Markeb01 Build Thread

[markeb01]

Bumper guards were the first accessory purchase. They were new old stock from Golden State Pickup Parts in the original box (including mounting template and instructions). In the first photo they haven’t been bolted in place yet.







And this is what the interior looked like. Bare bones and starting to deteriorate, although the seat cover was almost mint except for some broken fabric on the driver seat area:







The original 305 V6 ran fairly well on 5 cylinders. It turned out to have cracked valves in one cylinder. I briefly thought about keeping the truck stock and rebuilding the V6, but a brand new crate 350 was less than half the cost, and I really wanted a hot rod.



It’s amazing how big this engine is. Check out the dimple in the firewall next to the valve cover, compared to the clearance with the small block Chevy a few photos down.



The engine was so undesirable at the time I couldn’t even give it away. It had to be disassembled into components to break up the weight enough to take it to the dumps. This is a shot of the bellhousing after the transmission was removed to accommodate pulling the engine: