Ol' Blue's going on a trip!

[habes78023]

Hey all!

TL;DR: Guy is about to start work on parents first truck, driving it cross country this weekend.

Didn't mean to type so much but once I got going I couldn't leave much out.

Intro: New to the Forum, but I've been reading up quite a bit over the last few weeks. Really appreciate a lot of the detailed posts that have been made by the members here showing off their work!

Background: So why am I posting? My parents bought a truck shortly after they got married back in 1977. It is a 1977 2wd Short Bed with a 350 in it. They've owned it ever since then and it's been passed down through the kids as each of us drove it. Since there was a 10 year gap between my brother and I, my dad wanted to work on the truck with me to get it into top shape for me to drive. But timing didn't work out with other projects and priorities. Fast forward to mid 2014 and my dad was thinking he would sell it. I said I'd like to buy it myself and restore it. Well he wouldn't sell it to me but said he would gift it to me instead. AWESOME!

Now, the main problem with all of this is that I've been moving around the last few years. And I'm still going to be moving again in the next 5-8 months. But I'm living in South Carolina now and I've found myself with some spare time and a garage that's calling my name. Just the combination to get me thinking of Ol' Blue and getting it back into shape.

The Truck: It's a head turner, mainly because of the color. Which I'm told is Corvette Blue; the color my Dad repainted it at the request of my older sister back in '96 or so. I got a couple pics just to hold yall over for now.

The Good, I'm pretty confident that it is in good mechanical condition. My dad is the best mechanic I know and he's been taking care of this thing for nearly 40 years, it could not have been in better hands. But I'm sure that the engine has seen better days just from a wear perspective, and I'm considering doing something along the lines of a swap in that department.

The Bad, mainly rust. it's got rust in a lot of different spots. It's also got a few spots that are damaged because, well, teenage drivers. Worst is the front passenger fender, which was partially me, and partially someone hitting me in the high school parking lot.

The Plan: I'm planning on flying home this weekend, to run a half marathon in San Antonio, then driving the truck back Sunday-Monday. For those not wanting to do the google maps. It's going to be around 19 hours of driving and about 1300 miles. Any Advice?

As mentioned before, my dad is a mechanic and he's replaced the fuel filter, fuel pump, and water pump this week. I believe he is also going to be checking the distributor cap and rotor, spark plugs and blower motor. He's really hooking it up good for the trip. And he will also be my go to source while I've got the truck here in South Carolina.

Once I get the truck here I will be tearing into it some to get things cleaned up and start picking and choosing places to make improvements or fixes to get the truck into top shape.

A couple of things on the list:
- It leans to one side, which I want to diagnose. Hopefully it isn't a frame issue, my dad has tried a few times replacing springs and says it comes back, so I'm going to try my hand at it. C10 Lean
- Stop the rust from spreading. It's going to hurt to do, but with all the rust that's on it.. I just have to start replacing panels, patching here and there, and making it look bad before it starts to look good again.

Those are the major goals now. I'm also thinking I can do a few small replacements here and there.

Now that you've read the full prologue, I'll reward with a few pics!

[73kay]

I bought my first square from atlanta. I flew one way from VA to pick it up and bring her back. It was my first time driving 3 on the tree and I will always remember the maiden voyage. I think you should be ok, I was more a risk taker, just check the oil, radiator fluid and every 200 miles (when you stop) check for leaks etc. Enjoy the cheap gas prices.

Ps. If you break down on I-35 let me know I'm an hour north of Austin, haha

[habes78023]

Originally Posted by 73kay

I will always remember the maiden voyage. I think you should be ok, I was more a risk taker,

Ps. If you break down on I-35 let me know I'm an hour north of Austin, haha

So you know how excited I am about this weekend Some friends I've told definitely think I'm a risk taker A female coworker of mine said "...you're taking a 77 on a road trip? That's the year I was born... Why would you drive a 25 year old truck that far?"

From the looks of it I plan on taking 10 instead of 35, but I do appreciate the offer

Originally Posted by Chaplain

Nice story and nice truck...be safe and enjoy the journey.

Appreciate it!

[73kay]

Hahahaha nice

[Rich84]

Good Luck! She will be fine.

