Here goes Project: PEARL

[Riveted1]

So I've been posting on this site for a while now, and decided I'd make a thread dedicated to Pearl. I named her that b/c she's pearl white atm, although that will probably change over time. Let me just say that this is the first time I've ever done anything like this (I did "help" some with my first truck, but that was 17 years ago...) so I plan on making lots of mistakes! My plans for her are to build up the chassis/suspension/brakes, fix stuff that is broken, upgrade some things and get her on the road so I can have fun w/her. Down the road she will be taken apart, stripped to bare metal and built AGAIN.
So here we go!

I bought this truck before I even knew what I was looking at, and I paid waaayyy too much for her, but I knew when I saw her that I had to have her. Here is what she looked like when I first brought her home in 2004:





I drove her 1 time before I decided to start updating some of the engine parts. Boy what a mistake that was! I had a couple of different jobs during that time, and neither one of them gave me any time to put her back together. So there she sat neglected in my garage until January of 2008!

First thing I did was put the engine back together so I could pull her out of the garage and give her a good bath. Well, that ended up being a chore b/c I couldn't get her to fire up. I replaced everything I could think of and still had no luck. Finally, I broke down and bought one of those Skip White distributors and she fired right up. I was getting spark before, but I guess it was weak. Anyway, I can tear apart the top half of a SB 350 pretty quickly now.


(pic is before the new distributor)

I bought some bucket seats off of CL to replace the insanely tall van seats that were in it.... I'm a pretty small person, but they put my thighs into the steering wheel!



"New" seats are eventually gonna be recovered. But here's what they look like now:



I also bought some 3 point seatbelts.

[Riveted1]

The next project became suspension/brakes/rebuild front end. I took the bed off and tried to clean up the rear half in preparation for the new parts.






Like how the PO bothered to protect the back of the cab while he was painting the frame? Well, that would prove to be just one of the dumb things he did.

Here's after some degreaser/Simple Green and spray bomb (and some AZ dirt LOL):




Went ahead and gave her that bath she desperately needed:




While I was still waiting on my suspension parts to arrive, I threw some paint on my brake parts and spindles:




And yes, it's all spray bomb, but like I said this is kind of a learning build, so I just want it to look decent.

[Riveted1]

Don't know if any of you noticed the nice bend in the rear crossmember. I switched that out w/a new one from ECE. It's perfect b/c it makes room for the gas tank that will eventually go back there.

After a long time waiting, I finally received most of my air suspension. Unfortunately, there was an issue w/my C-notch, so I'm still waiting on that. I decided to go ahead and do the front end and the back is still waiting for my attention.

While I was upgrading to discs in the front, I figured I'd rebuild the front end. Might as well while I'm under there, right? Here's what the front end looked like before:





Nice and clean, eh? Haha

The hardest part of this rebuild was the control arm shaft bushings. Boy what a PITA! I don't have an impact wrench, so it took lots of heat, plenty of PB Blaster, a breaker bar, and every cuss word you can think of to get those things off. I even broke apart my brand new Coleman work bench!



Oh ya, that IS a copper pipe I was using as my breaker bar. It's all I had laying around. I did get two of the bushings off before she broke! Had to move up to a nice steel one after that. It didn't make things much easier LOL

Finally got those things off, the ball joints out, trimmed up the steering stop and cleaned up the control arms.





Fast forward a bit, and I got the pass. side almost done.



I cut my SD cups down to 1 5/8 in hopes that they wouldn't touch the LCA at full dump. No go... they still touch.

[Riveted1]

Here's the pass side pretty much done. Still gotta route my air line properly and I already have to do a little paint touch up, but I didn't really expect too much from spray bomb...






Yes, that's me.



Rockett was ready to go! Hold on buddy.. Pearl's not done yet!

