Project 69SWB
 

I picked up this 69 about 5 years ago, here it is as it was when I bought it... 4G on the tach at 60mph doesn't translate to very good fuel mileage but the 4:10's sure make the stock 350 spunky.

Plans & specs

Returning to original Black on Black color and Custom 10 badging as noted on original SPID, ECE 4/6 Drop, Boyd welding rear tank, stock motor with Edelbrock carb and Performer RPM intake, Hushmat Sound Deadening in entire cab and doors, Painless Wiring, Toyo Proxes II tires, 17" Torque Thrust, All interior pieces from Truckseats (board vendor) Seat Foam, Seat Cover, Headliner, Door Panels, Kick Panels, going with Rams Head Manifolds with Flowmaster 40 Series, Hugger Green engine color and black engine compartment, 3:73 12 bolt truck posi, Disc brake and 5 lug conversion, and wood bed.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

good looking truck!

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Thank you very much. I'm really partial to it! I have a great base to start with.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Here the initial tear down of the body from the frame...

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Bed off and in great shape except the floor is a little dented here and there, but I have a plan to fix that.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Body off; time to pull the motor.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Just finished power washing the frame... Sandblasting and powder coating are not in the budget; so it's wire brush, gator wheel and De-greaser for me.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

I figured I'd break the frame down into 3 sections.. rear, middle and front. I did the rear first... I scored this 373 posi after I had already spend a day cleaning up and installing the open 5 lug rear from the 72 donor truck... but I didn't mind at all doing that part over again with this posi. :metal: Will probably end up running those rear brake lines myself.. don't like the way these look at all.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Subscribed! Good looking truck. Welcome to the board from SE TN.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

once again a budget crunch... I wanted to tuck my exhaust up tight and couldn't afford the fancy cross member, So I cut my hole and reinforced with some 3/16 flat bar and welded it all up. Also installed new poly bushings and made sure I greased them up real good... pressed them in using one of many shade-tree methods. Also the trailing arms where in good shape just needed some serious cleaning.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

thank ya thank ya.. been on here for a while, just lurking and drueling... ;)

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Getting ready to start on the front end rebuild/disc/brake conversion. I find myself playing musical chevy parts quite often. I need a bigger garage.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Great looking build from another MO member.

Cheers!
Nate

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Nice truck,looking forward to the build process.4000 rpm at 60 ? what size tires are on there? That seems about 1000 rpm too much for that speed.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

on to the front end... lots of stripping and cleaning.. ugh!

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Thank you!

275/60/15's is what I pulled off. I thought it seemed high, but the rear end did have 4:10's in it.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

I think this front end took me twice as long to get cleaned up as the rear and middle section of the frame. Years of neglect can cake on hard. Got the front member all cleaned up and painted.. I let it bake in the sun all day and have some nice Grade 8 hardware waiting to put it back in with.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

nice work !

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Here's the front member back in and all torqued to spec, gearbox installed, brake lines ran, motor mounts installed... I did have one cracked motor mount that I repaired.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Thanks! I'm anxious to get back to driving this.. Been without it since August.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

72 spindles from the donor truck. I used my 69 upper and lower arms (they were in much better shape than the 72's) I got some new parts to finish up the front end.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Nice start ... Keep up the good work.
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Re: Project 69SWB
 

Looking good.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

looking good, and nice starting point. did i see this truck on craigslist awhile back or am i imagining things.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks and yeah you did. I had an insane idea of selling the truck to fix some financial issues about a year ago but got rid of that red Rubicon in the background and that fixed everything. :-) So glad I didn't let this truck go.
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Re: Project 69SWB
 

Nice truck to start with, I will be watching this one.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Thanks. I'll try to keep you entertained!

Re: Project 69SWB
 

I got my control arms all cleaned up, painted and installed new Moog balljoints (upper and lower). The upper where a bit of a bear to get out, but a sharp chisel, drill bit, and 3lb hammer did the job. It's a good thing I went through this front end.. I had multiple bolts that were loose and my drivers side lower balljoint was shot.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

I have a homemade sandblaster I use on small stuff... It's a pain in the rear to drag out and use but does save me alot of money. Blasted the front and rear springs, sealed with rust stop and painted. Also painted my calipers with grabber green engine enamel.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

after letting everything dry for a couple days it was time to put it all back together and get this frame to rolling again. I did created a little custom sticker for my shocks and had them cut out in vinyl.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

With the frame ready to roll again, it was time to clean up the motor. This is a crate 350 engine with roughly 10k on it. It does run like a champ so I'm not going to go to far into it... just basically replacing some gaskets top, bottom and front, etc, new water pump, harmonic balancer, plugs, wires and cap. I took it down to heads and block, cleaned, degreasing and almost ready for paint.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

My performer RPM intake cleaned up real good with some etching cleaner, I then painted it black... and then I had this undying need to set the carb on it. :cool:

Re: Project 69SWB
 

here's a before and after of my PS pump... saved a little money by just taking the time and loving on this a bit.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Cleaning up nicely. Is the theme hotrod black and green?

Re: Project 69SWB
 

great progress, keep the pics coming !

Re: Project 69SWB
 

I am painting the truck black, just the motor and calipers will be green.

I'm trying to get caught up... almost there.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Here's the motor all cleaned up and painted... I got a little happy with the green paint and got some over spray on my valve springs.. but it wiped off real easy since they were oily... I ordered some valve covers from Edelbrock that took forever to come in.. didn't have them for these pics. Cleaned up my oil pan, new gaskets on intake, oil pan, timing cover, fuel pump, new water pump, new harmonic balancer...

Re: Project 69SWB
 

motor going back in... 350 turbo transmission, took me all day to clean up, etch and paint. It's been beefed up a bit and has a shift kit in it. I replaced the filter and pan gasket, as well as front and real seals.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Here's the motor back in and the truck pushed out of the garage on wheels for the first time in about 4 months. was going to take it for a spin but was out of gas and a steering wheel. :lol: Have a ton of little stuff to do, but getting to here has been a big step. Valve covers finally came in and I picked up cap, rotor and wires. painted the cap grabber green.

Re: Project 69SWB
 

Nice progress. Yay for the budget builders! We always find a way to git er done!
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