I have been a member of this site for like a year now, but i dont really come on that much. I did, however post the backstory to my truck and how it has been in the family since it was brand new. Im 17 now and before we started working on it I drove it to school every day. About 4 months ago we put it in the back yard to start an engine swap. It originally had a 352 with a 3 speed manual. We pulled everything out and had the trans rebuilt then took the original engine to a company that rebuilt it, stroked it to a 390, put a mild comp cam in it (not sure of the specifics), and put and edlebrock aluminum intake on it. When we brought it home, it immediatly got a set of Headman Elite headers and a 650 cfm edlebrock carb and we replaced the points with an electronic ignition. A few weeks ago we put everything back in it and now we are working on guages. The only problem is that its ready to fire but none of the dash lights work and neither do the wires that hook up to one of the guages. we ordered a new ignition and headlight switch, hopeing that would fix the problem. I almost got to drive it the last week of school but ill have to wait next year. I have pictures, but it would take way too long to upload them right now, so youll just have to take my word for it for now.

here are some old pictures that i already have on photobucket



original engine



I will be posting all updates in this thread so stay tuned. thanks for reading.

 

Nice Truck! i like the springtime yellow.... do you plan disc brakes or power steering upgrade?

 

I just got all the dash lights working in my 64 ,I pulled the dash panel off undid the speedo cable and I was able to lean the dash panel back towards the steering wheel and I ended up changing most of the bulbs, now all the lights work again

 

Yeah i forgot to mention it has power front disk brakes. I plan on towing a small 50s travel trailer with it someday so it will get rear disk brakes later. All the dash lights used to work but then we went to test them and they didnt. For the guage wires when you turn the ignition on they have power for a few seconds then they dont.

 

Check the wiring harness where it plugs into the firewall, make sure the connection is good. Also check the grounds under the hood.

 

I had a problem with the wiring harness going into the fuse panel. found a bad conector on the back of the fuse panel I was able to take the wire off and put a new conector on it and screw it into the back of the panel. also the dash lights are grounded to the instrument panel. if that dash panel isn't screwed in good the dash lights will not be grounded. you can take a jumper wire and ground the dash panel. There is also some type of voltage regulator on the back of the dash panel you may need to look into.

 

We were useing a test light and there isnt any power going to them and we grounded them and turned the lights on and still nothing. We havent checked the wireing harness, but like i said they worked fine then like a couple hours later we couldbt get anything so ill have to let my dad know. Im leaveing all the electrical up to him haha.

I really appreciate the help though guys!

 

I just started having new issues with my dash light again today. they woldn't come on and I reached under the dash and twisted the light switch and they came on. I believe there is a loose wire in the switch. its ironic that I posted this message and then started having problems.

 

Haha yeah, that is weird. We got the new switches today so well hook those up and check the grounds and see if that does anything.

 

OK, so major update on this thing! i have all the pictures but we are haveing some problems. first, does anyone know about how long it takes to break in the stock clutch for these things? because it hatters pretty bad right now. Second, it idles anywhere from 600 to 650 rpm when its cold but when it warms up its more like 1000 rpm at idle. if we lower the idle when its warm, it wont run when its cold. if we make the mixture leaner, it pops out of the carb. but the timeing is spot on. Third. the water temp, fuel, and tach bounce aroud a lot. they are all hooked up correctly though. other then that it runs good and sounds great. the two and a half inch exhaust into magnaflow mufflers really suit the truck nicely. anyway here are the pictures








we were trying to find a ticking sound so that is why the valve cover is off here


thanks for looking guys

 

that gauge panel looks sweet man, sounds like the fast idle on the carb isnt working, but im not really an expert with carbs. i had the same set of dolphins but in the green color and i had issues with the readings bouncing, i think that is just the way they are, mine were in my old t-bird. doubt i helped but nice truck

 

You popping and idle may be a vacuum leak. And if you did not find the ticking sound under the valve covers, check the fuel pump, sometimes the spring on the pump arm going to the cam is weak and will tick.
Nice looking work on the truck!!

 

Welcome to the frustrating world of engine mods. You mentioned the timing is "spot on". Based on my 30 seconds experience, this is just a starting point for proper timing on any modified engine. Something to keep in mind, modified intakes, exhausts, etc. affects the performance and you can not expect perfect performance from cold to hot for low idle to fast idle. Start with shifiting the timing for a good start at cold condition. Remember on high performance, as the enine, carb, seals, etc. breaks in, everything changes.

For electrical problems, try running a ground from the instrument dash to the body and another from the body to the engine.

Good looking truck and engine, good luck on these frustrating little things. You might go back to the builder for timing/dwell advice, be sure to mention ALL your mods.

 

Thanks guys for the suggestions. I think were definately gonna let the engine break in all the way and if things still arent good we will go to the builder and have him do some tuning and stuff. But im really interested in the clutch. Im sure chatter is normal on a new clutch but it has 160 miles on it and hasnt really settled down noticeably. Thanks agian for the help

 

I find the clutch chatter disturbing. If the chatter lasts for long it could really mess up your engine or tranny seals or worse.

I would drop the inspection cover and ensure the throw out bearing is striking the clutch plate forks or diaphram (on a new style) flatly. Is is possible the throwout is not seated properly.


But.... Chatter is usually caused by a warped flat surface on the flywheel or clutch plate or a bad clutch plate.

Did you face the flywheel like you should have?

Did you use a new clutch plate or have the old one faced (surfaced)?

Good luck.