Above 1200 Sq/FT Aces High Speed Shop's New Home - 36x40x14

[rixtrix1]

Truck is looking good! You say 6.0s are loud, wait til you fire it up with those smittys. It'll have a real hillbilly sound for sure. When l went to college at Chadron State, all the ranch kids' pickups had 2" duals with 36" glasspacks and no crossover. Cackled and popped like crazy whenever they let off the gas. My Chevelle 327 had headers, 3" pipes with a crossove and turbo muffs. Sounded like a Cadillac by comparison, until I hit the gas. This is going to be a great ride!

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Thanks Ric! I was one of those ranch kids with true dual glasspacks at CSC. Mine were 2 1/4" pipes and 18" long though. It wasn't too bad until I really stood on it and let out. Wish I still had that pickup, 1979 Chevy Bonanza K10. Completely restored it when I was in college. My dad had bought it new.

I run Dynomax Ultraflows on pretty much everything else, except my Z28, which has a ****** Aerochamber.

The "Smitty's" are mellower than a typical glasspack, so I'm not too worried.

Busy day at Aces High yesterday, I wandered in the shop without a direction and knocked out quite a bit. I was able to get the exhaust out past the transmission, including smoothing out the manifolds and welding on the v-bands. Also finished up the transmission cross member, BUGTHUG, I think you will approve.

https://flic.kr/p/WJUV6h

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https://flic.kr/p/VyZKzt

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https://flic.kr/p/Vwm6co

https://flic.kr/p/WdddoQ

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Picture of said Smithy's.

https://flic.kr/p/WJ16Aa

 

[BUGTHUG]

I could live with that.

 

[jbmatth]

Cool that the exhaust was able to be run straight back like that, on anything new there are just so many bends it is no fun. In high school I had a Toyota with a 4.3 Chevy v6, it had long tube headers and for a very short period of time that was it, no mufflers or anything and was way too loud. I put some ~18" cherry bombs on it and it was much better but still loud. My last small block was a health 355 with long tubes, 3" exhaust to flowmaster 10's then dumped, I loved that sounds but I'm sure my neighbors didn't.
JB

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I could live with that.

I'm glad it meets your approval!

Cool that the exhaust was able to be run straight back like that, on anything new there are just so many bends it is no fun. In high school I had a Toyota with a 4.3 Chevy v6, it had long tube headers and for a very short period of time that was it, no mufflers or anything and was way too loud. I put some ~18" cherry bombs on it and it was much better but still loud. My last small block was a health 355 with long tubes, 3" exhaust to flowmaster 10's then dumped, I loved that sounds but I'm sure my neighbors didn't.
JB

Yeah, not running the S10 frame's fuel tank in the stock location makes plenty of room for "twice pipes"...or anything else, for that matter. I'll be running a rear mounted tank, behind the axle somewhere. I've had plenty of loud exhaust systems through the years...I'm getting to the point where I no longer want it "loud". I'm more in search for the correct "tone". If I need loud, I can just open up the cutout on the Z28, it set's off car alarms just idling.

 

[jbmatth]

I'm right there with you, loud can be fun and my cobra is plenty loud for me, but a good healthy exhaust note with no drone is more important on my vehicles I drive more often.
JB

 

[madoc1]

i missed all the shop build pics but am watching the truck build. little confused tho. what are you doing to your old daily? another ls? i have a friend that did that swap. been trying to talk him out of the vortec heads on his old engine, but no luck so far. nice fab work.

jim

 

[OutlawDrifter]

i missed all the shop build pics but am watching the truck build. little confused tho. what are you doing to your old daily? another ls? i have a friend that did that swap. been trying to talk him out of the vortec heads on his old engine, but no luck so far. nice fab work.

jim

Thanks for following along and for the kind words, Jim! The old daily (1998 K1500 Z71) was fixed and sold, just rebuilt the ****** and sent it down the road to a happy new owner. I didn't need another 4WD vehicle collecting dust, so it was time to release it back into the wild. My 2500HD has been averaging about 1-1.5mpg less, which I can live with. More room(crew vs extended cab), more power, and waaaaayyyyyy better brakes.

