Randomhero's 67 build- PART 2

[randomhero472]

Hey guys im back... The old saying "you want somthing done right, do it yourself" couldnt be more true in my case. A lot of you know the situation with the previous builder-build thread so im starting from scratch, in more ways than one... Brief summary up to now, bought the truck from a fellow board member who used it as his daily driver back in 2006 with the idea of just bolting some parts on and having a cheap driver. Needless to say plans have changed since then. I took the truck down to 72cstc5 last april with the intentions of having the truck painted and suspension work done, well none of that ever happened and i just got the truck back about 4 weeks ago. Its now when im working on it myself i truley see why you guys build these things yourself, i paid a lot of money and i just feel like i've had prison sex everynight when i get in from the garage after finding more half-ass'd work, stuff that wasnt done that i was told it was or MORE RUST.. He failed to mention the truck would sit OUTSIDE FOR A YEAR! All this time, no air cleaner on the carb, the motor looks like somebody antiqued it (hit with flower) The damn fenders were rust free when i took it down there (houston-30 miles from the ocean) and now they've rusted all the way through, very disheartning.. anyway plans have changed some and i plan on finishing the truck myslef. I did have a brand new bed at a shop in houston, but 72cstc5 never picked it up and it was sold off, so i've been refunded my money from the shop and now will be sourcing another bed from kenny's trucks in tulsa. Truck will have mild 350, full air ride, simple leather interior keeping stock bench seat, electirc a/c setup, some newer technology upgrades, and paint will be somthing a little different, i'm going for a different type of look than the classic chrome, hopefully it turns out great!

Just got done with the rear setup, bolted in some Slam re7's and cpp bolt-in notch, got my 5 gallon air tank and Viair 480c mounted last night, trying to keep everything concealed under the bed floor.... More pics and updates to follow

You guys like the "painted frame" from the previous builder (note driveshaft, half of its painted).... Its stuff like this with the whole truck, just rediculous!!!!

[randomhero472]

On a side note, i'm going to have a bunch of nice parts to get rid of, list so far off the truck:

CPP 3" front drop coils- have less than 10 miles.. yes i said 10
Heater core-blower assembly and panel, all fully functional
All glass (minus wing windows) rear and sides in good shape, windshield has a quarter sized rock chip

[68 short step]

glad you got it back from the lieing, loser, carlos........and im subcribing to this thread.......have you already purchised the bed from kenny, if so he has one built up in front of his shop, and it looks GREAT...... one thing i noticed was your position of the air pump for the suspension, you do have room to route the fuel line past it right?? keep the build up, im glad its going somewhere..

[randomhero472]

Originally Posted by 68 short step

glad you got it back from the lieing, loser, carlos........and im subcribing to this thread.......have you already purchised the bed from kenny, if so he has one built up in front of his shop, and it looks GREAT...... one thing i noticed was your position of the air pump for the suspension, you do have room to route the fuel line past it right?? keep the build up, im glad its going somewhere..

Have not purchased one yet... called and all new metal, including metal floor runs $2500.. seems a little pricey! I've got all my fuel lines routed on the passenger side, just the way it was done when i got it, so the air-ride stuff went on the drivers side.

Anyone have a good idea on spreading the damn control arms off the spindle, i've been fiddling with it for couple hours and only got a sore back to show for it!

[my67chevytruck]

looking good keep up the work.

[randomhero472]

Well bad news for my checkbook... good news for me, i'm going to need new spindles, which is somthing i already should have bought, but these balljoints are absolutly glued to the spindle, on the upper c.a. the shaft of the balljoint is broken free and rotates with the spindle instead of the spindle rotating on the shaft... i"ve used jacks, sledge hammer, cheaper bar and pickle... NOTHING, so i'll be ordering some new tie rods and spindles tomorrow. Thats just about all the parts i lack though.

On a side note.. what should i expect to pay to rebuild my 350? I want somthing very mild, not looking for high h.p. but it needs to be done while the truck is apart, i'm considering doing it myself being pretty mechanically inclined.. anyone have a guess??

[Coda O'Dell]

Cool truck. I live in sapulpa that is near tulsa and I get all my parts from Kenny. He is a great guy with great parts. Where are you at in Oklahoma.

