Another Build Thread - My '32

[J. Robinson]

I haven't updated in a while, so here we go. After connecting the temporary oil pressure and temp gauges I crawled underneath to put the bolts in the flex plate and torque converter. As luck would have it, the holes didn't line up! Every GM flex plate I've ever encountered had two different bolt patterns, but not this one. It had two sets of holes, but they were all the same! I was faced with two options - either (1)pull the engine and trans out of the chassis so I could separate them and get another flex plate, or (2)try to drill the correct holes without removing the unit. I opted for #2. I removed the oil filter and was able to use my angle drill to create a new set of holes. It took me about an hour to do it. Removing the engine and trans, disassembling, chasing the correct part, reassembling, and putting it all back would have taken all day.

Because of the above mentioned delay and some family obligations, I finally put "fire in the hole" on Saturday, May 2nd. The engine fired up right away on the first try, but as soon as the fuel in the float bowl ran out it quit. I was filling the float bowl by putting gas through the vents with a squirt bottle. It would start fairly easy, but would not keep running. I pulled the fuel line off at the carb and spun the engine over - fuel pump wasn't pumping. That brand new pretty chrome fuel pump doesn't work! Unfortunately, I've had it too long to send it back... By then it was late in the day, so I quit until Monday, May 4th. I found the fuel pump that I bought years ago (2006) to carry as a spare when the wife and I drove the Model-A to Indiana. I wasn't sure if small block and big block Chevys use the same pump, but they look alike (except this one isn't chromed). I bolted it on, made the necessary tweaks to the fuel line, and started it up again - problem solved. It runs OK and doesn't smoke, so I guess I've got a good one.

The carb needs tuning and I need to put a timing light on it, but that will wait until I put a fan on it, so I can run it longer. I did let it get up to 190 degrees before I shut it off. It was holding 45 pounds of oil pressure at idle after warming up (60 when cold). It also sounds really healthy through those short fat mufflers...