AliveBoy Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 (edited) Some of you may know that I sold my 350z back in August and replaced it with an American truck! It's a "mechanically sound" 1968 GMC long bed stepside truck (think basically a Chevy C10). I bought it back in August on a whim from Glasgow and drove it all the way home to Surrey without a sniff of an issue. Three weeks later the auto gearbox decided to change to 1st at 60mph and has done a bit (LOTS!!) of damage. The bodywork on the truck is a mess, both front wings are terminal, they were full of paper mache with body filler over them and a few random bits of metal in the filler so when I used a magnet it didn't seem suspicious. The main issue is that there's a fair amount of rust in the cab. The floor has been fixed but not brilliantly, and the sills were "replaced" but not very well too. It's looking like I either need to do a lot of welding and fabrication to make the truck better but not perfect, or get a new cab. The bits aren't visible, as they're covered by the scuttle panel and the wings but I'll know they're there and it will irritate me. Also, it looks like the previous owner was aware of an engine and transmission issue as the coolant tank had bits of copper in the bottom when I drained it, suggesting that k-seal was put in to prevent the head gasket from going and/or to fix a coolant problem. The torque converter also looked like it has been bodged too as there was some sealant which was very wet around it. All in all I've been feeling a bit demoralised, so I thought I'd start a build thread to show my slow progress The truck will be a project and I won't give up on it, with this in mind, I've bought a 1983 Chevrolet Camaro as a donor vehicle and will be converting the truck's 4.1 straight 6 and 3 on the tree auto transmission out for a relatively well set up small block chevy with a T56 6 speed manual gearbox. The engine has been worked on a fair bit and is now running a hair under 500bhp on 100 ron fuel; I'll be dialling the timing back a bit though as I want to run 98 ron Shell fuel as personally I prefer it over anything else. The power figure will drop a bit and the exhaust will change from the Camaro one which might adjust the figure slightly too. The rear end is already a jag IRS from an XJS which will be re mounted and strengthened to handle the power increase. A suspension drop of around 4 inches all round will lower the altitude and improve the handling. Corvette brakes will be added up front and the rear jag brakes will be rebuilt so we have stopping power as the huge addition of go means I need a bigger addition of WOAH! The rust in the wings isn't an issue, but the rust in the cab is concerning as below the windscreen on the drivers side is particularly bad. When I got it home: Taking the engine out: Moving to the unit/in the unit: (There's no engine or transmission in the truck here, so it's not over weight...JUST!) Teardown/rust finding begins: Rust removal from the "small" hole in the bulkhead... And for those wondering, the camaro which is donating some of it's bits Thanks for looking Edited February 13, 2017 by AliveBoy 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Awesome, that'll keep ya busy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 *bookmarked* This is going to be an epic project fella, can't wait to see the outcome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Great project, will be watching with interest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouthwash Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Hillbillies.......! ASSSEEEMMMBLLEEEEEEEE 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 It's about time too Loving the look of this. Good luck with it all and keep us posted, you know what a bunch of 'project' whores we all are 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsexr Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Yep keep it coming 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humpy Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Good luck and looking forward to following this build 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davectr Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 What a pain in the ass to hit all those problems, but, looking forward to following your progress on this one! Would love to have the knowledge/patience/facilities to take on a project like this, alas I'll settle for reading builds like this 😄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 So I'm doing this in my spare time around my job (being a tax accountant basically ) so don't expect the progress to be too fast I'm trying to work on the truck on monday, wednesday and thursday evenings until around 11pm and saturdays from 9ish until about 5/6. I could do more, but I want to enjoy the build and still have a life! Anyone is welcome to come to the unit in Wokingham and have a look/watch/join in As a teaser for you, here's a clip of the engine running from the headers, it's not the best but it will have to do! The plan is to leave the exhausts separate, I know it's not the best for power, but it sounds so much cooler as two banks and we're not exactly short on power with this engine! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veilside z Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Sounds like gunfire 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilscorp Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Nice project..... but why not just keep the camaro 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 Nice project..... but why not just keep the camaro Very good question, Mouthwash and StevoD (#bannedbutnotforgotton) have asked me the same thing several times It's ugly, it's very 80's (not QUITE as bad as the 90's one! ) I don't really like it, it's too similar in shape to many other 80's cars (RX7, Supra, 300zx etc) in it's wedge shape for my liking. All the bits I like on/in it are the bits I'm keeping, oh and once the truck is finished it will be worth waaaaay more. Just got to put the time in to get it finished. Most importantly, why drive something which is ok when I could (hopefully!) build something which is epic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve916 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Sounds like gunfire Run for the hills Looks a really good project. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 (edited) so last night I made my first ever patch panel, it'll be welded in and then the surrounding metal will be replaced. It literally took hours to get right as there's a slight curve in the panel and the edges curve up a bit. I'm happy with it for my first ever go, the weld will close up the panel gaps. I made a rough template from masking tape which then translated to a cardboard one which I then traced to the metal and then refined the metal shape Tonight I'll be making templates on the two or three other holes before rust treating everything that doesn't need to be chopped out Edited November 19, 2015 by AliveBoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 This is mint. Brings back memories of my failed G-Wagen restoration, which i thankfully sold before getting too far into it. Quick one... on my G-Wagen i hoped to swap out the engine and box with something out of a regular Merc saloon, but everywhere i read said it was really difficult, if not impossible to do due to the donor gearbox having all the wrong ratio's for a 4x4 car, and that to be a success you'd need to mate a G-Wagen 'box to the donor engine somehow. Have you come across this issue at all when choosing the donor car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattross1313 Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 This looks to be a great project, subbed!! Look forward to the next update 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 This is mint. Brings back memories of my failed G-Wagen restoration, which i thankfully sold before getting too far into it. Quick one... on my G-Wagen i hoped to swap out the engine and box with something out of a regular Merc saloon, but everywhere i read said it was really difficult, if not impossible to do due to the donor gearbox having all the wrong ratio's for a 4x4 car, and that to be a success you'd need to mate a G-Wagen 'box to the donor engine somehow. Have you come across this issue at all when choosing the donor car? I haven't luckily; I'm using the gearbox from the camaro as I didn't want automatic any more. The camaro already has an aftermarket gearbox which is used for everything from mental LS engine swaps to the Aston Martin DB7 and V12 Vanquish as standard. The truck is rear wheel drive so it's not as complicated as the G-Wagen set-up would be. The only complications from using this gearbox is that I need to change the gearstick position to clear the bench seat and I'll need a custom driveshaft to match the box to the Jag diff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payco Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 (edited) Love it. Eat your heart out Ed China and Brewer.AliveBoy Rules. Edited November 19, 2015 by Payco 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Cant wait to see this progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Love big American pickups/flatbeds!! So cool, good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 This is mint. Brings back memories of my failed G-Wagen restoration, which i thankfully sold before getting too far into it. Quick one... on my G-Wagen i hoped to swap out the engine and box with something out of a regular Merc saloon, but everywhere i read said it was really difficult, if not impossible to do due to the donor gearbox having all the wrong ratio's for a 4x4 car, and that to be a success you'd need to mate a G-Wagen 'box to the donor engine somehow. Have you come across this issue at all when choosing the donor car? I haven't luckily; I'm using the gearbox from the camaro as I didn't want automatic any more. The camaro already has an aftermarket gearbox which is used for everything from mental LS engine swaps to the Aston Martin DB7 and V12 Vanquish as standard. The truck is rear wheel drive so it's not as complicated as the G-Wagen set-up would be. The only complications from using this gearbox is that I need to change the gearstick position to clear the bench seat and I'll need a custom driveshaft to match the box to the Jag diff Sorry i didnt make my point properly regarding ratios. The issue with a saloon car gearbox was due to the wheel+tyre diameter. Obviously the G-Wagen had much larger wheels+tyres than a saloon car, so the gearbox ratio's are all wrong to get the car moving and driving normally with a saloon car 'box. I can't remember the maths but it's the equivalent effect of revving your tits off to not move very far or revving just a little but move too much... if that makes sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 This is mint. Brings back memories of my failed G-Wagen restoration, which i thankfully sold before getting too far into it. Quick one... on my G-Wagen i hoped to swap out the engine and box with something out of a regular Merc saloon, but everywhere i read said it was really difficult, if not impossible to do due to the donor gearbox having all the wrong ratio's for a 4x4 car, and that to be a success you'd need to mate a G-Wagen 'box to the donor engine somehow. Have you come across this issue at all when choosing the donor car? I haven't luckily; I'm using the gearbox from the camaro as I didn't want automatic any more. The camaro already has an aftermarket gearbox which is used for everything from mental LS engine swaps to the Aston Martin DB7 and V12 Vanquish as standard. The truck is rear wheel drive so it's not as complicated as the G-Wagen set-up would be. The only complications from using this gearbox is that I need to change the gearstick position to clear the bench seat and I'll need a custom driveshaft to match the box to the Jag diff Sorry i didnt make my point properly regarding ratios. The issue with a saloon car gearbox was due to the wheel+tyre diameter. Obviously the G-Wagen had much larger wheels+tyres than a saloon car, so the gearbox ratio's are all wrong to get the car moving and driving normally with a saloon car 'box. I can't remember the maths but it's the equivalent effect of revving your tits off to not move very far or revving just a little but move too much... if that makes sense? Ah ok, get you. I haven't got an issue because I'll be running the wheels from the camaro on the truck the diff is from an XJS and is a ratio of 3.54:1 with the standard camaro ratio being 3.42:1, obviously there's a difference, but it's negligible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 This is mint. Brings back memories of my failed G-Wagen restoration, which i thankfully sold before getting too far into it. Quick one... on my G-Wagen i hoped to swap out the engine and box with something out of a regular Merc saloon, but everywhere i read said it was really difficult, if not impossible to do due to the donor gearbox having all the wrong ratio's for a 4x4 car, and that to be a success you'd need to mate a G-Wagen 'box to the donor engine somehow. Have you come across this issue at all when choosing the donor car? I haven't luckily; I'm using the gearbox from the camaro as I didn't want automatic any more. The camaro already has an aftermarket gearbox which is used for everything from mental LS engine swaps to the Aston Martin DB7 and V12 Vanquish as standard. The truck is rear wheel drive so it's not as complicated as the G-Wagen set-up would be. The only complications from using this gearbox is that I need to change the gearstick position to clear the bench seat and I'll need a custom driveshaft to match the box to the Jag diff Sorry i didnt make my point properly regarding ratios. The issue with a saloon car gearbox was due to the wheel+tyre diameter. Obviously the G-Wagen had much larger wheels+tyres than a saloon car, so the gearbox ratio's are all wrong to get the car moving and driving normally with a saloon car 'box. I can't remember the maths but it's the equivalent effect of revving your tits off to not move very far or revving just a little but move too much... if that makes sense? Ah ok, get you. I haven't got an issue because I'll be running the wheels from the camaro on the truck the diff is from an XJS and is a ratio of 3.54:1 with the standard camaro ratio being 3.42:1, obviously there's a difference, but it's negligible :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRF4N Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Not surprised there's that much rust- you bought it from Glasgow! Fair play on taking the plunge with an American project. Fast n loud has made me want to do this many times lol. I do love that camaro though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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