Yes SBC Vortec heads are awesome! Cheapest 40hp you'll ever bolt on.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Family vacation time has come and gone. We went East this year, had stops in Bowling Green, KY at the National Corvette Museum and spend some time in Nashville, TN. We ended up getting home a day early, so I put it to good use.

Friday I went salvage yard hopping and came home with a third row seat out of a 2004 Chevy Astro. Pulled the headrests and trimmed 4" off of the mounts and it was ready to be mocked up in the cab. I will weld some 3x3 3/16ths steel to attach it to the floor.

Saturday I cleaned the entire cab out, washed, scrubbed, gauges, cables, wires, and heater/defroster, removed. I also cut out the seat base for the stock seat. Once everything dried down, I set the cab back on the frame, threw the seat in and tried a fender, running board, and the hood to see what it looked like. Great motivation to keep pushing forward. I also hit the exterior with some purple power and a brush...guess what, I found some pretty decent paint underneath all the oxidation.

I hope to have the inner fenders trimmed up and the rest of the front sheet metal hung this week.





Here you can see the difference after a good cleaning. The majority should buff out well and leave a nice patina with the surface rust.

 

[richtersrodz]

I like that stance!!

 

[BUGTHUG]

OH YEAH, looking really cool! defiantly going to be a nice ride.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I like that stance!!

OH YEAH, looking really cool! defiantly going to be a nice ride.

Thanks guys!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Shop time last night went well. I ended up with more accomplished than expected. I was hoping to get the inner fenders trimmed, and ended up getting the inner's trimmed, complete fenders hung, and the core support started for test fitting. Nice to have more of the sheet metal hanging on the GMC...even if I have to pull it all back off again!

Everything is tight in the engine compartment. Looks like I'll have about 3.5" between the water pump and radiator. Need to figure out how I will attach my core support. Not sure if I want to go directly to the frame rails or do a cross member with risers.

 

[rattle_snake]

Enjoying watching the progress on the truck. You do nice work, and the truck is looking good.
You are keeping the 6.0 fuel injected, right?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Enjoying watching the progress on the truck. You do nice work, and the truck is looking good.
You are keeping the 6.0 fuel injected, right?

Thanks for the kind words Justin! I'm trying to take my time on this one, it's going to be the calling card for the shop, so cutting corners is a no-no. It's snowballed into more than I planned, but the finished product will be worth it.
Yes it is staying fuel injected, but I'm dressing it up to look like a gen 1 SBC(similar to what Delmo's Speed Shop does). Aside from the fuel rails the rest of the EFI stuff will be hidden. It will still be DBW also, so it will make the cruise control situation stupid easy.

 

[jbmatth]

That is a sharp looking truck and sets just right! I don't know which way I would go with the core support but whatever would make the maintenance easiest in the future.
JB

 

[OutlawDrifter]

That is a sharp looking truck and sets just right! I don't know which way I would go with the core support but whatever would make the maintenance easiest in the future.
JB

Thanks JB, I'm very pleased with the stance, and am glad I didn't go any lower. Either way maintenance will be similar, just need to decide how much more trimming on the inner fenders I really want to do!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

OK, front sheet metal is mounted. I'll work on the splash pan and bumper at a later date. Fuel tank is arriving today, so I'm going to try and get the tail end wrapped up so I can finalize my bed measurements. Need to get started on the steering column, brake pedal/booster/master, seat brackets, and a transmission tunnel.

I also attached a picture of the "hockey pucks" I'm using for the front sheet metal and the bed. My trim lines in the inner fenders, not the prettiest and not perfectly contoured, but it works. Still have some trimming to do and fine tuning with the grinder.

