Project Pancho Villa - 1978 SWB

[BruthaMan]

Thanks 3r!c84. It was tough to let go of the money, let me tell ya! Everyone seems to swear by them. Compared to the little Dart heads I had on before (which were respectably fast with the XE268 cam), these should really open her up!

One more pic. Air Gap intake is back on with one valve cover. Calling it a day. Bruh'man ain't used to this heat!

[MTCK]

The truck looks amazing! Great build! Too bad about the weather - I always do better with cold then hot (obviously). Happy Wife, Happy Life!

[juiceman650]

Awesome truck man, just finished going through the whole thread. One question though, what year is it again? Can't wait to see more updates on this one, keep up the great work!
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[BruthaMan]

Thanks guys!

The truck is a 1978.

We're about to put the intake on, hook up the headers, distributor, then maybe start on the vintage air install today. More pics later today.

[BruthaMan]

I have a ton of pics and will have a video of the startup sometime tomorrow.

Motor is rebuilt and we did a quick fireup tonight. Man, it sounds mean!

We're going to do the cam break-in, tomorrow morning around 10am (give the neighbors time to sleep in).

I'll shoot a video of the startup and exhaust. I have some pics of the Vintage Air install as well. We have a few more pieces for it, but overall it's been fairly straight forward.

Two of the AC hoses will need to be crimped, and it needs to be vacuumed, so will probably take it in for that once everything else is finished. I don't have the tools for that and not sure I want to invest in them, for a one-off setup.

[77BBGMC]

Just read through the build, impressive!!
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[73gmc454]

I've spent my morning reading the complete build , Wow you did alot in a short time frame , everything looks great , those AFR's should wake upthat small block !

[BruthaMan]

Thanks guys!

Some more pics:

Hughes 2400 Stall Converter to replace the stock one:



Comp Gold roller rockers on the new AFR heads:



Three boxes from Vintage Air:



Individual components from the Vintage Air Gen IV kit:





Chrome Sanden compressor, with a Billet Specialties cover:

[BruthaMan]

The Gen IV kit comes with steel brackets. Nothing fancy, can be painted. Ordered AC and Alternator brackets from Billet Specialties:



Here's the AC face plate that replace the stock controls:



Finally, here's a video of the startup after the heads/cam swap:

‪383 Stroker - 1978 Chevy Truck - AFR...

Still on the to do list:

Finish the front grill install.

Truck to the AC shop to have the hoses crimped and system charged.

Detail the engine compartment.

Definitely going to have to look at running dual exhausts. The beast is loud. We did a mild test run yesterday. Trans fluid was a bit low and it was slipping, but it sounds like a race car.

May go with long Magnaflow mufflers, then run a turbo muffler before those, to quieten it down. I don't think a single muffler will do it, though I'm looking at all options right now.

[MTCK]

Sounds good! Sounds angry! Can't wait to see it tearing up the asphalt...

[77BBGMC]

Sounds good!

[bluex]

It sounds good, send that corsa muffler my way if you dont want it!

[BruthaMan]

The Corsa mufflers sound very good on it. On one hand, I love the sound. It is unlike anything else and sounds like what you would expect a race car to sound like, when you open it up. On the other hand, it's just too loud at my age, for how I want to use the truck.

An update, but no photos. Pete added a trans cooler with it's own fan, in front of the condenser. Put the rear of the truck on stands and let it run for a while to get the trans fluid circulated and the torq converter filled.

And then we took it out for a ride. I cannot even begin to describe the difference the heads and cam swap made. Mostly the heads, because the cam was just a little bigger. OMG, those AFR heads brought Pancho to life!

It was unbelievably fast and I didn't even take it to WOT. Scary fast. Pete said he thought it could hang with his '03 Vette, easily.

My face hurts, I was smiling so much! Still reeling from the adrenaline rush!

[baclay9]

What trans cooler did you go with?

[BruthaMan]

Trans Cooler and fan are Hayden.

[juiceman650]

That exhuast sounds awesome man, and the Vintage Air system looks sweet!

[bluex]

Originally Posted by BruthaMan

The Corsa mufflers sound very good on it. On one hand, I love the sound. It is unlike anything else and sounds like what you would expect a race car to sound like, when you open it up. On the other hand, it's just too loud at my age, for how I want to use the truck.

I understand that, I dont like them quite as loud as I used to either. I doubt I'll be able to afford them, but keep me in mind if/when you get'em off...

[80streetcoupe]

BruthaMan, what a beautiful truck. I just spent the last hour reading your build from the start and I thought the truck was nice in stock shape as is. Beauty is only skin deep untill you peel back the layers...haha!!!
You did an awesome job on her and what a great tribute to your friend. Run the wheels off of it and I am sure your grandson will be by your side riding shotgun with "paw paw"!!
Again, great job on your '77 Chevy!!

[tattoed71]

just bought a truck off of bruthaman and got to scope out this truck the pics dont do this truck justice. all i could say is wow, i love the steering wheel, wasnt even thinking about the ex cab chevy i bought from him to tow my 1971 around i just keep thinking of that steering wheel. thanks for the truck did good coming home, now its parked under the carport for the next few months till someone needs it, thanks again brother

[BruthaMan]

Hey, it was good to meet you, bro! Glad to hear you made it home OK. Knew you would, that truck is solid as a rock! Good luck on your 71, sounds like you are going to do it really nice!

[Gordonr1973]

Any news?

[my4by2]

Beautiful build man! Can't wait to see the finished product!!!

[78BO]

Originally Posted by BruthaMan

My face hurts, I was smiling so much! Still reeling from the adrenaline rush!

LOL, I remember that feeling. I'm not wanting to start an argument on which carb is better, but I'd be willing to be if you took that edelbrock off and put on a holley, you'd be even more impressed. I had a 750 edelbrock on my 383.
While it ran like a bat out of hell, it just seemed like there was more there. I installed a 770 avenger and all I can say is WOW! The throttle responce was 100% better. The only down side to that is with the shaky engine you have to retune the carb every now and then.

But as for the truck, that thing sounds great. And looks good too.

[Dieselholic92]

What brand of headers are you using on you truck?

[BruthaMan]

Thanks for the kind comments. The headers are Hedman.

Rebuilding the motor for the third time. When we added the AFR heads last time and bumped the cam up to a Lunati 284, it was too much. I know, I know...there's not such thing, except that the idle is far too lopey and it's a bear to drive the truck with all that power.

So, we're bumping the cam back down to a Comp xe 264, but this time using a roller retro kit.

I've diverted my attention to a recent 72 CST/Longbed that I'm going to use as a daily driver. It's running good, just doing some "personal" touches to the 72.