69 GMC "Ol' Blue"

[rgunlock]

^^ agree ^^. How long do you figure until you have a roller again?

[mjensen]

Originally Posted by Mustard72

Looks dang nice, Mike. Keep it up.

Originally Posted by rgunlock

^^ agree ^^. How long do you figure until you have a roller again?

Thanks guys! I hope to have it rolling again this weekend. I have to start really working on this project so that I can finish it so I can start on my '47 Fleetline

[rgunlock]

woo-hoo! That will be a big step. I know what you mean about getting moving on it. I have my original 59 project waiting in the wings for me to finish the 78 so I can get back on it.

[mjensen]

Ha yeah...here's hoping

That 59 will be a bad a$$ ride too!

[mjensen]

I'm happy to report that she's finally a roller!!!









I'm hoping to get the fuel tank and lines put back on today.

[mjensen]

It is amazing what one can accomplish when he gets his butt off the couch I got the fuel tank and lines installed today. I know it looks like a repost, but this was the final installation

[SCHRUMGMC]

Looking great man

[mjensen]

Originally Posted by SCHRUMGMC

Looking great man

Thank you!

[rgunlock]

Looking really good! Drive train next on the list?

[mjensen]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

Looking really good! Drive train next on the list?

Thanks Rick! Yes, I'm currently looking for a reputable machine shop in my area to take a look at my existing 327 and get it freshened up. I think once I have that back together, I can get the engine/tranny/tcase all mounted up and measure for driveshafts. That probably won't be cheap, so I'm not sure if that's going to happen this year. We'll see though.

[Mustard72]

Good to see it rolling around. Any idea what it's going to take to get the 327 back in service?
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[mjensen]

Originally Posted by Mustard72

Good to see it rolling around. Any idea what it's going to take to get the 327 back in service?
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks Nick! I'm not real sure at the moment. I'm really struggling because I have a 400 that has already been bored and has new pistons and rods. What I'm not sure of is the condition of the crank, or heads. At a bare minimum I would have to buy a new cam for it. On the other hand, the 327 ran, and only smoked for the first little bit. I think at a bare minimum it would need to be honed and who knows what else. I could end up being into the 327 as much as just getting the 400 going. Any opinions on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Maybe some things to check before I make that committment.

[mud.man.rj]

400 is nice, all about torque without having to rev it, but watch the heads, have them checked out, they crack between the valves.

[mjensen]

Originally Posted by mud.man.rj

400 is nice, all about torque without having to rev it, but watch the heads, have them checked out, they crack between the valves.

But do you think it's worth going through the 327 at all?

[Mustard72]

I'd get the crank and heads checked for the 400 and go that route if they are ok. Why mess with the 327 when you are already started on the 400? Unless you want to stick with the original engine or something like that. I would imagine you'll appreciate the extra torque from the 400 more than the rev-ability of the 327. The 327 might be easier on gas though.
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[mud.man.rj]

It is all personal choice, I would choose the 400 for torque and power as fuel mileage is pretty much the same and totally identical size block so all bolts up still, plus if a person wants to can decal it as a 327. A smaller motor to me is more useful in something lighter like a car. The truck being heavier why not push it along easier, but all in what a person likes and of course cost too.

[mjensen]

Originally Posted by Mustard72

I'd get the crank and heads checked for the 400 and go that route if they are ok. Why mess with the 327 when you are already started on the 400? Unless you want to stick with the original engine or something like that. I would imagine you'll appreciate the extra torque from the 400 more than the rev-ability of the 327. The 327 might be easier on gas though.
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Originally Posted by mud.man.rj

It is all personal choice, I would choose the 400 for torque and power as fuel mileage is pretty much the same and totally identical size block so all bolts up still, plus if a person wants to can decal it as a 327. A smaller motor to me is more useful in something lighter like a car. The truck being heavier why not push it along easier, but all in what a person likes and of course cost too.

Thanks guys! I'm purely thinking costs at this point. The 327 ran (and only had about 50-60k on it) when I started ripping apart the truck, so I'm thinking that it may not even need a trip to the machine shop.

