old mans 69

[sbc383rulz]

so i bought my dads 69 from him years ago, its a c2500 had a 383 4 speed D60 and leafs.

i got tired of the drums all the way around and had a 79 half ton parts truck, traded the 383 for a lq4 and started pulling her apart!

in the process i got medically retired from the army and had a third baby girl so its been on the back burner but hopefully progress soon!

due to above reasons i had to sell the lq4 so im without a engine and the trans that was originally in the truck has a bad input shaft.

so here is the current, front end is half ton transmission is garbage passenger fender is garbage because my dad ran over it with the excavator. budget is non existent because im unemployed and my medical retirement isnt much.

[sbc383rulz]

the input shaft and my favorite tattoo!!!

[sbc383rulz]

the plan now is the old girl is getting the 350 from my suburban, set of procomp aluminum heads a intake carb and headers should make some nice torque and move the old girl nicely. complete plan is new flywheel and clutch since the 2 peice rear main flywheel wont fit and the clutch was garbage anyways, burb fuel tank with a el cheapo fpr, 3.08 12 bolt, sm420 i had laying around from a 66gmc to replace the np435 with a twisted input, serpentine setup from the burb and thats pretty much it. shooting for 450 tq and a nice driver, disc brakes and a full exhaust will be a nice change not to mention not turning 4.11 gears on the freeway!

[ChevLoRay]

What about the rear end? Are you going to change it to a 5-lug unit? Sorry to hear about your military/medical issues. I always loved the way the government looked out for us. As long as they can use/abuse us, they need us. When we're used up....they're nowhere around. Thank GOD that us veterans have other vets to back us up. Joined the VFW, yet?

[sbc383rulz]

thank you for your service! i have not joined the vfw or dav but i am part of the legion, my dad is a service officer for then dav and im good friends with a guy that does some amazing work for the wounded warrior program.

i have a 3.08 geared 5 lug 12 bolt that will be going in, be nice to not be spinning the 4.11s on the freeway with no overdrive!

ever since ive had the truck the 383 had driveability issues i could never fix and the gears and a crappy exhaust it just wasnt fun to drive. the engine im putting together for it will make nice torque everywhere and wont be hard to drive smooth, new clutch and flywheel so the clutch is going to work good as well. im putting it together with the engine it always needed and the gears i want, im keeping the D60 around because if i come upon a disc front from a 3/4 or 1 ton ill go back to that because i like how it looks more.

[sbc383rulz]

so plans changed again, i got kicked out and dont have enough money to buy everything right now so its going to get the full tbi and everything from the suburban except the transmission. should be into it less than $200 to get it together.

[stsalvage]

so you hope.LOL remember to use all of the wire harness form the suburban don't cut anything or leave out anything or it wont run.I seen guys.Build trucks with the new engines and fuel injected you have to find places to run all that new wire and keep out out of the weather and away from Mise and Rats from chewing on it.So make sure where ever you start cutting holes in your cab to put the main harness and under the dash plus you need a fuel injected fuel pump and relocate the suburban gas tank.Just my thoughts

[sbc383rulz]

plans changed again, saving up for a P pumped 12 valve cummins with a at545, gonna go back to 8 lug front to put up with the weight probably going to be a 4wd after awhile gott collect a bunch of parts for that.

[sbc383rulz]

Truck has been sitting not moving or gaining/losing any parts. I may be picking up a parts truck so i can throw the 69 together again, probably just going to end up with a 305 and the stock 4 speed.
havent decided if its going to go 5 lug or 8 but i know im not putting front drums back on!

[sbc383rulz]

Bringing this one back from the dead. Life got away from me for awhile and I ended up divorced and not working on anything for awhile.

I have been collecting parts slowly for the old girl and trying to decide what I truly want out of the truck. I have a Tbi 350/700r4 and the wiring harness, gas tank out of a Tbi suburban, front suspension and brakes from a 84 c2500, bucket seats and center console out of a 93 suburban, full exhaust and nice set of straight fairly rust free doors and some new tires for it.

As of right now it's got a coil and a half lopped off the front springs and 4 leafs pulled out of the back, I have some lowering shackles for the rear also to try and make it level. I've done some small repair to the damaged fender and will probably just run it for now. Haven't driven my truck in too many years and I'm finally getting back to work on the old girl!

Got into a motorcycle wreck in June that almost killed me so progress won't be lightning fast but I hope to be continually making progress, direction and never stopping are what's going to get this done, spent a lot of time going nowhere fast and making no progress.

[WorkinLonghorn]

Nice truck. What I want to know is How on earth did the input shaft on a NP 435 get twisted??

[LongBox]

Yes, that's a nice truck, and I hope you "get it together" and keep us posted on the progress. These trucks are becoming more and more collectible, and it might be good to keep it close to stock, as it costs less to build that way, and usually worth more if you have to sell.

And yeah...how DID that input shaft get twisted up like that?

[In The Ten Ring]

Stock is the way to go: I find I won't even look at trucks that have been heavily modified. (Not that I'm buying anyway!)

*The more experience I get, the more I have come to realize that the only way to really get ahead is to own one's own business. That is the only way to guarantee one's personal worth, everyone else seems way too eager to abuse the employee or throw them under the bus at the first opportunity, including military service. The continued recession isn't helping any in the "employee value department" and there are far more employees than good jobs. I've had friends and family tossed under by Uncle Sam, perhaps it is well I was born 4F as the military is exactly where I would have gone. Sorry that is happening to you and I second, thank you for your service to the country.

I'm no expert on anything vehicle-related, but there are lots of guys getting rid of original engines in favor of the latest and greatest new engine, is that an option? Could you put say, a 250 6-cylinder in her? Lots of guys seem to like these "crate" engines, would that be an option? I've seen 6-cylinders with trannies sold on this forum for what I think are good prices.

First thing I'd do is get her into a garage of some sort, UV light from the sun is the worst, followed by hot-cold-hot again, and rodents.

My truck was also a gift from my dad, even though the truck needs tons of work and I'm far more of a long wheel base guy; I'll never willingly get rid of her as it was a gift from dad and I grew up knowing that truck. Mine came along 2 years before I did. See, I can relate to your situation, although yours is definitely more of a challenge. Mine has all the drive train still and I don't have any kids or wife to get in my way.

Yours is a nice truck: long wheel base, has the storage tool box on the side. If I was after a fleet, one like yous is what I'd be looking for.

When funds are low, good long-range plans are a must.

[sbc383rulz]

The truck used to have a fairly hot 383 in it and one night me and my girlfriend went to rescue a buddy of ours who's s10 blazer broke down, I ended up racing a crew cab big block ford with the trailer and blazer behind me lol. I think side stepping the clutch at 4000rpm in low may have twisted the shaft a bit! I smoked that ford though!

I'm not terribly worried about resale as I plan on keeping this truck for the rest of my life and giving it to one of my kids. I would get it inside out of the weather but it doesn't fit in my garage. I have a full drivetrain from a 89 gmc 350/700rR which is why I'm contemplating that drivetrain, simple and cheap, the only thing I'll have to buy is fuel lines and a driveline. I was an electronics technician in the Army so I'll cut the wiring harness down myself and retain the integrity of the factory harness so if I decide to go back to a carb I can just pull the Tbi setup out.

Thanks for the support guys! The truck should be moved to my house soon and then the real progress will start.