L31 Extreme Budget Build

[Scooterwrench]

Just a BFH for me. A couple of good taps and they come loose.

Yeah but ANFO is a lot more fun!!!

I will order a silicone cap for the heater return. Those rubber ones do not last.

Ever considered pulling the tube,threading the hole with a pipe tap and plugging with a pipe plug?

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Have to scratch my head at this one. Have neen unable to find 1/2-20 prevailing torque nuts anywhere around Fort Worth, TX. Ordering a box of 10 Grade 8s online, but WTH???? Just wanted to replace the ones that mount the upper control arms.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Yeah but ANFO is a lot more fun!!!

Ever considered pulling the tube,threading the hole with a pipe tap and plugging with a pipe plug?

I have considered removing the pipe and tapping it, but the chinesium cast iron replacement pumps are difficult to make threads that actually hold.

 

[Scooterwrench]

I have considered removing the pipe and tapping it, but the chinesium cast iron replacement pumps are difficult to make threads that actually hold.

Use the titanium nitrided taps and no oil for cast iron. The best source for good taps is McMaster-Carr. I've bought evilbay taps that were a total waste of money.

 

[Jbaer]

Definitely going to sound good when finished

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Still waiting on a RH Front brake hose (packaged wrong and the replacement had to come from Oklahoma city) and the KYB Monomax shocks but it is sitting on all 4 wheels and tires again for now. Going out of town for a week, so it will be a bit before there are more updates. Steering is still a bit looser than I would like it to be. Thus the gear box will be removed and at the minimum the pitman arm replaced. I can see a bit of play in the pitman arm itself. As for now it is good enough to get it running and driving, get the engine broken in, get it to the muffler shop and the a/c hose shop. I will deal with the pitman arm and steering gear box another day. This will be lucky if it gets 3-5K a year put on it how it will be used.

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[L31MaxExpress]

Had another pair of hands rock the wheel for me. Pitman arm is about 25% of the play and the gear box is about 75%. The steering shaft turns the steering coupler instantly, the box has play and the pitman arm has some play in the pivot ball. Still less play than most of the square body trucks and many of the GMT400s I have driven with ~100K on them.

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[L31MaxExpress]

I also figured out the wheels are Enkei EK30/32 wheels. They were probably put on when the van was converted in 1987. My uncles 1994 C1500 ECSB had identical looking wheels on it.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Someone is sure to hate my cushion clamps and sheet metal screws securing wiring and hoses in this van in the future. Just the vacuum booster hose in this case, but up off the manifold and away from the belts.

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Express or Astro van power steering reservoir, easiest way to attach it, with sheet metal screws. I need to pickup a nutsert tool sometime and start using them. I used the pump reservoir from the same van on the 87 G20 pump to gain the remote fill location. The OE filler was burried in the engine compartment. If I add hydroboost later, will simply swap that reservoir with one that has the hydroboost return port in it. I have a few of them laying in a bucket of power steering pumps here at the shop.

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[454cid]

I like remote reservoir power steering. It makes it so much easier to check or add fluid. Reservoir on the pump, does eliminate extra hoses, Though.

My Volvo S70 is remote. My 850 is on the pump, but the pump is so high it's easy to get to. My old Saturn had the reservoir on the pump, but it was also on top of the engine. My truck is the hardest one to get too. My Buick is similar to the truck, but I think it's easier to get to.

I wouldn't mind converting the truck and maybe the Buick to remote reservoirs someday.

I'm not a fan of sheetmetal screws, but what is wrong with the clamps? They keep hoses secure, and are padded.