73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Members Rides => Topic started by: Silver_Bullet85 on January 27, 2014, 09:55:43 pm
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[img]Well hello everyone! I've been perusing this forum for quite a while and Just this christmas I finally purchased my grandfathers 1985 c10 long bed and decided its about time I join the site and let y'all in on all the goodies I plan on laying on this hugely sentimental truck of mine. That and I'm more than likely going to need some sage advice from time to time and I've yet to find anything yet that comes close to the depth of knowledge that's here.
So with that said, what I have is a 1985 c10 long bed with the lowly 305 that I plan on converting to a 4x4 frame with a 540 cid gas guzzling, tire roasting, beast of an engine. I haven't decided on whether or not I'm going to be swapping the body or modifying the current frame, it really all depends on how good of a frame I can find here in Corpus Christi, TX or nearby.
I'm not building a show ride but at the same time I'm going to pay respect to the truck that was manufactured the year I was born, that my grandfather taught me to drive as a kid, hunted out of, rode countless rides in the back of around his orchards in, and generally spent a lot of time in as a child. Aaaaaand also be able to toss it in the mud pit from time to time ;D
I'll throw some pics up as soon as I can get photo bucket to work for me :P
The engine I'm going to use is here:
http://www.tristarengines.com/catalog/high-performance-crate-engines/gm/gm-prostar-series/prostar-540/pro-startm-540-cid-complete-dyno-d-crate-engine-featuring-darttm-big-m-block-and-pro-1-cylinder-heads.html (http://www.tristarengines.com/catalog/high-performance-crate-engines/gm/gm-prostar-series/prostar-540/pro-startm-540-cid-complete-dyno-d-crate-engine-featuring-darttm-big-m-block-and-pro-1-cylinder-heads.html)
I know what you're thinking, "should've built it myself" well I've never built an engine before and as much as I'd like to tristar has about 85% of the parts I would've built it with and it seems to have been done right and eliminates the chance of me screwing something up, plus its cheaper than if I bought all the parts myself….
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And here's the pics:
http://s75.photobucket.com/user/calebf2014/library/ (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/calebf2014/library/)
Got a little work done already, I work in the oil field and I'm on a days off rotation so every 28 days I get 7 off to spend on the Bullet +all that cash I made ;D come Feb. 3rd I will be doing some serious work hopefully, enjoy!!
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/IMG_00461_zps9b1f9976.jpg)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/IMG_00791_zps535e09a2.jpg)
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First off, welcome to the site Silver_Bullet85 from California. That is one heck of a project you got on your hands, should be able to spin off the tires for sure. We love sentimental stories around here.
The easiest would be get a donor 4x4 frame and put everything else of your truck onto the frame. If you want to keep your frame for sentimental reasons, the parts from the donor frame can be transplanted onto your frame. The 2wd drive stuff will have to be taken off ( by drilling out the rivet's that hold them ), and installing the 4wd stuff with grade 8 bolts.
By whatever means you get there, I look forward to seeing the progress on your truck, and keep the pics coming, cause we love pics too.
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welcome to the site from the PNW. sounds like your truck is going into "BEAST MODE" :o
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That power plant is ridiculous!! Cant wait to see how this one turns out! What media did you use to balst that paint off of that sheet metal? What color is going on? Full frame off resto?
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-bake
Thanks! That's the plan, I'd like to keep the frame but it'd be a lot easier to just swap them, the only thing that would prevent that would be if I can't find a frame that's in good shape. Also I was looking at it and everything looks bolted to the frame, I may be wrong tho, I'll send pics of it when I can.
Thanks dvdswan, and that's the plan!
-tonka
I used a dual action sander on it but I found a place that does sandblasting pretty cheap, I'm also thinking about making the one engineer made in his build thread, looks pretty solid and I've got the compressor already. It's going to be the same color as my 2014 ltz z71, tungsten metallic I think is the name of it, I like to call it sexy grey tho :D and yes I'll be getting the frame powder coated and the body under coated and replacing all the brake lines, fuel system, electrical, etc but it won't be show, just cleaned up and functional, I'm not gonna be fussing over the cleanliness as I'm flying through the local mud pit ;D
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Thats gonna be nice. I used Por 15 on mine after walnut shell media blast etc. It's a bit of a mess the Por15 but is incredible once on.
