Build thread for the 72 GMC, finally. Thanks John!

NOHOME wrote: Hey, I'm ready for another barn-raiser. I pay good money for movies that are not half as entertaining as your build!

Instead of money, find me cast-off, free hot rod SBC pieces!

tuna55 wrote: The rest of the truck order goes something like this: 1-Finish front suspension, clean up old rotors temporarily and drop the front end back down. 2-Pull engine, figure out how much it NEEDS and give it that and nothing more. 3-Paint frame/crossmember/random other junk that's easier to get to with the engine gone. 4-Brake lines 5-Finish metalwork, prime cab and bed and tailgate 6-Sand, for like 45 years. At some point during the sanding, I'll get sick of it and do the wiring in the rear end. 7-Then I'll paint the truck 8-Then, and only then, will I put in the master cylinder (which is really the only thing that needs to be bought to switch the calipers other than the flex lines) 9-Interior etc 10-DRIVE

Are you done with #1? That is kind of where you left off. What expenses are left there?

Item #3 is a freebie unless you wait too long and the chassis saver goes off on you. Might be a motivator to get it off the list.

Item #4 is one that I enjoy because I somehow like to make lines go where I want and brake line is way cheap. I can actually afford to berkeley up a line and re-do it. $50 would buy most of what you need to plumb the truck no?

As to the engine, I would leave it alone until it became the main item on the critical path. It really does not advance the project at this point but it could suck the hell out of your resources. I might have committed this mistake with the Molvo having dived into the engine build recently. You might think that having the engine sitting there will give you a boost, but when you see the amount of money spent that is not going to be useful until the rolling chassis is done, it kind of bums me out!

When the time does come for the engine, just drive down to the Nelson Estate, kidnap one of their kids and hold them for ransom for like a really hot engine. The risk is that they might not take ya up and you end up with another mouth to feed

Good points, you have.

Re: Brake lines, I intend to spend real money on reproduction lines. I just like the OEM look and feel that can give. I know it's $200 instead of $50, but that's OK. Not ready yet.

RE: Front suspension, I have begun to re-dive into the swaybar. I have a few new ideas. I'll keep you posted. I don't want to pull the engine and paint the front frame and such until then because I need the weight of the engine there for the ride height.

I have something else truck related that I'm working on that's also free, but I don't want to lay my cards out just yet.

I would like to use an acetylene torch on Tunatruck, I don't have one, and really don't want to buy one (as the Tunakids share the garage).

Does anyone local feel like swinging by for an evening and lending a tool/hand? I could be persuaded to provide beer.

Would mapp gas do it?

Dusterbd13 wrote: Would mapp gas do it?

Nope, more heat required.

NOHOME wrote: I realize it will increase the spring rate but what if you cut the end off and did something like this: Should buy you a little distance from the other parts that want to occupy the same dimensional space. The car I stole the idea from is kind of kool: Guy cut an MGB down the middle and widens it by 11". http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,48698 The bar in the picture is home-made. Maybe steel some ideas and re-shape yours?

Tell me who makes these clamps and what they are called.

It's a hollow bar, yes? If I cut the end off at the right place, could I not weld in a threaded insert and then use the hole to mount the endlink?

tuna55 wrote: Tell me who makes these clamps and what they are called.

I dunno. Probably some guy by the name of Tuna by the time it is all said and done. Im just the idea guy!

Why not something like an exhaust clamp with a stud welded to it? Mybrain says iit's a bad idea, but I can't see why.

Not a bad call. If I get a pair of these: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hre-23704/overview/ made of steel, I can weld on a tab and use an endlink with the right angle on one side.

Nice!

Like this: http://www.amazon.com/Ruland-SP-20-F-Two-Piece-Clamping-Collar/dp/B0063KZR6I/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1446836018&sr=1-1&refinements=p_bore_diameter_derived-vebin%3A1.25+inches%2Cp_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A5485798011

Looks like they are clamp on panhard bar mounts:

http://pitstopusa.com/c-135896-rear-suspension-panhard-bars-mounts-panhard-bar-mounting-brackets-clamp-on-panhard-bar-mounts.html

Edit: Those might be all too large.

Swaybar stuff pending. I really am working on this. My life has, unbelievably, become more crowded recently. Routinely, with no real "extra" nightly chores, I am hitting the sack at 11 or so. We're working on that.

While Tunafam is figuring that out, I request some help.

I have stated time and time again my desire to have this look 'factory' when finished.

I really wanted, in particular, to keep the exhaust manifolds. They are unique to these trucks, ramhorn style. Though they look like the Corvette pieces, they are much smaller in diameter (either 2" or 2 1/4") and flow less, though no data seems to exist for exactly how much.

The easy button here is to put headers on. Those who have pulled the trigger on affordable headers know that they leak, sound like crap, and fit worse. Good headers would blow up the budget, and still would not really look the part.

I have thought through many solutions:

Dealing with the manifolds, and being limited to the power potential (not a huge deal)

Bench-porting the manifolds to the extend that I can

Buying the ramhorn lookalikes available from various sources (no performance data out there, and they wouldn't fit without surgery)

3D printing some manifolds to my specifications (cool, not easy, our 3D printers here can reasonably make 1/2 of one with one pass. I could design two piece manifolds and braze them together, but making four government project pieces of that size would be a bad call for my career)

Any other ideas?

Are the outlets the same place as the vette? Cause lt1 corvette manifolds are the best flowing sbc manifolds thay made according to some research i did last year.

They look like this.

The early Vette looks like this, and doesn't fit.

Is this about power? I can't quite wrap my head around this being done and you being unhappy because it's missing 20hp.
How hard is it to remove/replace them when the truck is all back together? I know it would require re-doing the exhaust and you probably only want to do that once, but I'd be tempted to just go with the stockers and not overthink it too much. Forest for the trees and what not.

mazdeuce wrote: Is this about power? I can't quite wrap my head around this being done and you being unhappy because it's missing 20hp. How hard is it to remove/replace them when the truck is all back together? I know it would require re-doing the exhaust and you probably only want to do that once, but I'd be tempted to just go with the stockers and not overthink it too much. Forest for the trees and what not.

That right there is wisdom. Thanks.

Good to hear an update. Make it solid and safe.

I'd hazard a guess those truck manifolds won't really hold you back unless you plan on going well above 300hp at the wheels.

The garage is clean.

I took off the exhaust manifolds today. It was too easy. Someone has been here before. One side has plugs which are not drilled, and the other, plugs which are tapped and filled, but with a tube of some sort which has been eaten away over time.

Can I weld these holes shut? JB weld them shut? Just deal with one side having plugs and the other having a bare boss?

Pics are needed, you mean the remains of a choke heat riser? Welding cast iron is tricky business, probably better to plug it with a steel bolt or pipe plug (depending on thread). JB weld will not work.

If they're not leaking (and you have reason to not think they will) I'd leave them. Another one of those 'out of sight' things. Especially knowing that these manifolds probably aren't the super duper final product. On the other hand, if you can clean out the threaded portions and plug them properly with a pipe plug, that would be a bit of peace of mind.

With further research, I think this was the remnants of a heat riser, hence the tubes in the inside of the outer most manifold tubes. I'll remove them and use a flush plug on that side.

I am annoyed because I have two immediate needs for my angle grinder, and it's gone. I sort of set it on fire when I was disassembling the giant workbench as part of my garage cleaning efforts. I bought a Metabo for a great price on eBay... until it got here. The resulting saga (no handle, bad cord, missing flange for wheels) has me returning it, and likely without for another week.