Project Mr. Green Jeans (now 5.3 LS turbo build!)
 

I went looking for a parts truck and found this instead... 1974 GMC Sierra. Has an older respray in original colors. Interior is mostly original with a recovered seat, perfect dash. The gas 350 was converted to dual fuel LP/Gasoline and look at the size of that LP tank!!! DANG!!! Got it for $1700 delivered 100 miles away since it has sat for 10+ years minimum. The guy I got it from was the grandson of a car dealership owner and they took it on trade and grandpa liked it so much he kept it, then parked it there as a fine running vehicle that long ago. This is going to be so much better to make into a hotrod compared to fixing the rust that I was going to have to work on with my orange 454 "Julius" truck. Now, what to do with that one...

Re: Project Mr. Green Jeans
 

Oh, and he said they have HUNDREDS of vehicles to salvage out that haven't ever been picked except by grandpa himself. They had a 4x4 Blazer sitting in the same area that I could have had cheap, but it wasn't as clean as this truck (had rust holes). He did say though that he'd send me pictures of some others nearly this good that he may sell or part out if it makes $$$ sense to do so rather than scrap.

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Pictures from the Craigslist ad. So glad I went to look at it through 100 miles of snowy slickness to get it. I can't wait to come home to it tomorrow night.

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Nice truck. I always liked that green. That sure beats working on a rusty truck

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Yeah, the body really is nice for an Iowa truck. I can't wait to pull that drivetrain out and get a BBC in there!!! :metal:

Re: Project Mr. Green Jeans
 

Sweet truck man...that truck is just beggin for an ls1 swap

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Yep, super jealous. Congrats on the find. I bet you can't wait to give it a bath and see what ya' got!

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Well maybe... I have always wanted a 5.3 or larger LS based engine with a turbo, but BBC with eventual ProCharger sounds good too.

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That's a fine ride. Killer catch.

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It's home it's home!!!

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Cool! Love me some sour apple green!

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I started pulling off the Liquid Propane kit last night. I got all of the parts pulled off of the 2 barrel carb and made a call to one of the local LP companies to come and empty the tank so that I can more safely handle the tank. With 20-25% full depending on how accurate the gauge is, on 120 gallon tank that would be 25+ gallons left in there.

I also started pulling the old points style ignition off of the factory 350... Still hung on whether to go full bore build on the engine like a 496, or just your average run of the mill 500 horse 383...

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Clean looking truck, throw a BBC in it!

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Delays... LP company wants around 250 to evacuate the tank or 80 to cap it off. Terrible prices. Problem is not many others around to be able to do it. Grrrrrr!

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Tank evacuation scheduled for next Wednesday. Didn't want to delay it anymore. I decided to let the condition of this 350 block and transmission tell me where to take this project for now. If both are good easily refreshed condition, I'll do it as a 383. For heads, GMPP large port Vortec heads... seen those go into BBC torque territy on 383s, heck even 350s get dang high with TPI and those heads. We'll see.

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After talking to the LP company, they were just going to burn off all of the LP... and $250 estimated minimum charge just wasn't sitting right with me, so I did what any self respecting DIY'er would do... Went and bought my own tools/parts and did it myself! :metal: The Menards 14% sale is going on right now, anything you can fit into a paper sack is 14% off... well the heater didn't fit, but I asked the young girl working the register if she could give me the discount anyways since I'm such a loyal customer and she did! Was $119 plus tax before the sale... after the sale price I paid $109 out the door. Then when I got home I found the hose was too short for what I really wanted, so I went back and got 15 feet of extensions for about $40. Now I have 75,000-200,000 BTU's at my disposal for over a $100 less than the LP company wanted to do it for me. I should have no problem heating my garage for the rest of winter, then burning off the excess this spring when I'm ready to drive the truck.

BTW, it was 6 degrees last night. I had this sucker cranked and didn't need a hat/gloves with both garage doors wide open. I closed the door down a little bit (keep open for exhaust ventilation) and it was 65 degrees in less than 10 minutes. 200,000 BTU's is a lot for this 3 car garage!

Re: Project Mr. Green Jeans
 

right on!