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That's what I was thinking of using but I've heard mixed reviews, I guess the surface has to be super clean before you apply?
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Welcome from Michigan....Sounds like a good project, it funny you mentioned it is from year you were born. One of my trucks is from the year I was born (86) and I always thought it was cool to say it was the same age as me.
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welcome from maryland
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Yep, and just like it I'm starting to feel a little rusty too lol, but I'm not leaking any fluids yet… that I know of… ;)
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Well, got some pics of the frame uploaded, y'all tell me what you think, the only rivets I found were on the front where the radiator went and then on the small crossmember in front of the engine crossmember. Is that normal or are the rivets on the small crossmember gonna have to go?
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/Front%20Frame/DSC_0044_zpsaabac691.jpg) (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/calebf2014/media/Front%20Frame/DSC_0044_zpsaabac691.jpg.html)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/Front%20Frame/DSC_0049_zpsc8944647.jpg) (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/calebf2014/media/Front%20Frame/DSC_0049_zpsc8944647.jpg.html)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/Front%20Frame/DSC_0055_zps2a0e7c46.jpg) (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/calebf2014/media/Front%20Frame/DSC_0055_zps2a0e7c46.jpg.html)
p.s. thanks Irish, the interweb is a confusing place for me
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use the img code
(http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m387/rebel_cowboy_83/stuff/imgcode_zps0a45dac2.png) (http://s333.photobucket.com/user/rebel_cowboy_83/media/stuff/imgcode_zps0a45dac2.png.html)
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Some folks say that 'sand' blasting is too harsh but IMO it's been done that way for years. If you are gonna strip that frame down, have that POR 15 ready to go immediately after you blast it. The por15 will seal it up better than new.
I also redlined the interior of my cab with roll on bed liner. I want this truck to be handed down to my son years from now.
They do not make em like they used to.
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Some folks say that 'sand' blasting is too harsh but IMO it's been done that way for years. If you are gonna strip that frame down, have that POR 15 ready to go immediately after you blast it. The por15 will seal it up better than new.
I also redlined the interior of my cab with roll on bed liner. I want this truck to be handed down to my son years from now.
They do not make em like they used to.
Using sand as the blasting materials will leave divot's and a ruff area, for a frame that is OK. For body work most use crushed walnut shells to blast with, less abrasive and leave little to no marks.
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Some folks say that 'sand' blasting is too harsh but IMO it's been done that way for years. If you are gonna strip that frame down, have that POR 15 ready to go immediately after you blast it. The por15 will seal it up better than new.
I also redlined the interior of my cab with roll on bed liner. I want this truck to be handed down to my son years from now.
They do not make em like they used to.
Using sand as the blasting materials will leave divot's and a ruff area, for a frame that is OK. For body work most use crushed walnut shells to blast with, less abrasive and leave little to no marks.
Thats what I was told also.
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Well a bit of news, a buddy I work with has an 86 k10 lwb that he's willing to sell me, the body is pretty well trashed but the transmission has been rebuilt, the engine runs and the frame should be in good shape, I'll hopefully pick it up tomorrow right after work. I'll put up some pics as soon as I can.
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So it's time for an update, a few things have changed and I'm going to stick with a 2wd build for now. I ordered a 383 stroker crate engine from tristar engines the other day and so we went ahead and pulled the old 305. Found quite a bit of carbon build up thanks mostly to what I'm guessing is some fried piston rings on the passenger side. I was impressed at how easily everything came off tho, 29 years or build-up has an odd preserving effect lol
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/9E0D93C6-2503-4C2F-9C22-24141F7DA4D4_zpsaaubdhzl.jpg) (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/calebf2014/media/9E0D93C6-2503-4C2F-9C22-24141F7DA4D4_zpsaaubdhzl.jpg.html)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/982685ED-68F3-4E9E-9B58-501201C55C11_zpspfk8eol4.jpg) (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/calebf2014/media/982685ED-68F3-4E9E-9B58-501201C55C11_zpspfk8eol4.jpg.html)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/3FA60E54-C6B0-43BA-8219-AC806CADD1D8_zpspsyehnym.jpg) (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/calebf2014/media/3FA60E54-C6B0-43BA-8219-AC806CADD1D8_zpspsyehnym.jpg.html)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/649564B3-7C1E-4A0B-9C29-A2E35AF36BD1_zpszdtqyy1k.jpg) (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/calebf2014/media/649564B3-7C1E-4A0B-9C29-A2E35AF36BD1_zpszdtqyy1k.jpg.html)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/75094635-CC5D-458C-B0BB-0D80D3D5864F_zpsrwufr9tc.jpg) (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/calebf2014/media/75094635-CC5D-458C-B0BB-0D80D3D5864F_zpsrwufr9tc.jpg.html)
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to me it looks like your egr ports were leaking cooking and the oil
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Oh ok, yeah it was leaking in quite a few places and all the coolant lines were very corroded and packed with junk. Thanks for the input, this is one of those learn-as-you-go projects for me and I'm eager to learn all I can.
