As the saying goes..."Live free or in Massachusetts"
I've been a fan of Chevy's since before I can remember. When I was a toddler (1979-1982ish) my Dad had a Chevelle with a big block, 396 that I used to call "the race car." Later in life he built a pretty mean 1979 Monza with a 350 that screamed.
I took 2 years of auto shop in high school...joined the Marine Corps, spent 4 years down in North Carolina where I seen a 1957 Chevy Pickup that sparked all sorts of grand ideas in my mind. As I began work on the 57, I found problem after problem and for some ridiculous reason I thought I had $200,000, a massive shop equipped with every tool I would ever need to build the car of my dreams and the expertise to get it all done...it wasn't until after I bothered to rip the truck apart that I realized I had none of those things. To complicate things, I got married and had three kids, bought a house...
About a month ago, I smoked the transmission in the 1999 Mercury Sable that my wife bought for $800 from a DEA auction. With a sizeable tax refund in mind, I started eyeballing used trucks. I really kind of had a secret longing for a late 80's / early 90's Silverado with the SS package, but when I checked Ebay I seen they were going for roughly $10,000. After checking the specifications (454 rated at 230hp, TH400 transmission or 4L80 in later models, 3.73 gears, custom interior and decals etc) I realized that there was nothing too special about the SS package.
As fate would have it, I found a run-down 1989 Chevy Cheyenne, C3500 / 1-TON on Craigslist for a mere $1200. This badboy was equipped with a 454 and a TH400, body was in decent shape. It wasn't an SS but it was a good starting point and it was $8800 cheaper than what an SS would cost me. At the end of the day, I want a cool street cruiser. Being a little bit older now, I'm realizing that these things don't happen overnight. I plan to take my time and tackle this project in bite-size chunks.
I have a set of 049 heads that are punched out for bigger valves. I'm planning on having a donor 454 rebuilt, a little bit of cam, domed pistons, maybe a little bit of a higher stall convertor...figuring on 400-450 horsepower, which should be more than enough to roast the tires if I want to.
I'm in the process of doing triage on this truck now...stopping the leaks, tune-up, replacing body parts that are rotted etc. Last night I scored a tailgate and I'm going to pull the doors off of a 1500 that are a little dinged up but at least there is no rot. I'm also hoping to get rid of this 8-bolt 1-ton rear-end and replace it with a 5 bolt or 6 bolt lug pattern...maybe I will luck out and get something with 3.73 gears at the same time. I didn't check the number of bolts on the rear-end housing of the 1500 junkyard truck when I was there last night.
Eventually...maybe we'll lower the suspension down a bit, put some meatier tires on the rear, some nice wheels...
I've been a fan of Chevy's since before I can remember. When I was a toddler (1979-1982ish) my Dad had a Chevelle with a big block, 396 that I used to call "the race car." Later in life he built a pretty mean 1979 Monza with a 350 that screamed.
I took 2 years of auto shop in high school...joined the Marine Corps, spent 4 years down in North Carolina where I seen a 1957 Chevy Pickup that sparked all sorts of grand ideas in my mind. As I began work on the 57, I found problem after problem and for some ridiculous reason I thought I had $200,000, a massive shop equipped with every tool I would ever need to build the car of my dreams and the expertise to get it all done...it wasn't until after I bothered to rip the truck apart that I realized I had none of those things. To complicate things, I got married and had three kids, bought a house...
About a month ago, I smoked the transmission in the 1999 Mercury Sable that my wife bought for $800 from a DEA auction. With a sizeable tax refund in mind, I started eyeballing used trucks. I really kind of had a secret longing for a late 80's / early 90's Silverado with the SS package, but when I checked Ebay I seen they were going for roughly $10,000. After checking the specifications (454 rated at 230hp, TH400 transmission or 4L80 in later models, 3.73 gears, custom interior and decals etc) I realized that there was nothing too special about the SS package.
As fate would have it, I found a run-down 1989 Chevy Cheyenne, C3500 / 1-TON on Craigslist for a mere $1200. This badboy was equipped with a 454 and a TH400, body was in decent shape. It wasn't an SS but it was a good starting point and it was $8800 cheaper than what an SS would cost me. At the end of the day, I want a cool street cruiser. Being a little bit older now, I'm realizing that these things don't happen overnight. I plan to take my time and tackle this project in bite-size chunks.
I have a set of 049 heads that are punched out for bigger valves. I'm planning on having a donor 454 rebuilt, a little bit of cam, domed pistons, maybe a little bit of a higher stall convertor...figuring on 400-450 horsepower, which should be more than enough to roast the tires if I want to.
I'm in the process of doing triage on this truck now...stopping the leaks, tune-up, replacing body parts that are rotted etc. Last night I scored a tailgate and I'm going to pull the doors off of a 1500 that are a little dinged up but at least there is no rot. I'm also hoping to get rid of this 8-bolt 1-ton rear-end and replace it with a 5 bolt or 6 bolt lug pattern...maybe I will luck out and get something with 3.73 gears at the same time. I didn't check the number of bolts on the rear-end housing of the 1500 junkyard truck when I was there last night.
Eventually...maybe we'll lower the suspension down a bit, put some meatier tires on the rear, some nice wheels...
" All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible."