1976 Crew Cab Long Bed Camper Special resto-mod

[rajincajintj]

on to the next issue. i need to find a replacement single wire tank selector valve:



this one was bypassed by the original owner.

[rajincajintj]

while i hunt for the right answer on the fuel tank selector valve, i am slowly knocking out all of the little things that are not working right:

rear clearance LEDs wired and installed:
13LED units from superbrightLEDs.com

[rajincajintj]

i also threw on a set of drop shackles in the rear to level the ass on this B.
after:


it still has a little rake to it, but much less than it had before. i had to trim up the rear most bed crossmember to let the shackles swing, but nothing a couple minutes with the angle grinder and some spray paint couldnt fix.

[TrailerTrash]

rear drop looks nice.

very nice truck all around dude i love it. i dont see too many 73-80 crew cab duallys around here. on my wish list lol

[tommys72]

Very nice!

[rajincajintj]

I finally got my vintage plate approved. I submitted the paperwork, money order, and picture of the vehicle at the end of March and it just arrived last week. Anyway, here she is


I'm still a little annoyed because when I bought the truck, the title said 1974, but later I found it the vin was actually a 1976. Ive had the paperwork corrected, but i found the plate when I thought the truck was a 74. So the plate is inaccurate, but still looks good. If it ever bothers me too much, I'll try to change it out for a 1976 plate, but I doubt it.

[rajincajintj]

Originally Posted by rajincajintj

i also threw on a set of drop shackles in the rear to level the ass on this B.
after:


it still has a little rake to it, but much less than it had before. i had to trim up the rear most bed crossmember to let the shackles swing, but nothing a couple minutes with the angle grinder and some spray paint couldnt fix.

As for this rear shackle drop, it has negatively affected ride quality a good bit. With the shackles on, I'm very close to the overload springs, so they engage much more often and provide a ton of rebound when I'm completely unloaded.

I'm not sure what the best solution will be, yet. I'm thinking of removing the overload pads, since airride is in the future plans. I hate opening leaf spring packs.

[rajincajintj]

Finally put a decent load on her, she did not like it too much. my last truck was a 6.7l with a 6speed manual, so im trying not to hate on this auto too much, but i really dont like it.

it might be time for a new torque converter and valve body, but i hate to put any money in this tranny, i really do not trust it.

[rajincajintj]

AND>>>>

i am super happy to report that i finally have the bed cargo light working on the original switch!!! and that is the absolute last bulb, they ALL WORK!!! every last bulb on its original factory switch. in total i swapped out 30 LED bulbs, 4 different www.superbrightleds.com shipments. including the headlights. that was a really long road, chased a couple bad door switches and had to replace a few sockets.

[y5mgisi]

Cool truck!

[rajincajintj]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Cool truck!

thanks man, im glad i held out for what i really wanted. i looked around for a long time.

[slimneverdies]

Originally Posted by rajincajintj

Finally put a decent load on her, she did not like it too much. my last truck was a 6.7l with a 6speed manual, so im trying not to hate on this auto too much, but i really dont like it.

it might be time for a new torque converter and valve body, but i hate to put any money in this tranny, i really do not trust it.

How much weight did you end up trying to pull and where didn't it perform the most while pulling? What would think the performance difference would be pulling with a mildly built 454/4l80e vs your combo, if you could make the comparison?

BTW, LOVE THIS TRUCK...

[rajincajintj]

Originally Posted by slimneverdies

How much weight did you end up trying to pull and where didn't it perform the most while pulling? What would think the performance difference would be pulling with a mildly built 454/4l80e vs your combo, if you could make the comparison?

BTW, LOVE THIS TRUCK...

this trailer is 4300lbs unloaded. it did not like 3rd gear and an incline. like the engine was spooling up and rolling, but not really pulling. once i got it into overdrive and locked the TC, it yanked it around like nothing was there. i think a new TC and valve body is in order. i've been reading up on the transmission and those are the 2 week points.

ive never driven a 454, just a warmed up 350, and this 12V, in overdrive, smokes it in every category.

[Crcrft78]

Good looking truck, any updates? Did you get that TC fixed?