'62 Unibody Still Plugging Along

[Toyz]

Nice work, Steve! I wouldn't have expected the Sandersons to fit that well! Wish they had those mini starters back when I was building Vegas!
Paul

[LM14]

Well, a little road trip today scored me a mint set of complete C1AE-6090-A heads. Came from a running engine with a bad block.

Guy also had a Edelbrock Performer intake that has been polished at some point in it's life, but not a real high quality job. It's dirty but appears to be in pretty good shape. Probably be swap meet fodder or maybe go on the '66.

Got the whole deal for $125! Tomorrow the GT heads come off (too hard to make the headers work correctly with the 14 bolt exhaust pattern and lower exhaust port locations) and we'll see what the block looks like for a "low miles" 390.

Pictures tomorrow!

Later,
SPark

[LM14]

Dropped the '61 heads at the machine shop. They were in great shape! Needed exhaust valves (surprise, they had been ground a few times in the past 53 years and the margins would have been too thin if ground again) so a set of stainless valves and a set of valve springs are on order from Competition Products.

Also got the final word on the set of cast pent roof Blue Thunder valve covers I tried to order. Out of stock and not known if/when they will ever be available again so finally got a refund from the guy I ordered them thru. Ordered a new set of early no-hole chrome baldy valve covers from Tony Branda. Since he was shipping me things anyway I also got a reproduction of the original 427 dual quad linkage coming. Started rebuilding the 2 Holley 1850-3 carbs that are going on it.

Got all the old exhaust removed from under it and all the old fuel and brake lines ripped out. Finalized the power steering mount and alternator mount. Also spent part of the day lying under it cutting old bolts off of mounts and brackets that have been added over it's life. Amazing how many things can be bolted under an old truck by previous owners.

I've been trying to free up the throttle pedal. It was frozen solid when I started. It's starting to free up but not as free as I want it to be. It's really tight where the steel passes thru the aluminum/pot metal mount. Anyone have a good idea on how to free it up even more? I've been soaking it in PB Blaster, WD40 and rinsing with carb cleaner. It's till too stiff to use but it may get there by the time I have the engine back together and ready to run....maybe.

SPark

[simonscr]

Anyone have a good idea on how to free it up even more?

Can you use a little heat from torch, or is there some rubber in the way that could get burned?

[LM14]

I have it off the firewall so nothing is close to it. Worried if it's aluminum or pot metal so I haven't put any heat to it. It's getting better but I've wiggled this thing off and on for the last 2 days every time I walk past it. My arms are giving out!

SPark

[unibody madness]

I used Kroil oil on mine and a propane torch to heat it up. you might try steeping it in a solution of hot water and vinegar for a short while first, too long will pit the metal.

[kstones63]

Steve, I have the throttle assembly out of Nick's 63 Uni if you want it. It is yours for the price if shipping. It will fit in a medium flat rate box, should be about $12-13. It is free and works well. We aren't going to be using it in his truck. The big heads on his engine are in the way of the stock throttle location.
Let me know if you want it.

Kevin

[LM14]

Everything that goes on the outside of the engine fits and clears everything!

Got the reproduction 427 Low Riser 8V throttle linkage from Tony Branda and have it roughed in. Got my throttle pedal freed up (appreciate everyone's ideas and offers of parts) and got the linkage all figured out. Had to modify the throttle linkage on the side of the carb to make it like the old '57-65 side linkage and also had to re-shape the baseplate to clear the linkage crossover bracket. Works great and is really smooth.

Going to run a degas/surge tank on the engine. It's not really needed 100% but it looks right, is period correct for the look I'm going for and the price was right. It and the radiator cap sit at the same height. The radiator is getting a slightly higher rated cap so the degas portion of the tank works right. Cross your fingers.

All motor and tranny mounts are in and completely supporting the engine. Plenty of header clearance and everything but the very bottom of the tranny mount are above the bottom of the frame rail. It all tucks in pretty nice now. Can still get the air cleaner off but it has to come off in pieces to clear the pinch weld on the firewall, not enough room to just unbolt it and lift it off.

While I was getting the throttle linkage from Tony Branda, I also decided to put the '62 style no-hole baldie valve covers on it so got a set off those, too. They will eventually have a custom made decal depicting the "410 Lincoln" engine.

Headed out to meet up with Aaron tomorrow to get a 428 crank. The heads are at the machine shop getting a valve job done and putting in slightly bigger stainless exhaust valves and new springs. After he gets the seats cut for the bigger valves, I'll get them back and it will take me a few days to do the port work and bowl blending to take advantage of the new, bigger valves. Now it's time to find those 410 pistons and the rest of the little pieces to do the engine up right.

Got the ride heights all set. The center of the front wheel opening is exactly 24" above the ground and there are a couple inches of rake in the truck. Sits about right and is an inch and a half lower than the '66 so I'm pretty happy with how it sits.

Here's a few pics since posts without pics don't count!






Probably won't get much body work done but still hoping to have it running/driving and getting it to Slick Stock this fall.

SPark

[simonscr]

Going to run a degas/surge tank on the engine. It's not really needed 100%

Steve, can you give us some education please? What is the purpose of this tank?

