Got the truck back from the transmission shop and it shifts great and the converter locks when it should and I actually get better mpg now as a result. I have officially put 20,000 miles on the truck since the major overhaul I did 3 years ago. Everything is holding up great and just thought I would post my thoughts and opinions on my experience rebuilding this truck.
First off, try to do all the work you can possible. I say this because it seems like in this vintage (73-87) shops at least in my area don't seem to appreciate them and don't properly care for them when you take them in to get something done or fixed. For example, when I brought my truck to the transmission shop, the owner scratched my door and rocker panel. Also early on in my build I was stumped on my ignition switch and had a shop near me fix it and when they fixed it they did a poor job on finish work etc.
Secondly, try not to make everything perfect. This is especially difficult for me because it drives my ocd crazy lol. These trucks were not perfect from the factory, so don't sweat the small details if everything didn't come out perfect. A good example of this is go to a car show and if you look at the cars/trucks closely, most of them have imperfections here and there which in turn make me feel better about the overall quality of my truck.
Thirdly, Drive it! I built my truck to be driven, not be a trailer queen or garage queen. This kinda goes in part with the second thing I mentioned, but honestly if you're going to spend the time and money to fix up one of these trucks drive it, don't be afraid! At the end of the day if driving a square means bringing back memories from a younger you or if you are new to this vintage be happy with what you have accomplished and at least you're not driving a blob painted silver.
If I were to go back and do a couple of things over, I would have not done the detroit locker in the rear end, I should have just put a true trac. Another item I would have done different is I would have rather put a rubber floor mat in. The last item I would have done different is I should have swapped in a manual transmission instead of rebuilding the turbo 350 oh well maybe in the future.
Future? The only things I have planned for this truck is to swap my chrome window gaskets in and replace my rear glass and buy that dang steering column I have been talking about for about a year now haha. I also need to get the front driveshaft rebuilt as the slip yoke has play in it. Also going to eventually get the exhaust done.
Here is a list of everything I have done:
Motor, all accessories, radiator, fan clutch, motor mounts etc.
All new interior, rubber seals, glass, fatmat on the floor.
Front and rear axle completely rebuilt with lockers/posi, rear driveshaft rebuilt
Vintage air (one of the best upgrades)
New paint
New transmission
Good news is that all the pictures are back so any newcomers can look and enjoy. Bad news? I got screwed a little on the paint, the guy that did it isn't holding up to his end of the bargain and won't repaint the roof and fix a few spots. Touchy subject because he is my uncles worker of 20 years or something like that.... lets see what happens before I move.
Anyway enough rambling here are some pictures of my new general grabber x3's 35x 12.50 r15 these are a true 35" tire much better highway cruising now.
