Ol' Blue 1970 - It's Quite a Story

[hydrojunkie]

I have a bunch of stuff going on this weekend but I will get it of and box it up for ya. Send me a message with your addy bro.

Yes I have a build thread. Call of duty is the title.
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[olblue1970]

I sent it to you in a pm. Please let me know if you get it.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by hydrojunkie

I have a bunch of stuff going on this weekend but I will get it of and box it up for ya. Send me a message with your addy bro.

Yes I have a build thread. Call of duty is the title.
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[olblue1970]

Well, I decided to detail my two vehicles today. What a job. They were some kind of filthy, but they are all clean now. Not sure what the cat's thinks of all my hard work. I think she was just hungry and wanted her food.

[olblue1970]

Ok folks, and now we come to the part that I have agonized over for the last year . . . what to do about the engine?

It is a 305 v8 with a 2bbl carb, headers and dual exhaust. The guy I bought it from said the engine had just been rebuilt. Let's just say that was innacurate. When my buddy took the valve covers off, there was nothing but sludge in there. You couldn't see much else. He was also able to determine that at least one cylinder has a compression problem - cylinder #1. If you put your hand over the end of the tail pipe on that side, the exhaust pushes and then sucks your hand back in towards the pipe. He said that's a sign of a compression issue. Another problem is she smokes...higher the rpm the more smoke. Some days are worse than others. Lastly, she has two major oil leakes...timing chain cover and rear main seal. Timing chain cover is the worst. It's chrome. A buddy of mine said that chrome is weaker and softer and so you have to be real careful because they can bend and leak very easily.

Overall, she runs well, but you can hear a slight tapping.

The big challenge has been trying to decide whether to rebuild this engine or get a GM crate engine. I guess the unknowns of the rebuild are the #1 concern and cost of course. JEGS has a GM crate engine for $1499. I've thought seriously about that one because I don't know if I can rebuilt it for less than that. (Machine Shop, Parts and Labor). Here's a link to that engine:

http://www.jegs.com/i/GM+Performance...FQ6xnQodfEIAPQ

They have another 350 for $1,900, but I'm not sure if I need that one just for a few more HP.

Everyone seems to prefer the 350, but I like the 305 just fine. Even with 7 cylinders pushing, she has nice power and pick up. And around town, I'm consistently getting 15mpg even though she's limping!

I have even thought about replacing the seals and stopping the oil leaks and seeing how long she would last after that, but I fear that would be a waste of time, energy and money.

So, I welcome feedback and suggestions. It's a tough decision, but I know I must make it soon.

[olblue1970]

Well, I finally decided to give a little attention to the rims. They have some pretty good rust issues going on, but I figured I would try to restore them the same as the other body panels.

First, the kids and I used vinegar to remove as much of the surface rust as we good. Next, I treated the affected areas with Rust-Mort and let it cure for 24 hours.

Finally, today I primed and painted the spare tire rim. I decided to experiment with it first. (See pics below.) I think it turned out pretty good.

The hardest part, aside from putting newspaper on the tire, was deciding on what color to paint it. The three choices I narrowed it down to were silver, white or Sail Blue - the color of the truck. My wife helped me decide. She even polled all the girls at her job. The concensus was - yep, blue. So, blue it is.

I hope to do the other 4 rims on the truck soon. They need it bad as they have more rust than the spare.

Take Care!

[olblue1970]

More pics of the rim restoration.

[olblue1970]

More pics of the rim....primed and painted.

[olblue1970]

I will take a final pic tomorrow when I remove the newspaper and tape.

[olblue1970]

Newspaper's off! Not bad! Now I just need to wash it.

[hydrojunkie]

It amazes me how you turn nothing into something. Great job bro. I finally pulled your stuff off just now. So I guess when it gets to you it will be in good timing.
I pulled the intake and carb off.
Valve covers
And most of of a little gift that will save you a lot of headaches later trying to reinstall your engine. Some used Cpp engine mount upgrade. These allow you to use old style engine mounts that bolt from front to back not like the mounts you have that are a huge pain to get to never mind reinstalling it. Sorry it took so long bud. I get rapped up in things.
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[hydrojunkie]

These
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[olblue1970]

WOW!!! Thanks so much! I can't wait to get them and start to clean them up. The actual engine work will probably begin around April 1st, so that will be perfect timing. Will continue to post pictures of progress.

Thanks again!

[olblue1970]

Finally got the parts Hydrojunkie sent me! UPS delivered to the wrong address, but I finally got them today. Thanks so much Hydrojunkie! I can't wait to start working on them.

Will post more pics soon.

