Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Been driving the 56 gmc with C4 suspension and a 5.3l for a couple years now and I'm itching to do something bigger, flashier, and definitely faster. Problem is, I'm pretty much always broke and nobody in the family wants to see me sell ol' orange. My parents felt sorry for me and my dad has like 15 cars sitting around so in their infinite kindness thay gave me a 69 chevy longbed. Sure the cab is rusted out like swiss cheese, and the steering is downright dangerous, and the 250 engine eats a quart of oil every 50 miles (when it starts) but hey, it's got a title and the price is right...right?

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

My dad also had an extra cab in the back and so it will get worked over in my garage and then set on the frame. Got the drip rail shaved, some of the firewall smoothed, and the cowl panel shaved as well. Had to replace the rockers, seems like a standard procedure on these trucks.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Knowing how much I'd prefer a gmc to a chevy my uncle Rick has offered up a 68 gmc clip free of charge. I just have to figure how to get it 800 miles from ohio to oklahoma.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Ok, a long bed will just not do. In fact a standard short bed will just not do. The frame was stripped down...

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

...and 15 inches cut out of it. I know that's 3 more inches than standard but it's part of the master plan. I may leave the area rear of the wheels alone after cutting the usual 6 inches, or I may take 1 or 2 extra. Not sure yet.

Set the cab back on to check firewall clearance. You may have noticed that's not the original 6 holer. Purchased a high mileage 5.3 and 4L60E trans for about $500. Will go through it, and the plan is ported heads and a cam with some doug thorley headers. Can't nail down the engine placement until the headers and BH Custom Designs engine / coil covers get here this week.

When I do that I will also bolt in all my suspension parts before it makes the trip from my dads shop to my house. 4.5/6 drop with spindles and springs with an ECE panhard bar. Got a small sway bar at the junkyard for $20. The A arms are 73-87 units I rebuilt because I also plan to try a rack swap using a Dodge Dakota rack. The dakota tie rods use the same size rod ends as the 73-87 drop spindles and the width looks to be perfect.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Despite the fact that my mom has always called this truck mr green jeans, it will in fact have zero green on it when complete. After welding in the floor braces that were rotted out I put a little color on the underside. Frame will get the same treatment.

Just to be different I really wanted to change up the dash. I've seen about a billion 67-72 dashes and they look great but I like the 60-62 chevy dash better because it reminds me a bit of the old corvette double hump dashes. When I'm done with it there won't be a whole lot stock going on there and I hope I can do the Dakota Digital VHX gauge set when the time comes.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Good looking build. Subscribed

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Got some engine and coil covers from BH Custom Designs and I'm happy with them. They are pretty fancy and well made.The only downer is that the top cover rear bolt hole doesn't line up with anything on the rear of my 99 intake. Maybe other years are different. Easy fix to drill another hole, but still.

Don't know if any one has thought of this but there is no provision for the oil cap. That means to fill oil you have to remove the top cover so you can remove a coil cover so you can fill it up.

The one change i may make is that the covers use aluminum tube spacers to hold them off the intake and valve covers. The problem here is trying to hold the tubes in place while starting bolts. I think I'll tack weld some steel tube under there to make the install easier.

Another observation is that the engine has to be pretty far forward to clear the firewall. These things have a pretty big footprint. I ended up with V8 engine brackets in the forward holes and the ebay adapter plates on the block in the front holes(which pushes the engine back some). I had the engine about 3 inches back with 6 cyl brackets before but making it pretty won over maximum engine setback. To be honest, It doesn't sit any farther forward than a stock 350 does in these trucks.

Sorry the pics didn't turn out any better.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Got a better side pic. Think it's hard to tell it's 3 inches shorter than a stock short bed at this point. What amazes me is that the the weight of the engine and cab wouldn't even push the A arms off the rubber snubbers with the 6 cylinder springs.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Been working on the 5.3 harness. This doesn't seem to be a bad job at all, using the LT1swap.com website for help. Looking at what's taken out, seems like I took out half the wires. Just have to add a fuse block and two relays now.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Getting the frame tomorrow. That means the 56 has to go live at my dads place for awhile because my garage just won't fit both trucks. Since I won't be driving the truck for a bit, in celebration, I went to a Pontiac/ GMC show and drags today. Saw some cool cars and finally got to see what she'd do in the quarter. I'm the right lane, number 515. Not bad but not good enough. It's a stock 5.3 with 3.08 gears, what do you expect? The 69 will be MUCH faster. It's going to have more compression, more cam, more gear, better heads, and more stall.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Good looking start!!

