71' (gonna be) a one of a kind custom

[71' Custom]

The oil pan bolts that came with my ARP engine bolt kit were too short due to the thick lip on the aluminum oil pan coupled with the thickness of that Fel-Pro gasket. Ended up at Lowe's looking for some a little longer and found some Allen bolts in the right thread. I think the look pretty good

[mcmlxix]

Very nice attention to detail... it's the little things that set it apart from the rest....

[71' Custom]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

Very nice attention to detail... it's the little things that set it apart from the rest....

Yes sir, I do want this truck to stand appart

[knomadd]

If those allen bolts are just coated steel, you'll want to paint them, or they'll rust. Ask me how I know...

[71' Custom]

Originally Posted by knomadd

If those allen bolts are just coated steel, you'll want to paint them, or they'll rust. Ask me how I know...

Man, I am glad you said that, I will definitely take care of that!

[71' Custom]

Couple of updates, got my motor mounts installed.

Not extremely happy with the chrome plating on them but, I don't think it will be very noticeable once it is all together.
Does this mean the motor will be going on the frame soon?............ No, lol

Got the rear diff cover installed

Looks great! I am very pleased with it!

And here is a prelude to what is coming next!

[71' Custom]

Ok guys, I know it has been a while but I finally got my heads ordered today. I should have them mid next week. I will probably be installing them by next weekend (I hope) Pics to come!

[Pinky6872]

Love the powder coat, looks awesome!

[71' Custom]

The greatness of FedEx!
So I was supposed to be getting my heads today, and had them shipped directly to my house. Read the weather report yesterday and realized it was supposed to be raining all day today. So I called Summit yesterday to have the delivery redirected to my work address (which is what I should have done in the first place)(keep in mind; I my work is a whopping 9 miles from my house) Summit was great! They put me on hold while they called FedEx to change the delivery. So the FedEx hub for the area of my house is in a city called Coppell, Tx. Apparently 9 extra miles was out of the question for the driver, so instead they shipped it to their hub in a town called Hutchins Tx which is 33 miles from Coppell. Then they shipped it back to Irving Tx (which is directly between Coppell and Hutchins) On top of all of that, my package weight started out weighing 65lbs. now according to FedEx it only weighs 15lbs. Man, those are some seriously light weight heads! So now I am supposed to be getting something tomorrow. Not sure what it is going to be though.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, it only rained in the morning here. Was completely clear by noon. Ok, I am done venting now. I will let you guys know what happens tomorrow.

[swamp rat]

I feel your pain!

[71' Custom]

Good news! They showed up and they were more than 15lbs, lol
I will snap some pics tonight

[71' Custom]

And here they are!









merica'

[jim-bob]

...everything looks fantasic!...going back to the beginning I wonder if I may ask how you removed your cab with the 2x6's..I'm at that stage and never have done this..I have no fork lift nor overhead hoist..Did you say "brews" force or brute Thanks

[71' Custom]

Originally Posted by jim-bob

...everything looks fantasic!...going back to the beginning I wonder if I may ask how you removed your cab with the 2x6's..I'm at that stage and never have done this..I have no fork lift nor overhead hoist..Did you say "brews" force or brute Thanks

Yeah, that was actually one of my favorite parts of the tear-down. I unbolted the cab, then jacked up the drivers side and slid the 2 2x6's under the cab (one at the front and one at the back) Slid them in as far as I could, then jacked up the passenger side and slid them the rest of the way over while the driver side was held up by jack stands. Then just simply slid the cab off of the frame letting the cab down to the floor slowly with the jack. And yes, that was supposed to be "brute" lol

[71' Custom]

Just got these in, and all I am hearing from my co-workers is,"Why aren't they blue?"

[71' Custom]

So I have been checking compression ratio calculators and with my specs:
4.030 boar
3.562 stroke
64cc chambers
5cc pistons
4.1 head gasket boar
.051 head gasket thickness
and a 5.7 rod
depending on which of the calculators you look at, I am anywhere between 9.5:1 - 11.7:1
With the majority of them are saying closer to 9.5:1
I was aiming for 9.5-10 so we should be good.

[71' Custom]

[71' Custom]

I have been thinking about these headers lately. I figure I can do one of 3 things with them (assuming moving the motor back 3 inches still allows them to fit)
1) I can get a new set already jet coated black (very expensive)
2) I can have them jet coated black (less expensive, but have to worry about quality of coating as the place i have found that does jet coating, I have never used before)
3) I can wrap them in black header tape (probably the cheapest way to go and will reduce under hood temperature)
I have been leaning heavily to the 3rd option. But can't do anything until I have the engine on the frame.

[mcmlxix]

From what I understand, header wrap keeps the heat in the header, so it super heats the metal and there for it breaks down the structure causing failure (cracks) sooner than non wrapped headers...

[knomadd]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

From what I understand, header wrap keeps the heat in the header, so it super heats the metal and there for it breaks down the structure causing failure (cracks) sooner than non wrapped headers...

I've heard this too. And it voids your warranty of the headers, assuming you still have one. If you don't have a factory warranty anymore, don't worry about that. But if you're going to replace them at some point anyway, the wrap might save you some money for a while vs. coating these.

[71' Custom]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

From what I understand, header wrap keeps the heat in the header, so it super heats the metal and there for it breaks down the structure causing failure (cracks) sooner than non wrapped headers...

Originally Posted by knomadd

I've heard this too. And it voids your warranty of the headers, assuming you still have one. If you don't have a factory warranty anymore, don't worry about that. But if you're going to replace them at some point anyway, the wrap might save you some money for a while vs. coating these.

This sounds like a great idea, I don't need to worry about a warranty on these headers as they are like 5 years old now. I will just wrap them for now and if I have a problem with them down the road, I will just replace them with the black jet coated headers. Only thing that worries me about that is swapping them after the truck is finished, it will mean pulling the motor to do it. I tried putting these headers on when with the first motor in place, and it didn't work out too well. You can still see the scars on the headers, lol

[71' Custom]

The next step for now is the starter and flywheel so I can check compression. Update should be by the end of the month!

[71' Custom]

Just now ordered my flywheel, starter, oil dipstick, a break in oil filter, and new longer studs for the valve covers (the ones that came with the valve cover bolts were too short)
Should be showing up early next week, I need to hurry up and get some pics up here on the new page, lol

[rondog4416]

Great looking truck ! cant wait to see it done !!

[71' Custom]

Originally Posted by rondog4416

Great looking truck ! cant wait to see it done !!

You an me and you both brother, I am hoping to have the motor running by the end of May. That is the goal I am setting for myself anyhow. I can not wait to hear it run!