm currently breaking down the rotating assembly so the block and crank can go to the machinist take a bath and get mic'ed up and the first couple of rod end bearings that came out look like this.






I'd say it was a good choice to tear into this bottom end. However, every action has an equal and opposite reaction and now I think there's a good chance the machinist is going to want to clean up the crank journals and possibly bore the block. So now I'm at a decision point, put the money and work into this old mid 70's flat tappet cam block or go yank a roller block at the junk yard to put the money into. Since I'm going to use vortec heads in my build I think now is a perfect time to make the move and build a roller motor.


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## JustJeff

Nice truck! I've always liked that body style. Nothing wrong with the flat tappets, the old one ran for 30 years and you didn't pull it apart for cam wear. You can buy roller lifters for that block too. What ever you decide, it's still a sweet ride!


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## Stihlofadeal64

I too have always been fond of that body style. Its hard for me once I get into a project to stop 
I go in with the idea I'm going to do, 1 then 2 then 3 but then I see how easy it is to just go ahead and do 4 and 5 and 6. 
The next thing you know, well...I think you have the idea. I wish you well on the project.


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## Marshy

Thanks guys. I'd actually prefer to stay with a flat tappet cam but if I'm going to dump money into boring a block I'm going to dump it into a factory roller block as apposed to a flat tappet motor. Reason being is because I can get a vortec junk yard short block for $80 and bore it 30 over and can use the factory roller lifters. I can't get retrofit rollers for $80 and I'd be lookin at bearings and boring the old block anyways.


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## Stihlofadeal64

Marshy said:


> Thanks guys. I'd actually prefer to stay with a flat tappet cam but if I'm going to dump money into boring a block I'm going to dump it into a factory roller block as apposed to a flat tappet motor. Reason being is because I can get a vortec junk yard short block for $80 and bore it 30 over and can use the factory roller lifters. I can't get retrofit rollers for $80 and I'd be lookin at bearings and boring the old block anyways.



Sounds reasonable. Keep us posted on the progress.


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## Sty57

The vortec's are nice I built a 383 years ago for my blazer. If you have to do machine work you might be better off just getting a whole new rotating assy.


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## Marshy

Yanked a 5.7L 880 block from a 99 chevy 3500 van yesterday. It was a vortec with 906 heads. Got the whole shortblock for $120. It was a sales/service van for a local farm tractor dealer. Unknown miles but it was clean and I figured it had regular maintenance. Even though it said no start on the side of the van I could tell it came in because front end damage. And my assumptions about the maintenance were good because the valve train area was clean and the bores have no noticeable wear.

I'll lose the mechanical fuel pump option an have to install an electrical is the only down side. The benefit out weigh that though because this should be a 4 bolt and has full provisions for roller cam. I also read these heavy duty application vortec 880 engines came with powdered metal rods, a forged crank an a wind age tray that bolts to the mains. There's also some rumor that the main caps are ductile iron too.

So it seams possible that I've got the making for a pretty stout motor. I'll soon have it apart to check the bearings and look at the crank. My plan is to bore it 30 over an use the pistons (with new rings) out of the engine that came out of the truck. I'll likely have him deck the block too. I called Lunati to discuss cam options and the 3 recommended did not exceed 0.472 valve lift. I can probably get enough room to accommodate that lift by going with some beehive springs and not have to machine the guides. I think that's what I will do and have him drill and tap for guide plates so I can switch to roller tip rockers later. More to follow later.


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## Rookie1

If you stay with a flat tappet cam research what oil to use. The epa has pretty much cut out zinc in oil. Zinc helped keep the lobes and lifters happy.


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## Marshy

Rookie1 said:


> If you stay with a flat tappet cam research what oil to use. The epa has pretty much cut out zinc in oil. Zinc helped keep the lobes and lifters happy.


Going with a roller block. Yep already know about ZDDP. Not an issue with roller cams. 

What really made me choose this direction was the block that cam out of the truck needed to be bored and crank could of used a touch up. My machinist said it was a good core for building a race engine and he offered me a $100 for it. I took that as a credit towards my engine build. That was a no brainier move IMO.


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## Marshy

Ok, just bought a cam for the engine today. It a COMP Cam, Xtreme Energy 08-408-8. It fairly mild still but will give great low end power. Specs @ .050 lift are 206/212 duration and .480/.487 lift on 110 LSA. I was really tempted to get something more aggressive but it will lose more and more bottom end the larger duration I add. I think with the headers and a set of Flowmasters this should sound nice. It's too bad you can't have the lope sound and good low end too, I really love that sound.