Bring a credit card just in case.

[habes78023]

Ol' Blue ran like a champ!

I left NW San Antonio at about 4:30pm Sunday. Made it to Sumter just before 10pm yesterday. I was making tracks, only stopped in Louisiana for about a 5 hour nap.

Kept it around 60-70mph most of the way, closer to 60 at the beginning, closer to 70 at the end.

I'll update more when I get home from work. Time to start making some lists of what to work on and what tools to start getting.

[slotard]

Glad to hear everything went well.

[habes78023]

Guess I just got home from work.

So like I had said, truck made the trip fine. Used a little bit of oil, if I had to guess I'd say maybe a half quart, but it's tough to find level ground.

Some of you might find this interesting:

The truck has approx. 230k miles on it. So I'd say running 12-13 mpg at 65-70 mph isn't too bad really with a 5.7 liter engine and less than desirable aerodynamics.

Quest for Parts: I've been looking for junk yards in the area that square bodies on inventory, but it's not as easy as you'd hope. I did come across this site: http://car-part.com/ which has connected a lot of scrap yards inventory into one database, pretty awesome! Except I'm finding that none of these yards have weekend hours. So it looks like I might be making some phone calls or emails and asking for pictures and requesting them to meet me on a weekend or late evening. Has anyone else run up against this? Got a solution? Or do you just get lucky with well stocked yards in your town ?

Quest for Tools: I'm also in the process of deciding what tools to grab. I've got a list going...
I visited a bunch of pawn shops in the area today actually, was hoping I could find some deals but after comparing prices to what I can find online, I'd hardly call them deals. I suppose I could make an offer, as many places advertise "ask for our best price", so maybe after the research I've done tonight I'll actually know what a score price would be to make those offers.

Truck did see a little action today though, hauled leaves, then removed all the old stickers off the rear window with a razor and some Goo Gone. Then added a license plate frame to the front.




Road trip casualties haven't been cleaned off yet.

[habes78023]

So it's been a little bit, but I'm back by popular demand.

Quest for tools: Fruitful, I found a gentleman who was getting rid of his tools on Craigslist and I drove to meet him in Ol Blue. A 4 hour round trip after work, but definitely worth it. I'm glad I didn't cave in and buy a snap on tool box like I was tempted to do. I think this is a little more my speed and I can always replace tools as I break them.



Quest for parts: Difficult, I've been almost all over the state trying to get various body parts and get good deals. It's been really disappointing to see so many others on here having great luck at the scrap yards but I've called the ones in my area and they are pretty bare bones, quite a few telling me that they don't stock anything 'that old'. Oh well! I'll feature the parts and things I've picked up as I go.

I've done a few quick upgrades, not really having to dig in too deep but things I wanted to have and figured I might as well install since I got them already.

Swapped out the rusted chrome lugs with much nicer ones.


Swapped out the center caps with caps that have a little more color to them.


Swapped out the rear view mirror for one I can actually see out of.


Swapped out the rear lens' for some chrome trim ones.


Cleaned up the seat belts, going from light blue to a darker blue:
before

after


Swapping out the side markers with chrome trim versions, got the gf to help!

[habes78023]

I've been a little busier though than the last post suggests.

I've been putting a lot of thought into what exactly I want the truck to be when I'm done. Leveled, probably dropping 2 inches in the rear. Keep the same exterior color. Make the interior nicer. Get rid of the body rust.

Close to current state:


First and Foremost it's got to be able to run.

Engine: Deciding on swap vs. rebuild is a tough decision, but I've decided that I'd like to go the rebuild route. Keep the original block in it, because when it comes to sentimental value, I think that would mean more to me to still have that same engine carrying me around. Does anyone have any favorite combinations for getting around 300-325HP and Torque? I think this should be cheaply and easily attainable, durable, and wouldn't sacrifice mileage too much.

Tranmission: I also was trying to decide what to do about the transmission, because, while the current one hasn't given any trouble, it isn't ideal for the type of driving this truck will be doing when it's back in Texas driving to and from town on the highway. I ended up buying a 700r4, which should swap right in since I've got the 9" tail housing on the current TH350.

