Project Screamer - '72 GMC K2500 + DD 4-53T

[regan wilson]

I don't think you are going to move the a-pillar.lol
Put the wood block on the edge of the door facing the pillar.
At least you can even up the gap. You might have to go back and spot weld
the frame to the top of the door.

[burnitg]

Saved it!

I have been ignoring my air filter box interference problem for 18 months. In fact, I purchased an universal air filter to install because I was convinced that I couldn't make the one that I fabbed work. Here's the interference from post # 171:



I finally got around to looking at installing the new filter the other day. Just for grins, I put the air box into the truck and discovered that by cutting off the stop on the hinge and scotching the box forward just a bit, I could make it fit. Here it is installed.





I welded a new stop on the hinge a bit further down so it should work just fine.

Woohoo!

[OutlawDrifter]

In the words of John "Hannibal" Smith...."I love it when a plan comes together!".

Great work!

[lower50's]

Looking great!! nice to see all the little problems are working out for you.

[rodbearing]

Ah Ha! Sometimes you have to put things off like that to think about them for a while. I am that way. Now you can check that one off the list! Great job!

[burnitg]

I spoke too soon...

It happens all the time, I think that I'm done with a part of the truck and it turns out that I'm not. I posted a while ago that I was done with chassis mods. I wasn't.

I knew that I was going to have to move the front and rear bumpers up to compensate for my 2" body lift. I thought that I would just fabricate some new brackets and that would be it. After looking at the way that the front bumper is mounted to the chassis, I decided that modifying the chassis was the best solution.

Here's the truck with the body lifted and the bumper in its normal position.



Here's the chassis before I started cutting.



Here's the end of the chassis tacked into place.



Here are the modifications complete.



Here's the truck after the modifications.



I'll probably choose to modify the chassis again to move the receiver hitch up 2". I wont know until I mount the bed.

[burnitg]

It's a thing of beauty..

I've been spending most of my time prepping the body & chassis for blasting and paint - boring stuff not worthy of a post.

But, I took the time to design a custom fuel tank. Like most folks, I'm not comfortable with 26 gallons of fuel, even Diesel, right behind the seat so an exterior design was a given. The truck had an auxiliary tank; but, I'm not happy with the "through the bed fill" and it has holes in it. I'm also not happy with putting the tank in the spare tire spot. I designed a tank that fits in the place of the old auxiliary tank and fills through the wheel well. I had Boyd Welding make me one from 1/8" aluminum. I received it yesterday.



It's gorgeous! I'll be designing one for the right side soon.

[gmikkels]

Awesome build!
Thanks for posting
Gene

[burnitg]

Back in black...

The chassis is back from powder coating. it looks great. I've thrown the axles back under it so it's a roller again.



It's now officially done-done.

The cab, bed, etc. are at the media blaster's in Denver. They should be in the painter's hands by the end of the week. Then we will see what surprises the blasting has revealed...

[regan wilson]

I wondered why there haven't been any updates. I'll be looking forward to the final assembly. The frame looks good. Hopefully the sheet metal comes back clean.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work on the bumper mods on the frame. That looks great. That's awesome they are cranking out the paint work too! Maybe you can drive it around before your weather starts to turn.

[mattfranklin]

Originally Posted by burnitg

It’s a runner!

I finally got the engine running...

When I read this I got flashbacks. Good ones. I love the sound. We had a 4-53 in lab at school. It was a rush every time we ran it.

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by mattfranklin

When I read this I got flashbacks. Good ones. I love the sound. We had a 4-53 in lab at school. It was a rush every time we ran it.

I love the sound too. It’s the reason for this project.

It’s a small world. We lived in Lafayette for 25 years.

[burnitg]

Surprise!

The body parts are blasted and at the paint shop. There are a few rust holes here and there and some questionable repairs.

Here's the left footwell as an example.



There are no structural issues and the rust is pretty minor. He will make the repairs and proceed with painting.

I'm pleased. I expected the problems to be worse.

[lower50's]

Thats good there are no real rust problems.

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by lower50's

Thats good there are no real rust problems.

I was pleasantly surprised. Based on some of the other bodywork I found on the truck, I expected at least one spot to be totally rusted through and covered with Bondo.

[kipps]

This reply is mostly so I can get email updates on this thread.

