Colonel's build! (kind of updated)

[Col_Sanders]

Everyone else is doing it. I wanna be cool too! I think this will be a good place to keep up with my junk and maybe give me more motivation to keep going and get some suggestions for my future upgrades/downgrades.

I bought this as my first truck back in 1999, I dont have any pics on hand, but it was sitting on a hill with smaller than stock tires, a busted tranny, a motor that smoked like a freight train, and a straight body with minimal rust. I paid $1200 for it. Soon I replaced the tires with 31s, replaced the tranny, and redid the interior by putting in carpet and a custom bench seat and stereo, etc. I owned it for about 3 1/2 years and in this time I managed to get her stuck a million times on my crap 31" Goodyear Wrangler RTS. The stock motor still smoked like a train and drank a quart of 10w-30 every 100 miles. During this tima I also joined the navy so when I found out I was about to leave for a deployment, I had to sell her and buy something more reliable and economical for the wife to drive.

Before selling:

I sold it to my uncle for $2500, thinking he would take good care of her. After almost 3 years he told me I could have it back for $600. I had a good bit of money saved up from deployment and wanted it back pretty bad. He told me it was the same as it was before I sold it. Unfortunately I couldnt get anyone to go look at it and make sure he wasnt lying so I bought the darn thing back.

My suprise:

Notice the rust on the roof and the 2 dents? He hit a post on the front and the hood also was cracked. Paint was falling off of the hood and the interior was trashed. Grease and dirt all over everything and holes in the front seat. Motor still smokes, which I expected.

I decided to get a new motor since I had the money. Once again I couldnt get any good input from the homefront so I looked online and decided on a machine shop not too far from home. I told them what I wanted and they tried.

Old motor leaving:

 

[chevy wrangler]

sweet keep us posted

 

[gmc4cw]

isn't family great. could be worse. my brother caught mine on fire once trying to jump start his car.

keep posting the pics.

 

[littlejimmythatcould]

It's nice to have a little extra money from those deployments. I just got back from the desert myself. Welcome back. That blazer looks pretty good minus the rust. What are your plans for the motor? Stock rebuild or performance? I was at Pensacola for tech school it is really pretty there.

 

[Col_Sanders]

Actually looking at the pic you cant see where he hit the pole. Oh well.

I wanted to lift it and get some new tires and wheels. I opted for a 4" Superlift and 35" Pro Comp MTs on Eagle 589s. I had some body work done to it, and they replaced the hood, straightened the body, removed the rust, fixed the hole in the roof, and were supposed to primer it. Turns out they only primered part of it.

The machine shop messed up on the heads and due to time and money issues I drove it back to VA from TX on 7 cylinders. Turns out they set the valves wrong and 2 pushrods broke. I dont know how it made it the 1400+ miles to VA, but it did. I talked the wife into letting me get the whole Edelbrock Performer package for the TBI, which included heads, cam, intake, and of course headers.

Damn nosey ferret:

After putting that all on I had 2.5" exhaust with Flowmaster 40 series put on. Soon I got sick of having a good running truck with half ass primer job, so I had it painted. I wanted orange but was going to get metallic blue. The wife talked me into the orange.

 

[Col_Sanders]

Had a lot of other work done from new u-joints everywhere to a new radiator and all kinds of other crap. Then a trip to the beach to see how well the 4x4 worked:

Then a trip to Harrisonburg to Big Boys Playground for a little more testing...

The wifes like it:

 

[Col_Sanders]

Next was a trip to GW National Forrest....

This trip kinda turned out to be fatal. After getting towed off the trail with nowhere to hook up to other than frame, I decided it was time for some new HD bumpers. Also I screwed the tranny up. I re-enlisted and had a little extra money so I bought some new toys...

Also bought some Herculiner, POR-15, and a grinder and got to work on the interior. I started off by redoing the rear. It turned out great, but no pics yet. I ran out of time so I didnt get to put in my new front floor pans, but I put a set of Hunsaker Racing seats in the front and also a Bowtie Overdrives Stage 2.

 

[Col_Sanders]

Blew the head gasket on the 350 so its time for an upgrade.

This time I had a little more money to throw at it, so its time for a 4 bolt main balanced 383 with Eagle Forged pistons, H beam rods, and Forged crank. I am using my Edelbrock heads, which he resurfaced and pressure tested, and my Intake, which I had him bore out for a future bigger TB. I will get the cam specs later. I opted for the lower compression for the possible later add ons (8.5:1) and run mid grade. He finished it last week and my dad picked it up yesterday. He challenged me to a bumper pull with his Heep Rubicon.