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## Marshy

Finally got my motor back from the machinist! Seemed like it took forever.






The block had the deck skim cut and the bores deglazed. Staying with the standard bore and reusing the pistons, rods and crank. Crank was turned and polished 10 under. New cam and crank bearings, and piston rings. The block is painted and waiting assembly. I spent this past weekend cleaning the piston ring grooves and disassemblibg, cleanjng, reassembling the roller lifters (8 more to go!). Once they are done I can start bolting things together. I'll take the pistons back to the shop and he'll put the rings on. 











The heads are bolt on ready. Theybhad the valve seats cut and lapped, guide boss machined for xtra cam lift, new springs locks and retainers and painted. They also had a skim cut on the mating surface to the deck. 

I also had a chance to snatch up some Flow master Super 40 mufflers off Craigslist. These have a small dent in them but otherwise in great condition.


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## audible fart

What kind of fuel delivery are you going with? I have a 1996 2500 with a 5.7 vortec. If i ever decided to put a motor in it i think i'd have to buy another one and drop it in. Taking everything apart is easy, but putting it back together and having it **** up right away isn't on my to do list. The first step toward failure is trying, as Homer Simpson said. Mild cams are ok, but it seems to me the bigger the cam is, the more the motor just beats itself to death over time.


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## Marshy

Right now I have a Edelbrock 1406 carb (600 cfm) on top of a Edelbrock Performer intake. I'm building this for low end torque with no specific number in mind other than cost (as much power as I can get cheap as reasonably possible). The cam I chose could probably be considered one level over stock duration, it probably wont even have a noticable lope. Only real significant chance is the valve lift, its quite a bit more than stock. Only parts I need still are my timing cover, push rods, valve covers, flywheel, electric fuel pump and distributor gear. If I had the extra money I would have built a 383 stroker. But would of needed a rotating assembly and new pistons and block clearance.


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## Marshy

Little by little I'm progressing. On there list tonight is finish the rotating assembly, oil pump, pan and rear main seal possibly drop the lifters in and timing chain. The sad thing is the Chevy engine forum in is so freaking slow no one answers any of my questions. :-/


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## audible fart

Marshy said:


> Little by little I'm progressing. On there list tonight is finish the rotating assembly, oil pump, pan and rear main seal possibly drop the lifters in and timing chain. The sad thing is the Chevy engine forum in is so freaking slow no one answers any of my questions. :-/



You could always try calling summit or jegs tech line. I did that earlier today inquiring about their pre bent brake line kits for a 92 sierra shortbed. I didn't know anybody even sold those.


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## Locust Cutter

Subbed.


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## MechanicMatt

@audible fart , GM dealers sell the pre bent kits for around 100 bucks. Marshy, what do you need to know? Before they made me the service manager, I was a tech for 15 years at the GM dealership


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## Marshy

I thought I read to lightly lube there piston rings with WD40 when installing but I couldn't remember where I read that and it didn't sound like sound advice. I've see WD40 shorten bearing life quite significanly and its not a lubricant... I got my answer though, use engine oil... Just finished cleaning the bores and final clean of the piston and rings. It's all in the prep baby.


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## audible fart

MechanicMatt said:


> @audible fart , GM dealers sell the pre bent kits for around 100 bucks. Marshy, what do you need to know? Before they made me the service manager, I was a tech for 15 years at the GM dealership



$100 for a complete pre bent brake line kit from of all places a DEALER? Summit wanted $279. I will call a couple dealers tomorrow and report the prices. My next project is my 1992 gmc sierra shortbed that's been in lawn ornament mode since......2008 lol. I got so sick of working on my chevys i bought a toyota tacoma. But since i bought the tacoma in 2008 all i've had to do is brake pads and i'm getting bored with 100% reliability. Was thinking the other day about my 700r4 dying going down rt 40, and another time the module under the distributor cap failed while i was in the middle lane of 695 in heavy traffic doing 75 at the time. I miss the stomach churning excitement of uncertainty if i'll arrive at my destination, or be able to get back. And the despair of inevitable failure at the worst possible times. I just can't have those soul crushing experiences with my tacoma. That's why i bought a 96 2500 last year, and just can't bring myself to sell my 92 sierra. They're far from perfect, but to me the 88-98 era trucks have character. I can't help but like 'em for some reason.


