(Project Morgan) 1972 1/2ton ShortStep

[ll____b0t____ll]

Hi everyone Ive been lurking around thse forums for a while and I figured it was time to join.
I noticed this is a tight knit group of good folks who are both helpful and some very skilled craftsman and I feel honered to be in the company of you all .
I hope I can be of help to others here and please feel free to send me advice as I know you all have been down the road im looking at.

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Well this is how I got her a side from the $30.00 Wally World rattle can primer job I had to put on her to keep the Landlord off my back... something about blue/brown/rust colored trucks they dont like I guess.

I was originally calling it project Time Machine as thats just what it is for me as my very first vehicle was a 1969 cst long box and I wanted to go back to the enjoyment I had with it.
But the wife dubbed it Morgan as it repeatedly needed More money and broke down Again and again
More -Again =Morgan
And who am I to disagree with my wife, A happy wife equals a good life.

She was Purchased brand new back in 1972 by a Farmer and must have made one heck of a farm truck because that same farmer was who I purchased her from.
She had been abused real bad but the guy said the streaght 6 burnt only one quart every other fuel up and said I could have her for $600.00.
Desperate to find any of these trucks in my erea I paid the man .

[ll____b0t____ll]

Well it was time to take the in line 6 out so grab the A frame and come along lol....eeek.
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Some people may like these moters but mine went through 8 quarts of oil to drive it the 28 miles home....and a tank of gas.

But never fear I traded the manual tranny for a 350 and turbo 350 tranny that I was told was babied all its life by a member of the family.

So in it goes....
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Drove it about 5 miles and realized.........Spun bearings....this isnt going so well yet.




Time to build a real moter...




Yes thats right people who dont have a garage or access to them build moters in the living room......

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[OARNGESI]

Nice start

[ll____b0t____ll]

Well heres the rims I decided on .. the wife picked them out.
15x8 front 15x10 rear .
I know thats small by todays standerds but ive been down the tall rim road and thats not for this truck.
Sorry about the quality of the pics.
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And in goes the new 350.
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You can see the wheels on her in this one.
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Thanks Uncle Lee for use of the dolly we used to wheel the moter out the house... literally and for use of the come along that did the hoist duties.

[thirdstreettito]

Nice project! What are the engine specs? You should drop it 2/4, it would look really hot with those wheels. Keep up the progress!

[ll____b0t____ll]

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

Nice project! What are the engine specs? You should drop it 2/4, it would look really hot with those wheels. Keep up the progress!

Engine Specs:
Well its a 2 bolt main block , nothing specail about the crank other than quality with stock rods and some flat top pistons.
The cam is the same one that came in the 325 hp 327 of the 66 Nova , again nothing ground breaking but im going for sporty and reliable gas getter.
The heads are just some decent 194s and its got a stock intake manafold and a quadrapuke carb.

Mind you the truck broke down making the trip home so it had to be built at my parants house more than 230 miles from my home .
So I had to build the moter and truck up enough to make the trip where it is now and I can really build it.
I plan to change the heads to some nice World product alluminuim ones and bump the cam up and go with a performer air gap or street dominator intake with a holly 750 DP.
At this point its running and I can address the many things it has wrong.


As far as lowering it 2-4
Im not sure yet Im thinking about it but when I got it it had brocken front springs .
The drivers was broke in 3 peices and the pass in 2 so I orded some 3/4 ton springs on the advice of my father who assured me was the way to go.
The back spings was so worn out that my sister who weaghs about 50lbs stood in the bad and bottomed it hard.
I got some 3/4 ton heavy duty rear springs but havent been able to put them in due to a ceased or frozen lower control arm bolt.
Im working with hand tools mind you no power tools .

Here in Sheridan Wyoming the terrain can be ruff so Im not sure I want to lower but OMG that sure is a lot off gap isnt it.
Still Im not sure yet

[ll____b0t____ll]

How do you think it would work using these 3/4 ton springs but going with 2-3 inch drop spinndles?

[ll____b0t____ll]

As far as this project goes I wont be able to do a frame off duo to the facts I live in an Apartment complex,have no garage,and I am on a budget but heres what I will be doing.

