Dirty Dianah (No)... Bagged 72 Stepside/LSx/T56

[502ms]

Originally Posted by Hardesty454

Looks great! Just wondering why youre not cleaning and painting the frame while its all apart? Just me but Id prob get all that done before its an issue!

I am. Right now I am only working on this on the weekends. Time is limited. Plus it's not at my house. Trust it will get done.




In addition, still mocking up the fuel cell, have to make adjustments to the front frame. Don't want to paint it just to cut it again.
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[jblaust]

Originally Posted by 502ms

Here is made bail
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=353912
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Leon,

The build is comming along nicely! Looks like you got some nice goodies to keep you busy for a while! Thanks for the link his thread has a boat load of good info for what Im planning on doing. I am gonna make sure I do all my homework and buy the best of everything before I even touch my truck. good luck with the motor swap...Cant wait to see the finished product...i will hopefully get around to my motor swap in a year or so...Im gonna make my truck lay frame on 22's first then move on to the motor.

[jblaust]

Originally Posted by Jimbabwe

Just search my "name", or Rustspot Made Bail. If you narrow your rear and cut the bedsides, you will be good to go.
I now defer to Leon's originally scheduled coolness of build...

Thanks for your help Jim! Your were right his thread was very helpful once i finally found it. Looks like he used an s10 rear end to fit the 22's. I may go that route just to make the build less complicated. Hopefully once I get my new truck home from Cali I will be official #teamstepside I will def make the trip up to Georgia to meet up one of these days.

[chuckmc8]

Wow! Leon, That looks great!

[severedchris]

shoulda tuned in sooner...nice work

[502ms]

Originally Posted by chuckmc8

Wow! Leon, That looks great!

Thanks Chuck!

Did you figure out your Blazer's issue?


Hey Jay! Thanks! Glad to have you join #teamstepside!

Hey Severedchris thanks...lots more to come!
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[jkeating1]

Subscribed! Take lots o pics of your clutch master & lines! Keep up the good work!
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[NewType72]

We gonna see a freshly painted frame with a mounted fuel cell this weekend?
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[jblaust]

Originally Posted by 502ms

I am. Right now I am only working on this on the weekends. Time is limited. Plus it's not at my house. Trust it will get done.




In addition, still mocking up the fuel cell, have to make adjustments to the front frame. Don't want to paint it just to cut it again.
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When I see this picture I can hear the Jaws music as the background....Im waiting to see the finished project brother. Hope all goes well for you and Walter!

[502ms]

Originally Posted by NewType72

We gonna see a freshly painted frame with a mounted fuel cell this weekend?
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Still making frame mods for fuel cell. But yes...there will be some prettiness going on.

Yesterday I got an upgraded Mallory Fuel Pump, billet fuel filter, Hurst Shifter for the Camaro... I love summit.

I think that puts my fuel system over $1100 so far, not counting fuel lines and -an fittings.
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[502ms]

Originally Posted by jblaust

When I see this picture I can hear the Jaws music as the background....Im waiting to see the finished project brother. Hope all goes well for you and Walter!

LOL. Thanks bro! Me too! Looking forward to progress. I have pics from this week to post. I will do that when I do the next set of pix today. Did your truck come in yet?
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[jblaust]

Originally Posted by 502ms

LOL. Thanks bro! Me too! Looking forward to progress. I have pics from this week to post. I will do that when I do the next set of pix today. Did your truck come in yet?
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No..I am still waiting for it to get picked up. The transport truck was waiting on a part for his brakes so my truck getting picked up got delayed. He should be there today to pick it up. I wont get to see the truck for about another week or so.

[Square_78]

Holy crap! You have a lot of work into this truck. I love it! Its one of my favorite stepsides on the forum. How big is your "Z" in the front? Looks about 2"? Did you do it with the cab and everything in place? Any issues with motor or trasmission clearance? I REALLY want to do that to mine, but I would have to take it to a shop to get it done...

[502ms]

Originally Posted by Square_78

Holy crap! You have a lot of work into this truck. I love it! Its one of my favorite stepsides on the forum. How big is your "Z" in the front? Looks about 2"? Did you do it with the cab and everything in place? Any issues with motor or trasmission clearance? I REALLY want to do that to mine, but I would have to take it to a shop to get it done...

Thanks buddy. It is about a 3". Did it with cab on. No issues at all. It rides awesome. I am looking forward to seeing how it handles now
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[502ms]

Originally Posted by jblaust

No..I am still waiting for it to get picked up. The transport truck was waiting on a part for his brakes so my truck getting picked up got delayed. He should be there today to pick it up. I wont get to see the truck for about another week or so.