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## Marshy

Thers nothing between '88 and '04 that really peak my interest body wise...

Got the rotating assembly done. When everything is the first time it takes a little longer than you imagine. 






Deck clearance on this is .020".


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## MechanicMatt

@Marshy yes to clean, virgin oil for assembly lube. Ive used actual assembly lube, but the GM manual says clean 5w30. 

@audible fart if you pm me your last 8 of the vin Ill see if there is a kit available for your truck and get you the GM part number.


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## audible fart

MechanicMatt said:


> @Marshy yes to clean, virgin oil for assembly lube. Ive used actual assembly lube, but the GM manual says clean 5w30.
> 
> @audible fart if you pm me your last 8 of the vin Ill see if there is a kit available for your truck and get you the GM part number.



Appreciate the offer man, but i'm going with summit. Called a chevy dealer earlier. They instantly copped an attitude when i mentioned one of my trucks is a 1992, as if was beneath them, then said they don't sell pre bent brake line kits. I've had nothing but good luck with summit& jegs too for that matter. No smarmy condescension from them. For example when the air lines blew off of my air shocks, Summit sent me out another air line kit free.


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## Marshy

MechanicMatt said:


> @Marshy yes to clean, virgin oil for assembly lube. Ive used actual assembly lube, but the GM manual says clean 5w30.
> 
> @audible fart if you pm me your last 8 of the vin Ill see if there is a kit available for your truck and get you the GM part number.


I still used assembly lube on the rod and main bearings and cam. My machinist also recommended using SAE30 for break in and just run itba fee hoursband drain the oil and replace with 5w30... I bought a ZDDP additive to run in it with the SAE30 for extra protection. Even though it had a roller cam I figured it can hurt.


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## MechanicMatt

My next door neighbor runs the local machine shop, he swears by 15w40 rotella 


Yeah audible fart, a lot of horses asses out there in the dealer world


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## Marshy

I read Rotella has higher levels of ZDDP than other oils. I'm sure it's always changing, they are taking it out because it's bad for cats.


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## Marshy

Some times even the manual is wrong... The torque specification table for the camshaft sprocket bolt says 22-30 ftlb but the assembly text says 18 ftlb. WTF 






F' it. 22 ftlbs and some blue locktight. Done.


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## Marshy

Getting there!













I need to wire wheel the oil pan then I can put it on and paint it and the block needs some touch up also. Then drop the pushrods in and set their lash. Prime the oil pump, install the intake, distributor, wires, plugs, carb, headers, flywheel and maybe fire this SOB.


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## Marshy

Just like with Chainsaw, automotive engines have an ideal squish (also called quench). This engine has 20 thou deck clearance plus the crushed gasket thickness is the quench. Unfortunately, the the head gaskets I just put in are 40 thou thick which means my quench is 60 thou. The ideal quench is 35-40 thou which means I messed up. It was on my mind before I installed it and even called them to find the crushed thickness but they were closed. I'm looking at taking the heads backoff and replacing the gaskets with OEM ones that have 15 thou crushed thickness. I know Mr.Gasket makes a set that are 18 thou thick also... That would put me at 35-38 thou... Kind of stupid that what I put in are considered OEM replacements and are 40 thou thick. They must assume rebuilds are going to deck the block 25 thou...

Did I mention this is the first automotive engine I've ever put together?


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## Marshy

Took a trip to the junk yard today looking for a flywheel. There were only three manual trans Chevy trucks in the whole yard! Two trucks had V6 in them and of those two, one had the trans removed already. I took the pressure plate off and it didn't look like the flywheel I needed so I moved on to the V8 truck. I had to pull the whole engine to get the flywheel off. Luckily everything to the engine was disconnected already. Only bolts I removed were the bell housing bolts and the 2 motor mounts. Much to my surprise, once the engine came out I found a brand new flywheel, friction plate and pressure plate! I mean, this thing didn't have but a couple hundred miles on it. I couldn't believe it! So i took the whole thing. The flywheel surface has 2 spot the size of a quarter that shows any wear. This thing isn't even broken in yet!


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## Moparmyway

Nice build Marshy ............. did you have to prime the lifters like a normal flat tappet ?


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## Big_Wood

Moparmyway said:


> Nice build Marshy ............. did you have to prime the lifters like a normal flat tappet ?



