(Project Morgan) 1972 1/2ton ShortStep

[ll____b0t____ll]

Hi everyone Ive been lurking around thse forums for a while and I figured it was time to join.
I noticed this is a tight knit group of good folks who are both helpful and some very skilled craftsman and I feel honered to be in the company of you all .
I hope I can be of help to others here and please feel free to send me advice as I know you all have been down the road im looking at.

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Well this is how I got her a side from the $30.00 Wally World rattle can primer job I had to put on her to keep the Landlord off my back... something about blue/brown/rust colored trucks they dont like I guess.

I was originally calling it project Time Machine as thats just what it is for me as my very first vehicle was a 1969 cst long box and I wanted to go back to the enjoyment I had with it.
But the wife dubbed it Morgan as it repeatedly needed More money and broke down Again and again
More -Again =Morgan
And who am I to disagree with my wife, A happy wife equals a good life.

She was Purchased brand new back in 1972 by a Farmer and must have made one heck of a farm truck because that same farmer was who I purchased her from.
She had been abused real bad but the guy said the streaght 6 burnt only one quart every other fuel up and said I could have her for $600.00.
Desperate to find any of these trucks in my erea I paid the man .

[ll____b0t____ll]

Well it was time to take the in line 6 out so grab the A frame and come along lol....eeek.
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Some people may like these moters but mine went through 8 quarts of oil to drive it the 28 miles home....and a tank of gas.

But never fear I traded the manual tranny for a 350 and turbo 350 tranny that I was told was babied all its life by a member of the family.

So in it goes....
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Drove it about 5 miles and realized.........Spun bearings....this isnt going so well yet.




Time to build a real moter...




Yes thats right people who dont have a garage or access to them build moters in the living room......

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[OARNGESI]

Nice start

[ll____b0t____ll]

Well heres the rims I decided on .. the wife picked them out.
15x8 front 15x10 rear .
I know thats small by todays standerds but ive been down the tall rim road and thats not for this truck.
Sorry about the quality of the pics.
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And in goes the new 350.
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You can see the wheels on her in this one.
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Thanks Uncle Lee for use of the dolly we used to wheel the moter out the house... literally and for use of the come along that did the hoist duties.

[thirdstreettito]

Nice project! What are the engine specs? You should drop it 2/4, it would look really hot with those wheels. Keep up the progress!

[ll____b0t____ll]

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

Nice project! What are the engine specs? You should drop it 2/4, it would look really hot with those wheels. Keep up the progress!

Engine Specs:
Well its a 2 bolt main block , nothing specail about the crank other than quality with stock rods and some flat top pistons.
The cam is the same one that came in the 325 hp 327 of the 66 Nova , again nothing ground breaking but im going for sporty and reliable gas getter.
The heads are just some decent 194s and its got a stock intake manafold and a quadrapuke carb.

Mind you the truck broke down making the trip home so it had to be built at my parants house more than 230 miles from my home .
So I had to build the moter and truck up enough to make the trip where it is now and I can really build it.
I plan to change the heads to some nice World product alluminuim ones and bump the cam up and go with a performer air gap or street dominator intake with a holly 750 DP.
At this point its running and I can address the many things it has wrong.


As far as lowering it 2-4
Im not sure yet Im thinking about it but when I got it it had brocken front springs .
The drivers was broke in 3 peices and the pass in 2 so I orded some 3/4 ton springs on the advice of my father who assured me was the way to go.
The back spings was so worn out that my sister who weaghs about 50lbs stood in the bad and bottomed it hard.
I got some 3/4 ton heavy duty rear springs but havent been able to put them in due to a ceased or frozen lower control arm bolt.
Im working with hand tools mind you no power tools .

Here in Sheridan Wyoming the terrain can be ruff so Im not sure I want to lower but OMG that sure is a lot off gap isnt it.
Still Im not sure yet

[ll____b0t____ll]

How do you think it would work using these 3/4 ton springs but going with 2-3 inch drop spinndles?

[ll____b0t____ll]

As far as this project goes I wont be able to do a frame off duo to the facts I live in an Apartment complex,have no garage,and I am on a budget but heres what I will be doing.

New front fenders both sides.Goodmark. Ordered and in transit now
New cowl induction hood.Goodmark
New front bumper .The Paddock
New outer and inner grille.Maines Truck Parts
new rocker panels . Goodmark Ordered and in transit now
New cab corners. not sure yet wher these are coming from
New bed fenders. LMC/Goodmark or Maines
Convert to power steering
Convert from old bench to buckets
Rear role pan with 1968 camaro tail lights
Fuel cell and remove behind seat tank for room for subwoofers
CD plarer
New complete heater build
New doors
New windshield and rear window
Spray in bedliner with diamond plate alluminum bottom and sides
New carpet

Well you get the picture and there will be a lot more but that list should keep me busy for a minute.

