Building Eileen

[superchomper2003]

Decided to make a build thread of Eileen so that I could get you guys input and encouragement to keep me motivated along the way. She is in pretty ruff shape and will need to have a ton of work to get her to what I would like her to be. She started life as a red 71 gmc short stepper with a I6 and 3 on the tree and a leaf spring rear. Along the way she has has seen some pretty ruff times and along they way. By the time the last owner got her she was pretty rustly and the little I6 was basically shot so his fix was to flat black spray bomb on top of all the rust and swap the little I6 for a worn 305 with a pretty beasty camshaft. It sounded good but had no power! I rescued her in January eager to tear her down and build her back up with the love she deserves.
My plans for her are a complete rebuild with 6-8 drop and 20" boss 338 wheels. For power she will have a 5.3 and 4l60e swapped in. Should be reliable and have enough power to keep me happy. For paint im thinking of going with the original light green color that came on some of these trucks. I also will be swapping the gmc front end for the 67-68 style chevy front. I know some of you guys might bust be for it but I love that front the most!
Here is a youtube link to the old girl as she sat when I got her.

71 gmc before frame off rebuild - YouTube