We got the transmission, bed, and fuel tank pulled too so I think we're at the point where we can clean and start ordering all the fun stuff and maybe start putting her back together! Can't decide if I want to redress the suspension first or do wiring and the fuel system first, any thoughts?
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are you redoing the suspension or you just want to freshen it up? if it was me i would worry about if the engine will stay running first (if your driving it) cause you dont want her to stall out in a intersection or at all
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AWESOME PROJECT BUILD. I will be following for sure!
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Well I've got a new engine on the way for it, the old 305 is gone and a 383 is soon to go in! I'm stuck on the suspension for now, I can't decide whether to change bushings and shocks and keep everything else or throw in a four link rear and change out the front end as well, it all comes down to time and money, I'd like for a sturdy ride but it also has to handle the 450hp of the new engine. Any input would be great, I don't know a whole lot about how much a suspension upgrade will improve the ride.
Thanks fear!!!
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You should love the 383, as far as suspension goes, if the price tag is worth it to you. Depending on which way you went on the suspension, it could give you a softer ride quality and better stance, but you will need to do your homework on which type of system for sure and how much money is worth it to you.
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Well here's a quick update, the engine came in the other day and she looks great!! Tristar performance really did a fantastic job on this engine and always being available to answer any questions I had. All we're waiting on now is the delivery trucks from summit and amazon for all my shiny parts to come in. I hope these pictures show up right.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/16/u4ade4e8.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/16/habyneva.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/16/6anuqusa.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/16/tumunase.jpg)
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Update time, but first I can't begin to express how helpful this site has been in helping me get this truck back together. The technical pages have so much good info on everything! I haven't found a better information source out there than what's on this site, so thanks a lot guys!
Well we got the engine stuffed back in a week ago and had no problems whatsoever with the fitment, got a set of new motor mounts from oreillys and before you knew it she was in!
Next came adding on the accessories which went well, had to modify the spacers on the alternator bracket to get it all lined up but nothing the ole grinder couldn't handle. The tricky part was finding the right belts to connect it all together with, I swear I went through at least ten belts before I found the right fit!
Next we hooked up the throttle linkage and started on the painless wiring harness, as intimidating as it was at the start it actually proved to be a lot easier than I thought it would be, more tedious and methodical than difficult or confusing. Me and my brother stayed up all night long making sure everything was right and tucked up nicely. Only things left to wire up are the front and rear sections that I haven't put back on yet and the power windows and locks, I accidentally cut the wires out for all of them thinking the new harness had the replacements but was wrong, just 2 of the 6(?) total were provided so I'll need to finish them out later.
That was all I could accomplish on this week I had off, in three weeks I'll have another week to spend and I'll install a layer of second skin on the interior and convert everything to black to go with the dark navy blue paint we'll be going with on the outside. I'll also have all the other little accessory pieces I need, tranny cooler, brake lines, power steering lines, radiator mounts and hoses, and hopefully have the seat reupholstered. I'm so close now I can feel it! I'm really hoping she'll be moving under her own power by the end of the month.
