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Progress, however slow... but isn't it about the JOURNEY?

and PLENTY

of clearance between the tire sidewall and the bedside, and just as much between tire sidewall and fender lip. And to think I was all worried that 245's weren't going to fit. They look FAT from the back!

Thanks Zig, for your inspiration. I has been nice to talk to you, and if we feed off of each other's progress, we'll be done in no time! THEN we will be obligated to do a whirlwind tour and visit guys like Evan, and Nate, and ALL the folks that make this forum awesome. Martinius, you'll have to settle for a postcard for now.

OK, maybe I got ahead of myself a little- but a man has GOT TO have dreams!
 
Mike,

The progress looks great. The work that you and Paul (and several others) are doing with projects is awesome. I've been tinkering on mine a bit again here and there, but I don't have enough done to warrant photo updates.

To make your photos larger inside the post, you'll have to upload them to a third-party site. I use photobucket. Then when you write your posts here, instead of attaching the photos, you will imbed them in the message code... making them full size. I'd be glad to help you if you like.

I think the tire and wheel combo looks great... really fills up the fender! I agree that there seems to be too much black, and that a different color for the wheels is warranted. I dunno about body color... or maybe an accent color? Up to you, of course.

I'm in for the road trip if we ever decide to take one. I think that'd be fun... an impromptu meeting of the Classic Parts Forum membership? How cool.

Keep the updates coming.

Damon
 
Looking Good !

You've centered the wheel very nicely .

The thumbnails are O.K. as all you needs do is click on them twice to enlarge them .
 
Hey Mike~ I was looking at your picture and was trying to think how the wheel would look if the outer rim and ring-around-the-cap were painted the lighter body color. Leaving the black ring with holes surrounded by lighter color might have a "lighter" effect. (?)
Glad I could be an inspiration, considering the snail pace I am currently on. Sometime early next week I will get around to painting the axle. Might even install it next week also. Now, finding the right mix-and-match u-joint may take quite a while... Then there's that million square inches of metal I have yet to grind down. (Not to mention starting all over with the 228 since it's set SO LONG. :(
But thanks, Mike! I'm glad you got back to work finally! ;)
Who will finish first????
 
Zig,
The "mix-n-match" U-joint you worry about is no big deal. IIRC, the Colorado takes a 3R (I think I mentioned it in another post), and you already know what is on the end of the driveshaft.

BEST CASE:
Lets say you take a 1350 series U-joint on the driveshaft.
And the Rear takes a 3R.
What you'll need is a "combination" with 3R on one side, 1350 on the other.
There are combination U-joints for just about every possible combo. A quick search netted theujointstore.com and there they all were!

WORST CASE:
the aforementioned "combination" does not exist. (slim)
Then, you'll need to:
a) have your local driveline shop modify the end of your existing driveshaft to accept a 3R
b) replace the piece on the front of the pinion shaft to accept a 1350 (can't remember the proper term).

Crisis solved!
 
color scheme

When I said the wheels may need to be body-color, that would be Copper (hence her name being Penny). Right now the (new from our host) fender is in black EDP, and the Mar-K bed is bare steel (they put a flash galvy coating on to prevent rust). But still, to me there isn't a clean break from wheel to tire. Here I am pondering wheel color, and look the the pictures! A little at a time.
 
Spare Tire and Rims

I think the look is great, looks like old time artillery wheel. Being a spare is there some warning like "do not excess speed over 55" mostly associated with the tires, just wondering but I like the look too.

Or a warning, " do not used on American old Iron" :D
 
Mike~ I'm thinking if the outer wheel (two rings) are painted a light color as well as the ring around the cap, then leave the ring that has the holes a darker color, it might look pretty cool.
 
Steve,
Only the wheels are "spares", not the tires. The tires are brand new Toyo Proxes ST's in P245/50R20. Are you perhaps thinking of the warning on the side of a "donut spare"?

I can assure you that the wheels do not have a speed-limitation.

I guess when the body is all painted, and there are fresh, shiny hubcabs adorning the wheels I can make the final determination on color. And yes, in a way, they DO resemble the artillery wheel (which I like). I have even considered maybe machining the oval holes in the wheel to more of a D shape to mimic the artillery wheel a little more. We'll see.
 
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the waiting is killing me.

Soooo, Penny had a luxurious month-long visit to the body shop back in the fall of '12. She was treated to a complete floor (from our host), and several patch panels.

BUT

When you are getting the "family discount", sometimes your stuff takes a back seat to the money-making jobs... so she came back in the late fall (of '12) to rest for awhile (a year-plus). Imagine my excitement when a slot was scheduled to "reopen" for her. I got her ready, she sits in the barn now, patiently waiting (for a customer-GTO to leave) for her time. She was slated to make the journey before Christmas... but here we are after the New Year and she still waits.

