71 garage find stored since 73

[BurnoutNova]

Originally Posted by fwells67

why is the grille not original? could you explain what is wrong with it because i do not know. once i know i will call the lady and see if or why it was replaced but i did not even know it was not original to the truck.

The whole surround around the grill, other than the very outer edge should be black. That's the big difference between 71/72 grills. That looks like a 72 Grill. But who knows, when it was a year old maybe he got hit and the GM dealer put a 72 Grill in.

[ls1nova71]

Here's some pics of an original '71 grill.




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[fwells67]

Originally Posted by ls1nova71

Here's some pics of an original '71 grill.




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hey thanks alot for the pic now i know what the differance is between the two. i am going to call her and see if she remembers if it was ever busted and changed out. who knows about that but it would ease my mind now about why it was changed . do you think it could have been built later in the production and got the later grille when new.

[sboris]

Check the vin, maybe a high build number so it could be late 71.
Hard telling what gm did. Hitting a deer or something makes sense also..
You must be totally jacked finding something unmolested like this. Im
so Jealous!! I say put your other engine and such in you choose to make
it the way you like. But DONT get rid of any of it. Never know for later..

[RenoKeene]

In my opinion I'd restore it to original and claim it is what it is but....I'm building what your looking at doing...big block, ac, tilt, tach, buckets, posi etc., and I'm using period correct parts, the ultimate short bed. Your at the crossroads now, restore it and have a super low miles truck or build the ultimate short bed and forget about the low miles thing. When you put the Big Block in it is no longer original. Either way you go you will have a great truck and you scored one of the best finds I've seen on here yet!
Congratulations.
Brad

[Joesjunk]

Is there still a Disc Brakes sticker on the upper LH side of the tailgate? It was a 71 only sticker
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[michael bustamante]

am/fm radio......cool

[powerdriver 1958]

Gentlemen , This argument has been worn out . You have made your points . Any further dead horse beating will be considered Trolling and a 24 hour suspension issued .

Now , Where are the pictures

[fwells67]

Originally Posted by RenoKeene

In my opinion I'd restore it to original and claim it is what it is but....I'm building what your looking at doing...big block, ac, tilt, tach, buckets, posi etc., and I'm using period correct parts, the ultimate short bed. Your at the crossroads now, restore it and have a super low miles truck or build the ultimate short bed and forget about the low miles thing. When you put the Big Block in it is no longer original. Either way you go you will have a great truck and you scored one of the best finds I've seen on here yet!
Congratulations.
Brad

you are absolutely right it's only original once but i am not really into the numbers or options matching scene i think it would be so much better with the bigblock/tilt/tac/vac/buckets and some cleaning and polish work then it would be a nice driver in my opinion. don't get me wrong the truck is still nice the way it is but some more extras would not hurt either. i am going to start buffing the outside this weekend then move on to the interior while i am letting that motor soak a little while. i will know exactly what i am going to do when i see if the motor will run or not either rebuild the factory one or the bigblock transplant. i will keep the pics coming as i get going on it very soon.

[RenoKeene]

I would highly suggest you pull the motor instead of trying to fire it up, the seals are shot, the fuel has turned to varnish and you would be taking a large risk in damaging what you have. Same goes for the tranny. Slow down a bit and think things through. I can tell you from experiance that you are going to have to pull it anyway. Protect your investment, once you look inside the motor you'll know what direction to go.
A lot of us wish that was sitting in our shop right now.
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[Longhorn Man]

a couple pages back Fine69 said something about his old 67 cougar... I WILL verify, both that it was locked up, and that it ran fine after he unlocked it. Got 20+ MPG on the freeway headed into central Kentucky, no smoke, no knock, he even used it as his daily driver for a couple years.

As for no being able to lower the miles on an Ohio title, yes you can. I told the BMV I rolled mine back to zero and it had 25-ish when I titled it, and they put it on the title. All legal.

I am not disputing this is a low mile truck, it looks legit from where I sit, and I hope to see it in person.

[doubleb's69]

If I knew there would be this much drama on this thread when I subscribed I would have saved some time and just went out and watched one of my wifes shows on tv with her.

Seriously though I would love to see that truck so I could take referance pics of it. Please post as many pics as possible.

[PHAT TONY]

I gots no bs to add, if old trucks could talk....
I'm in for seeing if it runs or goes big block!

[litew8]

Originally Posted by ls1nova71

Here's some pics of an original '71 grill.

