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1949 Chevy 3600......making it a daily driver!!

OK, so I pulled the tranny back and R & R the flexplate in the correct orientation. I bolted the tranny back up and have about 3/8" of space between the flex plate and the bolt pads for the converter. Is it OK to slide the converter back out to the flex plate and bolt up?
 
Sorry if I missed it but can you give details on the radiator. See that's it's champion. All aluminum? Rows? Etc? Have a 350sbc with an old radiator I need to replace. Thanks
 
Another huge hurdle has been crossed!! Henry is BACK on the road.

I finished buttoning up the torque converter and flex plate issue and bolted on the brand new driveshaft. I double and triple checked everything and dropped him down on all 4 wheels.

Fired right up and I checked the tranny fluid. After adding some I backed him out of the garage!! Huge smiles!!! :metal:

A couple spins around the neighborhood and more checking of nuts and bolts and I advanced the timing to get rid of a pesky miss right off idle. By the end of the night I had it running really good......I am hitting up my local repair shop tomorrow and check the timing and take a look at the carb. They specialize in hot rods and race cars.

Still not 100 sold on the exhaust.......It is a little loud and I get a resonation at certain RPM's that will drive me nuts. Hoping some dynamat on the floor will help.....other wise new mufflers.

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We timed this thing originally with just the open headers. Now that I have added the full exhaust system, the timing is pretty far off.

I am just timing by ear, but I have advanced the timing quite a bit, and still do not have any pinging under load. The more I advance the timing, the better it idles and the quieter it is.

Just got back from a drive and am pretty damn happy with the noise level.
 
Ignition Timing

This is really critical and a proper inductive timing light is under $50 new .

Do not trust anyone at the Hot Rod shop to do it correctly ! they'll give it all the advance they think it can stand , this gives it max. power but can damage the engine easily .

YOU will always do a better job because you care and will take the time they cannot afford to take .
 
I don't know about the Chevy 6, but the instructions in the manual for the GMC has you reduce the idle speed to 350 RPM (below the normal 400-450) when setting timing because the centrifugal advance starts 400.
 
Solid weekend in the garage.....despite other responsibilities!!

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Swapped out my junkyard alternator for a new rebuilt......now we are charging.

Chased down a noisy vacuum leak.

Bolted on the hood and front bumper.....looks much better.

Every errand this weekend ended up being a mini cruise session.......took the LONG route everywhere!! :-)

I think my battery is junk......I cannot get it to take more than 12VDC even after sitting for 12hours on a trickle charger......last winter was tough on it.

Motor pulls good off the bottom, but needs some tuning in the midrange. Should pull harder I think. Really please overall though. Runs awesome......so happy!!

Ended the weekend with a long cruise with my oldest and youngest......good times!!

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Great news, Mike! If you have time, maybe a short video of it running the roads?
Looks like you and your sons found a great destination! As always, awesome pictures.
 
Still tinkering and cruising daily.

Spent some time at the local repair shop. My timing was right on, but I had the vacuum line to my HEI on the wrong port on my carb, so I had no vacuum advance except at high rpm. That woke it up.......runs like a scalded cat now!!

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nice cruiser

Nice truck great build now don't go around town doing burn outs now and if you do we want to hear about it. almost wish I put a v8.
ROBERT
 
So I have some miles on the old guy now. Runs like a champ.

I think I need another set of wheels with some cheap tires on them. The wide whites are taking a beating!! I taught my oldest son the better points of a smokey burnout today...........turns out my 3.43 rear end is limited slip. ;)

Next step is going through the suspension. Front springs are sagging and I am sure all the shackles and bolts are shot. Lots of rattles and rough ride. Probably going to lose some of the low stance, but it will be worth it for a little better ride.

Then start tracking down rattles and cab noise.......

I will also be looking for a little better gearing for the highway. I do not have a tach, but I am guessing I am pulling 3K at 65 right now. Would like to drop that a bit.

Speedo is off about 15mph at 65mph. Need to fix that........

If I could do the whole conversion again about all I would do differently is change from hugger headers to ram horns to make fitment a bit easier. Other than that......the whole experience was pretty painless!!

Thanks for all the input......made it all pretty easy for a newbie!!

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