Originally Posted by hydrojunkie

These
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[hydrojunkie]

Glad it found its way to you bud.
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[Scott>72-GMC]

Awsome its good to know there is still good people out there. I want to make sure I got this right. Was the exterior rattle can as well? If so roughly how many cans. Thanks so much. What an inspiration to us broke people
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[olblue1970]

Thanks. To answer your question, the exterior was a combination of roller and rattle can. I think I bought between 10-15 cans. (Try to get the Rustoleum when it occasionally comes out in the cans with 15-20% more paint free. Every little bit helps.) I also got the Rustoleum same color blue in a can to use with a roller. Walmart has some great prices on this paint.

I found a good tutorial at this link:

How to paint your car with Rustoleum. The right...

Roll-on is a lot of work, but the multiple layers make for a really good and thick coat/finish. Rattle can is easier but will take a lot of cans. You also need to prime it first. I recommend the grey Rustoleum primer because it is the least likely to run on you. Goes on very smooth and dries quickly.

I hope this helps, and I wish you the best on your project. You have a great truck with awesome potential.

Originally Posted by Scott>72-GMC

Awsome its good to know there is still good people out there. I want to make sure I got this right. Was the exterior rattle can as well? If so roughly how many cans. Thanks so much. What an inspiration to us broke people
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[olblue1970]

Wow, it seems like forever since I have been able to get on here. Between sickness, and a long "honey-do" list, I have been swamped. However, soon I should be able to get back on my "olblue1970" project once more.

Today was a huge step in that direction. After much thought, I decided to go ahead and purchase a brand new GM Chevy 350 crate engine. It arrived today! Ironically, it is loaded onto the back of Olblue at the moment. :-) And I have her safe and sound in my garage.

It's a long block. However, intake manifold, carburetor, distributor, spark plugs and wires, fuel pump, water pump ect will have to be put on.

Many thanks to Hydrojunkie for the intake manifold and carb. I've already finished cleaning the carburetor, and I think it looks great! The intake manifold is 90% clean. Should be able to finish cleaning it this week. Some parts I will have to purchase new, but several can be salvaged from my old 305 engine.

The plan is to take out the old 305 engine soon. Then with it out of the way, I will take care of some needed improvements to the engine bay area while I have the opportunity. That will no doubt take several weeks. When all of that is finished, the new 350 engine will be installed.

Recently, my turbo350 tranny gave me a fit while driving around town. But, since then, it's worked just fine...normal like always. But, that experience has made me nervous. Hopefully, she will be ok.

I plan to post pics of the progress of the project. One thing I'm struggling on is whether or not to pain the engine bay the same color as the truck or repaint it black as it currently is. And, I'm also torn on whether to paint the engine hugger orange or paint it my favorite color - bright red! Any suggestions?

Ok, that's all for now. Hope to post more soon. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

[mcbassin]

Nice score with the new power plant!

[olblue1970]

Update. A few days ago, I finished cleaning up an old edelbrock 4 barrel carb that Hydrojunkie gave me. Here's a picture of it. Can't wait to see how it does hooked up to the new engine.

Today, I finished cleaning up and primed an Edelbrock performer intake that Hydrojunkie also donated to me. Many thanks! Tomorrow, I plan to paint it the new color that the whole engine will be.

And, that brings us to the final news of the day. After much thought and long deliberation, I have decided to paint my new engine metallic red. I went back and forth over blue, or Chevy hugger orange. But, since red is my favorite color, why not? I think it should look pretty sharp.

Also, after the engine and tranny are removed, I plan to spend a little time sprucing up the engine bay. Hopefuly, that will be happening in a week or two.

That's it for now. More pics to come.

[olblue1970]

Painted the intake manifold today. This is the color the whole engine will be - Metallic Fire Red. What do you think? Does it look good?

[Scott>72-GMC]

Should look really killer
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[chevy88]

Great job on your truck, it's nice the whole family got involved, even the cat but I don't think he did too much he's just in the pictures trying to get some credit for all this.
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[chevy72blu]

Subbed.

This is now one of my favorite build threads. As awesome as the no holds barred builds are on this site, its pretty rare to see true low buck build! Not every truck or build has to be a show stopper and instead its fun to see one go from a diamond in the rough to a very good looking driver that you can enjoy!

Awesome to see your whole family involved also. Keep up the progress!

[olblue1970]

Thanks guys for the kind words about my project. It is a very cool and fulfilling feeling to see a project like this come along. I can't wait until the new engine is in there. But, when the old one comes out, I'm going to take the opportunity to get in the engine bay and do some necessary work in there...mostly rust prevention and painting. I'm going to paint the engine bay blue instead of black. I hope it will turn out well. There is so much oil and grease under there from the old engine leaking oil, that it will probably take me a week just to clean all that mess out of there. Hopefully, this summer will be very productive.

I will post more pics soon.

Take care.

[Chiva1971]

Wow, this is the Cat of MIB, the movie