Diary of a Madman...

[evenmadderdawg]

Here's my heap. Plans include; figuring out if I have drop spindles or not & installing a pair, eliminating drop shackles in favor of a flip kit, replacing the engine(350), replacing/rebuilding the transmission(th350), poly bushings everywhere, new shocks all around, rebuilding the rear axle- eliminating the stupid 4.56 r/p for something like 3.73s, replacing the bed, tailgate and doors, rebuilding the interior, fixing/replacing the hack job wiring, rebuilding the A/C system, adding a radio & speakers, ditching the grill and roll pan, painting the whole thing, dynamat or equivalent, headlight relay upgrade, removal of awful tint, new bumpers & appropriate brackets, um... there's more, but the bottom line is- I'd like to make this daily driver reliable and fun to drive. The look I'm leaning towards is vintage 70's/80's NASCAR vibe- like if they had the truck series back then.
Anyways, I should be able to finish all this by Monday!
More images to follow...

[84lwb]

what the heck did they do to that tailgate?other than that it looks like a real nice starting point.

[Square84]

looks like they trying to make it smooth. looks good maddawg. where abouts in nola you live i used to live over on gentilly.

[evenmadderdawg]

Yeah, the whole truck is pretty booty-fab'ed. I've been driving it for 8-9 months and feeling increasingly unsafe and irresponsible. On the other hand, it does great burn outs if the trans has fluid. Terrible, terrible mileage= like 7 mpg if I'm polite.
Oh, to be independently wealthy!

Square84- if I have my colloquialisms correct, I'm an Uptown Soldier. Carrollton/Riverbend area...

[spr85gmc]

looks like a prety dang good canvas to start from more pics please...

[old Rusty C10]

looks like a great start.. i keep plenty of pics of mine so this way i can document my progress

[84 400]

nice start. wow I wish I had some gears in mine but not 4:56.... ouch. Some 373's should be nice. What did they use it for that the 4:56's where put in there for.

Welcome from NH

[evenmadderdawg]

I'll post up some additional photos to show more details of what I'm working with.

84 400- not sure what the previous owners intentions were with such a steep set of gears, or that ridiculous purple tint. BTW, that's not primer- that's the worst silver paint job ever.
So here are a few more...

How 'bout that wiring?!



Notice the coolant in this one below...

PO told me this was an '86 truck, titled as an '81, with a '77 Corvette small block. I haven't run any casting numbers yet. When I first got it, it had been sitting for a while, so I popped on a rebuilt 1406 from some dude on the 'net that rebuilds them cheap. I see his site is gone. Not sure what that means. Incidentally, to be fare to the PO's fab skills, that's my throttle return spring bracket substitute- its the bracket holding the A/C comp in place. I've promised myself I'll replace it with something more suitable when the engine comes out.

Before I go, here's one of the doors. They're both hacked like this.

Here's the former home of the radio and misc electrical butchery.


Remind me to take more interior photos. I'm trying to research interior color change and the level of difficulty for various colors. I'm assuming black is the easiest/cheapest color to change to as far as trim, belts, dashes, etc., right?

I'll post again later.

[Square84]

lol i thought it was primer.

[kevinr1970]

Originally Posted by evenmadderdawg

I'm trying to research interior color change and the level of difficulty for various colors. I'm assuming black is the easiest/cheapest color to change to as far as trim, belts, dashes, etc., right?

If you mean repainting/dyeing your interior I am not sure. If you mean finding black interior parts then good luck! Black interiors just don't exist.
A while back there was a decent set of black seat belts on EBay with a ridiculous BIN. They sold for more than the BIN?

If you are leaning towards a darker color then charcoal is a good choice as it goes with any color paint.

[84 400]

well don't laugh too hard at mine but this is what I ended up with. Black is too hard to find so I went two tone black and grey. IT is not done yet but is getting closer. Black belts are impossible to get for a reasonable price over $150 for 23 year old used seat belts.....

Mine used to be buckskin tan. The carpted door panels I did because the originals where too screwed up for dyeing. And some one tried to spray paint them. I know it is kinda funky but works for now.



Your truck looks like someone was making some interesting modifications. Glad to here it is good hands now. I know some of the 6.2 trucks used those kinda rear end gears but I beleive they are all or mostly 6 0r 8 luggers

Maybe they where trying to set it up as a street/strip truck?

[evenmadderdawg]

My truck actually has black shoulder belts already, the rest of the interior is silver metal with blue seats, dash, and door covers and visors- man, I'm really regretting not taking photos of the button-tuck headliner the PO installed. Its removal was the 2nd mod I preformed after the carb swap. I'm not sure I'll have the time/dough to have it down long enough to paint the interior, so I'm looking for colors that might go easily with the color I have- charcoal or gray sounds right.

I'm also trying to make out whether my spindles are stock. These photos may or may not help any keen eyed observers...










A few more minutes of work, and it'll be a show truck!

[smashingchuck]

look like drop spindles to me.

[scotts62]

yeah they really do.

[evenmadderdawg]

Sorry to resurrect this with no additional photos, but could someone chime in with what clues make these drop spindles?

Is it the tie rod/steering arm that droops? Thats what I had been thinking, but I saw a set at the junkyard that looked like these on a truck that appeared to be stock height.

If they are drop spindles, great!

[smashingchuck]

the location of the spindle shaft.

[84 400]

Meber BabyJay did a nice interor redo on his K30 a while back. his name might have been BabyJay79? I can't member now.

[brak]

any updates?

[evenmadderdawg]

Sorry for the delayed response, brak. I had to literally almost give up on the whole thing when I accepted a new job last May. Basically, I'm making good money-which I'm grateful for in these tough economic times- but I just haven't had the time to work on it.
Last time I fired it up and drove it any meaningful distance, I realized there was something wrong with the rear end(either the shoe job I did last time involved a major error, or one or more bearings have burned up in it), there is a major leak in the brake lines somewhere, and I can no longer afford to ignore the transmission leak(I noticed silicone sealer around the trans dipstick tube).
I'm feeling like a real rookie right about now, 'cause I'm sure one of the regulars on this board would have passed it up when they gave it a once over- I dunno, something about the way it looked and the ridiculous burnouts it was capable of just got me hooked.
Long term plans remain relatively unchanged- make it a "street fighter" or something.
I'm trying to save up for an engine & trans combo: I'm really diggin' the idea of that Hot Rod Magazine cheap 350 recipe they came out with in the last two issues. Only, I'd start with that Vortec truck long block that gets mentioned in the side bar. And I'd like to find someone in or around New Orleans that would be willing to rebuild my TH350 or better yet- I'd pay them to show me/let me help.
I'm hoping this summer gives me some down time to start on it again. The neighbors are starting to give me the evil eye...