New front fenders both sides.Goodmark. Ordered and in transit now
New cowl induction hood.Goodmark
New front bumper .The Paddock
New outer and inner grille.Maines Truck Parts
new rocker panels . Goodmark Ordered and in transit now
New cab corners. not sure yet wher these are coming from
New bed fenders. LMC/Goodmark or Maines
Convert to power steering
Convert from old bench to buckets
Rear role pan with 1968 camaro tail lights
Fuel cell and remove behind seat tank for room for subwoofers
CD plarer
New complete heater build
New doors
New windshield and rear window
Spray in bedliner with diamond plate alluminum bottom and sides
New carpet

Well you get the picture and there will be a lot more but that list should keep me busy for a minute.

Ill get more pics up soon and through out the build.
Please feel free to offer advise or ideas .

[thirdstreettito]

Looks like you got a plan. How did that makeshift A frame hold up with the 700lb engine?

[ll____b0t____ll]

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

Looks like you got a plan. How did that makeshift A frame hold up with the 700lb engine?

Well Im more of a The right tool for the job kinda guy but this was done away from my tools and when in rome.
First ide like to say if you can avoid this method by all means do so as it really is not safe and is a real pain.
If you get the arms set a little wrong it will twist and fall or tip over.
Also it does not move so you need friends to help position the truck .
More trouble than its worth but it was all we had at the time so ....get a
hold of it lol
You should have seen the 3 people moving the engine and stand out the front living room door with a dolly......No pride here

[kyull67]

looks good and welcome!

[R.L.]

Originally Posted by ll____b0t____ll

Well Im more of a The right tool for the job
You should have seen the 3 people moving the engine and stand out the front living room door with a dolly......No pride here

Cool! Welcome, keep the pics coming. I've been in on a couple of these kind of builds and nooobody has any more pride in the finished job then the folks who build em and can make the builds work with what they have to work with.

[ll____b0t____ll]

Thanks for the warm welcomes.

Yeah this is going to be a hard road and I have a lot of people saying I cant do it but hey they dont know what it means to me and that I will not fail no matter what .
Dont get me wrong I have no delusions of it ending up a show truck as thats just not in the cards for me...But Im going to work every card I do have in this deck.

In the end if it has no rust , retains its classy lines runs strong and reliable and can make people who grew up with these trucks remember a simpler time than I will have done what I set out to do.

Ill get more pics up soon right now im looking out the window of 3 inchs of snow each day for 4 days and -12 weather so im just gathering parts and waiting on my own personal Santa the U.P.S guy who seems more happy for each package I get than me...I dig that guy

[ll____b0t____ll]

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Maybe next week Ill get some work done......?

[ll____b0t____ll]

Got some parts pics for you guys again sorry about the quality ....stupid webcam lol.

Here the seats and belts Im using for Morgan.
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just some Poly's from JEGS and some G-Force 4 way harnesses.



On to the rear diff.
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Got to have the solid crush sleeve with shims .
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And Manes came through with a glove box insert for me.
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And just as I thought 3 more inchs of snow .
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[ll____b0t____ll]

Heres a mock up of what I intend to do for a rear roll pan.
It will need refining but its BETA idea.

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[Boog]

Well at first glance that roll pan rendering looks like a Camaro rear panel. Providing there is enough room it might look real good on the truck.
Necessity is the mother of invention you know in regards to the engine hoist setup. Use what you have to to get the job done. Hey, I've used a tree limb to hoist em out before. Shame the truck didn't make it home after purchase.
I mean no harm but I'm curious as to why you chose 3/4 ton springs for this 1/2 ton step. If you do a lot of hauling and towing I could maybe see the advantage for stiffer springs.
I have wondered if taking a stock 3/4 ton front spring and cutting 1 1/2 coil from it would lower it about right and soften up the ride to more like a 1/2 ton spring.
With all the parts you have ordered I think you're well on your way to having a runner real soon.
Considering your housing situation are you going to try doing the body work in the driveway or have another location for this? Nice start.

