Green Beater
 

Guess i could go ahead and make a project thread for my old truck since technically it is my project.

It is an old beat up and abused 1981 silverado c10. originally came with 305 and th350c now sporting a non lock up 350 behind the 305.

used to be a white top and blue bottom with red and white interior i believe, now it is O D green and flat black on the outside and red and flat black on the inside...alot of spray paint lol:waah:

so any ways when i got it it was lifted with 33x12.50x15s on 6.5 rallys, a brush guard, and a seat from a 88-95 c1500 in it held in by the center seat belt. :lol:

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...zV_600x450.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...lT_600x450.jpghttp://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3258.jpg

Re: Green Beater
 

So first thing i did was take the 33's off because they were smooth bald. Unfortunately only thing i had laying around were some 215/75-15 but they had decent tread so hey why not. also pulled out the 2 inch lift blocks on the rear.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...DSCF3259_1.jpg
one of the guys at work gave me a decent bench seat out of a 79c10 so that fixed my skyjacker seat problem.

took the brush guard off after i got tired of listening to it rattle and gave it to a friend with a 87 v10.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3319.jpg

i have cleaned up some of the mess under the hood and adjusted the doors to fit better along with dropping the front 2 inches but have no pics of that. the old 305 is starting to smoke a little so im on the hunt for a 350 to drop in it and hopefully next week install the 2 inch rear shackles and my 8 inch rallies that i rounded up this week

Re: Green Beater
 

went outside and took some quick pics.
2inch front drop
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3374.jpg
8 inch rallies
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3375.jpg
and finally my ugly interior
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3376.jpg
yes they spray painted the interior/dash/doorpanels with flatblack which i actually wouldn't mind but they did a crap job of it

Re: Green Beater
 

to add something i have decided i want to keep the od green and flat black scheme that it has now but with wider tires, lower stance, more aggressive performance, maybe a cowl induction hood. have no idea what i want to do on the inside for now

i think with a little body work and a properly applied paint job that it would be an awesome looking setup

Re: Green Beater
 

LOL, had me til the red seat :)

Re: Green Beater
 

going to pick up a black seat cover to throw over it for now and figure out what i want to do seat wise later

Re: Green Beater
 

picked up a 350 2bolt main out of a 87 chevy van today to use as the base for my engine build. popped the heads off it and cylinders look real good with no sign of ring groove now just need to decide how far and how big i want to build it. which i will figure out after i finish tearing it down

Re: Green Beater
 

so after tearing the engine down and checking everything it was all within spec so i deglazed the cylinders, scrubbed down and degreased the block, and put it back together with new rings and bearings. im going to run the swirl port heads for now since i already have a carb intake to fit them.

hopefully next weekend i will have time to degrease the heads and put in new vavle guide seals along with lapping the valves.

i didn't take any pictures because i figure everyone has seen a black 350 short block before lol.

as a disclaimer i am not building this motor as a permanent replacement for my truck. The 305 in my truck is dieing fast so im trying to throw together a decent stockish 350 with out cutting to many corners to run for the next year or so.

Re: Green Beater
 

I'll be watching this one.

Re: Green Beater
 

nothing much done lately. did pick up some used 235/75r15 tires and mount them on 2 of the 8 inch wide rallies i picked up few weeks ago.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3397.jpg
before
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3374.jpg
after
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3400.jpg

Re: Green Beater
 

Hey, that carpet is in GREAT shape by the pics! Dye it! :D

Cool truck!

Re: Green Beater
 

surprisingly it is lol

and thank you

Re: Green Beater
 

no up date for truck but did go to harbor freight and spend 500 bucks on 2.5hp 21 gal. air compressor, 3 ton low profile jack,various air tools fittings and hoses, a reciprocating saw, and some hammers of various sizes oh and a free mini flash light lol

Re: Green Beater
 

today i made some progress. truck got a complete front end rebuild. took me almost 8 hours but with the new bushings, ball joints, tire rod ends, adjusters, pitman arm, idler arm, and sway bar bushings truck rides really smooth and no more funny noises. will take it in Monday to get the alignment set properly.

Re: Green Beater
 

I watch the build.

Re: Green Beater
 

engine is ready to be installed. ordered a oil pump primer today along with some new tail lights, coolant recovery tank, washer reservoir, fan shroud lower half, upper radiator brackets,and assorted hoses/bolts to go with these things. also ordered some header collectors, 2 sticks of 2.5 exhaust pipe, a couple of thrush 2 chamber welded mufflers and a new distributor.

Re: Green Beater
 

Sweet, I love ordering parts.

Re: Green Beater
 

me too, just don't like paying for them lol

Re: Green Beater
 

did the rear drop shackles today after work
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3403.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3402.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3401.jpg

Re: Green Beater
 

so the quick up date is i finally got around to putting the 8 inch wide tires and 235/70-15s on the front. Also started the engine swap today but forgot the camera. with my brothers help got the old one out and new one sitting in on mounts and trans crossmember before having to call it a day to do husbandly duties.

