My build. Project Karma. 71 stepside.

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by chrislehr

Chevy tailgate, GMC front

ahhhhhhhhhh, thats a good one dang... Tailgate is getting replaced

that is a good name...

[lyrikz]

Continuing on!

SO, got the rocker mounted and welded in.


Strap was there to keep everything straight and lined up. ahaha It worked fine.



Once i got the rocker on, i started to focus on my upper drip rail. The rail had some water that had came in and started to build rust. What i did was removed the rail, removed the rust, rewelded the rail back on. Came out very well and didnt take to long to do at all. The rust was causing the rail to push down in the middle, so i got that all straightened out....

removed the bondo in the drip rails where the PO used instead of using sealant... Wire wheel is the ONLY way to go... Super fast and quick.



See the dip in the middle of the rail, rust was causing that. The scaling affect.


Once i removed the spot welds, i started removing the rail.

[lyrikz]

Rail removal



Puttin on the weldable primer



The drip rail removed.



Then welded it all back in place, did a rough grind on it and now it sits straight again. Finished pics on the way.....

In the mean time, i found a donor truck for my motor and at the same time i luckily sold my inline 6 that i had in the truck to a board member on here..... Story to come on that.

[lyrikz]

I was surfing the board one day and saw a gentlemen talking about his Inline 6 knocking and him needing a new motor. I just threw up a post stating that i had a I6 that was rebuilt about a year ago, ran perfect, and that i would be willing to ship.

We talked back and forth through PM and i sent him a video of the truck starting and running... In this video, the truck had not been started in probably 3 or 4 months.. I had the wife pump the gas 3 or 4 times, and it fired RIGHT off.. No noise. Perfect.... As usual. I will miss this motor.... Oh, and if you ever need to ship a motor USE ROADWAY... It was 295 bucks from seattle washington to Baton Rough LA.

Vid of engine start up... Embarassing for me. ahaha...


And here is a pic of the engine all wrapped up and ready to go. Motor was 510 pounds with pallet. I pulled the motor, got a BEEEEFY concrete holder pallet (overkill), strapped it down, and wrapped it up.... He should have it on the 12th... Heres the pic of it going by by.


That picture leads me to my next bit of the story. the engine for my new project came out of that truck sittin back there. I bought that truck for 900 dollars and drove it home.... PUlled the motor shortly after that and will have some updates on that.. The motor is in the shop now. Its set to be a mild build 450 hp and 510 lbs of torque....


Will have more pics of the motor soon.. I will also have pics of the motor at the build shop.. YAAAY..... To be continueeeeddddd.....

[Ol'Rover]

is it a 454? HP & Tq specs just seem right.

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by Ol'Rover

is it a 454? HP & Tq specs just seem right.

Yes, i dont think i mentioned that. Its a 454. Still has semi stock heads. Using a set of 049 heads instead of the ones on there now... few other added goodies...

[allen123]

looks like your build going good good luck

[Ol'Rover]

awww yeah! Four Fiddy Four! yhoooiiiiii! *burnout*

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Nice score...... Looks like its gonna be a sweet rode when its done...

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by Ol'Rover

awww yeah! Four Fiddy Four! yhoooiiiiii! *burnout*

hahah.. Yep. I basically am building this the way i have always wanted one. I have ALWAYS wanted a big block.. I dont care if the big block made less power then a 327 or something, i just wanted a big block. I always wanted ridiculously big rims. I wanted an adjustable suspension.... two tone... So, im building it the way i pictured it as a kid.... Its coming good.

Originally Posted by FRENCHBLUE72

Nice score...... Looks like its gonna be a sweet rode when its done...

Sweet rode? that like a french version of a ride? Thanks man.. It should be very sweet when done.

[jayharrell]

People just don't know what those ol 454 cores are worth by them self. Great score.

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by jayharrell

People just don't know what those ol 454 cores are worth by them self. Great score.