Sigh.

In the interim, I have done research to compile a hundred part numbers of stuff I need, but it doesn't take the place of the bodywork.

Idle hands are the Devil's workshop.... and I talked myself into (and thankfully out of) a single-turbo setup on the LS motor. A 500+ HP, traction-limited setup seemed a little excessive (but exciting to think about).

But an idea did surface... The gas tank in an S10 is behind the driver, inboard of the framerail. I had planned a circuitous path of piping to supply the tank from the filler neck (which would be relocated to the driver's side for convenience). Then, the thought hit me that there is enough room in the forward portion of the rear fender to incorporate a gas-filler door and a modern filler-neck with an almost straight-shot to the tank. It will be added to the "to-do" list.

2014 will be a Penny-centric year... the planets are finally aligning (after a 2-decade struggle) to allow me to FINALLY make some progress.

Stay tuned.
 
I think you need to talk yourself back into the turbo'ed LS engine. Take alot of pictures. Don't forget, when ya get a HP engine, you will need a beefy tranny and a strong rearend/ driveshaft.

After re-reading the above statement, I would like to change "beefy tranny" to "modified high performance transmission".
 
Steve,
The thought of force-feeding the 5.3 IS appealing (single turbo, 7-8 psi of boost, non-intercooled, meth-injected, I have the entire parts list already). BUT, to be fair, I need to actually FINISH the truck, and put miles on it with the NA 5.3 before I decide she's underpowered. I am hoping to achieve a curb weight of <3,500 lbs (there will be weight-reduction efforts employed).

A garden-variety LM7 5.3L with a "street tune" is good for around 350hp, 375lb-ft. Thats 10lbs/hp, give or take. By comparison, my '09 Pontiac G8 GT (6.0L V8, 361 hp when stock) at 3,995lbs is DAMNED QUICK. As in traction-limited on 245 tires.

One question... Is your LS3 (6.2L, ~415hp) "enough"?
 
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My intentions, right now, are LS3 with minor performance upgrades. I, like you, am in the building process. The progress for me is slow, due to work schedule. The thing is, I'm about ready to start building the rolling chassis, and need to decide for sure to stay the course because I will build it with the HP demands in mind. Probably a Fat Man stage 3 front end, and a Thorbros. super, super duty four bar rear with a GM 12 bolt or Ford (Curry) 9" rear. I have friends who buy and sell LS engines from time to time and will source one through them. I 've recently been offered a Chevy big block 454 and turbo 400 trans. for free but, can't really convince myself to go that route. Anyway, I need to probably fully box the old frame for what I'm planning. I hope you are able to move forward this year, very interested in seeing your progress.
 
Steve,
As I am S10-framed, I have full-boxing of the frame, followed by lightening via holes in the inner and outer frame members planned.

I have a Colorado rear (see threads), and while it is "only" a 7.625" ring gear, consider the LS1 Camaro's 98-02 also ran 7.625's, and until the HP got very serious (or slicks/drag radials were used) the diff held up fine. Same for the 4L60E, they were behind those same LS1's.
 
Looooong-overdue progress updates

Hello all,
Thought I'd post an update to my ever-so-slow progress.
Cab: floor, cab corners, and seat-belt mounts DONE
Doors: Fitted! Had a twisted journey with the driver's side door. The original door (which I had derusted with the rest of the body) was damaged beyond what was reasonable time/money to repair. Bought another original door, turned out to be damaged the SAME WAY. Seller made good- arguably the most honest seller I have ever done business with. Long story short, bought a new door.
Steering: Cut the box off the tube awhile back, figured out a plan to fasten at the toeboard, and tie in the shaft to the S10 box.
Brakes: A Wilwood tandem-remote master and a combination/proportioning valve showed up on my doorstep. Designed a mount to tie the Hydroboost unit to the original brake lever arm, need to pick up some stock to fab it. After much measuring, I have decided to move the brake pedal slightly to the left, as it is only 1.5" from the accelerator pedal. This move will also improve clearance beneath the floor.
Engine: While I presently have a 285-hp cast-iron block 5.3L engine in the truck, my "plan" all along has been to find an aluminum-block 5.3 engine for an 88-lb weight reduction (and another 25 horsepower). That plan was realized 2 weeks ago when I acquired a low-mileage unit from a local salvage yard.
Rear End: Turns out a Colorado rear end has an 8" ring gear, not a 7.625" as I thought. Eaton makes a TruTrac positraction unit for the 8" rear which utilizes gears instead of clutches. No limited-slip differential additive required. I will be ordering one of them soon.

Now, I know "pictures or it didn't happen"... my camera is still at the body shop. Soon!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!
 
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