1972 Chevy 4wd Longhorn Project: Never Ending Changes

[Vintage Windmills]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Here pretty soon the new transmission is going to be going in the truck. I'm going to be switching out my steering column and going to try to put it in closer to the firewall this time to gain some leg room. I've decided to just use an OEM floor shift tilt column and leave the floor shifter for a manual truck. Now the biggest hurdle is to decide whether or not to leave the dodge D60 in it or switch to a ford HP D60 from a dude in Co? Choices choices

Sweet score on the OEM 4spd tilt column, those are $$$$$ and rare. Then again, this truck is totally worth that kind of investment.

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by Vintage Windmills

Sweet score on the OEM 4spd tilt column, those are $$$$$ and rare. Then again, this truck is totally worth that kind of investment.

Whoops, I worded that wrong. It has a 4 speed tilt in it now, and I'm going to put a column shift tilt column in it. I was just going to leave the floor shift column and put in an after market shifter. I changed my mind on that.

[Dieselwrencher]

Project update. No work is being done, but I've been gathering parts to complete the auto swap and to get the truck daily driver ready. I bought a set of 33 12.50 16.5 BFG AT KOs, a Tcs billet input shaft, lokar locking dipstick, lokar throttle pressure cable, a double deep trans pan, a huge Hayden trans cooler, and I'm still going.

I have plans to relocate the batteries to behind the cab or under it, remove the stack and run exhaust out the back, I need to get my new rear bumper mounted and decide what color to powder coat it. I can't make my mind up on that. It's a toss up between white, an aluminum silver, or black. After a couple other projects are finished, I'll get back on this.

[mx289]

Thats gonna be a fun truck on the street.

Awesome truck.

Tom

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

I have plans to relocate the batteries to behind the cab or under it, remove the stack and run exhaust out the back, I need to get my new rear bumper mounted and decide what color to powder coat it. I can't make my mind up on that. It's a toss up between white, an aluminum silver, or black. After a couple other projects are finished, I'll get back on this.

one of them fancy bumpers eh? haha, heavy damn thing. i like that idea of relocating the batteries and getting rid of the stack. you must have good friends to help convince you of such good ideas...

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

Ya i hear ya on the d max . Trouble is I can buy a whole cummins donor truck for the cost of a set of d max injectors . I really like the red 89 that the guy on here just did . I think one of those maby converted to a CCSB would be a good wife / family truckster . trouble is around here the salt we use on the roads killed of all the square trucks long ago . Your neck of the woods is similiar isnt it? I didnt realise the 24V was resionable to wire up . Those are plentyfull in these parts .

It sucks when working slows the progress of getting your stuff done . When I get my money tree to take root I'll send you a few seeds .

I hear ya on the Dmax price costs. That's pretty much why I don't have any. Yes, a heck of a lot of the older vehicles around here are gone due to the rust from the winters here. Yeah the 24v engines are not bad to wire up. Just looks horrible.

Originally Posted by ryanroo

one of them fancy bumpers eh? haha, heavy damn thing. i like that idea of relocating the batteries and getting rid of the stack. you must have good friends to help convince you of such good ideas...

I guess you can call them friends.

[watahyahknow]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

i like that idea of relocating the batteries and getting rid of the stack. you must have good friends to help convince you of such good ideas...

if there no tanks under the cab there plenty of space for it you might even be able to put both of them on one side so you can have the tank on the other

i drive a hum.... cough smart fortwo cough (darn thing would fit in the bed of youre truck with room to spare) and it has a pan in the footwhell that holds the batterie
you might be able to make sumtin simulair under the bendseat and not have them sticking out from under the truck too far

[6BT 56]

What sort of projects have you been up to ? I think you need to do a 02 ish gm 4X4 2500 swap for sumone so I can tag along and get the courage to rip our family truckster apart .

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

What sort of projects have you been up to ? I think you need to do a 02 ish gm 4X4 2500 swap for sumone so I can tag along and get the courage to rip our family truckster apart .

Been parting out some trucks out trying to scrape up the funds to finish some projects. I've got a conversion on another 67-72 to do, and I started putting 2 turbos back on the Corvette. Just waiting on the correct waste gate to finish it. We've had some customer trucks and that has slowed personal projects down again. I'd do a newer chevy but not many people around here want to dump the money in one. They'll just go get a loan and buy a Dmax truck.

