Shop Truck refurb, code name Chaser

[JohnC]

Truck looks awesome man.
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[trout]

updates??

[RandyP]

Got the windows tinted super illegal. Otherwise, she's done. Still can not find anyone willing to do vinyl graphics on it, I guess they are all to busy. Have called 3 major companies and sent photos via email. Not a single response from them really.

[joe231]

Still no vinyl?

Have you driven the wheels off of it yet?
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[RandyP]

Never could get anyone to give us the time of day when we'd inquire about getting it lettered.

Sadly, it does not get driven much at all. Just in and out of the shop and the occasional trip somewhere during the day. Like right now she is so loaded up she'll barely idle, needs to be taken out and drove hard to blow out the cobwebs and get the plugs hot enough to clean them up. I might drive her home tonight just for that reason.

Got a buddy trying to trade me his 2004 K2500 crew cab for it. His truck is an old PSO truck with 240,000 miles on it, but has a fresh rebuilt engine. Is a decent old 3/4 with a 6.0 gas motor, but has no power options on the inside at all. I'm pondering it still.

[Greenlee]

Originally Posted by RandyP

Never could get anyone to give us the time of day when we'd inquire about getting it lettered.

Sadly, it does not get driven much at all. Just in and out of the shop and the occasional trip somewhere during the day. Like right now she is so loaded up she'll barely idle, needs to be taken out and drove hard to blow out the cobwebs and get the plugs hot enough to clean them up. I might drive her home tonight just for that reason.

Got a buddy trying to trade me his 2004 K2500 crew cab for it. His truck is an old PSO truck with 240,000 miles on it, but has a fresh rebuilt engine. Is a decent old 3/4 with a 6.0 gas motor, but has no power options on the inside at all. I'm pondering it still.

Not much to ponder in my opinion. Keep the 87'!
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[RandyP]

I dunno, really been looking for a 3/4 4x4 with a gas motor that is affordable for a second truck. My poor 2005 1/2 ton Z71 almost can not handle pulling my trailer with anything more than a voltswagon on it. Been borrowing my dads F250 a lot lately and sure love the way it pulls a trailer, loaded or unloaded it just doesn't matter, hehe.

[mcbassin]

That sucks about not driving this truck much. My son drives his every day with a similar TBI setup. I'm jealous. I want to get another square. I have had a few of them and have always loved the way they drive and ride. I'm thinking the next one I get will have an LS engine.

On the trade, ultimately it's up to you. You gotta do what's right for you. I know you guys did a professional restoration. It should be worth some pretty good $$$.

[joe231]

Man!
That trade would be really hard for me to pass up, especially since you need a heavier truck.
I say go for it!!
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[RandyP]

Well, here we are about a year after completion, or longer. I bet we have put maybe 2000 miles on it total. I've been trying different plugs to keep them from fouling out every tank of gas, tried different gas thinking it might help (real gas vs 10% ethanol that is the most common here) but nothing has been helping. We're getting in to the hot season already so I would really like to be able to run the A/C and come to a stop light and not have to kick it in neutral to keep it running.
After researching a little and actually talking to RFMaster about the cam, we decided on a new cam and have that project underway. My other thought was going carb, but everyone really did their best to talk me out of that. Found something that was as close to stock as possible for the cam, hoping it will help the motor build enough vacuum and not make the computer think the truck was always starving for gas. I swear I was getting about 4 mpg in the thing, it just dumped gas to no end. Ran great as long as you had fresh plugs and were out on the road, ran real good actually. Would lope at a stop and after 2 minutes or so of in gear and at a stop it would start to shutter and want to die out.
So we've been slow in the shop (scary slow) due to no winter. I went ahead and ordered a cam and my body tech said it was no problem for him to put in, easy stuff. Of course once the cam showed up we get like 8 cars in the shop. I should have ordered this thing months ago!
But here we sit with the front of the motor off and a new cam and lifters ready to install. The cam we took out has almost no wear at all, even the lifters looked almost brand new. Heck, everything still looks brand new internally. Probably because it is I guess....