[randomhero472]

Originally Posted by Coda O'Dell

Cool truck. I live in sapulpa that is near tulsa and I get all my parts from Kenny. He is a great guy with great parts. Where are you at in Oklahoma.

Edmond.. i've dealt w/him before with nothing but great things to say, super guy and very into these trucks

[randomhero472]

Ok guys... little update, but no pics tonight (will have some tomorrow)
I'm here with a little delima, got the front fenders and coresupport/radiator off the truck today, ONLY TO FIND MORE RUST on the drivers fender.. now its nothing more than some paint bubbling-dime size spots, but i know rust is there, and dont want to do anything halfass'd, so i think im going to sell the fenders (both are in excellent condition) and pick up a couple new fenders ($140 each from kenny's) And just save the time i'd use probably butchering the metal work back together on the patches.

I've gone out there every other night or so and just feel overwhelmed and angry, overwhelmed bc there's so much small-time consuming stuff i have to do and i have NO IDEA where to begin, seems i have a million half finished stuff (any advise on getting a plan of action welcome!!!), and angry because it seems every time i begin to tackle another part of the truck i find more rust, or more Bull***t work that was done.... So i have a couple questions:
How much would i be looking at having the frame powdercoated?

Would i be better off picking up a newer style/efi engine (ls1 maybe) rather than rebuilding the tired 350?

And last, how do i keep my sanity and drive on this thing, the truck has some serious meaning to me, and i want nothing more to build it and keep it forever, but just gets old spending hours in the garage, and getting zero accomplinshed! Sorry for the rant, on a real update side im waiting on my ECE spindles other odds-ins to show, should be here thurs. or so

[19gmc67]

just take a breath and take your sweet time on it.it will get done when it gets done............thats what i tell myself everyday!!!

[semperfidoordie]

glad to hear something's finally going to get done the right way. sounds like the truck is going to be pretty slick when it's done. Keep us posted and i'm subscribin for sure

[68 short step]

break it down into small projects.... i.e, make the core suppport 1 project, make 1 fender a project, make the hood 1 project.......and for bigger things like the cab, break it down to sub-projects, like make 1 cab corner or rocker a project....etc......etc....
and my vote is for the LS1

[tdave00]

I agree with 68 short step about breaking it down into projects. I know you are "gunshy" right now about sourcing any work out, but if you could get some good references from that Kenny guy you might find some local people that do good work. If you are feeling overwhelmed that would be my suggestion. Pick some small projects that you can accomplish and try to source some other stuff out. Good luck man.

[Riveted1]

Random, I know how you feel about every time you take something off, you find something else that needs to be fixed! What I had to do was just SLOW DOWN. Instead of making expectations on when I should have something completed, I have learned to just say (like 19gmc67 stated) "It will get done when it gets done." And when I get frustrated, I have to remind myself why I'm doing this, to HAVE FUN! Once I do that, even the most stubborn nut or bolt or crazy-ass P.O. hack job seems silly. I also don't force myself to work on it when I'm not 100% in the mood to do so. My build is gonna take a bit longer than I originally wanted it to, but I'm ok with that now, b/c that means more FUN!

As far as the LS1/old 350 debate, I would go w/the LS1 if you have the ability to do so. But there is nothing wrong w/a gen 1 350 at all. The LS1 will take a little more effort to install and be a bit more expensive, but will give you better gas mileage. Both can be made to give you as much or as little power as you could ever want. So it kind of comes down to you, on whether or not you want to spend the extra money and time it takes to have the updated power plant. Just my .02

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Riveted1

As far as the LS1/old 350 debate, I would go w/the LS1 if you have the ability to do so. But there is nothing wrong w/a gen 1 350 at all. The LS1 will take a little more effort to install and be a bit more expensive, but will give you better gas mileage. Both can be made to give you as much or as little power as you could ever want. So it kind of comes down to you, on whether or not you want to spend the extra money and time it takes to have the updated power plant. Just my .02

Here's my take (from my own personal experience).....

The LS swap is worth it but not when there's so much other stuff that's overwhelming you. The sbc is easier & a direct swap. Keep any rebuild short/sweet w/no extras as this will accomplish 2 goals: a) allow the truck to move under its own power while doing everything else; b) be a decent motor to re-sell when the time comes for the LS swap thus re-couping some investment.

