460 swap into my 58 fairlane.. need help fellas!

What he said^^^

I used this schematic to convert my 58 from gen. to alt.

http://www.blert.net/comet/gen2alt/

 

well guys kind of bad news today. turns out my dad's cancer is so bad that he has to have the major surgery and his esaphagus will have to be removed completley, pretty much changing his life. from what my sister told me on the phone i guess he might not be able to eat solid foods again and its a very risky surgery. my parents arent home from los angeles yet so ill get the details later, ill get the full story later tonight. sucks. lost my grandpa in february the week before my 21st birthday, cant bear the thought of losing my dad. he's the one who reeeally taught me everything i know since i was 5.... gotta be optimistic in this situation though


setting aside all that though and keeping a positive attitude...

tomorrow i'll head over there and work on it some more. i figure i might take my driveline to a shop and have it cut and stuff and get that out of the way.
my headers still arent here so im tryin to get as much done as possible. ill put together my driver side rear brake and my whole brake system will be done for the time being, at least until i bleed everything.


ill order a bracket from summit for my aluminum radiator, find a shop to weld it on. that should get here hopefully by next week. and i'll dilly daddle with the alternator perhaps... even though thats my weakpoint at the time.
ill take more photos tomorrow maybe for you guys.



i am curious though, out of these two alternator universal brackets, which one would suit my application best guys? im leaning towards the first one a little more:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-380099/

orrrr

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/GRI-KD-00050/


not sure which one i should choose, opinions would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys!

 

I'm sorry to hear about your Dad, just give him all the support you can.
As for the brackets, you may want to take measurements of your existing setup and contact their tech line. If they can provide the measurements of both sets maybe they can help you figure out the best choice.

 

i measured the radiator and ordered the first pair of brackets i posted in my links. ill have a local place weld them on whenever i get them.

also measured my driveshaft. okay... i measured from the splines coming out from my c6 transmission, the very tip of that, all the way to where the u-joints(???) slip into place on the axle. it was about 56 inches. my driveshaft is 56 and a quarter inch long. so im assuming i need about a half inch- inch taken out? ill ask the driveline shop whenever i come up with some extra cash to get it shortened maybe.


i got the rear brakes all done now, but my dad told me something i wasnt aware of. residule valves, (spelling?) i dont have any... my proportional valve from speedway has the knob on it to adjust the pressure going from the rear lines to the front, but i guess i still need the residule valves?
i went to autozone since it was on my way home this evening and asked if they had any, the guy didnt know what i was talking about so he called some other guy over and he said i can only get that online... hmmm not sure if thats true.

but i guess ill get some of those if i really need them, put them in my lines, then bleed the system friday.
im growing so impatient waiting for my headers too! i want them to get here already!

i found in my trunk the 1 wire alternator from my yblock. the gm delco i believe. i was thinking, can that fit into place of my alternator i have now in my 460? the 1 wire setup would be much easier im assuming

 

You may have to modify your brackets in order to get the pulleys to line up but I don't see any harm in looking at it. Try to mock it up and see what you have.

 

i finally got my headers today!!!!!!!!!! soooo excited when i saw them. ill put a few coats of the vht header paint on there to prevent any rust, but they look real nice. well worth the wait. ill see how hard the install is tomorrow. crossing my fingers it isnt gonna be too hard with my fenders on. i'll have to do it from under the car.

also got my radiator brackets so i can weld those on. im contemplating on getting them welded on tomorrow while i put the headers in, and then put some coolant and oil in the motor and fire it up haha, butttttttt ive been this patient so far, so i think i may wait to start it up. here are some pictures

 

headers look fantastic!

 

i have the exact diagrams for your alt problem i tryed loading them on the last post i did to your thread but it wouldnt let me do you have a email i can send them to you i had this problem and they worked for me.

