tranny cooler Yes, I did install a tranny oil cooler. I think its made by B&M - ordered from JEGS. I bolted it to the front frame crossmember and to the sheetmetal at bottom of grille (there is no air restriction to the front of the cooler). Will post some pics as soon as I can.
new pics of truck Here are some new pics... a pic of the tranny cooler, exhaust, rear brakes, engine and dash
Looks great Looks great roger bet she is going to sound great with the glass packs.what tire and wheel combo are you going to use?? Next will have to be an a/c set up for Az heat.
Looking Good ! I hope you address the pinched tranny cooler hose on the passenger side . The dash gauges look very interesting . IIRC , there were heat shields from Corvettes we used to use on the spark plug wires when they were tight like this , still available ? .
pics Thanks Nate, I thought I had fixed that. I have seen those shields in catalogs. I have been careful with the wires, to keep them off the manifold. I have run the engine until it heated up for about 45 minutes and the wires were ok. The shields would be a nice addition tho.
Maybe A brass 90° elbow right there ? . You certainly don't want that hose to pinch off whilst you're driving ! .
tranny temp Is an external cooler enough to keep the tranny temp down? A couple people i have talked to thought it would be necessary to get a radiator with tranny cooler built in. Any thoughts?
Tranny Coolers You ALWAYS need a tranny cooler , the ones in the radiator might be your best bet as it gets cold in New England Winters so you'd not have to worry about it getting too cold , yes that is possible too . Best thing is to use an external tranny cooler and install a by - pass thermostat in the lines leading to it . The # 1 killer of slushboxes is HEAT .
tranny cooler I think the tranny cooler in the radiator is probably the best, but my budget was not enough to replace the radiator. I think most of the 'external coolers' are rated by the weight of the vehicle. I chose a 'larger' one to help deal with the Arizona heat. A temp guage for the tranny is on my 'to do list'. Thanks Nate for the suggestion for the elbow on the oil line. Roger
I would really rather not buy a new radiator. It is not in my budget either but it would be cheaper than frying my transmission and having to replace it. I don't think I will be doing a ton of driving in the cold weather but you never know. Can you tell me more about the temp cutoff valve??? Thanks
Tranny Coolers I'm trying to remember who sell them , prolly Lockhart . I know there's Hot Rodders here who know this stuff better than I . Tranny coolers are easy to find in junkyards , moreso where you live because of all the rusted out vehicles . go look at dead P Vans , Ambulances and other work rigs , you'll soon find a cheap tranny cooler , just be *very* careful when removing to cap the open connections , I usually cut the hose 6" away & plug it before I remove the cooler so no dirt gets in because it only takes a tiny bit to screw up your slushbox . Flush it out well before installing too . The thermostat thing is a simple device with four hose connections on it , you plumb it into the tranny cooler lines and it senses the temperature of the ATF flowing through it and if too hot , it opens and allows the fluid to pass through the cooler , when it's too cold , it closes and returns the fluid back to the return line , by-passing the cooler . Simple & effective , all slush boxes should be so equipped . I'm sure there's some local Hot Rodders near you who'll have spare or left over parts , maybe craigslist ? . The funny thing is : I used to save TONS of this stuff at my shop and sold it all for $5 ~ $10 each item because it was worthless ~ no one wanted to buy it unless it was brandy new in the box . I'd have foolish kiddies telling me about the special brand this or that thing they were going to by next and I'd say " I have that , $5 " ~ no takers , maybe a handfull in all those years .
Nate, Thanks for the info. Too bad you say USED to save. I would be your new best package recipient. I don't need things shiny and new just working so I can get the old beast on the move.
truck updates Hi Robert,,not much lately. The temp in the Phoenix area has been over 110 for the past 3-4 weeks (its 114 today on my back patio). Its just too hot to do much. I used to be able to handle the heat here much better years ago...seems with age, the body changes and cannot handle it (wish I had an AC'ed garage). I went to a tire shop to swap my back tires onto 5 lug wheels and one of my tires had a 'bubble' on the side (they are 15 inch BFG T/A and I cannot seem to find one anywhere). JEGS told me BFG is changing the rubber formula to make them 'greener' and won't supply any new ones until Dec. Guess I will have to wait. Do you have your truck completed? Roger
far from complete Hey Roger far from complete just got the shift linkage working again i think i will tack weld the arms so they won't slip again. always something to do hot here as well. keep cool in az take care talk to you soon. Robert
Garage Ventilation Boy howdy , you're not kidding about the heat thing ! . I know I used to think sweeping the Shop was easy duty , I had to do it yesterday morning and was sweating like a dog in a Chinese Restaraunt . Anyways , go to the thrift store & buy a big box fan , set it up so it moves air through the shop . I find keeping a slight breeze helps a lot by evaporating the sweat . If your garage has a peaked roof , you might try setting it up high to exhaust the heated air near the inside peak . Insulating the roof is wise . I'm still working outside on the cement apron , I now have a 20" long canvas cover thing , I've been working out in it , it's been 104° + this week but at least I got my old Mercedes back running , it has AC so of course I'm driving my '59 metropolitan FHC to - day .
Garage Vent Hi Nate, some good suggestions. I open the front doors and my 'side' door and turn on two fans. The fans do ok until its over 110. In Aug, its monsoon season here (its when the dew point is past 45-50 degrees or so. Most of the time the humidity is very low, less than 10% but in Jul and Aug, its 20-30%. And when its over 110, its pretty miserable...the sweat won't evap much. I can work all day in the garage when its around 104...can't wait for those temps to come back - this heat usually goes away the first part of Sept. Stay cool. Roger
That heat's everywhere. Here in the Houston area, we had 108 today and 65% humidity... I've got an Air Conditioned shop, but my truck is 250 miles away, (go figure), and instead of working in the shop, I've been building an addition to it... You guessed it, Outside in the heat....
Exhaust mostly done Here are a couple pics of my completed exhaust. I need to take to a welder and get most of the joints welded so I can remove most of the clamps. I had to remove my spare-tire hanger to complete the exhaust on the passenger side. Has anyone installed a Rear Roll Pan or the Rear Splash Apron? If so, can you load a pic....interested in how one of those look. Thanks Roger
