My daily driver/beater : How I turned lemons in lemonade

[oats84]

Def love the build that your continuing. Just saved a 83 lwb with a l6 and a 4spd from the crusher great motivation. Keep up the awesome work your doing.

[crashz]

You are inspiring me to do some bad things...

Years ago a friend gave me a running 89 chevy step side with V6 and 5 speed. The motor needed rings (one hole was burning oil) and so I gave the truck to my father. He put another engine in it, had the paint touched up and the clutch done and drove it for a few years. We tried to give it to a friend, but its starting to get a little rusty and needs cab corners and such.

Its sitting, waiting for me. Your ugly truck build is tempting me to start in on this once the dumptruck is done. My biggest problem is that I have about 1 day per month to work on trucks. So progress is slow.

[Randy S. Hager]

Kevin.........I have in my possession a brand new never been installed 2bbl TBI unit still in the original GM package. I'm not going to run that one on my inline 6 so I have no need for this unit. It is for a 350 so the injectors are the 65 lb/hr type but it should still provide the proper fuel with the stock ECM. I have an ECM from the Astro van but you could use Jonboys 7747. I don't have a harness. I will try to make it over to the storage this week if possible and see just what else I have for it.

[Tx Firefighter]

Well it looks like the project is kind of firming up.

First and foremost, I have to finish up the engine job in my 4x4, which is all but done (still finishing cooling system and looking for a couple of serpentine brackets). That way I will have a pickup to drive daily while I build on the stepside. I don't want to go back to hauling crap in the back of my little Honda Element again because I'm pickup-less.

Then I'll dig into the stepside. I was originally figuring to wait until winter, but will probably make it a summer project instead.

-I'm standing by to see what all Randy comes up with on the V6 stuff. Randy, this is no rush at all. It's not like I'm on a timeline. I'm hoping there will be enough stuff to get me towards a stock 4.3 with TBI injection. Randy, I'm gonna have a 4 bolt main 350 sitting around when swap it out. You into small blocks ? If so, I'm your guy.

-Jonboy, I might be interested in the ECM and TBI wiring stuff. I figured I'd do a Painless TBI harness until I priced them. 400 bucks for the harness. So, I can do a ton of harness repair, splicing, combining, or fabricating for that kind of money. Valerie's dad in Richardson has been having some significant health issues so we've been traveling over there pretty frequently.

-I'd very much like to do serpentine when I swap in the other engine. That's pretty much an absolute for me. I'll round up whatever serpentine stuff I need depending on what Randy has.

-Then, there's the air suspension. I've never done one before and I'm pretty bored with the rut I've been in with my truck building. I'm thinking about doing a basic airbag setup. Since I already have drop spindles in the front, it's looking like doing bag cups and plates would be a good option. Porterbuilt looks to have a very nice front kit for 360 dollars. I'm strongly leaning that direction. In the back, with my current flip kit, I'd do a notch and thin out of leaf spring packs a bunch then do an air-over-leaf like Ken used to have on his truck. Seems simple and inexpensive. I don't worry too much about the wheelhop issue guys warn of since I'll be running a very low powered drivetrain being driven by a light footed driver.

-I will paint the truck while I have it apart. Not sure what, but something to make it look more decent. I've been getting undue hassle from the cops while driving this truck. No tickets yet, but every little thing gets me pulled over. I figure it's because I look like a meth tweaker truck or something. I'm thinking probably a mild color with white bumper and top.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by powell72

Have you thought about just doing wider rear steelies instead of 18's? I just love the white steelies and caps you're running now.

I have definitely thought about going that direction. I can buy 8 inch wide stock steelies from Summit for like 80 dollars each delivered. A pair of those along with my current skinny fronts would do the trick.

I also have a set of wide and narrow rallys at my shop that I've been saving.

But, mainly, tire prices are making my head hurt. I can buy an 18 or 20 inch tire for the same money as a 275/60-15 BF Goodrich Radial T/A for the rally wheels. It eats me up when a 15 and a 18-20 tire are equal in price. With the cost of these cheap big wheels nowadays (Boss, Showwheels, etc), it makes a big wheel package look attractive. We all know a set of big wheels will go a long way towards making a plain truck look killer.

[aggie91]

Kevin, check your PM.

[355bullet]

Nice truck!

[bluex]

Just FYI, porters stage one front kit is $435 now. For all that's included though its still a decent price...

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by bluex

Just FYI, porters stage one front kit is $435 now. For all that's included though its still a decent price...

Yep. I just noticed that. I think the price increased this week.

