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budget beater - . . . HOLMES 220 single line boom wrecker install starting ..

Hard time dropping north of $1k for tubes and pipe
 
i got around 125 i think in new y-pipe years ago . 30ish in the mid pipe years ago . under 100 in flowmaster muffler the other day . around 10-12 bucks for 2 clamps / hanger . then what ever pipe i had on hand .
 
well thinking it over and over and reading few blips here and there of others problems i have made the choice for a fuel system redo before i even test it .

i am just not happy with how i layed out the fuel system BEFORE i had the exhaust hung in the truck . its way to close if you ask me . also its got a lot of busy ness going on near the stock shifter linkage piviot hole area .

so today just now i decided to tear it all over and redo it as gm had it . plumbed over to pass side on cab mount cross member . then down the right hand frame rail and up the trans area to the engine .

since i did plastic / nylon fuel line on my setup it will be fairly easy to redo the job minus a bit of time and some nylon hose . but i can reuse the hose for other fuel jobs later so no big deal .

in the end i think it will be a safer install away from the mass of heat over on the driver side area .
 
it went in better i think on the right side than the left side .

but the nylon 5/16" line was being a B!Tch to play with today . had to redo my 1 end 3 times before i got it good .

doing my last of the fuel system tonight . the hose from transfer tank to main tank .
 
fuel system passed the pressure test today . dumped 7gal of gas in the both tanks and the new autometer gauge read just about 1/4 tank ( 20 gal tanks ) knowing oem always kind of sucked i call that good .

so i then powered up the main tank with the autometer pressure gauge in and powered up . she come up to 60 psi kind of slow but i figure that was from 100% empty/new system . then i let her sit there and run for a min or so and she held 58-59 psi the whole time just a hair under the 60 psi mark . then power off to pump and wait 5 sec and repower and she come right back up .

i then sent power to the transfer tank / pass side and she feed fuel over to the main tank nice and easy .

i also got 6 qrt of brad penn 30 weight breakin oil / high level zink & phos . put 5 in the engine after i pre filled the filter 98% of the way up before install on engine .

other than finding TDC #1 to set the dist in the hole for good i think we are ready for body set down and start hooking up a few wires and coolant hoses for a fire off and see what we get .
 
so got a bit board and side tracked so i swapped my snow plow upper head gear for one i had got that was modified on top with a +6" extra width each side for the plow lights mounting points . someone had done this to install the newer intensefire lights . i dont need them kind of crazy expensive lights for plowing . this puts the lights much closer to stock width of the truck lights but still sucked in a little so you know its not a normal vehicle coming at you . and with square lights you know its NOT a jeep/heep with there round lights these days .

but i did get a crazy idea . . . . took the plow lights apart since i had to swap them from 1 head gear to the other . had a few screws gie me a fight but i got them . will get new at hardware store . but anyways the halogen bulb in these is a small 4x6" like quad light trucks . . . :thinking: i have my extra j.w.speaker lights for the PLOW MACHINE build i am not using yet . so i took 1 and test fit it and fits like a glove . other than the ground pin is 45* off 90* square to the others . so i popped the pin out and stuck it in the hole and works that way .

so now i have heated lens led snow plow lights . :rotfl::pimp::saweet: . . . just 1 problem . . . there low beam only :doah:. but these lights are so good you dont need high beams much at all if any . but to be safe i will uhave to drill a extra mounting hole to mount a pair of these for high beam use and give me extra markers and strobes . https://www.lifetimeledlights.com/led-lights/dual-color-ditch-light-pod-strobe-amber-48w the amber corner markers if you flip the power off/on real quick makes them start strobing . then off/on again and back to normal amber marker glow .

now i know the j.w.speaker lights have the heat sink on the back . i pluged one in for 1hr in the shop thats almost 60* and let it run . took my ir temp gun and it got up to mid 120* temp in the shop . i think if your driving with air flow / plowing snow splashing on them / and dont use all the time they should be o.k. for this use . if not swap them back out for the reg bulbs in 10 min time .

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dumb a$$ award to me for the last 24hr's :doah::1zhelp:

i ASSumed the hydroboost / p/s pump / 2wd box on the floor in the corner of my shop was a c-10 diesel unit i parted ( cause them 6.2 overpower them ) .

well .................................................. read my own writing next time dumb a$$ . . its got 88k30 crew cab on it . :rotfl: it was from the STUBBY build i parted with crossover on it . :pimp:

oh well i am good now then . :D
 
i didn't think those msd wire seperators would work as nice as they do . and they GRIP that wire good .
They are my favorite. I've used the screw holes to mount them on brackets too.
 
so far today we are getting a LOT done on the list of crap to do .

steering column bolted back firm . just need horn gut out of a spare fixed parts unit .
brake pedal hanger and hydroboost pedal in and tight .
hydroboost unit ( from a k30 :surepal: ) bolted on and in place. need new master bolted on yet .
p/s van remote fill can bolted to core support . just need to make filler hose to clear live hydro pump for plow yet. and fill with fluid.

more by the end of the night will be done . :waytogo:
 
so p/s system is hooked up and mostly blead out . got to get it running for the rest with hydroboost .
3 core rad from old truck installed .
remote trans spin on filter with gauge temp sensor installed .
lower rad hose installed . upper here in the am at local napa .

need to swap horn guts to finish the steering wheel/column redo .
add coolant .
add a bit more atf . only put in around 4 qrt . had it drained and on stand upside down so its almost all out .
some wires add in for sniper to get key-HOT & CRANK power .
snow plow live hydro pump bolt on .
snow plow joystick in dash .

i am sure there is more .

but my trusty yellow paint pen is marking them as i get done with each one on the truck .

few pics . and a nod to my buddy jim with the hunk of copper pipe on the truck . every one of his hot rods has copper for a section of pipe someplace . i needed to lengthen my p/s can to pump hose and had this in the scrap pile .

