Kechi 1949 3100 4.3 4L60e

[joedoh]

well I still dont have any news and idle hands are the devils playthings, so I popped on craigslist to find some more trucks.

this is all that was available for what I was looking for, all of the V6 longbeds were seriously overpriced and none of the shortbeds were V6. I wanted to stay in the 98-03 range, and this was the rustiest body I have ever seen but man did it run and drive like brand new. this is what $1000 will get you.

if you cut the framerails right behind the core support mounts you can have the front clip off in one piece in less than 45 minutes, followed by the bed, then pushing it in to strip the interior because its cold outside.

i didnt break my t47 taking the seat out, this is a good sign!

I got the HVAC off the firewall and all the pedals. quick tip: you can unbolt the whole AC portion of the system from the firewall and leave it charged until you are ready to put it back on.

then pull the cab with some help from my friend Ron who stopped by at the perfect time.

while I was outside, I chopped up the bed to get the floor I wanted.

picture limit, more to come.

 

[Burgerman]

Nice start on the demo. Great buy for $1K.
[cl [P

 

[joedoh]

the truck had a slight vibration at highway speeds and I figured it was the double cardan driveshaft, but it might have just been mud.

after pressure washing about a hundred pounds of mud off of everything including in the u joints, i rolled it in to start pulling the motor.

the truck was the quietest thing I had ever driven, the road noise was louder than the engine, here is why. that is one bad cat.

I loaded up everything for scrap that didnt sell right away and hauled it away. the craigslist is glutted with s10 parts, everyone is taking these apart.

pulled the motor to start the frame shortening and new engine mounts.

i separated the frame at the joint and took out 6" to give me a 117" wheelbase.

I would have had it tacked back together but there are two spots to trim. so maybe tomorrow.

I also still have to go see Wayne and make a deal on those cabs he has.

 

[animal]

Lots of progress already! You definitely don't mess around. [cl[cl[P[P

 

[Old Iron]

[cl[cl[cl
[P[P[P

 

[smallfoot]

You've got s10 demolition down pat...[cl[P

 

[Torchie]

You've got s10 demolition down pat...[cl[P

[cl[cl[cl
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^^^^^yep^^^^
Torchie

 

[joedoh]

got the frame welded up last week, total time is about 3 hours, spread over 3 days. so 3 days, right? haha.

tracked down wayne, he is fine. made a deal on 4 cabs and three front ends

picked up kechi, he is fine too.

he had about 200 lbs of kansas farmland packed in the floors and seat, I just tipped him on his nose to clean most of it.

power washing in the rain took care of the rest.

moved the motor mounts back 8.75 inches.

http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=147193&stc=1&d=1552441353

picked up all the parts I needed at the swap meet last weekend, aprons, a rad support, front bumper. got some rear fenders from a local guy too.

more to come, maybe the motor will be back in tomorrow.

 

[Torchie]

WOW!
You don't mess around.
[cl
[P [P
Torchie

 

[Old Iron]

Rock on [cl[cl[cl
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[sneakysnake]

How did you come up with the measurement for the motor mounts, they look a bit far back if you're going to be running front fenders? [P

 

[DozerII]

A guy can't leave the computer to go to the bathroom and you almost have a new truck built.

[cl[cl[P[P[P

 

[BillM]

Wow Joedoh.....it's almost like you've done this before

 

[joedoh]

thanks guys, I have some new ideas to try on this one. stay tuned.

How did you come up with the measurement for the motor mounts, they look a bit far back if you're going to be running front fenders? [P

its the 4.3, the motor mount is in the middle of the engine, a v8 is further forward. with a v8 the move would only need to be 5-6 inches but on a v6, 8.75 inches rearward move puts the oil pressure sender plug 1/2 inch off the firewall. its a tight fit, putting everything under the hood, but it all fits.

 

[sneakysnake]

Boy, I've seen sardine cans with more room than that.

 

[kenny c]

That is tight. It's nice that you can keep every thing including the A/C.[cl

 

[Torchie]

[P [P [P
Torchie

 

[joedoh]

thats an early picture, before I mounted the PCM and the battery in there


I decided to do the trans crossmember with the engine out. still working on the best way.

in this pic you can see the offset GM used to the passenger side, with the edge of the straightedge centered on the suspension crossmember, the 1/2" offset is visible, you can make out the trans mount hole to the left of the edge.

next, I happened to catch a view of a 2.2 crossmember on craigslist and it was way back on the passenger side.

I measured and that worked out perfect, I built a flange on the passenger side to weld the mount to, and sectioned the mount a couple inches on both sides (the frame gets narrower in that section). the drivers side I cut a piece of 11 ga and bent the ends down, a much faster way than the three piece way I used to do it. still need to drill two holes but its all in there.

while my welds were cooling I popped out all the side plates for the cab mounts.

I powerwashed the frame and wire brushed all the hard to get areas that would be hard to get with the engine in, and shot some black.

tomorrow I will get the engine plopped back on its mounts and start on the firewall mods. I washed the cab again and its BLUE. I have some blue parts out back, have to see what I can do here.

 

[Burgerman]

Four more cabs with 3 front ends. Awesome.
Frame section seems familiar.
[cl

 

[Old Iron]

Your cross member is a much better way to do the mod
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