74 LWB "Baby"

[slammed427]

I've had this truck for 6 years now, I never thought I would keep a standard cab, long box this long, but well here we are.

I bought the truck in October of 2009, my 79 shorty project had stalled out, needing finish welding on the new 2x4 box tubing frame. I was needing to drive another square. I can only imagine it was a similar feeling a junkie has when they need a fix. My sisters boyfriend said he knew where a running driving square was that could be had cheap.



This is the day I found her. Filled with trash from front to back in the bed, had to shove a bunch of trash off the floorboards to get to the pedals. She was rigged up with a toggle switch/push button starting system and a caterpillar disconnect switch. I took the truck on a test drive and immediately noticed the frame was cracked, the truck had the turning radius of the titanic, and that was being generous. The brakes were worn out, and the emergency lights came on when I hit the turn signal. But the motor was solid as a rock, good power, idled nice and didn't smoke.

The kid wanted 1k. I told him I'd give him $600, we settled on $800. I told him I'd be back in a week with the money, and asked him to get the bed cleaned out so I could drive it home without getting a littering ticket. I came back a week later, dropped cash, took the title and went to the circle k down the street to get the bed cleaned out, that adventure took over an hour with my buddy helping me. We took it back home and proceeded to gut the interior. I came up on about $50 in change from under the seat as well as several snap-on and bluepoint tools. I changed the bench out with a spare in my garage from a project truck my sister and I had bought my nephew, he never got interested in it, so I pillaged it for parts. That same night, I ran half a gallon of simple green through my buddies pressure washer to try and get the oil slick out of the bed. It helped, but I ended up using a couple cans of engine degreaser to finish the job.

With the truck clean, it was time to move on to fixing issues. The emergency flashers coming on was a result of the taillight wiring having slipped off the frame rail and resting on the exhaust pipe, resulting in a short. I traced the wiring further and found a ton of shorted wires, and made the decision to rewire the truck. I found a clean 74 harness in the junkyard and bought it and installed it in mine. The toggle switch and push button was done away with, I replaced the starter switch on the steering column, and it started on a key again.

Next was getting the frame welded, done. Then I had to do something about the wheels and slicks.

These wheels came off an 84 I traded a dirtbike for. The truck was about 75% Junk, but I kept the wheels and the front clip for my 79. I ditched the factory AM radio for a pioneer head unit, and then I drove it. For about 3 months.

The pressure plate broke in February 2010. The clutch disc was replaced when we did the pressure plate. Since then, its been minor stuff, nothing really remembering.

In November 2012, I got new wheels and tires, Dodge 20" spares, with 255/35/zr20 tires.



Now it was time to lower the truck. I set out to do it in Januaryor February of 2013, and the first thing I checked was to see if my brakes matched my drop spindles. They did not. One of my buddies got me all the brake stuff for my birthday, then I let the stuff sit. One Friday night in May I got a hair up me, and dropped the rear in a few hours by myself. The next day, I got half the front done, and finished it on Sunday.

Then it say until late July or early august, I don't really remember now, but I took it in to a welding shop to get the frame fixed around the steering box, then put a brand new set of tires on it, got it aligned and started racking miles on it.

[slammed427]

Some dropped shots.

[slammed427]

The truck had picked up some strange noises in the transmission area that lead me to changing out the original 465 with a Craigslist sourced 465. Still had the same noise, and the 1st/2nd (depending on how you look at it) synchro was shot. That trans grenaded in about 8 months. I had my 84 dually to drive, just had to fix the column, so I knew it was time to park this one and stay getting it right.

The last day I drove it to work, I had to park it on the street in front of the complex I work at because reverse was pretty well gone. I was greeted after work to find it had been hit. I took these when I got home.
[URL=http://s1342.photobucket.com/user/desertsquares/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20141205_163618_zpsuwxb88cz.jpg.html][/URL

[slammed427]

Baby has been sitting now since December of last year. I gutted all of the factory wiring and started laying out the after market harness I bought early last year, and started hunting for some good original fenders. I'm not a fan of aftermarket body panels.
Finding some good parts took some time. I don't have a lot of time to go hint junkyards anymore, and these trucks are getting harder to find in the yards. One of the local squarebody parts guys found me a good set of fenders, and a core support, and he didn't want any limbs as payment. I have one fender on at the moment, and the wiring harness sorta routed. It got hot here in AZ and I left it alone for the summer. I also bought an a/c delete panel from Porterbuilt. That'll be going in soon.

To sort out the transmission issue, I bought a T5 locally. It was claimed to be from a V8 camaro. I took it to a T5 guy in Phoenix yesterday. He's inspecting it for me before I throw it in the truck, fool me once...

I have a few issues to work out with my dually, then it's full steam ahead on Baby. I want to be driving her again by my birthday in February.

[Low Elco]

Good story. Hope you get her back up and running.

[deejaaa1]

really sucks about the free body work. ever find out who it was? do you have any interior shots?

[slammed427]

Never did find out who or what hit it. Based on the height of the truck and where the damage was, in going to guess it was a semi turning on to the small side street I work on. The driver probably didn't even know they did it.

I don't have any interior shots right now, but there's just a standard bench seat, no carpet and I put the stock steering back in it. I have a non a/c bezel and dash trim piece for it, I'll be putting that in until I figure out the a/c system for the truck.

I got a call from my transmission guy on Friday evening, my T5 is good. I'll be picking it up today at lunch.

[slammed427]

I also bought a radio delete for the truck, and unfortunately my puppy got a hold of it. My own fault for leaving it out. He isn't a puppy anymore and is mostly over chewing things he shouldn't. But I've been searching ebay for a replacement since.

[slammed427]

So the T5 came back yesterday. It needed a couple bearings, and some work on the shifter gate. It also turned out to be a 6 cyl camaro trans, apparently the later 6 cyl T5's shared a case with the Ford version. He swapped it to a earlier chevy case. I'm planning to get the clutch from Summitt, keep my pressure plate and flywheel that's in it now. That could change when I get the old stuff out, but what's in there doesn't have much for miles.

Here the trans is when I picked it up a few weeks ago.



And when I got it back yesterday.


I'm excited to get it in the truck and get the thing running.

[slammed427]

Got the trans in the truck the other day. Lol

I don't have much for storage where I live, and this was the only place to put it where it wouldn't get rained on. Also, it would seem that the last time I was in there was before I quit smoking. Time to get beck after it.