Topic: Dream ride in progress! 71 chevy

[BLACKDOG]

Just picked up a '71 chevy from a good friend of mine. 
2wd longbed, 350, auto.  Body is in good shape, minor rust. 
For now I'm going to put the 350 back together, but future plans are to convert the truck to 4wd, and put in a 12v cummins, with a 5 speed. 

[chim]

Looks nice and straight Is 71 the first year of front disc, or was that 72?

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

I honestly don't know. I've had no time to play with it since I got it, the next week is going to be slammed, but I'm going to dig into it after that. 

[Blingn]

sleeper I like it alot

[nor-cal yota]

Looks nice and straight Is 71 the first year of front disc, or was that 72?

Yep, your right..  8)

[nor-cal yota]

If your going to move your gas tank, to the rear of the bed like a blazer, hit me up I have an extra one that I have for sale. (tank, sending unit and mounting straps)
Sorry for the high jacking of this thread.

I have had the complete family before, 71 short bed 2wd, 72 K-5 and 72 suburban.. Just make sure your inner and outter rocker pannels are all good before you laid down some paint.. 

[jimbo74]

if you need replacement parts..... www.lmctruck.com has pretty much everything

[kneedownnate]

Lucky b*std!  Same color as stocker's 72 also.

[abnormaltoy]

Lucky b*std!  Same color as stocker's 72 also.

That must have been a poplar color. There are tons of those around here.

[Rocksurfer]

Yup the favorite color of the gardener, Gardener Greeen.

[Stocker]

Looks good, Jason!    If you're interested, http://67-72chevytrucks.com/ is a great board, lots of knowledge and helpful people. Membership is free, but only paid subscribers are allowed to post for sale, want-to-buy, what's it worth etc.

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

Thanks guys! 

Stocker, I'll have to check that site out.  Jimbo, I've already got the catalog, and a wish list from it! 

I've slowly been stripping the paint, and waiting on a buddy to pull the motor out of one of his trucks. 

My motor was shot, needed 1500 worth of machine work, so its been sitting w/o a motor for a while. 

[UndefinedTaco]

depending where your located at..i got a buddy with motors galore in his garage. you'd be amazed how many motors, transmissions, and axles are in his garage. got a 55 with a zz502, narrowed 9', etc being built, two 72 blazers with crates, one has 1 tons underneith.


lemme know if you want the hookup on a 350, he's got like 6-7 laying around, he's got a fuel injected one also, fuel injected 454, also got a 383, three carb 454s, and i think a 396 laying around


but nice start to the build!

[yotaneck13]

thats bad ass.... my uncle had a 69 cheyenne for his first truck now its on 35's and he takes it wheelin with us.  Ill have to find some pics i know there is a vid or 2 in my build thread of it just LETTIN' IT EAT in a mud hole till the axels broke. ive always liked them older Chevys wouldnt mind finding one to restore and dd.  Most are rusted out POS around here now tho.

[BLACKDOG [OP]]

Quick update on the dream ride.  Not much progress as far as pictures, but I'll snap some in a bit.  I'm trying to get this thing running before I move (3 weeks), so we don't have to trailer it to the new place. 

Motor and trans are back in. 
Getting ready to put some new shoes on (have the tires.)
Need to get the carrier bearing replaced on the driveline
Need to finish hooking up the transmission (lines and linkage)
put in cooling system
finish hooking up the breaks.

My issue right now is whether or not to use the radiator the PO bought.  Its a brand new griffin radiator, but its the generic "chevy" radiator.    It doesn't fit right.  I'm going back on forth on whether to make this one work for the time being, and get the new one later, or bite the bullet and buy the right one now. 
Obviously I know the right answer, but lack of fundage makes the decision a little harder.  180 bucks is a little steep at the moment, but at the same time, I could recoup the cost selling the current radiator.