Crocodile Rocks Build Thread

[MattPSU]

I broke it all down then she was off to paint! Thanks to Nick for the ride!

My friend Mark owns a body shop and I made a deal with him to paint my truck. He doesn't have room to do a full on restoration, and I don't have the money for that. So we agreed to paint my truck in pieces, as I have money and as he has time.

We agreed with the engine out and the clip off, now was the time to paint the firewall, the tops of the inner fenders and the inside of the fenders. Hopefully next fall we'll paint the interior of the cab, jams, et., then we can pain the outside of the truck all at once after that.

The other part of the deal was that I would help with the body work and that we'd work on it in the evenings and weekends.

Mark and I prepped everything for paint, and my wife picked out the color - BMW Deep Sea Metallic.

[MattPSU]

Once ready, we roller her into the booth for some sealer before Mark started to lay down some color. I got to hang out in the booth and watch the paint go on which was awesome.

I had picked up a set of Holley LS Coil cover and Mark painted those and the wire harness cover while we were at it.

[MattPSU]

Some shots of Mark painting and the final look after clear. It's a lot darker than my old faded PSU hat, but I think it's just about the right color!

[Troy Sr]

Great Build Subscribed!!!

[MattPSU]

In between work and being at Mark's body shop, I cleaned up and painted the engine & transmission.

I also started on the wire harness. I used the instructions on LT1Swap.com to thin out and extend my harness. This was time consuming and tedious at times, but in the long run I was really happy with it. I think I have 25-30 hours in it at least. I planed to relocate the PCM, supplementary fuse panel and relays under the dash. I picked up a 3" firewall grommet to run everything through.

[MattPSU]

I invited my buddies Paul and Clay over, and before you knew it, the engine and transmission were in their new home!

I finally started it for the first time last night. With no water and no exhaust I didn't want to run it real long, but she fired up (once I figured out my filter was hooked up wrong) and ran a minute or so.

Lots more to do before I can hit the road with it. Mark and I still need to finish the fenders, it needs a drive shaft, exhaust and an air intake & filter, but I can see the short term finish line at the moment.

Needless to say, even though I've done a lot of this work by myself, I couldn't do any of it without the help of so many people. Paul has been a huge help every step of the way. Ed & Tommy have helped me with welding stuff, Clay, Shawn, Kevin and Derrick with LS swap stuff, Heath and Chris with everything really, and so many others from the truck club who have offered input and feedback along the way. I'm sure I missed someone. Plus Pro Performance and Tommy's Pickup Parts have been my go to source for most all of the parts. And of course, without my wife Missy, none of it would be possible!

[slowcpe]

Looking good! You've been quite busy.

What brand is your core support and inner fenders? Have any fitment issues?

[MattPSU]

Originally Posted by slowcpe

Looking good! You've been quite busy.

What brand is your core support and inner fenders? Have any fitment issues?

Thanks! The support and fender are both Counter Parts brand. They needed some work, but it wasn't the nightmare I was expecting. I looked for a decent 68 passenger fender, but ran out of time before I needed to get them to the painter. After reading horror stories online, I expected them to fight me more, but I only had to trim one small place on the support, two of the holes on the fender had to be opened up and the front lip had to be reshaped a little. All in all it was a lot less work than repairing the original parts.

[sduckworth13]

Looks awesome Matt! That blue color is a great looking color! Good luck on getting everything done.

[kitsbeach]

You make it look easy.! Following along for the LS updates.

[MattPSU]

Here are some shots of it as it went back together.

[MattPSU]

A few more shots of it mostly back together. I decided to add the Chevrolet script logos to the oil covers.

[MattPSU]

In January, my sister, Mandy, had a heart attack and passed away at just 33. She was healthy but had a genetic condition with her heart that no one knew about. She was passionate about baking, and her friends called her the Cupcake Queen. I had some small cupcake stickers with a hidden "M" made in her honor. Hopefully she'll ride with me and keep me safe.

[kitsbeach]

That is awful about your sister. So sorry to hear.

[Mapearso]

Originally Posted by MattPSU

In January, my sister, Mandy, had a heart attack and passed away at just 33. She was healthy but had a genetic condition with her heart that no one knew about. She was passionate about baking, and her friends called her the Cupcake Queen. I had some small cupcake stickers with a hidden "M" made in her honor. Hopefully she'll ride with me and keep me safe.

