FRAME SWAP

[MANUCHAO]

yeah im in SoCal but often I day dream of living up in AK or B.C.

I do have one of them plumbing torches so I will try that this weekend and into next week...
Going to go see the exhaust dude soon...

 

[lulo]

Looks great!!!

Congrats mate...

 

[MANUCHAO]

Hombré..........Gracias !!!

Si tan solo tuviese un Turbo Diesel....

 

[MANUCHAO]

Ok so with Peter's help.. (big thanks man...) we tackled the TRE's and got them installed with the correct Toe-In adjustment....

Put in the front calipers ( these calipers are huge) and order some Slee brake lines.. they fancy...!!!

Installed the OME steering Stabilizer OME website list the same part number for 80's and 60's so I used the old one...

Got to work on the steering cooler as it was rusty but luckily it was only surface rust...

Re-installed my Lokar Midnight shifter but this time I gutted it and it shifts a whole lot better..It also moved about 1" to the driver side and 2.5" forward from its last location.

Tweaked (like everything else in this rig)the steering linkage a bit and installed it... I can steer again...

I was going to PC the rims but it was going to run some $400+ so I went with the ghetto theme and spray paint them..
I used Plasti-Dip which is a rubber coating.. It comes off rather easy but this will do for now....
They do look nice...

Finally, I was looking for a set of used tires 35's but was not able to find anything that I could live with... so I both a new set (anybody wants a set of 33"s) and had them installed..
I think they look great !!

Im working on making the bump stops 2.5" longer on the rear/front and also started to put all the wiring back in place...but Im trying to give it a cleaner look on the engine bay, so I will run as many wires as I can in between the wheel wells and fenders.....

Got the E-brake all set up today.. its nice that it bolts right up to the 60's e-brake handle....


Time for a cold .....

 

[dallen341]

You can get the wheels powdercoated in Chino @ PSC for $45 each if you are still interested in getting them done.

They are off Central Ave near the 71.

Don

 

[shotgun12321]

I'll take your 33's

 

[scarydriver]

Outstanding work, Frank! I'm so jealous... How far off are you from driving it? Can't wait to hear your impressions after the first drive.

One question - what do you mean by "gutting" the shifter? I'm planning on using the same Lokar shifter for my swap...

 

[MANUCHAO]

Don, thanks for the beta on the PC place in Chino. I should have posted the question over here first... but I just did not want to wait for them to be PC'ed.... I probably do it down the road....

Neil, Im re-doing all the wiring just cause I want the e-bay to look less cluttered....
I should be finish with it tomorrow or Saturday.
Front end and interior should go in in one day or so.
Then its off to the muffler man for one day I think.. so by the end of next week I SHOULD BE driving it... !!

RE: the shifter... it has (6) PRND12 tabs/stops...
The tranny 4L60E has (7) PRND123 tabs/stops....

I was never able to make it work right and never got it to shift into 3rd (not that I needed to but for the price it ought to). I called Lokar but their tech dept sucked.....

This time I since its all apart, I took the cable that runs inside the shifter, making it glide front to back and Vice Versa freely..
Now when it shifts you can feel each time it goes P-R-N-D and so on........
We'll see how it does once its on the road...but I feel that it will be MORE BETTER !!!

BTW the knob on this shifter gets pretty hot on summer. I bought a replacement knob shifter from one of the mud vendors... It stays much cooler !!!

I do like the way this shifter looks... !!!

Hope it all makes sense...

Laters !!

 

[dallen341]

Frank,

Do you have a local muffler shop that does nice work? There used to be a guy in Upland that did nice work but he went to work for the prison system. I have yet to find anyone worth a damn since and can use some work on my 60.

I'm in Claremont so anywhere near you would be sweet.

Don

 

[MANUCHAO]

Don, I used Mike's Muffler shop in El Monte when I first did my engine swap.
Dynosoar also used them when he replaced his V-8 a few months back...
Google him.. he has good reviews from other peeps...

I like the work they have done for me and will go back to them this time around.
I hear yah on finding someone that can do the work one wants...!!!

 

[VTCruiser]

this. is. awesome.

 

[ntsqd]

I build my own exhaust systems. Buy straights & mandrel bends from Summit or Exhaust Components - SPD Home Page B (there are other vendors, pick up a "Drive!" mag or some hot rod mags) and piece it together. Takes a little time (my Mini's single system took me 2 or 3 evenings after work), but the routing is exactly how and where you want it.

A couple tools make it much easier, but it really isn't all that difficult of a job. An HF bandsaw or a Portaband and a 6" belt sander make short work of all of the cutting and 'tuning'. Several pairs of hose clamps with short pieces welded between them make aligning the tubes fairly easy (there's always one or two that are a PITA!) while you tack them.

Really! For what most shops will charge for doing such a job you'll cover the cost of the bends, straights, and flanges. By the time you've had it done several times you'll have also paid for the tools. Or come up to VTA and use mine one of these weekends.

 

[Letsgomoreplaces]

Nice work.

Nice Work! That's going to be a sweet cruiser when its done!

 

[Spike Strip]

Frank, you might want to call Mark A. and ask him about his exhaust/muffler guy - he's in Pico Rivera or something like that ... Mark raves about him...

just a thought.

 

[MANUCHAO]

Thanks VT and ringpinion.biz....

Spike, I'll call Mark and ask him who he uses.. its good to have options..

Thom, I hear yah on what you are saying...
I tried to do the exhaust while the body was off but not having the tools was a big factor... (thanks for the tool links).

The other thing is that this frame is 3" narrower than the 60's frame.. so space will def be a challenge...

As of right now.. Im still debating on using the same exhaust manifolds I have used since the conversion.. they are corvette EM.
I also looked at the GTO manifolds that are slightly bigger but have the dump in between the last two cylinders.. (this would help with keeping the starter a lot cooler on summer time...)

I feel confident enough to do this job.. but being that this was/is/will be my DD I needed up and running asap (I been stuck driving a minivan, work truck..not cool).

Thanks for the offer (much appreciated ) on coming up to yah, but Im a visual type of person. Meaning I would need to haul my rig up to yer place to do the work...

Im off to finishing the wiring right now and see how to go about the exhaust work...

Thanks for all the input guys...
I always say MUD ROCKS, but a website is just as good as its members and you guys ROCK !!!!

 

[OGBeno]

Looks great Frank....

Really, really great quality build here.

Looking forward to seeing this in the rough!


-onur

 

[ntsqd]

Oh yah Frank, you'd have to haul it up here. Part of my evil plan to scope it out nearly first.

No, it's really because you'll wear a groove in the driveway with some of the fitting. Putting driving in the middle of all of that just wouldn't work.

 

[Dynosoar]

The truck looks GREAT with the front end back on it! Did you finish up the wiring?

 

[MANUCHAO]

I finish the wiring inside the engine bay... but not inside the cab....
I had in-service training all day today......
I should be finish tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest....

 

[orangefj45]

you're making great progress frank, props!


i love this build........


georg