I'm really intrigued with this build. I've dreamed of similar.

My dream vehicle would be a round-eye squarebody with a single cab, long bed, dually(optional) with mud tires(or at least the look thereof). The engine would be a silver 453-t detroit. Air starter, sm465, advance adapters overdrive transmission, np205 with a twin stick conversion, driveshaft parking brake, air compressor mounted on one of the tranny pto's, hydraulic pump for the dump bed mounted on the other pto. In case you lost count, that's a forest of seven sticks bristling from the floor.

The starter would be actuated by a foot pedal mounted under the edge of the seat, and would be a pilot air valve which would switch the main air valve near the starter. No electric would be needed for starting. Some form of a generator/alternator would be used that would not require a battery. When the engine starts, the electric system comes on. When the engine dies, all electric power dies with it. The dash would be simplified with round surface mount gauges, and surface mount glass fuses directly on the dash. The speedometer would top out at 60.

It'd be interesting to try a rag-top conversion on the truck, and skip the side windows altogether. The cabin heater and defrost would be using an exhaust heat exchanger. The whole truck would be shot in military drab, and all pertinent service data is stenciled on the fenders, dash, and underhood in white.

Basically, what's the most macho truck I could build without looking like it has a lot of added on bits of trash? The overall theme would be a squarebody version of a military deuce-and-a-half truck. Problem is, the only practical value to this truck would be for hot-shotting, and even then, it would not be very pleasant driving for multiple days at a time. It would mostly be a piece of art, and an expensive one at that. Oh well, dreaming is cheap....

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by kipps

This reply is mostly so I can get email updates on this thread.

I'm really intrigued with this build. I've dreamed of similar.

My dream vehicle would be a round-eye squarebody with a single cab, long bed, dually(optional) with mud tires(or at least the look thereof). The engine would be a silver 453-t detroit. Air starter, sm465, advance adapters overdrive transmission, np205 with a twin stick conversion, driveshaft parking brake, air compressor mounted on one of the tranny pto's, hydraulic pump for the dump bed mounted on the other pto. In case you lost count, that's a forest of seven sticks bristling from the floor.

The starter would be actuated by a foot pedal mounted under the edge of the seat, and would be a pilot air valve which would switch the main air valve near the starter. No electric would be needed for starting. Some form of a generator/alternator would be used that would not require a battery. When the engine starts, the electric system comes on. When the engine dies, all electric power dies with it. The dash would be simplified with round surface mount gauges, and surface mount glass fuses directly on the dash. The speedometer would top out at 60.

It'd be interesting to try a rag-top conversion on the truck, and skip the side windows altogether. The cabin heater and defrost would be using an exhaust heat exchanger. The whole truck would be shot in military drab, and all pertinent service data is stenciled on the fenders, dash, and underhood in white.

Basically, what's the most macho truck I could build without looking like it has a lot of added on bits of trash? The overall theme would be a squarebody version of a military deuce-and-a-half truck. Problem is, the only practical value to this truck would be for hot-shotting, and even then, it would not be very pleasant driving for multiple days at a time. It would mostly be a piece of art, and an expensive one at that. Oh well, dreaming is cheap....

Wow! That would be an awesome truck.

I considered an air starter for my build. I gave up on the idea because I don’t have the space under the hood for the air compressor nor the space under the bed for the air tanks.

[burnitg]

Lookin' good...

We had some errands in Denver today so we stopped by the painter's to check on the old Jimmy. He's looking good.





The body work is done and they are prepping for paint. He should be painted by the end of September.

[regan wilson]

Those body panels are surprisingly clean. It should turn out really nice. Does this mean you will be driving by the Spring? I'm ready for videos.

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by regan wilson

Those body panels are surprisingly clean. It should turn out really nice. Does this mean you will be driving by the Spring? I'm ready for videos.

Yes, I’m on track to be driving it by spring. One never knows...

I haven’t posted any videos. It will be a learning experience for me.
Posted via Mobile Device

[burnitg]

4-53T All Painted and Ready to Run...

I've painted and reassembled the engine.









He's ready to run.

[Lemield]

That is a thing of beauty!

[OutlawDrifter]

Very nice!

[regan wilson]

Looks awesome. Detroit Green