RowdyRebel

All I can say is... DAMN!!!! This thing can get out of its own way now! Idle mixture is a little rich, so I'll have to adjust that a little...a little run-on if its sat idling for a while before shutting it off...but DAMN!!! It gets up to speed and is still going strong when I lift my foot off the throttle, and when those secondaries open, DAMN!!! It's like someone kicked on the afterburners. I also need to pick up a return spring for the throttle. I can't wait to see how it does hooked to a trailer. That and the fuel mileage...although for that I'm really going to have to work hard at keeping my foot off the fun pedal. I'm hoping it'll hit that 12-14 mpg range...but again, I'm going to have to keep my foot out of it for that to happen. Those ORB fittings I got weren't right, so I ended up cutting the steel lines and running rubber hoses with hose clamps. The Holley bypass regulator is pissing me off, though...set it for 6, and it'll jump to 9. Back it down to 6 again and it'll drop to 3. Don't really know if its the regulator or the gauge...just the cheapest 0-15 psi gauge Jegs had. I saw a gauge at auto zone I might pick up to try in order to eliminate the gauge as the problem. Pulled power for the electric choke off one of the wires that used to power the injectors...12V, powers up with the key...seems to be working. Good news is that the check engine light isn't on (worried it might be, since the computer is no longer connected to spark or fuel). Bad news is the cruise control no longer works. I glanced over the schematics and the ECM is not in the loop, but I guess other sensors and such are involved that are no longer hooked up. Not really that big of a deal (I say now...might change my mind on our upcoming family vacation)...2 travel days will be 6 hours, 1 will be 4 hours, and 1 will be 15 hours...fun. Anyway, during the test drive I had a little scare. Mashed the gas and enjoying the acceleration when all of a sudden there was a pop and things got loud. "CRAP!" Turned out to be not that big of a deal. The manifolds I put on had bungs for emissions stuff that was on vehicles that these manifolds will fit. I snugged up 1 on each (by cylinders 1 & 2) but completely missed the one on the driver's side down by where the Y bolts up. That one vibrated loose and blew out...and worst part is I don't have any 3/8" black pipe plugs laying around where I can find them. So, it'll be a loud ride to town tomorrow. I'm thinking I'll use a little red loc-tite on it when I put it in, and pull out the other 2 to loc-tite them in as well. Anyway, let the fine-tuning begin. Should've done this with the new motor a couple years ago instead of trying to keep the old TBI. This really made that 350 come alive.

Well, just finished the exhaust. Had 3 welds on the Y-pipe to finish it up, as well as bending a piece of 1/2" rebar and welding it on for a hanger...then trim the remaining bit of old Y-pipe off the front of the catalytic converter so I could weld in a straight 3" piece to connect to the new Y. Used a ball flange connector between the Y and the cat, so instead of the entire exhaust being 1 piece from the headers back to the tailpipe, I can disconnect it half way. Anyway, this new set-up looks MUCH better...less bends, a ton less welds (even though I had to modify the Y-pipe...again...it isn't as severe as the old one). Lots of zigs and zags are gone. Both sides of the Y are approximately the same length, too...about 6" longer on the passenger side...and it gets to a single 3" about 2' closer to the engine and from there, it's a straight shot back through the cat & muffler. Tailpipe bends over the axle and out the side, still. Kind of funny, though. Everything BEFORE the cat is brand new. Most people put "cat back" systems on if they do any exhaust modifications. Then again, when you're starting with a 3" Magnaflow cat and 3" 70 series Flowmaster muffler and Flowmaster's 3" tailpipe kit already on the vehicle, you don't really have to modify that, so perhaps I'm not as strange as it sounds... Anyway, time to take it for a test drive to see if my Redneck Engineering fix solved the issue with the cruise control not working. If it did and the cruise doesn't work after I swap in the carburetor, I'll know that without the computer, I won't have cruise. If I DON'T find out if it's working before tearing into it, I'll always be wondering if I CAN fix it. Not having it isn't really THAT big of a deal...but it'll be great if it works and STILL works after I get done.

They've had GPS-controlled tractors for a while now...run straighter, less overlap, more consistent row spacing, etc...they even work in conjunction with planters to adjust seed population and sometimes even the seed variety to match the variations in soil type and quality within the field all to maximize the bushels/acre. ...but in the field, you don't have to worry about other traffic and road hazards.