[simonscr]

Truck is looking good by the way! Nothing quit like shiny parts on an engine to get one excited!

[LM14]

The "surge" or "degasing" tank was used on mostly Galaxies and Cobras when Ford went to a cross flow radiator and a lowered hoodline. They had trouble getting all the air out of the system and had heating problems since the new radiators were lower than the engine. The "surge" tank became the high point/filling point in the system and let you get all the air out of the cooling system. Some radiators didn't have a cap, some did. They found that while it allowed expansion, and sometimes gets wrongfully referred to as an "expansion tank", it continued to let newly created gas bubbles escape the system as it ran even if you had it full of fluid. It acts somewhat like the top air space in the top tank of an old style top/bottom tank radiator. It allows the liquid to flow thru and bubbles can escape the fluid as it passes thru the tank. It has the potential to have some liquid escape but it should mostly be gasses since the fluid can expand and not need to boil out.

With sealed systems it became unnecessary in most cases. It isn't meant to be a puke tank, it was for air bubbles to get out of the system and not create hot spots. Guys still run them even with a radiator cap on the radiator since it still works to degas the coolant. Combining the surge tank with a puke tank looks kind of like wearing suspenders with a belt but they actually serve different functions.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.....unless somebody has a better explanation.
SPark

SPark

[LM14]

Not a lot of progress that shows lately. Did get all the throttle linkage hooked up and got the progressive parts all timed to work correctly. Pretty much ended up using '67 Shelby dual quad reproduction linkage from the pedal to the carbs. Got it hooked to the stock '62 pedal and everything seems fine.

Got the 428 crank I got from Aarons428 dropped off at the machine shop. When it gets back I'll tackle the 410 build for real.

Put all the front sheetmetal back on to see where it needs tweaked. I have the original front bumper but it has some serious dents. Anyone have a good experience with getting one straightened and re-chromed? Looking for a trustworthy shop.

Got the '61 heads I'm going to use completely rebuilt and just got them back today. Guides were good but had several broken bolts that simply didn't want to come out. Tried soaking, heating, welding nuts on and using air wrench and cussing. Nothing worked, but the cussing felt the best. Ended up drilling 6 exhaust manifold and 2 intake manifold bolts out and re-threading all the holes. I got lucky and everything worked out great. Put in new 427 - 1.655" stainless exhaust valves and the stock 2.0255" intake valves. Added new valve springs, seals and a bit of port matching. Didn't get radical on the ports, just a gasket match for intake and exhaust and a little bowl work and cutting the throat below the valve bigger to take advantage of the bigger exhaust valves and the full intake valve area.

Intake side:





Exhaust side:





Should help a little. Didn't actually remove all that much but got rid of some restrictions.

Also put a new starter on the '66 since summer may finally be here. Only took 3 hours to get the old one off (split exhaust and remove right side header, unbolt engine and raise 2" for enough room to move header out of the way to drop the starter down). Thought it needed a Bendix but once they got it apart it was starting to have a few internal problems so just put a new one on it. After almost 2 hours of jockeying everything (header and starter) overhead and finally getting everything back into place so I cold start a bolt in the starter, I found I left my starter bolts on the bench. I rolled out from under the truck and got my bolts and decided it would be easier to put a top side bolt back in first. Just as I touched the starter if fell back out of the hole, knocked the header out of the way and fell to the floor! What had taken me 3 hours to remove the other day just took 2 seconds to fall out! Some more of those good feeling cuss words and a lunch break to let the arms recover before tackling it again. Ate lunch, went out and everything slipped into place. 2 hours later it started right up and I was amazed at how much better this starter sounds than the one I took off. I have no skin left on my forearms, my shoulders are killing me from working "up" all day but it's finally back together. Decided to do an oil change while I was lying under it anyway. '66 is now ready for summer!

Later,
SPark

[foodstick]

Sounds good, On the repairs..
those dang garage floors just keep getting harder, and the trucks lower !

Oh yeah, I wish you could put some bigger valves in those heads you have pictured ! sheesh !

[simonscr]

Steve, when you are done with the motor, what kind of horse power and torque is it going to produce?

I have always been amazed how much better thing seem to come apart and go back together with a few 4 letter words!

[Toyz]

X2 on the garage floors! Missed a great photo op today when I pulled in to Paradise! Skip was lying stretched out in front of and partially under Nadine. I had the camera beside me on the console; but my first thought was "he's fallen and can't get up "
Paul

[LM14]

Steve, when you are done with the motor, what kind of horse power and torque is it going to produce?

I honestly have no idea, I haven't given it a thought until now!

The original 410" Merc engines made 330HP at 4600 RPM and 444 lb-ft of torque at 2800 RPM with a single 4bbl carb and little exhaust valves. I've supposedly improved the heads with bigger exhaust valves, added an 8V intake and 2 Holley 600 carbs, a better cam, better valve springs, headers and a full length 2.5" dual exhaust. If things go as expected, I should be safe in guessing 400-425 HP and 475-500 lb-ft of torque? Other engines that got the 8V induction picked up 35-40HP and 20-30 lb-ft of torque over a single 4bbl carb (depending on what chart you look at) with no head work. Cams have come a long way since the early 60's as have ignitions.