Once I've got the steering column and brake stuff knocked out on the cab, I'll pull the cab and engine/trans back off the frame. Paint the frame, run the fuel lines, brake lines, and get the engine addressed and painted.

 

[madoc1]

me like!

jim

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Thanks Jim!


Knocked out the tank mount on Saturday, I had full intentions of getting my steering column and brake pedal situation finished up as well, but I ran out of welding gas. I did enlarge the hole in the floor board and played around with some mounting ideas for the column. I have a drop bracket, but may end up just fabricating something instead. I'm pleased with how the tank mount came out, it really added some strength to the rear of the frame. Note, the shot from the rear makes it look cockeyed...it's just how the frame is sitting with only 1 shock on the right rear.

There should be plenty of clearance to run the exhaust straight out the back. Need to get my steering wheel situation knocked out, I'm running a custom cardboard unit right now...haha. I have another parts order ready to go with fuel lines/fittings, brake hoses, dash lights, electric fan, etc.











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[Bib Overalls]

Frame swaps and Camero (et al) subframes are more difficult than they might seem. Getting the front clip secured with a "factory built it that way" look is a challenge.

Gas tank looks nice and is well protected. Trashing the original tank is Job 1 on an old pickup project.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Bib O, I would have to say the sheet metal and cab have been the easiest part of the whole build. S10 frames are very easy to work with...lot's of flat real estate where the cab sits.

Busy weekend at Aces High Speed Shop. When I started pushing the broom to clean up last night, it felt like 2 steps forward and 3 steps back. Francis is blown completely back apart to a bare frame, cab/front sheet metal, and even the engine/trans is out.

The steering column is installed, the brake pedal is hung, booster/master in place, steering shaft cut, fitted, and drilled. I broke the engine down some more in an effort to get it cleaned and painted. Put the indicator lights in the dash, used some existing holes, that will be less to "hide" later. Drilled 3 new holes for the momentary starter switch, and the cruise control switches.

I had bought a floor mount and a steering column drop that were aluminum, didn't like how either of them worked out, so I fab'd my own pieces.

On to the pictures! Don't mind some of the welds, they will be/or have been cleaned up and done proper.

 

[BUGTHUG]

lookin good. I was wondering about the steering rod, is the rubber knuckle joint close to the header? you going to wrap the header with heat wrap material? also about the gas tank, is it removable with the bed on? that's all for now.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

lookin good. I was wondering about the steering rod, is the rubber knuckle joint close to the header? you going to wrap the header with heat wrap material? also about the gas tank, is it removable with the bed on? that's all for now.

The rubber is just covering where the shaft slides/collapses on itself and is a good 4"+ from the manifold. I will not be running a typical pickup box. I'll be building a custom fake wrecker bed that will have access to the tank.

 

[jbmatth]

With the sharp angle on the steering shaft U-joint near the cab is there any concern about jumpy steering feel? I have no experience with it but have used a few u-joints when removing bolts, I'm more curious than anything.
JB

 

[OutlawDrifter]

That's still pretty shallow. These joints are good for 30 degree angles, so it should be ok. If not I'll add a brace with a heim joint.

 

[jbmatth]

Okay, good to hear, I'll eventually be trying to figure out similar on mine and really like how much you are showing and answering my inexperienced questions.
JB

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Okay, good to hear, I'll eventually be trying to figure out similar on mine and really like how much you are showing and answering my inexperienced questions.
JB

No worries, glad to help out! Posted in your thread as well, when you get ready to start on our LS stuff, give me a holler, I'll offer up whatever little info I have retained from my swaps.

 

[jbmatth]

No worries, glad to help out! Posted in your thread as well, when you get ready to start on our LS stuff, give me a holler, I'll offer up whatever little info I have retained from my swaps.