Looks like I can get the same Dominator air bags for 150 from Amazon.com. I can cut the plates and cups out of scrap steel with my plasma cutter for maybe 10 bucks in half an hour or so. Other than that, it's just building shock mounts and shocks. Looks like I'll probably just make my front kit from scratch rather than use the Porterbought kit in the front. No offense to Nathan Porter but when it crossed over 400 dollar threshold (plus shipping) I kind of fell out of interest. I'd like the pride of making my own patterns and cutting my own parts anyway.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Kevin, check your PM.

I did get it. I was looking in my scrap pile and I've got a bunch of 1/4 inch plate. I'll probably wind up making my own. I'm researching the need/benefits of using lower plates/cups/or building recessed wells into my control arms.

I hope you're coming to Decatur this fall. We already have our spaces bought and paid for. Lots of the Louisiana members are getting on board with the Decatur swap meet too. That's a good bunch of guys you'd enjoy meeting.

Originally Posted by 355bullet

Nice truck!

Thank you for the compliment. It should be a lot better after this next phase I'm planning. Have no fear, I'll get it done. I'm not one to fizzle out of projects very easily.

[aggie91]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

I did get it. I was looking in my scrap pile and I've got a bunch of 1/4 inch plate. I'll probably wind up making my own. I'm researching the need/benefits of using lower plates/cups/or building recessed wells into my control arms.

I hope you're coming to Decatur this fall. We already have our spaces bought and paid for. Lots of the Louisiana members are getting on board with the Decatur swap meet too. That's a good bunch of guys you'd enjoy meeting.


...

Kevin, if you need a drawing of the upper plate, let me know.
I hope to make the fall one in Decatur. Their web site does not have the dates posted, when is it?

[Tx Firefighter]

Karl, here is the info on the fall meet.

http://www.southwestswapmeet.com

A word about that Porterbuilt kit we were talking about above....

When I'm at work, I do my research on the Internet and print out and compile parts that I want into a notebook. I went back and looked at my sheet for the a Porterbuilt Stage 1 front kit. It was 360 dollars on the 20th of this month. So, in the last week, the price increased by 80 dollars. I'll definitely be sourcing my hard parts and fabricating the bracketry and plates for my truck. That sudden price jump is a little out of my financial comfort zone.

[Low Elco]

Glad to see this going forward, and congrats on the 4X4 progress!

[SCOTI]

Paint it the factory cream color w/white bumpers & wheels if keeping the 15's. Maybe opt for chrome bumpers if upgrading to 18's.

Cup some lower arms & add plates to the x-member. Add some stupid simple upper shock mounts for optimized travel. The reduced leaf pack & AOL sound good. Plan on fabbing rear shock mounts as well to again optimize shock travel/geometry.

Gotta keep the mexican blanket seat cover though to keep it legit.

[aggie91]

Thanks for the link.

[sparks427]

Awesome build Kevin!! I really enjoy reading your threads, it's like watching those show on TV but with actual real life affordable fixes! Keep up the good work!

[Randy S. Hager]

Kevin..........going to Branson, Mo for family time so after that I'll dig through storage and the garage and see what all I have for the V6. I did see the stock intake yesterday while in the attic. I think I have a housing and shaft for a distributor but I think the reluctor/pickup coil is toast. Talk with you later about it all.

Randy S. Hager
Venus, TX

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Paint it the factory cream color w/white bumpers & wheels if keeping the 15's. Maybe opt for chrome bumpers if upgrading to 18's.

Cup some lower arms & add plates to the x-member. Add some stupid simple upper shock mounts for optimized travel. The reduced leaf pack & AOL sound good. Plan on fabbing rear shock mounts as well to again optimize shock travel/geometry.

Gotta keep the mexican blanket seat cover though to keep it legit.

Its eerie how close you are to what I have in mind.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Paint it the factory cream color w/white bumpers & wheels if keeping the 15's. Maybe opt for chrome bumpers if upgrading to 18's.

Cup some lower arms & add plates to the x-member. Add some stupid simple upper shock mounts for optimized travel. The reduced leaf pack & AOL sound good. Plan on fabbing rear shock mounts as well to again optimize shock travel/geometry.

Gotta keep the mexican blanket seat cover though to keep it legit.

X2.
The issue with the AOL set up for the rear is the offset shocks.
(one points forward, one points backwards)
It's my opinion that you need to swap the shocks to BOTH point forward (or backwards),... and then add the air bags to the leaf springs on the opposite side of the axle.
I believe this is also what n2trux had done on his original AOL set-up.

[Tx Firefighter]

I haven't taken the bed off yet, but is there any (engineering) reason I shouldn't build a little crossmember and mount the shocks inboard of the rails ?