I think what I will do is pull the heads and pan off the 327 this weekend and giver a good inspection for obvious issues. If it's relatively clean then I will just plan on running it until I can build up some more funds to dump into the 400. If it needs any work at all, I will just go with the 400.

As it stands, I need to have new drivelines made, and I'm sure that's not going to be cheap.

[Mustard72]

Sounds like a good plan, too. As a word of caution, though, my stock 350 ran pretty dang good, no smoke, plenty of pep, etc., and I was thinking it would just need a gasket replacement and fresh paint, too, and it ended up getting the full rebuild treatment, as I kept finding little things wrong with it as I kept looking deeper and deeper. I don't know if it makes sense or not, but maybe you'd be better off not going through any of the 327, as you know it runs well for now. Clean her up and paint her and throw it back in and spend the money over a little while on the 400 so you can throw that in after driving the 327 for another year or two. Just a thought. Not really sure it makes any sense or not. Depends on how "done" you want to be when you get "done", I suppose.

[mjensen]

Originally Posted by Mustard72

Sounds like a good plan, too. As a word of caution, though, my stock 350 ran pretty dang good, no smoke, plenty of pep, etc., and I was thinking it would just need a gasket replacement and fresh paint, too, and it ended up getting the full rebuild treatment, as I kept finding little things wrong with it as I kept looking deeper and deeper. I don't know if it makes sense or not, but maybe you'd be better off not going through any of the 327, as you know it runs well for now. Clean her up and paint her and throw it back in and spend the money over a little while on the 400 so you can throw that in after driving the 327 for another year or two. Just a thought. Not really sure it makes any sense or not. Depends on how "done" you want to be when you get "done", I suppose.

I appreciate the caution, because that's exactly what I'm afraid of. I really like the suggestion of just cleaning/painting so I can move on, instead of delay longer because of the engine. The one thing it will need for sure is a rear seal. Not sure if I can replace that without tearing it down...I guess it's time to research that

[rgunlock]

Nick just described my plan for my 78 also. The 350 smokes a little at startup, but ran. So for now I just cleaned it up, painted it, new gaskets, all the tuneup stuff, rebuilt carb, new hoses, etc. I figure I'll end up rebuilding or replacing it later, but after having a truck stripped down to frame the idea of swapping an engine sounds like a weekend of playing

[americanmusc1e]

Looking nice!! Mine's finally a roller with the correct axles underneath it and the engine, trams and tcase installed! I was gonna say that the 327 would handle the lower gears smoother than the 400, but I forgot you have overdrive. Throw in the 327 for now and build a torquey 400 when you can.
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[mjensen]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

Nick just described my plan for my 78 also. The 350 smokes a little at startup, but ran. So for now I just cleaned it up, painted it, new gaskets, all the tuneup stuff, rebuilt carb, new hoses, etc. I figure I'll end up rebuilding or replacing it later, but after having a truck stripped down to frame the idea of swapping an engine sounds like a weekend of playing

Originally Posted by americanmusc1e

Looking nice!! Mine's finally a roller with the correct axles underneath it and the engine, trams and tcase installed! I was gonna say that the 327 would handle the lower gears smoother than the 400, but I forgot you have overdrive. Throw in the 327 for now and build a torquey 400 when you can.
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Thanks! I saw some of the pics on Facebook. I really appreciate you letting me give you a barrage of questions! You really helped me out with the front end.

I think you guys are right...327, clean, paint and hope

[Mustard72]

" but after having a truck stripped down to frame the idea of swapping an engine sounds like a weekend of playing "

Funny how that works, isn't it?

[mud.man.rj]

Helped my buddy on his 76 4x4 change up to an 81 quad headlight style. we changed the whole body over and wasn't too bad but takes a while. Then we swapped in the 454 we just built, now that was easy and fast, I hear you. Sure fun firing it up and breaking in the cam though.

[mjensen]

Uh oh rastro! So I decided to pull things off the 327 so I could replace seals like the rear main, timing cover gaskets ect when I noticed that the dampener pulley did not have a bolt into the crank. I don't remember if I took it off or if something else is afoot. Once I got the pulley off, I noticed that the bolt is broke off inside the crank. I am going to try and get it out, but this may have made my decision for me on the 400 or 327 choice.