Big W's Econo 66

Installed new radiator and painted the fan and rad support.
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Big W man your getting alot done ! Billl

there is a post here on lincoln elect fans -specific to year models used as best - im thinking it in the Chev=G section & my our canadian friend-the guy makin the disc conversions ? Looks Barbaric=?? Remember those guys invented the wheel we still use!! Looks Good. Vic is the man with the econo throttle conversions & setups - look 4 him

remember =Canada is all immigrants!!-just most all =Approved & Legal!

LMAO...I'll drink to that..EH!...And thanks for the fan tip, I will have a look through our forums and see what's there.

Speedo cable...hmmmm something tells me that this won't work. The gears are going in a differant direction. I joined the 81 chevy end, coax only with a hard piece of rubber and a couple of clamps, untill I can find a better way (heat shrink instead of clamps). Once I pushed them together I couldn't get them apart. So if speedo is going inreverse, then I will pull the guts out of my chevy gauge and try to put them in the 66 guage. If there is something easier please let me no..
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Also hooked up the shift linkage to the trans. I used the 2nd to 3rd gear shifting arm as it lined up the best with the side of the transmission. I also used the ford transmision shift lever as it has the same slot as the chevy, only a little longer slot. I cut it and welded the cap closed so it would hang perfectly straight down from the trans. The ford shift arm still has the slide adjuster, so I could set the position just right.
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Finally managed to start on the rear breaks. Tried pulling the drum off and that's when I realized the adjuster was seized. Got it working and removed drum only to find break fluid running out of the wheel cylinder boot. I was going to change them only if the ones the PO put in didn't leak. Oh well, tomorrow is another day and hopefully I can get the back ones done. Passenger side is all ripped apart and cleaned up awaiting the 67 donor parts that I hope are still new and not leaking. There only 6 years old, on all 4 corners. I will post some pics tomorow night.

Doin great Big W!

Well hollidays are over and man that was a quick 2 weeks. I think I got a lot done. Still need to put on bottom rad hose and heater hoses, weld the dog house boxes on and hang my new rad cooler and fan,and put the exhaust back on, bolt in a seat and we will be able to take it for a test spin. I didn't want to paint anything just yet as I will need to cut the floor for an air tunnel extention on the dog house and it needs to have the pressure washer go underneath and clean a major amount of dirt off. degrease around the steering column and rearend area. I still want to upgrade to the duall Master but while I enjoy the fruits of my labor I will send the '67 master out for rebuild and swap it out later. Also need to send the carb out for rebuild as it is idleing at about 20 mph...lol. Gummed up from sitting to long, but man does that V-8 sound awsome with just the manifolds. Time to take a little breather as I worked every day from sun up till 2 AM most mornings trying to get back to where I was on the '67, and I think I have accomplished that. So as I finish the next peice I will post pics.

WOW! You got a lot of work done in a little amount time!
It's a shame that a job always gets in the way of our projects, eh?

YUP!...and I never won the lottery last week..so...I owe..I owe..It's off to work I go...lol. But HEY!!! the weekend is almost here and the weather looks good. I picked up the bottom hose joiner , a bypass heater hose and all the fluids today, so I should have all that done by friday. The exhaust will be original Y-pipe with a cherry bomb, which is allready to go just need to bolt it up. So keep your toes crossed we might be rollng by sunday afternoon.

Oh Ya.... thats what i'm talking about, go hard and get it done. That chevy is going to rock. Thanks for sharing your holidays with us, you deserve a brake so......get back to work. lol

Well another weekend has come and gone, but at least all the fluids are in and no leaks. Fired up the engine and let it run for 10 minutes at idle. Oh ya and I fixed the idle problem and saved $150.00 bones. Pulled the carb to take it in for cleaning when I realized that the set screw for the choke was turned in to far, so as to not allow the butterflies to close. Sure glad I took a closer look at it. Also bought all the pipe and muffler for the exhaust, and will start on that tomorrow night. If anybody knows of a good way to remove manifold studs that are seized into the ends, I would be grateful. Only thing I thought of was to heat the manifold up with a torch, then try turning them out. Not sure if this will damage it though or make it weak, when I go to bolt on the exhaust pipe. So we are one step closer to a test drive....Later.

heat the manifold & studs- @ same time when very hot - take a candle & let the wax melt- it (wax) will wick itself into the threads - let it all cool good & try removing then/ It Works!! can also use the penetrant pby in yellow & red can-must spray & leave a day to work.