I don't own any vehicles with air bags...except for the Mack, but those are all in the suspension. I'm perfectly OK with that, too.

Got a big 'ol pile of parts sitting in the office waiting for tomorrow. Spent last weekend under the truck reworking the exhaust...ditched the long tube headers and put manifolds on...and the Y-pipe that was SUPPOSED to fit, didn't. Couple cuts, couple welds, and we're good to go...not near as extreme as the modifications I needed to make to that pipe with the headers. This weekend's job? Pull the manifold and replace with the Edelbrock dual plane, mount the Stage 2 Quadrajet (which I almost didn't get...Jegs is "vendor ship" and the vendor wasn't going to have any ready 'til the middle of next month. Summit had 'em in stock, though, so cancelled the order w/ Jegs and placed it w/ Summit), and insert the new distributor. I've got the adapter to go from the 3/8" ORB fuel supply line to the regulator, but won't have the 5/16" ORB adapter until the middle of next week. Only other thing I'm missing is the pigtail for the electric choke...also on order. By next weekend, it should be back up and running...hopefully with a little better fuel mileage and a lot more power.

Wow.

Every time the railroad closes the road by the house for 2-3 days to replace the crossing, we get the same thing. Detour signs clearly mark the route around. Electronic signs clearly stating what, where, and why the detour is posted. Every time without fail, you get folks (cars and trucks alike) running right up to the barricades and then scratching their heads when they can't proceed. Yes, there is a shortcut...but I always send them back around the long way to follow the detour. My neighbors thought I was an asshole for not sharing the shortcut, but they need to learn that when the signs say "ROAD CLOSED" and a detour is marked, they should follow the detour. Best part was the truckers...I wouldn't let them make the turn onto my road to turn around in the church parking lot. They spent a lot of money having a 1" asphalt overlay put on their chip & seal parking lot...won't hold up to trucks spinning trailers around. Made them back their way out of town to find a suitable place to turn around. Next time, read the friggin' signs! It was rather one time, though. I got home, and had to move one of the barricades to get into my driveway. Railroad guy saw me and started to say "road is closed" and I pointed at my house and said "not where I'm going it ain't!" Apparently he'd been dealing with dumbassery all day from illiterate people in their cars & trucks.

Spent most of the day mowing...been 5 weeks since the front axle on the mower broke, and it's been raining every 2nd or 3rd day since then so the grass was stupid long and thick. Took the shop 4 weeks just to pull it in and look at it. 2 hours total working on it. Fully covered under warranty, though, so it didn't cost me anything but the aggrevation of being without my damn mower for 5 weeks. Anyway, got the lawn mowed now and it looks pretty damn good. Took a break to change the little guy and get him fed, then got to work assembling the crib I've been refinishing for the boy. We picked it up at an antique store...real nice oak crib...but it is missing the spring. So I bought some brackets and a piece of plywood and we can drop the mattress down on that. Wife's been on my case about how long it's been taking, but it's tough when it's 1,000,000 degrees outside and gotta keep the kid inside. She complains about how hard it is for her to get stuff done INSIDE where she can keep an eye on him or let him crawl around the house chasing her. Can't have him outside with me, though, because it's hotter than hell and don't need him exploring in the yard and finding a bomb left by the dogs, so I got to listen to him crying inside the house in his play pen over the baby monitor and if that don't just rip your heart out knowing he's just wanting to be held but you've GOT to get this crib done for him. He's already flopped himself out of the cradle, so the wife bought a travel crib (which we really needed anyway for our road trips that are coming up) to get us by, but this crib is a lot bigger and better. It's sanded, stained, and assembled...just needs a top coat or two now. Anyway, that was my 1st Father's Day as a dad. Would've liked to have spent more time with the boy, but stuff had to get done. We hung out all day on Saturday, though...picked up the mower from the shop and did some other running around in town, even met up with momma at Chick-Fil-A on her lunch break. That was kinda cool, 'cuz they were giving out can coozies to all the dads for Father's Day.

I'll 2nd Jeg's...bought a lot through them, and always easy to deal with.