Along the way my radiator developed a nice hole where it would shoot antifreeze out the front grille. So that had to be replaced. Not to mention the old one wasn't really put in right:




Replaced the tranny coolant lines while I was at it:

[Riveted1]

Still gotta put in the new MC/prop valve. Ran some new brake lines up to it though:



I installed one of the LMC light relay kits. Cheap crap made in a foreign country of course. Seems like it made a difference. At least the juice isn't flowing through the HL switch anymore.

Before:



After:



Also replaced my front parking lights. The old ones were faded, scratched, and the wiring job was awesome! BTW, I have noticed that instead of undoing the connectors for all of the lights before taking body panels off, whoever painted it just cut ALL of the wires. They are put together like this:



Nice, eh?

Well, here's the new parking lights.




I've got plenty of wiring issues, but I'm going to try and fix them myself right now. I'm waiting on the modded wiring kit from AAW to come out.
Here's an example of the wiring:




So that's Pearl. And yes, she needs a bath again! But that will have to wait.

I still need to install the drop rear crossmember (I'm not looking forward to that!) and hopefully my new C-notch will be in soon so I can finish the rear suspension. My new SS gas tank should be here soon too. Then I gotta decide what I'm gonna do w/the exhaust and get the bed put back on. Still haven't decided if I'm gonna put my air management on the frame or in my bed.

This has been really fun so far I must say! A much better way to relieve stress than spending all of my dough at the bar and feeling like crap the next day! Haha The one thing I am beginning to hate is the citrus GoJo smell. God that's awful!

[68 short step]

keep it coming

[GKsport67]

Nice truck! ...is that flowmaster 40's? u have any problems with that exhaust exit? wat the sound like in the cab?

[Riveted1]

Originally Posted by GKsport67

Nice truck! ...is that flowmaster 40's? u have any problems with that exhaust exit? wat the sound like in the cab?

Ya those are 40's. They are loud as hell in the cab. You can't carry on a conversation when you're driving down the road. Like I said, I only drove it once, but it was loud. But they sound awesome outside! My neighbors know when I start er up for sure, if not b/c of my loud ass starter, it's b/c of these things. LOL I haven't decided if I'm gonna keep those or try something else, but if I keep em, I will probably rotate the dumps so that they are facing a little more toward the outside.

Oh, and thx for the comments!

[Riveted1]

Oh and I might add that I'm going crazy trying to decide on some new shoes for the old girl. IMO wheels are one of the most important parts of a ride. It's what most people see first. Not only can I not decide on a style, but my wallet is battling it out w/my taste!

[Spray-Bomb]

Sweet !!!!

[awhite4557]

Nice truck Riveted, looks alot like mine. Keep up the good work.

[67_C-30]

Looks great man! Can't wait to see more progress!

[72BlckButy]

Nice build!

[hollywood68]

very cool project, reminds me of mine quite a bit, however yours in much cleaner sheetmetal wise.

A couple things, I also cut the SD cups down to 1 5/8" and have major bag rub, what are your plans to remedy it? Just curious as I am weighing my options as well...

Also, where did you get your seatbelts? I have heard a few names and seen ad's in the mags, but like to hear real people's take on what they have...

You also mention AAW's "modded" wiring harness. It looks like the same guy that screwed with your wiring worked on mine. I have been looking for a new engine harness and am curious as to what the "modded" version is exactly?

The stance is awesome, are you after the stock look or do you want to go with the new big wheel trend?

Great truck, keep us up to date

[whatnow123]

Very Nice!!

Just a note, I'm not sure about how a bagged truck rides, but those KYB shocks make for a pretty stiff ride, I switched my out to some Monroes and it made a huge difference.

[Riveted1]

Originally Posted by hollywood68

I also cut the SD cups down to 1 5/8" and have major bag rub, what are your plans to remedy it?

No plans as of yet, b/c they only rub when fully deflated. Supposedly w/no air in them, it's not a big deal. I will keep an eye on them and if I start to notice wear, I will just purchase another set of cups and not cut them quite so short.

Also, where did you get your seatbelts?

I got my belts from here. They are just street rod seat belts, not made specifically for our trucks. But, if you still have your gas tank behind the seat, the DS may not fit. I'm moving my tank to under the bed, so I won't have an issue.

