Building and rebuilding my grandpa's 63

[chev-obsession]

it looks good and that is cool that your shortening it up, it will look much cooler

[Bugeyev8]

Originally Posted by burlapen

So the frame is not perfect, but it is smooth and shiny. I didn't grind down the welds from where I shortened the framed. I want it to stay strong and I mostly wanted to get the frame painted just to have it nice and clean not so much for looks. Next step is to get the rolling chassis assembled, then back to painting the cab.

U better be carefull painting with that water heater running, I hope you had it turned off ?

Frame looks great !!

[burlapen]

Okely dokely neighbors.....A bit more progress. I got the rest of the suspension tore down. I was going to go ahead and wire wheel/paint all of the stuff but I was pretty sick of slinging 50 year old grease everywhere so I bit the bullet and had the trailing arms, crossmember and a arms sandblasted and powder coated. I have to say, I was very impressed with the work Clovis Blasting and Powdercoating did. It cost $150, but everything came out great and it saved me a ton of time. I stopped by early classics and picked up new bushings and a set of lowering springs. I want to use the 72 disk brake spindles I have to save some cash so I went with 2" lowering springs in the front and 4" for the rear. Hopefully that gets the stance where I want it. I need to get some of the hardware painted and pick up some ball joints. Then this thing will be a rolling chassis again!!!

[Vics63Chevy]

Awesome build man.. any progress yet?

[glendale]

Originally Posted by burlapen

Okely dokely neighbors.....A bit more progress. I got the rest of the suspension tore down. I was going to go ahead and wire wheel/paint all of the stuff but I was pretty sick of slinging 50 year old grease everywhere so I bit the bullet and had the trailing arms, crossmember and a arms sandblasted and powder coated. I have to say, I was very impressed with the work Clovis Blasting and Powdercoating did. It cost $150, but everything came out great and it saved me a ton of time. I stopped by early classics and picked up new bushings and a set of lowering springs. I want to use the 72 disk brake spindles I have to save some cash so I went with 2" lowering springs in the front and 4" for the rear. Hopefully that gets the stance where I want it. I need to get some of the hardware painted and pick up some ball joints. Then this thing will be a rolling chassis again!!!

that is way cheaper than in sacramento for powder coating.

[burlapen]

So after some time off of the pickup to work on another project. I'm thankful to be back at it again. I decided to dive in and make the swap to LS power as opposed to the 383 stroker I had in the pickup before the frame off. I bought a complete 5.3 today. It has the starter and all other accessories but they are off of the motor. It included the wiring harness and computer. They guy I bought it from said he drove the truck it came out of before pulling it and it ran good. I paid $350 for it which was the cheapest I have seen for a complete motor. Im exited to swap to the LS but that wiring harness looks like the top of Medusa's head. I have no idea what goes where but I suppose I'll figure it out. The plan is to run the ECE mounts, an LS6 cam and mount up a single turbo like the recent Hot Rod magazine article. Planning on putting some time into the pickup soon as I will be off of work towards the end of the month!! Slowly but surely she will get there :-)

[burlapen]

Well... one step forward, two steps back. I borrowed a friends trailer and got the cab, bed and misc parts loaded up and ready to go to the blaster. Turns out we had an unexpected $500 bill come up this month. The bad news is blasting will not be getting done anytime real soon. The good news is we were very blessed to have the money to take care of our bills :-). So, after offloading the trailer of all of the parts, I worked with parts that I had already gathered and got the rear suspension assembled. The 4" Early Classic rear springs make the ol pickup seem really low at first glance. Of course the cab mounts aren't installed yet so the cab appears lower than it will be. Hope to tackle the front suspension this week (except for calipers which I don't have yet). Goal after that will be to get the 5.3 cleaned up and ready for install. Im still up in the air on a transmission at this point. I really want to keep it a stick and run a T56 but the prices are pretty steep. Im thinking of just dropping in a junkyard turbo 400 auto until I can save some cash for the T56.

[shrunken66stroker]

Hey. Great build and a very good price on the 5.3. If you go the T-56 route, I wouldn't suggest buying a used one unless you've personally driven the car it came out of or really trust the person you're buying it from. I know a few people who have bought the $1200 "used t-56, shifts perfect, no noises, smooth as silk" only to bolt it up and it needs a rebuild. Just a heads up.

[burlapen]

Thanks for the heads up on the T56. Looks like that wont be in the cards for awhile due to finances. I may end up just running a turbo 400 for the time being. Probably wire it for the T56 for the future.

[chevyrestoguy]

I'm blown away at how cheap you got that engine for. I'm looking for one of those engines at that price, too. I did a lot of thought this weekend, and decided that I would rather go with a relatively stock LS engine that gets decent gas mileage than go with a big block that doesn't. The LS engines don't look as sexy as the older engines, but you can't deny that they can make great power and deliver impressive gas mileage.

If you find another one at that price, PM me please.

[burlapen]

I will keep my eyes open. I had been on the lookout on craigslist for awhile. I think you just have to act fast when one comes up. The guy I got it from didn't exactly seem like he was hurting for money. If I see anything similar I will shoot you a message. I have gone back and forth on the Ls thing. When I think back, what I loved about this pickup when I was a kid was the mechanicalness (is that a word?) of the whole thing. The whining SM420 and the sputtering 292. It kinda jerked when it took off and brapped along up the mountains. I know I will be losing some of that whole vibe with the LS motor. The only reason I have decided to go forward with it is because it is going to be my daily driver which I want to be rock solid reliable, get decent milage, and make stupid power. You just cant make all those things happen for a reasonable price with any other kind of motor.

