83 shortbed build
 

I'll add this here, No forced induction or ls motor...for now anyway. This is a older build i did a few years ago, started as a free parts truck. This has a few stages and many pictures thru the years. Alot of this was done when i worked part time at an exhaust shop and in a buddies garage. This was a budget build that was done with money from buying/selling/scrapping cars. It came as a frame, cab, bed, 10 bolt axles and 33 inch rollers. No doors, front clip, tailgate, interior etc. The bed was pretty rough that i put a set of bushwacker flares on it to cut out the rust, full rockers, cab corners and a floor pan. The fenders, hood, radiator support etc came from a local junkyard. I am no where near being a body man..lol... A buddy of mines pretty good at it tho.

The first set of pics is it in the garage with the body work started, I wish i had the first pics of pulling it out of the brush with a chain. The first motor was a junkyard 350 that was .060 over reman motor with a sm465 4 speed. The axle then were 10 bolts with 273 gears on the bald 33s. Then a rattle can black paint job, 14 bolt full floater, dana 44 with 410 gears and 37 ssrs. Had a 3 inch body lift and 6 inch suspention. Plus a new motor from a truck i bought and junked was a 225 hp goodwrench 350 since the last one smoked like hell.

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New springs, 37s on hurricanes, military grill guard, flat black rattle can. Stayed this way for a few years and eventually a little bit of offroading fit right in. Oh and thats color touch flat black, use to be .97 a can at walmart..lol.



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After a few wheeling trips the bed started falling apart, it was time for a replacement. This some may and didn't approve of but i like it..lol. Its a 95 1500 spot stepside bed, in awesome shape and even has flares. The front end also was changed to a 91 blazer front end. No 1500s had this nose.

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All black...and it needed bigger axles, so the dana 44 was upgraded to a dana 60, 37s were removed for 39s, dual exhaust was ran out the back, warn winch bumper and a rear shackle flip was installed.

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After a few wheeling trips it needed more power so a buddy of mines pretty good and building good running 350s so it was time for a new one. Started with a 1974 350, bored .040, decked, honed and magged. Then a new polished crank, h rods and a set of .220 domed pistons. The cam is a 535 lift cam with 1.6 rockers,thats a decent size for a 350. Also picked up a set of bow tie angle plug heads with 2.055 valve, titanium retainers and bronze guides. This combo ended up being 12.5:1 and a race gas motor. (pic later)

The suspention worked well but it was time for new front springs, also crossover steering and hydro assist.

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By this time the paint was taking a beating so it was sanded down and painted green, the black had to go since it fades too fast and looks bad.

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Disc brakes were added to the rear with the ruff stuff bolt on kit.

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I needed new gauges since the old stockers weren't any good. So i used a piece of aluminum and made a cover, it worked out decent except they are flat and not angled but you can see what you need so its all good.

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With running race gas at 10.00 a gallon it was getting expensive real fast, the 358 makes between 450-500hp and its hard on fuel..lol So i looked for months and bought a propane kit, it wasn't easy to set up and get working right with it being used. Many problems i could of gotten away from if i would of bought new. This kit you use a forklift tank in the bed, a liquid lines goes up the frame in a fancy braided line to ensure no leaks. It connects to a safety valve and to a vaporizer, the vaporizer converts the liquid to a gas. it does this with putting a t in the coolant lines so it can flow thru the vaporizer. Then a 2 inch hose connects to the carb making the truck run on the gas. Propane is around 105 octane so it worked out perfect being under 2.00 a gallon at the time.
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I wanted to change the front suspention since it was too stiff, So the frame was plated where the stock shackle mount was. A new hole was drilled and the shackle mount bolted back on. Rancho 9 way adjustable 14 inch travel shocks were put on along with a raised steering arm to clear the new springs. These springs are a thicker pack of thinner springs, about as soft as you will get in a custom pack. These were setup just for this truck from alcan spring.

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It sat a little taller for a few weeks till it settled, it settled over 2 inches leveling it back out.

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Here is what happened to the clutch with locked axles and 39s

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With the propane injection it lacked power that it had before over 5k so it was time to rethink the situation. I gathered up spare parts for another carb on ebay, found out also that they make a dual carb adapter that uses one baseplate and an air cleaner that fits. Here is what i came up with...

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