 

hot74roadrunner my email is [email protected],
and as for the other replies, yeah i was gonna rough them up a bit before painting them. i was seaching all last night on the hamb for the vht paint and seeing if anyone has had luck with it, turns out a lot of people didnt, but the ones who did have luck roughed them up a bit with a scotch bright pad and did several coats of the paint. so i'll do that. its a shame to paint them though, they're a work of beauty looking like they do!

im about to leave to go to my grandmas to work on it this morning, so i'll see how much work i get done to it today.

 

Depending on tbe color u want, i usually go to wally world and buy krylon bbq/grille paint. Scotchbrite and use light coats. My last 4x4 had the entire exhaust done with that stuff and after 3 years of playing in mud and snow and driving in heavy salt, it still looked ok. Never flaked.


-LUKEY-

 

kinda dissapointed this afternoon. went over to my gmas house to bleed the brakes. started on the rear.. nothing. it wasnt pumping any brake fluid to the rear.

now, for the chambers on the MC, i have the LARGE chamber feeding the front disc brakes, and the SMALL chamber feeding the rear lines. is that correct?

also i didnt bench bleed it. my dad said 'you can do it on the car', i told him nooo i think i need to take it off dad. so sure enough i tried it while on the car and nothing happened. so yes i know im gonna have to BB it.

also my headers... hm kind of an issue. i tried to get them into place, just to see if they'd fit. i have no clue how im gonna get those in there. my front end is already all bolted on. i know im gonna have to trim my a arm on the passenger side. for the driver side its hitting the tie rod i believe when i try bringing the headers up from beneath.


and i dont know how i'll mount the radiator brackets i got. i cant reallly find a good location that they'd bolt to if i welded them on to the radiator.


ever have one of those days where you feel like you took about 8 steps BACK versus going foward. this is one of them. definatley a day where i didnt wanna be over there messing around with my car. to frustrated.

 

Those headers should come apart at the collector and go in from the bottom.
Should used a Ford radiator and a Ford pro valve. Just common sense.
Hope your Dad does better. I mentioned to you months ago that those headers
are gonna be a pain in the ass. Too low for a stock or lowered car imo.

 

im gonna raise my '58 when its all said and done. ill get new front springs and take the blocks out in the rear. or i might leave them actually... so it sets up nose high. we'll see.

but yea those headers do come apart at the collectors but 2 pipes come out while the other 2 are welded into place. im not sure if i'll have to jack the car up even higher to get them to fit or not, its sitting about a foot and a half off the ground as is.

im sure i'll figure out something with the radiator brackets i have now. just gotta think outside the box i guess. but those damn brakes really dampened my mood today

 

Open a bleeder valve and leave open till it comes out. I work alone all the time.
You can buy one way bleeder valves. Just open and pump. One at a time.
Then close and go the the next. Always start at the one furtherest away. L.R.

 

And yes, big res to the front.

 

wow i had to refer back all the way to page ONE of my build thread to see this photo. it looks like those headers are running under the a-arm, while 2 of the pipes run above it. now call me stupid, but i think earlier today i was trying to have both sides go ABOVE the a-arm. seeing this makes me realize i was doing that wrong. i'll have to go back over there again maybe tomorrow or next week to see if i was doing that the wrong way, good thing i saw this picture again

 

It might be easier now

 

For the coils I believe the coils from a S10 are the correct diameter. I know thats what I have on the front of my 59. S10 2in drop with additional coil cut off. Your build is looking awesome. Give your dad best regards from us here on the HAMB.

 

really???? any ol' chevy s10 front coil springs will fit in the place of my original springs right now?

im not lookin for a 2inch drop though im lookin to raise it up a few inches lol. its already slammed to the ground as is, the previous owner cut the coils and put massive lowering blocks (4 inch it looks like) in there.

but if the s10 works i may have to pay a visit to a junk yard. that'll save me a LOT of money if its true

 

I have heard that Aerostar springs are an easy swap, did not know about the S-10 spring .

 

..might as well post again to get to 100!

