'78 3/4 ton 4x4 FRANKENTRUCK

[asphaltburner]

Yo! Fresh pics with my new Canon:



Sure love my twin-stick NP205, especially in the snow:



and just some shots in the low light:





The truck is coming along nicely, and is fully capable at this point of ruling the road with it's 350hp 350 and 4.11:1 rear gears,...suprises folks!!
The Kenwood stereo system turned out fantastic!
Todd.

[Driveway Dreams]

Todd, glad to hear its all ready to roll. And looks like it too. You gotta try and get out with us for the next meet. (Whenever it ends up. Not all of us can play in the snow.)

[asphaltburner]

Yo! Gerald!
I'm ready to make this next meet! As is!
Actually, FRANKENTRUCK has been commuting 40 miles/day in the snow and is usually working when it's not.
But I DO remember when I used to PLAY in the snow,...
OMG!
Todd.

[dammitmitchell]

woot!

[Jhogan830]

hey man that truck is comming along sweet KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

[asphaltburner]

Yo! Thanks very much you guys!
Bodywork is roughed in now. I'll try to finish it soon. What fun to drive on my commute! Usually I'll use the 80Gb iPod in the truck,...the 120Gb one moves from the docks in my garages to the '76 Camaro.
Still have yet to spend the time to finish finding the open in the front half of my fuel gauge circuit,...just hasn't been a priority with twin 20 gallon tanks! Soon.
Todd.

[glock35ipsc]

How the heck did I miss this thread??? Hehe, I'm one of the lucky few that has got to see and touch Frankentruck!! And it is as bad a$$ in real life as it appears in the pics!

So Todd, you are bringing the Camaro to Julesburg next month, right?

[asphaltburner]

Yo! I can think of no greater honor than to have mentions, like those above, from a master like Bob! Thank you.
Aw, geeze,...the Camaro is a daily driver,...who wants to see it at Julesberg (hehe)?!
But I'll keep an eye on the CO forum thread and let you know after completing my multitasking for this week, Costa Rica next, and multitasking on return!
Thanks again,...I'll add when I have more pics.
Todd.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by asphaltburner

Aw, geeze,...the Camaro is a daily driver,...who wants to see it at Julesberg (hehe)?!

ME!!

[78 Chevyrado]

I love that truck! Imo, perfect height and perfect wheel and tire size!

[asphaltburner]

Yo! Thank you,...the hard work and planning must've paid off! I am quite proud of my accomplishment with FRANKENTRUCK, but your accolades have made me blush,...
I sure didn't feel the need to lower or raise the truck,...cochino12 hooked me into the beautiful 17" Foose Spanks, and the tires just HAD to fill those wheelwells as much as possible!
I hardly had to think,...an easy task for me!
Todd.

[dammitmitchell]

franken truck i a perfect ride height, good enough to clear what you need and comfortable in the street, im always scared if i hit a car i'll crush someones forehead....

frankentruck needs to visit texas!

[87 chevy silverado]

any updates trucks looks good

[asphaltburner]

Yo! Thanks for asking, 87 chevy silverado!
Mostly just 'been drivin' FRANKENTRUCK on the bad weather days. Nearly finished with the bodywork (the bullet hole is now gone,...bummer.),...and still fine tuning engine timing. Hope to install it's aluminum billet oil pan this weekend. I still manage to put off repair of my fuel gauge sender line,...twin 20 gallon tanks makes it easy!
Hope to show-up with a number of regional forum members for the Loveland, CO SummerFest in the Rockies in July to show off FRANKENTRUCK for the first time.
The truck's build resulted in a nice heavy-duty truck. It leaves most others at the light (even when loaded) and is fun to drive because of it's comfort and great iPod stereo. It 4x4s well, and front wheel drive is quite different due to the fact that the truck assumes the feel of a FWD car!
I've been diverting much of my time to other automotive and non-automotive projects lately but I sure appreciate you askin' about the truck,...maybe it'll motivate me to fix that damned fuel gauge line!
Todd.

[dammitmitchell]

hey no excuses!
i replumbed both my tanks the other day! i dont wanna hear it!
it sucked! bad! uber hand cramps but thank god im sitting high enough that i was under her cross legged in a comfortable work position.

[87 chevy silverado]

by the way the truck is looking good

[asphaltburner]

Thanks, again!
Just fine tuned my HEI weights and springs and yesterday I advanced my initial timing. After test driving it, I think I'll retard spark about 2-4 degrees, re-test, and then attach my vacuum advance to fine tune it. This is one heavy vehicle to make perform this way, but the truck hauls balls nicely! Hope I can get it to a better mpg average!
Rough bodywork is done and I just need to start sanding to finish it, and then get some primer on the bodywork. Paint will come when time permits.
The stereo is just fantastic and FRANKENTRUCK sure is fun to drive!
This project has sure turned out well,...and, to no end, do I appreciate the help of all the folks on this board that enabled me to build what I did!!
THANKS ALL!!
Todd.