I don't prime any of them. Just set them and let them tick til they pump up lol. well i do turn the engine a bit with the ignition killed to pump them up for the most part before start up but usually get a little bit of a tick anyways. Set the valve train with already pumped up lifters. You'll be ticking within a year! Nice score on the clutch/ pressure plate/ flywheel marshy! What HP you gonna be running? Last LS1 I built ended up around 560 and it would spin those dayco clutches. Put and exedy in there and it actually did pretty good for a stock replacement clutch. Got smart on the 3rd one and got one of those center force double friction or whatever they are. Even being a hydraulic system you got a leg work out with that clutch lol for the record. Your old engine like would have ran another 10 years with those bearings. You were only down to the copper. Most high hour engines I pull are down to steel. Let it be a lesson to the goofs who don't change their engine oil. also that k10 is among the nicest i have seen. around here the body would be near gone and the frame would be held together by the box rails lol


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## kspakland

Sweet project !!! You are making me wish I had the money and a shop to work in so I could freshen up the 383 stroker in my 84 K10.
I originally built it 14 years ago and installed it in a 66 K20. That heavy truck would jump when I stepped on the gas pedal. But 75,000 HARD miles later, it's getting a bit tired. I think I could bring it back to the way I built it for less than a grand. It set me back $3,500 when I built it originally 14 years ago, and I did all the assembly. I don't completely trust an engine I didn't put together myself, and seeing how you are doing yours, I am confident you will get a lot of service from yours, and many smiles as you drive. I assume you had everything balanced, it makes a huge difference in engine life and is money well spent.


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## Marshy

Moparmyway said:


> Nice build Marshy ............. did you have to prime the lifters like a normal flat tappet ?


I will prime the lube oil by using a priming tool to spin the oil pump.

I disassembled each lifter and cleaned them thoroughly and reassembled them with a heavy coating of oil. It was time consuming and made my hands hurt for a couple of days.


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## Marshy

Idk how much horse power this will have when I'm done. I haven't put anything into a HP calculator or anything but my guess is between 300-350 hp. Everything it stock except the cam and obviously I'm going with a carb, not fuel injection. Nothing in the rotating assembly was changed to warrant a balance of the internals. Only change was the crank was ground 10 under for the journals and pistons got new rings. The bores were in great shape and only needed to be deglazed with a ball hone. The deck and head were cut for a clean mating surface.

If I could do it over again with more money I would of had him measure the stock deck clearance and then deck the block to a certain height and used a flat piston with a D cup relief. At that point, if I had more money I would just build a 383. 
My static compression is 9.2:1 but woukd of liked it to be 9.5:1 with a squish of 40 thousandths. I'm sure it will run fine.


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## Marshy




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## Marshy

So after trying several times to put this pig in I finally realized the engine lift I was using was a lot smaller than the one I used to remove the engine with. Once I got the right tool and took the hood off and I was in business. You can see the difference between the two (hood on vs off pics).

















Where did I put those damn bell housing bolts!


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## VinceGU05

I thought you were being ambitious trying to fit with the hood on. Much easier without. 
Bolts are on the back bench, or in the chassis rails [emoji12]


Sent from my iStihl.


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## Marshy

I found them, one was in the tool box and the other was with the old intake bolts. 

Engine is in and all bolted up. Im woking on the wires/harness. Some wires are getting eliminated, some need shortening and one needs lengthening.






I have more more trip to the auto parts store for some sprial wrap, harness clamps and butt connectors and I'll be finished with the wires. Just need to drop the carb on and plug the fuel hose in and hook the throttle cable up, prime the oil and turn the starter! I wonder if I can get out of going to the MIL's this weekend.


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## ih361d

very nice truck ive had quite a few the couple years ive been drivin damn nice trucks and nothing can replace the way they drive


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## Marshy

ih361d said:


> View attachment 475543
> View attachment 475544
> View attachment 475545
> View attachment 475546
> View attachment 475547
> very nice truck ive had quite a few the couple years ive been drivin damn nice trucks and nothing can replace the way they driveView attachment 475543
> View attachment 475544


Nice trucks. Thanks for the comments. I wish the salt wasn't so terrible on vehicles in NY. It would be fun to do a frame off build on a clean truck sometime. It's be a treat compared to most things up here.


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## ih361d

the dark blue was a frame off took two years it actually had been rolled


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## Marshy

I really want a K20 with 14 bolt axles and the whole bit. I would do another L31 Vortec motor but keep the fuel injection...


