1970 short wide. lots of questions!! help!

[CRCustoms]

finally bought my first chevy. it has come a long way from the ditch i pulled it out of (i had to cut the bushes out of the motor to get it home).

to sum it up, i have replaced:

all brake lines, shoes, cylinders, and rear drums, master cylinder

holley fuel pump (is 80 gph an upgrade?)
edelbrock 1406 4 barrell carb 650 cfm
edelbrock intake manifold
added power steering (what a pain)
new tires, headlights, fuel lines/filters, rollpan, windshield, wiper motor, stereo w amp, fiberglass door panels, heater blower/core/vent box, radiator, valve covers, breather, alternator, i could list more but thinking hurts.

im getting to the point where my knowledge is slim, and need the advice of the big boys

here are my biggest questions, in order of importance:

replaced the turn signal switch, and in doing so stripped the threads of the steering shaft (at the steering wheel) wheel is less than half way on the splines, and is holding but scares me to think about the wheel coming loose. i want to replace the entire column (despite the $50 switch) with a more modern, tilt column. i heard a 94 chevy truck column would fit? also read about aftermarket ones? truck is far from origonal so that is not a big concern. where can i get an aftermarket coulmn?

truck is a short wide with 350 5.7/3 on the floor trans. rear main/front main/oil pan/transmission to drive shaft seal all leaking (but all slow). should i replace seals or motor? compression is good, block is not origonal.

truck is now starting beautifully! but, on the highway, motor is screaming (high RPM). rearend gears are not origonal (guessing something big), and tires are 295/50, short tires. the truck will get to high speed, but at 60 mph i bet it is around 3500/4000 RPM. i would like to add a 5 speed transmission, but if there is a simpler solution to get rpm down at highway speed i would take that route. if so, what type of trans do i need (what car) must be a manual.

last, a tailgate. the pictures show a good tailgate, but doing the brake work, my sister rolled the truck off of the ramps, directly into the tounge of my trailer (thats ok, i needed her help bleeding the brakes)
stamped "chevrolet" would be nice, but not necissary. just want it to match body lines perfect. where do i go?

also, if anyone wants these parts, come get em.

-stock intake mainifold/ rockchester carb
-manual steering gearbox
-master cylinder
-chrome fuel pump (leaking)
email me if interested

cr.customs@hotmail.com

[bowtieride]

Is your roll pan welded on or bolted? Sorry i didnt answer any of your questions.

[CRCustoms]

it is welded. easy to do b/c the metal is much thiccker than a modern truck. in that picture it was not welded (truck has come a long way from then). i should take more pics

[bowtieride]

Where did you get the roll pan? Im thinking about getting one instead of putting on a new rear bumper.

[FLEET72]

Originally Posted by CRCustoms

where can i get an aftermarket coulmn?

ididit

Originally Posted by CRCustoms

truck is a short wide with 350 5.7/3 on the floor trans. rear main/front main/oil pan/transmission to drive shaft seal all leaking (but all slow). should i replace seals or motor? compression is good, block is not origonal.

Lots of choices here. Reseal the motor. When you have it out and opened up you could hone and re-ring and new bearings as well depending on cylinder wall scouring. Lot's of improvement can be had with a cam swap. If money is less of an issue, drop a crate motor in.

Originally Posted by CRCustoms

truck is now starting beautifully! but, on the highway, motor is screaming (high RPM). rearend gears are not origonal (guessing something big), and tires are 295/50, short tires. the truck will get to high speed, but at 60 mph i bet it is around 3500/4000 RPM. i would like to add a 5 speed transmission, but if there is a simpler solution to get rpm down at highway speed i would take that route. if so, what type of trans do i need (what car) must be a manual.

Change the ring/pinion set. Don't know enough about oem 5 speeds to make a recommendation but I would imagine a later Camaro or Firebird trans would work. The BW t series have the shifter attached in the top and would have to be modified (lengthened?).

Originally Posted by CRCustoms

last, a tailgate. the pictures show a good tailgate, but doing the brake work, my sister rolled the truck off of the ramps, directly into the tongue of my trailer (thats ok, i needed her help bleeding the brakes)
stamped "chevrolet" would be nice, but not necessary. just want it to match body lines perfect. where do i go?

Junkyards, classifieds, most of the after market ones are sans lettering.

[72lb4x4]

Good looking truck. Especially for being dragged out of a ditch!

You might search this site and see about a van tilt. I recently snagged one ($40!!) from about a '75 van/RV conversion and realize why they are popular. The curved connector is the same as 67-72, which makes it bolt in, or close to it. Try visiting some of the pick-n-pull type places once a month or two. You might find one.

I have a later model tilt that's pretty trashed (pulled from my '72), but the shaft looks good. Its yours if you take the whole thing...

You can replace the seal at the trans/driveshaft easily.

Figure out what your rear end ratio is and get a cheap tach (I have one without a mounting bracket you can have) to see what the actual RPMs are. Its pretty easy to get one or both rear wheels off the ground, make a chalk mark on the tire and near the rear U-joint, and count the turns of the U-joint chalk line for 1 turn of the wheel.

Getting a 5 speed can get pricey. Maybe and NV3500 is less, but I've been thinking about an NV4500 for 4x4 and its not cheap. I hate to say it, but its probably cheaper to get a later model 4 speed auto

Good tailgates are hard to find and many people have horror stories about aftermarket tailgates. Maybe yours can be fixed with some metal work? Or not...

[69_hafton]

Wow, anything else in that ditch? Looks like you've got a great start, even better than most. Welcome to the board.

I guess you've got a manual trans right now? Easiest swap would be the rear gears, or the whole rear assembly with better gearing. Look for a 3.08 or so rear end if you decide to just replace the rear. Also use the "search" to make sure you getting good info here. You'll learn alot more using the search than any one person can tell you; just don't rely on a single response - double check everything. Don't wind that engine out to much or you'll be replacing it for sure. Higher RPM = Shorter engine life. Ok, enough said, I'm starting to lecture.

A moment of silence for the tailgate.

[72armyswbtruck]

Sounds like you probably have 411's in the rear end, try switching to 373's or lower if you want lower rpm at higher speeds. My brothers truck had the same problem would run out at nearly 4grand @65mph. Switched out the rear end to 373's and now the truck is very drivable.

[CRCustoms]

thanks for all the help everyone!

that tailgate is pretty bad. i looked at it a little better, and it is cracked at the bottom inside almost all the way across, guess the metal was basically gone. anyone know of a local swap meet coming up? im in dallas/fort worth area (and im willing to drive)