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  1. rich weyand

    Vac Advance - Yes or No?

    Yes, run vacuum advance, for all the reasons mentioned. And run it on manifold vacuum. Race cars usually don't have vacuum advance, because it's another thing to break and they don't run them outside the performance window where the vacuum advance would be active anyway. Vacuum advance went on...
  2. rich weyand

    New to me truck/ what should i go through and look at

    Change the master cylinder, all four slave cylinders, and the rubber brake lines at all four wheels. If you can stop, any other reliability issue is less likely to be life-threatening, and most people don't change the slaves and the rubber wheel lines. Those suckers are likely 50 years old and...
  3. rich weyand

    Electric Fan Conversion

    The small blocks all run pretty cold. I did a real simple electric fan conversion in a weekend. Here's the write-up from another forum. http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=27899.0
  4. rich weyand

    Battery positive to ''body' ground not a good ground like frame or chassi ground

    The battery, the block, the frame, and the cab all need to agree on what 0V is. That takes three wires to connect the four things. Standard is the small one from the battery to the radiator support, the big one from the battery to the block, and a braid from the RHS valve cover to the firewall...
  5. rich weyand

    Found My High School Truck

    1978 is the sweet year, IMO. Last year with no engine computer, last year with round eyes, first year with electric oil pressure gauge. And short-box 4x4 is sweet. Most 4x4s back then were work trucks, and were long box. That's a really nice truck, and deserves your effort.
  6. rich weyand

    85 C10 No headlights or cluster lights

    I'll give you two possibilities. First, when having electrical problems on vehicles, people often fail to check their grounds. On a vehicle, the grounds are more often the problem that the hots, because they're a little more loosey-goosey in the original design that the hots. And most...
  7. rich weyand

    Vacuum advance adjustment

    You could get an AR23/VC1853 vacuum advance can. It will give you 15 degrees advance at closed throttle. That will allow a base timing of 16-18 and mechanical advance of 18 without going over 51 degrees advance at cruise. But your numbers now look right to me. As long as you're not getting any...
  8. rich weyand

    Best Door Hinge Lubricant

    I used SiliKroil once on the hinges and bushing/cam setup. That was it; lasted years. Also works really well on hood hinges. SiliKroil is a penetrant like WD-40, but carries a lubricant with it, which WD-40 does not. It'll even walk uphill in a pin hinge setup like the door hinges. Also works...
  9. rich weyand

    truck idles fine dies when put in gear

    Do you have the vacuum advance line plugged into the passenger side of the Edelbrock, or the driver side? Should be driver side.
  10. rich weyand

    Good street cam?

    Remember: You race horsepower, but you drive torque. The first several hits on the link below include summaries of the cam research I did on the 350s. An 'RV cam' is the right choice. Those are the cams mfrs put in RVs when they're built, to make those heavy vehicles driveable. I actually went...
  11. rich weyand

    I cant get my new engine to run smooth. Seems untunable.

    Let me guess: You have it on ported vacuum, right? If so, that's why it won't idle worth a crap. Make sure the vacuum line is connected to manifold vacuum. That's where the engine is telling you what it wants...
  12. rich weyand

    Stumble under quick wot

    Vacuum advance on ported will always stumble on suddenly coming off idle. The vac cylinder needs time to synch up with manifold advance, which is where it should have been. Put the vacuum advance on manifold vacuum and retune...
  13. rich weyand

    Need help with lights

    One thing nobody here mentioned - and apparently wasn't the problem in this case - but whenever you have lighting or gauge issues, you should first check that the cab ground is in place. A lot of people replace an engine and don't put the cab ground wire in. To review, there are four grounds on...
  14. rich weyand

    Correct timing and which vacuum port

    Everything you ever wanted to know about ignition timing - and more! - is here. Ignition Timing for First-Generation GM V-8 Engines
  15. rich weyand

    Dash cluster problems

    You do have the ground strap from the passenger-side cylinder head to the firewall installed, right?
  16. rich weyand

    Swapping the 350 for a Crate

    Easiest is to replace what you have like-for-like. Also least costly. I bought the GM crate engine and recammed it for more torque. Torque is what you drive and what you notice when you drive. You can find the threads on my recamming experiences here pretty easily. Couple things that make a huge...
  17. rich weyand

    this is a weird one.... lighting question.

    Make sure cab is grounded to engine (firewall to RHS cylinder head), engine is grounded to battery (the heavy wire), and battery is also grounded to frame (light wire to the radiator crossmember). If they don't all agree on what 0 volts is, weird things happen.
  18. rich weyand

    brake lights no worky!!

    "I think all the grounds are good as every other light circuit is working..." Check the grounds. When they aren't right, you get stupid results. There are four items that need grounding, and so it takes three wires to connect them. The four items are the battery, the engine, the frame, and the...
  19. rich weyand

    Engine wont shut off and random battery drain. Help!

    You do have the chassis and cab grounds connected, correct? There are four items on the vehicle that need to be grounded to each other: the battery, the block, the chassis, and the body. Connecting four items takes three wires. One wire is the heavy battery wire to the block. Second wire is...
  20. rich weyand

    Camshaft input from experience.

    You drive torque, you race horsepower. Performance in the 1000-3000 rpm range is what makes a street car fun. I went the other way, and cammed for torque. With a marine cam and smogger heads, I got 285hp @4000, but 420lb-feet at 2500 rpm. An idle lope means the engine is on the edge of not...
  21. rich weyand

    chevy 350/290 crate engine

    Read this thread: Crate Engine help!!!! | GM Square Body - 1973 - 1987 GM Truck Forum
  22. rich weyand

    Think I need new springs? shocks? ROUGH RIDE

    The uneven look is probably from the wheel well cutouts. They all look like they're draggin' ass. The fronts of the stock Ks all ride hard because of the negative arch leaf springs. The Cs with coils don't have that problem. I put Tough Country EZ-Ride springs and shocks front and rear. I put...
  23. rich weyand

    Initial Timing Advice

    I think you got to the right place. Here's all the whys and wherefores. https://www.gmsquarebody.com/threads/ignition-timing-for-first-generation-gm-v-8-engines.14508/
  24. rich weyand

    Ignition Timing for First-Generation GM V-8 Engines

    Ported vacuum, or timed vacuum, is emissions control nonsense and has nothing to do with how gasoline actually burns. At idle, you'll be dumping burning gas out your exhaust valves so the AIR pump can add air and burn up emissions in the exhaust manifold. No AIR pump? Then why retard the idle...
  25. rich weyand

    Wheel and Tire thread

    1978 Cheyenne K10, factory monochrome shortbox 4x4 in black. +2 front, +3 rear Rough Country EZ-Ride springs & shocks. BF Goodrich All-Terrain TAs on Cragar Series 342 D-window steelies. I went 2" in the front to get out of negative-arch springs, then went 3" in the back to even up the wheel...

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