Alright, let's pop it back open again. Whatever we get is what we are going to stick with. This is why routing the plug wires around the front is more convenient than routing them across the middle of the valve covers
and despite having no gauges, got some evidence that oil has been doing oil things. That's always nice
Loosened up all the rocker arms to start with, set it up to TDC #1, then tightened then up to 20lbft based on what the distributor was pointing to
and used a ratchet to crank it over and the camera on the phone to see if everything was moving about evenly on both sides. Seems to be.
and figured i'd share the noises that remain. certainly still some tick due to the exhaust stud missing on the rear passenger head, probably more of a lifter tick on the drivers side head. Can't win them all, well, probably could've kept track of lifters and rods and such during removal and installation. It's quieter with the hood shut, and that's what matters.
and since i was taking videos of things, figured i'd see if taking a video of the exhaust would pick up some of the sound. Seems to be pretty close to reality. It sounds significantly better than when I first did it, probably because it isn't point straight into my open garage
2-1/2" is still too large a diameter for this setup at idle, but it doesn't sound loud or annoying while driving.
Tore in dash apart again, checked the cluster and seemed to be getting resistance at the gauges of interest, so rigged up some wires at the battery
and giving 12v power to the gauges I was able to get a response from them all, here you can see fuel/water/oil all off zero
Primary reason it all came apart was to change out the ignition switch. funny setup with this rod that runs down the column to just a hole in the bottom of the switch
replacement unit installed, there is nearly a full key potion of adjustment in the slider nuts. This also controls all of the feedback in the key, the key is no longer sticky and loose. Crisp and firm positions
way better than expected
the panel was working and I was getting power to the cluster connector with the new ignition switch, plugged it back in and fired up the truck. Reaching around the back to fondle the wires made them fluctuate. Took it apart again, did what I could to strain relieve them. Everything seemed connected to the plug itself, do still have some concerns about the printed circuit on the back of the cluster itself.
pretty sure these are for the door speakers, needed to make a note of the color and check the wiring diagram. there is much wiring on the inside to get through. I'd like for the radio to function the dash speakers, the legal compliance lights to work and find a spot for power for the power windows.
guess i'll have to get a trailer brake controller wired up as well, but that's all pretty simple once I get the factory mess and aftermarket add ons cleaned up