Rodstored-72's 1986 DD build

[rodstored-72]

All,
well I am going to try this on my current build. I ALMOST tried to do a thread when I was building my 1972 swb truck, but it never even got this far, So here it goes. I guess this started about 6 mo. ago when the daughter was reaching the age of driving. I started looking into getting a newer truck for me and the daughter would (will/did) take over the car. Well if any of you have looked at the prices for trucks now… well you already know… LOL. So… I decided that I could build a body style truck that I have always liked for half of what a newer truck would cost!... so… here is my goal:
I have purchased a 1986 SWB 2wd Chevy truck (I had a ’79 Silverado in H.S.) I am planning to do a LS conversion and try to “modernize” it some as well. My plan is to keep it simple no heavy engine mods and end goal is to make it my daily driver that also looks nice and will be reliable. This is my plan:
1. 2013/newer 5.3 (4.8) engine and a 4L60E transmission. (6l80 if fits w/o mods)??
2. Dirty dingo or tajas steelworks motor mounts?? (leaning towards DD –here local)
3. Vintage air “sure fit” A.C. system (already purchased thru MCB parts)
4. Radiator thought is a BBC (1978 454 rad.) with correct upper pads?? (late model radi.)??
5. Running the elect. Fans from year of motor or flex a lite??
6. Doing the jeep steering shaft mod?? Supposedly tighter steering?
7. Later model front bucket seats and center console (Denali/Tahoe)?? Will check measurements and style/overall look of them.
8. Replace front end with 1987 stock version
9. Lowering kit 3.5 front & 4 in rear kit suggestions??
10. In general the body will be stock (maybe shave door gutters)??
11. Stock exhaust setup based from engine year and/ or truck year (whatever AZ ADEQ requires)?
Overall I will try to do a general overhaul/update based off of the work and techniques that has been shared by “N2TRUX” builds.
Things that I am not yet real sure on are:
1. Driveshaft – custom???
2. The OBDII connector? Does that typically come with engine wiring? Will I need to “install”separately??
3. AND NUMOURIOUS ITEMS THAT I HAVE NOT THOUGHT OF OR KNOW ABOUT YET!!!!
Pictures are of the day it arrived to its new home and then a few pictures of how it sits a week after purchase. I will try to update often (pictures of course). I will always accept thoughts questions and concerns from the valuable and knowledgeable friends on this site.

[rodstored-72]

here are a few recent pictures after a day or so of some elbow grease

[DirtbagSean]

Quite the build plan ahead of you there. Its nice to see more local guys popping up with squares, I'll be sure to follow this one.

[rodstored-72]

Sean,
Thanks!! it is going to be more envolved than my '72 was as far as electronics & coordination goes for sure. but I have a few trusty friends that I think will help, I am hoping that although I painted a broad picture of items it will go fairly smooth considering that I believe most of this has already been done by much more knowledegable and helpful folks than myself on this website.

[rodstored-72]

Ok guys,
Well it has been a few days now so I figure I should post up some more progress pictures. I have the front end (body parts) dis-assembled. I have filled in a damaged area on the upper portion of the firewall. My welding skills are definitely in need of improvement, but the damaged is fix and just needs to be bodyworked. I have also filled the rectangular hole from the factory A.C. system as well. I will be installing a Vintage Air “sure fit” system so I am not sure what “holes” are needed yet, but I am hoping to try and clean up the firewall as much as possible. I have also bought factory replacement motor mounts, I am understanding that the LS/LT adapter mounts will still utilize the factory mounts?? and I am going to paint the frame mounts that they attach to. I have sanded down the inner fenders as well as getting rid of the heavy rusted areas. I used a grinder wire wheel and air sander as well as ALOT of elbow grease to “scuff” them. I then cleaned them and sprayed both with a couple coats of primer. They just need the final sanding before paint. Sunday after church I rolled the truck in the driveway and proceeded to power wash the front engine area, I used gunk engine degreaser and super clean. It looks like the frame is pretty clean. I am planning to spray the exposed portion with POR-15 chassis black to make it look half descent. I hope to sand/scuff the radi. Support and prime it over this week, we’ll see. I think the next major step is to look at purchasing the engine and transmission dropout package. After that then I can really start to move forward with painting the firewall, inner fenders, inside of the fenders as well as the chassis. As always please feel free to comment as well as any helpful tips and tricks that you may have to offer. Thanks for looking.
Rodstored-72

[focusedontheprize]

You are off to great start.

