Project truck dream 65"

[DURG]

I went through these same issues with repop stuff on my 62 Impala. Nearly all of it is marginal at best with some being completely unuseable. IF you can get OEM it's the way to go.

[lenguini]

Here's a few more pics or the recent work done.OEM rad support ! Was in good shape rust wise,did need bodywork as it was out of an an ambulance and must of hit something in its previuos life.(hopefully not on the way to emergency)

Also a couple pics of the firewall finally painted.Alot of work went into welding and smoothing it.Im glad the time was taken to go the extra mile here,It will be worth it in the end.I added a couple nuts to the top of Captains booster bracket so I can cap it once the assembly is complete.
I'm considering running the wiper valance without the rubber to firewall to hood strip,not really sure its necessary.

I'm currently in the process of welding and smoothing the bumper bolts but have heard a few stories of bumpers done this way before and the chrome cracked at a few of the welds,so anyone who wants to give their input here will be appreciated.Maybe Ill scrap the idea if its a loosing venture.
Just so I dont look like Ive been sitting around on my a$$ doing nothing..., I have decided against the 283 sb build for my truck,now going with a full roller 383 .More torqe more hp and will make more sense with the 700r4 and 308's behind it.

A couple more pics of the from the other side of the shop,sometimes its hard to believe its the same truck !

[1enick72]

looking nice

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

Hey brother you know if you add another hole to the left of the brake plate , ( adding the hole is easy..4 inch grinder and a ding dong running it) Just messing with you.. Looking good.. BTW shoot me an address for a cool front plate. This will look great on the front of your truck..

Here it is painted and on its way home Been working on it.. Looking forward to your trip across the boarder..

[lenguini]

Thanks for the complement !I appreciate it.

Cheers,
Ed

[padresag]

here is a picture of the ambulance that the rad support came from. It orig belonged to the City of Victoria-Fire dept and finally Garden City Transport. the first picture came from a book on ambulances in Canada
this old truck has had parts go to Texas, arkansas,N.Y, to you and a couple of others around here. just found out a couple of weeks ago where the cut out door panels went to

By rondavid at 2012-08-26

By rondavid at 2007-06-09
ron

[lenguini]

Thanks for the pics ! Thats little history I can now add to the build !

Cheers,
Ed

[rusty_67]

I gotta admit Ed, I'm a little disappointed that your not going to use that old 283. What happened to the fuel mileage goal??!! Next thing I know you'll be putting 4:11s back there!

Haha, kidding of course. I may have to come over and help you tighten a few bolts or something so that I can still say I had a small part in the awesome build.

Russ

[lenguini]

Ya,its a little disheartning but now looking at the full picture,the 283 will just wont do the job.

Cheers,
Ed

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

He also swapped out the gears in the rear end and with a little engine not coming up on rpm and towing your fuel MPG is going to go down not up.. Simple deal really... % of throttle to cruise at a given Speed is based on amount of tq at that RPM.. If you can increase the amount of tq your % of throttle will be reduced and your fuel mpg may go up or at least stay at a great number..

Tons of guys have 383 strokers and set up correctly they will knock down great MPG add a 700R trans and you have the best of both worlds.. Great power and 20 MPG.

[rusty_67]

I was just giving him a hard time cuz I sold him the 283.

If I remember correctly the original plan was 283, 2spd powerglide, and 3:08 gears. 30+mpg. 0-60 in... irrelevant, its a cruiser.

But that was then...

Russ

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

The 283 with a good trans would work well but with a 2 speed slush box that thing would have been the turd when he tows.. He started with the 700 trans and then things went another direction.. LOL Ed is a great guy.. GOTTA love his skills with a angle grinder..

[Dinos63]

nice work very clean !

[lenguini]

Thank you!

Cheers,
Ed

Originally Posted by Dinos63

nice work very clean !

[lenguini]

Thank you!

Cheers,
Ed.

Originally Posted by Dinos63

nice work very clean !

[chevy88]

Great build, just read it all, lots of great ideas and perfection!!!

[1965Project]

Hey, just wanted to thank you for this thread. You are doing a fantastic job and I can't wait to see the finished truck. I just installed the same tank in my 65 frame and it is almost identical to your install. I haven't done the fill tube in the bed yet but it will be very similar as well. Thanks again for folks like you that take the time to share.

Mark

[lenguini]

Just received my 700r4 Trans last Friday,rebuilt top to bottom.Going to do a bit of polishing and component painting to pretty it up.
Also bought my CPP booster today,has a built in proportioning valve...,thanks Steve,good suggestion!

[lenguini]

Here are a few pics of midpoint mounting of my rad and shroud.Its a tripple pass rad to provide maximum cooling.

Because of bigger horsepower and the fact there will be an air condenser and remote trans cooler up front,I felt this rad would be a good choice.

Now,I just found out that the rotating assembly I chose is made overseas.Im glad I dident commit to it.So now Im looking at another and just waiting for a reply from Howards products.
Im sure tired of finding overseas crap everywhere I turn,its a shame and making my build go much slower.I refuse to use engine components made anywhere outside of the US.I have to put alot of time and energy into making this happen and its slowly driving me nuts!

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

Nice stuff you got there .....you do know that you need to cut a hole for air flow right LOL.. I would suggest ahhh a 4 1/2 grinder.. as you have MAD skills with it ..

[lenguini]

Hey Steve,my grinder shattered when I threw it at the wall,the floor,the work bench... uhhhhhh...when removing my gas tank mounts...can you send me up yours ?

Originally Posted by GMR-PERFORMANCE

Nice stuff you got there .....you do know that you need to cut a hole for air flow right LOL.. I would suggest ahhh a 4 1/2 grinder.. as you have MAD skills with it ..

[zippeay]

Cool build, makes me feel like I'm going in slow motion... It's taken me over a year to get to where you did in 3 MOS, haha!

[lenguini]

Just checked out your build...looking good ! Some great ideas there.

Cheers,
Ed

Originally Posted by zippeay

Cool build, makes me feel like I'm going in slow motion... It's taken me over a year to get to where you did in 3 MOS, haha!

[johnny mac]

Excellent work on a fantastic build! If I ever get to a point where I can rebuild my truck I may have to "borrow" a couple of your ideas. :-)

subscribed!

[lenguini]

Thanks ! Wish you good luck on your build,lots of good folks here on this site that are always willing to help.

Cheers,
Ed.