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Black Betty - Formerly Blaze the Monster Machine

1984 K5 Project for Dad and kids
Overview Gallery Discussion
centexk5 said:
I gotta do a couple more things before I can really drive it. Front shocks need bolted in, brake booster vac line, body mount bolts tightened, wires and hoses tied up, and at least the driver seat bolted in.

Also need to look at the tune. It’s idling at 19-20afr which is a bit lean even at idle in my opinion. My exhaust isn’t the best so I’m going to wrap the joints in foil and tighten things up to make sure there are no leaks.
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Be careful with using the AFR reading at idle, its not always 100% accurate if you have some valve overlap. You will find out, the target AFR surely isn't 20:1, so if the learn table is adding a bunch of fuel and it still says it's lean, then it's getting bad data. If it's getting better then you are good to go.
 
folkenheath said:
No, it needs pressure, not just a some RPM. That old 2500 RPM for 20 - 30 minutes would be a way to break a flat tappet cam in, you don't have that.

You need a medium cylinder pressure up to around 4000 RPM over several acceleration runs to seat the piston rings in.
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I’m not there yet. Not far but not there. The goal this week is to get there.
 
folkenheath said:
Be careful with using the AFR reading at idle, its not always 100% accurate if you have some valve overlap. You will find out, the target AFR surely isn't 20:1, so if the learn table is adding a bunch of fuel and it still says it's lean, then it's getting bad data. If it's getting better then you are good to go.
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Understood but I was surprised to see it saying it was that lean.
 
centexk5 said:
Understood but I was surprised to see it saying it was that lean.
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Look at one of the plugs, then you'll know if its really lean.

centexk5 said:
I’m not there yet. Not far but not there. The goal this week is to get there.
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No worries, just minimize run time until you can get some medium cylinder pressure on it. That thing is going to be fun.
 
folkenheath said:
Look at one of the plugs, then you'll know if its really lean.


No worries, just minimize run time until you can get some medium cylinder pressure on it. That thing is going to be fun.
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It’s not getting used much more than to run for a bit and make sure fluid levels are good and system checks. I don’t like having it just idle anymore than I have to.

Good news though is I let it sit out overnight and didn’t see any leaks so that’s a plus in my book.

I may end up getting a different shifter. The column works well but the detents are so soft feeling that you can’t tell what you are in without slowly shifting it. May be because the shifter is worn out in the column.

Need to wire in the thermostat for the trans cooler fan but of course I lost the instructions and don’t remember where I got it from so gonna need some digging.
 
centexk5 said:
It’s not getting used much more than to run for a bit and make sure fluid levels are good and system checks. I don’t like having it just idle anymore than I have to.
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:waytogo:
centexk5 said:
Good news though is I let it sit out overnight and didn’t see any leaks so that’s a plus in my book.
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:waytogo:
centexk5 said:
I may end up getting a different shifter. The column works well but the detents are so soft feeling that you can’t tell what you are in without slowly shifting it. May be because the shifter is worn out in the column.
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The detents you feel are in the transmission, not the column. There is a leaf spring with a roller on it that travels over large detents. If that spring is loose or weak it could cause that. Or if you have a lot of leverage on the shifter lever.

centexk5 said:
Need to wire in the thermostat for the trans cooler fan but of course I lost the instructions and don’t remember where I got it from so gonna need some digging.
Click to expand...

Your ECU has trans temp from the factory harness, you could use an output that is based on trans temp. No need to add a thermostat.

I use mount a large cooler up front and let the engine fan do both.
 
Hmm. I like that idea. I've already got the thermostat mounted but I could eliminate that (and save a potential leak point). I'll add it to the list to investigate.
 
Zip tied some cables and hoses up. Got the body mounts tightened down. Well all but one but I think the body or frame is tweaked cause it’s a solid 1/2” out but meh. Topped off the power steering fluid now that it’s not leaking. Got the brake booster hooked up and functioning.

I went ahead and ordered a cheap dynomax dual exhaust kit and thrush mufflers for it. It’s small but it’ll fit and seal better than the cobbled junk I’ve got now.

All that’s left is bolt seats in, heat wrap the hoses going next to the header, install the exhaust, and then bolt on the front shocks. The shocks are probably the hardest since I’ll be cutting rivets and installing the ORD extended shock mounts but that’s just work and not hard. Need to look at the e-brake and refresh my memory how that all hooks up and do that. Oh and the fan wiring for the trans cooler.

We’ll see if I get to it this week. Supposed to hit low 100’s for the next couple of days and then drop back down later this week. Working outside in the mid 90’s today for a couple hours was more than enough.
 
Kids are at the grandparents and wife was gone so I went and just started doing stuff. Got the trans cooler lines and fuel lines heat wrapped and tied up. Got the ecm mounted and wires tucked’ish. Got half the exhaust mounted. It’s routed under the frame since it won’t work above the cross member and transfer case but that’s fine because it’s to small anyways but it’s better than a 90* off the header and will let me drive it to the exhaust shop for a proper exhaust. Went to mount the driver seat and got the two bolts in the front left mount installed. Both nuts on the right front mount are stripped and the nuts on the back mounts are gone.
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Some stainless zip ties. Had them and the tool out securing the heat wrap and said why not.
 
Put a few miles on it. Got some observations.

The tires are so out of round from being flat for so long it’s ridiculous. It does smooth out around 60mph.

It moves out real well and the transmission seems to be shifting good. Something is stopping the pedal from going full throttle so need to investigate that. It’ll jump from idle to 3000rpm easily.

It needs an actual exhaust.

It never went over 190* and the moment I moved it dropped to 185*.
 
$200 later and I’ve got a bunch of various clips, screws, nuts, bracketry, fan shrouds, and coolant overflow tank coming from LMC. This should finish off getting the grill and headlights installed, the parking brake cable connected, coolant system 100%, and a more functional fan shroud.

Still need bolts for the back seat but I can’t find a size anywhere online.
 
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