For the Vintage Air (I just put one in my truck), they will give you a plate to cover that hole. If you planning on doing metal work inside that engine compartment, you might want to have Vintage send you a plate so you can weld it in.

[rodstored-72]

focus,
THANKS!! and thanks for the tip. I have not loaded the pictures yet but I have filled the rectangular hole as well as the circular hole. I installed a very similar unit in my '72 and I did the same thing with it as far as the smoothing of the firewall. on this truck I am not going to go to as much finishing work. I hopefully will get the other 2 holes drilled by this weekend & start scuffing for primer on the firewall. thanks for looking

[rodstored-72]

Hello all,
I feel I got a few things accomplished this weekend. The passenger side of the firewall is almost ready for body filler, I will just work the welded areas. I have also started the prep work on the radiator support. I have sanded and scuffed it complete and should primer it during the week. I proceeded to clean and scuff the motor mounts. I then wiped them down and put a few good coats of por-15 chassis black on them. I used por-15 on my ’72 and really liked the results
I forgot to post it last weekend, but I dis-assembled the dash area to get it ready for the vintage air sure fit kit. I will also investigate the wiring to make sure it is in good shape (should be- everything worked in the truck, just slow) I will also try to clean up the wiring, I will do this by reading past builds by “N2TRUX” to see how he did it as well as some other builds on here. I was also able to power wash the front frame area using gunk engine cleaner along with the “purple bottle” cleaner. This coming weekend I will try to spray the frame with the por-15 so it will be ready for the LS motor and trans. Thanks for looking and as always I welcome comments and questions

More to come!! …..

[rodstored-72]

So! here is the more... I fimally found what I think I was looking for related to the engine. this is what I decided on:
2013 4.8 LS motor and transmission. it is a "drop out" package so it includes everything from the front acc. to the transmission also all the harnesses and emission stuff.

I know it is not the 5.3, but I am looking for this to be a daily driver & to be honest I was not finding this same package with a 5.3 AND it only has 57,466 miles on it. all others I saw were not as complete and had many more miles on them.

[layinrocker65]

The 4.8 will feel so much better than what was in it, you won’t care about the 5.3.

[rodstored-72]

layinrocker65,
thanks!! I feel the same. I will probably add air intake and maybe headers... camaro manifolds? the main purpose of this is for me to drive daily & use sometimes as a truck, but I want it to look nice & able to get a few "thumbs up" on occasion...

[rodstored-72]

Well….
I finally sat down to give an update. The firewall is sanded; passenger side is ready for body filler. I have sanded and primed the radiator support; the different color is due to left over primer. I will scuff it and give one more light primer coat to prepare for paint. The motor mount bolts have a few good coats of por-15 chassis black on them. I pulled some of the cab wiring to take a lesson from ken (N2TRUX) and clean and re-wrap the wiring. I have cleaned and prepped the front portion of the frame to spray the por-15 chassis hopefully this weekend- didn’t get to it last weekend (daughter had a archery tournament). The LS motor and trans. arrived Tuesday and with luck should be able to pick it up Thursday/Friday!
Thanks for looking and as always I welcome comments and questions

[rodstored-72]

I got "the call"... the motor has finally made it's trek from east to west I now have to figure a way to get it to the house and unload it Moving ahead I feel like I want to keep the dual tanks... so, my thought is to get the 1987 TBI tanks, the wahlbro 255(?) pumps and that I believe should feed the needed fuel?? thoughts??

also on the cooling side of things My thought is to use a rockauto (or local) H.D. (2 core) radiator with electric fans.... thoughts??

rodstored-72

[tinydb84]

Those tanks would work and the walbro pumps would be good too. You would need to figure out how you want to wire them since you wont need both on at the same time. Here is a good thread on how to set up the tank: http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...d.php?t=651699

[rodstored-72]

tiny,
Thank you for the link! very helpful... the poeple here are always helpful!! hopefully I might be able to return help one day

[rodstored-72]

Update: I have cleaned, scuffed, and FINALY painted the frame from the transmission crossmember (which I have removed) area to the front of the truck. MAN!! That is A LOT of tedious work!! I kept thinking to myself that this is what “n2trux” would do and has done in the past…. So I kept at it. I am glad I did, I think it looks very nice. I used the por-15 chassis black paint and it seems to have sprayed easy and layed down nicely
.

