"Fair and Square" Build Thread
 

I am ready to start my build thread. As many say on this forum, "this build is not going to be quick" so please be patient. Most of my parts have arrived, and I am anxious to get started on installing. This new parts list goes like this:

-2" drop front coil springs
-McGaughys rear leaf flip kit, 5" drop
-New leather seats and console
-New dash
-New carpet
-Black paint for door panels and interior trim
-New black carpeted lower door panel
-New chrome bezels for doors and dash
-New chrome window cranks
-New cowl hood
-New rear roll pan
-New window gaskets
-New billet grille and headlight bezels
and probably a few more things I am forgetting.......

Plan is to convert the interior to black, which will go well with the stock color of the truck, which is Nevada Gold.

Its good to start with a solid truck. Can't wait to get started on this! Probably going to be a couple weeks yet. I will keep you all posted.

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Here is a picture of the new seats I will be installing.....

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nice lookin truck!

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Real nice start man. What brand are thoes seats?
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I am also interested in what seats those are from, they look comfortable!

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I love the truck! put me in line when the bumper comes off for the roll pan!

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Very nice truck. The black interior will look sharp with the gold. I will enjoy following your progress.

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Those are some nice seats

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I found the seats on the web. Did some searching on good old Google and came across a website called discountvantruck.com . I found something I liked and ordered the seats. Overall I would say I am happy with the seats, but there were a couple things I did not like. The way they secured the leather on the bottom of the seat was kind of sloppy and the hinge pins for the center console are exposed on the back. Other than that, I like the seats. I will let you know how the install goes.

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Thanks for the nice comments, guys.

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I'm glad you are keeping the factory color --- I always liked that gold color on these trucks!!

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Haven't been able to do much since starting this thread, due to a job change and moving the family, but we are settled for now, and since we are renting until our house sells, I figure why not work on the truck.

I put the new door panels and hardware on. Changed from the stock burgundy to black. I thought it turned out clean and sharp.

I used that upholstery paint from LMC on the arm rests, hoping I could salvage them. The finish turned out excellent, so I put the arm rests back on. I am very pleased since now I won't have to buy replacements.

I tried the paint on the original door panels as well, but that did not hold up so well. It easily scratched revealing the original color underneath. So I bought black replacement panels.

The aluminum door insert wasn't of the quality I thought it would be. The driver side insert had the center holes drilled in the incorrect spot, so I had to drill new ones. It still mounted up nicely though, and gives some contrast to the black.

I also replaced all my window door seals and window scraper seals. What a pain in the you know what, but I am glad its done now. I think what I tore out was original, because it was so brittle.

Will be moving on to the dash next, then carpet and seats. I like the black with the stock gold paint. They contrast nicely. More to come.

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One day I hope my finished truck looks as nice as your starting point!

I'm excited to see the black interior with the gold. My truck is copper and saddle, but I'm thinking about a black interior.

What's the suspension setup in those start pics? The tire size?

Cheers

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From what I can tell, its has 2" drop spindles up front, and a 4" drop shackle in the back. The front tires are 235 70 R15, and the rear are 275 60 R15.

I bought 2" drop springs for the front and 5" rear leaf flip kit for the back, but have not installed yet. I am thinking of going with Caltracs monoleaf which you can order with a slight drop, and then also putting Caltrac bars on for traction control. I hope someday to take the 350 and turn it into a 383. It currently has a newer GM crate motor with approx. 25-30k miles on it and has the Vortec style heads. It runs fine, but I would like a little more get up and go. If I had the money I would try to put in a pro-charger and rebuild the motor with forged everything, but thats expensive. Plus I would have to get a beefier rear-end and transmission as well. One change effects everything which makes some of these projects way out of my budget. So instead, for now, I am focused on cosmetic stuff that I can afford and do in my free time.

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good plan, why not a lopy cam? and a higher rpm engaging stall converter would also give u that get up and go.

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Thats definitely a way to go, that would be much less expensive. A different cam might make a big difference.........

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i've been known to have a couple a good ideas;), to make up for the many bad ones haha.

What rearend gears do you have?

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Nice truck!! Thanks for the website to the seats, what an awesome site!! I have been looking around everywhere for 40-20-40 fold down seats for my crew, and now my search is over. LOVE THIS SITE!!! Looking forward to the rest of the build and how the seats fit up. Been wondering about the paint from LMC too and now i know. Congrats on the truck and keep the pics comin.

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I have been driving the truck to work about 2 days a week, and then also on the weekends. Seems like everywhere I go, someone pulls up next to me, or stops me in the street to talk to me about the truck. Usually not because its anything special, but because people want to tell you their story about how they use to have one, and all the things they did with it. Usually comments about how they wish they had never gotten rid of their old square body years ago. I think thats one of my favorite things about these trucks.....the people you meet and the stories that you hear.

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Thanks!

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Assuming its still stock, which I have no reason to believe its not, it is a 3.08 rear end gear.

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Was that the label on the inside of the door?

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this is a nice truck and a cool build cant wait to see more

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No, its actually inside the glove box.

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yeah anything in the 3.42-4.11 range would be perfect for that get up and go, but you would lose a little gas mileage.