Project Whipping Post

[Genuine GM]

Shortly after March 2011 the company I work for was bought out, and since I was the first employee I was offered a decent sign-on bonus for staying. I parlayed that into CPP front suspension parts, a Miller 211 MIG and ultimately a new house with a shop.

But first, that neighbor...

Shortly after receiving the sign-on bonus the city sent me a letter in the mail stating I had 30 days to either remove the truck, or get it running, with daily fines to follow. Being a proponent of small government that leaves us alone I did what I do. I looked for loop holes. The City of Keller defined "running" as tagged with a current State inspection and insurance. It also had to look the part. Hmmm... Antique tags in TX only require insurance, no inspection. So I order up the front end parts, got insurance and put Antique tags on it. Volia! "Running" truck. The city balked at the lack of an inspection and engine until I showed them the State laws for Antique tags. The conceded. Even the city code enforcement guy was impressed with my manipulation of their laws.


Money!


Installed.


A running truck... per the City of Keller.

When the last photo was taken I was really close here to having a running and driving truck . To be frank, had I not got that sign-on bonus it would have been running within a month or two. Instead my wife and I decided to move so I shelved this project and bought a house with a shop. That killed the rest of 2011 and I wasn't able to touch the truck until early 2013. I consider that an acceptable delay.

[The Rocknrod]

Nice work, you'd think you lived in Flower Mound or something.

[Genuine GM]

This post is all about my shop and the half of the delays in this project. Feel free to skip it. I am documenting it as a means to wrap my head around the why's of almost a decade spent on one project.

Picking up where I left off in the previous post.... As mentioned I took almost 2 years off of the truck for a house move. 2 YEARS!?!? Why? Because the shop wasn't setup for working out of and the house need other work done first. It was a good storage area, but nothing else. The photos tell the tale, asphalt and gravel with one wall missing.





In July 2012 I finally had enough money to tackle that. I had concrete poured and threw a wall up. Then painted the floors.






Ahh, when my shop was uncluttered. (That is a rust free, but dented hood along the wall. I still have it and someday I'll use it to replace the bondo and rust hood I currently run!)


Now I was knocking down dreams left and right. Bigger house. Property. No city taxes. Shop.

Then I caught a summer cold that just wouldn't quit. I was sick with a fever on and off for three weeks. When I started coughing blood I threw in the towel and went to the ER. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. Turns out I had pneumonia and was on the verge of hospitalization. And just like that another month was lost.

At least the next delay was hot rod related! Goodguys comes twice a year here in N. Texas, so we took Ruby (see my signature) to the 2012 Fall show and low and behold a valve decided it was done. BAM! New priority! The rest of 2012 and early 2013 was spent getting Ruby up and running again because I couldn't be without a hot rod come the Spring show!


Just a little 350 (with ported Dart II Heads and a Comp Xtreme 268 cam)

It was now April 2013 and I was ready to get back to the truck. I could get it running in a month or less, OR I could take advantage of the shop and pull the bed and do the rear suspension. Let's see... which would cause more delays, money, and headache?

Off with your bed!

[Genuine GM]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Nice work, you'd think you lived in Flower Mound or something.

Keller... the city that wished it was Flower Mound, or Trophy Club, or Southlake...

[Genuine GM]

That is the last update until next week. C10 Nationals are here so I am off tomorrow to finish prepping the truck and I'll be at the show on Saturday!

In the meantime I leave you a question to ponder.

Do you think this kid has any clue what a badarse his dad is?

[RDrancher]

Awesome thread!

I rarely work in "town", but recently did some grading work near Main St. in Keller for a referral customer. After dodging traffic to unload my equipment I had to park the truck and trailer a couple blocks away from the jobsite. Luckily it was only a one-day job, but still pretty nerve racking. I prefer dodging roadkill and cattle on the way to and from work.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by Genuine GM

That is the last update until next week. C10 Nationals are here so I am off tomorrow to finish prepping the truck and I'll be at the show on Saturday!

In the meantime I leave you a question to ponder.

Do you think this kid has any clue what a badarse his dad is?

Pegboard Paradise

[rusty76]

I’m jealous of the fact he got the sledgehammer to stay put. Cool hot rod.

[Jeff La]

Dad had one really cool shop. The envy of many men.

[Genuine GM]

Before I get back to the umm... backdate I figured I would give an update from this weekend.

