91 DD build

[ChevLoRay]

Wow! You could actually see the wheel centers in that pic? Your powers of visual concentration are to be admired.

[MrBeast]

Just a word of warning, in the mid 90's the door handle hole and handle bucket changed size slightly, and the wont fit properly if you try to interchange them.

[GMC91]

Originally Posted by ChevLoRay

Wow! You could actually see the wheel centers in that pic? Your powers of visual concentration are to be admired.

Just outta curiosity, what you mean by you can actually see the wheel centers? Im just wandering, the rim actually looks a lot better in person. I put three coats of base and 5 coats of clear on them. No runs or bubbles in it either. Im proud of it, I just hope my next 3 rims turn out this good.

[derek6787]

If you're still going to paint the back of the rim why did you clear the front already? It'll get overspary on it that way and you'll have to buff it. That would be a hard task on a wheel.

[GMC91]

Not if I tape off the rim correctly. This is just the first "test" rim to speak, Im just kinda getting an idea of what it will look like. The next three will all be done together and all of it will be painted together.

[ChevLoRay]

Originally Posted by GMC91

Just outta curiosity, what you mean by you can actually see the wheel centers? Im just wandering, the rim actually looks a lot better in person. I put three coats of base and 5 coats of clear on them. No runs or bubbles in it either. Im proud of it, I just hope my next 3 rims turn out this good.

My comment was directed to 89muscletruck, not you. I had already commented on how nice the wheel you already painted, looks. Sorry if some "old dude" humorous comment didn't fly very well. You're doing great! Keep up the good work and you'll be blazing down the road and impressing the girls all over again.

[GMC91]

No No, I appreciate your responses and comments. I was just wandering, didnt understand the comment.

[JohnC]

I think his response was back to the picture he posted of the girl and the truck. Talking about the center caps on those wheels.

[GMC91]

I get it now lol, sorry...

[GMC91]

Alright well I havent made that much progress so far. Started sand blasting the second rim, about done with that one. I also took the ECM out of my truck since I didnt need it and I traded it off to my friend who did need it. Im getting the bench seat out of his 89 chevy( as soon as he gets his new seat which should be Friday or Saturday). The seat Im getting is older but its been freshly recovered and is a darker grey than mine so I think it will go nicely with my black interior. I might when I get the seat go to some upholstery places and see how much they will charge to do some custom work to it. I would like to get GMC stiched in it with some blue flames fading from a dark blue at the bottom to a light blue at the top. Ill get some more pics up to show ya'll this weekend what Im getting and if I get the two rims done with tires mounted. Thanks for reading.

[GMC91]

Not much and my head is a little foggy but I got another front of a rim painted. Here are some pics of the two.


The bottom one is the one I painted the other day, and the top one is the one I painted tonight,


Here is a straight shot of the rim.


Just another one of the two.

[89muscletruck]

Originally Posted by ChevLoRay

Wow! You could actually see the wheel centers in that pic? Your powers of visual concentration are to be admired.

It was difficult but with enough effort anything can be done.

[ChevLoRay]

Hard to believe that the foot is bare and un-sullied by the liberal application of blue paint, unless the foot is just clear-coated and not painted....

[GMC91]

I took the pictures after I had went inside and changed into my PJs lol.

[bigbadjohn84]

hey man, your truck is coming along nicely . progress is progress my friend. gonna be nice

[GMC91]

Originally Posted by bigbadjohn84

hey man, your truck is coming along nicely . progress is progress my friend. gonna be nice

Its comments like this and the ones Chevloray and some others post that make it worth while. That and I really want a nice DD before I get out of High School, cause I know soon as I graduate and start working full time that I wont have anytime to work on it. Im hopping to have it done and painted by this coming summer, and if I keep going at the pace I am now it will be I think. This site really is filled with helpful advice and tips on what to get and where to get it, And the right stuff to get the job done right the first time.

[GMC91]

Just a little question here, not to take away from the thread or anything. Just a few minutes ago I traded a friend of mine(the same friend Im getting the seat from) a set of 305 manifolds for a set of hooker headers for a 350. I dont plan on installing them to my truck yet or anything, but will they help a slightly built 305? Performance wise is what Im asking. I know I will have to re-run most of my exhaust, but these headers have one rust spot and its surface rust. He only ran them once before he had his exhaust re-done. Also what all will I need to install them? Price is kinda of an issue but I dont want cheap parts that will leak, thats why Im asking ya'll what I will need. And the re-running of the exhaust will be done by me, I did my exhaust last time and it still has no leaks and all of my welds are holding.

