Ruth’s “Daily Driver” BB El Camino

[BBLemond]

Beautiful interior work...but looking at the mechanical, I'm starting to wonder if Ruth may not be the only one who ends up driving this thing...

Thanks we are really happy with it. You may be right. Have to see if she lets me drive it

[BBLemond]

Getting the El Camino road ready has been a lot more work than I expected.. I didn't realize how much time the little things take but its getting close. Here's some of the little stuff I've gotten worked out. I finally got the gas tank in for good.
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I moved the steering shaft from the column to the box a little further away from the engine. I just made a bracket to mount another u-joint to the frame.
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The stock neutral safety switch linkage was too short for the Hurst shifter. So I just used a piece of thick welding rod to make a new link and it works like a champ
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[DanStokes]

Looking great! I have a theory that it takes 90% of the scheduled time to get 90% of the job done, then that much time again to get to 100%. The question then becomes "do you need to get that last 10%?" At work, probably not. For a spiffy build like this - absolutely. I just hope my docs don't know about my 90% theory!

Dan

[BBLemond]

Looking great! I have a theory that it takes 90% of the scheduled time to get 90% of the job done, then that much time again to get to 100%. The question then becomes "do you need to get that last 10%?" At work, probably not. For a spiffy build like this - absolutely. I just hope my docs don't know about my 90% theory!

Dan

Yah Dan I think your theory is correct! It would be very easy to get to the last 10% "later"

[AndyB]

In programming, it's called the ninety-ninety rule. Paraphrased:

The first 90% requires 90% of the time. The remaining 10% requires the other 90% of the time.


Seems right to me.

[BBLemond]

In programming, it's called the ninety-ninety rule. Paraphrased:

The first 90% requires 90% of the time. The remaining 10% requires the other 90% of the time.


Seems right to me.

Thanks for this I love it! I just wont bring it up to any math guys

[BBLemond]

I made all the new Chassisworks suspension arms all the same length as stock but I thought it would be a good idea to make sure the rearend was centered. I started by getting the El Camino level and on jackstands all around
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I also put the rearend under stands at ride height. I disconnected the Chassisworks Varishock coilovers and then just got it to the ride height.
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I used a plumb bob to make marks on the garage floor so I could take the measurements. For the center point in the front I used a bolt and threaded hole that was in the frame in the exact same spot on both sides. I made sure that I let the string run down the rear of the bolt on both sides so I wouldnt be off by the width of the bolt
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I used tape so I wouldn’t mess up the floor and then for actual spot I just pressed the plumb bob down into the tape making a hole in the tape. I thought that would be more accurate than trying to slide a marker under the plumb bob.
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Once I had the two sides done I took the tape measure and just split the middle and that was my center point in the front
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[BBLemond]

I needed a spot on each side of the rearend so I took string and the plumb bob and strung it around the axle flange. I figured that it wouldnt matter how the rearend was rotated since it should be perfectly round there.
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I measured the distance from each side of the rearend to the center point and adjusted accordingly the rearend accordingly.. I found that I didn’t have the lower arms the same length so I had to adjust one of those first


Adjusting the rearend side to side with the upper arms attached was impossible so I removed both uppers and got it centered. Then I set my pinion angle with a floor jack and then reattached the upper arms. I made sure the bolts slid into the rearend bushings easily so they wouldnt cause the rearend to get misaligned. Since the uppers are not straight if I tried to adjust the pinion angle I would have had to do it in very small steps back and forth so the rearend would stay centered. So having them off for this part made it go much faster. Although with the Chassisworks double adjustable arms it will be much easier to adjust the pinion angle in the car if I need to make small adjustments
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For the pinion angle I set the rearend almost exactly the same but opposite as the transmission. If I had leaf springs I would have set it a degree or two down but I don’t think the pinion should change much or at all under acceleration with this suspension configuration.
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[BBLemond]

So my brother bought a truck out here in CA so Ruth and I drove it back to Georgia for him over the last month or so. We made it a nice long vacation which was much needed.