The current plan is to get the engine pulled this weekend, get it over to a machine shop in town where they can take a look at it and I can plan a little further as to where to go Engine-wise.

[slotard]

You might consider going 383 if you're rebuilding it anyway, with the addition of the 700R4 in place of your current TH350 it should still be better on the freeway than your current setup.

How much do you want to spend? Aluminum heads certainly aren't required for that power level, but they do help lighten up the front a bit. They'll also allow higher compression ratio for the same gas, and therefore you can get away with a smaller cam that's easier on the valvetrain and still make your power goal.

The main downside I see to keeping your current block is that it makes a roller lifter setup very expensive (probably not worth it). I don't think I'd be sentimental about the engine (unless you and your dad built it or something), but not everything makes sense.

[habes78023]

Originally Posted by slotard

How much do you want to spend?

That would probably help to give you guys an idea of what ballpark we are playing in. Considering the Goodwrench engine is 1200-1400 dollars, I'd like to stay under that. Which I think should be easily done, sub 1k?

The Carb already needs to go, there was a propane conversion unit installed back in the day and while the carb does run in full gas mode, I'd prefer to clean up the engine bay some by taking all that extra conversion stuff out. And the Cam will be replaced too.

What does taking .030 out of the engine to get a 383 get me? Is it just easier torque and hp gain because more displacement means more power? I was thinking different heads with better flow might be more efficient(better mpg?) and I wouldn't have to remove material, not saying removing material is good or bad, just seems like I wouldn't want to remove material. Maybe yall are also considering that its cheaper to do the machining than buy new heads?

Like I said before, this is the first project I'm doing like this. I really appreciate the feedback and I've been trying to do the research before asking questions.

[slotard]

The main thing involved in 383 is a stroker crank (matching the stroke of a 400), the bore is more minor. I think it's a 377 if you don't bore it. The bore is mostly to clean up the block, as the cylinders wear over time. The longer stroke gets you more displacement, which mostly results in more torque but helps a little up top too.

I don't know what heads you have now, stock? If so, heads are a better place to spend money if the shortblock is in decent shape.

Will you be doing the work yourself?

How many miles are on the engine?

If the bores are in good shape, you can get a rebuild kit from Summit or similar for <$250. That consists of pistons, rings, bearings, gaskets, maybe some other stuff (I forget). However, if it's worth replacing your pistons it's likely that a minor overbore is a good idea as well.

Then you'll probably want a decent cam. Nothing crazy for the power level you're looking for, but not your stock one. Comp Cams sells cam/lifter kits for $215. I'd replace the timing set too, another $30 (you don't need anything crazy).

This puts you around $500 so far, leaving another $500. I'd also suggest replacing intake manifold if stock, but budget is getting awfully tight. If the bottom end is adequate as-is it makes things a lot easier.

[habes78023]

Originally Posted by slotard

I don't know what heads you have now, stock?

Will you be doing the work yourself?

How many miles are on the engine?

• rebuild kit from Summit or similar for <$250.
  
• Comp Cams sells cam/lifter kits for $215. I'd replace the timing set too, another $30
  
• This puts you around $500 so far, leaving another $500.

Awesome, that first paragraph explains exactly what I was looking for in an answer.

I will be doing the work myself, except for machining, if the engine rebuild does go that route.

I'm assuming stock heads, stock intake (unless the propane conversion required a different one?), stock cam, stock mostly everything. I think I should be able to save myself some money by not trying to go for flashy things like chromed valve covers, intake, etc.

The engine has approx 230k miles on it, which I also realize might scare most away from rebuild considering iron can only handle so much stress over time, but knowing the owners (my parents) for the last nearly 40 years, I don't think this thing was bashed on. We should have answers once the engine is out and pulled apart to inspect the inside. I should double check that it hasn't been rebuilt, but I'm pretty sure it hasn't.

That parts list is pretty close to what I was thinking so far... It doesn't seem too far fetched to say I could get away with rebuild kit, cam, timing set, intake, heads?, maybe be able to find some deals on a kit someone bought and hasn't used yet, or find some other slightly used parts, deals are out there.