74 NovaMan's 1979 Chevy Truck - LS Swap - 5/6 Drop

[74NovaMan]

Picked up this bumper at a local salvage yard. I got it cheap because it is a little mangled and did not have any brackets (mounting or license plate). Ordered up all that last week and waiting on the SS headed bumper bolts. I'll hammer out the mangled parts a little, but it should have the perfect look for what we are going for. Looking forward to seeing it on the truck.

[74NovaMan]

Sold the motor and trans out if the 79 this weekend. A guy and his son needed it for their project and even helped me pull it.



Got $450 for those and $100 for the rear bumper and the original grille insert:

[74NovaMan]

Are the miles right or will you have to send it back for one that is? (Looking for the DUH icon....)

Dan

I may crack it open and set it to zero.

[DanStokes]

This just showed up:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1153062[/ATTACH]

Are the miles right or will you have to send it back for one that is? (Looking for the DUH icon....)

Dan

[74NovaMan]

This just showed up:

[74NovaMan]

I've been doing some shopping lately. This arrived yesterday:



The fans are from a 97 Camaro. I used Car-Part.com to find it. The salvage yard is on the other side of WI (300 miles from home). I called them up and they shipped it the same day. $62.25 total to my door in 2 days!

I have an instrument cluster from a 1990 suburban (electronic speedometer) coming from 300 miles in the opposite direction.

[Huskinhano]

Three letters - ARP! I replaced the head bolts on our Windstar 3.8 w/ARP bolts (studs prevent removal of the heads in chassis) and no more head gasket failures. I'm not a fan of torque-to-fail head bolts.

Dan

Oh... I just had cold sweats reliving when I changed the head gaskets on my Windstar when they blew. What a PIA.

[convss]

Have to agree with the ARP recommendation! We just put a 2008 5.3l in mysons 75 CJ5 Jeep with a Turbo 350 trans. Engine had Active Fuel Management, so we changed out the cam/lifters out to change to normal cam operation,and a big part of the kit was ARP fasteners. It's amazing how easy the ls motors are compared to the traditional big block/small block engines I'm used to working on.

[DanStokes]

Three letters - ARP! I replaced the head bolts on our Windstar 3.8 w/ARP bolts (studs prevent removal of the heads in chassis) and no more head gasket failures. I'm not a fan of torque-to-fail head bolts.

Dan

[silver_bullet]

All the bolts on those Motors seem to be torque to yield ! The exhaust manifold bolts are common for that.

[silver_bullet]

Thanks but no thanks on the seats Chris!

[Deaf Bob]

I think.. Heard it said but do not have facts... That the head bolts are torque to yield, meaning one time use..
Might look ito that..

[74NovaMan]

good idea to replace all fasteners with ARP bits... we've seen several of the factory fasteners on LS motors lose their heads quite literally!

We're hoping not to dive to far into it. Plans right now are for a cam, water pump (for better hose routing), oil pump, and gaskets. The heads won't be coming off unless the compression is off or the exhaust manifold bolts break, which is a strong possibility. The front and rear bolts on this side have no heads:

[74NovaMan]

Whats the chance of putting those leather seats in the pickup or are they too large for the cab or are you trying to keep it a 3 seater ?

The seats are pretty awful (and probably too big) and we do want to keep 3 seats available. Planning on installing these:
.

Chris I just gotta ask - how did you decide on $302?

I got every $ they had. We settled on $280 for the 3 doors and they were really interested in the rear bumper, which was tweaked and dented. I knew they were running out of cash because they were pooling their $ to buy the doors. I asked them how much they had left and the one guy said $22 and I said sold!

[74NovaMan]

what condition are those front seats in? pix? I'd like to compare the upholstery to the Avalanche's...

They are both torn and the whole interior reeks of mouse pee. I can get some pics if you like, just let me know.