You also mention AAW's "modded" wiring harness. It looks like the same guy that screwed with your wiring worked on mine. I have been looking for a new engine harness and am curious as to what the "modded" version is exactly?

The modded version is just an updated harness. It wires the whole truck. It comes w/all of the factory connectors so it's plug n' play for the factory stuff. The modded part is the addition of circuits for modern conveniences. It's basically kind of a Frankenstein, part factory-style, part custom harness. The guys at AAW said it would be ready 4th quarter... so I hope my truck doesn't burn down before then.

The stance is awesome, are you after the stock look or do you want to go with the new big wheel trend?

I'm definitely going w/big rollers. I'm leaning towards just doing 20's all around. The price is the only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger right now.

Originally Posted by whatnow123

Just a note, I'm not sure about how a bagged truck rides, but those KYB shocks make for a pretty stiff ride, I switched my out to some Monroes and it made a huge difference.

Duly noted Whatnow. I won't know for a bit how it rides, but I'll keep that in mind for sure!

And thx again for the compliments!

P.S. Look what showed up today!!

[Riveted1]

And now I see that Ron Francis had come out w/a new custom harness w/the factory plugs. It's a bit pricey, but I'm sure the quality is second to none.

[randomhero472]

looking great man, keep it up!

[Riveted1]

Well, the headers I had bought for this thing back when I first got the truck aren't going to fit after all. I posted a thread about it here. I ended up ordering some new ones from ECE. They're Sanderson's and are supposed to clear the frame rails and motor mounts with no problems. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm also still waiting on the C-notch and fuel lines to be delivered. Both should be here next week if all goes well.
While I'm waiting on that stuff, I figured I'd go ahead and put in the ECE trailing arm crossmember. I was originally going to do it last, but since my other parts still aren't here, I figured I might as well jump in with both feet. The PITA factor is raised a lot since I still have my cab on. I am also hindered in the fact that I don't have air tools, which would make things waaaaay easier. I got the bottom PS side off and the PS top and the DS bottom drilled tonight. I ran outta steam and had to call it quits. Hopefully I'll get some pics of it tomorrow and (finish it too!)

[Riveted1]

Got the ECE crossmember in:



Kinda looks like a techno-monster of some sort. Anyway, I forgot to take pics of the removal process. Lemme just say I've never cussed so much at an inanimate object in my life! The bottom rivets were relatively easy to get out, but those top ones didn't want to move! But my perseverance prevailed! I let my neighbor know that the neighborhood was safe; the beast had been slain!

I also got the fuel tank mounts ready, but I'll probably wait until after I've finished the rear suspension to mount up the tank.

Brown Santa brought me something shiny today too:



Those are the ECE/Sanderson headers I was talking about. The box looked like Gremlins had gotten to it, but the contents were safe. I am eager to see if they fit.

[Riveted1]

New headers fit!! Just a couple of test-fitting pics...

[IvelDesigns]

great work man. looks like you've jumped in head first with this one.

[Riveted1]

Well, I've been taking some time off from working on the ol' girl. Life just gets in the way sometimes. Finished the rear suspension last week sometime and got my fuel tank mounted. I still haven't seen what it's gonna look like w/wheels on it and fully dumped. I'm gettin anxious! I also rebuilt the PS rear brake today and will do the other side tomorrow or later tonight. Just got tired and had to take a break!

Here are a few pics:







One question. How do you get this stud out?

[PipsC10]

As far as the stud goes, I beat mine do death with a sledge hammer, only needed 2-3 good whacks before it shot out like a rocket. Be careful there is nothing in the way if you take this approach, I am serious when I say mine shot out like a rocket.

[thirdstreettito]

Originally Posted by PipsC10

As far as the stud goes, I beat mine do death with a sledge hammer, only needed 2-3 good whacks before it shot out like a rocket. Be careful there is nothing in the way if you take this approach, I am serious when I say mine shot out like a rocket.

LOL