The Heat Finally Breaks...Time To Get Into The Garage.

Hello Gray Ghost Fans!

It's been a long hot summer, but the heat has finally broken!  I had a day off, so with some good temps, it was time to head into the garage!  Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I haven't taken the whole summer off.  In fact, I was cleaning and prepping the engine bay for when it was time to transplant that replacement engine.  I was actually really happy with just how clean it came.  Turns out that all that oily crud is really good at preserving metal!  Who knew?  Sadly, though, not all of the metal was covered.  So there is some rust and although it looks like a lot of rust, it's really not that bad.  Here are a couple of pics to show what I'm talking about:

To the left of each pic is the radiator support frame.  Next to that is the front engine mount crossmember.  Next to that, you can see the front axle and drag link.  Here's a shot that I thought was funny:

Nothing like having complete access with the engine gone!  I may have published this pic before...but it does show how I went about the business of getting everything cleaned.  It also shows the reality of doing this kind of work without the benefit of a garden shed.  Hopefully, I can remedy that situation next spring!  Anyway, back to the garage.

So, yes, I did have some activity this summer.  Just not as much as I would have liked.  Today, I would change that.  First order of business was to fire up the 235 and make sure that there weren't any hidden failures.  After making room in the garage, connecting the battery and adding some gas, off we went.  She smoked pretty good until it warmed up.  Seemed fine after that.  Good news, she's still a runner!  Second order of business, swap out the original solenoid based starter for an old foot stomp starter!  I just happened to have one laying around, so off I went.  The swap was easy.  The old one was a gnarly mess, as I wasn't ever able to clean it due to it's close proximity to the engine block.  Now it was off and set aside.  Bolting up the stomp starter was equally easy.  Now comes the hard part.  Taking 4 wires from the starter switch and figuring out which ones I need and where they go on a switch that only has 2 terminals.  After some head scratching, I thought I had it.  Hook up the battery, turn the key to the on position, reach down and push on the starter button and it tries to fire!  It actually startled me, which caused me to let go.  No problem, I'll just try again.  Reach down and push the button and nothing.  Check the keys, switch, wires, battery charge all to no avail.  It won't make a single sound.  Well that sucks!  Now what?  Time to clean the old solenoid based starter.  At least that one works.  So I did and then reversed everything that I had just done.  Good grief.

Yes, one step forward and one step backward, but maybe I can salvage something from this disappointment.  Even though the solenoid based starter would start the engine, I knew that something was wrong, because it would shoot out a large spark every time I turned the key to activate it.  Kinda looked like arc welding....  Also, the engine was hard to start.  Meaning that it would have to crank a bunch before it would light off.  I had been told some time ago that if I had an "internally resisted" coil, it would be a problem with starting.  For whatever reason, I never got around to checking.  Then one day this summer I decided to check.  Guess what I found:

No external resistor required.  Engineering talk for internally resisted.  Clear as day, you can also see it is a 12V coil.  So...if it is a 12V coil, why would you need a resistor???  Because GM never changed the points and condenser.  They still operated at 6V!  It wasn't until the advent of HEI ignition systems that we got true 12V ignition!  So, armed with this knowledge, it was off to the flaps to get a coil that needs a ballast resistor, which means that it does not have an internal resistor.  Of course, I would also need a ballast resistor.

How this all works:  When the current flows from the ignition switch, it will flow to the ballast resistor, which will lower it from 12V to 6V, thus preserving the points and condenser.  To overcome the hard starting issue, there is a bypass circuit from the starter solenoid directly to the coil.  This bypass circuit provides true 12V to make starting easier.  Since it is for a short duration, it does not damage the points or condenser.  Once you let go of the key, the bypass circuit is shut off and the engine runs off the ballast resistor and 6V.  The rest of the truck's electric needs are for 12V and are met through a different circuit that runs from the ignition switch through the accessory leg.  Plain as day, right?

To preserve my day in the garage, I decided to wire up the new coil and ballast resistor while the engine was on the test stand and see if it would work.  Logically, it wasn't too hard to figure out which wires went where, so it was off to the races.  With everything wired up, it was time to test it all out.  Let me just say that the results were stunning.  The engine fired up in less that one second!  I'll repeat that:  less that one second of cranking!  Clearly, problem solved.  In case you are wondering, there is no embellishment here.  From there, I let it run until I drained the small gas tank (salvaged from an old Honda lawn mower, but that's a different story for a different day, unless I already covered it way back in the beginning of the blog....)

So there you have it.  Progress, even if it wasn't what I was planning/hoping for.  Decisions that fell out from the day's efforts:  sticking with the solenoid starter, adding the externally resisted coil and ballast resistor and sticking with the one wire alternator.  I now know exactly how to wire them up and the wire harness that I installed some time ago is set up for all of it.

With the cooler weather and progress in the garage today, I am energized to make the last preparations for getting the engine ready for transplant.  Stay tuned....

OBTW, one other thing did get done and I completely forgot about it!  I installed the first piece of equipment necessary to transform the engine from an automatic transmission to one with a manual.  I'll show you all the pic and see who knows what it is.  Here you go:

I'll give you a clue:  I'm referring to the bright, bronze piece in the center of the pic.  The tip of the transmission input shaft rides inside it.