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## ih361d

fuel injection aint hard to do on em just take a 87 v10 sending unit instead of Installing a tbi fuel pump put a vortec pump inplace just runa returnto the tank. like the heavier axles but cant run the rally wheels bud. I have a 880 block that has a mechanical pump hole with a factory block off plate and no fuel pump eccentric on the cam. just picked this one up


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## dall

when i build motors i use the oil gonna use when the motor is running as assembly lube i always liked these trucks and liked the original motors with the quadrajet carb and stock intake i had a edelbrock and noticed when on side of a hill it would load up on one side because the runners in the intake was not split off plus the quadrajet has bigger openings i built one motor deck shaved balanced crank assembly with flat top pistons gear to gear timing 202 cast iron heads crane truck / bus cam i got 5 miles to a gallon lol in a 81 single wheel one ton 400 turbo transmission and 373 gears wouldnt catch traction until mid 2nd gear sold the truck a couple years ago and want another one


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## Marshy

I believe I made a mistake labeling there wires when I took them off... @ih361d, can you identify where these go? The three red wires in my left han ask go to one larger ring lug but I'm not sure if that goes to the starter or battery terminal (+). One of those three words from the room lug goes to the alternator plug, the other two go back to the main site harness and eventually to the fues panel. The light purple I believe goes to the small pole on the starter...


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## dall

are you sure they dont go to the starter ?


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## Marshy

No I'm not sure how the starter is wired either... I can't find the positive cable from the battery... Not sure if I took it off and set it aside or if those are it... Phuk


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## dall

they look to me like they hook on the same terminal as the battery cable and with the fusible links in them id almost say thats what they are for with the length


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## dall

should also be a small round terminal for the switch side of the starter usually comes from the back side of the motor but that wiring looks like the supply from alternator to the starter to send juice to the battery its been about 8 years since i worked on one


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## Marshy

The light purple wire in hand has a small ring lug for the starter small post... I'm not sure if those are fuseable links, they don't come apart. I believe they are factory connections.


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## dall

on those they was a sealed unit should say 20 or 30 amp on them somewhere and i would say they are for the starter


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## Marshy

Damn, I cant find any positive cable anywhere. I wonder what I did with it and where it connects (battery to what?).


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## Marshy

Worst part is I took pics of the engine bay before I took everything all-day y but can't find them. They sure would come in handy!


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## dall

there is not that many wires on the older chevy 350 motors the distributor has 2 wires usually in a a square mount one set of wires to the alternator in a plug and a single wire loop on the stud which you have wired up should be one small plug for the temp sensor and one for oil pressure sensor leaving the starter which has bigger wires which i am sure are the ones in your hands in the pics


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## ih361d

look like the ones to the big stud on starter should be those plus your hot wire to the battery, then the other wire(purple) should be the switch wire to the solenoid. I can walk down the hill and look at one been a while, the ones with the fusible links trace up to a junction block on the firewall?


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## ih361d

run a battery cable from+ post on battey to stud on starter


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## Marshy

I found my answer and feel like a putz... The positive cable from the battery is black... I s looking for a red terminal lead.. 






I was wondering why I had a ground going to the starter (#2 in image under the engine) lol!


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## dall

lol someone agreed with me


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## dall

if you look at pic you can see writing under the tape im sure it will say 20 or 30 amp fusible link those are factory


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## Marshy

The really good news is that I clipped the wires in my hand in the above pic because I'm shortening them to be able to din then directly to the starter from behind the valve cover and I was starting to think I made a mistake!


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## Marshy

ih361d said:


> look like the ones to the big stud on starter should be those plus your hot wire to the battery, then the other wire(purple) should be the switch wire to the solenoid. I can walk down the hill and look at one been a while, the ones with the fusible links trace up to a junction block on the firewall?


Yes they do trace up to the fuse block. I'm ask set thanks for the offer. My head hurts now. That was easy harder than it needed to be.


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## dall

make sure have plenty of room between the wires and the headers the heat will melt the coating and make the wires brittle


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## ih361d

make sure the hot wire to the starter like dall said is clear from headers should be a clip on the frame near where the fuel pump on the side of the block would have been for it to clip under


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## Marshy

ih361d said:


> make sure the hot wire to the starter like dall said is clear from headers should be a clip on the frame near where the fuel pump on the side of the block would have been for it to clip under


It's well trained near the oil pan. It's the other wires in more concerned with... It'll be fine...