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/140243A2-70AF-48BE-B731-7509DB9BB6FE_zpsgpd2urjo.jpg)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/E6C9E934-2A2E-4E5A-B5B0-C2982F22BF46_zpsbdpitbop.jpg)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/D8114151-8F10-472E-B7D3-130F6D555332_zpsskrzwsmb.jpg)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/FED5FCC9-0911-4809-8194-F2B8B9B1FF2F_zpsxmzteqrt.jpg)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/27A95549-32F7-4758-B30B-46B5F2893DF8_zps0knajlrm.jpg)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/C3120715-4DBF-427D-BE0D-BAC7B67D7F89_zpsv4inrjkx.jpg)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/2735358B-A712-4184-984C-C6C2A7D300B9_zps0lmbz7q9.jpg)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/1C3CF0E5-F503-4166-B726-3132329CA9A4_zpsxduc9pyw.jpg)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/84022C31-B512-4A20-B982-F19BB8AA9335_zpsjwurs6bl.jpg)
(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/calebf2014/3FB34137-C0C1-468E-AEAF-31ABAFDF4CAA_zpsftam1qin.jpg)
Here's Hank, the brains of the project, making sure we're getting it all done...
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Nice progress, tell "hank" he is performing his foreman job just as it should be. ;D
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Thanks! Haha yeah he runs a pretty tight ship around here.
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nice ! if I can get the pix post thing to go ill up some of my 84 long bed my gramps bought new and was given to me on his 95 passing. haven put many diff motors in and doing all the work myself I lowered it in 96 and built a stroker also using 6 Pontiac rods. I think I too have had every nut and bolt out and have built every at least once.in 98 my son took the truck up town and was running a 496 /400 and decided to show off for his future wife and clipped a cement block by some gas pumps. since then ive had 350s 383s 408s 427s 396/402s a 2009 6.0l outta a crashed vette now am back to a 383.i built rear disks long before any after markets were out got a gear vendors od, but before all of that I would say this stay away from polyurethane bushings and change the things you normally wouldn't hiem joint ,brake hoses,body bushings ect. mine might not be to much to look at ,I like it that way with the original paint or whats left ,but many can tell you what the rear looks like, I bought ganstull a type of por in Canada years back and its been great ,I guess theydont sell it no more but do have another type ill post soon ok,going fast is easy slowing is the trick,luck to you
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Silver I have checked up on your 4x4 build and I must say ...... Impressive stroker you have there, fantastic attention to detail, great progress on the truck man, and it am totally diggin your entire truck build, GREAT JOB ! And that truck is flat out sweet man , keep the updates going, and tell hank not to work too hard ;)
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So, what are your ideas/plans for the suspension? A 4 link in the rear is great and all but road stability goes down quite a bit, more for off-roading / "4 wheeling / crawling, you would be better off sticking with the original spring over axle setup that you have, new leaf springs , would do a world of difference combined with new bushings ,,,, also if you have the ability buddy you would REALLY benefit from a 56" leaf spring instead of a 52", your ride quality would greatly improve, though,,,, you would need to remove your leaf spring hanger brackets and move the brackets forward a few inches, and also the rear brackets back a couple inches,, just good food for thought for you brother, just thought I'd put my two cents in for ya,,,, again, GREAT job man, I'm loving the build, you have a sweet truck
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What a busy 3 months it's been! I haven't had too much time to work on the truck but I've gotten a lot accomplished. The wiring is complete, the truck is all back together and running under her own power now, which is more than I thought lol.
Earlier this month we had the first family reunion from my mothers side in over 10 yrs and I had only 3 days to get the truck ready to take and surprise my grandfather with. I haven't told him anything I've done to the truck since I picked it up back in January and wanted it to be perfect. All we had left to do was to put the bed back on, wire it up and paint it, finish installing the front grill and wire up all the headlights and signals and then give the rest of the truck a fresh coat of primer to cover all the scuffs and scratches. Then test drive it lol.
Oh! I almost forgot, we fired the engine up back in July and took it for a ride and quickly learned that I had the wrong torque converter. I had the original th350C and ordered a tc for the th350, turns out there's quite a difference lol! I found a great deal on a rebuilt 350 from the guys at performance automatic that was the same price as having my 350c rebuilt locally. It took a week to deliver and I threw that puppy in immediately after tinkering with the same tc a bit (the smaller set of splines deep inside the tc were rounded a bit so a good file and plenty of flushing of fluid cleaned everything up) and she fit like a charm! Double checked all measurements and bolted everything in. Ran like a beast afterwards and I've had no problems since except for the driveshaft slip yoke is leaking fluid, easy fix.
