Rusty76 and his '76

[LT7A]

That's how it starts! Thanks for reporting.

[rusty76]

Progress is being made. Though slowly, progress is happening. My buddy is helping with the engine. He’s been a blessing and I am glad he has been involved. He called with news the heads arrived the other day. Pistons and rings are being fitted at the machine shop. The machine shop is doing pretty much all the work. Which is fine with me. Just glad we were able to salvage the 400. I’m no machinist but I understand some stuff. They ended up boring the block .040 over. They tried thirty over and one cylinder didn’t clean up well. They went to forty over and was relieved with the results. It feels awkward not doing the assembly considering how many in-line sixes we put together for the race car.

All in all things are progressing. The weather turned to crap once I got started messing with it. But it looks like this week is going to be warmer which I hope to take advantage of. Promise I’ll get some pics posted up. Take care

[lower50's]

Hey a win no matter how small is still a win!!
Are you hopping up the motor at all or just a rebuild?

[rusty76]

Oh it’s getting hopped up. Aluminum heads, not too rowdy cam, forged pistons and some other fun stuff. It isn’t going to be radical but it should be lots of fun. The stock heads were crap and I knew the engine had a ton of miles. I really just want to have some fun and be able to build off that

[rusty76]

Updates coming in. Finally got the engine back from the machine. Machine shop took forever but glad to have this back. It’s hard to believe we pulled this thing 11 years or so ago. This thing was a greasy turd of a mess. Small block 400. Aluminum heads and a Holley intake. Bored .040 over with forged pistons. The cam is rather mild but should have some lope. I still need to come up with a few things. Valve covers (taller), carb had a 2bbl and ignition. I’m look forward to getting this thing going.

[lower50's]

I love new motors, the first start, the excitement. Looks good.

[LT7A]

Cool! Looks great!

[hewittca]

Heck yeah, progress! The motor looks really nice. I bet it will be fun to drive too. Keep chippin' away at it and keep us posted.

[rusty76]

Thanks. This has been a long time running. I’m truly blessed. Piece by piece we will get there.

[84 400]

Glad to see its getting back going. Reading through i thought you might be better off letting it go but glad you got it back on track.

I saved my 77 once and got it back on the roads for about 12 years but the road salt ate it up. Now i am rebuilding it again…. Itsalot harder this time beibg 4 hours away and having to take vaca from work to get it done. But i know its a now or never kind of deal. Worked a bunch of OT and farmed out the major body welding. Going to do all the paint myself. Keep at it stick to the plan and little by little.

[rusty76]

Originally Posted by 84 400

Glad to see its getting back going. Reading through i thought you might be better off letting it go but glad you got it back on track.

I saved my 77 once and got it back on the roads for about 12 years but the road salt ate it up. Now i am rebuilding it again…. Itsalot harder this time beibg 4 hours away and having to take vaca from work to get it done. But i know its a now or never kind of deal. Worked a bunch of OT and farmed out the major body welding. Going to do all the paint myself. Keep at it stick to the plan and little by little.

I’ll be honest I’ve considered selling it many times. But never did. I guess I’m a stubborn old goat. When I first got the truck these trucks weren’t really popular. There were some basic aftermarket stuff for them but that was it. The Obs trucks were super popular and the 67-72 trucks were gaining momentum big time.

I was 19 and I wanted something with a V8 and rear wheel drive. I’d been working my two jobs for several months saving up. I’d been cruising a 1980 Mazda GLC. So the thought of something that could actually get out of its own way was the ticket.

My uncle was coming out of his second marriage and needed to sell it so he could get a car. I was keen on the truck for sure. I’d known the truck almost my entire life. Had worked on it and changed the oil in it just about every time it needed it. So in some ways it was fate.

I can’t deny that it’s been a love hate relationship. We’ve gone places and done some stupid stuff. I’ve been to a mud bog with it. Got it stuck and covered in mud. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. I came close to selling it once but I really didn’t want to. I sold multiple other vehicles while owning this one though. Only two of those I’d liked to have kept. One was a Chevy Luv that was a dually with a small block in it. It was fast.

This old truck is rusty. It isn’t as rusty as some I’ve seen. It’s been repainted once in its life. Which means it was done in the early 80s. It’s had some questionable mods done to it, like have the HEI taken out and a points distributor put in. It has manual brakes. In honestly only seen maybe two other trucks that had manual brakes from the factory. For this truck to be a Silverado you’d think it would’ve had power brakes.

Thanks for looking in and taking interest in rusty pile. Let’s get cracking on this thing.