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'72 K5 - AJ's Gray Matter Build

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UPDATE 2/15/15 - Electrical and priming - Plans for this weekend were to put power through the truck and work out most of the bugs. All in all, made good progress. Outstanding items that I know of:
  • Fuel pump isn't getting power
  • Wiper motor is blowing fuses
  • Hazards only come on if the I set the turn signal to left or right
  • ARB compressor is blowing air out the solenoid exhaust screw instead of filling

Anyway...this felt like a major milestone.... loaded up the fusebox
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Turned the key and powered up the gauges
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Powered up the ECM and the handheld :woot:
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From there, it was time to get the distributor squared away. But, to do so, I needed to prime the motor. Dumped in 8 quarts of black gold and primed until oil came out through the rods. Put the valve cover back on and ran the drill for another 15 mins.
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Lastly, got a new tool for the shop. Didn't have a bench grinder or belt sander. I'd been putting my angle grinder in the bench vise for finishing edges. :eek1: Eastwood combination 8" bench grinder and belt sander.
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Once I get the fuel pump squared away, it's time to put in the rest of the fluids and turn it over.
 
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was it a problem getting the wire loom through that grommet? I think my FAST wiring has a big plug on the end that I was thinking needed about a 1-1/2" hole to get through?




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That looks dam nice...is that going to be dash mounted for readouts?
 
awesome dude! Huge milestone for sure. You'll have this baby running in no time!
 
2/21/15 - Fuel pressure! - Picked up a multimeter and spent about 15 mins running through the fuel pump wiring to find the issue. Traced it back to the relay...but the relay was good. Pulled out the FAST wiring schematic and....the stupid relay wires for the pump and the 2 fans are on the ground sides of their circuits. :doah: Ran a 12V source to the trigger post of the relays and we have power to the pump.

Squared away my fuel filler and vent hoses and poured in 3 gallons of super. Time to pressurize the fuel lines and dial in the regulator.

Pressure at the mechanical:
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Reading from the FAST pressure gauge
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Picked up $200 (at shop cost) worth of lubricants (and coolant) for everything and started pouring. A friend had a gallon of Royal Purple ATF that he was happy to part with for nuthin, so I more more than happy to take them.
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Gapped my plugs and hooked up the plugs wires on the plug side. Will square away the distributor side and run a coil wire tomorrow.

That's all I got for today...kids were "helping". Getting a "comm error" on the FAST handheld that seems to be totally random...and totally annoying. Need to call FAST tech support. That said, it's getting freakin close to starting up... :woot:
 
Man you are way more patient than I am.. I woulda been scouring the net for reasons on that comm error and being an it guy I would stayed up until I fixed it!
 
sreidmx said:
Man you are way more patient than I am.. I woulda been scouring the net for reasons on that comm error and being an it guy I would stayed up until I fixed it!
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Believe me, I have. I'm an IT too troubleshooting has always been a forte. Seems like causes tend to be noise from the MSD box. But mine isn't even powered up. I pulled the battery cable to eliminate that one. I'll see what FAST has to say on Monday.
 
AJs72K5 said:
Believe me, I have. I'm an IT too troubleshooting has always been a forte. Seems like causes tend to be noise from the MSD box. But mine isn't even powered up. I pulled the battery cable to eliminate that one. I'll see what FAST has to say on Monday.
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90% of oddball EFI issues are related to low-voltage.

Put your main battery on a trickle charger to make sure that it's at 100%... For as long as this project has been sitting, there's a good chance that it's at least partially discharged.

:thinking:


-G
 
I don't know about the 2.0 but on the original you get a comm error on the display if you plug it in while the ignition is off. Once the ignition is on, press a button and it clears.
 
Greg72 said:
90% of oddball EFI issues are related to low-voltage.

Put your main battery on a trickle charger to make sure that it's at 100%... For as long as this project has been sitting, there's a good chance that it's at least partially discharged.

:thinking:


-G
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I think that may be part of it Greg. This battery is "new", but even it's been sitting for 6 months. I'm reading 11.8 volts at the battery with key off and 11.4 with key on. I just ordered a Battery Tender. Never needed one before...

Chevy305 said:
I don't know about the 2.0 but on the original you get a comm error on the display if you plug it in while the ignition is off. Once the ignition is on, press a button and it clears.
Click to expand...

The 2.0 handled is powered by the ECM. It'll only power up with ignition on.
 
UPDATE 3/1/15 - Puking coolant....and a little oil. Made a few more steps this weekend and more progress.

Got the battery juiced up with a trickle charger. Reading 12.7 volts with key off. Then squared away all my vacuum lines. Nothing picworthy there.

Moved the coil. I had it on the side of the aux battery tray, but when I got to thinking about how long the coil wire to the dizzy was gonna be way too long, so I moved it inside the cab, tucked up under the dash out of sight.
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Was now time to begin the FAST startup process. Got to the point where it said to start the motor. Not gonna lie...was seriously nervous about this. Started cranking and after a few coughs back up thru the throttle body, I figured out that I was 180* off on the dizzy. Remedied that and it started up. HOLY SMOKES! Literally. After a few mins, found an oil drip at the back of the driver side valve cover. It made the headers start smoking like a 90's rave party.

Then BOTH NPT coolant plugs on the side of the heads started leaking coolant. Shut everything down at this point. A minute or so later, one of the hose clamps on the top radiator hose let go. Puked coolant everywhere.
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Hosed out the garage and decided that was enough for today. A few things to fix up and we'll try again...with video.
 
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It runs!!! gratz man! It's been a long time coming. Oil and coolant leaks like that are fairly simple to fix but man can they be disheartening. Nothing like having sticky crap thrown all over your clean new install.

Looking forward to the video!
 
Glad to hear she fired up! Sucks about the leaks, but hopefully they're a simple fix and you're back up and running in no time.
 
3/3/15: :popcorn:

 
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That FAST system must not be any good, huh? Tops at at 2300 or so? :whistle:






J/k... Congrats bud. Long time awaiting this one. :waytogo:
 
awesome!! what a good feeling huh?
She sounds good too. btw, loved the countdown.
 
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