Went with a Sealed Power CS1150R cam. I am anxious now to see how well it runs once this is done.

[MTCK]

Glad to hear you're giving it another go! Big cams can wreck havoc on a stock TBI system. Low vacuum = lots of fuel, as you have obviously figured out. I forgot to plug the MAP sensor back in on my truck after working on it and it would barely run, just like you describe. I think you'll be happier once they finish the swap.

[x ReAcT x]

Originally Posted by RandyP

Still waiting on my motor to get here from GM. The poor truck is gushing transmission fluid now, so I'm not even driving it home on weekends. Looks like a simple seal/gasket issue no doubt, we will fix that when we yank out the drivetrain I suppose.
Got the interior all together, minus the dash cap. I guess the new front speakers I put in sit up a little higher than the factory ones, need to remove the factory speaker bracket it looks and just let the speakers mount on the metal dash. Got frustrated this weekend and just walked away.
Of course we got slammed with work this week, which is good for my pocket book I guess, but bad for the refurb. I was hoping the new engine would arrive this week and I could sweet talk my tech in to starting the swap this weekend. But my wife has other plans for us all, including restriping the front parking lot and removing this big ugly sign column in the front parking area. It does look bad, we took the old sign off of it and it looks like a 'cross' or something, is just ugly.

On a different note, for those who recall my body man being in a fairly severe wreck, his saga is over now it appears. The clown who hit him had esurance, but it seems (took him 2 weeks to find out) the idiot canceled the insurance after getting his verification form. So my poor tech is left holding the bag on his 2001 Silverado, high bid from the salvages so far is $1800. He's upset his wife had dropped his full coverage a while back, and I guess he has every right to be upset. He finally bought a new truck last night, got him a 2009 Silverado with 14k on it. So after a $300 tow bill, $400 in rental car fees and a big "GET BENT" from the insurance company and the clown who hit him, I guess it's over.

I'd also like to take a minute and get on my soap box here. I see this stuff a lot being in the body shop industry, and it makes me cringe. Everyone who runs around with "state minimal liability coverage", just because they drive an older car or the car is paid off, you're asking for a world of hurt. Here in Oklahoma I believe the minimal liability is $15,000. This means whoever you hit has a maximum limit of $15k they will get for repairs on their auto. A good example is a wreck that happened here locally yesterday. A 16 year old with a older vehicle, plowed in to the rear of a 2007 HHR, shoving him in to the rear of a 2004 TrailBlazer, shoving them in to the rear of a 2005 Escape. No doubt all 3 of those vehicles will be total losses, and the 16 year old has a $15,000 Liability Policy (they hope it is valid at least). His insurance company will basically write a check to all 3 of those people for $5000 and wish them well. Sure you could sue the kid and get a judgement on him, just remember the phrase "blood from a turnip" and see how it would end.
Being in the industry, and having been an insurance adjuster for a while, at least I know how this could effect me. My dad gives me horror stories of working a claim decades ago where a young farmer hit a funeral procession in his old beater farm truck. Took out the hearse, the family car, a new cadillac behind those and finally a suburban limosine. Totaled all of them. The farmer had a $10,000 Liability Policy. Ended up losing everything he owned due to the lawsuits.

Liability is cheap. I personally carry $350,000 and strongly encourage everyone to make sure they are covered well enough. /end soapbox rant.

Pic of the new truck!!!!

I know exactly how you feel. Being in the insurance industry (Im an insurance agent for GEICO) I see this stuff happen on a regular basis. Every time I sell a policy I strongly recommend all my policyholders to get higher limits than the state min. 25,000. Raising it to 100,000.00 only costs about 10 bucks a month more, but and nobody seems to care until the day they total 3 cars and rack up a 90,000 claim. Then they get mad at me because they are getting sued by 3 people, they loose their home, car, and get their wages garnished. I wish people cared more about the quality of insurance they get rather than the "lowest price". But anyways nice to see some one like you that knows what they are talking about.

[x ReAcT x]

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