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Now for the dirty work....

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Nice looking project, really like the engine and coil covers

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Feel like I'm trying to fix my earlier mistakes. When I bought an aluminum tank for my 56 it just seemed way too expensive. I'm going to try a TANKS INC tank for a 49-51 Ferd that's less than half the cost. It will be tight front to rear. I had cut the 8 inches off the rear frame in anticipation of bed shortening but really need a tiny bit back. I can weld it back on and re-cut or try notching the panhard brace a bit to see if it will clear. Then I can build a new rear brace. I like that it will never rust and hangs down WAY WAY less than a blazer tank.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Another thing I want to do different is the exhaust. Before, I did a quick and dirty slip fit and weld dual exhaust. It's functional but I really wanted an X pipe. This is FAR more complicated but hopefuilly the completed product will look and sound better. I may even have the pipes ceramic coated for longevity since there will be about 100 butt welds.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

I want a side exit exhaust and going around the swing arm suspension is a drag. I'm going through the frame. Don't want to see exhaust hanging down. The pipe is 1/4" wall 4 inch inner diameter. It will be boxed. I am also using this same pipe to do a small pipe notch in the rear.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

I've seen people ask how to get rid of the evap solonoid in a 5.3 or 6.0 swap. The simplest answer is best. Some cap the line. In my case it needs to go for the covers to fit properly. The hole is the perfect size to use a 1/4" NPT pipe plug. Tap it (I had to use a 12 point socket to get in there, install it, and forget it.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Small progress...

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Made an X member out of 1x2 12 gauge to brace the frame some. I know it looks like the Hotchkis truck brace, that's where I go the idea. Also working on how to mount the poly tank.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Started trying to get the 2000 Dakota rack in. The length appears to be dead on. Everything lines up well enough to give me hope that it will work. I made a cardboard template and then cut out a bracket in 3/16" steel. It will need adjustment but right now nothing hits anything else. This thing is about 2 3/4 turns lock to lock, the dakota had a saginaw style steering pump so pressure should be similar, and the tie rod ends are the same taper as my 73-87 drop spindles. 67-72 spindles are made for smaller tie rods. If this works it will be worth every penny of the $30 I paid for it.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Looking good!

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

My X pipe is about ready. Also made a tiny progress on the rack. I centered it very carefully, then shimmed it up with a piece of 1/8" bar stock. Then I drilled a 3/8" hole in the middle of the bracket and through the K member to locate it permanently. I couldn't reach the bolt through the K member because of 1. fat arm, or 2. short fingers, not sure which. So... I used some electrical tape to hold a nyloc nut in my gear wrench and fished it in there through the side. The reason I shimmed it up and then bolted it in place was to allow me to rotate the bracket, to level the rack before I finish the bracket out and start welding. By the way, the 5/8 x 3.5" grade 8 bolts that hold the rack are not very cheap. That gold finish sure is shiny, but it's not as though they are real gold...

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Couple of small tabs to locate the top and a couple welds at the bottom corners and it's solid now. Tried to get a shot of the access to the nuts in the back. Easy to get to. This rack shows to come in all 97-04 2wd Dakotas and seems like a no brainer. It practically installed itself. Now I just have to work out the steering linkage and pressure hose.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Another thing I'm going to try is a rear disc conversion using 99-04 Grand Cherokee disc brakes. They are the 5 on 5 bolt pattern and parts were easy to find. New rotors were only a couple dollars more than junkyard pieces but I had to have the center hole machined out some to fit the new axles. The center hole of the backing plate had to be machined out a hair more than .25" to fit the axle housing. Looks like so far so good and I have about $150 in all the parts, e brake and all. These use a shoe style e brake and the lines look like they may even fit the stock holes in the rear control arms. Very exciting...