I spent Saturday at the Inaugural C10 Nationals and it was excellent.

Whipping Post was there and it drove quite well. Naturally I have things to work on but in the last three days I was able to put 150 miles on it. So far so good.

Since I didn't have seat belts installed I wasn't able to participate in the autocross, so I did the next best thing. I got a ride along with Rob in Hellboy then with Jason in the Ridetech Blazer. I got 4 laps in both and it was a blast. I also witnessed the CPP Week to Wicked truck perform well, which is reassuring since I am using the same front suspension, albeit I am about 300 hp short of them. Plans for the future...

Anyway, here are some photos.


At least some people thought it was worth looking at.


Sitting in the paddock starring solemnly at Hellboy wishing it could play.


Yup, I'm a nerd.


It's always a good day cruisin' in an old Chevy.

[jimmythompson1964]

Any day driving the old Chevrolet is a good day

[Palf70Step]

[RDrancher]

So I'm cruising my electric trike around at the C10 Nats (sipping a $7 ice tea...really guys?) and I look to my left and see a familiar looking rig. Yep, drive around back and it's Whipping Post. I took a few pics and put a couple up in the Nats thread. No under the hood spoil the drama of the thread pics though.

So my wife wantss to know what type of black paint is on there. Yep, she asked.

[Genuine GM]

Originally Posted by RDrancher

So I'm cruising my electric trike around at the C10 Nats (sipping a $7 ice tea...really guys?) and I look to my left and see a familiar looking rig. Yep, drive around back and it's Whipping Post. I took a few pics and put a couple up in the Nats thread. No under the hood spoil the drama of the thread pics though.

So my wife wantss to know what type of black paint is on there. Yep, she asked.

Cool! The paint is Hot Rod Flatz. Google that and it should come up. I’ve done some touch-up with Krylon Semi-Flat and it’s close. It has a UV protectant in it so it could be permanant. I like it and willeventually recoat it with the same. It’s got score of shop rash and some rust spots that need attending too.

[RDrancher]

Originally Posted by Genuine GM

Cool! The paint is Hot Rod Flatz. Google that and it should come up. I’ve done some touch-up with Krylon Semi-Flat and it’s close. It has a UV protectant in it so it could be permanant. I like it and willeventually recoat it with the same. It’s got score of shop rash and some rust spots that need attending too.

Thanks! There are a lot of cool touches on your truck.

[Genuine GM]

Thank you. I’ve got more planned but at some point enough is enough and you just wanna drive it! A better seat, insulation, seat belts are on the short list.

[jchav62]

What an awesome build! I dig it....

[Genuine GM]

Time for a quick update. I was going to post some pics about the rear frame and suspension but the Gallery doesn't seem to be working for me.

Anyway, I have put about 250 miles on her since she first hit the road, I have a few gotchas to fix, but nothing catastrophic. I am happy to say the seat belts showed up as has the Lizard Skin heat and sound barrier.

The biggest issue so far, has been a pulsing vibration at 80 mph. Pulsing normally means driveshaft. On Memorial Day I did a quick check and yep, the rear end pinion angle is way off from transmission angle. So much so that I wouldn't feel comfortable shimming it. Kids, don't guesstimate your pinion angle while the frame is on jack stands without springs installed! So tomorrow I'll pull the rear end, torch off the brackets and try again. It's only a 5-6 hour ordeal, but I'd rather spend that time on other things. There's no work like re-work!

The second issue is revolves around the L/H front spring pocket. If I jack the truck up by the crossmember the suspension droop causes the spring to "fall" out of the pocket and sit off center. Then when I lower the jack that side is 3/4" high. Very annoying. So I have done a lot of measuring (and cussing) and determined the upper pocket center bolster (that is supposed to center the spring) is too short. That means it was wrong from the factory when the crossmember was installed in a squarebody mid-80's. Oh mid-80's build quality... I'll pull the spring back out and weld some tabs too the bolster. That shouldn't take but an hour or so.

Finally, my carb is too small! To get it running I threw a 600VS on it and every single time I floor it you can hear the secondaries whistling hard. That means restriction! So I borrowed a new Quick Fuel 750VS from my dad and will try it once it is back on the road. It is temporary since reinstalling the fuel injection is my goal this upcoming winter. I guess there is a reason every magazine article involving a carbureted 5.3 they use a 750!

