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A sentimental Build

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Wicked Wolf Auto

Wicked Wolf Auto

1/2 ton status
 Premium
Joined
Nov 1, 2002
Posts
2,122
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Location
T-ville, ut.
Wicked Wolf Auto submitted a new Build:

A sentimental Build

Now that I have somewhat of a direction of this build I guess it's time to start a build thread.

Starting life as 1973 GMC 3/4 ton Spanish Gold 25 Hundred Custom 4x4 longbed 350/SM465/NP205

A little back story. A few years back I was recently divorced, wasn't, and still don't, get much help from my kids mom and I have full custody. I needed some cash for Christmas so my 76 K5 had to go. Wasn't an easy choice but it had to happen. A few months later my Uncle heard I'd sold it and called asking if I'd be interested in my grandpas old truck....HELL YES! Kids and I grabbed the trailer and headed to Oregon. The only payment was a promise to never sell it. I remember seeing this truck parked under a carport at my grandparents farm but never saw it drive, typical farm truck used to go hunting and odd jobs on the property it got parked when newer vehicles were bought and it kinda got forgotten. After a good weekend with family we drug it on the trailer with a tractor and we were on our way.

Got it home and started the initial inspection. It hadn't been ran or registered since 2004 but I wanted to see if it ran. Flushed the fluids, added some fresh gas and a battery and it ran. My parents showed up shortly after, my Mom got in the drivers seat, I could see the emotion on her face. I told her to fire it up, her eyes filled with tears. I knew at that point that this was going to be a special truck.

With only 69K miles I initially planned on just cleaning it up and running it until the motor gave out and more funds became available. It was in completely stock form other than a power steering upgrade from the manual steering. Initial build would include All new accessories, intake carb HEI upgrade, interior cleanup with carpet, door panels, new dash, 4" lift 35's, and replace the brakes. Every time I'd work on it and knock dust off I'd smell the farm and something just didn't feel right. I wasn't excited about the completion. I didn't feel like I was doing the truck justice by just "getting it running".

Fast forward to this summer. Eric came down to help me setup the gears in my JK so I had something to take to BB17. He suggested an LS swap. My son helped Eric with the gears while I worked, he just turned 15 so he'll be a big help with this build. After attending BB17 the fire was sparked and I have a better build plan in mind.

My son helped Eric with the gears while I worked, he just turned 15 so he'll be a big help with this...
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Read more about this build here...
 
Awesome! I wish I would have "inherited" a vehicle from one of my family members but none ever made it to me. I have had similar farm trucks from back in Wisconsin that were pretty rusty but upon pulling the engine and cleaning the gunk off they had some mint condition places still hiding on the frame rails.
 
Cool back story... other than the divorce and having to sell the blazer part.
Nice plan for it! :waytogo:
 
Cool build. Always in for an 8.1 swap.
 
Finally got the Engine and trans out. 1 bolt kicked our asses for a few hours. Now its time to start cleaning, rebuilding, and painting chassis and components. Theres so much gunk that my son actually pulled a baseball sized rock off the transmission. This was a true farm truck, pretty sure it was never washed but was frequently maintained, the grease and dirt mixture has turned to a concrete like substance thats a PITA to remove but the surfaces underneath are in great shapeIMG_1140.JPG image1.JPG
 
Got the tcase torn down and the housing painted this weekend. Came apart pretty easy just took HOURS cleaning all the crud off. Still have to clean up all the bearing retainers and hardware then I can start putting it all back together. All the hard parts looked great and with only 70K on it the bearings were probably fine but with rebuild kits so cheap they're all getting replaced while I have it apart. Chevy Orange is BRIGHT!

IMG_1153.JPG
 
Exhaust and engine cross member are out. ORD cross member should be here tomorrow. Steering Gearbox still needs to come out so we can weld in a steering box plates. It's not cracked but I figured that it is a lot easier to weld it in while the truck is torn down this far.

I'm really enjoying this time with my son, he's learning a lot, and quickly, plus he's a lot smaller than me so he fits in places easier.

IMG_1146.JPG IMG_1148.JPG
 
If you are going this far, do yourself a favor, paint everything you can. Frame, axles brackets, ect. It will make future cleanup so much easier. You will spot leaks quicker too so you won't. Have the cocoon of dried grease/oil/dirt on everything.

Spend a little more and get the oil based tractor paint. The stuff is like the poor man's powder coating.
 
ZooMad75 said:
If you are going this far, do yourself a favor, paint everything you can. Frame, axles brackets, ect. It will make future cleanup so much easier. You will spot leaks quicker too so you won't. Have the cocoon of dried grease/oil/dirt on everything.

Spend a little more and get the oil based tractor paint. The stuff is like the poor man's powder coating.
Click to expand...

That's the plan, rebuild and paint everything before it goes back on. It's gonna add a lot of time to the build but will be well worth it, makes working on it later much more pleasurable then getting filthy and having crap fall in your face everyttime you touch something.
 
Wicked Wolf Auto said:
That's the plan, rebuild and paint everything before it goes back on. It's gonna add a lot of time to the build but will be well worth it, makes working on it later much more pleasurable then getting filthy and having crap fall in your face everyttime you touch something.
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It totally is. I can get back from wheeling, hose it down and the next time I'm under it doing something I don't look like I got blasted with crap from all the garbage raining down on me while I'm working on it.
 
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