Re: Green Beater
 

Looking good dude

Re: Green Beater
 

so this is where i started
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z..._600x450_1.jpg
here is the broke down 305 ready for scrap heap
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3410.jpg
rebuilt 350 sitting in its new home
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3413.jpg
and where i got to before i went home today
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3416.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3414.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...b/DSCF3415.jpg
tomorrow will finish up and break it in

Re: Green Beater
 

so here is the verdict. it runs lol

seriously though it runs pretty well for what it is, exhaust note is great but a little loud since i used headers to 21/2 inch pipes and then thrush welded 2 chamber mufflers turned out in front of rear tires.

the cam has a nice lope to it and truck motors along nicely at 55 which is where i spend most of my time. only have about 100 miles on it but the little hick ups and odd moments are being worked out with careful tuning and small adjustments. found out the gauges in my truck are out of whack. oil was erratically reading no /low pressure then good(half gauge or better) when ever it wanted. temp gauge would be reading 230 in about 2 minutes after starting. hooked up a set of manual gauges i had and have steady 25 psi oil pressure at idle warmed up and truck maintains 190-200 temp even with driving and extended idling afterwards.

Re: Green Beater
 

well crap transmission went out today

Re: Green Beater
 

sounds like you have my kinda luck!

Re: Green Beater
 

im tellin ya in the end i wish i had just done the ls swap

Re: Green Beater
 

I actually weighed the cost of a new sbc and 700r4 against the cost of a LS swap and the benefits of each and came to the conclusion that a LS swap was the right path for me but everyone and every situation is different brother.

Re: Green Beater
 

Of course the fact that I have no intention whatsoever of ever selling the truck played a big role in that decision as well. ��

Re: Green Beater
 

If I didn't have to smog my truck I would consider a ls. I just don't have the funds for doing it the smog legitimate way, I would have to take it to a referee ect.

Re: Green Beater
 

well going to pull the thm350 out tomorrow after work and rebuild it over the weekend. i have a friend that runs a transmission shop and he said bring it over saturday and he will walk me through it but i have to do the actual work myself

Re: Green Beater
 

so my friend at the transmission shop lied. he didn't let me do a dang thing lol

trans is rebuilt and already back in truck. haven't drove it yet other than to back it up and clean up my mess at work. but i can say that reverse works a lot better lol. Wife is going to drive me back to work tomorrow so i bring it home..

told her that i guess i need to start looking for something to trade it for and she threatened to divorce me lol

Re: Green Beater
 

thats gettin er done!!!

Re: Green Beater
 

it is oh so nice to have a proper reverse gear again.
i also backed my timing off a couple of degrees and engine is running even better. still need to lean out carb a little but i am really enjoying driving my truck right now

Re: Green Beater
 

truck is running good. headers are leaking, of course, so need to fix that. also need to get around to replacing turn signal cam and turn signal lever that have been riding around in my front seat for two weeks.

Re: Green Beater
 

last weekend i tore apart the steering column to repair idiot damage by the previous owner.
ignition switch was mounted wrong making it where truck would only start with column straight and they took out and threw away the turn signal cancellation cam. replaced the broken turn signal lever while i was at it.

put in 2 new u joints today. as far as i could tell truck still had factory u joints and rear one had started popping/snapping.

Re: Green Beater
 

Factory u-joints? wow!

Re: Green Beater
 

Been having some issues with the truck here lately. Mainly idle issues plus my brakes suck and i am going to admit why.

I chose way to big of a camshaft for the engine.
231 duration @.050 and .480 valve lift.
engine only has 9 to 1 compression.

I knew better and even told myself not to do it but i already had it so figured what the heck. Now i need to pick another cam and do a weekend swap...hopefully with out having to pull engine to do it.
Recommendations are greatly welcomed

rest of engine as follows
9 to 1 compression
stock bore
2 bolt main stock bottom end
1992 swirl port heads
dual plane intake
hei dist.
headers

th350 trans w/3.08 rear gears

Re: Green Beater
 

truck sees mostly high way driving at "about" 55 with some light hauling.
i am eye balling the cs1014r cam or one near that spec

http://www.fme-cat.com/overlays/part...aft&brandId=SD

Re: Green Beater
 

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/cca-12-234-2
I am running a comp xe256 in my 350 and it runs great and has a good operating range they say idle to 5500 but it's more like 1200 to 6500 I plan on putting motor in a 2wd when I get one but I have put nearly 25000 miles on it in a lifted 4x4 and had no issues with idle or brakes. I have had an auto trans and now have a 4spd behind the motor and it's likes both. Also it will work with all of your 4bbl carb options q-jet, holley, or edelbrock.

Re: Green Beater
 

That's a lot of cam for 9:1. Is that a Howard's grind?

I have essentially the same grind, 231°@050/0.470"/108LSA/104ICL, and had to do a world of changes to make it work: 10.9:1 compression, Full re-jet of Rochester, aggressive ignition re-curve, different valve springs, high-stall torque converter, deeper rear gears. It sounds awesome, but it's maybe not a truck cam.

Either of the two that were posted would be a LOT better, especially with the 3.08 gears and a stock converter.