Taking on more put my progress on hold. So I'm regrouping & following my own advise to keep things from stalling.

[Painter D]

My opinion on this matter is about the same as some of the others above. If you break it down into smaller projects the overwhelming factor is not as tough to deal with. I personally am doing my truck this way. If you can drive it , it's easier to stay motivated to improve on it. Atleast that's what works for me. Hope this helps.

[randomhero472]

Thanks for all the encouraging words guys.. Got a good 3-4 hours in on it tonight, got all the gunk cleaned off the inside of the control arms and my bags mocked up..

Anyone give me a ballpark at what i'd be looking at paying having my frame powdercoated vs. painted, or is it even worth doing if im not building a "Barret Jackson" truck, i've thought about just spraying it myself, chances are nobody will ever see it seeing as the truck will be about 3" off the ground... I'll tear down the drivers side suspension tomorrow and get pics!

As far as the motor swap, i think im just going to go back to a carb. 350, i've found a lot of nicely built long blocks for 700-1000 dollars, and i could swap out most of my parts off current engine and have a brand new motor w/300hp for about 1500 bux at most, so i think i'll do that... the fewer electrical wires and mods under the hood the better imo, i want this thing to be simple!

[tdave00]

Anyone give me a ballpark at what i'd be looking at paying having my frame powdercoated vs. painted, or is it even worth doing if im not building a "Barret Jackson" truck, i've thought about just spraying it myself, chances are nobody will ever see it seeing as the truck will be about 3" off the ground... I'll tear down the drivers side suspension tomorrow and get pics!

If it's just gonna be a driver then spray it yourself. I read a reply from Rckcrln on another post where he encouraged the guy to wax his frame after painting it so it would be easier to clean up/sprayoff. Thought I would pass that along.

[Hart_Rod]

Great advice from everyone. The only thing I would add is to get yourself a small notebook and take notes. Try to keep it with you so anytime you have some spare time you can jot down stuff you need to get or stuff you need to do. I have separate pages for engine/tranny, chassis, body, interior, .......... you get the picture. Take care and best of luck from another "Okie", .

R/

[randomhero472]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

Great advice from everyone. The only thing I would add is to get yourself a small notebook and take notes. Try to keep it with you so anytime you have some spare time you can jot down stuff you need to get or stuff you need to do. I have separate pages for engine/tranny, chassis, body, interior, .......... you get the picture. Take care and best of luck from another "Okie", .

R/

Excelent idea, because i do already have slight A.D.D. and get myself sidetracked when working on the truck, let alone away from it... I found some paint in using on the frame, so far looking great, hoping spindles will get here by friday so i can have a rolling chassis back

[jay-dawg]

Good luck with the build. Just wondering what tire size you are running in the pics of the rear.

Thanks,
Jay

[steelhorse]

Good luck with your project.Repeating the above just take it one day and one project at a time

[randomhero472]

FINALLY got some pics and have progress!! After over a month of the truck being on jackstands its back on all fours, with everything suspension wise installed (besides shocks) and NO AIR LEAKS!! Ended up replacing tie rod's, 2 balljoints, new ECE spindles (great quality) installed re7's and suicide doors bracket kit, didnt cut the cups though, waiting to see if its even worth cutting with the 20's and stock inner fenders. I'm at a cross roads with it now, i just got my old company going again, and will be traveling a lot in these next few months, also have no tools to do the bodywork, so i think the plan is to pull the motor this week, while motor is out find a good body shop to shave the firewall, do the rust repair and paint, then get it back, stuff a new crate motor in it and be ready to rock-n-roll!!!!




Still have to mount the valve manifold and tidy up all the plumbing and wiring..

[randomhero472]

The motor ran fine when i took it down to houston, but sat outside and could have some water in it, no telling really.. I'll be putting it on my local craigslist, what is a reasonable price to ask, considering all the wiring was thrashed when i got the truck back from carlos, i havent been able to try and fire it, but it did run just fine when i took it down there

And on another note, anyone recommend me a good paint-body guy/shop in or around oklahoma city? Most places wont even bother with these trucks, so thats made things a little difficult?

[68GMC454]

glad you got yoru truck back.. loks like you making good progress on it.. keep up the good work.. if it looks bad, take a setp back, drick a pop, and get back at it..