[6BT 56]

Ya i hear ya on the d max . Trouble is I can buy a whole cummins donor truck for the cost of a set of d max injectors . I really like the red 89 that the guy on here just did . I think one of those maby converted to a CCSB would be a good wife / family truckster . trouble is around here the salt we use on the roads killed of all the square trucks long ago . Your neck of the woods is similiar isnt it? I didnt realise the 24V was resionable to wire up . Those are plentyfull in these parts .

It sucks when working slows the progress of getting your stuff done . When I get my money tree to take root I'll send you a few seeds .

[Dieselwrencher]

Here are some pics of the parts and pieces I've been collecting for this truck lately.

Billet grill. It was cheap. I don't know if I'll put it on the truck or not. Probably not. I'll probably put it in another surround and hang it on the wall.



Some new knobs and misc. Kind of matches the vintage with a newer bling factor.



Trans dipstick, throttle pressure cable, lower rear bed mouldings, and a trans cooler.



The trans cooler had some damaged fins from shipping. I repaired them the best I could.




And finally my new tires. I'm currently stuck trying to decide to go back to steel wheels and hub caps, the current aluminum wheels on it, or a set of aluminum wheels that just have holes like a M/T classic. I'm looking at a set of the M/T's this weekend. I like the steels but the hub caps are always a bear to get off and put on without scratching the wheel or damaging the cap. I'm probably going to stay with aluminum. We shall see.

[6BT 56]

Thats a good stash of parts . I vote for the steel wheels . What hub caps do you have to use ?

[Dieselwrencher]

Right now I have to figure out where I hid all of mine. I think I might buy a set of polished ones from a board member on here if I go steel.

[mosesburb]

Removal can be a pain, but I "softened" up the retaining nubs on the wheels. I also made a simple removal tool out of a flat blade screwdriver and now they come off very easily (when compared to before), but not so easily they come off on their own. I have put over 50K on mine without ever losing one and my boy could remove them if I gave him the tool for it.

[mcbassin]

Looks like a bunch of really nice parts!

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by mosesburb

Removal can be a pain, but I "softened" up the retaining nubs on the wheels. I also made a simple removal tool out of a flat blade screwdriver and now they come off very easily (when compared to before), but not so easily they come off on their own. I have put over 50K on mine without ever losing one and my boy could remove them if I gave him the tool for it.

I have to see if I can get a pair of mine opened up to fit my D80 before I get excited about putting them on.

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looks like a bunch of really nice parts!

Thanks Mike.

Today I re-registered the old truck. It hasn't been re-registered since I first plated it in June of '12. That hurt a little. Luckily they had no problem giving me new plates as I lost the originals in the parts mess some where.

[mx289]

Any recent pics ?

(I say a set of steelies with caps and a aluminum rim set )
We all need an extra set of wheels.!

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by mx289

Any recent pics ?

(I say a set of steelies with caps and a aluminum rim set )
We all need an extra set of wheels.!

X2 on the steelies. I like the stainless cap with the blue bowtie....

[Dieselwrencher]

If I go steelies, they'll definitely have those caps. I'm waiting on a pair of 16.5's from a member here, so we shall see.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

If I go steelies, they'll definitely have those caps. I'm waiting on a pair of 16.5's from a member here, so we shall see.

What the hell is a 16.5?? Did I wake up in 1984 or something??

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by mosesburb

What the hell is a 16.5?? Did I wake up in 1984 or something??

It's almost 17" but not quite.

[coggonobrien]

Goto 100dollars.com for cheap 16.5 tires

[Dieselwrencher]

I'll keep that in mind. I've already got a new set of 33 12.5 16.5 BFG AT KO's I'll run for now.

[ryanroo]

shouldn't take long to shred those suckers! i know we talked about this, but what are your plans with the engine. you had planned the full tilt rebuild until the wifes baby hauler pooped its pants. are you going to do that now or wait for a bit?

[Dieselwrencher]

For now I'm going to leave it as is and drive it. If something happens to it I'll determine what to do then. I did want to build a new engine with cr pistons and a better cam. But the pesoso for that are gone.