It seems like the closer you get to getting a project to completion, the more things seem to slow down. All the large stuff that typically gets done in the course of building something like this is all done, and if one isn't sharp, they will end up with a million little bitty bullshit tasks that need to get done before the project can be considered ready to roll in some form or another. This is the case with Truckstang. Technically, everything is ready in order to crank the engine, and even with the driveshaft in, the car can even be engaged to try and see how it acts in motion, even at a walking pace. Of course, to engage the transmission it needs oil. There's only a minor problem, the transmission needs a speedometer cable installed as the large hole on the side of the tail shaft will keep oil from staying where I want it. A quick trip to the junkyard remedied this and, in a few minutes, a new old replacement cable was plugged up to the tranny and gauge panel and bolted in place. One minor thing done.
Next thing I wanted to address was the fact that I needed an oil pressure gauge in place so when I do run the engine, I can at least see if the engine is making oil pressure. This is important as not knowing if the engine is getting oil all about is a quick way to put an end to a project that was moving along pretty fast. The last thing we need to do is spin a bearing or collapse a lifter due to lack of oil. At the same time I got a voltmeter, since the only way to tell what the electrical system was doing was with the USB charger dongle that has a built in voltmeter. This is fine but the 12v receptacle is always powered and for all intents, this is a po' man's way of getting this vital piece of info. So to fill the two open slots on the gauge panel under the dash, we'll be installing a voltmeter and oil pressure meter. I did run into a minor speed bump with the installation of the oil pressure gauge. The sending unit that came with the gauge is fatter than the stock unit that's currently in place. To remedy this I would have to add a pipe nipple, specifically a 1/4" NPT nipple that reaches out from the side of the block. A coupling on the end of the nipple and a 1/4"-1/8" NPT reducer bushing would then be added to screw in the new sending unit, placing it out from the tight quarters of the side of the engine block. At this very moment, the only option is to reuse the old sending unit. The next problem is the resistance of the two sending units. The stock unit ohm'd out at 100 ohms and the new one at near 200 ohms. I decided to add a resistor in series with the wire connecting to the old sending unit, and connecting a length of wire to the other end of that resistor. This wire would go to the meter. The resistance after the added resistor put the circuit at 200 ohms. Now, I'm not sure if this is going to read properly or not, but it's worth a try. And in the worst case scenario, just the idea of seeing movement on the meter is enough to satisfy me that the engine is doing what its supposed to do. If I see a good swing on the psi scale, I can at least be satisfied that the engine is making oil pressure. After wiring in the gauges, I applied power to make sure all this garbage worked. Of course with the cooling fan coming on, along with the fuel pump, in standby, the voltage dropped to around 11v. The standby voltage was 12.4 at the moment. Mind you, this is a used battery so I'll have to keep an eye on this and if this proves to be a problem, I'll have to exchange this used old battery at the yard for another one before the warrantee expires. While satisfied that the gauges responded, which means the voltmeter read near 10v, since system voltage dropped, and the fuel gauge read at a level that who knows if its accurate as I mated foreign shit together, and the oil pressure gauge in standby showed 20psi. While this is a little kooky, if when the engine is running the pressure jumps up to 40+ at idle, I'll be very satisfied that the engine is healthy. Another little thing that I took care of just because was removing the power steering pump and bracket. Since I have to have custom hoses made, having the pump in place, even with the belt off, will just add unnecessary clutter in the engine bay. I may have to cap off the ports on the steering gearbox just to keep it from running dry, but if things seem to be manageable without the pump, I will forego the pump for the foreseeable future until I can source the tools and fittings to make my own high pressure/hydraulic hoses versus outsourcing this work. One more thing I had to do before I can even think about attempting a startup was to make sure fuel would get to the engine. While turning the system on, I waited for the pump to move fuel to the carb. When nothing happened, I pulled the hoses from the pump, still got nothing. I tried to manually draw fuel from the pump to no avail. I ended up pulling the pickup unit and having to blow out the tube of clogged dirt so fuel would be drawn from the tank. Once that was addressed I tried the circuit again. The next problem that was encountered was the simple fact that the fuel pump I used is a weaksauce pump that really would only work if the pump was right on top of the fuel source, like how my portable fuel source is set up. That pump would only pump fuel in weak spurts, nowhere near enough to push the fuel up to the carb in the volume necessary to run the engine, even with a 2bbl carb. This fuel pump will need to be replaced before I can even move forward. For the time being I plan on pulling the electric pump from the Dodge as its currently not running. That pump is capable of pulling the necessary fuel to do the job. More on the Dodge later. Anyway, once the fuel situation is addressed, then we can attempt to crank the engine and at the same time verify we have spark, which will be indicative of the engine sputtering to life once it picks up fuel. We inch closer and closer...
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