Markeb01 Build Thread

[markeb01]

Thanks as always for checking in guys. I appreciate the comments and feedback.

I can’t wait to finish the bullets as they look really cool all painted white. I already sprayed one of them white to show my wife what I had in mind, and then had to remove all that fresh paint! I’m so close to being done now, I’m just going to have some patience until they’re finished.

As for the 350 emblems, I’ve read numerous complaints (none directed at me) that fender emblems should only be displayed if they are correct (accurate). Personally I don’t subscribe to this doctrine. I think they should be whatever the owner prefers.

Which is why, when I decided to put emblems on the front fenders, there really was only one consideration – 327! In my youth, that was just the coolest engine a person could have. The 283 was the most popular engine on earth, until the 327 came along. And just saying “327” out loud carried a certain panache with it.

Ever since 1992 when I junked the 305 GMC V6, my truck has never had anything in it but a 350 crate engine. To me that has no appeal at all. And since all the 350 emblems on the market when I decided to add the fender emblems looked terrible, it was an easy decision to go 327 instead. And since I really did love the 327 engine, I modified the valve covers to conceal the smog connection and swapped to a manifold with an oil fill pipe in front. To the unknowing, it really does appear to be a 327.

More recently I started thinking about modifying the engine again to look like a 1970’s-80’s motor with Mickey Thompson valve covers, etc., but it was a mistake. I still love the 327 over everything else, and adding the 350 emblems was a disappointment. They look okay and are accurate, but they’re also undersize, too dark, and don’t impress me at all. So once I’m done with the current project, the 327 emblems are going back on!

Adding the 350 emblems has also been a great object lesson. I have to accept that the truck is done, and I have plenty of other hobbies to keep me occupied. I just wanted to make absolutely sure I “finished” everything before I left it alone. I loved my peep mirrors and used them for decades, and that fond history inspired me to go back and try them again. It was a mistake (to me) because they just didn’t add beauty to the truck like the Impala mirrors. So I swapped back to what I just removed. Same thing with the 350 emblems (and a few other items). It’s time to leave it alone as wasting good money just to make changes is stupid. Unless I ever make the custom hood of my dreams, it is likely the last improvement I’ll be adding will be chrome window frames to the side glass if I ever come up with a suitable pair. From then on I just plan on enjoying it the way it is.

Thanks for asking and hopefully that answered your question.

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Personally I don’t subscribe to this doctrine. I think they should be whatever the owner prefers.

I would only add, that as long as the displacement emblem is within the same engine family, I agree… Because to me, if you pop the hood on a vehicle with a 396 Emblem and there's a Small Block residing there, that would just be wrong...

Just my $.02 worth…

Happy Memorial Day Sir!!!