The Plan

His point of view

Finally! After having ownership of the truck for 6 years and staring at it and looking at other projects and playing the 'What if' game. I have finally gathered up the guts to start the project.

'THE VISION'
Here is a brief glimpse at my vision. Its brief because I haven't exactly worked through everything just yet, there will be plenty of time for that. Reliability and fun is the name of the game. I would like it to be a daily driver that puts a smile on my face when I put my foot into it a little bit. I'm going for that old school sport truck look. Wide tires, slightly lowered stance, simple paint scheme (color yet to be determined, I'm thinking candy red or green) with the appropriate touches of chrome. The interior will exude simplistic comfort'ability (there's your bush'ism for the day). Keep the AC, the audio will be brought up to standards, ditch the vinyl floor for some carpet, keep the bench seat (but it will be recovered), introduce some power windows and custom door panels, new head liner. The biggest project for the interior will be to redo the dash. I hate the dash that is there now, I would love to find something reminiscent of some of the earlier models. Again, color is in the air (gray or tan) The suspension will be slightly lowered and upgraded with the appropriate pieces, maybe air bags? I'm still thinking about that. There won't be too much change to the drive train. The 351-m will stay but it will be refreshed and stroked out to a 400, a mildly aggressive cam, new carburetor (Holly 650?), I'm still looking at options for the heads (I have plenty of time), I think I definitely want to implement a full roller set up. The transmission will be rebuilt and the only change to the rear-end is the addition of a limited slip differential. Aside from the details that should just about do it.
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"What about me....."
Some of you may be wondering what my experience level is. That's easy........I have none. I take care of all the normal maintenance for our vehicles (oil, filter, brakes, belts, etc...) but I have zero engine rebuild experience and even LESS auto body experience. I'm approaching this as a learning opportunity. I love to tinker and get my hands dirty. And this is just one REALLY BIG toy to tinker with. I have limited space and money (who doesn't) so I expect this to take a while (I'm not exactly sure how long, don't tell my wife).

I'm I in over my head? maybe.........probably...........absolutely! But I'm OK with that.