Project Happy 40th Birthday

[nandress]

A while back, my dad and I realised the 40th birthday of our truck was approaching at about the same pace our restoration was starting to come together. We set out to mark the 40th Birthday with an unveiling that would make for a very good birthday present.

Well, we almost made it!! Today, the to do list is very short, and should be completed within a month. The problem is that life throws many curveballs, and you just hope that all the batters on the team can hit them. Unfortunately, that didn't happen...but I am very happy with where we sit today.

So I decided that today I would unveil what we have as it sits right now. Enjoy!!

[HeavyD]

Wow! Nice truck. Is that a GMPP Ramjet under the hood? Have it running yet? Was it easy to install?

[nandress]

Originally Posted by HeavyD

Wow! Nice truck. Is that a GMPP Ramjet under the hood? Have it running yet? Was it easy to install?

Yes, RamJet 350...2000 model! Not running yet, but it would have been yesterday if the latest curveball hadn't been pitched!! Not hard to install so far...just like any other small block. It's pretty tough to get back to the distributor area with all the sheet metal on, but if you are flexible!!

[al's71gmc]

That is a beautiful truck! Love the color choice. Interior, bed, engine, very nice! Congradulations, and happy birthday!

[68C15]

ohhhhh!!! check out that booster/MC setup!!
and the interior is nice. is that a Genie shifter?
why is the underside of the hood white? is that paint or some form of insulation?
where did you put the window switches?

[jaros44sr]

Well that is one beautiful truck, nice attention to detail. Nice to see a father son project as well.

Couple questions?
Did you use AN fittings on your heater core to intake manifold? If so, which ones?

I wanted to put my fill tube in the wood bed also, but thought it would be hard to reach with the tailgate down, any thoughts?

Once again I just want to compliment you on a job well done, can't wait to see pics. in the light of day!! J.

[68GMC454]

really nice truck..wish my dad had of been into working on cars..but i know how to build a house,,and that will pay for the truck i got.
it looks great...nice bed..

[Yukon Jack]

Lots of nice touches on the truck. Very nice!

[centsless]

That is incredible!! Very nice truck, I really like the color

[JustLiveIt]

Beautiful truck indeed. What seat belts are you using?

[71chevylowrider]

nice, Nice, NICE!

[Already Gone]

Juicy truck. Congratulations on sticking with it. I hope you and your will drive and enjoy her when completed. I am assuming you are young and as you age you will always cherish and remember the time you and your Dad spent together doing the build. To me that time is priceless.

[49studebaker]

You know you'll get a lot of questions. Very nice truck. What brand and type of headers are you using? I assume you have the knock sensor in it's original position. First pair of headers I trial fitted hit the control arm, second set interfered with the knock sensor/connector.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I don't care if she's 40, I'd still hit it

Great job man, they don't get much nicer looking than that!

[bryanw1968]

VERY nice. Man I need to paint my truck!!!!
That is exactly how I want my bed to look.
Great work.
B-dub

[turbochevy]

Very nice project, looks like the hard work has paid off!

[71SWBChevy]

Dang that is one sweet looking truck you and your dad should be proud!

[nandress]

Originally Posted by 68C15

ohhhhh!!! check out that booster/MC setup!!
and the interior is nice. is that a Genie shifter?
why is the underside of the hood white? is that paint or some form of insulation?
where did you put the window switches?

1) Lokar Nostalgic--didn't know about Genie when I bought that one.
2) It's a spray on sound deadening material. Is all over inside the cab (can't see it now with the carpet) on the underside of the cab, and underside of all four wheel wells. It was my dad and the painter's doing...I don't know enough about it to provide any useful info. It is a PPG product though.
3) You'll find out at a later date! I have something planned that will probably warrant a separate post.

[nandress]

Originally Posted by jaros44

Couple questions?
Did you use AN fittings on your heater core to intake manifold? If so, which ones?