I've noticed that it appears we have a size limit for the cumulative total size of all the attachments we've ever uploaded...and if you go back and delete some of the older ones, you're allowed to upload more.

Yesterday I was pushing him higher & higher until he got that look in his eyes like he was either about to pass out from the g-forces or puke...so I eased off a bit and he was all giggles again. That boy is a daredevil for sure...quickest way to make him stop crying and start laughing is to turn his frown upside-down...literally. Grab him by the ankles and pick him up over your head and he's all smiles. Loves to be tossed up into the air, too...the higher the toss, the bigger the giggles. Me & him's gonna have SO much fun as he gets older...

There was also VERY little coverage of the MD shooting a day or two later (stopped by a resource officer who was NOT a cowardly little shit like Parkland's officer and actually engaged the shooter). Also little-to-no coverage of Dixon, IL and officer Mark Dallas (another resource officer) who quickly engaged a shooter and ended the incident before it really got started. Media ignores the incidents where a good guy with a gun stops the bad guy with the gun, while really playing up incidents such as the Waffle House shooting where an unarmed person rushed the gunman. They like to use that incident to "prove" the NRA wrong (they like to say "The ONLY way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun" ...ought to say "The QUICKEST way..." or "The BEST way..." as either would be more accurate). If the Waffle House patron had a gun, he wouldn't have had to wait for an opportunity to charge...how many lives could've been saved? They don't think about that, though. Guns are neither good nor evil. Inanimate objects can't act on their own. Good or evil rests in the heart of the person wielding the tool...and their heart won't change in the absence of one specific tool. Cain didn't use an AR15 to kill Abel. Hell, an evil person will sharpen the handle of his tooth brush in prison if he wants to shank someone. Evil is going to acquire or fabricate the tools needed to cause harm. It is foolish to prevent GOOD people from having easy access to the tools they want or MIGHT (we all pray we won't) need for fear of what evil people could do with those tools.

The cam really isn't all that extreme... http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam-specs/Details.aspx?csid=197&sb=2 ...actually, the cam is just a hair mild for the stage 2: https://www.jegs.com/i/JET-Performance/561/36002/10002/-1 "This Carburetor is intended for 305,350 & 400c.i. Chevy Truck engines with mild performance upgrades..."

Problem now is it's running stupid rich (so much so that it will occasionally continue running for a few seconds after you shut off the key), wasting a bunch of fuel. That and the little 2bbl primative EFI isn't up to the task with the Vortec heads and free-flowing exhaust...so even if it wasn't running so rich, it is sucking air in through a straw and not living up to it's potential in the power dept. 800 cfm carburetor can be tuned...idle adjusted, needles and jets adjusted...not to mention having the ability to control the spark advance (which I think is set rather conservatively, because I told the chip maker I wanted to run the cheap gas...NOT the premium he "recommended". To have that chip reprogrammed to fix the over-fueling/spark advance issues involves pulling the chip, mailing it to him, he takes another stab at it, mails it back to me, and 2 or 3 weeks later I get to see if it is a good change or not...and if not, repeat. Who has time for that? Carburetors and distributors can be tinkered with whenever I've got a few spare moments. Once it's dialed in, it'll run better...like I said, the old worn out & inefficient 190 hp engine was giving us 11.25 mpg. This one (with 1996-2000 intake) is rated 60-100 hp higher. More power is usually more efficient, because you spend less time and effort getting going. I was honestly expecting 12-14 mpg. Dad had a '97 Chevy Express van, same engine (minus the cam), same transmission, 4.11 rears instead of the 3.73's, and 235/85R16 tires instead of the 285/75R16's we've got...and he was getting 14 mpg with that, so I know it CAN be done...just got to get it tuned right.

Well, starting to put together a list to place another order...Edelbrock Performer dual plane intake manifold, still a toss-up on the carburetor (leaning toward a Jet remanned 800 cfm stage 2 Quadrajet for light trucks), but also need a TPS to run the transmission controller. US Shift has some listed on their site, but none say they are specifically for the Quadrajet. Then there's the distributor...thinking a Proform (officially licensed by GM) with mechanical and vacuum advance ought to do the trick...hoping to find one compatible with the hydraulic roller cam I have or at least uses the same size drive gear that I already have so I can just swap it over. That right there ought to get it running a little better. Also going to yank those silly long tube headers off and go back to OEM exhaust manifolds. Thought about putting shorties on there, but from what I'm reading there isn't enough gain in power to justify paying twice as much as the OEM replacement manifolds. Why? Because I want to get another Y-pipe (had to cut the one I bought into 100 pieces and weld it back together...and it's got a few leaks as a result). Having a one-piece Y-pipe will eliminate 99% of the exhaust leaks on the truck. Last up is fixing the driver's side window. Probably going to order new glass, wing window, track, etc...got to be able to roll the window up and down without it jumping out of the track or getting stuck...otherwise, it'll be a very uncomfortable trip to Texas in a few months. I'm really hoping these changes will get us up into the 12-14 mpg range I was hoping for with the new motor, because we WERE at 11.25 mpg before the swap to the Vortec heads. Sitting at 7.75 mpg right now, and the sad thing is I can get that all day long out of the 460 in the F250 pulling the 4-horse gooseneck around. Still need to do the body mounts, too. Bought a 3/4" drive 3/4" socket, because my 1/2" drive impact and ratchets just weren't breaking them loose. I don't care much for reducers if I can find the proper size socket in a bigger drive. Guess I ought to get to work on it...

I put a quick-connect on my air tank to plug an airline into. When my brother started driving, I made him one of those gladhand airlines using a rubber hose and a dual inflation chuck that locks onto the valve...for the same price as the POS pvc ones the truck stops sell. I can't stand pvc hoses...OK in the summer, but the other 3 seasons they don't want to unroll so you can use them, and then when you're done they don't want to roll back up to put away.

50% of the max inflation listed on the sidewall is considered "flat"...so if you're running 16-ply tires with a 120 psi max, you could have one @ 120 and the other @ 61 and be legal. 120 & 60 and you're in trouble. Best to keep them as close to equal as you can, though, for better wear.

Sorry, but if I were hung up on the tracks, I would unhook the air and electric lines, pull the 5th wheel release, and pull the tractor out of harms way. Do that while on the phone with the railroad. If they can't get the trains shut down, at least you minimize the damage. Once the trains are shut down, get some blocks to roll the drives onto as you back under the trailer again, hook up the air lines, and back off the tracks. Even if you can't pull out from under the trailer, with the 5th wheel released and the air lines disconnected, at least it won't drag your truck 1/2 mile up the tracks. No big loss here, though...just a petercar.

...says Easter Bunnies taste like jelly beans.

So easy a 7 month old can do it...

...and it cracks me up every time: Two boys tried to steal pizza delivery car but could not drive stick, cops say http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/31/two-boys-tried-to-steal-pizza-delivery-car-but-could-not-drive-stick-cops-say.html

Thanks. Will plan on pulling the floor in the next day or two then to get the rest of them...guessing maybe 3 or 4 more?

Well the good news is I was able to use a tap and a 1/4" wrench to get all but 1 of the wallered out holes stretched out to the 7/16-20. Used the old bolts in the holes up next to the transmission mount, since they didn't seem too bad and there was no way to get the tap into them even if I wanted to. Only vacant hole right now is the one behind the clutch linkage...wallered out too bad to use an old bolt, but can't get the tap in there to stretch it to fit a new one. Maybe I'll pull the clutch linkage off when it's warm enough to have the boy outside with me and I'm not listening to him screaming bloody murder through the baby monitor. Way I figured was if he's screaming, he's breathing. Had to make a few trips inside to check on him while he was napping, though. Anyway, I didn't pull the floor panel to get any bolts in the top...figure there's probably a couple up there, but again with a screaming kid in the house I didn't want to spend any longer than absolutely necessary. At least now I've got most of them...and I left my ratchet strap on there for good measure. Every bolt also has blue lock-tite on the threads, and the new bolts have lock washers, too. HOPEFULLY there wasn't too much extra wear that will cause me trouble in the near future...guess we'll wait and see. I'm only planning on reloading the stuff I'm going to need tomorrow into the cab...emptied it out Friday when I got home anticipating removing the floor panel this weekend. If anyone knows for certain whether there'd be bolt holes in need of bolts up there, then I'll run with minimal equipment until I get those taken care of. If there aren't any up there, then I won't bother pulling the floor panel and will restock the cab when I get home.