2015 at the Hammond Barn

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Bob

Interesting that you are having such a problem, I originally fit all engine panels when the my truck had the 216 and didn't even think about it when I switched engines to the 235 last summer. My 235 is late version so it shares many fittings with the 261.

Of course I was fitting my covers using your drivers side panel which you loaned me to copy. When I made my copy I did modify the copy by splitting it in two sections which makes it a lot easier to remove that side with out having to remove the rest of the engine cover.

Will look through my photos to see if I've got any photos that might be of help.

Cheers Phil

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Phil

When I cleaned up my dirver's side engine cover I wanted to go back to the original configuration and of course welded back the two section into one..... now I realize how hard it is to fit the darn thing.

First is a picture of the PROPER breather tube for a cab 13.....low profile and tuck close to the engine block.

The second is from my cab 11 engine I removed.

Last two are of my cab 11 with the 261 circa 1959 civilain breather tube. It is significantly taller, hides one spark plug and you can see some scratches onit where the caged nut was rubbing on the tube. The proper short tube does not use a long retaining bracket.

Not sure I want to go back to cutting my side panel in two section....but one piece is a bitch.

Our plans for Tuesday is to remove the front sheet metal to have access to the foor panel and see if we can loosen the floor bolts to allow to tip the foot panel inwards which we hope will slightly rotate the side engine covers counter clockwise bringing the back of the engine cover to touch the floor plate.... it is high by about 3/4 of an inch right now. The hole in the 45 degree foot panel are oval and their is room to move slightly. As we reinstal the floor panel we will also replace the bolts for machined screws and finishing cap washers and with gasket anti squeak material.

Remind me of what you used to insulate the inside of your engine cover. I have a one square foot sample of a 1/4 in. foil backed spun glass panel I obtain from a supplier in Toronto.... apparenty not affected by water or oil but would need to be wired in place using the existing holes and hand made staples using MIG welding wire...... not sure of the cost but will not be cheap. On the exhaust side I have about 3/4 clearance from the red hot manifold and may use a section of asbestos cloth salvaged from NOS foundery mitts for the section near the manifold.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers

[Bob Carriere]

As we progress with fitting the engine cover we discover other little "irritants"

My 261 Chev engine is currently running with a rebuilt 1959 distributor and a off the shelf universal spark plug wiring loom.

Will have some recent pictures after this weekend but the modern dizzy is about 1 1/2 inch taller than the original 216 dizzy. This causes the wiring to be touching far too much against the engine cover.

I was under the FALSE impression that you could just simply replace the shallow dizzy cap and rotor from a 216 dizzy to a 1959 dizzy....NO WAY.

The shaft on a modern 1959 dizzy is taller than the older 216....just will not fit...and caps and rotor must be paired with the proper cap.

So the next step will be to remove the existing 1959 dizzy...... remove the Pertronix system which I will install in an older NOS 216 dizzy and hopefully it will start on first try.

Some of the sparkplug wires will also be replaced with angled boots to allow for shorter cabling and less of a spider's web in there.

The other issue has to do with the "dipstick" ..... no not the neighbours kid.
On the 1959 Chev truck the 261 dipstick could easily be pulled out because it has a long tube and a long dipstick...... there is no way it can now be removed for checking using the round access port hole near the feet of the driver.

We will have to remove and shorten the tube and shortened the dipstick while managing to retain the same oil level measurement.

Final lesson learned..... you have to install the transmission floor cover before you can finish installing the two side engine cover. back cover than the instrument cluster.
We are just in the finishing stages of patching the rusted section of that tranny floor cover. You know rust is bad when you have to work from 3 differently rusted cover to manage final measurements.

Cheers

[Bob Carriere]

Learned some thing new today.

In my attempt to replace the 1959 distributor with a new NOS 216 dizzy I ran into some technical difficulties.

I had planned to remove and transplant the Pertronix system from the 1959 distributor to the 216 dizzy...... NO DICE..... it will not fit. The 216 dizzy fits beautifully in the 1959 block and gives me extra clearance but the Pertronix guts will not fit.

Checked the Pertronix cataloque online and they only list one size fits all for Chev dizzy from 1933 to 1962 as model 1168 ....... but that is not the full listing.

Called Pertronix Technical support and once I provided the specific dizzy part number # 1110090 was told that I need the special 2161 model...... and yes NOT ALL possible applications are listed on the online catalogue.

So I am off to Ebay to procure myself a new system model 2161 with the new Lobe Sensor.........

On the plus side...... the new rebuilt tranny cover that Grant toiled over the last few days fits beautifully. Grant copied from 3 badly rusted covers to rebuild one new solid cover....... just needs to cut up a section of inner tube for the rubber flap.

....and life goes on!!!

Cheers

[Jes Andersen]

Bob, Thanks for these posts. I follow them with interest and your collective progress has once again inspired me to do something in my shop. Although I am not doing CMP stuff, the process is similar and I am learning the techniques as I go along. My M37 Life Extension Project continues....

Today, we have sunshine here and should reach 14C or so. Lawn and garden are looking like they want some attention. My condolences to those in the east still buried in the white stuff.

Jes

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Jess

I to enjoy reviewing the M152 site. As a former Dodge nut I had my share of M37, M43/152 and Ambulance. Lots of pleasant memories of four wheeling with the Outaouais 4X4 in the late 70s. My truck was converted as a camper and made extensive use of the SouthWind heater.

I have since pass the "baton" to Rob Clarke, who partly resides at the Barn and he has acquired his own fleet of trucks and eyeing my old trucks for his collection. Sadly none are running anymore.... the last one running an M37 used for skidding logs with chains on 4 wheels may get revived this Summer.

One of our favorite trick to avoid mosquitoes was to drive the trucks on sandy lake shoals into about 2 feet of water and park there away from most of the bugs....... walk out the passenger door onto the fender, hood and sit on top in a lawn chair sucking a beer...

Then were the days.

Meanwhile hoping for +9 degrees tomorrow when I will open both ends of the barn to allow some warmer air to thaw out the concrete floor.

Still labouring with Grant on the fitting of the engine cover...... we are literally wearing out the treads of 5/16 fine tread bolts with the number of time we have installed and removed the panels and we are not over yet.

Currently the ignition is down, the E brake remove, the winch brake loosed, the seat removed and half the outer nose sheet metal just to properly reach the engine cover.

Sometimes it feels like we are going backward.

Cheers

[Bob Carriere]

If you suspect the bushing in the clutch pedal cluster is worn out..... replace it early in the reassembly stage.

I had to remove the fuel pump for clearance and finally removed the floor panel, some of the sheet metal on the driver's side and the whole pedal cluster to be able to replace a $3 brass bushing....... nothing is easy on these beast.

Having previous expereince as a contortionist with a local circus is an asset.

This of course is on a cab 11.........

My advice is to upgrade everything you can WHILE you can during the re assembly.

Cheers