Project Reno - 72 cheyenne rebuild

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by DWilbur

after reading through the rest of your build I see the 309C.

Yes i used the 309C, but it took considerable frame clearancing to get them in
the way i wanted. I would go with the Headman block huggers for sure.

Chris

[DWilbur]

Originally Posted by cmabolt

Yes i used the 309C, but it took considerable frame clearancing to get them in
the way i wanted. I would go with the Headman block huggers for sure.

Chris

Hello Chris
looking at the pictures of your engine it looks like it sits about 1" higher than mine. I'm using the dirty dingo mount. I called dirty dingo to see what headers fit and they did not have a straight answer. I called Dough Thorley and their tech said to fallow the instructions. The instructions only call out motor mounts for 2 wheel drive truck and the engine sits 1.5" higher in a 2 wheel drive truck do the cross member for the front suspension. I will order a set of Headman block huggers and give it a try. I found a NV4500 transmission and the hydraulic clutch is internal so I won't have to worry about the external one I was going to use with the SM465. Thanks for all the trial and error work you did it was a big help for me.

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by DWilbur

Hello Chris
looking at the pictures of your engine it looks like it sits about 1" higher than mine. I'm using the dirty dingo mount. I called dirty dingo to see what headers fit and they did not have a straight answer. I called Dough Thorley and their tech said to fallow the instructions. The instructions only call out motor mounts for 2 wheel drive truck and the engine sits 1.5" higher in a 2 wheel drive truck do the cross member for the front suspension. I will order a set of Headman block huggers and give it a try. I found a NV4500 transmission and the hydraulic clutch is internal so I won't have to worry about the external one I was going to use with the SM465. Thanks for all the trial and error work you did it was a big help for me.

Hey DWilber. Not a problem at all. That's why we're all here I guess. I got a lot of help from others as well. In the end, I don't think there's a manufacturer out there that will give you a solid answer. Too many variations in these engine swaps to make anything a sure bet and their not going to put themselves in the position of giving you incorrect information.

I do think these headman headers though will do the trick. If you dry fit them with motor mounts in place you will know immediately if their going to fit. There's really nothing in the way of their output except the motor mount and a very small sliver of the frame may need to be ground away. Good luck and let me know how you clutch setup and NV4500 work. I plan on doing this upgrade in the near future once I get mine driving on the road. A write up on what you needed to do would be great.

Thanks
Chris

[cmabolt]

Mo progress!!
Well got a call from the body guy today and the bed is ready. I am going to look at it tomorrow morning. I also had a gap in my schedule so was able to get a few days to wire the truck. I was able to finish the rear harness to the connector for rear lights. That was a major accomplishment as I was worried about routing it in a clean way.


The return fuel line is on the drivers side so I wanted the wires to travel above that.

Here is where the wires exit the rear frame. I want the bed before I go any further with rear harness.

Here's the pig tail for reverse lights. I had to order a connector so It will wait a few more days.

The wires use all the original cab bend over clips and I tried hard to route the wires as original along the cab firewall.

I was also able to get the seats in temporarily to mark holes for the new console. While I was at it I decided to paint the top 2 tone.

I was also able to fish the courtesy light wires into the door jams. A good day it was for odds and ends.

More to come.

[70stroker]

Looks great man, I need to get fired up on mine again.

[mjensen]

I love how clean everything is! That's what I'm striving for on mine, so I'll use yours as a template

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by mjensen

I love how clean everything is! That's what I'm striving for on mine, so I'll use yours as a template

Hey thanks Mike!! I appreciate it. I don't like stuff
That is thrown together so I try to keep things orderly
And easily serviceable.

I just visited the body guy and though not perfect, the bed
Looks good. It's definitely a driver and not show truck, but then
Again, I don't want to pay show truck prices.

Chris

[cmabolt]

Update!
After putting my carpet in to rest and cut necessary holes, I realized there was little padding under it. I decided to do some research and found that a couple lowe's products are getting attention. I purchased some peel and seal for sound deadening and some reflectix to use under the carpet for padding and added insulation. I have to say they both do the trick very well. The peel and seal totally deadened the rear cab area and the relfectix is a foil backed bubble wrap of sorts that doesn't pop.


I cut the relfectix to fit the floor and taped it up with gorilla tape. Should lay in nicely.

I had the bed hauled from body guy to my local line-x dealer and they sprayed the liner today. The inner bed looks great! Unfortunately, due to the amount of buffing compound my painter used, the filament wire tape the line-x dealer uses for nice clean lines, popped lose in a couple places during spraying and they had a few bad corners. They are going to keep the bed and slightly lower the edge line of the line-x and respray to fix. It's not terribly unsightly but the alternative is sanding and respraying the tail gate. I already have to have the painter touch up a bunch of spots so not wanting any major repainted areas.
Ugh!

