'77 J-10 360 Rescue-Budget build

[Mikel]

Jut cut a large flathead screwdriver and chuck into a drill, making sure it is centered into the oil pump gear drive slot.

[Auburnmark]

Just a word of caution - I notice that your cam sprocket has six slots for oiling the chain. I had a similar timing set and I ended up wiping the cam gear because no oil was getting to it. I had all the oil passages lined up correctly.

Mikel .. I dug out my reciepts and found that the gear I used was a Cloyes S412T. Very cheapo.. urrr inexpensive.. from Rock Auto. Do you happen to know if the gear you had trouble with is the same? Just curious. I could have spung for a better gear had I known but at the time I just didn't see the point. Oh well.. we'll see

As of today I'm waiting on parts to reinstall the fuel tank with. Sending unit checks out fine with ohm meter but the brass float had a pin hole so ordered new one those. Also o-ring, vent hose, filler hose, gas cap.

Meanwhile, got the front end back togeather. Starting to look like a truck again!

[Mikel]

Sorry, I can't find anything. But it sure looks like yours...

[Auburnmark]

I just looked back at your original link... Mine has a pretty large part # (S412T) stamped on the front that you can see in my above pic. Yours does not so it may not be a Cloyes. Whatever that may mean....

When I put the engine together I cut off the largest screw driver I had and used it to prime the pump and made sure I had oil to the lifters etc. But it was sketchy because it kept sliding out and I was afraid of breaking the flange off the pump gear stem. I guess it just wasn't large enough so I will look for something better.

[Mikel]

Sure look the same, down to the number

I'm not saying that you have the same problem, but in my case I did not get oil flow to the gear until I closed four of the six oiling slots in the sprocket. I really hope I'm wrong.

[Auburnmark]

Ok yeah.. I do see the number on yours lol... guess I missed it. Wishful thinking I guess.

[jeepman1]

Yummy

Out of the cave to hose off the 20 year old dirt and grime, then dropped out the gas tank.



No this is not oil.. its what came out of the gas tank! Off to the radiator shop for a good hot tank cleaning.

That looks like good rum!

[Auburnmark]

While waiting on the fuel tank to get cleaned I did pull the distributor and recheck gears for oiling as Mikel suggested. Didn't see any unusual wear. I tried turning the pump to check for oil flow but really couldn't see much at that angle. Maybe if I pulled the fuel pump off I could get a better view ??? I will keep my eye on it. I would hate to ruin a virgin 360 with 60k on it over a stupid fried distributor gear!

Ok..so I finally was able to get the tank back from the radiator shop. It actually came out real good. Did even require a the lining treatment so i save a few bucks there.


Got tank back in this morning with new sending unit float and filter. Also installed another inline filter before the fuel pump just in case of crud in the line. Also worked on the carb a little and installed new accelerator pump, power valve, and new base gaskets. When done she fired right up and idled even! No more fuel leaks either. Next goal, get leaky radiator fixed. Got a feeling it may be beyond repair

[Mikel]

While waiting on the fuel tank to get cleaned I did pull the distributor and recheck gears for oiling as Mikel suggested. Didn't see any unusual wear. I tried turning the pump to check for oil flow but really couldn't see much at that angle. Maybe if I pulled the fuel pump off I could get a better view ??? I will keep my eye on it. I would hate to ruin a virgin 360 with 60k on it over a stupid fried distributor gear!

Great news. An easy check is to pull the distributor cap every once in a while and see how much angular play the rotor has. When my gears got chewed up, I ended up with A LOT of play

[Auburnmark]

Great news. An easy check is to pull the distributor cap every once in a while and see how much angular play the rotor has. When my gears got chewed up, I ended up with A LOT of play

Sounds good. I will definitely keep a close eye on it. An interesting note on this subject.. I just happened to notice the pic in the Haynes Manual of the installed timing gear and it looks like the exact same gear we have/had with all six oil grooves in it. Whatever that may mean..

Anyway.... just as I suspected the radiator guy says mine has to many pin holes to fix. Of course he just happens to have the exact one (brand new) that has been sitting on his shelf for a while he would be more than happy to sell me. humm? $295.00 for a Modine brand.. anyone know if their any good??
Can,t really afford right now anyway, maybe next month.

I was able to get a new muffler from Summit for only $25 plus shipping so at least the neighbors are happy! Gotta love Summit Racing.

[Heavy_Metal_Thunder_81]

Your rad guys can't re-core your original? Be careful, I've had rad shops quote me more than a new rad to re-core mine before. Modine is a good brand, though. $300 is what most replacement 3 cores seem to go for now days. I can't find the old 4 cores anymore unfortunately...if you're not worried about originally and looking for cheap, eBay has some China made aluminum replacement rads for cheap. A lot of people here run them with success.
EDIT:
Here ya go...

http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?nav=item.view&id=141724655407&alt=web

[Auburnmark]

Your rad guys can't re-core your original? Be careful, I've had rad shops quote me more than a new rad to re-core mine before. Modine is a good brand, though. $300 is what most replacement 3 cores seem to go for now days. I can't find the old 4 cores anymore unfortunately...if you're not worried about originally and looking for cheap, eBay has some China made aluminum replacement rads for cheap. A lot of people here run them with success.
EDIT:
Here ya go...
http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?n...655407&alt=web

Yeah.. kinda got the feeling he'd rather sell me a new one than mess with it.
Thanks much for the link! That looks pretty decent for the money. It would be nice to keep original but only if it make sense .. dollar wise. Not that important to me. Before I chuck this one into the recycle pile I think I will take to another shop for a second opinion. Thanks for the info.

[Auburnmark]

Other priorities have slowed progress but still hoping to be roadworthy soon.
Meantime I started removing the crusty old, ugly, faded, petrified, wood grain decals. Tried everything I know to peel off and save the paint under but no way.. not even close. Finally had to get out the can of stripper, scrapers, and lots of sand paper. Pretty much had to take it down to bare metal to get it off!




Primer the bare metal.. and regroup to contemplate a new paint job

[azmtn04]

That is looking really nice. Complete the orange or go two tone?

[Auburnmark]

That is looking really nice. Complete the orange or go two tone?

Thanks.. The only thing I'm sure about keeping it basically the original "tawny orange" color. Love that color on these rigs! Not sure if I would do something different where the decals were or not. Anyway that decision is a ways down the road at this point...