Jason's 70 Big Block SWB Project

[Bennett68C10]

Jason I'm sorry to hear about the drivetrain problems your having! You mentioned possibly going LS and you know I would recommend it! You can definitely make an LS motor look good and have a modern drivetrain to be able to drive anywhere and enjoy that beautiful truck!

[jeh]

Originally Posted by Bennett68C10

Jason I'm sorry to hear about the drivetrain problems your having! You mentioned possibly going LS and you know I would recommend it! You can definitely make an LS motor look good and have a modern drivetrain to be able to drive anywhere and enjoy that beautiful truck!

It sure would be nice to be able to drive anywhere!!! You know Kieth, I don't have a good record on this truck for things going my way. That's what scares me a little with the swap, if something goes wrong or don't fit, etc, etc, it will happen to me. Ok, tell me a little more about the orange Ls motor in your garage?

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by jeh

It sure would be nice to be able to drive anywhere!!! You know Kieth, I don't have a good record on this truck for things going my way. That's what scares me a little with the swap, if something goes wrong or don't fit, etc, etc, it will happen to me. Ok, tell me a little more about the orange Ls motor in your garage?

Jason, it is a LQ9 out of a 2005 Escalade. I swapped the cam for a much lumpier Tick SNS TorqueMax Stage 2 cam. Changed the valve springs to match the cam and added titanium retainers. Put in a new timing chain, ported oil pump and added roller trunnions to the stock rocker arms. I also ditched the stock truck intake for a LS6 intake along with a ported throttle body. Should be a fun motor.

[jeh]

Originally Posted by Bennett68C10

Jason, it is a LQ9 out of a 2005 Escalade. I swapped the cam for a much lumpier Tick SNS TorqueMax Stage 2 cam. Changed the valve springs to match the cam and added titanium retainers. Put in a new timing chain, ported oil pump and added roller trunnions to the stock rocker arms. I also ditched the stock truck intake for a LS6 intake along with a ported throttle body. Should be a fun motor.

Sound pretty cool Kieth, excited to see more!!!

[jeh]

Even though I'm still bummed out with the whole engine thing I decided to go out in the garage and tinker a little today. My wife got me a set of sport mirrors for Christmas so I put them on this afternoon. Still a toss up with the engine right now???

[sduckworth13]

Originally Posted by jeh

Even though I'm still bummed out with the whole engine thing I decided to go out in the garage and tinker a little today. My wife got me a set of sport mirrors for Christmas so I put them on this afternoon. Still a toss up with the engine right now???

The mirrors look great. I'm sure whatever you decide for a engine I'm sure it will be a monster.

[jeh]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

The mirrors look great. I'm sure whatever you decide for a engine I'm sure it will be a monster.

Thanks Scott, my buddy took it to a different machine shop that he uses with his diesel shop business that he owns. They are going to take a look at the align bore of the block, possibly might save it

[Hart_Rod]

Kewl project. Sorry about your engine/tranny troubles. Buy a GM connect and cruise.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-ls3764804l7e

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-cpslsa4l85e

It's a complete package and comes with a warranty. Good luck.

[jeh]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

Kewl project. Sorry about your engine/tranny troubles. Buy a GM connect and cruise.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-ls3764804l7e

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-cpslsa4l85e

It's a complete package and comes with a warranty. Good luck.

Thanks Rob, I looked at the connect and cruise packages from GM, and I would really like to have one. The setback is all the $$$ I have in this BB. What I should do is buy a new GM 350 with 290 hp for about $1400 and just drive the wheels off of it.LOL
My wife has a '13 Tahoe with a 5.3 Ls in it, when this all happened I told her I was going to pull her Tahoe in the garage and take her engine out and try it in my old truck. Needless to say she hasn't parked in there all winter

[NoNeck]

Hey Jason -

I have been following your build since day one, but just wanted to give you a little encouragement. With Chad and myself, if anything can go wrong it will. We spun a bearing a few years ago when we first started Chad's big block.

Good luck,

POP

[jeh]

Originally Posted by NoNeck

Hey Jason -

I have been following your build since day one, but just wanted to give you a little encouragement. With Chad and myself, if anything can go wrong it will. We spun a bearing a few years ago when we first started Chad's big block.

Good luck,

POP

POP, sometimes I wonder, even my wife wonders, if this truck is really for me!! I have loved the 67-72 body style since I was a kid, but everything I have done on this truck has been a fight. As bad as I hate to say the "paint prison" was the only thing that went well other than the outrageous price... I've fought headers, motor mounts, a/c won't stay charged, Coy wheels had to small center bore, fuel pump issues, and the list goes on. The bad thing is I don't feel that Ive cheapskated anything, I've got more money in this thing than I will ever get out, not that I'm wanting to sell anyway, but it seems like I keep throwing more at it. Anyway POP, sorry to rant, but I'm working on a plan to get her back up and on the road again this summer. I just hope it all works out this time

[Vic1947]

You've got a super truck there, Jason. I know how it goes to do everything as correctly as possible, only to have a series of problems occur one after the other. If it's any consolation, it happens to everyone. The upside is that when the issues are finally ironed out and you're motoring down the road, all those hiccups will be distant memories. Keep at it!

