Pink's 68/72 - Dropmember Equipped Build

[ajgriffin]

Looking good!

I can't believe that I've been following along this long and missed that you're in Gardena. I'm just around the corner in Carson!

[Pinky6872]

Back from vacation and just got a delivery of freshly powder coated parts. Started to reassemble the frame over the last few days.

Semi Gloss Black frame rails with Misty Black crossmembers and suspension parts.

[Pinky6872]

A little more progress made.

Getting the pinion yoke off was nearly impossible. The nut was stuck on there real good. A 6' cheater bar ended up doing the trick!




Won't be needing these since I'll be going with a big brake kit.



I got the rear end back in the frame and centered it up. Now I just need to check the pinion angle and get the bag mounts welded up.

[Pinky6872]

No progress photos because I was gone all last week at SEMA. Here are some photos of trucks at SEMA though.

[Pinky6872]

I got the rest of my powder coated parts back so the frame is almost all back together. Unfortunately, the drivers side lower control arm threads are screwed up. I had to order a tap to fix them before finishing up the front suspension.

I also ordered some parts today from Pro Performance during their Black Friday sale. I have their 14" big brake kit on the way along with a new Boyd Welding tank.

[hewittca]

Looking great so far, reassembly is the fun part! Nothing like bolting together nice clean/painted and new parts.

[Pinky6872]

Picked up a built LS1 long block this weekend. It's got a TSP 233/239 111 LSA cam, PRC Stage 2.5 LS6 heads and made 520 hp on the dyno with a FAST intake and throttle body. This should be a lot of fun to drive!

I'm thinking about running the FiTech Ultimate LS engine management system. Does anybody have any experience with that setup? I saw a bunch of them on cars at SEMA but didn't talk to anybody about them.

[Pinky6872]

Christmas came early!

Bailey approves


Boyd Welding tank


Pro Performance 14" Big Brake Kit


Damn, those rotors are huge!

[Trackman101]

I'd consider Holley over Fitech. They've been around forever and tons of tuning support out there. Fitech is going through some growing pains.

[Pinky6872]

Originally Posted by Trackman101

I'd consider Holley over Fitech. They've been around forever and tons of tuning support out there. Fitech is going through some growing pains.

Yeah, the Holley stuff is nice and I've only heard good things but it comes with a hefty price tag. I was just curious about the FiTech stuff since it seems like you get a lot for your money.

Any input or experience with the MSD Atomic or FAST EZ-EFI systems?

[Trackman101]

Originally Posted by Pinky6872

Yeah, the Holley stuff is nice and I've only heard good things but it comes with a hefty price tag. I was just curious about the FiTech stuff since it seems like you get a lot for your money.

Any input or experience with the MSD Atomic or FAST EZ-EFI systems?

The Holley sniper set up might be 100 bucks more than Fitech. I wouldn't consider that hefty for piece of mind.
...Or go with something oddball.

[Pinky6872]

Rear bag mounts are tacked in place.




I also got the Boyd tank mocked up. I should be drilling the holes and mounting it tomorrow.

[Pinky6872]

Installed the sway bar today. I also started working on modifying the drop spindles for the big brake kit. The sawzall worked good for the big cut and now I'll work on smoothing out the cut with a grinder.

[Pinky6872]

Over the holidays I ordered a transmission for the truck. It's a Stage 2 Performabuilt 4l60e that is rated for 700 hp. I also finished prepping the drop spindles for the Pro Performance big brake kit and dropped them off at the powder coater this morning. So far, I'm very impressed with the quality of the brake kit and detailed instructions.

[Pinky6872]

Took the engine outside and cleaned it up with some degreaser. I think I need to do one more scrub down to get it fully clean. I also ordered these valve cover adapters from CFR Performance. They are pretty sweet as they will allow me to run SBC valve covers and hide the coil packs under them.

[Pinky6872]

Got the spindles and brackets powder coated and assembled the front brakes.

[Hart_Rod]

[Pinky6872]

I haven't decided if I want to paint the entire engine black or leave it bare aluminum with black accessories. I started off by painting the covers and will mount the black accessories to see how it looks before committing to painting the whole thing.





While the engine was out, I changed both the front and rear seals so I hopefully don't have to deal with any leaks. After that, I bolted up the trans and put it in the frame to set all my driveline angles and weld on my rear bag brackets.







Talk about a tight fit. I think I might add a washer in between the crossmember and rack to space it out a little. With the current spacing, I think when the engine revs, it might move enough to touch the rack.

[Pinky6872]

Got a few deliveries this week. One was my new valve covers which I'm really happy with.



The other was something that I've been waiting 9 months for!

[cornerstone]

Congratulations!!! I wish I could sleep like that

[c10jmac]

killer!!!

[Pinky6872]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Congratulations!!! I wish I could sleep like that

Thanks, I wish she would let me sleep!

Originally Posted by c10jmac

killer!!!

Thanks!

[Pinky6872]

I started making and installing the fuel lines using -6AN braided hose.

I had a set of 17" wheels I was planning to roll the chassis around on but of course they didn't clear the brakes. I'm not sure what wheels I want to run in the end but I needed something now so I picked up a set of 20" Ridler wheels (20x8.5 fronts and 20x10 rears). These look great for the price and will make a good wheel for a daily driver in the future.

[slowcpe]

Nice progress. I've been eying those Ridlers myself for my new beater. They are hard to beat for the price.

I've got the 18s that I'm using as rollers on the '67 but really think I need another set

[Pinky6872]

Originally Posted by slowcpe

Nice progress. I've been eying those Ridlers myself for my new beater. They are hard to beat for the price.

I've got the 18s that I'm using as rollers on the '67 but really think I need another set

Thanks! Yeah, these are the Ridler 650's but they are almost identical to the US Mags Ramblers. The only difference I could see is that they offer slightly different sizes in terms of widths. The Ridlers were also a little bit cheaper which is why I got them instead of the US Mags.