1-2 pic are before hydroboost installed today and column bolted backup after brake pedal/mount swap from vac to hydro setup .

and pic you see my jw speaker headlights .

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well today was half a wash out . had aptment in the am i had to do . then friend showed up i had not seen in a bit .

but i did get to napa and got my hose clamps / heater hoses 5/8" & 3/4" and 4ft gave me around 5-6" extra for both i cut off .

got my upper rad hose for the 1990k5 blazer to match the serp belt setup . the lower is the same for years . the upper has a different bend molded in to match the serp belt specific t-stat housing . got 4gal of coolant in the system . bleed out good with the burp jug system and drilling a tiny hole in the t-stat . . . reg t-stat 6 bucks . jiggle valve t-stat 20 bucks . . . i drill my own hole for less . and i did a 195* t-stat i like my heat in the winter .

finished most all the power wires and grounds for the battery feed to the engine / frame / batt / core support . batt is charging up a bit today from sitting so long . she was at 12.18 volts before charge .

p/s system stayed up good over night .

new master bench bleed . . . and FU*K them block off plugs for bench bleeding . it went rock hard :dunno: . so i dug out my old school lines for bleeding masters in the loop style like old days . i got a LOT more air out of it . block off plugs in till i hook up the lines and bleed the system .

tryed to use the willwood bracket i had got for the valve . that didnt work to good untill i took a 4lb mini sludge hammer to it and made it flat . then she cleared the hydroboost lines and master . then i made up the rest of the lines from the ruff in job to engine bay . flared my ends on and anti-seized the line to nut inside area and used green coated line . just need 4 calipers on and 2 hard lines in master and pump-n-bleed .

fingers crossed might be Saturday for the ........ FIRE OFF TEST

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so we fired it off around 5:15pm . . .well tried to anyway :rotfl: . . . everything was there until we cranked it .

no crank fuel pressure / no tach / no info from the ecu screen showing crank / no timming light flashes from spark .

well lets just say i hooked the msd hot wire to the coil . . . . just never hooked the key hot/crank wire to the coil :doah:

well we fixed that real quick . then we turned the key and instant :yikes: BOOM :yikes: out the muffler and purring like a kitten . she was a little loaded up from each key cycle from the no coil power cranks when it gives it a primer shot . :whistle:

other than a small fuel leak on the fuel adapter / gauge sender thingy my fault we had no real problems. took him off . cleaned the pipe dope off and teflon taped it good and retested no leaks .

only real problem yet is the ecu touch screen likes to change options / places all by its self . got to figure that out .

my buddy and i did get the brakes all hooked up caliper's and hoses . fronts bolted on and rear stuck a block of wood between pads . then we bleed the system all out before we fired it up .

still need to put the guts back in the 14ff and install the brake rotors and brackets .

measure for drive shafts . and have them re-tubed at the local shop.

finalize the sniper wiring layout and loom it .

install the windstar fans and relays that will be feed by the sniper or a extra switch for backup .

make sure the air cleaner fits under the hood . . going to be close .

box on / filler necks hooked up .

exhaust tail pipe out the left .

and few more things .
 
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good day today .

got a lot of wires cleaned up / crimped up with heat shrink / loomed up / zip tied or clamped / still got a few more to layout and do yet for some gauges on the top of the dash .

steering column was STILL fighting me . in total i had to swap in a good used ignition sector unit / lube up a LOT of dried out grease spots / loctight red the 4 tilt screws / bend the lock plate back in shape in the shop press it was skipping / get horn guts from parts column . . . wow what a chore . but the horn even goes honk honk .

then i got the front drive shaft to the drive-line shop to get checked over and re-tubed . flange flat to center of cap in the truck for my weird piece meal combo was 35.5" long . th400/custom almost 1" spacer / 203 adapter / 203 range box / ord doubler plate / 205 with 32 spline front and 208 flange / with 3" ish lift springs front / ord shackles / sbc 350 engine / k30 frame .

took a look at he sniper throttle linkage area and like others i have decided to make my own extender arm . there stuff is to short and stiff in the cab . also with limited travel my th400 kick down switch don't even come close to hitting . i have come up with around a 1 1/4" hole to hole extender . still need to test it for 100% and no binding or bottom out . but it will be a bolt on item .

she is getting super close to a shake down run .
 
few shots today . got the box on/in place . the exhaust buttoned up in place . 3" single outlet driver side front of tire .

and those pics the truck had a 1" zero rate in the back . it was almost 3" taller than the front via the body line . i took it out and now its perfect :waytogo: new pics of that later when it drives .

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