Re: Backwoods '66
 

So it's been a while...

I was having some cash flow problems and work on the truck got VERY slow and by the time I had money to spend, fall came around and I had no time--working in agriculture and all. I did, however manage to get a coat of POR-15 on the frame before it got too cold to do anything else.

I will soon have all the $$$ I need to finish this project (ahead of schedule). Sadly, this is due to the fact that my father recently passed away. So, here's to you, Dad, may the horsepower forever thunder in your memory and may the neighbors hate me for it.

That being said, I have a few questions if anyone would like to answer...

Firstly, how big of a pain would it be to put manual transmission in this truck considering it came with a powerglide? It isn't the easiest thing to find information on, though what I did discover mostly points to the positioning of the stick to be difficult because it's too far back for bench seats.

Also, a good source to find a high hump transmission cover? I don't mind scrounging around and calling up junk yards, but there don't seem to be too many around (south central Indiana) with parts to fit this truck. I'm not opposed to slapping a doner cab on given that I don't have to drive to kingdom come and pay out the ass for it.

And what's the deal with getting a clutch pedal in? That's probably a newbie question...but hey, I just can't find anything on it.

A family friend is taking me to a friend's garage sometime next week so he can introduce me to the owner who is supposedly a chevy genius when it comes to putting power in a vehicle for a good price. So we'll see how that goes.

Now everything just needs to thaw out a little so the car can get out of the garage and the truck can move back in and work can begin!

Re: Backwoods '66
 

GT,

My condolences on the loss of your father. By giving you the chevy books, I think he was behind you 100% on the build.

I ran some Craigslist searches based on Nashville, IN. You have some great options around you and the prices seem reasonable.

From Bloominton CL:

http://bloomington.craigslist.org/pts/3598077176.html
http://bloomington.craigslist.org/pts/3566060023.html
http://louisville.craigslist.org/pts/3587510450.html
http://bloomington.craigslist.org/pts/3593847206.html (this is awesome)
http://bloomington.craigslist.org/pts/3585389584.html

Good Luck & keep that great sense of humor about working on these great old trucks.

Re: Backwoods '66
 

GT I am sorry for your loss, personally it has been 24 years this month since my father passed.
More than anything I regret all the conversations that I didnt have with him. He served in the Navy during WWII, and it is sad to think of all the stories he had from that time that I never learned.

I am doing an Auto to Manual transmission in my build.
The clutch pedal install was easy to do (more so since I uninstalled it in the junkyard) Some of the challenges have been the tranny hump in the cab, and the shift linkage.
There is a photo of the parts on page 2 of my build, and some of the linkage on page 24.
If you need more photos from under the dash where the clutch assy is mounted to the yoke, or anything let me know. I will do what I can to help you out.
Depending on the transmission you use, you may want to re-think the high hump.
I installed a Muncie 20, 4speed and you will see that it came with some specific needs for shifter adaptation, but the high hump was not one of them.
The other thing of note would be the engine....
Mine was built for an automatic transmission configuration, so there were some (to me) minor additions I had to do to get it to take a manual. First and foremost was the installation of the pilot bearing for the transmission pilot shaft in the end of the crank. I also had to fabricate a mounting/adapter plate for the throwout spindle. (but that part is documented in my build around the page 24 area....)

I hope some of this helps you.
With any luck we will get to see more on this build of yours !!!

Re: Backwoods '66
 

Those are some good finds. I'll have to look into them. That manifold especially though I don't know if I want to go with that route, it's still a really interesting piece! Thanks for the help!

Re: Backwoods '66
 

I know what you mean about the stories. I know enough that my dad was a hell-raiser when he was younger but never got many details that I now wish I did.

I'm glad someone out there is attempting this too! I'll make sure to refer to your pages as I (and those who have offered to help) work on this. As far as matching engine and trans I think that's part of what my trip to the garage Monday will be. I'm going to let the mechanic know kind of what I want in terms of horsepower, torque, and overall sound and whatnot and see what he suggests.

As much as I would like to build the engine myself, I'm not THAT mechanically inclined/don't do detail that well so having a pro kind of talk me through it and do most of the building for me will be just as well. I want this thing done right and well because heaven knows I'm going to give this truck hell once it's all together.

Re: Backwoods '66
 

Seems you and I are of the same mind.
I am not so good that I can tear an engine or tranny down and rebuild it..... yet.
Maybe some day, but not this day!! :lol:

Re: Backwoods '66
 

Oh I had no trouble taking it apart...it's the whole putting it together so that it doesn't turn into a 8 cyl pipe bomb that's difficult ;)

The best part will be discovering how many new pieces of hardware I have to order to put the body back together. May have gotten a little grinder-happy taking some of the rusted stuff off :D .

Re: Backwoods '66
 

Now you got me laughing. "grinder-happy" tell me about it. Hack two cabs in half (5" stretch) and stick'em back together. grinder-happyhttp://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/ak...smiley-035.gif

Re: Backwoods '66
 

Well that just seems like a lot of work with a grinder, did you misplace your light saber? :uhm:

Re: Backwoods '66
 

Yet another question...

So it's safe to say when I took apart the suspension on my truck, most of the hardware was rusted, or enough of a pain in the ass that I don't plan on reusing it. I've been browsing through CPP, Classic Industries, and LMC for hardware kits. I see Classic has one for body panels and whatnot (which I'll also need) but does anyone know of an all inclusive hardware kit for rear suspension? :confused: Or a checklist at least. I'm really not too keen on having to order a bazillion nuts, bolts, and washers just to find I missed one when I get the order.

To give you all a better idea of what I'm talking about, I'm entirely replacing the trailing arms, tracking arm and pretty much everything that was attached to them.