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## dall

i think he said he was gonna run them from behind


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## Marshy

dall said:


> i think he said he was gonna run them from behind


Yes but the main cable goes under the header along the oil pan... All of them are at risk from the heat. I might need to do some wrap to keep the heat down, we'll see.


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## dall

they should be wrapped and as far from the headers as possible


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## Marshy

dall said:


> they should be wrapped and as far from the headers as possible


I finished up the wires last weekend. I took about 2' of wire out of the harness on 2 of the three red wires in that pic and extended the other one by 10-12". Cleaned it up some, there's only 3 wires that come across the top of the engine to the alternator instead of 5 now. They are far enough from the headers and well trained where I dont think there will be any issues. They should be good for a shake-down. Carb goes on tonight and finish up the fuel hose to the carb, drop in the battery, add and prime the oil, install the distributor and turn the key. Looks like Im going to be moving firewood on saturday or sunday. 

About time.


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## stihlboy

Rookie1 said:


> If you stay with a flat tappet cam research what oil to use. The epa has pretty much cut out zinc in oil. Zinc helped keep the lobes and lifters happy.


brad penn oil has it and I think driven does as well


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## Marshy

OK, only ten days later than when I said I would get to it... Finished everything up last night and turned the key for the first time... AND... no fire.  

I'm going over to the neighbors as we speak to borrow a timing light. I'll throw it on and see if I'm getting any spark at #1 cylinder. If not then I have some work to do, not sure where to start in that case. If I do have spark then I'll have to verify I set the distributor on the compression stroke vs the exhaust stroke. I'm hoping for the latter.


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## dall

do you have power and ground going to the distributor ?if you do it is probably the coil the distributor will have spark even if not in time


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## Marshy

I don't seem to have any power to the distributor. I just checked the 4 wires in the plug to the distributor with the ignition on and had no power... Two wires had 0.14 or so... This sucks balls.


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## Marshy




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## Marshy

@ih361d, I could use your help!


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## dall

show us what you have on the truck


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## 55chevyparts

Check the pink wire on the drivers side of the distributor for 12V with key on. If no power you have an open circuit somewhere. You can jumper it just make sure you have a way to kill it if need be.


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## Marshy

Never mind I got it!


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## Marshy

55chevyparts said:


> Check the pink wire on the drivers side of the distributor for 12V with key on. If no power you have an open circuit somewhere. You can jumper it just make sure you have a way to kill it if need be.


Thanks, that wire needed to get plugged into the hei and the pink to the spark control piggy backs onto it. I had them plugged together but was not pluged into the hei.


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## Marshy

@olyman, my truck started! Unfortunately it never made the nightly news, it's getting over shadowed by the Democratic debate (wtf). You'll have to watch here.

http://s600.photobucket.com/user/WMarshy/media/VID_20160117_174743739.mp4.html


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## dall

sounds good except the exhaust leak if you have a vacuum gauge you can dial in the carb also the one line that goes to the distributor the vacuum will fluxuate the other will be constant vacuum and will increase vacuum depending on the carb settings and timing what is your timing set at now


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## Marshy

The header bolts were a PITA. I put the motor in with the headers installed because I found it simpler to get the hardware in the header flange on the inside of #1 and #2 cylinders. Then later bought the proper header bolts and swapped those in but had a hard time getting some of them as tight as they should be. I'll check them before I start it again. BTW that was headers only, no mufflers or any pipe yet. Let's just say the neighbors were celebrating with me even if they didn't want to.

The timing advance is controlled electronically via the OEM spark control module, no vac. The distributor hooks to the module with a 4 wire plug. 







Initial timing was set at approximately 11-12 BTDC. When I shut it off it was trying to overrun.


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## CR888

Where is everyone? Was this once upon a time a build thread about a saw or somthing, I think it ought to be locked, way too far off track.lol


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## dall

lol your cap lock on distributor is not locked marshy get to locking lol timing shouldnt be above 8 on that kind but i have ran them at 18 with the ones with vacuum advance


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## Marshy

CR888 said:


> Where is everyone? Was this once upon a time a build thread about a saw or somthing, I think it ought to be locked, way too far off track.lol


This is on topic in the off topic forum... wait... what?


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## Marshy

dall said:


> lol your cap lock on distributor is not locked marshy get to locking lol timing shouldnt be above 8 on that kind but i have ran them at 18 with the ones with vacuum advance


Good eyes. That pic might have been before I went back in there and found the unhooked wire. I believe its locked properly now but will double check...

