New purchase: 1974 4x4

[Traction]

That is a 56. I restored that car with my dad when I was 15 to 16 years old...That was 15 years ago now! Time sure flies. But I cannot and will not ever sell it. It belongs to my 8 month old son now.

My dad actually helped a ton with the 1974...him and I do everything together.

[jchav62]

That's very cool. I did a lot of work with my Dad when I was growing up too. Bodywork, painting, engine and tranny swaps, he could do everything. Great memories... He's not turning wrenches much anymore, now he has us boys for that. I have him to thank for making me the "shadetree" mechanic I am now.

[ChaseDale3and8]

Good looking truck! Got any more pics? ...Joe

[orbot]

Sweet truck, keep us posted on the progress...

[Traction]

Thanks for the comments guys...

I swapped out the rear slider for a solid piece of glass. I liked the slider but the previous owner took chunks out of it with an angle grinder. I bought the solid one off a friend for 20 bux including the seal. It was pretty straight forward to install using cotton twine and dish soap.

I also swapped out my non tilt steering column for a tilt version. My original one was super sloppy and with grenaded turn signal parts. The new one is in excellent condition. This was really easy to swap, except I decided to change the key cylinder so I could use my original key...I had to make a tool using flat stock and some bolts to get the lock plate back down. My dad always makes his own tools so I felt obligated to try instead of running to autozone. Well it worked and the new column is silky smooth.

I finally got around to cleaning my rear cab moulding...The old paint and dirt came off easy with some lacquer thinner. My dad bought me some sign paint and a pinstriping brush...I think it came out pretty good.

[ChaseDale3and8]

The trim looks great! Be sure to keep updated pics as it comes along. What size tire and wheel combination are you running on it? Fron what I can tell from the pics it looks like Weld Super Single 16x8s on maybe 305-75-16s or maybe 315-75-16s. Looks a whole lot better than what you started with for sure! What drivetrain do you have and do you have any pics of it, or have you made any modifications on it since you bought it? Great looking truck! ...Joe

[Traction]

Chase, you are exactly right. The wheels are weld singles 16 x8 and the tires are 315/75/16 procomp mud terrains.

Drivetrain is the original, but rebuilt 350 with a 203 part-time transfercase and a 350 automatic.

I bought the truck because mechanically it was super solid. Compression on the block is as good as new. I haven't really touched anything with the drivetrain, except for fluids.

This is my first bigger 4x4 and I am really getting into it.

[flamingbig10]

nice truck

[cochino12]

looks great

[ChaseDale3and8]

Originally Posted by Traction

Chase, you are exactly right. The wheels are weld singles 16 x8 and the tires are 315/75/16 procomp mud terrains.

Drivetrain is the original, but rebuilt 350 with a 203 part-time transfercase and a 350 automatic.

I bought the truck because mechanically it was super solid. Compression on the block is as good as new. I haven't really touched anything with the drivetrain, except for fluids.

This is my first bigger 4x4 and I am really getting into it.

I thought that they had to be 315-75-16s because they look to be slightly taller than the 33s that I have on mine, and that would put your tire size right at 35 inches. How do you like those tires? I currently have a set of Super Swamper TRUXUS on mine. They are kind of a sand looking tire and I thought that they'd be fairly quiet. They are just as noisy as a mud terrain type, so when I wear them out I'll be looking for something different. I like the way that yours looks with that combination. With that narrower rim you can run a slightly taller tire and still not have any trouble with them rubbing the fenders. It definately looks like a totally different truck after the paint, tires, and wheels. Keep up the good work and post up your progress! I really like where you have gone with it! ...Joe

[Traction]

I do recommend the tires. My neighbor and I got them around the same time. We both love them. He drives his truck daily on the freeway and the noise doesn't bother him at all. My truck has never been completely put together...so all the other noise from loose stuff and open other stuff canceled out any tire noise so i don't know. I think they drive great though.

I have plenty of room with these narrower tires, I wouldn't go any bigger though.

I looked up your truck chase....very nice. It looks pretty high. You would have no problem clearing the 35's.

[ChaseDale3and8]

Thanks Traction! My old truck still needs a lot of work to be as nice looking as yours though! Mine has a Pro Comp 4 in lift that I put on back in the spring of 2005, so it should have room for 35s if I ever decide to run them. Anything beyond that would rub though like you say.

I had to deal with the usual rusty areas on mine since I live in the rust belt. Had a problem with my left rocker and cab corner not lining up right when they were replaced, now the left door hits the rocker. Didn't notice it until the left door got put on AFTER paint!

I was going to cut it all out and start over, but I ended up buying a different cab on eBay on 4th of July weekend. The right side rocker and cab corner looks perfect. Then I made a mistake and bought aftermarket fenders from Classic Industries. They just didn't fit or look right on my truck. I kept the left one, but gave the right to a fellow board member for an 82 that he had and it fit his like a glove. Never did figure out what was up with that.

If you've seen recent pictures of mine you can tell that I used some really cheap single stage paint (American Finishes) on the new sheetmetal just to keep it from rusting until I could get the bodywork done on the whole truck. I painted everything but the rockers and cab corners with it. I used Du Pont Centari single stage on the cab corners and rockers. They still look pretty much like they did when they were replaced in 2005, but man, the rest of it is faded so bad now that it really looks crappy. At least it's not rusting though, and that was my main goal!

I have since picked up some GM fenders for the front, and a GM bedside for the left side at a swap meet. I had replaced my left bedside as well with an aftermarket piece that I bought from Chevy Duty but was less than pleased with it hence the replacement that I picked up at the swap meet.

Mine currently has a wimpy stock 305 in it, but I recently built a 350 for it. Here is the link if you want to check out the buildup on it. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=288629
The 350 makes the rest of the truck look so bad that I don't want to install it until after I tear the whole body off and completely redo the whole thing. It sure is easy for things to get out of hand! ...Joe

[msgross]

nice truck... did you paint it inthe driveway? looks good if so...

[Traction]

I actually painted it in the garage. I got pretty lucky and don't have any dust or bugs. It rained while I was painting and that cleaned the air.

I had an exhaust and an intake fan, hosed off the garage and then blew it off with compressed air.

My biggest problem was the size of the truck and the size of my garage. I had to angle the truck inside and still had a problem getting to the tailgate.

[joe231]

beautiful truck!!
the fleet is much better IMHO

[Broncoviejo]

sweet...

[355bullet]

nice!!