Project Charity Case

[brn agn]

It may have been red, it is hard to tell. I talked to a co-worker, who is from Nebraska, and he thought it may have been a university truck at one time also. I'm in the process of getting the last owner's contact info, so I can find out what is in the engine. I'll ask him/her about the history of the truck.

[mcbassin]

Diggin the parts truck! Drop the skinny 327 in there

[FRENCHBLUE72]

The truck has really come along ways nice work..

[brn agn]

The last few days have been busy! My Dad was visiting and wanted a project, so I decided we could pull the tired 307 out of the old truck. We slid a low mileage 327 in it's place. It is an old school build, and that is perfect for me. When I bought the engine, it had a single plane intake and Holley carb on it. I decided to swap in an aluminum dual plane intake and quadrajet carb so it would look more stock and hopefully help the driveability. The engine has a .470" lift cam with 226 duration at .050", so it lopes pretty good and the operating range is 2500-5500 rpm. Not the best choice for a street engine, but I will live with it. After I get the engine tuned, I am going to clean up a stock 4 barrel air cleaner to put on the truck and possibly paint the intake manifold orange to make it look even more stock. I even thought about getting some "307" stickers to put on the valve covers.

I am convinced that the exhaust is likely holding the engine back (2.25" single exhaust and the pipe from the passenger side manifold intersects the pipe from the driver's side manifold at a right angle). I hope to get better flowing exhaust on the truck in a few weeks. I'll take a video of the engine after that.

It is not much to look at, but here is a picture of the "new" engine:

[oldblue1968chevy]

Hmmm Ive got same exhuast setup...

wonder if it'll hold mine back also

is that the 327? You need a dual snorkel filter and some finned valvecovers!

[brn agn]

Originally Posted by oldblue1968chevy

Hmmm Ive got same exhuast setup...

wonder if it'll hold mine back also

is that the 327? You need a dual snorkel filter and some finned valvecovers!

Yes, that is the 327. It is ironic that you mention a dual snorkel air cleaner. My Dad called me when he was packing his truck and asked if I needed anything from "home" (Missouri). I told him to throw in a stock 4 barrel air cleaner from his parts stash. Well, he showed up with two of them. I was looking at them tonight and I think I can cut and weld them together to create a dual snorkel air cleaner.

I like the idea of the finned valve covers too. If I come across a set of original ones, I might pick them up.

[oldblue1968chevy]

they made aftermarket finned VC's..

there was an faq thing around somewere how to make your own dual snorke, or maybe it was on the powerblock musclecar, yeah it was on the powerblock..try checkin out the website maybe?

[VA72C10]

looking good. I'm back to looking for a SWB just like this one now....timing just wasn't right when I had it but you've done an excellent job with it and have used it for excellent things so there are no regrets....well a few

[72BlckButy]

I like the "heart" transplant.. nice work!

[brn agn]

I put some miles on the "new" engine this weekend and it is running better and better. I can't wait to get some decent exhaust on it. Here are some updated pics of the truck that I took today:







...and here is my next project. I'm going to make a dual snorkel air cleaner out of these two poop covered air cleaners. Can you tell they have been sitting in a barn?

[oldblue1968chevy]

sweet! Did you find the episode of musclecar where they made 2 into 1 dual snorkel? Truck looks great

[VA72C10]

Looking really good. What are you thinking about for the exhaust? From what I understand the chevelle headers fit well and tuck the exhaust so it doesn't hang down too low on a lowered truck. have to put an angled fitting on the collector to make the tight bend but other than that I have read/been told they fit with no other modifications needed. Plus, in chrome they're about 120 shipped and in ceramic coated around 175 shipped on ebay!

[brn agn]

Originally Posted by oldblue1968chevy

sweet! Did you find the episode of musclecar where they made 2 into 1 dual snorkel? Truck looks great

I looked, but did not find the episode. It doesn't seem like it should be too difficult, so I am going to dive in to it.

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Looking really good. What are you thinking about for the exhaust? From what I understand the chevelle headers fit well and tuck the exhaust so it doesn't hang down too low on a lowered truck. have to put an angled fitting on the collector to make the tight bend but other than that I have read/been told they fit with no other modifications needed. Plus, in chrome they're about 120 shipped and in ceramic coated around 175 shipped on ebay!

I thought about headers, but I am going to stick with the ram horn manifolds. I know I am giving up some power, but I don't want to mess with header leaks and starter heat soak right now. My hope is to just run dual 2.5" pipes from the manifolds to two turbo mufflers, then up above the axle and drop them down after they clear the axle. I thought about buying the LMC kit, but it is only offered with 2.25" pipes. How is the search for another project going for you?

