Great Grandpa's Legacy reborn

[NewType72]

After taking care of the steering shaft and lowest ride height we could finally focus on nailing the rest of the exhaust down through the the frame. Pops wanted to utilize some older Doug Thorleys so those needed some heavy modifications especially being in the driver side where we had to cut the entire first pipe out to adjust its trajectory around the steering heim. What a nightmare truthfully but we feel strong that we have it all settled correctly now. Shortening up the collectors to keep them off the ground when aired out was the next challenge but went by much easier. Moving on he rounded up a couple braided flex pipe sections to allow some movement with driving and from there on out we hand built and directed the piping all the way out the the dual dynamax circular mufflers to save a little space with the trailing arms being tucked in through that section. We hand dabbed some solid brackets to mount the mufflers and utilized quick clamps to modernize and make the system disassemble easier if we need access

[daddyjeep]

Nice work on the exhaust. Everything came out really clean. It still looks awful tight around the steering.

[NewType72]

Most definitely tight but what doesn't clear will be slightly hammered around after a few hundred driving miles am I right?

[NewType72]

Well with the exhaust build behind us we moved forward with getting the new driveline all settled in place but ran into a big problem when we sent it out to be built.. the shop unfortunately added a couple inches in their measurements and well.. that's a no go when coming back for fitment after it was already powdercoated and everything. We explained the situation to the shop and they promptly fixed this issue asap for us and we were able to get it all dialed in the next week we came out to work though and are very pleased with the product as we had to conserve space we went with the minimal size tube and feel it found a very nice home in between the mufflers. We tackled this project by taking our factory one piece long wheel base driveline and chopping a section out and simply tacking it back together to get our true measurement, I turned some muffler hanger spacers that weekend as well and the dog showed her boredom. Very stoked to see this all coming together

[NewType72]

Fuel!! Time to wrangle up some ideas and well we weren't ready to go to the back of the frame per typical swaps and felt that the passenger side saddle longbed tank may possible work so we took a morning and drilled a couple holes (two in the shorter rear section of the frame actually lined up with the bracket miraculously) and mocked up where the factory placement would be and after a few safety cuts to eliminate possible incidents we found that we really like the use of the larger single tank over dual small tanks that most early shortbed trucks utilized. We are awaiting the union of the bed to finalize house direction but are pretty confident with our new/used tank location for the time being on this build.

[NewType72]

We plan to use the passenger fill door as factory intended and the driver fill door as an access for the air ride manual valves for the time being until money can be rounded up for the tank and manifold system

[NewType72]

Here begins the beautifying process as we're fairly done with fitment and new parts so we went ahead and tore apart the entire rear suspension lines and all and jumped in to sandblasting the frame so that we could shoot it black and give it some longevity. Many of the other main parts were sent out for powdercoating. We took care of regasketing the rear and as well and coating the inspection cover and fresh fluid.

[NewType72]

Honestly surprised we haven't had any response to the gas tank being so close to the right rear but hey maybe that means we're doing something right eh??

Pops gave me the what for on leaving his thread alone for over a week but with show season getting hot and heavy here in the valley for us we're both fairly stacked on our builds and getting everything lined out the way we need them to complete some shake down runs before jumping into trying to do a parade through downtown in 105 degree typica weather. Let me just say I'm very happy that both our truck have nice solid four core radiators with strong clutch fans keeping us nice and cool in that traffic jam.

With all the new goodies coming back it was time to dress the frame with a new little black dress of sorts and starting piecing al the puzzle pieces together. We tied the trailing arms with the control arms in that lovely textured black finish and we're very pleased with the multitude of black from wrinkle to semi and finally gloss but they all seem to coexist nicely and we're pretty stoked with the results. Install was a breeze as I've probably fitted all these parts backwards and with a blindfold on about 100 times now as pops would say. It's been a long build but the satisfaction is finally showing it's pretty little head as we round the corners to the final stretch on this installment. Stay tuned we'll be going quick from here on!

Pops laid down a mean couple layers of POR-15 on the fresh frame while I was back home that week and had the mid portion of the exhaust finally touched up on the welds all the way through and boy does it look amazing!

[NewType72]

Pops started bodywork on that hideous brown donor bed that we used for fitment and boy did it need some work! Obviously these old trucks weren't meant to stay pretty but hey doesn't the ad show a construction worker waling on the inner bed wall with a sledge??? False advertisement GM, shame on you.

While he was busting his time I took forth the task of our bulkhead mount for the main portion of the airride lines. This will provide a solid area for the future installment of onboard compressor and tank. But for now we're going manual! I haven't truly done welding in probably five years and I've gotta say I'm a bit bad in some area but overall I'm very happy with the result. At least I can state I was a welder not a grinder am I right??? Went ahead and got all the lines ran and buttoned up and she holds air for well over a few weeks at this point so I'd say that's a win. Take a look let us know what you think!

[hewittca]

This is an awesome build and thread! I saw quite a few custom mods on this build that I haven't quite seen before. Excellent work all around. I especially love the extra long c-notch to also incorporate space for the rear bags, the custom made trailing arms, and the custom headers/exhaust that tucks up in the frame. I am in for sure to see this thing progress.

[NewType72]

Originally Posted by hewittca

This is an awesome build and thread! I saw quite a few custom mods on this build that I haven't quite seen before. Excellent work all around. I especially love the extra long c-notch to also incorporate space for the rear bags, the custom made trailing arms, and the custom headers/exhaust that tucks up in the frame. I am in for sure to see this thing progress.

Much appreciated man! This truck definitely got to showcase what we could fab up in our heads and with our hands. The only real outsourcing we had was our welder and that was simply because we weren't competent enough ourselves to lay down the beads necessary to make pops happy. It's been a long road this last year and half on this girl but she's coming around and finally letting us get her ready for the big dance thankfully!

[NewType72]

Test drive time!! Finally was able to do a nut and bolt check throughout the chassis and determined there was no more progress until we got to drive right?!?

So obvious excitement was abundant as we prepped the shop to get the truck out as it's been pretty much buried on the rack for a full year but it gave us the chance to clean up our mess all the same so we aired her up and got to cranking those 14 point turns out to negotiate the other projects in the shop.

All was looking well so off I went leaving pop back at the shop for the time being to see how the truck would handle down the road. The first trek out seemed swell so I grabbed a few glamour shots and was even pumped to find out that she's a full roller when completely aired out.. well at least with a long sweeping driveway anyway

So off I went to test some further travel, was able to get out and into a nice residential where I found some shade and started checking the engine bay for any nuances that may rear their ugly head in the madden voyage. Closing the hood and heading to the back to check the rear suspension I began hearing a slow leak that grew with the passing seconds and suddenly I was completely laid out in the front and dead in the water as far as movement goes to get back home. Called pop up with a few tools but found that the culprit had been slight slack in the passenger front airline causing the heat of the header to burn open a hole in the line as it ran next to the frame so an obvious failure on my end and unfortunately no jack to properly fix the problem.

I'll let the pictures describe the ride back and disappointment of the oversight and the damage it caused..

Used a simple union to join the lines after I cut the bad section out. Legacy is back in the air and on the rack ready for the bed at this point.

[daddyjeep]

It's awesome that you got it out for a shake down run. Too bad you scratched up the new paint on the cross member though.

[NewType72]

New powder too. Ripped the greasezerts right outta the sway bar but hey it happens. Live an learn

[NewType72]

Man I sure have dropped the ball on where this build went haven’t I?

[Dads79GMC]

It’s an awesome build! Great work!

[NewType72]

Originally Posted by Dads79GMC

It’s an awesome build! Great work!

Much appreciated!

ill try and set a reminder to update this puppy as its in a big time need of that

[Hankster]

Glad to see it drove!

[Redneck Rydes]

Awsome build!!

[Low Elco]

Awesome to see it rollin'!

[Lokin4AReason]

looking good ....

[808_67C10]

Awesome!!! Pretty killer job so far! Looking forward to more! Good thing you had a shake down cruise... best to find those problems close to home!

[SCOTI]

About time for an update.....

[NewType72]

I know I know I need to update. I think I lost a lot of interest in this site with all the “you need to buy our space usage” from photobucket so idk what the alternative has been for posting new pictures. I’ve got plenty to update just don’t wanna make it all words with no vision.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by NewType72

I know I know I need to update. I think I lost a lot of interest in this site with all the “you need to buy our space usage” from photobucket so idk what the alternative has been for posting new pictures. I’ve got plenty to update just don’t wanna make it all words with no vision.

I upload the pics to my computer & post them from there vs a 'hosting' site. It gives me an opportunity to tweak the pic if desired & has always worked fine for me.