Project Texa Go

[Billett]

Oh, also ordered some new tires. Was going to go with General Grabber AT2's but I changed my mind last minute and got some Cooper Cobras. They've been on every other car I've owned at some point or another and I know they last. And it saved me about $120, so I can't beat that.

[Bennett68C10]

Just caught up on your build, truck is looking good and glad you didn't have any problems with the hurricane.
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[Billett]

Had to stop on the way home to get this. Way too nice looking to pass up, I just wish I had a better camera at the time.





Tires won't get put on this week. I was going to have my brother do it, but the shop he works at had 16" of water in it. We're just happy he brought his toolbox back up to my parents, but their mounting machine is down for now.







Also ordered a heater control rebuild kit and new hoses because my other half has been complaining that her side of the truck was never warm enough. When I started pulling things out to swap the speakers I noticed that the passenger side hose was just hanging there and not pushed into the dash vent. I went to grab it and it just crumbled. Guess she wasn't making it up haha. I told her that until I get it fixed she'll just have to snuggle a little closer

[bk2life]

looks like a cool truck.

you are fixing things, but dont forget that was a gas stations shop truck, they did what they needed to do to keep her on the road. honestly if it was my build, i would never fix that rivet in the hood, or remove the computer speakers from behind the glovebox. you might be at a show any day and they guy who did that might just walk up to you and ask for a ride in his ole' shop truck..

[Billett]

I have no idea how I'm going to fix that rivet, but I'm going to. It may have been a shop truck, and I intend to keep it's heritage important in the build, but with that sort of mentality I'd still have a barely running truck getting 8 mpg whose horn goes off every time I turn too hard haha. I need to make my own memories with it, but I do intend to leave some of the old ones.

[Billett]

Ordered the amp and components yesterday. Should get them in by next week at the latest. Changed my mind again on the components and went with JL c2-650s instead. I'll be running the dash speakers at 2 ohms and the comps at 4, but the wattage of each matches pretty closely with what the amp puts out so I think it will work nicely.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...io-C2-650.html

Here's what I've done with the dash speakers. Made a quick 5" x 10" frame and cut two 3.5" holes in it. Used my new router on the edges to smooth them out a bit, then flattened the original bracket because these speakers were a bit deep. I'm going to go over the wood frame with paint eventually, but for now it works. This weekend I'll put a bolt through the center too instead of that one little screw holding it to the bracket.











The bracket is much flatter than the pics make it look

[lolo33]

shh-----iittt ! ==> Made in China !

[Billett]

at least it was "Designed and Engineered in the USA"...

[69gmcc10]

Haha!

[Billett]

Rest of the speakers and amp showed up Friday along with the install kit. So far I only have the radio installed. The P.O. had both the hot and the ignition wire hooked up to an accessory circuit... not to mention he grounded out the speakers and head unit to a painted piece of plastic. No wonder it sounded bad. Got that all sorted out, once Wednesday rolls around I'll have some more.pictures to put up.
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[Billett]

Got some goodies for xmas.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...19#post5809919

Also spent some time putting sound deadener and insulation under the carpet and in the doors. It's not exactly pretty, but it definitely works. The change is very noticeable, and although it doesn't cut down the wind noise, it does make a big difference, especially in the feel of the doors.









Also got a model I'm going to try to do up like my own truck

[gdavis]

looking good there man.

[Billett]

Thanks. I know it isn't exactly professional quality haha, but I just wanted to stay a bit warmer this winter. Someday I'll tear it down to bare frame, but that won't happen for a little while, so right now I'm making due good as I can without sacrificing too much quality. If I ever need to take the insulation back up it's as simple as pulling off tape and maybe scrubbing the floor with goo gone.

[Billett]

Cleaned all the crap out of the heater ducts. Bought a new blower motor and heater core, but returned them because once it didn't seem like it needed them. Might need a new fan blade eventually, but right now it works much better than it used to. Right now my low setting is better than what my high used to be.









Also found my Dad's old rubber bedliner from his Scottsdale. Fits pretty well.



And my favorite mod... bottle opener!



Brought back the old Polaris Cyclone that day too.

[gdavis]

You get a little crap in the blower and the plastic blower turns to garbage.

[Billett]

yup. still works pretty well for now though

[Lattimer]

Just saw on another thread that you are near me. Cool truck!!!

[ChevyCruizer]

Where is the information on your 6.0/4L80 that is on the way? Just looking to see how far along you have made it.

[Billett]

Haven't really had time to write everything up yet but I suppose I really should get on it. As of right now I've got the engine torn down, cleaned, and I'm in the process of putting it back together. Just new gaskets, nothing fancy. I've got most of the parts I need but I'm still waiting to buy a few things. Goal is to have it done by June 29th.
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[Billett]

Man I haven't been keeping up with this at all. June 29th was a long time ago and it still isn't quite back together. Its a rainy day here though so I'll try to get some info up tonight. Short story is: engine is rebuilt and in and right now I'm waiting on a harness, and deciding on the driveshaft. Took way longer than I wanted but I can't wait to fire it up. I took plenty of pictures and recorded all purchases so hopefully I can help out some others.
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[Hardesty454]

Looks good. Cant wait to see the 6.0!

[Billett]

Thanks! I have a thread going in the LSX section with some pics, but it isn't a build thread, more of a help me what did I get myself into thread.
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[Billett]

Well here's the start of it all!



Brought home the 6.0l on March 17 and started tearing into it that weekend.









Pulled the heads to make sure everything looked good inside. Cleaned the engine up a bit, but only painted the valve covers and front and rear covers.









One of the things I had to take care of was my column. I switched from a 4 speed w/ granny low to a 4l80 and my CFO wanted some more leg room so I had to go to an auto column. I figured while i was at it I would do an OE tilt column! Didn't realize I would need to get an intermediate shaft also...



PO had everything sealed up with this foam garbage...





New gauges



There she is all painted up with the headers on, waiting to get dropped in

[Billett]

Here's the bracket I fabbed up for the cable throttle. Real simple following instructions from the board here. Doesn't look pretty but it works. I may paint it later, but I just need it to run now!





Here is one part of my fuel system. I had a regulator on the rail, but bought a corvette filter anyway. What I did to bypass the on-the-rail regulator was take a bolt and cut it to length and then grind it down to the right size to fit where the return line would come out. Then I put the gasket on the bolt and slid it in with the retainer holding it down







Finally in the engine bay



For my fan setup I used a set of electric fans from a 99 silverado I got for free from a friend. They didn't exactly fit, but I cut them down to size.





Here's what she looks like right now.







I've got a lot more info to post up and if anyone has any questions feel free to ask. I love taking pics and helping out. I have my fuel system run with the stock in cab tank, I just haven't gotten the pics up yet. I also have a whole excel sheet to post up with every purchase I've made including costs, where I bought it from, and part number.

[Billett]

Got the truck out into the sunshine yesterday. It started to overheat and go into limp mode. Turns out the upper rad hose is a little higher than the fill cap on the rad, so there was no coolant in the water pump. Once I filled that up it was much better, that is until the hose blew off and sprayed coolant everywhere... That gave me a voltage code... Rinsed everything off with a bit of water, blew it out with air and let it sit for a few hours. I'll try starting it up today and see if I still get that code.

As far as reading codes goes, I bought an OBDII to Bluetooth adapter from amazon for ~$25 and the torque app for android. It works fantastically!