If I remember correctly someone had asked if the big block would fit under the hood. Unfortunately it does not fit with the air cleaner I had on it. So I made this flat top out of cardboard for now so I can drive it around until I find a new aluminum flat top to replace it. The flat top fits fine under there without hitting the hood. Just need to find one now
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Not sure if I've mentioned it before but I have an 8 second Chevelle that I race. I've been running Evans Coolant in it for years now and love it. So I bought some more to go into the El Camino and figured I could save some money on the flush if I put it in before starting the engine in the truck.
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So even though the engine was out and I didnt think I needed to try and run the Evans flush I still had to make sure the block was dry so I pulled all the plugs out months ago and just let it sit at an angle on the stand so all the water would drain out. I rotated it the other way too so both sides of the block would drain. Also at the beginning, I used a shop vac on reverse to blow out the majority of water. Then before I put the 454 in I blew it out again and no water came out so I think my plan worked. On the Chevelle I had to use the flush which was the same process but with the added work of adding the flush and removing the flush and blowing it all out again and hoping for the best. It was definitely easier with the engine out.
I had Ruth take a pic of the back of the bottle because this pretty much sums up the benefits of a coolant with no water. Basically with Evans the boiling point goes up to 375 degrees, theres no more electrolysis and no more corrosion which has a bunch of obvious benefits. I havent been using it long enough to verify some of the benefits I've read about like water pump longevity but I have seen in the Chevelle that there's no corrosion building on the cylinder walls or anywhere else for that matter. Also, I havent seen any evidence of electrolysis on the heads which is a big deal. I've literally had a head blow a head gasket because electrolysis corroded the aluminum all the way to the combustion chamber. Fortunately I was able to have the head welded up but I cant say I enjoyed the experience.
I've had the engine out twice so far and everything looks perfect in there.
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So I got one more tool in the tool box a refractometer! Before on the Chevelle I just followed the instructions that came with the Evans Coolant and went for it without verifying the water content. The way I figured it even if I didnt get it perfect the system would still be much better at cooling the system then a standard water based coolant. However I thought it would be good to make sure its right since Ruth will be driving it around town and the cooling system will be seeing a lot more abuse. Also, Im thinking since its a big block with A/C it may run a little warmer than I'd like so with the Evans I shouldn't have to worry about it starting to boil if it gets a little warm.
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Checking the water content is pretty straight forward. I used some of the Evans coolant straight from the bottle to calibrate the refractometer to 57 brix and then checked it from there. The instructions recommend that the water content be less than 3% or 55.7 brix. On my refractometer it showed 56.8 Brix so I think that means that theres very little to no water in the system! I remember when I first looked into Evans I was confused by the Brix scale in relation to the water percentage but fortunately every bottle came with instructions on how to use it and how to measure the water content so it was actually very easy

[DanStokes]

Thanks for the Evans tutorial. I've known about it for some time but have never run it and I know next to nothing about it. Sounds like it REALLY doesn't like water!

Dan

[BBLemond]

Thanks for the Evans tutorial. I've known about it for some time but have never run it and I know next to nothing about it. Sounds like it REALLY doesn't like water!

Dan

Hey no problem. I've actually had to explain it to quite a few of my friends because there seems to be a lot of strange rumors out there about it so I figured some people that are reading this would also like to know.

I've been very happy with it and like I mentioned before I've unfortunately experienced first hand what electrolysis can due to aluminum so for me its just good insurance. It did take me a while to get my head wrapped around the idea that the engine wont overheat. I never really took much time to think about it as I always just assumed that the water boiling was caused by the engine being too hot. But really its just that the water is too hot. Im pretty sure an engine cant run at 375 degrees but I wonder how hot one can run before its a real issue with the materials inside. I was thinking too the next link in the chain would be the oil breaking down from too much heat but I suppose an oil cooler could help with that to a certain degree.

[Deaf Bob]

In demo derby, we lose radiators, then run them screaming hot.. The good motors run without water for 15-30 minutes with compression (12+). The oil gets changes every event.. It downright STINKS. Only aluminum engine part we use is intake..
If you get your motor up to 375*, your oil will likely break down and not lube too good.

[DanStokes]

It's interesting to me all the stuff Bob's learned by taking cars and their engines WAY past their design limits. Seems to me like the bottom line is that they'll withstand way more than you think they will.

Dan

[BBLemond]

In demo derby, we lose radiators, then run them screaming hot.. The good motors run without water for 15-30 minutes with compression (12+). The oil gets changes every event.. It downright STINKS. Only aluminum engine part we use is intake..
If you get your motor up to 375*, your oil will likely break down and not lube too good.

Wow thats a long time without water. So you change the oil and run them again? amazing.

[BBLemond]

It's interesting to me all the stuff Bob's learned by taking cars and their engines WAY past their design limits. Seems to me like the bottom line is that they'll withstand way more than you think they will.

Dan

Apparently so. I have zero plans to push mine that far