[jeh]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

You've got a super truck there, Jason. I know how it goes to do everything as correctly as possible, only to have a series of problems occur one after the other. If it's any consolation, it happens to everyone. The upside is that when the issues are finally ironed out and you're motoring down the road, all those hiccups will be distant memories. Keep at it!

Thanks Vic for the encouragement, I'm going to drive and enjoy this thing!!!
I know everybody has issues when one is tore completely apart, the mix and match of original parts, aftermarket parts, and high performance parts sometimes just takes a while to get the right combination. I won't let it get me down!! Like a said before, I wish I lived closer to you to soak up some of your amazing knowledge and skills

[mcbassin]

Hang in there Jason. These old trucks are money pits. That's a simple fact. You are really close to being back on the road. Either if you go back to the big block or go forward with the LS Swap. It's only time and money.....
When it's done you still have the coolest truck around. Drive the heck out of it and smile

[jeh]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Hang in there Jason. These old trucks are money pits. That's a simple fact. You are really close to being back on the road. Either if you go back to the big block or go forward with the LS Swap. It's only time and money.....
When it's done you still have the coolest truck around. Drive the heck out of it and smile

Thanks Mike, I appreciate the compliment and encouragement. If the machine shop can save my block I'll probably stick with the BB. I think I'm going to put a built Th400 back in it this time, hopefully it will hold up. I've got all winter to get it figured out!!!

[jlsanborn]

Any news on the block/crank? Spring is just around the corner!

[jeh]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Any news on the block/crank? Spring is just around the corner!

As a matter of fact, yes. The machine shop called me yesterday evening and said that my block was line bored "incorrect ". The original shop I took it to has been in business for years but apparently they had some in house problems, family owned, so after the fact I guess the quality of the work was getting worse, of course I didn't know this at the time. The new shop, which has tremendous reviews, said they were able to save the block They are going to see if they can turn the crank next week to take the scratches out of it. If not I'll find another GM steel crank. That got my hopes up for now!!!

[Bennett68C10]

That's awesome news Jason! Happy to hear your going to be able to save the block!

[jeh]

Originally Posted by Bennett68C10

That's awesome news Jason! Happy to hear your going to be able to save the block!

Thanks Kieth, I have been kinda holding off on things till I found out what was going on with my motor. Hopefully have her back on the road by spring.

[BossHogg69]

Originally Posted by jeh

As a matter of fact, yes. The machine shop called me yesterday evening and said that my block was line bored "incorrect ". The original shop I took it to has been in business for years but apparently they had some in house problems, family owned, so after the fact I guess the quality of the work was getting worse, of course I didn't know this at the time. The new shop, which has tremendous reviews, said they were able to save the block They are going to see if they can turn the crank next week to take the scratches out of it. If not I'll find another GM steel crank. That got my hopes up for now!!!

Good news on the engine! I'm glad you're staying the course and not giving up on that big block. You gotta love that torque - and the 427's offer the bonus of plenty of revs too!

[jeh]

Originally Posted by BossHogg69

Good news on the engine! I'm glad you're staying the course and not giving up on that big block. You gotta love that torque - and the 427's offer the bonus of plenty of revs too!

Thanks Adam, I didn't want to give up on it!! I definitely like everything about the 427, it was a fun 500 miles, get it back in there and hope to put many more miles on it.

[CC69Rat]

Never give up on a 427 ! .

Truck looks awesome my friend. One of my favorites on the board.

[jeh]

Originally Posted by CC69Rat

Never give up on a 427 ! .

Truck looks awesome my friend. One of my favorites on the board.

I'm not giving up Chad, I'm anxious to get it back in and thumping again!!! I actually might change the cam to a little more friendly lower rpm range but I still want some thump to it. Your truck is looking awesome in "paint prison" . Can't wait to see some more color on it, probably not as exicited as you!!!

[jeh]

Since I'm still waiting on the machine shop to get my engine balanced I decided to work on a few smaller items. I ordered a Wilwood master cylinder a few days ago and it came today. I also got one of the brackets from Captainfab here on the board for the booster/master. Nice quality work, I did have to slot the holes a very little bit and it rubbed the steering column bracket a little. A few seconds with a flap disk and problem solved. Here is a pic of it installed, I still have to attach the rod to the pedal. I'll work on that this weekend when I have more time, have to do some fab work on it.

[sduckworth13]

Originally Posted by jeh

Since I'm still waiting on the machine shop to get my engine balanced I decided to work on a few smaller items. I ordered a Wilwood master cylinder a few days ago and it came today. I also got one of the brackets from Captainfab here on the board for the booster/master. Nice quality work, I did have to slot the holes a very little bit and it rubbed the steering column bracket a little. A few seconds with a flap disk and problem solved. Here is a pic of it installed, I still have to attach the rod to the pedal. I'll work on that this weekend when I have more time, have to do some fab work on it.

Looks great Jason!