So you are saying I should have 8* BTDC with the spark control module unhooked as an initial timing point? I know it wanted to keep running when I turned it off after drining it down the road. Good thing its a manual so I could stall the engine.


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## dall

you are saying it was dieseling after key was shut off usually timing is the cause


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## Marshy

Yes it was. So go retarded but not full retard... right?


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## dall

lol i have to say it ,.. mod it lol and yes retard the timing


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## Marshy

I moved a few loads of wood this weekend. 
http://s600.photobucket.com/user/WMarshy/media/VID_20160124_151243435.mp4.html


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## dall

lol need to get rid of the tool box and stack it higher the old chevy will take it


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## Marshy

dall said:


> lol need to get rid of the tool box and stack it higher the old chevy will take it


Yes it would. I like to have the tool box so I can put my saws/tools in it though. If I could weld I would make my own, it would be deeper but narrower and I'd make it out of steel. The aluminum is getting a few small dents in it... I can get 2/3 cord on it with the tool box if I stack the lower half of the box and toss the rest. Stacking the whole box I can fit nearly 1 cord on it but its though on the tail gate to hold the box sides together.


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## dall

here is my buddys truck we always load them down


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## dall

8 foot bed truck has the 8.1 in it with allison transmission he also has a 78 camper special 3/4 ton with 355 and 400 turbo transmission


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## Marshy

Yup, that truck probably handles it like a boss. My K10 is still a half ton truck. If I stacked mine like that it would be over weight and sway like a mofo. I know because I've put enough on mine to find out with the tool box in place. Plus I have C rated tires right now.


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## dall

lol i had a 74 half ton and i added springs and changed from the 15 inch wheels to 16 so i could use the 8 ply tires still swayed some but i had 4 leafs in the front and 8 in the back hit my head off the roof a couple times it had a built turbo 350 12 bolt rear end we have a 16 foot trailer and we would take to logging sites and they would place their cut offs on the trailer some of the loads was enough to sag my truck lol


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## Marshy

The truck is in the shop getting an exhaust. I had 2 Flowmaster 40 Series Delta Flow mufflers that will make their way under the truck and exit behind the rear of the tires with some slash cut chrome tips. The stock HEI got tossed for a MSD Street Fire HEI with vac assist. I got the truck on the road to be able to drive it to the shop. Once Im done getting it up to snuff and moving the last of my firewood it'll get a wash and put away until spring/summer. I'll get another clip when the exhaust is done and its been tuned a little more, I might have to take another trip into the carb to replace the accelerator pump...


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## Marshy

Just received some tires for my truck. Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ P3, 33x12.5 R15. There are going on this week! I'm actually rebuilding the front end as we speak. It's getting new ball joints, stabilizer shock, wheel joints, seals and fresh grease. Driver side is about done and passenger side should be easy because I made all the mistakes on the driver side lol.


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## Marshy

Wow, its been a while since I've updated this and lots has happened.
I ditched the GM distributor and went with a MSD Streetfire distributor (with vac advance). I bought the weight and spring kit and recurved it to be all in (22 degrees) at 3000-3500 rpm and set the initial timing at 12*. I kept adjusting the valves but couldn't get one or two valves to quiet down and noticed some were 3-4 turns further in when setting the lash. I figured I had some bad lifters because they were re-used in the build. So I bought a set of lifters and while I was that far into it I decided to replace the 0.040" head gasket with a 0.015" one. That change netted me about 5cc decrease on combustion chamber size and I estimate a half a point of compression bump. Once I opened the engine I found the lifter really s*** the bed. 













Once I got that mess cleaned up I decided to drop the oil pan and wipe that out. Not because I wanted to but because I dropped the cap out of the lifter and it fell down the oil return hole. It was the right thing to do anyways because the oil pan was holding a cup of nasty oil and you can see the push rods were giving off some metal so it was good to get that all cleaned up.

While I was at it I decided to paint my headers.




And proceeded to screw it up by using engine enamel primer under the ceramic header paint.




Insert swear words here: #*%&%@#*^&%*& $*&$^%!





But at the end of the day the result is a good running, nice driving truck.


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## Trx250r180

Great thread 

But no bias ply tires ???


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## Marshy

Trx250r180 said:


> Great thread
> 
> But no bias ply tires ???


Those are on the motorcycle.


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