Ryan, what tire and rim sizes did you use? those are monsters on the rear!
Thanks
----- Original Message -----
From: "BORDER,RYAN (HP-FtCollins,ex1)" <ryan_border@hp.com>
To: <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2002 11:44 AM
Subject: [oletrucks] Wannabe Rod update
> When we last left the project, at the end of my 5 day truck marathon, I
had
> gotten the cab moved onto the new chassis, and gotten the cab bodywork
done.
> http://home.earthlink.net/~rborder/truck/5days/5days.htm
> <http://home.earthlink.net/~rborder/truck/5days/5days.htm>
> In the week that followed, I got the cab painted yellow, and the clear
coat
> shot. It's not perfect, but I'm fairly happy with the results, and it's
> probably better than anything else I've painted on the truck.
>
> The next step was to move the motor over to the new chassis. As some of
you
> will remember, I thought the engine had gotten sand into it; and so I
opened
> it up to check things out. As suspected, it did indeed have traces of
sand
> throughout- and I quickly came to the conclusion that a total teardown,
> probable hone, and possible bore (ie new pistons) was going to be required
> to get things back in shape. My goal of driving this thing in early-mid
> July was starting to look like a stretch.
>
> Did some serious thinking about the motor and what I wanted to do with it.
> If I had to throw the money and effort into a rebuild- was my smallblock
350
> really the motor I wanted to make this investment in? In the end, the
> answer was no, and in fairly short order I drug home a 454BBC to drop in
the
> truck.
>
> The first thing I did with the new motor was place it in the chassis, to
set
> up my motor mounts. It's a tight fit- even tighter than I expected, but I
> did manage to squeeze it in between the MustangII cross-member, and the
> unmodified firewall. Here is a picture of the motor in place:
> http://home.earthlink.net/~rborder/truck/bb.jpg
> <http://home.earthlink.net/~rborder/truck/bb.jpg>
> I must note that the air-ride chassis has been really nice to work with- I
> can set the ride height where I want (with air-pressure) regardless of the
> load- no guessing at how much springs are going to sag under load, and
> trying to estimate resulting mounting angles and such.
>
> Next step- motor prep. My goal with the motor is to get it back together
> on the cheap- and just drive it for a while. This will give me time to
> decide what I really want to do with it in the long run (a little voice
> keeps whispering :"871 871"), and time to evaluate what, if anything the
> motor really needs. Towards that end, I'm going to replace main and rod
> bearings, replace the bum piston with an OEM unit, hone the cylinders,
> re-ring it, clean and paint the block, and button it back up. Haven't
torn
> into the heads yet to decide what they need in the short term. For now,
> the motor project is stalled: I'm waiting for parts; and for my friendly
> local machine shop to get a new piston on the rod for #3.
>
> I'm also waiting for parts on several other fronts. For the brakes, I've
> got the dual-circuit power assist master (along with proportioning and
check
> valves) coming from NoLimit Engineering. I expect that stuff anyday.
I'll
> have a local shop do braided brake hoses for me; which should allow me to
> tie the whole system together, including the Lincoln disks out back with
> their wierd hydraulic fittings.
>
> Ordered a power Mustang2 rack from Ziggs- that should also be here soon.
> I'll breathe a sigh of relief when I bolt that in and see the input shaft
> clear my (modified to make additional room) left motor mount.
>
> In the mean-time I've been doing other little projects- boring stuff that
> has to get done. For instance, last night I cleaned up the under-bed
> cross-members, re-located their "perches" drilling new mounting holes to
> accomodate my narrowed chassis, and painted them with POR-15. I also got
> my garage cleaned, got all of my shop-lights up, finally mowed the yard,
> etc.
>
> The old rolling chassis should go out the door this afternoon (more room
to
> work)- I hope I've got everything I need off of it. My welder friend also
> shows up today to bead in my shock mounts, motor mounts, track rod, etc.
>
> Further updates as time allows and progress dicatates.
> Ryan
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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