Good to hear and thanks for the offer, I'll let you know what I come up with. We shall see how things go in the near future before taking a 2 month break from things at home.
JB

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Not much progress this weekend. Snuck out to the shop and painted the frame with my oldest son on Saturday morning. Trying to get him excited about something other than video games and youtube videos. Also had a chance to work on my SBC valve covers. I ordered a set like you would find on a mid 70s 350, which means 3 holes; pcv, oil fill, breather. I only need the oil fill and the breather, so I welded the pcv hole shut. Didn't spend a bunch of time doing "body work" afterwards. Slathered on some JB Kwik, sanded it "smooth" and painted that sucker. Also spent some time cleaning up the engine and trans for paint, which hopefully I will knock out this week.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Feeling accomplished today. Last night I jumped the gun a bit and set the engine and trans in. I wanted to tighten up the lower A-arms first...but I forgot, oh well!

I played with the engine angle a little by shimming under the ****** mount, it's close but not exact.

Pulled out a can of satin black and put a coat on the alternator/PS bracket.

Then I moved on to the fuel system. Trimmed and installed the pump module, trimmed and installed the sender, and then I started building fuel lines.

A note for those with the Koul Tools -AN hose tool. It DOES NOT work with the Summit Racing brand fittings. Not a huge deal, especially with the braided nylon hose(also Summit brand), but definitely makes life easier. I've got all the lines ran up to the front, I'll have to wait on my my completed harness to finish up...my tuner has the intake and rails to help route the harness.

 

[zmotorsports]

The rolling chassis is turning out nice.

Great job.

Mike

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Thanks Mike!

 

[BUGTHUG]

How come you ran the gas lines down the driver side instead of the passenger side?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I'm feeding the fuel rail on the driverside rear, engine sets 1.5" to passenger side.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

How about something other than frame and engine pics!

Finally installed the back brakes (calipers/pads/rotors). No pictures of that, you know what they look like.

Started working on the cab. Spent all day Sunday trying to get things done. Finished the seat mount brackets, including paint. I was able to get a "hump" welded in to clear the ****** tail shaft. Just cut out the center, flipped it over, and stepped on it a little to get the "wings" to lay out further. Painted the floor, back wall, inner firewall, and kick panel area with Rust Bullet. That stuff gives off some pretty wild fumes. At this point I started cleaning up the garage and had planned to be done for the day. Then I started removing indicator lights and such from the dash...then I did some taping...and all of sudden I was spraying some paint. Ran out of paint pretty fast, but I like how the color is turning out. It's called "Champagne Mist".

Before I walked out, I screwed in my new AN fittings for the ******.

Pretty productive day.

 

[rixtrix1]

Truck is coming along nicely. Don't worry about any control arm bolts until you get all the weight on the truck, then there won't be any preload on the bushings. I'm interested in how those Speedway upper arms work out, as I'm thinking about a set for my S10 and '66 Malibu. Almost looks like this is going too easy. Can't complain about that!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Thanks Ric, but I hope you knocked on wood after you said that!

In actual shop news, I received a quote for my HVAC, FINALLY. More than I planned, but I decided against the DIY mini-split route and went for a household style heat pump. The guy spec'd out a 3-ton unit for the shop. Weighing the pros and cons right now. If I pull the trigger on this I probably will hold off on the 4-post lift for awhile. Lots to consider, however, I have lived without the lift for this long, right?

Cab interior is painted. 12v wiper motor installed. Steering wheel painted, valve cover decals installed. 50% of the sound deadener is in. Last but not least, the upper seat belt mounts are burned in.

The door panels I purchased were a color called Pearl Beige, I rolled the dice on the color and ended up with tan, haha. I'm going to paint them satin nickel and the trim rings black to offset the rest of the interior. The headliner will be blue...just because. I'm thoroughly elated on how the valve covers turned out, can't wait to get the air cleaner purchased and stickered up.

Have a safe holiday weekend everybody!

 

[BUGTHUG]

Why not buy a ac/heat window unit for about $500.00? I have one I bought on sale, closeout, for around $350.00. It does a pretty decent job. Then you can buy a well needed lift.