Greetings All I bought a 47 3100 for the boss (She Who Must Be Obeyed) for our 30th. I'm thinking Restore - She's thinking Daily Driver / Restorod. "Honey, can you put in PS, PB, Air and a CD player....?" The old 216 is too tired to think about, don't want to go 350 sbc. How can I build her the truck she wants but keep the flavor of an old truck ? To you single guys, if I have to explain you wouldn't understand..... Any and All advice is welcome ! Thanks Pete Wrongpaw Adams
Let's spend someone else's money! Oh goody, we get to spend someone else's money! I like this! One thing you might think about is putting a 261 cu in engine in it. It would be a full oiler and should give you plenty of power to run a/c, p/s and still get you down the road in style and you don't compromise the look of the engine compartment. Gotta put a 3.55 rear end set up in it. You didn't say anything about her preference to shift or drop it into drive and go. If she likes auto, find a good ol' slip and slide powerglide tranny. You with me so far?
Question? Did you really buy it for her? Personally, I have lost count of the vehicles I bought for my wife.... Sure was fun fixin em up, kinda on the sly... for myself. So my advise is equal to Ken's, but keep in mind.. she might out of the kindness of her heart turn the keys back over to you someday. So what would you want to tool down the old back roads in? Factory is wonderful, but for a daily driver a few updates are mandatory for most ladies. For my wife, first question "will it have A/C, second question "where does the key go", third question "is it going to break down". All the rest is of less importance to her. My next is going to be as close to original as I can make it. Dreaming here: The next might just have a vortec V-6, auto and IFS. All other apperance will be original. It might be that what ever makes you smile will make her smile
From a restorod point of view The old inline 6's are great and all guys but for your wife you should go with less maintenance. If it were me building for my wife (not myself) I would put a dependable 283 with a power glide behind it and a camaro rear end. These motors and trannys are bullet proof and NO maintenance to speak of. It will have enough power to get out of it's own way and not so much as to be a stop light to stop light vehicle. I would also put front and rear sway bars in it so that the truck handles well in those sticky situations. Speaking of sticky situations I would convert at least the front brakes to disc so it will handle better in turns if you need to brake. Also much faster stopping time and power. So to sum it all up in my opinion a 283, powerglide, with around a 3:55 gear or so will = good gas mileage and good power for a daily driver. But then again what do I know!!!
Hey, why does this sound familiar? Less than a year ago I bought a 53 3100 for the missus. Her questions were: Does it have an automatic? Will i need to sell the Saturn? Will it be good in the snow? One thing led to another, and I am on my way to an S10 conversion. By the time I had considered replacing all the wear and tear, front disc brakes, a drivetrain rebuild, etc... the S10 thing just seemed like the way to go. I have scrutinized Coilovers pictures, and read all his threads pertinent to the subject. I have decided to go ALL S10, bone stock under the truck, and all 53, bone stock on top. To the tune of a 160hp 4.3 v6, 700r4, computer, catalytic converter and all. Now there will be some headaches, but I have purchased a GM wiring diagram specific to the 92 S10, have located information on how to recalibrate the speedo (VSS) feed to account for the tire change (stock 53 wheel 215/85r16 radial), and will make every effort to keep things stock when viewed from the outside. The all electric gauge package from CP will probably find it's way into the dash, and some form of AC will be under it. The purist may scoff, but it's my wifes truck and that's what SHE wants. If she doesn't like to drive it, she doesn't like it. Good luck, Mike in NH
Purists may Scoof? Hey Mike in NH! The only thing i got to say about that is: fine, let them sweat their butts off while your wife drives around in air conditioned comfort. Chevs of the 40's sells a really nice looking unit that looks great under the dash. www.chevsofthe40s.com
Kudo's to Kevin Kudo's to Kevin. Excellent choice. A very reliable motor, reliable transmission. It just happens to be the same size V-8 I have in mine, t350 tranny though. I would swap out the drum brakes in front for disc brakes. Rear-end, you can use 70's nova, camaro's and even newer 4x4 S-10. Install power steering, power brakes and drive the heck out of it. Just remember, it will still handle like a old truck, just steer and stop alot better. The list goes on. Enjoy! PS: Happy Holidays to ya! (tried to cover all) Mike
Thanks for the Kudo's Mike. It's been a long week and I really needed that. I think I have broke everything I've touch on cars this week and when this happens it makes me question my abilities as a mechanic. The TH 350 is a great tranny too, and probably a little easier to find as those drag race guys buy up all the powerglides they can find. Either tranny will work just fine. If you wanted an overdrive tranny then maybe check out the 700R4. This is another wonderful tranny from GM, just make sure she comes to a COMPLETE stop before putting into drive because 1st gear and reverse use the same sun gear and when it rips out then you aren't going anywhere. When I worked for GM I put several tranny's in because of this.
I've yet to check, but are 283s still plentiful? Is there a 5 speed tranny that will bolt to this? -Okay- Is there a 4-speed that will bolt up? I've been driving a N----- since both of my rides went in the tank. 5 speed. I forgot how much fun interactive driving can be!
