1974 stepside "the burg"

[gildardo01]

awesome truck, i like the way it sits what kind of drop do you have? and what size are the tires..

[travh123]

gildardo, the truck was already lowered when i got it so i h15 in rimave no idea. the tires are 275/6's with 15 inch rims.

got some more updates

i didnt get anys pics of it but when i was putting the intake on i first tried the little rubber seals for the ends but once i tightened the bolt down they were actually pushing out and i could tell there was going to be some serious seal issues. so i ended up getting permatex rtv and layed a bead of it all the way along instead and it looks much more promising.

when i was putting the intake gaskets on i first put some sealer around all the coolant holes on the heads and on the other side of the gasket aswell



here is the intake on



put the old valve covers on for painting purposes



masked off all the holes on the intake, for the little bolt holes i just balled up some tape and stuck it in there



sand blasted all the pulleys and brakets



primered up









also primed the engine







also here are the tires and rims i got from my brother ill put them on the truck after it gets painted

[bake74]

     Going to look sweet, what color are you painting your engine ?

[travh123]

it was a last minute decision but im going with red and i painted all the pulleys and brakets aluminum, and im painting the bolts flat black so hopefully it doesnt look like a dogs breakfast when im done

[travh123]

been a while since i've updated, mostly because its been going slower. got the engine painted and hopefull will be able to drop it in the truck this week

water pump, i like the contrast of the aluminum and red paint, the paint looks more orane then red in the pics but it is red



close up of the intake







and here's what it looks like now



also when i went to change the gasket and filter on my tranny i noticed one of the bolts was super loose, you can see how loose it was in this pic




so i just tightened it back up and threw it back together. i dont have any experience with transmissions so im not sure if this is a regular thing or what?

[travh123]

quick update, got the engine in the truck and finally got all the wiring right, got it running today and broke in the cam. it only has openheaders on it right now so it its loud as heck. hopefully get the exhaust welded up this week

[travh123]

got some more progress

got the exhaust tacked up, dont mind the drivers side i took the pic when i was taking it off so its twisted


and fully welded the over axles portions, im going to only clamp the connection between the end of this portion and the rest of the system so if i need to get it off there wont be any cutting



also got a eldelbrock performer carb (a gift from my dad ) so im going to get that on and tuned this weekend and ill be done for a while until i do the bed and paint

[travh123]

got some more pics for you guys

pic of the engine right after i got it in



got bored last night and decided to throw the rims on i think they look awesome



and heres a video at idle i took it for a little drive yesterday and its still stumbles a bit under load but i havent checked my total timing yet so hopefully that will clear things up

[team39763]

Nice work there buddy.  And this was the first time you've rebuilt an engine?

[travh123]

thanks team. ya it was my first time, i really think anyone could do it as long as you take your time and ask a looot of questions

[travh123]

more pictures

heres a shot of my exhaust after it was fully welded, its not the most symmetrical looking system, but it still took a long time to get it to fit so i was just relieved to have it finished





so i couldnt get my truck to perform quite the way i wanted it to, it kept stumbling under load no matter where i set the timing. so i went out and bought a new hei distributor. my theory to buying a new distibutor was that under the rotor of my points dist it was nice and rusty so i was thinking that mayb the curve was not functioning properly, mainly because it only stummbled on higher rpms. idk if that was the reason for my troubles or not but either way it runs like a dream now.



got some new wires that dang near cost me as much as the dist.





trucks going to the paint shop this week so itll be freeesh for summer

[bake74]

     With the new Dist. you have a way hotter spark, so it should run better.  Glad to hear it is almost ready for paint and then you can cruise around in a newly painted truck.

[Les_Paul]

Thanks for your posts and pictures. Very informative for me...I can't wait to get my hands on the '73 step side this winter!!

[thirsty]

Any news on your paint job?

[travh123]

ya its in the shop but its going slow cuz were trading the paint guy service for service so i think its kinda on his back burner. i dont really remember if i already posted this but a costco tent fell n the truck so i did an insurance claim. icbc deemed all panels except the roof nedded to be repainted and they were gunna give me 1100 bucks to do it  . so i approached them for money and i found out this week their going to give me 2000 now. which still isnt even close to enough to paint an entire truck, hense why i have to trade the guy landscaping his front yard for the remainder of the bill. but ill post up some pics as soon as i get 'er back. also if funds permitt im gunna redo the wood bed and ill do a sort of how to with pics to go with as i go on that (not that i really know "how to" haha but it will give other diyers an idea of the work involved)