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by brn agn

I looked, but did not find the episode. It doesn't seem like it should be too difficult, so I am going to dive in to it.



I thought about headers, but I am going to stick with the ram horn manifolds. I know I am giving up some power, but I don't want to mess with header leaks and starter heat soak right now. My hope is to just run dual 2.5" pipes from the manifolds to two turbo mufflers, then up above the axle and drop them down after they clear the axle. I thought about buying the LMC kit, but it is only offered with 2.25" pipes. How is the search for another project going for you?

I understand especially on the heat soak issue. Sounds like a good plan. Have you looked at jcwhitney or summit to see if they have a kit? I don't know but found a cheap one for my 80Z28 out of JCWhitney of all places

The project search is still ongoing. I figure I can be patient looking for another steal (I mean deal) like the one I got on the blazer. Looking for an abandoned project most likely. I have scored some great suspension and interior parts for it and already had a lot of nice parts from my 70 build so once I find a truck i'll be ready to roll. Keep an eye out down there...I'm looking for a SWB because of their value when completed but will consider a LWB if the price is right and it's rust free/or has a killer drivetrain/wheels, etc.
I'm also looking for another blazer project....whichever one I find first I'm going to do. It's going to be hard to beat the deal I got on the blazer though but they obviously are out there so I'll keep looking

[mcbassin]

hey nice work on the engine install! How you like all that power? Your truck looks great too! You sure have came a long way since you started on it.

[brn agn]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

hey nice work on the engine install! How you like all that power? Your truck looks great too! You sure have came a long way since you started on it.

The power is much better than the 307! Because of the cam and the heads, it really starts breathing above 2500 rpm. I haven't really pushed it to the limit yet though. Thanks for the kind comments.

[gcburdic]

Trucks looking real nice Jesse....

[brn agn]

OK, I did a 180 in regards to exhaust on the truck. I took the truck to a couple of exhaust shops on Tuesday and received quotes that ranged from $320 to $550. One thing the shops had in common is that they would run 2.25" tubing. I originally wanted 2.5", because I thought that is what my Nova has on it, but when I measured it I found that it is 2.25".

So, I started looking at the LMC kit again. I mean, I need more practice welding anyway. So, I found the kit LMC carries for $170 shipped to my door (no mufflers) and bought it last night. It will take a couple of weeks for it to ship. In the meantime I am searching for a set of mufflers to complement the exhaust. I'm looking at the $30 Thrush fully welded mufflers. I can get two of them for $60. They sound decent in the Youtube videos that I have found.

In other news, I started cutting up the air cleaners. I should have pictures after this weekend.

[VA72C10]

Cool! Looking forward to the pics of the exhaust and air cleaner

[Palf70Step]

[ERASER5]

The ram horns won't take 2.5" pipes any way. Mine has a short 2" or 2.25" (I forget which) section, then expanded to 2.5 for the rest of the way.

Nice truck by the way.

[brn agn]

Originally Posted by ERASER5

The ram horns won't take 2.5" pipes any way. Mine has a short 2" or 2.25" (I forget which) section, then expanded to 2.5 for the rest of the way.

Nice truck by the way.

That is what all the shops told me too. They said I could start with 2.25" and expand to 2.5", or I could run headers in order to get 2.5" all the way.

[swamp rat]

I'd say unbelevable job on the cab! I'd be looking for another if mine was that bad i think.. donno cause i have never done any of that stuff yet........ But i need too... soon......

[brn agn]

I worked on building a somewhat stock looking air cleaner today. Here is how it went down:

I used masking tape to mark where I wanted to cut the snorkel from the donor air cleaner:


Donor snorkel removed:


Using the donor snorkel, I made a cardboard template:


Using the template, I marked the air cleaner where I wanted to cut it:


I cut the air cleaner on the small side, then ground it until the opening matched the donor snorkel:


Here are the two parts clamped together:


Welded together:


Here is the new creation after the welds were ground down:


I trimmed the end of the snorkels off because they were bent and I thought it looked better without the ends.


Started sanding the old paint and rust away:


...and here is the finished product in primer. I will hopefully paint it tomorrow, then pick up a filter and put it on the truck.


Here are a couple of things I learned. 1) I could have used a much taller lid with a huge filter, but it just didn't look right when I mocked it up on the truck. 2) I had originally planned on removing the thermostatic valves, but decided to leave them. Our temperatures don't get too cold here, but I thought it would be good to leave that option open. I won't have heat riser tubes, but may add them in the future.

[VA72C10]

Very nice work!!! I like it!