The next time I drive it the seat belts and insulation will be installed. So she's probably down for a month or so. I would hope for less but we have a week long vacation to Red River, NM in two weeks so my shop time will be limited. Combine that with the fact I promised my wife I'd have the power brakes conversion finished on her Scout by now and things don't look swell for Whipping Post driving before July 4th.

I hope to finish the backdate next week. I really want to get the rest of the photos uploaded and detailed so I can move this from a "backdate build thread" to a "drive/learn/improve" thread.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[RDrancher]

Glad to hear you getting some miles on it!

Last weekend we were pulling into Sherwin Williams to pickup 5 gallons of sher-chem for my dump truck bed and trailer. My boy yells "CAR SHOW!" and points across the highway. We cruised over and parked at Hayden's to check things out. Saw Whipping Post parked next door, but by the time we walked through the shop you were gone. Man it was hot!

[Genuine GM]

Ironically the ride home was were I first noticed the vibration. Going to Hayden Tech we took 730 so the speeds were slower. The husband of my wife’s co-worker runs Hayden Tech. Pretty cool shop. Did you see the LT5 on the crate? Story is the guy bought it from a widow in Maryland for, get this... $2000 with the 6 speed auto and computer! It’s going in a ‘70 C10.

[RDrancher]

Yeah I saw it and that's a cool shop for sure.

I need a notch something fierce on the Burb. Willie said to bring it by, but sounded like one of the guys would probably get it done after hours. I don't have 220 in my shop yet to do it at home...or concrete for that matter haha!

[Genuine GM]

So the photo section is up and running again! That is why I stopped updating; I knew eventually it would be corrected.

Since I last posted I did a lot of work, no photos though. What have I done? I corrected my drive line angle, installed a 750 CFM carb (big improvement), had the bench seat from a '98 Silverado recovered and installed it, installed Juliano's shoulder belts, sprayed Lizard Skin heat and sound insulation, changed out the rear shocks, changed the front shocks, dropped the rear of the truck another 1/2 inch, changed out the rear shocks again, installed a ratchet shifter, drove it about 20-30 miles, apexed every corner and just when I was getting comfortable....

I got the joy of the brand new TCI torque converter shelling a sprag bearing and taking out the transmission with it. Was I on it? Of course! I was trying to determine the best way to launch it without boiling the meats. But I am also under 400HP and I don't own slicks. No excuse! Naturally it broke the weekend before the hottest week we've had, so the truck sat for two weeks. Really, what was I going to do, fix it and then not drive it because it was 107 degrees outside? Anyway, I have the old trans pulled and everything ready to go back together with a known good TH400. The only thing delaying my installation is the arrival of the new torque converter from Jeg's.

Once I get it on the ground and running again I'll update with some current photos.

It is worth noting that my friends and I decided it needs a bigger cam... which I would be doing now IF THE BRAND NEW TCI TORQUE CONVERTER HADN'T DIED!!! But I digress.

In the meantime, here is the rest of the backdate photos.

The rear of the truck was the scene of various mods. In no particular order: most of the cross members were replaced with units I fabricated, the single cross member that wasn't replaced was relocated. I C-Notched the frame and used pieces from a wrecked SWB frame to make doublers. I added triangulation braces using 1-3/4 roll cage tube. I moved the trans cooler to the rear. I installed a rear gas tank. I ran aluminum fuel lines using REAL 6061-T6 aluminum tube, which is what we use on 3000 psi helicopter hydraulic systems. I fabbed custom rear shock mounts. I fabbed a custom panhard bar and mount system that is LOW and level with decent adjustment.








Trying to "stack dimes" with a MIG.


Still trying here.


Panhard frame mount hanging down and ready to help with side bite!


Trans Cooler Mount


Trans Cooler Mounted. NO I DID NOT USE THAT FAN. That was a joke I sent to a buddy.


Painted up. I spray bombed everything with rattle can Epoxy Appliance Paint. I can't endorse that stuff enough! It dries hard as a rock and is really durable.


With the tank installed.

And just like that I am done with build photos. I should have taken more but I didn't. f I find a few odd ones I'll add in if I come across them; but, for the most part I was building and not photographing.

The updates going forward will be the result of beating on it. After all I named it Whipping Post for a reason!

[okndn]

Could you post some updated interior pics

[Genuine GM]

Originally Posted by okndn

Could you post some updated interior pics

Sure, I’ll try to get some tonight.

[okndn]

Thank you sir