Ill get more pics up soon and through out the build.
Please feel free to offer advise or ideas .

[thirdstreettito]

Looks like you got a plan. How did that makeshift A frame hold up with the 700lb engine?

[ll____b0t____ll]

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

Looks like you got a plan. How did that makeshift A frame hold up with the 700lb engine?

Well Im more of a The right tool for the job kinda guy but this was done away from my tools and when in rome.
First ide like to say if you can avoid this method by all means do so as it really is not safe and is a real pain.
If you get the arms set a little wrong it will twist and fall or tip over.
Also it does not move so you need friends to help position the truck .
More trouble than its worth but it was all we had at the time so ....get a
hold of it lol
You should have seen the 3 people moving the engine and stand out the front living room door with a dolly......No pride here

[R.L.]

Originally Posted by ll____b0t____ll

Well Im more of a The right tool for the job
You should have seen the 3 people moving the engine and stand out the front living room door with a dolly......No pride here

Cool! Welcome, keep the pics coming. I've been in on a couple of these kind of builds and nooobody has any more pride in the finished job then the folks who build em and can make the builds work with what they have to work with.

[ll____b0t____ll]

Thanks for the warm welcomes.

Yeah this is going to be a hard road and I have a lot of people saying I cant do it but hey they dont know what it means to me and that I will not fail no matter what .
Dont get me wrong I have no delusions of it ending up a show truck as thats just not in the cards for me...But Im going to work every card I do have in this deck.

In the end if it has no rust , retains its classy lines runs strong and reliable and can make people who grew up with these trucks remember a simpler time than I will have done what I set out to do.

Ill get more pics up soon right now im looking out the window of 3 inchs of snow each day for 4 days and -12 weather so im just gathering parts and waiting on my own personal Santa the U.P.S guy who seems more happy for each package I get than me...I dig that guy

[ll____b0t____ll]

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Maybe next week Ill get some work done......?

[kyull67]

looks good and welcome!

[R.L.]

Yeah I had the same seat cover if you break down the wife can always wrap up in it if need be.
I see a lot of dark areas I'm assuming thats not rust and if thats the case that body doesn't look bad to me at all. Keep us updated.

[westofb]

If you have your heart set on camaro tail lights, that is what you should try. A few years back had a 85 chevy and wanted tail lights in the roll pan. I went to the local salvage yard and after "inventorying" the place, I got a set of early 70 Ford (yeah I know its a four letter word...lol) maverick tail lights to use. They are super easy to mount in a roll pan, just find one and take a look. Just thought I would provide you with an alternative. Good luck on your build!

[67ChevyRedneck]

Lookin' good. I like the rim choice!

I too live in an apartment complex and it blows when I need to work on the truck.

[ll____b0t____ll]

Well I havent gotten any work persay done still collecting parts until winter is over.
Heres some pics of outer rockers ,one completely ready to use in rust inhibiter
and primer and one as they come from Goodmark.





And the feders finally came after 28 days and the trucking company delivering them to a gas station in my city because they dont like delivering to resedents, So yeah that extra I paid for residentual delivery....waisted.
These fenders had to be handed off to 3 diferent trucking companys to get to me....I cant wait to order the hood and doors....

Same deal on the feders one completly ready one as they come from Goodmark.









Again sorry about webcam photos but all my money has gone to parts and havent gotten a good digital camra yet.

Also I went to a couple local body shops to get quotes for replacing my cab corners and maybe its just me but they seem really high.
Can any of you Profesional body people chime in on what abouts it should cost with me suppling the cab corners?

So far I was quoted $800.00 from a shop
And $1,200.00 from the other .
Are these decent quotes or am I getting Hornswaggled?
Thanks in advance for any help.

[ll____b0t____ll]

Well so much for this project im letting her go.

[killer71]

What Happened???? You were doing a Great Job!

[FRENCHBLUE72]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm And it looked like you had such a great start...

[ll____b0t____ll]

I just dont know what to do... Im incredibly frusterated right now.
I just keep fixing and spending and it seems its not going forword but backwords.
I dont know weather ide be a fool to keep fighting it or a fool to give up now?
Im worried I am just not as machanicly inlined as I thought I was and fighting this in parking lots is taking its tole on me.
Maybe I just need to blow off steam I dont know, but I feel like a fool for bringing it here so I say sorry for that.