Not really sure on numbers, just want something that feels good, sounds good and is fun to drive. I'm not worried about economy with my toys, I have other vehicles to drive for that. If time permits, I have a few friends with dynos and maybe we'll just have to find out!

SPark

[LM14]

No pictures today.

Got all the front sheetmetal sorted out.

Going to use the right inner fender I built instead of the big truck inner fender or a little truck stocker with the battery recess in it. I put all 3 on back to back. Liked the rear "hump" of the big truck inner matching on the right and left but didn't like the fact that the big truck inner went straight and didn't flare in at the front like the 1/2 tons do. Looked at splicing the rear of the big truck inner to the front of the little truck inner. That would be fairly easy to do. Since I had already started building a hump for the original right inner to mimic the big truck inner hump, I was leaning towards that. After trying all 3 styles back to back, I'm going with the right inner I built the hump from scratch on. Now the right and left inners will be mirror images of each other. Will also do a little more smoothing by removing the regulator pad, filling all the holes and making everything flow nicely.

Got my front bumper mounted but it has a twist and a couple dents. It could be straightened, I think, but there are surely better cores to start with. Got a few feelers out.

Got the original tailgate off. It's fairly rough. Big dent on the top edge for the right 1/4 of the gate. Bottom is 50% rusted out. The center flat panel is really rough and dented. Each side piece has some rust/putty but can't really tell how much yet. PERFECT! Since I plan on changing the center panel completely, the rest is a piece of cake, right? We'll see when it comes back from the blaster next week.

Headed to the blaster in the morning with the tailgate, right inner fender, front valance and grill. We'll see what I get back.

Got a shipment yesterday. New tailgate hinges, complete taillights (taillight buckets, gaskets, lenses), complete front parking lights and a few pieces for the '66.

Have a great weekend everyone!
SPark

[LM14]

Got everything back from the blaster. The front valance looks new! No repairs or any kind of work needed.




The tailgate, not so much. I knew it has a spot of rust on the upright on one side and a half dozen rust holes along the bottom edge. Surprise! It was a masterful putty job. It tricked me and I've done this crap a long time, I could spot a bit of putty but never expected this. It's totally junk. It will be good only for inspiration and maybe a few pattern pieces. Got new hinges bolted to the truck, put a set of bronze oilite bushings on the hinges and bought a piece of 1.125" OD/.875 ID DOM tubing. The bronze bushings are 1" OD so I will just bore a step into the ends of the 1.25OD tubing to hold the bushings in place. New, custom, tailgate started!





The grill I got from Pickupmn (Jeff) cleaned up just exactly as we figured it would. A couple small rust holes to fix and a couple small bends/dents but nothing too drastic. Will do all the repairs then start on the modifications.



The last part I got blasted was the right inner fender. I had 2 stock pickup inners and a big truck inner. I want both sides to match. I built this right inner to resemble the left inner (no dip for the battery). The big truck doesn't have the battery notch but it also follows the frame rail at the front where the pickup inners have a large inward bulge that moves towards the radiator. Can't have one side with the bulge and the other side straight anymore than I can have a battery notch on one side and no notch on the other, I'm like that. Thought about putting the back half of the big truck inner on the front half of the small truck inner but didn't want to ruin the big truck inner if somebody else wanted one later. Also considered removing the bulge at the front of the original little truck left inner but kind of like the look of the bulge so that was out. Sooooo, after much debate and trial, I removed the battery dip from the stock right inner and formed/welded new panels to replace what was removed. This bottom side shot will show what was created and welded in. Now both sides are symmetrical. Need to remove the voltage regulator flat spot and get it flowing with the rest of the fender still. A few little slices, some lite hammer and dolly work and it will be ready for a skim coat of filler and paint!



That's the status today!
SPark

[LM14]

Made a commitment the week before Slick Stock to buy a big window conversion from Rickairmedic in Kentucky. Drove down yesterday and cut the metal out and picked up the other pieces he had for it. Also got the trim for the front window. My truck has the front window trim but one piece is pretty beat up so this will give me the best of 2 sets to choose from.

The roof has had a limb fall on it but the damage is mostly confined to the roof panel with a small bit of work needed to straighten the back window panel in about a 3" long area. That area also has a little surface rust so we may just end up cutting it out and replacing the metal in that area instead of straightening it.

The back of the cab as we cut it out:



The front window trim:



Also have the glass but it was still asleep in the back seat of my pickup, must have been worn out from the long ride. 1050 miles round trip and I never missed supper. Left around 11:00 PM Monday, got to Rick's place around 8:30 AM Tuesday and was back home before 6:00 PM Tuesday. Gotta love a road trip.

About have the hobby room in the garage finished. Once that is done, and the hobby stuff moved into it, I'll be back on the uni full time. Plan to pull the engine and build it, finish the front suspension install and get this new big window put in this winter so hopefully update will come a little more frequently in the future.

Later,
SPark

PS: Damned Slick Stock, really does make you want to work on your stuff again.

[myoldman460]

It's about time for an update, don't you think?