Just another old truck.

[Kim57]

Real nice fab work.
Kim

[twobyfour]

just found this site and cant stop reading.... Clarance J... enjoy the stories and the way you are building the truck. cant wait for more.... Russell

[Clarance J]

Thanks Kim, I can check that job off my list.
And thank you Russell. Working on the front clip now trying to get the fenders/hood ready so maybe I can get the cab and clip painted this spring. I've got so much to do and things that I have already done that I want to post. I think I'll start with my engine and trans part of this rebuild and see where that takes me. Do you have a project going? There's a lot of great builds going on and a bunch of good information to read and learn from.

Earl aka Clarance J

[Clarance J]

Well here it is, 2015. I must of been having a lot of fun cuz last year flew by. I'd like to start this year with my engine build. Sorry, no LS, LT, or anything new. Just a rebuild of the old 327. I looked through all my old photos and I guess I never took any pictures of the motor. So I'll start with what I do have. I used all the old parts that could still be used or rebuilt.
Added some new shiny stuff and painted a bunch of things, then put it back together.

[Kim57]

Nothing wrong with a SBC.
Looks real nice.
Kim

[Clarance J]

I kept my old intake manifold and the old headers. Had the machine work done by Peckham Precision Engines here in Grants Pass. Bored motor .040 over, new cam bearings, switched pistons on rods, ect. Very nice guy to work with. Most of the new parts came from Summit Racing. I chose the Edelbrock 1406 because I had the old Carter 625 cfm years ago and was familiar with that carb. The camshaft and lifters were real close to the stock cam.

[Clarance J]

Thanks Kim. That's my way of thinking and what I did years ago. This was a motor that I built about 38 years ago and I was surprised at how much I could remember about the assembly of it. There was some things that I had to look up because I had forgotten, but hey. When it came time for the pulleys I tried to match up my old parts and because I added the power steering and the alternator changed sides nothing would line up with what I had. So I had to have a little billet stuff so I got the kit from Summit Racing.
Everything bolted up, lined up, so that part was good to go. The last couple of pictures its all wired up except for the front. Had not started the tilt yet.

[Baldeagle SR]

Coming right along. Looks good too. Rich

[Softpatch]

injoyed this thread ....Nice job
.
.
......Sp

[Clarance J]

Ok. Here it is, Monday night, have been sick all week with something that the great grandkids thought they should share with g grandpa and g grandma so I haven't been out in the shop all week. They still don't know what Petri dishes mean but I suppose they will figure it out someday. Just gotta love them though. (Ages 7, 4, and 2). Once again thank you Rich. Hope that El Camino is keeping you busy. And thank you Softpatch. Quite a job you've got going with that big truck. .......These are just a few pictures taken awhile back of my parts wall and small touches that I've done. Almost all of it is on the truck now.

Earl

[Clarance J]

Shots of go fast parts, plus motor, bellhousing, and 5-speed tailshaft mounts.

[Clarance J]

Next group is what I did to find out where to cut the input shaft on the 5-speed. I did a lot of research but wanted to be sure before I started to cut things down. There is much more information out there now on this conversion because it is half-way easy and it works good. There are a lot of good write-ups on this now. I'm happy with mine and really enjoy it. The tag on the trans said it came out of a 85 S10. More later, good night.


Earl aka Clarance J

[Kim57]

Lots of very cool pics.
Kim

[Advanced Design]

Love your build, all your creative solutions and the history on Clarence J. Whiskeybottle!
Thanks for sharing and I will be tuned in for updates.

[Clarance J]

Hey Kim57, thank you.

And thank you Advanced Design for the nice comments. I've had a bunch of cars/motorcycles over the years and the truck is the only one that I have now from my kid days. I was 21 when I bought Clarance J and now at 66 I'm still working on him.

[Kim57]

O.K. You've sparked my interest now lets see the finished product.
Kim

[Baldeagle SR]

That bed frame should make a good one. The bed frame angle is a lot cheaper than angle iron from the hardware store. Rich

[Clarance J]

Well Kim, its not finished yet but its almost done. I've been wanting to build a cart for the welder for a long time now. At last I got the material to make it in the form of old bed rails that were given to me. So the price was right. Yeah Rich, this was a deal that I couldn't pass up. The old wooden thing had to go. Now I just have to finish the welding, clean up the weld on the outside of the frame, then Rustoleum it. It rolls smoothly with those wide wheels and is just the addition I needed to help bring my shop into the 21st century.

Out of pocket expense: $0.00 (not counting welding wire or gas)

Time: As of now about 5 hours, maybe 7 (really didn't keep track)

The last thing I'll do is put a floor on the bottom for storage. Should be done by this weekend. Another YAHOO!

[Clarance J]

Oh, one more thing I wanted to add. For those new welders out there I say, just make something, anything, and watch your skills improve. Mine sure have.

Earl aka Clarance J

[Advanced Design]

Earl that is a great welding cart! Very resourceful. Good advice on the welding too...practice really helps.

[Clarance J]

Thanks Advanced Design. I can see that you're getting a lot of practice on your build. Tack and repeat.

[Kim57]

That came out real nice.
Kim

[Katrina/10]

I used to have a welder just like that. It didn't work very well if you used it for a long time.

[Clarance J]

Hi Katrina/10. Yeah, this welder was made for small jobs like I do and have. Its only rated at 20% duty cycle but when it wears out or quits I will be doing an up grade. I'm finding out that I would like to do more and bigger welding projects as I go along. A tig machine, maybe. Who wooda thunk!

[Katrina/10]

Mine would weld pretty good for about 5 minutes, then it would just start spitting and sputtering and make really globby welds. But, just for tacks or short welds it was ok. I finally got tired of it (after using it 15 years) and bought a Lincoln 140 Mig from the home store. It welds great, I am really happy with it.