Senior Project Build

[texanidiot25]

Originally Posted by kcjones

I don't have any experience fixing truck cabs, but in a few other cars I've had, don't let rust repair freak you out. You DO want to find all that rust, you do want to cut out the cancer, and you CAN fix it. If you don't have a welder, here's what you can do for relatively cheap:

-Remove the carpet all together.
-Wire wheel top and bottom, like you said.
-Cut out the affected areas (at least 1/8" around any holes).
-For now, rattle can the areas with some rust paint, top and bottom.
-When you can afford the time and money, take it to a body shop.

...Do not ask them to turn your cab into a show truck's cab. Do not ask them to simply "repair" the rust. Do not ask them to primer, paint, or undercoat anything. Very specifically tell them to weld in new metal, smaller pieces the better, only to seal the holes you've cut. They don't even need to grind down the welds or paint, you can do all that (your POR-15 idea would be perfect after the new metal, it'll be all prepped and POR will seal it forever).

I bet for less that 15 hours worth of work (based on what I've seen in your pics), and less than $300 (cause you did all the prep work yourself), you can have peace of mind that you can drive the truck in whatever weather for a relatively long time without worrying about rust eating away the inners, corners, kick panels, etc.

Your idea would be fine, too, but you seem like the kinda guy gets everything done right.

All I'm sayin' is don't let it freak you out. Now LSx wiring harness...let that freak you out!

Problem is, if you cut out the rust on my truck, the cab would be half gone!

'specially it's a-pillar.

[Conundrum]

I really like the look of this truck.

[LuckyHenriksen]

I try to do everything right the first time =] but have a little trouble sometimes hehe. That sounds like a good plan, plus I want to see if I can have my careless scrapes in the door repainted. A good friend of mine has a body shop so I will see what he thinks about it. Thanks for your input!

[thirdstreettito]

Lookin good! The blue underneath is the same color as my 68!

[LuckyHenriksen]

Thanks guys

[LuckyHenriksen]

So tonight I pulled the rest of the old fuel line out, and started playing under the dash. The wiring is your usual rats nest of home-spliced stereo gear and extra stuff added. I have been trying to get the clutch pedal off for a long time now, and everyone says it should slide right off, but mine doesn't. It slides like it should till the last inch or so, and it hangs up on a bump in the firewall. I am considering my two best options at the moment:
A) BFH
B) Sawzall

And I would like your input/advice on what to do with my stereo. It worked when I bought the truck, and sounded really nice, but somewhere along the line something fried and it doesn't work now. The head unit lights up like it is getting power but only displays strange symbols that aren't even numbers or letters. Then it goes blank. Did I cook the HU? Is that possible? Here are my options, what do you guys think:
Keep Stereo

Pros-
Sounds good
Already installed
Nice MP3 head unit

Cons-
Sh*tty wiring
Possible fire?
Have to figure out how to make it work
Taking up valuable real estate

Remove Stereo

Pros-
Perfect spot to mount gauges
Cleans up under the dash
Gauges would look cool, and be easy to see
Remove weight (yes, very little)
It hasn't worked for a while, so I am used to driving without tunes

Cons-
Cruising isn't as fun without tunes

What would you do? And is there an easy way to fill the big holes in the door where the speakers went?


Heres the HU



Pretty clean install



And the nice wiring pile





And the nice 6x9's

[Gray Ghost]

I've got my 6x9's in the same place. I have a cure in case I remove them for another setup. I am going to make solid wood lower panels to cover the entire lower door. The other fix would be full length door panels like a 72 has.

I'd get a new head unit. No telling what happened with that rats nest in place.

I am going to build a custom dash with all the guages in a line above the centerline of the steering wheel. I hate the normal 67-72 dash plate. I have to work to see the lower ones....not good.

[gcburdic]

Hey Lucky,

I say definitley re-wire and keep the stereo...gotta have tunes to cruise man!!!...
Here's a pic of what I did....the PO cut this whole section out, so I decided to have the diamond plate cover made so I can put my gauges here....

[LuckyHenriksen]

Cool guys. Is there any way to tell if a head unit still works? I want to make sure it still functions if I decide to keep it

[texanidiot25]

If the head unit is getting 12v and comes on, but won't work, it's probably dead. Sony Xplodes are pretty good budget headunits IMO, and don't look like the control console for a space ship.


I'd also clean up the wiring while your in there.

[LuckyHenriksen]

Wow that xplode looks nice! I have an older model xplode in my Bronco, and it works nicely, but the new version is clean! And HD =]

[LuckyHenriksen]

I got the new cam in! A Comp Mutha Thumpr! Sounds wild. I can't wait to hear it. Yes I do realize that I am collecting alot of parts without even having an engine yet, but it will come!







And I got another free T shirt! But XL again. I will just have a collection of speed T shirts, and when I finally fit them, they will be collectable

[heavy71chevy]

there might be a fuse in the back of the deck that could of poped but from the sounds of it I think its cooked...the best place I k now of to get a new one at a good deal is www.ikesound.com they have really good prices and a big selection

[LuckyHenriksen]

Man heavychevy, you just love bumping my thread to a new page don't you! I think for now I will just remove it all, and see if I want to put some new stuff in sometime in the future.

[Gray Ghost]

I love Sony Xplodes..got a cheap one in the truck right now. Sounds like it's worth much more than I paid for it.

That cam is sweet! What a lift...you're gonna be thumpin for sure! And yeah, the motor will come on it's own time...best to get the parts in line before it gets here so that it all goes fast.

Wish I'd have had the smarts to get a 5.3 or 6.0 back when I had the cash I spent on that MCSS in 2001.

[heavy71chevy]

Originally Posted by LuckyHenriksen

Man heavychevy, you just love bumping my thread to a new page don't you! I think for now I will just remove it all, and see if I want to put some new stuff in sometime in the future.

what can I say...im just that goood lol

[LuckyHenriksen]

Ya I wish I would have just spent the money from the beginning on an LSX motor, instead of squandering and wasting time with the old Gen I

[Gray Ghost]

Yessir...just spent $1500 last year during the dead of winter changing out this motor. I have the original 350 that we pulled and had rebuilt.

Then I rebuilt the TH350 to the tune of $550. I don't even wanna think of how much cash I spent in the meantime...coulda prolly bought Gen lll motors for both trucks.

Funny but a year ago I woulda never even thought of doing this swap, now I am chompin' at the bit to get the 454/400 swapped out for the 5.3/4L60e so I can start collecting swap parts!

[LuckyHenriksen]

Ya it was this time last year, I was on a mission trip to the Galapagos Islands, and had my trusty stash of Car Craft mags with me. They were doing the story on the budget 6.0 build, and that got the wheels turning. I always thought it would be too expensive, but when I see how much I spent on the old motor I realize that I should have just done it right the first time....

[Gray Ghost]

Man you get around! What were you doing there?

[LuckyHenriksen]

Helping out on a community center building project. It was great, I missed so much school last year while I was traveling.

[LuckyHenriksen]

So I got the CD player and crappy speakers, out, man did they leave a mess.





Ghetto Holes....





So here is my simple fix to cover the holes.
I traced the speaker ring....



Cut it out with tin snips.....



Gave it a coat of paint....



And presto! Hokey block off plates, at least there isn't a big hole there.

[LuckyHenriksen]

Double post

[LuckyHenriksen]

And I got the brake pedal off! I just had to wiggle it the right way

[SCIV]

Are you going with a carb'd setup? I would recommend changing the valve springs to the Comp 918's.

That thing has nice duration, and the 109* will seriously lope. Mine has less duration, but more lift and is on a 114 + 4*.

Great start!