Rust can burn in hell, or rust more. Whatever. :devil:

Re: Backwoods '66
 

Heaven forbid there be a list out there that allows someone to go to the hardware store and pick up the correct bolts, nuts, and washers there!

For the record, I did save and label most of the major hardware that I took off...but most of what was on the rear end was so bad that it fell victim to whatever cutting/pounding tool I felt like using and therefore is even useless to use as a reference.

Re: Backwoods '66
 

It takes a while to to develop the discerning eye that can say "This scrap metal" I wasted a lot of time trying to save crap i should have thrown away. The sooner you can figure out your tolerance for scrap, the quicker you will make progress.

As you gain metal working talent and vehicle skills, you can save more from the scrap pile but you need to decide if the effort is worth the time & trouble.

Re: Backwoods '66
 

So a friend introduced me to the race engine building guy today and we talked for a little bit about what I was wanting to do with my engine and all that. Told him I wanted something that was highway driveable [reasonably] but still had 350+ hp so I can piss off the occasional high school kid in their mustang. I had had a 400 sbc in mind but he suggested a 383 that would cost $3500 to build. Said the 400 would be more like $600.

What are you all's thoughts on this? I'm a little hesitant to put a stroker in my truck. No particular reason why, just am.

I want something that's different (NOT A 350!!!!). I had been looking at big blocks but I don't really want to screw around with all the clearance issues when it comes to fitting it in the truck.

Re: Backwoods '66
 

Here is something different. Still a GM product. Will require some driving & work.

http://asheville.craigslist.org/pts/3563359597.html

Just an idea. Is a diesel out of the question?

Re: Backwoods '66
 

I had actually considered them at one point, but with the amount of modification required and the fact that I live on a diesel tractor for the majority of summer and fall I kind of nixed that. There's only so much diesel this man can take.

That and half the yay-hoos in this town have diesels--it's the world headquarters of Cummins. I had a buddy who was wanting to put one in a CJ7 or something and am interested to see how that turns out if he gets around to it.

I think I might just go crazy and build up the 305 that came with the truck with an absurd amount of horsepower, because if I don't like it I can always put it in my next project. Yes, there will be MORE. :metal:

Re: Backwoods '66
 

Got the truck frame back in the garage yesterday, it'd been braving the Midwestern winter. Looks like I need to touch up my POR-15 job. Imagine that, I didn't detail properly with a brush.

Revisited an oddly placed crossmember. For some reason a previous owner had moved the trans member up one set of bolt holes. Weird.

Ran to the hardware and grabbed new [SHINY] nuts, bolts, and so on to reattatch the...thing. Why do I not know the name for it? The crossmember that the engine and suspension are on. $25 to get that puppy properly secured, crazy. Need to get POR-15 on that before I get it all bolted up though. Hoping to start ordering suspension and steering parts within the month. Just in time for me to have a crazy work schedule with it being early spring and having a job in agriculture.

Re: Backwoods '66
 

Like the majority of us here, I guess you do what you can, when you can! You are possibly about due on some update photos, I would like to see how the POR-15 survived the winter outside.

Hang in there, we are all here if you need us :metal:

Re: Backwoods '66
 

I'll have to take some close-ups later. I didn't clean the frame to perfection before I applied it so there was some bubbling and flaking over the past few months. I think the largest spot was probably 1.5 or 2 inches long. Nothing terrible, still a huge improvement over the rusted beast I started with.

Re: Backwoods '66
 

I've been slacking on posts...oops.

Lots of spring cleaning took place recently so the garage is in great shape and order...however I lost a weekend's time to work on the truck.

Guys, gals, I broke down, I did it. I'm going to be using a 350. As much as I wanted to use the 305, the guy who is actually building the engine highly recommended otherwise saying that he sunk $7k into 305's and both cracked because of heat.

So here's the setup I'm loosely basing my engine on depending on what David the engine guy says...

350 sbc probably a mid-model with a stock bottom end.
Iron Vortec heads.
60102 or 03 Lunati Voodoo Cam
Single plane intake
1.5 rockers

I requested that the block and heads be painted black with some aluminum valve covers with "CHEVROLET" on them. Told the builder that the carb was more or less up to him depending on what he thought the engine would need. This guy has stories of some absurd engines he's built so I'm just trusting he knows what is going on. Hopefully it doesn't come to bite me in the ass.

It's nothing that will turn out HUGE horsepower, but enough to get me around and have a little fun. I'll probably end up putting some Hooker headers on with Flowmaster 40's or 44's.

I've also ordered some CPP tubular trailing arms that should be arriving in a week or two. And have to meet with the rear end guy who's a brother of an older friend and they've both worked on funny cars for a while.

The transmission guy will have to wait until the engine is done.

So everything should be arriving just in time for me to have NO time to put them together because of work, but that's how it goes right? When you have the money you don't have the time and when you have the time there's no money. Oh well.

I'll have more pictures when things start coming together, promise! Right now I've only got a bare frame and lower sums in my bank account to show.

Re: Backwoods '66
 

Things happened. I'll do a full update with pictures later. But for now...

I have 80% of the frame, disc brake conversion, and tubular suspension done. My dilemma right now is the rust repair. I don't exactly weld, I know people who can and can teach me, but to be honest, the easiest thing to do with this cab would be to lovingly shove it off a cliff and buy a new one. But I can't find any decent 65 or 66 cabs. Anyone on here know of any within a reasonable drivin distance? Say 3 hours or so. A manual cab would be great too since I'm planning on the conversion anyway.

Pictures to come soon! I need to get on a real computer and not just a smartphone.
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Re: Backwoods '66
 

Any updates on this? I found it when I did a search for the intake manifold casting number. Got intrigued and read the whole thread.