Mike, Great link thanks. I have my engine in with the truck pan and since the body is off I can do lots of measurements to see what will fit. Truck pan works but hangs too low for my liking. I could raise the motor but I want as small a tranny hump as possible. Enough about my junk, Back to this awesome build!
Speaking of tranny humps... All the rain here in Indiana has given me some time off. So, decided to work on my project for about a half a day. Been welding up holes in the firewall. Trying to decide which ones to leave. I know I will leave the heater mounting holes, as those are what "Vintage Air" uses to mount their AC system. Closed up the parking brake holes also. That 4L60E transmission I'm using required a small trans. hump to be added. I ordered a "store bought" trans. hump, from a major vendor of that sort of thing. It was supposed to be for an "AD" truck. However, the thing didn't even come close to matching the floor/toeboard angle. If I had known how poor the fit was, I would have saved the money and just fabbed one up myself. The upper, (black part) I had to re-make, to give the right angle. I also had to take a stamped "hump" out of the toeboard, where the stomp starter used to be to get it flat enough to mate up properly. I was able to match drill the mounting screws to use the original punched holes. I will cut the hole for the shift lever and new park brake lever in the center later. A shot of the firewall, after welding up many holes. I used "elevator bolts", welded on the inside of the firewall to secure the insulated firewall pad to. No more of those sawtooth push-pins sticking out in the engine compartment. I left the cowl drain hole for it's original purpose, and the three larger holes to see if I could use them to run engine ECM wiring through. Don't know yet. Also left the original truck main harness hole, to run all the rest of the trucks wiring, as original. I'm using the "American Autowire", kit, made for this truck. I've got a lot of grinding, sanding, filling, smoothing, etc., to get this firewall the way I want it. Very little progress, but, that's all I got for now... Steve.
Zig, even if it's just a few minutes I can get to work on it, I feel better. Now that school's out, maybe you can give us some frequent updates. Yeah, John, the flat floorboard portion, uses the original screw holes. The angled toeboard part will be screwed tight with 6, probably AN-8, stainless, blunt screws. I will even use an original repro., gasket seal on the floor portion. I could just weld it in, but, thought I might as well retain the removable aspect to it. Steve.
So now that school is out, I'm busier than before! ??? However, I still pull my truck out to park on the street, just in case I need to make a run. At least I'll see how my garage door holds up, being opened and shut 2 times a day. I'm sure Ken's garage door doesn't have this problem.
Photo Show-and-Tell... FINALLY, decided to put everything else aside, and tinker with my project for awhile today. Did final align, tighten, and torque, on the rear axle suspension. Here is a shot from the rear to show the "stance", how it appears. The tank is mounted about 2.5" higher than designed by NoLimit Engineering. Next, I re-installed the cab for final check to see how everything fits. When it comes back off now, it will be for finish work and paint on the interior and underside. Notice the brake arm will clear those headers just fine. Also, transmission hump cutout is plenty adequate. Oh, yeah, notice headers are now coated. Also, there is plenty of room for that Edelbrock, high rise manifold, I want... Probably will test fit the front doghouse and drill the front fender mounting holes. And then....BODYWORK, and some paint! Here is another shot of the cab on. It sits a little low in the tail end. Might have to either raise the rear a little, or, more likely, go with 2" drop front spindles. Opinions? Steve.
By the way, Mr. "show-us-your-pictures", we haven't seen any recent "Kansas Jimmy" pics in awhile... Steve.
Lots of hard work for sure as far as the drain hole I got the idea from another build I was following the guy covered the drain hole on the fire wall and ran a clear tube from in inside of cab trough the kick panel and drained out the bottom of cab look up Frank's crazy build he posted a lot of pics
So, as you see, nothing new here. But I have enjoyed the heck out of driving it (Another big tip of the ten gallon hat to Bill Hanlon for helping me across the finish line!) and come Monday, I might have it in its first 4th of July car show here in little old Pittsburg, Kansas. Your truck looks absolutely AWESOME, Steve! And it's far from put together! Thanks again for updating us.
Looks like Zig is getting his chops busted! Steve, before you start making ride height changes, wait until EVERYTHING is bolted to the truck. Most of the weight you'll add will be up front. One option for you could be to have your rear leaf springs "re-arched" (as opposed to the more common de-arched) at a big-rig spring shop.
Thanks, LaTroca, that is a really cool idea on how to deal with the cowl-vent drain. Also, that guy sure has a clean, smooth finished firewall! Zig, Thanks for the big, clear, excellent, pictures of your GMC. That will satisfy me for awhile...maybe a week or two. Also, if, in the interest of getting you some progress on that missing truck bed, I think I might have a few extra original tailgates around. I would not offer them to just anyone, but, IF you would use one, I will go digging. Only thing is, they all have CHEVROLET, proudly stamped on them. Mike, I agree, no adjustments will be made until the truck is finished. The coilover front suspension is where it will be, as they are adjustable to allow for weight. It is supposed to sit with the lower control arms to be level with the road surface, or close to that. The rear can be adjusted easily, by taking out the 3" lowering blocks, and making some 2", or 2.5" blocks. The thing that concerns me is the use of 2" drop spindles, and the closeness of the front x-member to the road. Notice I still have that low-hanging truck oil pan on it. The look I'm going for is low and nearly level, with those tires just slightly up into the fenders. Do you think 5", is enough? I want to be able to clear that dead coon in the middle of the road... Steve.
Thank you, Steve!!! Mighty wonderful offer!!! However~~~~ Putting a CHEVROLET tailgate on this manly GMC would be like fingernails scraping on a chalkboard. I wish I could do it, but I just can't...
