Video of my 1972 flatbed 5.3L

[Aruba1]

Posting it on this thread instead of the LS thread to tease some old schoolers .

I rebuilt the 2001 5.3L engine myself. Everything is std on the engine. Crank was polished. Block was honed. Heads were resurfaced and new valve seats installed. New cam, crank and rod bearings. New std oil pump. Std piston rings. The pushrod, cam, springs and lifters were re-used. I am running the old oil pressure and coolant temperature gauges. Next is to purchase a tach adapter to use the standard RPM gauge with the distributorless LS engine. For speedometer I will use a HUD electric unit. And hopefully soon I will have time to clean-up all the unnecessary wires in the engine compartment.

And it fits nicely on the 1997 NV4500 gearbox.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbZauKJEzoo

[flashed]

Got any pics to share ?

[Aruba1]

Pic1

[Aruba1]

Old versus new(er)

[flashed]

That is a sharp looking truck ,would love to see a side pic of the bed sometime .

[Aruba1]

Thanks. Here is a before and after picture of the bed (has a hidden gooseneck hitch).

[Aruba1]

This winter I will build a Heavy Duty ladder rack that will extend from the back up to the cowl area. It should be long enough so that the area over the bed can be moved or folded over the cab in case I need to load tall objects in the bed (i.e. fridge, furniture, gas tank, etc).

[flashed]

Very nice ,Im looking for ideas to modify the ugly bed on my one ton if I ever get started on it.

[Aruba1]

LOL, the flatbed in the picture I paid $150. I did all the cutting, welding, etc to make it look decent but at first it looked awful. I built this as a work truck, added a 1989 C3500 HD front suspension. Then I added tierod ends, balljoints, HD springs, HD shocks, etc. The rear is off the same C3500. Overall I am very very happy with the results. I could have done a better job with the paint. It's not bad but it won't win any shows (it's my first bodywork and paint job).

[hamjet]

Very nice engine swap and great looking truck! BUT please don't pick on us old schoolers, we have feeling too..

[Aruba1]

Originally Posted by hamjet

Very nice engine swap and great looking truck! BUT please don't pick on us old schoolers, we have feeling too..

Wahahahaha.

[hugger6933]

Turbo 350 in a one ton????? I have a 71 C30 and think of taking out grandma 4 to install a T400 if I can find one. Great looking one ton. Jim

[Aruba1]

Actually it's a C20 converted to a C30. Wish I had a C30 to start with. This truck as gone through a lot of changes since I had. Actually I literally just finished installing some used updated door seals and I love them. Had to use a hammer to do some massaging and adjusting the doors a bit but I a happy with the results. Thursday I will install some LED lights in the cab and gauges.

[hugger6933]

Shows me I didn't know the th350 came in the C20 truck either.

[Aruba1]

Originally Posted by hugger6933

Shows me I didn't know the th350 came in the C20 truck either.

Ooops, I thought they came with the 4 speed, TH350 and TH400. The truck had a low hump tunnel and I had to cut it out and replace it with a high hump for the NV4500 to fit. I believe the TH400 came with the high hump so maybe the TH350 may have been am option?

[hugger6933]

but then again there is a lot more that I don't know. Jim

[engineer_gregh]

That is awesome!!