Future plans include 1" body lift and 6" springs in front and a 3" shackle flip out back. I want to run 38s or 39.5s eventually. Also going to go 1 ton. A buddy of mine offered me a rear Dana 60 from an old Dodge with 4.10s for $50. Should I do it or hold off for a 14ff?

Oh yeah, I was at sea for Stacey David's Big Blaze build, so I didnt see it until I had already had the truck painted. I thought it was kinda funny that they look so similar. I wish I could find some more info on it:

 

[fordeater]

that thing looks sweet

 

[Cricket]

How much of a difference do you feel that the Edelbrock Power Package made to the stock TBI motor?

 

[muddybuddy]

sweet recap! keep it up!

 

[Col_Sanders]

Thanks for the compliments guys, its been a LONG painful road with many nights spent out wrenching in my apartment parking lot. Many busted knuckles, downed beers, tears, and an empty wallet.

How much of a difference do you feel that the Edelbrock Power Package made to the stock TBI motor?

Well, the motor wasnt exactly a stock rebuild, but it did make a very noticeable difference. Stock motor made 185hp and 285 ft/lb of torque. When I called Edelbrock, they claimed using stock exhaust on a stock motor with the heads, cam, and intake they made just under 300hp. I didnt get the torque specs from them though.

After buying it all I saw someone do a desktop dyno on this setup and it was pretty close to what Edelbrock said. Trick Flow has some centerbolt heads that were cheaper and actually made a lot more power with the same cam and intake. The off idle torque (which is what I wanted) was very good but I think the stock TB isnt quite enough after around 3500 rpm. It seemed to run out of juice at 4k. Driving slow on trails it had enough balls to get the job done but I dont think I would have that setup for mud bogs.

I was satisfied with the motor and would have done a similar rebuild but I decided to use the opportunity to see what else I could get out of a small block. Plus 383 stroker just sounds cool.

 

[CDA 455]

Very clean rig !!

You in the service?

 

[Col_Sanders]

Very clean rig !!

You in the service?

In the navy for another 2 years 8 months and 19 days.

 

[resurrected_jimmy]

I'm stop lossed right now and have most of my parts ordered already. When I get back to the world I'm going to be doin a lot of wrenching to get mine up to where I want it. It sure is nice to have the money saved up before starting a project. I really like the color you put on yours. I've been going over paint schemes for a while now and thinki might have one picked out finally.

 

[southernspeed]

Great looking rig. It's great when all the hard work pays off eh!





Oh, and........cute wife too!

 

[K5Greek]

Now the K5 is sitting in TX and I'm in Pensacola. Why?? Do you ask...My buddy who has built several racing engines screwed up installing my heads and after less than 3k miles later, the head gasket leaked bad enough that I got a cool little knock and was shooting antifreeze out the exhaust. Yeah, it ran like crap for a few miles, but the situation I was in required me to drive for a few minutes before I could stop. So here I am, upgrading AGAIN.

This time I had a little more money to throw at it, so after talking to a machine shop that my friend had some work done at, and investigating his shop in person, gave him an order for a 4 bolt main balanced 383 with Eagle Forged pistons, H beam rods, and Forged crank. I am using my Edelbrock heads, which he resurfaced and pressure tested, and my Intake, which I had him bore out for a future bigger TB. I will get the cam specs later. I opted for the lower compression for the possible later add ons (8.5:1) and run mid grade. He finished it last week and my dad picked it up yesterday. He challenged me to a bumper pull with his Heep Rubicon.

Future plans include 1" body lift and 6" springs in front and a 3" shackle flip out back. I want to run 38s or 39.5s eventually. Also going to go 1 ton. A buddy of mine offered me a rear Dana 60 from an old Dodge with 4.10s for $50. Should I do it or hold off for a 14ff?

Oh yeah, I was at sea for Stacey David's Big Blaze build, so I didnt see it until I had already had the truck painted. I thought it was kinda funny that they look so similar. I wish I could find some more info on it:

i would get a 14 bolt, heard they were slightly stronger than a 60 and more comparable to a 70

 

[lunchbox]

that orange looks real good

 

[steve_kibbe]

Nice build, I love the color.

 

[Gaffed]

Good Ole Pensacola... Make sure you visit all the restraunts. Oar House, Peg Leg Petes, HOOTERS, Founaris Bros. Pizza, are a few of the good ones.