68 Fleetside Resurection

[Werker]

My father (PaulMora) lurks here often and we both share a fondness of these trucks. He has a suburban and a blazer and I'm now joining the club with a 68 Fleetside. We picked up this truck in early January and I had to sit on it for the last few months. Well this week we are diving in and getting to work resurrecting this truck. It sat outside a shop in Upland CA for the last 10 years or so and was just rotting away. All the the window and door rubbers are hard and crusty, the 327 smokes but we were able to negotiate a set of buddy buckets to accompany the truck. The interior is in otherwise stock and original condition with great hugger Orange on the dash and floors. The original rubber floor mat is present and in great condition. The body is dented and scratched a bit, but I love the old truck character it has.

The plan:
Pull the 327/TH400 and replace with a slightly used 350/700R4.
4/2.5 lowering with disc conversion
Classic Air install
Replace rear bearings, cylinders and shoes
Buff the hell out of the paint
Dynamat the interior (under the rubber mat)
New carpet over the rubber mat
New door and window rubbers
Fresh tires with 1" white walls
Drive the hell out of it...

[Werker]

Day 2 Update.
We're doing the initial mechanics at our family friends shop, C&G Automotive in Huntington Beach CA which is great because we have access to parts runners, hot rodder knowledge and skills in the area, and all the tools we need for the engine swap.
So far we pulled the 327 and TH400 and with great results. I was originally a little timid of replacing the 327 but digging into it shows to be a smart move. The PO never changed the oil and some serious build up occurred in the heads... who knows what horrors are lower in the engine.
Also, the entire drivetrain and underbody is covered in about a 1/4" of dirt and oil that needs to be scraped off before finding any bolts. We scrapped and cleaned the engine compartment with a pressure washer so this looks much cleaner than when we started. You can see the black transmission in the background photos and the clean 350 ready to go in.
This is going a touch slower than we thought, but we have the next two weeks to get this basket case up and running up the coast home. I'll post updates over the next two weeks to show our progress.

[Werker]

Here is a shot of the old grimey engine, the new shiny one, the dash with the new radio and gauges and a shot of a shined up fender. Looking forward to getting the whole truck to look this good.

[Werker]

Got the engine in. Had to pull some favors for pulleys, brackets, and brake parts. The engine bay is almost finished and the trans is almost fully in place. The drive shaft had to be lengthened and a new yoke put on the front as the 700R4 has a different spline setup than the TH400. We also put in the rear springs to get the true measurement for the new drive shaft. Tomorrow we will finish up the engine bay wiring and get the brake lines to master cylinder all plumbed. The drive shaft should be completed as well so perhaps we may even get to fire it up and drive it within the next few days.

[68bowtie]

cool truck. custom cab or cst? also is the paint medium red?

[68Gold/white]

So, the new engine a 350?
Man that old 327 was a sludge ball, what a shame, might still be salvage-able for a rebuild though...some day!

[Werker]

It is a CST. Badge is on the door.
Some more pics after the work. The Toyota rims are short term rollers to get the car out of where we did the disc conversion. OG steel wheels are coming soon. Still have a few small issues to tie up.

[Werker]

More shots

[Werker]

Here are two recent shots. Now has the stock steel wheels to cover the disc conversion. Also has all trim back on the sides.

[Orange67]

Good lookin' truck.