Exciting times! What's first?
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[jblaust]

Originally Posted by 502ms

Exciting times! What's first?
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just little things...I am pretty much planning on hoarding parts and going at most of it all in one shot..Going to change the steering column to auto (3 on the tree now)....Shorten it and and add tilt. Also looking for motor and transmission. Not sure which direction Im going with suspension yet. I wanted porterbuilt to lay frame, but I have an oppurtunity to buy a complete almost new ridetech mild c-notch kit from another member on the board who lives very close by me for a very reasonable price. I have a feeling I will regret not making it lay frame though if I go that route so I might just stay porterbuilt. The other thing thats bothering me is how difficult it looks to be to get 22's or 24's to tuck in the back of a stepper without hacking it up with major modding. I may just ride out on the rally's with white walls laying frame for a while until I figure that out and just raise the bed like you did. I need to have the truck in my hands first to see what I need to do or redo first before I start getting crazy. I also need some $$. The transport got delayed again until tomorrow morning. The trailer had brake issues and the driver was stuck in Arizona waiting on parts and repairs. The truck is fixed and he is picking up my truck first thing in the morning. She is commming home first class in a hard enclosed trailer on the top rack and not moving until she gets to florida. She is the cheapest vehicle on the trailer, with maserattis, porches, and other high end sports cars surrounding her. I ended up spending more money for a cleaner truck (3000 miles away) right up front and kind of tapped out my budget at the moment. The original plan was to get something like Walter's truck and then bag it right away and kind of ratrod it out for a while while I cleaned it up. Then this truck came along and I couldnt say no and got a little implusive. Hoping I made the right choice going with the cleaner 90% done 10 year old frame off restoration. I figured it would save me alot of headaches/time/money looking for little things and making cosmetic repairs. Now I can take my time buying quality parts and do the bulk of the major work in one shot. These pics were taken yesterday as the truck is being prepared with spare parts in the bed for the 3000 mile trip to its new home. There are a few boxes of parts in the bed of the truck and an extra drivers door.

Did you get any progress done on the motor this weekend? Any new pics? I am really looking forward to seeing how that works out for you. Hoping to seeing a cool video of you hitting switches again and burning some rubber.

[502ms]

Wow! Very cool pics! Congrats again on a sweet purchase. Sounds like a solid game plan. I will tell you this - if you want to lay frame, do not cheat yourself and half-@ss it, because you will look back and say - damn, I wanted to to that...and then spending money to undo whatever. Get it home, and see if you really want to go that big. I think you will be surprised at how big 20s look under a stepper. Personally, that is probably as big as I would go, and that would be for shows. I enjoy the simplicity of 15" wheels. Once this is done, I am going with 10" wide in the rear...so it will definitely be interesting .

I did get some pics...made some progress. I will post those momentarily...

[502ms]

I see that it has been a while since I have posted pics in here. So, let me catch you up to where we are:

Got the cab off of the frame, and got some measurements to see where the stock GTO shifter would land in the cab. In its stock form, it will be about 3 inches past the optimal spot for me, with the engine in the place that we want it, using the Dirty Dingo motor mount plates (which are SWEET, btw).



That being the case, I purchased a Hurst shifter for the 2002 Camaro, which uses the forward location, and saves a bunch of fabrication work to be done later.


As you can see in this picture, I have changed fuel pumps yet again. I want to make sure I am getting the biggest bang for the buck, so I spent a bit more, and got a competition style fuel pump from Mallory. This thing is freakin sweet! I also got a billet fuel filter and you already know that I updated the FPR to a higher performing model. If I end up boosting this thing, I do not want to have to go back and remove this stuff.

[502ms]

Those two boxes in the pic above hold the electric fans that I will probably mount as pushers later on.

I had to remove the old motor mounts, and replace them with the 73-87 style mounts



Yes, I know I have some surface rust from the cleaning of the chassis and other components. Soon these will be cleaned again, and treated to some nice, durable coverings. Speaking of which - I cleaned the motor and transmission, and painted the cases cast aluminum silver and black. Looks so much better now. Will look better buttoned up, headers on, engine cover on and running....but that is soon!



In this pic, you can see the Dirty Dingo mount plates on. I had to remove the A/C Compressor so that the plate can be mounted.

[502ms]

Many of you have been asking why I have not painted the frame yet...well, I am still adding custom parts to it.

For instance, the fuel tank has been removed from the cab, and this has been put in its place:


In order for this to be completely safe, we are going to build a cage for it, and ensure that at the lowest ride height, it is safe and clear from damage. When laid out, it will be 2" from the ground. In addition, it just will look really nice.

[502ms]

Cool action shot of Walter:


Facebook Page for Leon Millette Photography - Please "Like" the Page

[502ms]

Once all of the fancy work to the frame is complete, I will be painting it all black.
In addition, when she returns, she will not only drive differently....but she will be sporting a 67 front clip!

[NewType72]

lookin good boys and that really is an awesome shot of Walter shoot you should send that into Miller/Lincoln for a new poster Ad

[502ms]

Originally Posted by NewType72

lookin good boys and that really is an awesome shot of Walter shoot you should send that into Miller/Lincoln for a new poster Ad

not a bad idea...thanks buddy!

[Rusbuilt]

hey! Walter stole my welding helmet!! lol (i have the same one)