Baby blue 1970 GMC LWB resto-mod

[Square_78]

Just wanted to start with some pics of the truck today as it sits. It was painted about 20 years ago and is in wonderful condition! The only rust is just a little on the rockers, but I'll deal with that when the time comes for paint next year.

I've already ordered a Grant classic wood steering wheel to replace this ugly newer wheel that doesnt belong on there. Next week I am ordering up a schrader valve front and rear bag setup, brackets and step notch from AVS to get it down to the correct height so I can measure it for wheels. Planning on Raceline deceptive 6 or Blast 6 in 20x8.5 and 22x10 and I'll hopefully have those in the next couple months. Over the winter I will install the rest of the bag setup, compressors, tanks etc etc and raise up and install a new wood floor. The roof and top of the cab are getting painted white right away also. It will eventually end up as a short bed with two tone blue and white with all the proper trim but the paint wont be for a year at least. Paint is pretty much last on my list.

Heres todays pics... more to come as things progress

1970 GMC LWB
New 350 SBC motor
new Eddy carb
New rechromed OEM grill and bumper
New gas tank
New seat
New dash pad

[Tinkermc]

nice lookin starter truck

[Square_78]

Thanks! its ugly right now, bit it will be HOT when I am done. Its very straight and solid. You just dont find them like this around here in this condition. I couldnt pass it up.

[Square_78]

Classic Wooden Grant steering wheel will be in tomorrow and white face guages have been ordered on ebay. Just waiting on AVS to email me back with a shipping quote on bags and a c-notch......

[Square_78]

Grant steering wheel sent back. WAY too much dish. Im a big guy and it wasnt going to work.

Ordered this one instead. Comes with billet adapter and is less money than the Grant wheel. It will be in next week. If I dont like the look of it, then it will end up in my 78 and I'll go back to the drawing board.

[Square_78]

Got the new wheel installed yesterday. Not too shabby!

Placed my LMC order finally. New door panels, Instrument cluster surround, chrome tail light trim and a few other things to clean up the interior a bit more.

Today did plugs, cap, rotor, NGK blue 10mm wires, air filter, lubed up the window regulators and door locks. Threw out the old home made door panels. Just plain ugly. Cant wait to get the new ones from LMC!

[Square_78]

Took the truck in to my mechanic today.. checked timing, vacuum, plugs, carb, everyting and its still missing under load. I give up for now. they dont know whats wrong. Not about to start replacing distributors and carburators as trial and error. No money for that. I'll just have to live with it for now. At least it runs ok for the most part. I'll get the interior finished up and get it lowered down next week. Lower body molding and paint the roof white. Then it will be a nice weekend cruiser. Then i save for the big stuff. Bags order was put on hold for now. Need to get the brakes swapped so I can get drop spindles installed. Then bags.

[Square_78]

Heres the 350 small block. Needs help haha. Runs strong except misses under load.. I give up for now. No more budget for the that right now. All im gunna do to the motor is change the oil and put on a new oil pan gasket.

Put on the new front tires. 215/70R15. Same diameter as the 255/35R20's that I will be running in the front next year hopefully. Wanted the right diameter tires on it so I can bag it and adjust the suspension to the right height. Rears are 235/75R15, and thats just a little bigger than the 295/25R22 that I am going to use.

[cubber]

Nice looking truck with a lot of potential.

[Square_78]

Lowered my truck a bit today...

Cut the front springs and heated the back ones. Not really gunna drive it. Just did it fast so I can locate and weld in my c-notch and do my panhard bar, flip my carrier bearing etc. Then half the work is done when my bags arrive. Looks pretty damn mean the way it sits. Front came down almost 6" so as you can imagine the ride isnt very good right now. This will basicly be my ride height when it gets bagged, except an inch or so lower in the back. The tires are exactly the same size as the 20/22" setup I will be running.