Nice tribute
So sorry for your loss

[sduckworth13]

Sorry to hear that your sister passed Matt.

[flashed]

Sorry for your loss ,cool tribute and guardian angel.

[mcbassin]

So sorry for your Loss Matt. I can only imagine the shock and sorrow. That's so cool for you to have a tribute cupcake.

Awesome work on your truck! The paint and engine looks great.

[MattPSU]

Originally Posted by kitsbeach

That is awful about your sister. So sorry to hear.

Originally Posted by Mapearso

Nice tribute
So sorry for your loss

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Sorry to hear that your sister passed Matt.

Originally Posted by flashed

Sorry for your loss ,cool tribute and guardian angel.

Originally Posted by mcbassin

So sorry for your Loss Matt. I can only imagine the shock and sorrow. That's so cool for you to have a tribute cupcake.

Awesome work on your truck! The paint and engine looks great.

Thanks everyone. It's been a tough start to the year, that's for sure. I appreciate the feedback on the cupcake. I'm not really a memorial kind of guy, but it's subtle and personal.

Finishing up things on my C10 the last couple of weeks has been a much needed distraction. At first I didn't even want to go in the garage, but eventually I found that getting back to my routine was helpful.

I've also started to take some steps towards making sure I'm OK. I saw my doctor last week, and just had a calcium CT heart scan this afternoon. Hopefully the results will come back OK, but if not, now I'll know what I need to do.

Please take a minute today to tell the loved ones in your life how much they mean to you. There's no telling what tomorrow brings.

[kitsbeach]

Yeah I gotta say that having a good hobby like these trucks helps keep me in the moment when times are tough. And I gotta say that your skill in the underhood cleanup is amazing.!!

I was flipping through the posts and saw the paint go on under there then the whole truck back together shop-truck-style and said WOW..!!

I like her just the way she sits right now, but I am also sure you've got some more plans for it. Keep us posted.!

[kitsbeach]

Which rad and shroud are you running.? That is the stock LS fan I am assuming.? It looks perfect.

[Justin@EntropyRad]

The color-keyed intake cover is awesome!

[MattPSU]

Originally Posted by kitsbeach

Yeah I gotta say that having a good hobby like these trucks helps keep me in the moment when times are tough. And I gotta say that your skill in the underhood cleanup is amazing.!!

I was flipping through the posts and saw the paint go on under there then the whole truck back together shop-truck-style and said WOW..!!

I like her just the way she sits right now, but I am also sure you've got some more plans for it. Keep us posted.!

Thanks! It will eventually get painted, but I wanted to drive it this summer. My grandfather restored cars - Packards, Hudsons, Chrysler Air Flows, etc. And he usually sold a car soon after being finished. He didn't get to enjoy driving them much. I know that working on them is the fun part for a lot of people, but I also want to drive my truck. So when I have money to work, I work. When I want to drive it, I put it back together and enjoy driving it.

Originally Posted by kitsbeach

Which rad and shroud are you running.? That is the stock LS fan I am assuming.? It looks perfect.

It's the stock '72 two row radiator and shroud and the stock 5.3l mechanical fan. I modified the original shroud to work. Eventually I'd like to upgrade to an aluminum radiator and electric fans, but I was trying to save some money towards the end of this part of my build. I was also told I couldn't make it all work. That made me determined to make it work. For the record, it works great.

Originally Posted by Justin@EntropyRad

The color-keyed intake cover is awesome!

Thanks. Although I can't claim that idea as my own. I've seen that done several times before.

[Hartje]

Hey Matt, do you have any updates on your build!?

Your 30 second youtube video has pretty much sold me on air suspension. Keep on Keepin' on! Great Work!

[MattPSU]

Originally Posted by Hartje

Hey Matt, do you have any updates on your build!?

Your 30 second youtube video has pretty much sold me on air suspension. Keep on Keepin' on! Great Work!

THANKS! I've been driving it some this summer. Our local truck club is pretty active and we do something every month. I also hit up local cruise ins and use it to run errands. Nothing puts a smile on my face more than seeing people's reactions to seeing my air suspension drop when I pull in and the reaction they have when I open the hood. No one expects it to be a show truck under the hood!

Below are some pictures from a few outings.