Back to the reunion tho, we got her finished just in time and got loaded up and after blowing out a tire on the u-haul trailer and waiting 4hrs on the side of the interstate in 105 deg weather I finally made it there to surprise my grandfather. The look on his face was priceless! He couldn't stop laughing and dang near lost it when I opened the hood. He thought I had just replaced the carb on the old 305, until I popped the hood of course. It turned out to be an awesome weekend and it was really neat to share a cold one with him and share stories of all the work he and I had done to the truck over the years.
I wish I had more pictures to share but we were in such a time crunch this past month that it never crossed my mind, I'll add some more recent ones soon but I have some decent ones to add for now. I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone on here for all the help y'all have provided. I gave up trying to google search when I had a problem and just went straight to the tech pages and about 90% of the time I found exactly what I needed! the other 10% was spent getting sidetracked on some of the other cool projects I found while trying to fix my original problem lol! Anyway here y'all go!
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/najytepu.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/ra8emaqy.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/ysa2uqa3.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/9a3a4e6e.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/8u5ebe7e.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/6ahymugu.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/umy6amuv.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/jupetybe.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/ehe4y2at.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/eguzeny4.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/y9umavad.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/27/jy9u4egu.jpg)
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Fear, thanks!, glad you like the truck! After much deliberation between me and my brother we've decided that we've both invested way too much of ourselves into this truck to butcher the front end and convert it to 4wd, swapping frames is out of the question as I want it to remain original in that area. Also I'm pretty sure I'd have an aneurism if I saw that truck buried in mud lol. So she's remaining a street truck and will be upgraded in that area as time goes by.
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Yeah I'm totally diggin it your truck is a flat out beast and the attention to detail has made really well put together, excellent work throughout the build, it turned out a night and day difference truck from what it started out as, great job silver, impressive painting on the engine and very cool interior restoration redo , that's top notch, wish I could take the dough and time to do that to my interior with all new flooring, carpet, dash , seats and upholstery lol you went all out! I don't blame you on keeping it 2 wheel drive for street use only, cutting a frame is very sketchy to begin with and swapping a frame is a headache ,,,, make that a migraine lol,,,, I think you made a smart money saving economical move by keeping it 2wd... I would have a aneurism too if the truck was buried in mud caked all over everything,,, too nice of a truck to mud bog with, now a junker 4x4 truck would be alright to do that. I used to mud bog and 4 wheel ALOT in a couple trucks built and made for that type of environment , nice trucks, but ,,,, the mud and crawling tore up the truck after awhile , maintenance was constant, and overran expensive and not worth the hobby,,,, now if money wasn't an issue I'd be full into it... My back can't handle that type of driving ,,, period... Lol so brother I think you made a great choice, cleaning and detailing after mudding or 4 wheeling is a pain no matter how we go about doing it.... Sweet 350 you have there... Looks great top to bottom.... What else is there left to do?
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Thanks fear! You're right, a lot of time went into making this truck what it is, my grandfather was one of the hardest working men I know and it wouldn't be right to restore his truck without putting in some serious sweat and hours and making sure it's done right. Glad we agree on the muddling lol, if I get the itch I can always take my brothers truck for a dip, it's a ford so there won't be any surprise when it breaks haha.
What else is there to do? I feel like no matter how much I accomplish I will always be able to answer that question with a list lol. At this point I'm waiting for my bank acct to recover, finishing this truck in time to show gramps put a hurtin on me in more ways than one lol. The next big things are a full paint job, spray-in bed liner, disc brake conversion and all-around upgrade, and probably a/c (but with winter coming that'll probably be thrown to the back burner). In the meantime tho I'll get some hoses made to finish out my power steering, get the wiper motor working, wire in the power windows and locks, and fix some other little issues like the occasionally sticky throttle, kick down cable adjustment on the tranny (currently not hooked up for lack of know-how), and getting the brake feel just right. Oh and it'll be really nice to eventually get a radio thrown back in, I'm really digging the old vintage radios that have the Bluetooth system in them, but that may be a little excessive.... or is it?
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Silver I'm sanding and painting today , I have only a minute , I look forward to responding to your post later today ! Have a great day bud