Thanks Twinpilot, I will try that out and see what works. I am stuck for now $$$$$flow low and can't afford headers right now, so manifolds will have to work.

Well I got one more thing done on the list...Transmission cooler is installed and plumbed. Not sure if there is a right or wrong way to mount the fan...but I am going to try it with the fan on top pushing air down and through the cooler and see how that works. It is behind passenger seat about a foot or so behind the wheel up under the floor. I left about 6 inches of air space between fan and floor and if needed I will make up a shield to divert mud and what ever else is on the road away from the cooler. If it doesn't work I can always flip it and revers the blade and pull the air through it.
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Trans cooler..
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Well not a whole lot to report other then the exhaust is on and all welded up. NO LEAKS...wow and the welding upside down is not so great, but with a grinder anyone can be an excellent welder...lol. Also replaced the water pump. Front seal was starting to go, so that explains what I thought was a leaky bottom rad hose. So A couple more things off the list. Next stop, A trip to the junk yard for an electric fan for the rad.... I did how ever managed to sneak in a QUICK BURN across the yard (live on an acreage) last Saturday and what a friggin blast. My friend was there to watch and he said the back wheel didn't stop spinning for about 150 feet....ROFLMAO... anyway here are the muffler pics. Keep in mind this isn't the final exhaust. This is just so I can drive to and from the city without getting a ticket. I will eventually put on dual exhaust, but this will do for now. I no it looks low, but it is almost level with the tranny mount. The dual will sit up higher. Had to use what I had for now... And I know it had to be a good burn out cus the wife wasn't to happy about the lawn.
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Excellent! Had fun, huh?

Corey, you're soundng more like a southerner! (Is there a deep south in Canada?)

Didn't you mean "Had fun, eh?"!!!

crowen57 wrote:Corey, you're soundng more like a southerner! (Is there a deep south in Canada?)

Didn't you mean "Had fun, eh?"!!!

Too true... I must be spendin' too much time online, typin' with a southern drawl! lol

Well I managed to get the valve cover gaskets changed. The cork ones were leaking on the driver side, which caused the manifold to smoke a bit. No mosquitoes in the van anymore which is good. It appeared that who ever put these cork ones in wasn't paying attention and the gasket was way inside the valve cover. And were they baked. Put in some rubber ones and so far so good...NO SMOKE...but the skeeters are back, oh well what ya going to do! On another note, I readjusted the throttle and now I get every inch of those 4 barrels to open. I am still not liken how it looks, so if someone out there has some pics of there throttle, using cable from econoline pedal and a 4 barrel carb, I would sure like to see it. The reason it is set up like it is, is the gas pedal seems to have less travel then what the carb needs to open the 4 barrels up. Any thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated. So weather permitting , it's off to the the junk yard tomorrow for an electric Taurus fan and then to buy some brackets and temporary - temp gauge, and hopefully I can scratch the cooling system off the list.....Later fellow Vanners

I wish I could go yard hoppin with ya, but rehearsing for Folkfest!!!

Hey, if BigW can say "skeeters", I can say "huh"! Truth is Saskatchewan is maybe as close to having "good ol' southern" hospitality, values and I guess vocabulary as Texas! I might be exaggerating a little... might just be the BigW and me!

Well ya no, I always said my Mom taught me morals and my Dad taught me how to spit. Yup we're southerners. Y'all have a great day...eh!

Nice work Big W- just wondering about a small thin piece of metal just behing the rt. front wheel area to keep those small rocks out of the cooler?/-OH!! I almost forgot - u guys up there don't have any dirt roads like we do down south here in washington & Idaho. EH??