 

yea thats what i was thinkin! the aerostar coils i've heard about here on the hamb, in fact someone with a cool '59 had a post about putting the aerostar coils on his. but... my problem with that is, he used those to LOWER his car. are the aerostar coils going to make mine sit even lower? or will it be the opposite and give my front end just a tad bit more room for height??


i just worked a 4am-10:30am shift this morning, probably going to head to the gym and let out my frustration from yesterday, and possibly consider heading over there to work on it a bit more. if not, then im just gonna slap a few coats of the vht paint and let those set til tuesday when i can for sure go over there and work on it.


..... i may, MAY consider waiting to do my brakes last now. i might get those headers on there and make sure they're fit correctly. get the radiator all bolted in, hoses and etc stuff. shorten the driveshaft, oil lines and a tranny cooler too. then get some new springs and bleed those brakes. i always have a gut feeling when something is gonna drive me nuts for a long time and i have it right now with the brakes.

however my dad will be in los angeles for 2 weeks after surgery for his esophgus removal in the first part of november. so i need a second person to help out with that.... unless a bakersfield hamber reads this and wants to lend a hand during that time!

 

Just finished reading your entire thread. First of all, best wishes for your Dad. Second is build related. Concerning residual valves, I didn't see a response, but they are not needed on an application where the master cylinder is firewall mounted, and therefore higher than the wheel cylinders, which maintains residual pressure on the wheel cylinders. They are primarilly used on disk brake conversions where the master cylinder is under the floor. and lower than the wheel cylinders. The next issue is header paint. As was previously mentioned, BBQ and Grill paint works very well and is very durable. By the way, Great Thread!!!!

 

reading something like this definatley makes me think i must be doing something right. i see all these build threads here on the jalopy journal and im BLOWN AWAY. all the welding and fabricating skills you guys have is incredible. as for me, im a novice 21 year old kid with no welding experience, no fancy tools or anything. just my grandpa's car port with his shed of old tools he had. i try to make the best of what i got and im learning a lot by finally doing all this on my own without the help of him or my dad.


and THANK YOU so much for replying to the residual valve concern i had. i was really curious about that and im glad you answered it, and yeah i saw all the thread here on the hamb about the bbq grill paint. i may consider it, i already have a few cans of the vht. if it doesnt hold up ill re-paint it. gotta stay busy somehow i suppose!

but yea im really thinking about doing the brake bleeding last. i figure if i get all that other stuff out of the way, and leave the last thing to be the brakes. i can get a few buddies or hambers to maybe help me out, and my dad will be in the hospital recovering at this time, and when he finally gets home i'd love to just surprise him and show him, 'hey dad look what i got going finally'.

but to get that to happen i have to get the new coils, 2 new tires, (wide whites), finish up the wiring, etc. its a long shot, and a lot of money.... but nothing is impossible i suppose.

 

bit of a disappointing update for today. went to o'reilly's to get the gasket my headers asked for.... gotta wait 5 business days for it to get here. tried to find the right bolts for them and wound up not finding what i was looking for.

went over to try and get the headers in the right position and to see if they'd fit, and definatley still struggled to get it into place. it kept hitting the sway bar. i think im doing something wrong. maybe i dont have my car jacked up high enough..

also took a look at my radiator. and where i can weld the tabs on. turns out if i weld them into the place i found would be okay, i cant slip it into place! but after thinking about it on the way home i may be able to get around this and find a new place to weld them on.


i get paid friday and by the grace of god i got my financial aid check today and it was terribly late, about 10 weeks late. i already paid off my books i bought. i have bills up my butt and insurance for my truck is due in december. i'll prolly pay those off and with whatever is left, maybe ill have enough to get my driveshaft shortened, the radiator tabs welded on, some hoses, and of course a nice new haircut lol.



my dad's surgery is scheduled for november 8th, and he'll be down there the day before on the 7th. will be gone for 2 weeks in ICU for recovery if nothing goes wrong. then when he gets home obviously he'll be bed ridden i'd imagine. so im trying as hard as i can to get what i need to DONE with his help, but like today, i kept hitting road blocks. anyone put on the crites headers and can give me some advice on just how to get these damn things on? im a little flustered by it