[ll____b0t____ll]

Originally Posted by Boog

Well at first glance that roll pan rendering looks like a Camaro rear panel. Providing there is enough room it might look real good on the truck. Necessity is the mother of invention you know in regards to the engine hoist setup. Use what you have to to get the job done. Hey, I've used a tree limb to hoist em out before. Shame the truck didn't make it home after purchase.
I mean no harm but I'm curious as to why you chose 3/4 ton springs for this 1/2 ton step. If you do a lot of hauling and towing I could maybe see the advantage for stiffer springs.
I have wondered if taking a stock 3/4 ton front spring and cutting 1 1/2 coil from it would lower it about right and soften up the ride to more like a 1/2 ton spring.
With all the parts you have ordered I think you're well on your way to having a runner real soon.
Considering your housing situation are you going to try doing the body work in the driveway or have another location for this? Nice start.

Well Im not sure if it will work I may not have that much room but I have never been a fan of the stepside tail lights and I am looking for some kind of tail I do like that would look tight .

No harm at all I welcome any and all questions and advice.
I live in an erea that gets plenty of snow , the roads are not great and I like a stiffer suspention as I feel more control at higher speeds.
Also I have noticed many of the 1/2 ton front springs are prone to break after short periods of time and the advice of my father was the 3/4 ton springs didnt do that so I figured ide give them a try and once its done if i wanted lowering springs Ide go that way.

It is my understanding that cutting a rung of a spring (depending on how it is cut) only makes it stronger as it is like a stick that is easily brocken but the shorter it gets the harder it is to break.
Mind you some have cut and heated the sprindgs which I beleive is bad as the heat takes to much tensil streanth out of the spring without control of how much and will lead to the spring failing to work as it was designed.

I will do things like fenders and hoods in the parking lot or ill drive up into the mountains a bit , rockers and stuff ill need electricity to do Ill have to hope some of my friends come through with some of the offers that If I need to use their garage for a short time I can.
I plan to tackle all the body work myself except for the cab corners which ill have to pay a shop pro to do ....grrrr.

Ohh well you do what ya can

[custom72c20]

nice build. keep up the good work.

[ll____b0t____ll]

Originally Posted by custom72c20

nice build. keep up the good work.

Thanks Ill do my best

Well I recieved my Goofmark outer rocker panels and after checking them with a streaght edge as expected they need work towards the front.
Ill get some pics of those soon.

On the front fenders from Goodmark I have just had a great time.
I ordered them from Summit Racing online and got stuck with a $99.00 truck freaght charge which I expected.
What I didnt expect was 15 days later they finnaly shipped or so I was told,I wanted to track them so I could be home to recieve them right....nope.
Summit customer service tells me because they dont have them and get them from goodmark I cant get any tracking #.
They tell me to contact UPS for help tracking them which I do and guess what...UPS sais Summit has to get me tracking # or they cant do anything and they insist Summit has to do that for their customers.
So I call Summit back and more run around so I say give me Goodmarks # and Ill call them, they say Goodmark is closed.
I insist on getting the # and than hang up with Summit.
I call Goodmark myself and guess what they are open...
They inform me my fenders are not even coming through UPS or Fedex but from Roadway Express and went out the 13th and give me tracking #'s for them to find out they are coming the 19th.
Long story I know but in the end I will never order from Summit Racing again and will find another saler for Goodmark parts from now on.

On a good note I got some detailed photos of the truck and problem ereas and ill upload them shortly as I know we all like pics here .

[ll____b0t____ll]

Well films developed so heres some more pics.























More pics in next post.

[ll____b0t____ll]

and more























There ya go now you can see some of what i have to do body work wise.
O how did you like that profesional seat cover hahaha now thats old school.

[R.L.]

Yeah I had the same seat cover if you break down the wife can always wrap up in it if need be.
I see a lot of dark areas I'm assuming thats not rust and if thats the case that body doesn't look bad to me at all. Keep us updated.

[westofb]

If you have your heart set on camaro tail lights, that is what you should try. A few years back had a 85 chevy and wanted tail lights in the roll pan. I went to the local salvage yard and after "inventorying" the place, I got a set of early 70 Ford (yeah I know its a four letter word...lol) maverick tail lights to use. They are super easy to mount in a roll pan, just find one and take a look. Just thought I would provide you with an alternative. Good luck on your build!

[67ChevyRedneck]

Lookin' good. I like the rim choice!

I too live in an apartment complex and it blows when I need to work on the truck.