Suspension Parts Looking good there ~ I like seeing the frame boxed , will you be boxing other parts if it as well ? . CONGRATULATIONS Proud Poppa ! . My Son is now 34 and doing well , this will be the toughest job you've ever loved .
Thanks Nate. I've been planning to box the rest. I will probably do that right before sandblasting. After I take the suspension back off I can flip the frame and finish weld the stuff on the bottom. I'm a bad welder when I weld from underneath. I've already started talking about what kind of autocross race car I need to build so my daughter can learn to drive.
This weekend was a mile stone. The 5.3LS and 4l60e found its home between the frame rails! I used the dirty dingo adjustable mounts to give me the ability to fine tune the engine placement when the body goes on. For now I used a measurements for the firewall from the assembly manual, a new floor pan, and the core support to get in the ballpark. I have over and inch adjustment front and back so I should be fine. I am going to have to make a little clearance in the boxing plates for the bottom flange on my corvette exhaust manifolds to get them to fit. I'll be back able to work on it in about 2 weeks. I plan to finish the tranny cross member and do a compression test on the engine. After that is complete disassembly for finish welding, sand blasting, and painting.
Nice. While you have it stripped down, go ahead and box the whole frame.....it greatly benefits these trucks.
Well as I prepared for my LS swap a kept feeling guilty about pulling the 216. After all it ran great and was all original. Notice the past tense? Today I was on my way to a car show, cruising along at 30 mph when I start to hear an odd noise. I was only 4 miles from home so I turned around. 2 miles from home my noise turned into a knock. Before I could even pull over I hear a loud BANG! Then lots of smoke. Turns out my #1 piston rod wanted to see day light and the side of the block got in the way. The 216 is toast. There is a 2 inch wide hole right behind the fuel pump. I got it on a trailer and towed home. It was a really sad day. I'll miss the old girl. I can't wait to get the build done and get it back on the road.
Sorry to hear that Greg. Now you will have to put a rush on the LS swap. But at least you will be guilt free.
Yeah I was there last night. First time in about 5 or 6 weeks. Sorry I missed ya. Was that the show you were headed to when the motor let go?
Yeah. I got the truck home on a trailer and then came in my wife's corolla. Not as much fun but it got me there. I saw a satin black truck and I thought it was yours.
Blew A Rod I'm curious : Did the rod break near the top by the wrist pin / piston or did it come off the crankshaft ? . TIA ,
I didn't look that close. There is a big hole in the block part of the rod sticking out. I'm going to pull some parts off it to sell (like the rebuilt carb) and I'll look closer then
Progress has been slow but I'm back on track. 7 weeks ago I had my first child. My little girl has been great but it took a while to be able to get up north to work on my project. For those of you just joining... I have been building an extra chassis so that my truck didn't have to be torn apart as long and I'll just swap the body later. Anyhow, I loaded up my truck to head up north because my modified chassis had just came back from the sand blasters. My daily driver (a 2000 GMC jimmy) barely had the balls to haul the truck/trailer but it got the job done. Unfortunately I got a flat on my 1950 chevy and had no spare. I have one of those 2 wheel tow dollys so it took two hours to swap a tire from the front to the back and put the flat on the front. Here are some pics of my misery. We finally made it and I got to start painting the frame and rear end. I have some more parts to paint next time I go up there again but I'm happy with the progress so far. Once I paint the suspension parts I can bolt them back on. My motor is currently getting built so I am happy with where I am at. Here are some pics of the frame. (I used KBC coating its similar to POR15) Yes I am missing some running board brackets but I'll snag those off my other frame. Moving on.. My Jimmy started to crap out on me so I finally bit the bullet and got some LS power. On Monday I went and purchased a 2014 Silverado Crew Cab 4x4. Wow what an amazing truck. I was nervous to buy a $47,000 truck but in the end its just an amazing vehicle. I like having room for my family and dogs. The forest green metallic is a pretty color but the pictures don't do it justice because its cloudy.
Greg, Congrats on both your new additions! Enjoy every minute with your new daughter they grow up way to fast. Just ask any of us old goats. Nice progress on your truck.
Nice new pickup, hard to believe how much things cost these days. I know, when I say things like that, I sound like grand-pa. Don't be a stranger here, Greg, I'm following your project. I could go to that other huge forum, but, I don't like crowds.
I definitely need to post here more often. I just haven't been able too get much done lately due to a death in the family and then an illness. I'll keep you posted on any progress.
Progress ! Yay on several counts ! . Congrats on the Daughter , I'm watching my 20 month old Grand Daughter grow , also like a weed .