This pickup is in tribute to my grandfather who actually wasn't into fixing up cars or trucks. He always said the stick shift, manual door locks and manual window cranks were what kept him young. I just hope Im not losing the spirit of that with the fuel injected late model setup. Occasionally I think I should've just stuck with the 292 and the 4 speed. Grandpa would've said do whatever makes me happy with it I'm sure. So, thats what I'm doing......miss you grandpa :-)

[chevyrestoguy]

I totally agree with you about the LS motors. I love the look of the original stuff, and it would be so cool to maintain it, but face it, if you still plan on using it as a truck, rock solid dependability and fuel mileage (especially with today's gas prices) are vital.

I think your Grandpa would be thrilled that you're keeping his truck alive. Think about it: How cool would it be if YOUR grandson wanted to preserve your legacy by fixing up one of your current cars?

It doesn't get much cooler than that!!!

[Vics63Chevy]

Any updates? Frame looks nice!

[burlapen]

I have a bit of progress, nothing too dramatic but every step is a step closer. I got the suspension assembled minus rotors, calipers and bumpstops. When I went to put everything together I realized the powdercoater had coated the threads on the pieces that go on the control arm cross shafts and the threads inside the lower control arms. I got busy with the wire wheel and blasting cabinet which was a major pain. Towards the end of the deal I realized if I put some Jasco stripper on the powder coat it flaked right off. So, the last few were considerably easier to strip. I'm still trying to figure out my 5 vs 6 lug dilemma http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=458688. The upper ball joints I had gotten from the local parts store were different when I took them out of the box. One had a large bubble on top and didn't sit down into the hole as far. I took it back and swapped it out for the flatter style in the pictures. I left them raw color and hit them with some clear coat to add some contrast to the front suspension. As soon as I figure out my rear axle situation, I can get the rotors on and get her rolling again!!! Going to try to get the engine pressure washed and painted up this weekend. Hope everyone is doing great on their projects!!!

[burlapen]

Also, It sort of broke my heart but I sold off the 292 and SM420 to help fund the build. I would've like to keep them around since they were original to the pickup but I cant realistically see ever doing anything with them and I have too many motors piled in my garage already. It went to a good home, the guy said he had been collecting tons of NOS 292 parts. You served our family well straight six, via con Dios.

[burlapen]

While on on the topic of old parts, I was cleaning out my side yard the other day and came across the back rims that were on the truck when I got it from grandpa. He called them a split rim and said he had them put on because the original back rims started to crack from the weight of the camper he used to have. They use a lock ring around the bead and from what I have heard are kind of dangerous to mount tires on. The funny part is they still hold air although the tires have flat spots. I actually drove the pickup around the block with these when I first got it running..... scary. I have no idea what to do with them.

[burlapen]

Well, I rolled the old girl out yesterday. I used the CPP kit and got the 72 power steering box mounted up. I still need to pull it back off to paint it and buy some new tie rods. I also traded some headers I had for a computer for the 5.3 with the VATS and whatnot removed so it will work standalone. Not much but a step in the right direction. I put my old dodge for sale to get some money to finish the project but no takers in this market. Hope everyone is moving along faster with there projects than I am!!!

[ZR2RICK]

Great job! I am also doing an LS in my 57 Chevy, I thought I did well getting mine for 1K w/4l60E W/35000 miles on it but you really scored there.

[burlapen]

A few updates just to let you know this build hasn't fallen to the wayside. I sent the all the body panels to Clovis Powder Coating who returned them blasted and primered for a very reasonable price. They even picked it up and delivered it back to my house. Can't say enough about there good customer service. I picked up a 2005 4.8 to use instead of the 5.3 which was going to need gone through. The 4.8 has been converted to standalone and ran on the stand. I also picked up a GT45 turbo and intercooler through VS Racing, so that should add some kick. I got the 4.8 mocked up using the ECE mounts. I had to do a significant amount of grinding on both sides of the frame to get the towers to mount. Also these mounts place the engine pretty far forward so you cannot use a mechanical fan. I mounted the cab and core support with new mounts from Brothers. I attached the rear mount brackets to the cab and am currently setting trying to get the brackets in the right spot to reattach to the frame after the shortening. I am hoping to pick up a TH400 sometime soon so the drivetrain can be complete.

[burlapen]

I don't know why some of my photos are coming out sideways. I apologize.

[burlapen]

Gt45

[burlapen]

Just a quick update. We are finishing up moving our home so I decided to try to get most of the body panels back on so the pickup could be moved all at once. I had been planning on painting it myself but I think it is just too much time and I don't really have the space anymore. I took a tour of Double Z Hot Rods in Dinuba, CA. Looks like they do top notch work so I will be dropping the pickup off to them for paint once the body panels are all mocked up properly. I took some pics and a quick video for the update.
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[burlapen]

http://youtu.be/D6JGO2GsO4w
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[CRGRS 66]

At least your last pick wasn't sideways, try holding your tongue in your other cheek when loading photo's

[burlapen]

Kind of strange, they show up correctly on my iphone or ipad but as soon as i upload them its all wrong.
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