Original 71's had the outer surround painted black on the outside? Never seen one. Maybe I should paint mine black. Any pics of someone's build with it like that?

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

a couple pages back Fine69 said something about his old 67 cougar... I WILL verify, both that it was locked up, and that it ran fine after he unlocked it. Got 20+ MPG on the freeway headed into central Kentucky, no smoke, no knock, he even used it as his daily driver for a couple years.

I'll ask again, was his engine stored in the same condition as the OP's. Fine69 never answered my question.

If you had an engine sitting out like the OP's, in the current condition it appears in now, it's irresponsible not to tear it down and rebuild it.

Can you imagine what kind of damage is possible for sitting so long? Can you image what kind of damage CAN occur by not spending the time to tear it down and clean it up? Want to take a chance on throwing a connecting rod?

Seriously, I wouldn't even consider trying to fire it up without knowing exactly what it is I'm dealing with. Not wanting to tear it down and replace gaskets/seals and inspect is imo, lazy and way too risky.

[71sierragrande]

I would keep the original, numbers matching, engine in it at all costs with that kind of mileage. Plus, it would seem a little weird to tell people the truck has only 7,000 miles on it, but its on its second engine(maybe its just me?). If you dont need the truck as a driver any time soon, I would rebuild it. That truck deserves it. Either way, have fun, we are all jealous. BUT...I sure wish GM would have thought to go with the extra odometer digit back then, right? My truck ONLY has 164,000 on it. Or is it 64? Or 264? Doh!!

[fwells67]

i pulled the intake and it is a mess inside the heads the motor will have to be pulled and taken apart to do it right since i do not want to damage the block or heads. i will pull it out and take it apart and cover everything in hydraulic oil and wrap it in trash bags to store it away so i will have the orig motor for later down the road if i ever want to put it back. this is for sure getting the 402/400 combo now. i will post pics this afternoon of inside the engine. lifter valley was clean as new but down the ports in the heads is a different story

[VA72C10]

Stinks about the engine but a cool truck is going to get cooler with a big block and buckets!!!

[teeitup]

I think you did super for $2K, it would part out for way more than that. And finding a non rusted truck for that money is almost impossible. Joesjunk, sold a complete cab and doors for $2000 about a year ago on here. And what has been said sitting is almost harder on trucks than driving them sometimes.

[litew8]

Yeah, you're welcome for the advice from all us common sense folk.
Hate to say it, but I told you so.

Also, if that is the matching block, it's a GOOD quality block. If the cylinder walls are pitting, you'll want take it to a Machinist to get cleaned up before storing it, or sell it to someone that will. The heads probably aren't special, but if original, are matching.


Good job on being responsible.

Originally Posted by fwells67

i pulled the intake and it is a mess inside the heads the motor will have to be pulled and taken apart to do it right since i do not want to damage the block or heads. i will pull it out and take it apart and cover everything in hydraulic oil and wrap it in trash bags to store it away so i will have the orig motor for later down the road if i ever want to put it back. this is for sure getting the 402/400 combo now. i will post pics this afternoon of inside the engine. lifter valley was clean as new but down the ports in the heads is a different story

[PHAT TONY]

It's your responsibility to ensure that motor lives up to someone elses standards, lol.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Great find would love to see some more pics..

[BurnoutNova]

Originally Posted by litew8

Original 71's had the outer surround painted black on the outside? Never seen one. Maybe I should paint mine black. Any pics of someone's build with it like that?

Yes they did, but it's super common to see them where the black paint is faded off. My original 71 grill is really good, but the black paint is only visible from the bottom side. It sat outside long enough to make the black disappear.

I think it's pretty neat when you see on that is correct, not many restored trucks have that small detail.

[litew8]

Originally Posted by PHAT TONY

It's your responsibility to ensure that motor lives up to someone elses standards, lol.

Not his responsibility to do anything Phat Tony. Guessing you never took an auto shop class before? Some things you prob. just shouldn't do, any good mechanic will tell you.

[litew8]

Originally Posted by BurnoutNova

Yes they did, but it's super common to see them where the black paint is faded off. My original 71 grill is really good, but the black paint is only visible from the bottom side. It sat outside long enough to make the black disappear.

I think it's pretty neat when you see on that is correct, not many restored trucks have that small detail.

Cool. I did notice some very faded partial black on my surround when I went to clean it up. I thought maybe a previous owner had painted it or something. Thanks for the good info BurnoutNova.

[stomper]

Is this the same truck? If so, I found us some more pix.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-...item19ca503009