[rodstored-72]

as mentioned, I removed the trans. crossmember. I am checking to see if it will work on the 2013 4L60 transmission from the donor. so far it looks like it will, it bolts up to the 2013 trans mount and seems to "sit" nice on it. Once I am ready to start with the install mode then I will see how it "aligns" with the existing holes. I have also purchased the dirty dingo motor mounts since they are local, I figured I would try them. The staff there were VERY helpful and answered my many questions. I will try to install the painted '86 motor purches and mounts this week. all for now.
Thanks for following along....

[rodstored-72]

This weekend I was also able to work on the passenger side firewall area. I finished the bondo and glazing needed to cover up my horrible welding. I only worked the area related to the patched holes. I am not looking for show quality, but I am trying to make it look “kinda” factory (non A.C. cab), so the “ripples and waves” are still there, just smoothed

[rodstored-72]

Hello all….I finally have been able to sit down and do an update for you guys – I know you all have been waiting on pins and needles. So I have been able to prime the firewall, I ended up using the last of some recent leftover hence why it is dark grey, More to come.

[rodstored-72]

so another update, I am a little outta order, but it will be alright So… the next thing I completed was the radiator support. I cleaned & sanded it down then sprayed a light coat of primer.. I love the different shades… I forgot to get a picture of it in the final stage of primer before I painted everything, but before paint, I gave all the parts a final scuffing and then sprayed everything with a uniform primer.

[rodstored-72]

Another step was getting the motor mounts installed. I proceeded to clean them and then scuffed them for the following layer or two of por-15 chassis paint. This is a picture of the results.

[LT7A]

Your work on the frame paid off. Very clean!

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by LT7A

You work on the frame paid off. Very clean!

x2. Looking good.

Only thing I would suggest for future work is to Epoxy the weld areas before you start adding filler. The Epoxy helps seal things up better for rust protection. Most auto paint supply stores will carry a 2-part 'real' epoxy in a rattle can for those not using/mixing/spraying w/a gun.

[rodstored-72]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Your work on the frame paid off. Very clean!

thanks!!! it is a time consuming effort, but like ken and other high end builders say.... "the juice is worth the squeeze"...!!!

scotty,
I will keep that end mind... I am not a "body guy" & evidently neither are the people I reviewed the to do work before hand. Hopefully it will be ok?

i have a big update still to post... hopefully in the next day or so...

[rodstored-72]

So… I decided to do the jeep steering shaft “modification”. I purchased a new shaft from summit (black Friday purchase). After reading the thread on here & asking a few questions, I decided on a game plan. I started by “trying” to melt the plastic/rubber sleeving inside. I thought I got it after about 6 min. of heating and a goo of rubber came bubbling out. So.. I decided enough heat and proceeded to “try” to separate the 2 shafts. Well this is where the fun started; I could not move either one. I gave heat another try but again neither would budge… aarrgg. After about an hour of using a pry bar and hammer I FINALLY separated the 2 shafts. The inside shaft evidently has a “nub” at the end that for some reason was a really tight fit. After resting, I cleaned up the ends of each shaft to fix my separation anxiety marks. I then proceeded to mark where I was going to drill a hole and weld a nut on to except a bolt for holding the 2 in place from vibration (not collusion). On the inner shaft I “flared”a dimple for the end of the bolt. I test fitted the shaft and after prying each end open a bit I was able to get each shaft to fit snugly on. So now that all seemed right I cleaned everything and then painted the shafts. Overall I am pleased with the result. I do have a few headscratchers though, I am not sure why, but when reading the mod thread I did not get the impression that it was as “technical”. I think the idea of using the acytaline torch(?) is a good idea . If I could have gotten the shafts hotter it may have helped. And to be honest I am not sure that the shaft I chose was the same as the recommendation(s). All in all I am happy and can’t wait to “test” it once I finish the rebuild and start driving. Thoughts?? Comments?? And now for the pics!!!
Thanks!!