Here is a pic of them.

And before I forget, here is a pic of what one of the rims looks like now. I finished up the back and the middle of it tonight.

[bigbadjohn84]

you definately wanna run some sort of locking fasteners on a daily driver. you will also need to invest in quality gaskets. the sad thing is those headers are painted. paint WILL flake and burn off. another issuse is added under hood temps with the headers. they will burn the @*#^%* out of you in a heart beat. lol ask me how I know. otherwise headers are a good choice and long tubes usually help in building low end torque. how thick are the head surface flanges?

[ChevLoRay]

Other comments on the headers....

One of the issues that headers bring about is a change in the exhaust gas temps. When an engine exhausts through a set of headers, the gasses move more freely and that may affect the mixture, i.e., more/less rich. If it becomes leaner then you may have to put a heat shield on the starter. In fact, it wouldn't be a bad idea. Which carburetor are you running? My personal experience with an Edelbrock 1405 (manual choke) showed it to be a "fat" carburetor due to the .100 main jets. When I changed carbs to an Edelbrock 1901 (Q-Jet), the change in mixture from a leaner-running carb caused hot start problems that were solved by the installation of the heat shield.

But, the purpose of headers is to move the exhaust gasses more efficiently. When you accept the fact that an internal combustion engine is an air pump, you also have to understand that anything that makes it easier to get the air out will also make it easier to get the air into the engine. Getting the air to flow better makes the engine more efficient. So, a set of headers, a cam that has a little more lift and duration along with a carburetor that flows more CFM than the stock one also will benefit from a low-restrictioni air cleaner (K&N, for example). But, these things all fall under the category of "speed costs money.....how fast do you want to go?"

[GMC91]

Alright, well the head flanges are 1/4 inch thick. And they were painted with 2000 degree flat black paint. I used the same paint on my manifolds in the truck now and it has yet to do anything to the paint. I do realize that headers get hotter, but they cant exceed 2000 degrees. I also got some progress done now on the truck, got the two rims on it finally. I couldnt find anywhere with a matching set of 15 inch tires so I used the two that I already had on the truck, still cost me $40 to have them swaped and balanced. Ill post a pic of it when photobucket loads. I also went to a salvage yard with my dad today, got almost every piece I needed for the interior. It was part of the cash for clunker deal, sad waste of cars IMHO. But I did manage to get mostly what I needed for like $15 today. Got a set of kicker panels, door seal plates, glove compartment door, glove compartment insert, the bezel that goes around the gauges, and the plastic peice that goes below the back window. All in perfect condition. Going back tomorrow for a hood, and some more interior trim. Also going to try and find some center caps and lug nuts. Thats all for now, pics later.

[GMC91]

As promised here are the pics from yesterday.


This is what all I got for $15 yesterday.




Also I went back today, I got the rest of what I needed for my interior, the place wouldnt let you take center caps off the rims, so I hid in the back and took all the bolts off an old van, I needed the bolts that hold the center caps on. Anywho, here is what I got today for $20



Also here is another pic of the rally with the center finally on.

[ChevLoRay]

While you are still young and agile, combing through junkyards is not a bad activity. When you get to be my age, there are too many distractions that get in the way of junkyarding. Looks like a good haul. Wheels lookin' good.

[GMC91]

My dad was making fun of me cause I was running up and over cars like you see in the movies, jumping over some and between others. They were all sitting on the ground or on there own tires so it aint like they would actually slide or anything, thought Id say that incase anyone was wandering I do value my safety.

[ChevLoRay]

I was also thinkin' about snakes, wasps and toxic spider bites. Last time I tried to get away from a swarm of red wasps, I ended up backing my body over the tongue of my utility trailer and turned a backwards somersault with my wife and daughter having a large time laughing at the old (okay, younger then) man! In a junkyard, that somersault would be a bit more dicey, what with the various things that get discarded on the ground....

[GMC91]

The cars werent acutally in the junk yard. They were all out front in a large field, the only thing I really had to worry about was falling in water knee deep in 40 degree temps. That would have been cold.