|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Nov 17, 2018 9:23:42 GMT -7
I picked this one up a couple of months ago while I was working on the El Camino. This is not only a Holy Grail build for me but also would be a Holy Grail 1:1 vehicle for me. If I could ever get my hands on one for the right price...….  . To be very honest about it, these were not fast trucks from the factory. I think the horsepower rating was right about 225 hp and in 1990 it had a TH400 transmission behind it with 3:73 gears. The transmission being only 3 speed automatic made things difficult in an everyday driver due to the 3:73 gears. I guess GM wanted to captivate a middle age audience with the 454 and the nostalgia of the Turbo 400 automatic. In any case in 1991 they got smart and stuck a 4 speed overdrive transmission behind it to help the driveablity out some. In any case they produced on heckuva good looking vehicle and opened the gate for a slew of fast trucks to follow..... and they are HIGHLY sought after now.
Anyways, Here's the kit:
and for the fun of it...an original advertisement.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deano on Nov 17, 2018 12:20:33 GMT -7
Popcorn%20and%20drink%20emoticon_zpsnbkzs8ys
|
|
|
|
Post by RetroSpectKustoms on Nov 18, 2018 16:50:58 GMT -7
Great looking truck, should build a nice model.
|
|
|
|
Post by stitchdup on Nov 18, 2018 21:19:10 GMT -7
So whats the plan Joe?
|
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Nov 19, 2018 15:06:58 GMT -7
Thanks guys.
Les: I think I'm going for the stock look on this one. I might add some wheels and tires at most but it all depends on which ones I find.
|
|
|
|
Post by leon on Nov 19, 2018 15:44:19 GMT -7
Nice one Joe! Always liked these sporty Chevy Trucks!
|
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Nov 20, 2018 13:08:57 GMT -7
Nice one Joe! Always liked these sporty Chevy Trucks! Thanks Leon! |
|
|
|
Post by vcv8273 on Nov 20, 2018 23:40:15 GMT -7
Sweet Joe maybe a stock build but I can only imagine all the little details you will give it
|
|
BUCKY
Full Member
Let the Building Begin!!! imperialbucky@aol.com
Posts: 111
|
Post by BUCKY on Nov 20, 2018 23:56:42 GMT -7
I built one of these years ago. Went together very well. AMT's Chevy pickups are good kits.
|
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Nov 21, 2018 8:14:26 GMT -7
Thanks fellas! I'm really lookin' forward to this one. One of the improvements I'll be doing is to get rid of those nasty tires and go with some better looking replacements for them.
|
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Dec 7, 2018 4:16:06 GMT -7
This kit has a pretty decent engine with lots of parts. The chrome parts all got stripped to include the rocker covers but other than that it's a pretty complete and detailed engine.
And here we are with the assembled base engine and transmission. Believe it or not....this IS some big time progress for me. I spend a lot of time in research and trying to get the details and colors down.
|
|
|
|
Post by vcv8273 on Dec 7, 2018 7:26:54 GMT -7
Engine looking sweet Joe
|
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Dec 7, 2018 17:38:35 GMT -7
Thanks STEVE! I just hope the rest of the engine build goes as smooth as the start of it did. Lol |
|
|
|
Post by leon on Dec 7, 2018 18:24:07 GMT -7
Nice start Joe!
|
|
|
|
Post by 406 Silverado on Dec 7, 2018 19:38:54 GMT -7
It is looking good. I have a few of these in my stash and hadn’t paid attention to the engine. Now I will.
|
|
|
|
Post by sharp on Dec 7, 2018 20:55:12 GMT -7
Great job on the engine Joe!
|
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Dec 8, 2018 21:53:43 GMT -7
Thanks a bunch there Leon, Joel and Mike!
Joel: I was surprised at how many parts were in the make up of that engine as well.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deano on Dec 8, 2018 23:29:52 GMT -7
Nicely done two-thumbs-up-smiley-emoticon
|
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Dec 29, 2018 10:45:49 GMT -7
Ok folks, I'm still alive and well. A couple of more weeks to go and we'll have this whole pig thing behind us and I can get back to having a life again. I have tinkered and have managed to finish the engine off. After installing the ignition wires I put a little droop in them just behind the cylinder heads as they needed a natural "lay" After test fitting the air cleaner I found that it sat waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too high so I shaved some off of the bottom of the air cleaner and installed at the proper height. I also added an ignition coil and some fuel delivery lines. I was going to add some throttle linkage but everything I had was incorrect and it's much to intricate of detail to scratch build and get to look right so I left that part alone. There'll be an intake duct attaching at the air cleaner inlet and mounting on passengers side inner fenderwell later after the engine gets installed into the truck. Finished 454:   |
|
|
|
Post by vcv8273 on Dec 30, 2018 4:02:49 GMT -7
Motor looks sweet Joe
|
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Dec 30, 2018 7:24:13 GMT -7
Thanks Steve. Just wished I could've fabbed up a convincing throttle linkage but it's not the typical pivot and rod type.
Having acquired this kit on Ebay, it was missing one of the front molded coil springs. After looking at the one remaining spring and noting how horrible it looked, I thought it best to up the ante a little bit and make it a little bit more realistic looking. I opted for a set of steel coils that I had in the parts bin. Other than that it has been a rather labor intense seam and injector pin mark clean up. I shot almost all of the chassis parts in a coat of semi gloss black lacquer followed up by a thin shot of semi gloss acrylic paint which resulted in a more life like color to me.
and for all of you who are curious....this will be my only modification to this build. I have too much love for this truck in stock form to do anything else to it. Still have some clean up left on the rear tires to get totally rid of the raised white lettering and then matching both sets of tires up color wise but here's what we're going with.
|
|
|
|
Post by leon on Dec 30, 2018 7:34:13 GMT -7
Looking good Joe! I like the tires and wheels your using.
|
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Dec 30, 2018 7:38:22 GMT -7
Looking good Joe! I like the tires and wheels your using. Thanks Leon. Although I do like the stock wheels I did NOT like the OOB tires. I also wanted to give it more of a personalized look.  |
|
|
|
Post by 406 Silverado on Dec 30, 2018 9:48:04 GMT -7
Looking good Joe. Good to know about the engine height. I’ll have to keep that in mind.
|
|
|
|
Post by DeeCee on Dec 30, 2018 15:18:15 GMT -7
Another beast in the making mate... Popcorn%20and%20drink%20emoticon_zpsnbkzs8ys
|
|
|
|
Post by vcv8273 on Dec 30, 2018 23:01:00 GMT -7
Liking where this one is going and very nice choice on rim and tire change Joe
|
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Dec 31, 2018 10:49:19 GMT -7
Looking good Joe. Good to know about the engine height. I’ll have to keep that in mind. Thanks Joel! It's just the height of the air cleaner on the engine that I had to correct. Of course you know.....I'll have to adjust the air cleaner intake duct mounting on the passengers side fender to match..... icon_bored_zpscodtnzo5 |
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Dec 31, 2018 10:50:45 GMT -7
Thanks Dale and Steve. I know it's not a true classic job but I've always had a soft spot for this truck.
|
|
|
|
Post by stitchdup on Jan 1, 2019 17:25:01 GMT -7
The only mod maybe but its a big one with those rear tyres unless you have a lot of room there.
|
|
|
|
Post by mustang1989 on Jan 1, 2019 19:24:20 GMT -7
The only mod maybe but its a big one with those rear tyres unless you have a lot of room there. Lol. There's enough under there to tuck those bad boys in properly there Les. Believe it or not they aren't as wide as they may seem. They're more of a street tire like a BFG. |
|