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Found out my engine was out of a 4x4 and the steering hose is different than a 2wd. Turns out the two piece 2wd hose works great. Also, my pump looked like it had gotten intimate with the previous trucks frame... so another pump was test fit and now I know a 99 up 4.3 pump fits the LS truck accessory drive. I did have to tweak the lines a tiny bit and shave a strip off the frame about 1/4" wide but I believe it worked out great. Almost forgot...found a 1 ton truck at the salvage and replaced my 1 1/16 sway bar with a 1 1/4" bar.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Starting to build the brackets to raise the bed. It will be about 6" up. I want to hide my fuel filler behind the tailgate. I used 1/2 all thread in ther original hole and tightened a plate about 5.25 inches up. then built down to the frame. I then drilled a 1/4" hole in a 1/2" bolt, mounted it to the bracket, then used a hole saw to punch a 1.5" hole through the bracket. Then I will add a radiator core bushing at all four brackets.

Why would a person do such a thing? The cab sits on bushings and the bed does not. It seems that both would need to compensate for frame flex. Especially since I intend to preside over a holy union of the the two. Hopefully converting to a unibody won't be harder to do than I think it will. I want to get rid of the gap at the front of the bed. That's also why I cut the frame down 3 inches shorter than a regular short bed. I think once the bed and cab are joined in holy matrimony (making cute little mini trucks) the area between the back of the cab and the rear wheel well will look too long unless some material is taken out.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

I love my engine covers but one of the things I find annoying is the lack of access to the oil cap. I found a guy on ebay who sells a billet oil filler for LS1 engines that bolts on and extends the tube straight out. It's just enough to clear the covers....but I have to modify the drivers side to get it to work. I didn't want to just cut a hole in the grill insert so I am moving the bead roll line back and making a filler panel. Hopefully it still looks good once done.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Bed risers pretty much done, tank mounts welded in, just need to build straps. Got the filler in the valve cover-cover. Also had the oil cap machined to be a little more decorative AND when it was smooth it was a bear to get off when tight. Almost needed channel locks.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

I like how its going, I'll be watching this one.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Decided to revisit the firewall some. What's the point of the fancy engine cover and trying to hide hoses and wires if you still have the ugly wire channel up top? Made a filler to match the curve of the driver side and started covering it all up.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Looks good!

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Going to use a trans cooler on the rack. Cheap enough and looks good.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Very cool project you have going! I'm gonna follow along from the middle part of the state. Rock on :metal:

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Now I just need to do the same on the driver side.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Been awhile and need to update. Worked on the firewall some and then the bed floor some. I took out the required 8 inches behind the rear wheels but had more problems in the center. The center brace and the metal above it was rotten so I cut it in half and used some of the 8 inch piece to patch it. Lots of welding and grinding. This part of the bed is more flimsy than I thought, and will have to add more brace material to the bottom to make it strong again.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Since I wanted to keep the thing as straight as possible I used the HF cheap butt weld clamps but bought some longer bar stock pieces to hook them together while i put the two halves back together with my 2.5 inch patch strip.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

And then there is this. Sometimes you do something that makes you question your intelligence and sanity. I got a REALLY good deal on a 6.0 engine that turned out to be a REALLY bad engine. Let's just say it probably NEVER had an oil change. But the lure of more cubic inches was too much for me. So I had the block bored and bought new flat top pistons to replace the dished ones. I also had to replace all 8 rods with a good used set. The crank was broke as well. Hilariously broken. Laughably broken. Soooo...I took apart my 5.3 engine and robbed the crank to fix the 6.0 block and had everything balanced. Should be awesome with a good cam and heads. But now I am questioning whether a 4L60E is even a good idea anymore but don't want to cut the floor for an 80E and even had the thought to get something like a Tremec 5 speed that would be stronger and fit OK but really wanted to use a bench seat to maybe once a year seat 3 people instead of 2 so now I can't even decide what steering column to order and I feel my neurosis snowballing and the truck is chasing me in my sleep and I HAD A PLAN BUT WHERE DID IT GO AND...for now I'll just focus on the bed floor, the firewall, and assembling my engine.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

Great work,I love the ideas you are coming up with. I will be following this project since I am still collecting parts to build my 67.

Re: Mr Green Jeans - the 69 (or not) chevy, er gmc, project
 

decisions, decisions....