Well......the short-version of the story is that I'm moving into a new house in the next month or so. The new place has a real garage (aka "MANSPACE"!) so I will finally have a decent amount of room to do some wrenching again. It has been almost 3 years since I had decent shop space, and I have missed those "therapy sessions" in the garage.....spinning wrenches, listening to music, and just dreaming of crazy modifications to try.
At the present time, I have 3 projects that I'm planning to do......
1.
"Stomper" ('72K5) - This is the truck I've had since 2001 and it's come a long way since I bought it, but there are still a number of areas where it is still not very impressive. I have placed an order for an Atlas4 transfercase (with 5.44:1 gears) to give me a decent crawl ratio....something that I've never had with a TH350/NP205 and 4.10s combo!! At the same time, I've got a completed 502BBC that will replace my trusty (but underperforming) 396BBC, and the TH350 will stand down in favor of a beefier, freshly-built TH400. After that, I have plans to deal with some of the ergonomic / comfort items that this vehicle needs. Things like new upholstery (to replace the towels that cover the exposed springs and seat foam....and some heat shielding for the floors to control how much I cook myself when I drive. Oh yes, I'm going to 4-link the rear to control the inevitable axle-wrap from that 502. I already have a box full of brand-new heims (that have been sitting around for about 4 years), so why not finally use them???
2.
"Trogdor" ('72 2WD 'Burb) - This is my tow rig and all-around "land yacht" for cruising. I can't explain how fun it is to drive around in such a huge conveyance....though I can explain how awesome it is to be able to haul 10' 2x4s without even leaving the tailgate down!!! This vehicle has been a good tow rig for me, but it's unfair to expect it to continue pulling my 7,500Lb trailer with only a 350SBC and a TH350 tranny. I've got a 496 that's going together now (yet ANOTHER thing I've "collected" over the past 3 years!) and I'm going to have to come up with some other tranny to back it up properly. Maybe a TH400 and a GearVendors overdrive? Who knows? The other thing I'm playing around with is the idea of putting this vehicle on a complete AirRide suspension....partially for leveling it out when towing, but also for the fun of driving "low and slow...." if I feel like it. The $$$ really adds up fast for a project like that, so I'm considering putting that one off for at least a year. Maybe just the motor/trans swap in the near-term??
3.
"The Uber-K5" ('69K5) - This is the real budget-killer......basically a full-custom, tube-framed K5, skinned with the 1st Gen panels (removeable) with a full multilinked front and rear suspension with King coilovers, a big, stompy BBC linked to a Viper T56 (6-speed manual) and an Atlas4 box with 5.44:1 gears....power ultimately goes to a set of Mog 404 axles (which is where those new "blingy" portals get installed) that will get disc brakes and the CTIS (Central Tire Inflation System) as well. Almost everything will be hand-fabricated (by me) and I envision this as a multi-year endeavor......something that I go out and work on in the shop when I feel like spending some "quality time" with my tools and manspace. This one isn't an urgent build.....especially once the '72K5 gets it's "upgrades"....I'll have a capable rig to wheel with whenever I want, so this one will be more of a test-bed for all my engineering ideas, designs and schemes.
That's about it.....as you can tell, the ideas (and quite a few parts!) have been piling up over the last few years, and soon it will finally be time to start assembling things and making them look the way I've already built them in my own mind.