PLENTIFUL? Let me know when you want it and I can get you one just about any time. I've got one actually sitting in dad's garage right at the moment. You can't have it though it goes in my Impala. I don't know about the tranny though. The Impala is a three on the tree so yes a manual will fit, but I don't know which 4 or 5 speed will.
Cool! I have the 350/700 in my van, but I have a special spot in my heart for the mighty 283! Thanks!
283's ought to be a dime a dozen out there. They were a workhorse from '57 through the late '60's. They are a dream and as Kevin said, no maintenence and very dependable. I've got one sitting in an old '58 chevy station wagon that still runs and will, one day, power something i'll rebuild, if i ever get my sh*t together!
Ken one of these days I'm gonna have to drive out to puryear and see all of these fabulous automobiles you keep talking about. Your mom's stang, your truck, the panal, and now the station wagon. The list goes on and on.
I've tried a pooper-scooper but that didn't help- One of these days I'll get around to asking what- if any- kind of electrical crap I would need to put on a 350/ 283 to make it start and run without wondering, "Is it going to fire up?" "Will it keep going while I set at this stop light that has been red so long I'm wondering if the light is stuck on red?"
Fuel injection conversion is my recommendation if you want the guessing game taken out of it Zig. It's actually an easy swap and will start easier and let you know when it's gonna die if it's gonna die.
That's what I have in my van. I don't know how tough it is to remove a harness, but is it possible to mark and remove the factory harness and reinstall in my truck? I'm sure the length of the harness may have to be lengthened or shortend, but if it's possible, everything is there plus the computer. But I'm sure this is a wacked idea, right? I'm wondering about the '92 column and PBB as well... What do you think?
To R&I the harness from your van to your truck would be very simple I think. Just don't do a hatchet job on the harness to get it out of the van and you'll be fine. If you're not real familiar with the way the harness should be laid out then buy some of those price tags with a string attached and label what connector goes to what sensor, front of engine harnessl, and left and right sides of harnesses. This is what I do at work when I'm replacing an engine harness or body harness for the first time. You may want to check on the net and try to find out if you can flash program the ECM so you can do away with some of the emissions bull crap such as oxygen sensors and things like that. I think the column could work, I've seen all types of columns in these trucks. My personal preference is a column from flaming river or something along that lines just because I like the look of them. The aftermarket columns all use the GM five pin connector so you shouldn't have to figure out anything as far as the wiring of the column. (this will also be the same wiring on the column of the 92) The PBB may be hard to mount if you go with an under floor mount. They make PBB & master cylinder combo's specifically for under the floor and they are really not all that expensive. I think around $150.00 or so. I'll try and find one and post a link to it. If you have any fuel injected questions like what sensor does what and why, then let me know and I'll help out all that I can. One thing that is very very important to do is when you take the harness out of the vehicle then take the diagnostic connector (OBD 1) from under the dash. Should be on the drivers side by the kick panel or could be on the Pass side by the console. It will be square with one little tit sticking out on each side. I want to say it is 21 pins (but can't remember for sure) and will be black. This will help a lot for diagnostic purposes when all isn't running 100%. You can buy a cheap scan tool for about $150.00 that will read fault codes, but I recommend spending double that and buying one that will actually show you what the engine is doing. Example if you have a bad crank sensor it will not let the engine start. So you could go into your scan tool and look at the crank sensor and see no RPM reading and know exactly that is the problem. Without being able to see this you will be just chasing your tale and get very frustrated with it. But it can be very simple to diagnose and play with, like I said before if you have any questions let me know. Hope this helps and sorry for being so long winded.
Hey Zig you probably already knew what I was talking about, but here is a link anyway to show you that there are some conversion kits to actually fit specifically to our trucks. This one is a little pricey, but I just thought I'd show you the pic. http://www.classicperform.com/Store/1947_59_Trucks/4754BBD.htm
Another link for a scan tool that I have mentioned. It will read OBD I (for your old truck with the van motor) and OBD II (for any other vehicle you have that is a 1996 and above) vehicle. It is a good scan tool that I have personally played around with. I don't know the price of it but maybe you can email cornwell and they can tell you. http://www.cornwelltools.com/OnlineCatalog/Diagnostic and Underhood/138diagnostic3.html
Then One Voice Said : Me , I'd go find one of the many good 6 cylinder Hydromatic takeout drivelines and hook a nice 261 to it , add AC and Bob's Your Uncle (my uncles name wasn't Robert & he's dead but..) Thataway you'd -both- be happy . 283's are still out there and yes , a simple overhaul will make it back into a real sweet & powerfull runner that won't drink up too much ga$$ . 99 % of them have flat cams and floppy timing chains so if you should happen onto one with decent compression , just slip in a new stock cam & lifters plus some new bearing shalls , re-seal & re-paint and you're golden . Surely a Hydramatic or 350TH would do nicely , a PG will keep it revved up too far when SWMBO is zooming on the freeway (IMO) . This is a good thread .