I wanted to put my fill tube in the wood bed also, but thought it would be hard to reach with the tailgate down, any thoughts?

Once again I just want to compliment you on a job well done, can't wait to see pics. in the light of day!! J.

1) Almost!! This is one part that causes me umpteen frustration every day!! At the manifold and radiator, the -12 heater hoses terminate with with 90 degree Endura's by Russell. I originally planned to use Aeroquip, but Summit was backed up on them and so I went with the Russells. I decided that Russells might not be so bad when I found their braided brake lines (the absolute best you can buy!). And actually, the Russells have a much better finish with the Endura than any of the other nickel/polished/natural finish fittings out there. I was real impressed. (Except for their slightly mangled threads in the big sizes which took a bit of filing to get things moving right.) At the firewall, we have a four port A/C bulkhead from Vintage Air. The problem is that they have -10 O-Ring fittings...so there is no way to take an AN line and fit it up. Right now we have 90 degree O ring heater fittings from Vintage Air where the tube is clamped down with a phony tube clamp by Earls. If I ever figure out a way to adapt the -12 tubing with a real fitting there, it will be done. (Note to manufacturers, here is a money making adapter!!)

2) I don't think it's too bad. Will have to wait for the tailgate to pass judgement!! The filler is about 12 inches from the end of the bed, so I don't think it will be much of a problem. With a truck like this, you just have to be more diligent and careful!

3) Me neither. I actually have a brilliant idea for THE COOLEST PHOTOSHOOT EVAR, but since our truck wasn't able to roll out today, I doubt I'll be able to pull it off. But when it is rolling and complete, I will do a full artsy-fartsy spread!

[jimmydean]

Wow, that is a damn nice truck. I would love to see some more pics.

[nandress]

Originally Posted by 68GMC454

really nice truck..wish my dad had of been into working on cars..but i know how to build a house,,and that will pay for the truck i got.
it looks great...nice bed..

Well, this father/son thing is something we just fell into! My dad was too cheap to pay someone to change his oil, and since he was a school teacher and was able to get access to the auto shop with a hydraulic lift, it was just natural to change the oil every so often. One day, we noticed some rust in the rockers. Sanded down a little on it to make some bare metal, borrowed a little Bondo, and we had a makeshift body repair. Looked like s...... Anyway, noticed on the next oil change that it looked a little worse, and so we started to wonder, "How can it be fixed right?" When we noticed that some cab mounts were starting to split, that's when the path to ruin began.

15 years later, you look on it and realize you have a good buddy. Would like to kill him sometimes (and I know he feels the same way), but I think you understand each other a whole lot more.

[nandress]

Originally Posted by JustLiveIt

Beautiful truck indeed. What seat belts are you using?

They are the aircraft style retractables from Brothers. The buckles actually look a lot like stock. Considered sending the originals out to be resto'd, but didn't really want to have that argument over price!! Thought for a while about 3 points, but I think the hot rodder aftermarkets look like garbage.

[nandress]

Originally Posted by Already Gone

Juicy truck. Congratulations on sticking with it. I hope you and your will drive and enjoy her when completed. I am assuming you are young and as you age you will always cherish and remember the time you and your Dad spent together doing the build. To me that time is priceless.

The priceless is a 65 year old man sitting behind the wheel going "VROOM VROOOM" when he knows you can't hear him!!

[nandress]

Originally Posted by 49studebaker

You know you'll get a lot of questions. Very nice truck. What brand and type of headers are you using? I assume you have the knock sensor in it's original position. First pair of headers I trial fitted hit the control arm, second set interfered with the knock sensor/connector.

The headers are Thorley's for the 67-72 trucks. Had them HPC coated. No problems really with interference with anything. They aren't even close to the knock sensor. We had to trim the frame about 1/2" to clear, but it wasn't anything too major.

[nandress]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I wish it was more better, but for our first project, I think it came out pretty well.

Anyway, thanks for being generous enough to celebrate her 40th Birthday with us today!!!!!!!!!