[asphaltburner]

Yo! Belly full of premium and FRANKENTRUCK moves quick with just slight predetonation. I'll detune a bit for cheap gas.
Installed a new aluminum oil pan to match the valve covers today:



Appears to be a leak-free installation,...so far.
I did not go back to the stock oil pump,...I'll keep using the 70 psi pump. Thought it might be too much pump when I had trouble with leaking from the valve cover breathers/grommets, but I solved the problem awhile back by reversing the covers to place the breathers to the front.
Todd.

[jake wells]

you going for paint next?

maybe brown with a tan center?

nice truck i like it


-Jake

[68 TT]

Looks great Todd. Keep up the good work.

You can run 5W30 oil with the high volume oil pump to drop the pressure a little.

Anything above 10psi per 1000 rpm is just robbing power.

[TheWhiteElephant]

Any updates?

[dammitmitchell]

yeah where in the world are you dude!

[asphaltburner]

Yo! TheWhiteElephant!
Quite the Blazer you had,...a pity that you had to sell! Sure hope someone is taking good care of it!
Looks like you'll have that K20 looking just as nice in no time though! Man after my own heart,...nice job of refurbishing/refinishing parts! I hate replacing good stuff with new when it's not necessary. And new parts seem to get crappier every year,...
Cool to see your post on this ol' thread of mine! Thanks for asking.
FRANKENTRUCK's bodywork has been completed for some time now, but still no immediate plans for a time to paint yet. Hell, it looks pretty good multicolored,...
Showed (kinda by popular request,...) at Summerfest in the Rockies in Loveland, CO in June with a number of the local (and some not so local, too!) forum members. What fun!
Other than yanking stumps and hauling firewood, FRANKENTRUCK has just been terrorizing the northern Colorado countryside as usual. Most folks give it plenty of extra room anywhere it goes! And it likes to be first, so usually it's just blowing by, passing.
Again, thanks for asking!
I've always hoped that this thread would help out some other folks in their builds, and by bumping it back up to the front may entice some members to check out the building of FRANKENTRUCK from all the best of those existing, junkyard, and new parts. That's why my wife nick-named it FRANKENTRUCK!

Here's specs for those not familiar:
4 bolt main 350, 2.02/1.6 67cc chamber World heads, Crane cam, roller tip rockers, roller chain and sprocket advanced 4 degrees.
Upgraded and tuned HEI, 600cfm Holley, Weiand manifold, Hooker shortys.
TH400 with 1200 stall speed converter, machined ORD NP205 with twin stick (4x4, RWD, and FWD capable).
1973 Dana 44 front axle/springs with Warn hubs and a 1973 5560 lb rated full-floating rear axle/springs with 4.11:1 gearing. From the donor truck.
Kenwood iPod/CD receiver indash, Kenwood 6.5" x 4.
Todd.

[asphaltburner]

Whoa! dammitmitchell! How are you my friend?! Hope ya had a great Thanksgiving!
I've actually been kinda caught up in design and implementation of a two story addition onto my house. Got a couple of engineers and a couple of contractors working for me right now!
Moved into the modern age in October by having my 25 year old furnace replaced with a new, 92.5% efficient one,...first work I've ever had done by someone else on my house!
Also got lucky enough to get to purchase the '98 LTD 4Runner that my dad bought new back then for cheap. 112,000 miles and in near showroom condition!





How's things with you?
Todd.

[dammitmitchell]

how am I your friend wtf?
hahahah what eva. Your truck rocks it's a total sleeper!
mines' a mustang magnet. if i diddnt have building removal gears i'd stomp them. im over 400 HP now.. and over 400 Pnds TQ!

woot woot! but 4/56's suck on mileage. but hell what am i talkin about. why isnt franken truck painted yet!

the 280 rolls into the shop next week i have probably two weeks worth of wire wheeling then have to fix the compressor so i can spray some por-15.
gotta pick my block up from the machine shop too!..

got alot of work this winter and a hella good space heater.

p.s. my cheby's down for the moment. i had a factory imperfection and lost a valve spring. luckly it's only broken in half and the magnet in my oil pan grabbed what little debris fell from it. Im pissed at 1k for a set of heads and they crap out in a month.. grrr!
miss your posts dude!