 

alrighty a bit of good news today. ill add photos later:

went to the driveline shop and had them shorten my driveshaft. while i was there i got to talking about my radiator tabs that need welding and they said 'well we can do that for you', so i got those welded on too! saved me a lot of time and trouble by doing it all right there. got it balanced and everything, guess it was uneven or it was off by 100,000ths of an inch? not sure how he worded it, all i know is that im bad with terminology and they fixed it. plus, they painted it! looks SOOO SWEET.

the radiator tabs look excellent as well, they'll bolt right in with some modifications on my radiator support. gotta get the grinder out and do a bit of cutting.


i know i always do this but lets recap whats left to do i guess.

buy hoses for the radiator and clamps, (plus some rubber to go around it so its not rubbing up against the support)

finish up the fuel line, real simple.

get those damned headers in there SOMEHOW!
possibly do some modifcations to the a-arm to make em fit.

get the ford aerostar springs for the front maybe. (more than likely)

bleed the brakes or figure out whats wrong with them.

wire the alternator

..new tires, wide whites. (anyone have any good recomendations for 14 inch wheels?)





...oh and while im at it, what kind of fluid goes inside my aluminum radiator??? because i dont know if it'll corrode if i use water. should i use store bought anti freeze?

 

thank you for replying, its good to know i actually need a coolant with the anti corrosion stuff you mentioned. ill look or ask around the o'reillys i always go to, they're always helpful there.

and man talk about a sad morning, my dad is in a good mood but he just talked to me and told me "well jay next week will be the last week before im out of action for... well, for a very long time if not maybe the rest of my life, i dont think ill be able to crouch down or do the stuff i do now after this major surgery. i wanna help you out before i go in so if theres anything you need help with, next week is the time to ask for help. i know you just got your radiator and driveshaft done, i was hoping once you get the headers in we can start it up before i go under the knife, i've been wantin to hear it now for a while if thats okay"

looks like next week on my days off from college/ work ill be hard at work on this thing.

 

Just let your dad help you and enjoy your time together. I really would not worry about it if you get anything at all done on the car or not. Just take your time and have fun. Being a dad myself, i'm sure he just wants to spend time with you more than anything.
Greg

 

^^very true. ill try taking a photo with him and my 58 on tuesday since i dont have any pictures with him really. any recent ones at least. hopefully i get a lot done this week. gonna see if i can get my newly reshortened driveshaft in tomorrow. bolt that into place. then i'll get my radiator put into place as well i HOPE.

then i guess ill mess around with the headers a bit more. i got class tomorrow but im off tuesday. gonna make the most of the time i have off.


also i was reading a lot about transmission coolers on the hamb. now, with my 292 yblock, i realized i did something very wrong i think. i mounted the cooler in front of my old radiator, but i put the tabs THROUGH the radiator that held my cooler in place. i heard your never supposed to put anything through the radiator, right?

well after reading threads on the hamb, there are some long tubed ones that i can run on my frame rail? should i try finding one like that, or mount just the basic one up front in front of the radiator and mount it to my radiator support? after this week im pretty much on my own with no advice from my dad or input, so im depending on all you guys to help me out on this build as i get closer to wrapping it up.

 

alright so today i went over and made small progress.
my driveshaft fit perfectly into place. only problem was the u bolts, the ones i bought didnt match up with whats on the axle. so i went and bought some new ones that are skinnier and im hoping those work.

the radiator i got in place... but it took a lot of cutting. i spent my majority of the time over at my grandmas doing nothing but cutting. and its still a TIGHT fit..

and my header situation i think i got figured out. they all fit correctly, i just need a second hand when i bolt them in. and i bought some bolts from home depot but think they are too long, i have to shorten them probably to get them to bolt in smoothly.