Thread: My Little Red Muscle Truck

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Glad everyone is on board.

Roger, I ran in to that with the Healey, but I liked the look of the 15's enough to stick with them. That is, until the current set has to be replaced. I might switch to 17's then, since that seems to be the new 15. I'm currently shopping for some 17's that I like for the truck. If I have to buy a new set anyhow, I might as well move up.

Mike, I plan on keeping the stance, but it is sitting a little lower than normal in the rear because it has become a storage bin. I think 2.5-3 in the front and 4 in the rear is just about perfect for practical use.

T-top, yep, this post kicks off a build thread.

OK, get ready for another novel length post since I have a lot to cover, so here we go.

What are my plans and goals, keeping in mind that they ARE subject to change without notice?

My main goal is to build a practical hot rod. One that can be used and easily maintained. If you get right down to it, most hot rods are really toys, much like a motorcycle. Something cool and fun to drive on special occasions, car shows or when the weather is good. I want a hot rod I can use all the time, not exactly a daily driver, but close and certainly usable for that if needed. I don’t want to build a perfect truck; I want a practical driver. Nice, but not too nice. Oh, I want to be able to tow my motorcycle trailer easily, too. And I want to get some use out of it quicker than 8 years since I would be 73 then and at my age, a lot can happen in 8 years.

As to plans, I am going to tackle this in stages, but it’s entirely probable that some of the stages could overlap. Stage one is to get the truck running, driving, and stopping safely. Drive it for a while and evaluate what it needs in the way of repairs, if any. Probably will need something.

This stage will obviously have to include a new engine, and this is where my best laid plans have already gone astray. My original plan was to use up some of the good SBC stuff I have laying around and build a cheap small block to throw in it. Here is where I came up against a couple of harsh realities due to some of my future plans. The good assembled short block I have isn’t a roller cam block and, needed or not, I wanted a roller cam. This added significantly to the cost of the build even using the fresh ZZ4 aluminum heads I have. My estimate for the stuff I need has so far added up to approximately $1500 and I’ve probably missed something, with the cam and retrofit lifters being the most of that. All this would have given me a ZZ4ish clone engine that should have been around 350 HP which is certainly enough for what I want to do.

The second issue is the transmission. It’s mileage is unknown and it is an early 80’s 700, so it’s probably one of the weakest of all the 700’s. It is most likely fine behind the 305, but with the power of the new engine and what I will surely be doing with my heavy right foot, I doubt it will be long for this world. I want to keep some kind of automatic overdrive so that narrows any heavy-duty upgrade options. I could buy a “built” 700 from one of the well-known transmission companies, but they go for anywhere between $2500 to over $4000! That’s because to get them to hold up, apparently you have to throw away most of the internals and replace them with heavy aftermarket parts. I don’t particularly like this option.

I think the most sensible option is to go with a 4L80E because it is designed to hold up to heavy duty towing use and can even tow in OD. Heavier gearsets and larger clutches come standard. It’s said to be as strong as the old TH400, but with overdrive. The fly in the ointment is that it needs a stand-alone controller for carb use since it is normally controlled by the LS engine’s ECU. The controllers go for an average of about a grand for a good one. A good takeout 4L80 goes for $800 to $1200 around here, so we are looking at $2000+ to do one in my truck.

So now my “cheap” SBC is up to $3500+. As much as I hate to say it, these numbers are making an LS swap look like smarter money. I really was hoping to keep it small block, but when you also throw in the fact that I eventually wanted to go with some kind of EFI, it just doesn’t make financial sense. After building the small block and adding in the upgrades I want I could be looking at almost $5000 with EFI. Now, I could save some by hunting down a used trans controller and EFI unit, but I feel that would be buying someone else’s problems.

If I go with a mostly stockish LS and 4L80 as a takeout combo and break down on the road, I should be able to get any part I need from any parts store. That is appealing to me and aligns with the “easy to maintain” thing. It pains me to say that parts for the “old” Ford and Chevy engines are drying up and not nearly as common as they were. The GM ECU will have to be neutered as to disabling the anti-theft and after CAT O2 sensors. It will also have to be reprogramed for the new rear gear ratio and tire size. Lot’s of mail order places to do that now. I have the info needed to modify the stock engine harness into a standalone setup. It’ll just take a little time. The LS swap will also need some motor mounts and rear crossmember. I’m still looking at those. I could build them, but there are many, many parts already available. Hard to justify all the time for the engineering and fabrication when they are already available.

I’ll also pull the gas tank and most likely swap it for a Suburban 25-gallon unit with an internal fuel pump. The tank we built was just plain uncoated steel and I imagine it is full of rust by now. The 87 – 91 Suburbans were TBI and had internally baffled tanks as well as the sending units are made for an EFI pump.

Stage 1 will include a rearend change, too. I will be ditching the existing 10 bolt GM rear for a Ford 9” just because I have most of the stuff to build a nice setup pretty close to the right width. This will add a Tru-Trac (sp?) diff, 3.70 gears, disc brakes and 31 spline axles with Timken roller outer bearings. This should be strong enough to hold up to towing, hauling and my right foot.

Stage 2 will start with making the interior a nicer place to be. A better seat with some lumbar support, power windows because my back doesn’t like stretching across to roll the windows, nice sound system, get the AC/heat working and add a functional cruise control. I may also replace the instrument cluster with one of the nice analog aftermarket units that are available now. They really look good.

Stage 2 will also include a few body repairs and mods. The badly dented tailgate will be replaced, along with the passenger door. If I can find a good pair of power window doors, both will get replaced. The full width billet grille is going away, too. It looks good, but I don’t like several things about it. It blocks the headlights and makes bulb replacements a real job because the entire grille has to come out. It also could get you hassled by the right Barney Fife cop for blocked headlights. I will be replacing it with the setup from an 89 GMC Suburban with a billet grille. This gets me a later, updated look with 4 smaller headlights. Why GMC? Because they had a better-looking setup than the Chevies. No GMC badges will be seen.

This is what it should look like.



Stage 2 makes the truck completely usable for pretty much anything I want to do while stage 3 makes it prettier. This is where the body gets straightened and painted. Not a show paint job, just something that looks nice. It will stay GM Torch Red or thereabouts since the firewall, door jambs and interior are that color. I’m thinking of doing this paint job myself. I painted it the first time so I should be able to do it again. The main problem is that there are 2 coats of paint on it now, so some of it will have to come off.

Stage 4? Well, that’s a long way off most likely, but anything goes there and no real definite plans.

So that’s the beginning. I’m looking forward to this build and feel like I’m getting back to my roots so to speak. My friends and I were into “muscle trucks” long before Freiburger and Finnegan coined that term on Roadkill. We just didn’t call them that, but the concept was the same. For us, they were just hot-rodded trucks and, in my opinion, they might not be the fastest, but are the most practical hot rod you can own. This may very well be my last big car project (or maybe not) and I plan on enjoying it.