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Score at the pull your own salvage yard today! Had to get a steering wheel because the original one was covered by a deteriorated fake leather wrap that had somehow fused with the steering wheel material and wouldn't come off. Same gold 1976 plane Jane truck that I pulled some parts off last week and ended up selling a few things... would have gotten it on the same trip but didn't have my steering wheel puller with me. Cleaned up nice. Scrubbed it in HOT water and dish soap to remove the dirt and grease, then dried. Center button will get restained to black and the center metal repainted with the GMC orange/red color (probably mix my own model paint or something). BTW, first trip that my girlfriend came along with today for an adventure, but it was too cold to do any real exploring. She helped me scout out a few more trucks that they had brought in, but nothing worth anything to me. I did complain to the guy at the front desk about the forklift ruining the bed/doors on that really rust free truck (the last few actually) and they said that they might let me back behind the gates to pull a bed off of a really clean one before the forklift brings it into the yard! (crosses fingers) :metal:

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Decided that I would go with a SBC for now just to get it running, then change it up later if I want to. Scored a Weiand Team G intake for $75 and a set of brand new 1.75" headers for second gen Camaro for $50. They had surface rust from sitting around so long, but the coating is still there and they have no tool marks from installation or anything. They were still in the factory plastic even. :metal: Couldn't find any real discounts on carbs there, but it was a nice swap meet. Wish I would have gotten a picture of my girlfriend carrying the headers to the truck when we left. Nothing like a better half that supports the habit! :lol:

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Pulled the carb, distributor, intake, and a few brackets/etc. The 350 looks much cleaner than many newer engines that I've taken apart. Little bit of crud built up around the EGR ports, but nowhere near the amount of buildup my '86 305 had with only a few more miles on it. Some moisture in the valley areas, but nothing to be concerned over.

I'll be pulling the exhaust manifolds unless I find a good deal on some better heads soon. Exhaust bolts have been doused in PB Blaster twice in two days and I'll hit them again when I go to pull them. Hopefully I don't need the blue flame wrench!

The water pump will also need to come off as will the power steering pump just to make sure it's in good order. If I get stuck on a the exhaust bolts maybe I'll hit these parts just to break it up a bit.

Re: Project Mr. Green Jeans
 

Cool truck! My dad had one the same color when I was a kid. Looks you got plenty of heat for the winter. :lol:

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Yeah no kidding. I have somewhere between 20-30 gallons of LP and I've never heated my garage before. I have a brand new house furnace that was never installed in my last garage and now it's about 15 years old! I still have an old kerosene jet heater that has hardly been used too. I'm going to be spoiled! With the recent price spike on LP, I wish I could just sell it instead of burning it.

Re: Project Mr. Green Jeans
 

having used an identical heater i am able to confirm that that thing is AMAZING. nice truck too! youv've got yourself an excellent canvas, cant wait to see your work

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Pulled off the accessories tonight. Radiator came out as well. Had one casualty: the upper transmission line. The fitting came free from the radiator, but twisted the line right off. There's still enough line to remake the flare though so no big deal. Heads and exhaust come off next.

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Pulled more parts from the 350 today. Pulled the heads just to check out the shortblock and it's just not quite in run-worthy shape. It's just sat too long, so she's got to come all the way out. Lifters were so gummed up that they wouldn't all come out (5 or 6 still stuck). The block is in fine fine shape though, not even any ridge to remove at the top of the cylinders. Just a hone most likely. As for the stuck lifters, they're soaking in penetrating oil and should come right out next time. Might as well order up that 3.75" stroke crank, 6" rods, and new pistons though, right? :metal:

Next time out there I'll be pulling trans and engine mounts. Should come out rather easily as all of the extra bits are already removed. Pop the trans mount, engine mounts, and shifter linkage and she should come right on out.

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Pulled a few more bolts/etc off and went and picked up my old cherry picker and load leveler from a friend. Sold it to him years ago and he lets me borrow it back whenever I need. Best storage situation ever! LOL!

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Ordered a re-ring kit from Summit Racing last night. Dug out some other stashed parts from previous sbc projects like small cap HEI, ARP header bolts, and tall cast aluminum Trick Flow valve covers. Now I need to pick some heads and a carb and this thing will be ready to get started... it's practically done! <yeah right>

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Motor mount bolts pulled, trans mount pulled, all connections removed. Hood hinges marked by drilling a few small holes. I'm ready to pull the hood and pull the engine/trans Saturday morning.

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Well that didn't happen. Stupid head and chest cold took over and I didn't see the garage since Thursday night. Feeling better today, but talking like I have a bunch of pebbles in my throat. Ordered shift kit and filter/seal for the th350.

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Finally pulled the engine and transmission today thanks to a friend and his son (13 years old, has a "thing" for these trucks). Pulled the hood, yanked them out, then put the hood back all within about 20 minutes. Had everything but the two clamps holding the + wire from battery to starter undone. Pulled the engine and trans up, then unbolted those two studs, then it was free! Separated the engine from trans once on the ground. Dirty, but salvageable!:metal: Updated "Julius" thread too. Been a busy weekend!