When I started this journey I was kinda counting on help from my father who is like a magician with machanics, but It turned out I was on my own on this shortly after building the moter.
I need some time to think about this but I need to be honest and not extend my pain in this truck if Im never going to come close to the finish line.

[ll____b0t____ll]

Well after a much needed break from the truck I renewed my love for it and am back at it with more patiance.
Heres a few pics to update ya on where im at.


Moter mock up of some of the new parts.


New billit PCV Valve.




Alum- Valve covers.


Breather from Jegs.


Jegs H.E.I.


Jegs billit Dist Hold down.





And I got the Mr.Gasket chrome Thermostat Housing but after looking at it's quality Ive decided to order a red billet swivel one from Jegs.

Ooh and im sure you can see the MSD plug wires in the pics lol .
I would Highly recomend these Jegs aluminium Valve covers to anyone as they are very well built and dont break the bank at around $80.00.

Ill be ordering my intake manifold here on the 15th and a new Holley carb on the 1rst so ill get those pics when they arive.
Thanks for looking.

[sixnine]

You did the right thing. When you get frustrated, just take some time off from working on it. I can't count how many times I've had to "take a break" from a project, and I have a garage!

Keep it up, the truck is coming together nicely.

[ll____b0t____ll]

Well Ive gotten a little bit of work done on Morgan lately but haven got the pics yet as im kind of waiting for a the engine to be completly done before i post them.

Things Ive got done.

Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake manifold installed with Edelbrock gaskets with Gaskasinch on head surfice , RTV silcon on back and front "no gaskets".

Jegs Street performer H.E.I installed , it took me all of 5 minutes to stab as apposed to the gm so maybe a bad gear fitting as it showed wear, I also used a shim to get this one just perfect.

New vavle covers installed with Jegs rubber and steal gaskets "again with gaskasinch. I HATE LEAKS LOL!!!

Installed Holley Street Avenger 670 with electric choke, used a Percy's gasket as Ive had good luck with these being leak free.

Used Earls fittings to plum heater hose and for plugs , what can I say I love Earls stuff lol.

Istalled the billit swival thermostat housing along with a Miladon 180% Thermostat , it doesnt call for a gasket as its O- Ring style so I applied a thin layer of RTV silicon just to be again leak free.

Got the MSD plug wires hooked up but still need to get the wire looms and at this point Im looking for alternatives to the mainstay looms.

Installed the Edelbroch Fuel Pump and this was a very tight fit next to the moter mount towers , I was thinking I would have to notch or dent but it made it in with some daylight to spare lol.

Plummed braided stainless 8AN from Fuel Pump up to More fittings and a billit Jegs Fuel Filter and on to more Fittings and braided hose along with a Fuel Pressure gauge, from filter back is 6 An.
This would have been a lot cheaper and more easy had Edelbrock not put the heater hose port directly in the path of where the Fuel Line needed to go, But I made some angled fittings cure this for me.

Thats where Im at now but I got more parts coming next week and that would be.

Permacool Stainless flex fan and spacer which along with my aluminuim radiator should keep me from overheating under the summer heat with a heavy foot.

Also coming is the fittings to start plumming back to the gas tank had to do some 180% bends to get it pointed back that way lol.

On the first Ill be ordering the 16 gallon fuel cell and enough 8AN braided stainless hose to run back to it , the Misc hoses I need for vacuum ports such as brakes, vacuum advance, and a hose for my Billit PCV valve.

Ill also be wiring in the larger diamater wire for the Distributer, Hooking up a new set of battery cables, going 1 wire on the Alternator and replacing the Turbo 350 transmition pan with a polished aluminuim one I picked up from jegs along with a new converted Chrysler filter and new pan gasket from Jegs.
The original managed to leak all the tranny fluid out over the winter and well that putt me in a bad way with the city lol.

All that should wrap up the moter and and hold the tranny over until I can replace it later when I can find a place I wont get evicted doing the tranny swap hehe.

Barring any unforseen leaks and tuning the carb and timing Ill be moving on to the install of the posi and 3:73 gears and Moser axles with a complete rear rebuild.

After that Ill get back to the body work with new Goodmark cowl hood and doors and start takling the rockers I have from Goodmark.

Well that should be a decent update and ill get the pics of all this up as soon as i can as im using an old camera and have film to develop until i can buy a digital cam.
Kind of hard to pull the money from more truck parts to get a nice camera lol maybe ill give Santa a Hint this year lol.