That's kind of what I figured I'd do. A round tube crossmember from frame rail to rail with studs welded in the appropriate places. Then some tab on the axle down below to mount the bottom to.

[aggie91]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

I haven't taken the bed off yet, but is there any (engineering) reason I shouldn't build a little crossmember and mount the shocks inboard of the rails ?

That's kind of what I figured I'd do. A round tube crossmember from frame rail to rail with studs welded in the appropriate places. Then some tab on the axle down below to mount the bottom to.

I don't see a reason why you could not do that. The shocks are more effective mounted closer to the wheel, but I have seen many mounted inside the frame from the factories.

I thought I had a picture of what I did on my son's '82, but I cannot find one. I was able to use the lower spring plate and weld up a stud to it and a bracket off the outside of the frame rail on both sides to the rear of the housing. The shock was tight but I had clearence between the leaf spring and the frame rail to mount them there instead of the inside of the frame. If you did it to the front of the housing, you could add the AOL to the rear of the housing or vice versa...

[bluex]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Yep. I just noticed that. I think the price increased this week.

Looks like I can get the same Dominator air bags for 150 from Amazon.com. I can cut the plates and cups out of scrap steel with my plasma cutter for maybe 10 bucks in half an hour or so. Other than that, it's just building shock mounts and shocks. Looks like I'll probably just make my front kit from scratch rather than use the Porterbought kit in the front. No offense to Nathan Porter but when it crossed over 400 dollar threshold (plus shipping) I kind of fell out of interest. I'd like the pride of making my own patterns and cutting my own parts anyway.

I understand completly and thats why I wanted to let you know. I'm glad I got my order in before the price increase. I was thinking it was a little high as well but I checked around no one has as complete of a kit as porter anywhere close to that price. Ridetech is $400 just for bags, cups and plates now and their cheapest shocks are $250!

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by lolife99

X2.
The issue with the AOL set up for the rear is the offset shocks.
(one points forward, one points backwards)
It's my opinion that you need to swap the shocks to BOTH point forward (or backwards),... and then add the air bags to the leaf springs on the opposite side of the axle.
I believe this is also what n2trux had done on his original AOL set-up.

I made my own AOL. I fabbed the upper mounts & welded them to the side of the frame. The lower 'mount' was the original leaf spring pad. I used an allen head bolt as a locating pin to keep them centered within the pad (the bottom of the bags floated like they would up front).

That being said, if I was pulling the bed, I would do the new rear shock x-member & longer lower shock mounts to optimize the shocks travel & mount the bags like Ride Techs AOL set-up (the way Ken's was done). I like the shocks as close to the spring as possible & outside the rail offers greater stability.

[Tx Firefighter]

I appreciate the dialog from everyone on the rear shock mounting.

I looks like the project is going to keep moving forward soon. I lit off the fresh engine in the 4x4 today. It seems good so far. I didn't have antifreeze in it so I only ran it a short time. No funny sounds and strong oil pressure. Now I just have to cross my fingers and hope the TBI tolerates the vortec roller cam without any further tuning or chip burning. I've heard it both ways on the Internet.

I still have to round up a few serpentine drive brackets for the 4x4. It has the steel horseshoe type on there now and of course they're cracked and bent so I'm going to swap to the 91 and newer aluminum brackets. That's my project this weekend, to find the brackets I need. Hopefully only two or three more paychecks and the 4x4 will be driver quality and I can dig back into the stepside.

Also, another member on here just offered me some front bag plates that he had laying around.

[Tx Firefighter]

I can see the light on the 4x4 engine job. As soon as I get it finished up completely it will be my daily driver and I can work on the stepside.

Finally got the brackets I needed for the 4x4



And, as I was removing the brackets off the Craigslist guys truck, I noticed the new radiator. Wound up buying it for 40 bucks. Very fortuitous since I was planning on stopping by OReilly and spending 120 for a radiator on my way home anyway. You can see the old leaky radiator in the picture along with the new/used Craigslist radiator.



Pretty much all finished up. The engine sounds good and solid. Nice and smooth. No leaks, seeps, or drips. Just a few things to tidy up, set timing, etc. what you see there is a 350 4bolt main TBI engine with higher compression pistons and a full Vortec roller cam swap. I have about 450 dollars invested in the engine. I did a lot of closely inspecting used parts and rounding up other, better, used parts, to get it all together. The important stuff is all new like bearings, rings and stuff.



Yes, the engine stuff could stand some detailing but I wanted to push through and get this thing on the road rather than spend another month fussing over restoring little parts in the engine bay. Priorities....