I've waited a long time to dial in the interior of the farm truck, and I have to say, it turned out even better than I could have ever hoped. https://youtu.be/gR5efAWvevY This video was shot JUST before we touched up the paint with a new patina to cover the black primer spots. The truck has been so much fun driving it around all summer long. We've had a few things to dial in, namely the radiator seems to have sprung a small leak, and there's a strange whine coming from the engine that is still unidentified. But - I had the chance to get it out and drive it a bit. Here's some recent shots..READ MORE
I couldn't resist snapping a few photos of my Chevy 5 Window on a quick firewood trip. The wood was pretty wet so the back of the truck is sitting an inch or two lower than it normally would, giving the truck an even more aggressive stance. This truck has a L96 engine 6.0L from a 2014 Chevy, mated to a 4L80E transmission. If you're interested, here's the full build thread.
After working tirelessly to get the new wiring harness ran, the truck fired right up! You'll remember in the last update that we had to fab up the firewall to accommodate the new placement of the pedals. Now, it is way more comfortable to drive. There is still quite a bit of wiring to do, but as it sits, it's a legit driver. Nick was over so we took the truck around the neighborhood to give her a good first shakedown drive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff33C_d6koA There was a little rubbing on the front right corner, and we saw the bottom edge of the lower ball joint was rubbing on the back of the disc brake. We took the..READ MORE
Well, the past couple of months we backtracked a bit. We had to redo the firewall to get the pedals to install at a more favorable angle, and to fix some issues with our first draft of the transmission tunnel sheet metal. The end result looks good, but there is plenty more work to be done. (Here's Post #1) Here's Post #7!
Pat at Mach 1 Muffler helped finish out the exhaust system this week with a beautiful install of 2 1/2" pipes that route exhaust from the headers down to the new stainless steel oval MagnaFlow 11226 mufflers. The exhaust is finished off with some 2 1/2" chrome pencil tips. Beefy. (Here's post #1 if you're not caught up yet.) We're just a few weeks away from the wire-and-fire part! We will post up some videos to show what the exhaust sounds like. Build Thread Update: Post #6
I won't say it was easy to get the engine with the headers to fit, but we made it happen. (Heres the previous posts: post #3, post #2, post #1) If you recall, we had to start trimming the frame to get the engine to sit down low enough. Even though the headers are low profile ceramic coated long tubes, they are still wider than the manifolds for the L96. The headers I picked up from Tick Performance. They are the Dynatech Lsx 67-69 Camaro 68-72 Nova # 715-11410, and I really wanted them to fit. Here's what the frame looked like with all the new IFS front end suspension mocked up. So, we started..READ MORE
Things have been moving fast on Project Rascal lately. We got the front IFS all welded in, the rear end and suspension all done, and now we're having to do a little bit of modification to get the engine to sit nicely in place. [Post #1, Post #2] Stance is starting to come together. Here's the wheels and tires that we settled on, with the beauty ring installed. Check out Post #4 for new the recent update!
Last week, I made it up to Cusick, WA where the truck is currently parked at my Dad's house. After a good looking over, I was pleased that the truck is in even better condition that I originally expected (here's Post #1). We spent a little bit of time going through the extra parts and sweeping out the debris that was in the bed. Nick and I have been tracking down and buying the necessary parts for the truck and for the LS conversion, and I decided to put together a spreadsheet to show items and costs, which may be helpful for others who want to do a LS swap. [columns_row width="fourth"] [column]Purchased Truck Engine Transmission Electronic Gas Pedal Trans Shift..READ MORE
Done deal. Nick and I just bought this 1953 Chevy 3100 pickup, with the intent to build a modernized hot rod that is a tribute to both 50's style hot rods and pro-touring modern builds. Project Rascal sounds as fitting of a name as any. Out in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Nick shot a quick video walk-around of the truck to send to me while I was out of town. We quickly started looking for a modern LS engine that we can drop into it, to give it power and reliability. The truck currently doesn't have any engine in it. Nick found and made a play on this engine, which will be getting transplanted into Project Rascal. It is a 6.0L LS L96 engine,..READ MORE