How are you guys gonna load test it? Tree or loader or ????

 

Well, we had The Wood out yesterday and did a little testing. The bigger carb definately helped it out. It sounds alot healthier now. We hooked up to a utility truck and worked the brakes a little bit. I took off around 4500-5000 rpms. The slipper seemed to work well. Once I layed into it. I was hitting the 7300 rpm chip pretty quickly. The tires blew up pretty easily without any weights on the truck, but at least I know the engine wants to open up and run. I'm sure it will be way different when hooked to the sled and weighted down.

I was having an issue with my clutch linkage though. It was not disengaging my clutch all the way. I think something may have twisted when I was driving it on/off the trailer because once I got back on level ground and drove it around it stopped doing it and I could shift just fine. The linkage isn't really the best setup. The stock pedal setup runs from a bracket on the frame to a another bracket on the bellhousing and then your linkage runs from that to your clutch fork. I could definately see how it could twist and throw the pedal off. It just seemed like it needed a little more to disengage it all the way.

I'm not sure what type of clutch you are running, but does your floater in between your two discs seem to make alot of noise when the clutch is disengaged. Mine seems to be pretty noisy when disengaged and the engine is at lower rpms. I know Chris' was noisy also, but I guess I'm just not used to it. Maybe I'm a little paranoid with everything being new.

What did you guys get accomplished this weekend?? Any new photos??

 

Didn’t get as much done as we would have liked. Got it timed and tuned (or at least as a starting basis). We tied up a few small loose ends. We then started on the drive line. The straps that we got to hold our first shaft to our trans were wrong. We went to the parts store and they had nothing. Of course it was 10 after noon and most of the truck shops close at noon. After a little adventure we found some that worked at the GMC Select Trucks dealer in Omaha. Damned GM stuff, it was twice as expensive and the others that we had. Then we came back to the shop to discover the carrier that they gave us with the trans had a crack in the race. So we went ahead and used it for mock up and were gonna use it until we got a new one. Finally we got the drive line built and the last shield for around the carrier. We then decided we needed to try it out and see if the truck moved. We should of just went home. Our clutch isn’t working right so tonight the trans comes back out to see if we can fix it. We think that it needs more shims. The back disk is floating but the front isn’t. Hopefully that will fix it. So to answer your question… I have no idea because ours isn’t working correctly yet.

 

My clutch is the only thing that is concerning me right now. I'm pretty confident it is just a matter of getting the linkage adjusted correctly. If it wouldn't have worked as good as it did when we had it hooked up, I would be more concerned. I'm going to play around with it some more tomorrow night and see what it does. Hopefully, I can get it working a little better. I know those things can be tricky. Let me know what you find out. Hopefully, we both come out with some good news.

 

I forgot to tell you that I did some checking around regarding Demon Jets. From what I gathered, Holley Jets work fine in those carburetors. I'm not sure if that was still something that you were looking at changing or not??

 

Thanks. As far as I can tell they will work but I have read on the net that Holley’s don’t flow as good as Demon jets. I guess if I am ordering them anyways I might just be better off ordering Demon’s from the start. Looks to be about $80.00 for an assortment pack with 4 of each jet. Probably gonna get some just in case. Thanks for checking though.

On the clutch you could always switch to a cable like we did. Not sure if it would better but another option. The other local guys use the stock linkage too but they have a chevy.

 

Do you know how much movement you have between the inner disk and intermediate plate and the flywheel when the pedal is pushed in?

Thanks,

Chris

 

I have no idea. My bellhousing is completely enclosed. Once I bolt it up, I can not check anything without tearing it all apart. I'm assuming your bellhousing has a site plate to allow you to see in there?? Are you having issues with the discs not locking up??

 

Yes on ours we can see through where the clutch fork goes in. The first time we bolted it up everything looked good but when we would press the pedal in the outer disk (one on the back side) would float like it should but the intermediate plate and the inner disk were still stuck to the flywheel. We added some more spacers last night and it will now float but we just aren't sure if it is floating too much or what. Hopefully Bryan can get a new carrier today and we can bolt everything back in and see how it works.

 

O.k. I have the hole that the clutch fork goes in. I thought maybe you had a removable plate on the topside. I'm not sure on this either. I'm going to work on mine tonight but by then you will probably be testing yours out. I've been trying to find some information on line, but everything I find on slipper clutches is for r/c trucks or motorcycles. I've been trying to find some articles on truck pulling slipper clutches but have been unsuccessful. I am going to try McCleod's and Ram's website now.

 

Well, did you guys have any luck last night?? We kind of had a late one. I did a little more adjusting on my clutch. I adjusted the rod that runs from my pedal linkage to the actual clutch fork. It seems to be working fine now, and I got alot of the idle noise out of it, but who knows, it was working fine before it acted up last time. I actually may tighten it back up a little bit to try and get some of the free travel out of it.

We got some extra welding done on my rearend, and the front ladder bars done. The front bars took longer than what I thought, but they turned out pretty good. Basically, I just have alot of little loose ends to tie up. I'm hoping to finish up everything this week, but I'm sure I will be doing it on Sat. morning and hustling to get up there. Sounds like it's going to be a pretty nice day. Hopefully, pulling goes as well!!

 

Well by the time I got there Bryan had the trans back out of the truck again and we took a couple of the really small shims out. We put everything back together and it just barely releases but we did try to put it into gear and it will go now so that is a good thing. Bryan is going to have CarQuest and ITP on the search for a new carrier bearing today. Hopefully they find one and we can put the driveline back in tonight. We got our hood cut so it will now fit again. While Bryan was waiting for me to get there he started working on the throttle. That is the last thing we have left. Hopefully we will be close after tonight or tomorrow but like you say, we will probably be out there at 6:00 AM Saturday working on stuff. I am very anxious to drive it this year. Not sure how this will work with the clutch. Everybody says it just pushes your foot off the pedal and all you really have to do is hold pressure on it and keep giving it throttle.

Oh and yesterday while looking for some clutch info I saw on RAM’s website something that said a double disk will have some “chatter” and that it is normal.

 

Well, that's good to hear that the clutch is now working. They are really nice. I pulled mine a couple of times with my old engine, and it was awesome. Basically, when you're coming out the clutch is coming up, and you can hold the rpms wherever you want to. Before you know it, you are 50 ft. out and ready to roll. I'm anxious to get a feel for everything on Sat. Basically, the clutch, throttle and handling. I'm sure it will be a learning experience all around.

 

Yes it will and yes it looks to be a good day if those weather guys actually know what they are talking about this time.

I am guessing no little truck pullers have arrived yet at your house.

 

No, there is not a little truck puller yet. I was joking around that Amanda will probably get up there on Sat, I'll be getting ready to pull, and he will decide it is time to come out. There isn't any way to stop it so if it happens it happens. It sure would be memorable.