Great Grandpa's Legacy reborn

[NewType72]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Great story so far and the trucks looks really good and should make for a super nice finished truck.

I'm honored to hear that aggie91, I've watched your builds from afar for quite a few years now thank you for your support on the forum!

Originally Posted by bnoon

Wow, I've never seen such a dirty ratted out engine come out of such a beautifully preserved truck!!! Amazing! At least you're handling it the right way by pulling it all out and going to seal her up all good n tight. Love the story too!

We knew she would be rough internally just because that side never took care of their vehicles but we been amazed at how much was actually "rebuilt" or swapped. To list a few.. Rodded radiator, new trans (color on torque convertor isn't factory), gobs literally oozing out of timing chain cover so we figure it started running rough and had a few too many backfires (bent pushrods) so they attempted resolving the issue but we're far too behind the 8-ball to diagnose it properly.

We had a spare SBC 350 in the wings so we just decided it's easier to swap with one we know that's decent rather than jumping head into one with obvious problems. It's certainly one of those true pioneer stories and we just hope that he's smiling at seeing his truck being truly taken Care of like he always did.

[77K10Silverado]

Good work friend! Did you have much trouble on the exhaust manifold and flange studs/bolts? Was contemplating pulling mine for a refresh but worried about breaking them off and having to spend more than I want right now.

[NewType72]

Originally Posted by 77K10Silverado

Good work friend! Did you have much trouble on the exhaust manifold and flange studs/bolts? Was contemplating pulling mine for a refresh but worried about breaking them off and having to spend more than I want right now.

Fortunately I didn't have any trouble at all, I think I knocked on all the wood in my house and rubbed every horseshoe at my buddies farm for the luck on that, I'm glad it wasn't a bear like most are. Best to soak it in some good PB Blaster over night and just go slow.

[NewType72]

Welcome to the new parts lineup! Dontcha just love fresh clean parts along with a new longblock to mock everything up? We certainly do, introducing the next 350 on the line from within our back burner she'll be brought to life as a stock rebuild with very mild upgrades. needless to say we would need to start completely over adding the very proven Edelbrock performer intake and using a spacer plate to help with any chance of boiling fuel, rebuilding the original Quadrajet locally as we have never messed with one in all honesty so we had that built outside of the garage by a good friend, upgrading to a modern HEI setup with new cap and rotor (another in stock item like the intake) finding a non cracked driver exhaust manifold from the graveyard locally, ridding ourselves of the original a/c components such as hard line, compressor, condenser to include fresh new pieces shown such as the waterpump, power steering pump, and fuel pump. New starter, battery and radiator added in as the list grew more and more from our down the street oreillys (which have been extremely helpful as they know is fairly well from multiple truck projects) and our local Motor parts store with the occasional summit order. She will be a mainly stock rebuild with a few advancements to help it along as a daily driven vehicle. Shot the new block with a can of orange engine enamel to freshen her up and finished off the valve covers to match.

[shawno72]

Looking good my man.

[NewType72]

LOT of steps forward being made today as im catching you all up closer and closer to our current driver as I will be out in our friends shop today completely tearing into a secret side project getting ourselves ready for the major overhaul this build will take on at a later date but always remember measure twice, hammer your finger once, add a bunch to the swear jar and move along! Will grab photos along the way so no one is left out of course! Enjoy your Saturday and Sunday fellow truckers!








Mock up was complete shortly after in the evenings after work such as wire routing and getting everything bolted right and letting gaskets set the proper length of time. I almost wanted to just roll her inside and set her as a coffee table after she came out looking so clean! Gotta love a stock appearing engine for nostalgia purposes.

[Wrecked1982]

that is a wicked clean engine!

[77K10Silverado]

Yes!!

[84GMC15tepside]

That looks great!

[Palf70Step]

Very nice!!

[NewType72]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Very nice!!

Originally Posted by 84GMC15tepside

That looks great!

Originally Posted by 77K10Silverado

Yes!!

Originally Posted by Wrecked1982

that is a wicked clean engine!

Much appreciated guys! We love to hear your feedback and enjoy moving forward everyday bringing our (great) grandpas Legacy back to life the right way. Writing up the next update as I type this so yall should have some sunday reading material

[NewType72]

SHE BREATHES ONCE AGAIN! Alright so who's ready for a startup video!! First one shows the break in and boy aside from the leaky brass fitting on the Quadrajet (that I never touched myself during the rebuild of everything else, that we simply had to tighten a tick) she popped off just the way everyone wants one too. Few pump and primed properly as well as a correct motor break in and preparation crests a very smooth process. The second video shows the trueness of a stock rebuild and a very silky smooth running sewing machine essentially. But don't doubt her she rolls down the road just fine!

On a side not I really enjoy the mock up time I had been allowed during this build as I could set my parts as needed and find if I preferred them one way or another especially the run of the Sparkplug wires, I know they are an update with the wire loom runs but I feel they blend well and organize them in just the right way for this engine. I must say I'm very proud of the way this look became what it did.

[Hankster]

That motor looks amazing! Awesome work man!

[NewType72]

Thanks brother!

[77K10Silverado]

Dang! Clean stuff bud.