Tomorrow some more wiring. I am frustrated as I just can't find enough space comfortably under the dash for the ecm. so many places are close but just seems like it's being forced. I could do the kick panel, but not sure if there's enough length in the harness. I am now thinking about where under the hood. Looks like I am going to have to make one more hole in the firewall for the throttle wires or ecm harness depending on what I come up with.
Chris

[cmabolt]

A few more pics… I picked the truck bed up today from Line-X and it looks great.

I snapped a few picks of the finished paint and body work on the fuel door.


I also received my precision window gaskets and within an hour had the front and rear windows set up with gaskets, trim and ropes ready to install. What a difference good parts make. The LMC gaskets will be for sale shortly.


After laying under the dash for about a half hour, I think I found a spot for the computer that is clean. This will make wiring much easier and cleaner. The tack module, fuse panel for engine harness and OBDII connector will all be under the dash.

more to come.

[CUSTOM/10]

"WOW".... Slow down there Chris, your getting too far a head of me !!! "LOL"

Looking good, can't wait to see the bed on the truck !!!

Gary

[ssuth9]

Hi Chris, What year truck did the Fuel Door come from, and where did you purchase your fuel tank?

Steve

[DWilbur]

Hello Chris
Is the AC vent in the center of your dash the factor one. I just opened up my vintage air kit Saturday and pulled the parts my builder is asking for and the one I have looks like yours

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by DWilbur

Hello Chris
Is the AC vent in the center of your dash the factor one. I just opened up my vintage air kit Saturday and pulled the parts my builder is asking for and the one I have looks like yours

Yes, that is the factory vent. It also has a foam gasket.
Both are readily available at our parts vendors.

[y5mgisi]

Bed turned out awesome!

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Bed turned out awesome!

Thanks!

[cmabolt]

Progress... Well, looks like this week I may have some time to make some considerable headway on the wiring. I decided to wire the bed today with all wires run and lenses in place.


I loomed everything before clipping it under the bed. Once I get the bed back on I will finish wiring to the connector and run the tag light lead.

I cut what I hope is the last hole in the firewall (2") for the engine harness and passed the wires thru with no issues. Due to the placement of the ECM the accelerator module wires ended up outside the firewall. I am going to see if there is enough slack in the harness to extend them back inside the cab. I don't want more than about 12" of the ECM harness inside the cab. Since the harness is directly between the accelerator pedal and brake pedal there can't be any interference.

So, tomorrow, more wiring.

[DWilbur]

It's look'n darn toot'n good there cmbolt. With some luck I just might catch up to you.

[rgunlock]

All I know is that I'm jealous! Looking great, and getting the doors to line up will be behind you before you know it.

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

All I know is that I'm jealous! Looking great, and getting the doors to line up will be behind you before you know it.

Thanks Rick. I really hope your right about the doors. If everything lines up off the doors they must be pretty important. I have shims on the way.
Chris

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by DWilbur

It's look'n darn toot'n good there cmbolt. With some luck I just might catch up to you.

Thanks! It's been so long since she had her skin
It's surreal.

[swamp rat]

Sweet! At least somebody is making some progress. Did you order plane ole body shims or door shims? Or both?

[cmabolt]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Sweet! At least somebody is making some progress. Did you order plane ole body shims or door shims? Or both?

I ordered plane ol'e stainless shims. not body or door. stainless 1" square slotted shims. I had a couple shims left over from dismantling the truck and used those on the drivers side temporarily . Both doors need to come out on the top edge of the window frame to match the from cab post. I am hesitant to move the doors too much as they sit in the door frames nicely and latch nicely. Gaps are not perfect, but they are fairly equal all the way around. Everything on the truck, doors, latches, catches are original. The hinges are new so that made things a little easier.

[cmabolt]

Made a little headway yesterday. We were able to get the passengers door on.



Weatherstripping installed

I also put 3 fairly large pieces of Peel and stick on the door skins. i put one piece on the inner skin toward the bottom and 2 pieces on the outer skin bottom and top. Made a noticeable difference when closing the door. felt more solid. Amazing how such a small thing can make such a big difference.

I also finished wiring the connection between the bed and harness. All nice and neat and tucked under the rear of the bed. Today I only have a half day and no helper so am going to do some more ECM wiring in the cab.

[cmabolt]

Today I got the bumpers out and began thinking about how to freshen them up. I decided to take both of them down to raw metal, brush them and clear coat them.


I did a test and this is where I think I am headed as far as the look. I will spray the back of both bumpers with rhino liner and the step of the rear bumper. Then use POR's Glisten clear coat to protect them from the elements.

I now have two completed systems in the truck. Emergency brake and fuel filler. Just installed fuel filler hose and vent.


We spent another day fine tuning the doors. After installing the weather stripping, the doors were very tight and the weather stripping presented some resistance. So we basically had to re-hang each door. I had to open up the hinge holes a bit then they were much more manageable. So on they went followed by the front fenders.



So now we are pretty good with fitment, but a few small issues to still work out. Hard to tell how close we are till the hood goes on. I am definitely not enjoying the bodywork, but it is nice seeing the truck start to look like a truck again. Now, back to some wiring.

[rgunlock]

Looking really good from here Chris.