[GMCJOE]

You should buy a can of starter fluid. Spray all around the intake, all the vacuum hoses, and the brake booster. If your idle changes, you know you have a vacuum leak which could cause a miss. And check you firing order, and put a timing light on it. Just a few helpful suggestions.

[Square_78]

Already did all that. new cap, rotor, plugs, wires. Vacuum leaks all fixed and new vacuum lines. Timing has been set correctly. New fuel filter. Maybe its a plugged main jet or something relating to lack of fuel. I need to put a mechanical fuel pressure gauge on it and go for a drive.

[Square_78]

Everyone I talk to tells me that these Edelbrock 1406 carbs are junk, and blame it as the root of all my problems. I know the throttle linkage setup is pretty silly and Im sure its not the right one for this truck. The kick down cable for the transmission isnt working properly and nobody seems to know how to set it up properly. I havent had much luck finding anyone who can adjust things correctly. Most mechanics I have talked to tell me its a "budget" carburator and that the previous owner should have left the quadrajet on there. Im starting to feel the same way. The general concensis is to upgrade to a Holley Demon carb but thats way out of my budget for this year. Now that my truck is this low, I cant drive it fast anyways so I guess I'll worry about the engine later.

[Tinkermc]

nice lookin truck

[GMCJOE]

I never had any problems out of Edelbrock carbs. Except for the fact of running one that is too small. I suggest vacuum tuning it, you probably need to adjust your metering jets. That might solve your problems, most people don't vacuum tune there Edelbrocks resulting in bad performance. I am upgrading from a 1405 that I put a electric choke kit on to a Thunder Series 650. Need a little more push of fuel when I hit the secondaries.

[GMCJOE]

Here is Edelbrock's youtube series of tech video's. I haven't watched to see if they show vacuum tuning or not. I am sure they have something on it. If not, Google always produces.

http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_...ech_vids.shtml

[Square_78]

Just a little video. The ticking is from an exhaust leak at the headers under the truck. Work in progress...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noVBNjLUAUU

[GMCJOE]

Sounds pretty good other than the exhaust leak tic. Buy 2 sets of header gaskets and put the backings together of 2 of them to make one set for each side. This is what I do, never had an issue with a leak since I started doing this. Did you get your carb issue figured out?

[Square_78]

Originally Posted by GMCJOE

Here is Edelbrock's youtube series of tech video's. I haven't watched to see if they show vacuum tuning or not. I am sure they have something on it. If not, Google always produces.

http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_...ech_vids.shtml

I watched those videos a few weeks ago on Youtube. They are quite good. No mention of vacuum tuning though. Seems like not many mechanics these days know much about tuning carbs. I need to find some old school hotrod guys to ask for advice. Im going to try a rebuild kit over the winter and check the main jets etc.

[Square_78]

Originally Posted by GMCJOE

Sounds pretty good other than the exhaust leak tic. Buy 2 sets of header gaskets and put the backings together of 2 of them to make one set for each side. This is what I do, never had an issue with a leak since I started doing this. Did you get your carb issue figured out?

I need to swap out these headers for some shorty ones. The video doesnt do it justice. It sounds REALLY good in real life. I will definately try your idea of two sets of gaskets. I kind of gave up on the tuning issue for now. I'll rebuild the carb over the winter and then find someone to look at it next spring.

[GMCJOE]

Just google vacuum tuning for edelbrock 1406. Plenty of info on it. I would suggest doing this before rebuilding. You might determine that you need larger jets.

[Square_78]

Cool thankyou. I will look into this asap!

[Square_78]

LMC stuff showed up today.. door panels, window cranks, vent window locks, tail light trim, gauge bezel etc. Everything installed except the gauges. I have the white face gauge kit to do also so I will do it all at the same time on my next day off.

[nuke1]

Nice looking truck! good choice on the steering wheel.

[Square_78]

Painted the wheels satin black. They were so badly oxidized that they needed something. Not sure if I like the black or not. Only temporary anyways so no big deal. I can always paint them silver again if I want.