[NewType72]

Final the major hurdle was overcome and we could breathe easy and return back to what we do well in assembly and fitment. (We are not engine builders/tuners or the best of diagnosing them either) but we do know how to get them there and bring them back. My pops specialty that he passed down to me was taking pride in making it look just as you want and taking the time to perfect it (no matter how much it bugged you then, it would only big you that much more if you left it be.) so with that said we spent hours upon weekends getting every little thing to look they way we felt was right and proper to the truck. We researched and have adapted tricks from our build on my 72 many times in relation to the rebuild of this 73 of his. My big pet peeve is having non-functional pieces to any build, for what is a truck worth if it only cosmetically performs but not truly perform in its nuances? So I dove into the largest project of routing wires, repainting pieces and areas to give them new life but I left a majority OEM as some areas would just require more than what they were worth in the long run within the engine compartment and replacing fuses and finding shorts within the system or improper ends that were hacked poorly. We all hate wiring even the electrical prowess builders upon us as it's just purely not fun but as of late I've found it enjoyable to a point and makes a very large statement on the dedication to detail and function. New fuses throughout the truck, new hand made thicker/stronger battery cables, new ground leads and true grounding techniques along with resurfacing contacts on sockets for the best in the lights, brand new LED quality bulbs installed within the gauge cluster that had made an absolute WORLD of difference. ( they don't dim like most people ask about but I've never found a reason to dim them myself as I enjoy being able to see my gauges and they certainly don't blind me ) new discovery led me to hearing a true AM radio for the first time shortly after that, though there's never anything good to me on here's our first big reveal though in my pops first fully custom piece of interior. A factory seat frame from the truck with ORIGINAL seat foam as it was good enough to shape and create "buckets" like a newer car and used a combination of Saddle Tan vinyl and Ostrich pleated inserts. What a gorgeous seat this came out to be from our good friend Jess of Jess's Auto Tops in Salida, Ca! Big shoutout to him and his amazing work. So comfy to sit in and just sets off the inside so well. Here's another awesome story to share TWO different trucks though. Back when I was very little obviously my pops set me in his square-body Dooley's steering wheel that he was building in the early 90's, well I grabbed the opportunity to get this picture of my baby cousin Niko setting in the wheel of great grandpas truck. Definitely smiles all around at the memory there, of course I had to grab one of Papa-San himself enjoying his new seat and reliving memories of his time with his grandpa.

[aggie91]

The engine and the minor upgrades turned out nice. The Seat looks really comfy too!

[NewType72]

Originally Posted by aggie91

The engine and the minor upgrades turned out nice. The Seat looks really comfy too!

I'll be very jealous as he'll be driving it to the local goodguys show at the end of this month.

[NewType72]

So we've had the startup now, I suppose it's time to get her driving and causing havoc! Just kidding no havoc as the truck won't even brake stand or do a slow rolling burnout believing the rear brakes may be a little tight causing the back not to break loose so we'll have them evaluated at our local tire shop (City Tire) in Modesto. Great business and amazing people we always love their customer support. Speaking of we just had new wheels and tires put on, not fancy but they get the job done.

Now into debugging week 1 of Great Grandpas Legacy. First and foremost we had quite a few problems getting the correct bracketry setup for the throttle cable and trans kick down . Took a few tries but I managed to cut and spread the throttle bracket to allow full throttle when pressing the pedal as it was awfully doggy and had at least an inch more to go when we first put it together. Second task was getting the kick down to act properly as getting on the freeway was a mighty task without the drop down at least without doing it yourself and risking a drive to 1st gear shift.. was quite problematic going from bone stock intake and Quadrajet setup to an Edelbrock performer with Quadrajet and a 1" intake to carb spacer as well in the mix making the height of the bracket to cable mount on carb quite steep, luckily I had a few different style and managed to make a stock one work well enough for the time being.

The third and largest task, but most fulfilling, was making all the darn lights work! Man chasing grounds like crazy and not knowing these trucks underneath was a heck of a challenge to me. Lots of up and downs and checking areas in the late nights after work in the driveway. That big 5 truck garage-mahal we all dream of needs to come quite sooner than expected if you ask me. Found a couple bad sockets in the tail lights that were causing a flurry of turn signal and driving lights issues but was able to clean all contacts as best as I could and get them functioning properly. Installed new door pins and brought back the dome light and under dash courtesy light which is a MAJOR must have when trying to get in your truck at night or early morning and it's pitch black. Was even able to get the cargo light jinning as well so that made her all legal as every other light functioned just as well as it did off the assembly line in 73.

We would also like to take this time to put in a poll and see what everyone else thinks what would look best, the black NASCAR style wheels as they are, or the cheyenne full wheels covers fully polished or painted as they were from factory? Truck originally came with full wheel covers of course and we even managed to find two of them that came with it from the dealership. LET US KNOW!

[nmeyer414]

sweet

[Barbecue]

Wonderful build! May I ask what paint you used on your exhaust manifolds? They look fantastic.

Thanks in advance,

BBQ

[NewType72]

Originally Posted by Barbecue

Wonderful build! May I ask what paint you used on your exhaust manifolds? They look fantastic.

Thanks in advance,

BBQ

I usually use eastwood when I use a silver like this such as the master cylinder but unfortunately this was not a high enough temp rate I used and they not look absolutely awful they do offer an exhaust manifold silver paint that is rated that looks amazing I just didn't have it on hand. One of my regrets. Thanks for checking the build out!

[NewType72]

Originally Posted by nmeyer414

sweet

Appreciate you checking our build out Nate! More to be written this weekend.

[motornut]

It's cool hearing the trucks got history with the family and you've saved it,for another chapter

[Rodent]

Clean truck! My vote is on the OEM wheel covers, just suits such a clean original looking truck perfect.