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Finally got a chance to get the engine up on a stand yesterday. Pulled the pan, timing cover, all 8 pistons/rods, cam, oil pump, and knocked all the mains free. Measured the bores and journals and everything is within spec as standard size. Someone had been through this engine before as the rod caps were all marked 1-8 and the crank has some markings on it. I can't believe they put a stock puny cam back in it though (no part numbers and teeny tiny lobes with very very little duration).

I need to pick up some parts dip to save the rods and free them from the pistons... man are they sticky. Been sitting a long time. Maybe use the stock pistons with the new rings, but might have to see what I can find for ultra cheep flat tops instead. Still have to buy some heads too...

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Power washed it all again. Ready to be honed tonight or Thursday. Flat top pistons and 1 piece pan gasket just ordered. Assembly scheduled to begin this weekend.

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Last weekend I picked up a lightly used 1850 600CFM Holley vac secondary carb with missing electric choke. Spent 60 bucks on it. Filled with fuel and the bowls don't leak and the squirters are good. Still going to pop it open and make sure all of the jets and float needles are clear.

Yesterday the new flat tops showed up. Under 100 bucks shipped from Rock Auto! Silvolite sold under the DNJ Engine Components name. :metal:

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Worked on it for a few hours last night and only got 3 pistons swapped out for new ones. I had trouble with one of the new pistons going on... I heated up the rod, but fumbled the new pin a bit and only got it halfway inserted before it cooled and got stuck... I had to press it back out and in the process I dinged the bore of the piston on one edge... I had to hone the pin bore to remove the ding, then heated and reinserted the pin. No issues now, but killed my evening. Hopefully I can get everything assembled onto the rods and start massaging with oil so that they're ready to stab into the block soon.

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I got the rest of the new pistons put on. Had a tough time with one more piston/rod combo that took 4 tries to get it to go through the rod correctly. :waah:

Also, showing pictures of the process using a homemade piston pin press. 1 foot section of threaded rod, two coupling nuts (to get a LOT more thread engagement to reduce stripping threads), a 3" section of 1" threaded pipe with the threads ground down on one side to clear the rest of the piston, an old 5/8" socket hollowed out to slip over the 5/8 threaded rod, and some washers.

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Got everything cleaned and polished up on the crank journals, worked a nice cross-hatch into the cylinders to aid in ring break-in (pictured about halfway through working the first cylinder), installed bearings, and crank is back into the block and torqued. Pistons got their rings file fit and I found out why those pistons are so cheap... I had to file 3 oil control ring groves so that the rings had free movement. Quality control = lacking.

Also, I could only throw 4 pistons/rods into the block as the package of rod bearings was missing half of what it was supposed to have. Called Summit Racing and they are overnighting me another box of them. Their only questions were "where to?" and "Is there anything else you need?" Love their customer service. :metal:

Re: Project Mr. Green Jeans
 

Very nice score. I can polish this rig to a killer shine when you are done w/the mechanicals. I live in Anamosa IA and buff Semi-tractors all the way down to motorcycles w/a 3" min wheel.

Re: Project Mr. Green Jeans
 

Thanks for the offer. I actually used to detail cars myself back about 20 years ago. I still have my old Chicago Electric 7" buffer, a newer 7" buffer too, and a dual 3". I used to polish metals as well, mostly ATV's and snowmobile parts.

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235/60/15 front and 255/60/15 rear Cooper raised white letter tires ordered. Will be going on white 15x8 rallies with center caps and no beauty rings. 2.5" spindles up front ordered and flip kit for the rear ordered as well. Pulled apart the front brakes on the '76 to swing them over to this one since they're not even 6 months old. Rear end will come over from that truck too for same reason. I think I've decided to use the th400 instead of the th350 since I know it works for sure. Now I have to get that part of the harness wired up too.

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Shortblock is assembled and cam timed. I need to buy some heads next and order an electric choke kit. Will also refresh one of the transmissions, can't decide on the TH400 or TH350.

Got the passenger lowering spindle put on today. Lots of trouble getting 40 year old bolts to come off. Broke two shock mounting bolts and a dust shield bolt, and two of the cotter pins were frozen in place with rust. All better now. Sits about stock height after lowering but there's no engine or transmission in there. Once she's back together that will be perfect height for me. Took probably 5 to 6 hours to do the one side. I'm beat!!!