First Squarebody: 1979 Chevy Short Bed

[TheBlueBomber]

Yeah it does! Glad to see you cleared the GTO on the rotisserie

[Orion88]

Haven't posted on here in a while. The truck is all but finished. I am searching for a complete set of front parking light assemblies, and the stainless rings that hold the headlights in place. I'm going to see a guy tonight who hopefully has what I need. Aside from that and a sound system wiring kit, that't the only thing keeping this truck off the road right now. Here's the most recent pics.

On a side note, I've got my GTO back on the frame. Time to start body work!

[Orion88]

I should be picking up the truck tomorrow. I also got her a new set of shoes. Cooper Cobra Radial GT's. 255 70 15 in the back, 235's up front. I went with the Coopers because BFG's are overpriced and everyone with an old muscle car/truck has them. These will be a little different, but still have the nostalgia 60's/70's look. I should probably light up the old tires a few times before I put the new ones on though. Depending on my schedule you might see me at the Indianapolis Four Wheel Jamboree (aka the Big Truck Little **** Show!)

I will be sure to post pictures of the finished product this weekend.

[Hankster]

Alright! Can I ask what made you decide the tire sizes?

[Orion88]

255 is about as wide as you wanna go on a 7" rim. I know some people go wider but it's certainly not recommended. 70 to give me as tall of a tire as I can to lower my highway rpm, and 235 in the front to help give it a better stance, and added clearance, although it probably wouldn't have been an issue. I had 255's on my 71 all the way around and they didn't rub. But this will help drop the nose down an extra inch in relation to the back. And a skinnier tire up front will be better in inclement weather.

[Hankster]

I figured you had the 8 inch rallys, I have the 8s and im running a 275/60 on the back.

[Orion88]

I was under the impression the only rallys that came in 8" we're corvette rallys. But yeah pretty sure mine are 7s, or at least that's what my buddy told me.

[Hankster]

As far as I know you could get the truck/van style rallys in 6/7/ and 8s

[UKNOWME]

Look like 8s to me. I think they are stamped on the rear.

[Orion88]

From this angle without the fenders on it they look pretty skinny to be 8s to me but I'll find out today for sure.

[Hankster]

Alrighty. Please let me know what they are!

[Orion88]

I Dub Thee: The Punisher Truck.

Turns out the wheels were 8". But since I will be driving this truck rain or shine, any wider of a tire would have been too much. And since the truck is mostly stock it's not like I need the extra hookup. Although she is a lot faster than I thought she would be. It will definitely break em loose.

[flashed]

Truck looks great .

[Hankster]

Damn sure looks good!

[UKNOWME]

Not gonna use the rings and caps?

[Orion88]

Not with the white wheels. Before the truck was done it had the rings and caps over the junky old white wheels and I thought it looked like crap. So when I popped them off to mount the new tires I took a step back and really liked the look of the white wheels with the raised white letter tires. After repainting them with a fresh coat of satin white I'm glad I went that direction instead of the red wheels. If I went red I would have kept the beauty rings and bought chrome smoothie center caps. But it's just spray paint. I can always change it up if I get bored. I bought some products from Chemical Guys for washing/detailing matte finish cars and that should be here soon. Can't wait to get all the dirt and dust washed off!

[Orion88]

Made some small improvements yesterday. Here are some before/after pics. Valve covers are next.

[Hankster]

Looks good!

[Orion88]

Stepped inside for a beer break.

Well, I swapped carbs from my 70 GTO (Edelbrock 1405 600cfm) onto my truck (Edelbrock 1407 750cfm). Didn't make sense to have the bigger carb on the smaller engine. So far she's running a lot better warm but I haven't taken it for a drive cold yet. While I was at it I pulled my valve covers to repaint them (fire damage) and turns out my #3 cylinder intake rocker wasn't sitting center on my valve. So now I'm stuck trying to adjust my valve in the dark with help from my friend over the phone.... YAY! I will update this post by the end of the night, or worst case scenario tomorrow morning.

[Hankster]

Alright, keeps us up to date. You got this!

[Orion88]

Looks like the rocker was poorly installed from the factory. Not much I can do about it tonight. I pieced it back together and I will replace the rocker, pivot ball, and push rod tomorrow.