I figured I would start a thread here as I have failed many times in the past documenting projects and this one has started to seem pretty interesting already.
What do I mean by unfinished hot rod, well it is somewhere in between a rat rod and finished and PAINTED hot rod…the painted part is what I have the most trouble with (I get too obsessed with making it perfectly smooth that by the time I finish the bodywork my ADHD kicks in and I want to build something else!).
This past December I bought A really nice non running two owner (kinda, truck was bought for the guy I bought it from's mother to haul steers in, and when it was replaced the son bought it). Hooked a battery to it to see the mileage (179K) as he hadn't driven it in over 2 years since he thinks it cracked a piston. I am concerned with the steady stream of trouble codes that were displayed whilst the battery was hooked up, and secondly he continued to start the truck every other month for an hour for a year...I am worried about the shape of the cylinder walls.
I have almost finished the gantry..cough.. cough, gateway for the wife
So we will pull the engine out and do a tear down and see if the block is salvageable or not. While we are still on the subject of the engine, the PO stated that the rancher had rebuilt the engine at 130K so I am really interested in seeing what went wrong. At this moment I am kinda looking for a runner motor cheap while keeping my eye out for possible builder blocks.
The steps to the "PLAN" is as follows (Disclaimer subject to change, LOL)
1) Remove engine
2) Tear down engine
3) If salvageable, buy cheap runner and build original motor, or buy core and build it.
4) Built motor to have internal balance, stage 1 cam and mods with the emphasis on longevity and robust towing
5) Get truck running and tuned
6) Gut a $900 cheap Ford 4x4 ZF6 trans and install the guts in the Duramax 2wd trans I have.
7) At this point it would be nice to install the ZF-6 in the truck, but wondering about the computer headache with no TCM or just wait till I have the new "old" body
8) Is the body change step.
That is the general idea/timeline. While all the above is going on I am searching different bodies and won't comment on it till it is puchased and the bodies run the gamut from a Full size car to a crew-cabbed vintage truck. I am leaning towards the truck only because I have to rescue the GMC M135 in my avatar that I had to leave when I escaped from Lost Angels CA last year and think that a car pulling an old deuce and a half across the deserts would result in a few stops by concerned officers.
Hows that for a first post? And glad to be here!
What do I mean by unfinished hot rod, well it is somewhere in between a rat rod and finished and PAINTED hot rod…the painted part is what I have the most trouble with (I get too obsessed with making it perfectly smooth that by the time I finish the bodywork my ADHD kicks in and I want to build something else!).
This past December I bought A really nice non running two owner (kinda, truck was bought for the guy I bought it from's mother to haul steers in, and when it was replaced the son bought it). Hooked a battery to it to see the mileage (179K) as he hadn't driven it in over 2 years since he thinks it cracked a piston. I am concerned with the steady stream of trouble codes that were displayed whilst the battery was hooked up, and secondly he continued to start the truck every other month for an hour for a year...I am worried about the shape of the cylinder walls.
I have almost finished the gantry..cough.. cough, gateway for the wife
So we will pull the engine out and do a tear down and see if the block is salvageable or not. While we are still on the subject of the engine, the PO stated that the rancher had rebuilt the engine at 130K so I am really interested in seeing what went wrong. At this moment I am kinda looking for a runner motor cheap while keeping my eye out for possible builder blocks.
The steps to the "PLAN" is as follows (Disclaimer subject to change, LOL)
1) Remove engine
2) Tear down engine
3) If salvageable, buy cheap runner and build original motor, or buy core and build it.
4) Built motor to have internal balance, stage 1 cam and mods with the emphasis on longevity and robust towing
5) Get truck running and tuned
6) Gut a $900 cheap Ford 4x4 ZF6 trans and install the guts in the Duramax 2wd trans I have.
7) At this point it would be nice to install the ZF-6 in the truck, but wondering about the computer headache with no TCM or just wait till I have the new "old" body
8) Is the body change step.
That is the general idea/timeline. While all the above is going on I am searching different bodies and won't comment on it till it is puchased and the bodies run the gamut from a Full size car to a crew-cabbed vintage truck. I am leaning towards the truck only because I have to rescue the GMC M135 in my avatar that I had to leave when I escaped from Lost Angels CA last year and think that a car pulling an old deuce and a half across the deserts would result in a few stops by concerned officers.
Hows that for a first post? And glad to be here!