When i first started the motor stuff, i was going to do it all myself.... Have the machine shop just do the machine work. BUt after talking to my guy, i want him to do it.... I figure about 4 grand into the motor... jeez, cant believe i said that out loud. ahaha..

[jayharrell]

yup.. 4g on a 500hp motor. thats about right.

Whats under the plastic wrap?? lol. is it 4g's worth??? hell, if i had 4g's, i'd have one too.

[jayharrell]

That thing looks WAY too tall. maybe its on its side, but the air cleaner in straight up and down. Whats the deal???

Almost looks like you have a straight 6 sitting on top of a 350. LOL

[Ol'Rover]

thats his old straight 6 being hauled away lol

[santana474]

Tools, the wifes most hated part of the build budget!!

Great work so far. I'm deffinately taking notes on the body work you are doing. Showing me things I need to look for on my truck.

[jayharrell]

Originally Posted by santana474

Tools, the wifes most hated part of the build budget

LOL, picked up some left hand bits on the way home. LOL. happy mothers day.

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by jayharrell

That thing looks WAY too tall. maybe its on its side, but the air cleaner in straight up and down. Whats the deal???

Almost looks like you have a straight 6 sitting on top of a 350. LOL

Ya, thats the old I6 that i sold and was ready for shipping, just showing it going to another home.

Originally Posted by Ol'Rover

thats his old straight 6 being hauled away lol

thanks, i thought i mentioned it. ahaha...

Originally Posted by santana474

Tools, the wifes most hated part of the build budget!!

Great work so far. I'm deffinately taking notes on the body work you are doing. Showing me things I need to look for on my truck.

Ya, vague on some pics and info, but once you have done one side you pretty much got the jist of it.. Any questions or anything let me know...

Originally Posted by jayharrell

LOL, picked up some left hand bits on the way home. LOL. happy mothers day.

I have a set of those and i have yet to have one broken bolt come out with one of those left hand bits or easy outs. Everytime i just had to drill it out, retap or use a nut and bolt..

[lyrikz]

Back to business.... Heres some pics of the motor coming out of the 71


All gone



here is the new motor before the rebuild, that it will be going in.....




Have some more metal pics coming your wayyyyyy

[lyrikz]

So, finished the rocker, floor panel, rear rocker area. So i started moving on to the door... As you can see im doing one side at a time.. Here is what i started off with after sand blasting.




Here is the lower edge of the door.



I then went ahead and cut out all the bad areas. I basically replaced the whole bottom section of the door... I do have some warpage where i welded the door back in place. I have some questions on that after the pics.






to be continueeedd.

[lyrikz]

Started to mount the lower door.. I have a few questions... The flat section of the door where the panel mounts are. When i welded that section in, it warped the panel.. how do i get that warpage out???? Also, the BOTTOM section of the where you have the holes were the water runs out, should i weld the WHOLE botom on, or can i just do a few weld beeds and that will be ok???






Here in this pic you can see where the door doesnt line up at all. I used some heat and got that all taken care of...



Here is me making the patch panels.



This is the area that im replacing.


that area has some curvature to it so i had to match the curve of the new panel.

Matched the curve, put down some weldable primer and then put it where it goes.



Another question i have is, i want to spray something in those areas in the door to prevent rust.... Like putting a liquid down that will keep water off the metal.. Body wax???

[Spray-Bomb]

Looks good bro

What color are you gonna paint the engine ???

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by Spray-Bomb

Looks good bro

What color are you gonna paint the engine ???

well, im two toning the truck.. Top of the truck will be one color, well, the engine bay will be the color of the top of the truck, iwas thinking of matching the engine to that, or painting it the 2nd color of the truck.. Havent decided.... any ideas???

[BACKYARD88]

Looking good. I'm interested to see more about the glass fenders

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by BACKYARD88

Looking good. I'm interested to see more about the glass fenders

Ok, what do you want to see??? They are just like the metal ones, but lighter, and cheaper.. ahaha.. Fairly thick...

What do youw anna see?