Hi All,
Here's a new project I picked up back in June. Truck is a 1942 Chevy body with not much else 1942 left in it. It was put together with many higher end parts but I've quickly found that much of the build quality itself is questionable at best. Here's the list of what's in it as I've figured out:
- 383 Stroker built by RPM Engines (Georga, VT)
- B&M Quickshift TH350 Transmission (currently blown and being rebuilt)
- VintageAir A/C (PO never finished install, we finished and blows popsicles)
- 9" Ford Currie Rear End
- Chevy S10 Xtreme Frame
- Griffin Radiator
What we thought was a high stall torque converter when we took it out for a test ride and to load it ended up being a slipping transmission after it decided to detonate on us on the 2nd ride once it made it home. Turns out the TC was only 2000rpm and should have been 2600rpm from the engine builder. Also turns out the TC was a cheapo Jeg's that had no business being in the truck. Transmission has been fully rebuilt (better) by a local transmission shop. While I had the driveshaft out I dropped it at a driveshaft shop only to be told the yoke was welded crooked which resulted in the shaft being 0.030" out of alignment which is 6x acceptable tolerance according to the shop. Probably contributed to the detonation of the transmission but who knows. Not my area of exerptise. Anyway, the shop cut the yoke and rewelded both sides and also balanced the driveshaft. Additionally, that cheap Jeg's TC found it's way to the trash and is being replaced with an FTI 2600rpm TC.
Moving on, the gauge cluster doesn't work for anything. Needles jump all over the place and none of it is trustworthy. I've ordered a complete Dakota Digital replacement dash for it. While I'm doing that I'm also installing a temp sensor in the transmission pan, a gear shifter display kit to go with the Lokar floor shifter, and the GPS speedo kit.
Moving on from that, I figured since the truck is going to be in the shop for a bit, I'm taking off the Holley carb and installing a Holley Sniper EFI kit with Hyperspark. While investigating this, we discovered that the exhaust manifold has a leak so we're sorting that out too. To complete this picture we ordered the Dakota Digital kit that integrates the Holley Sniper into the DD dash.
I have $10's of thousands of dollars in receipts for parts and labor that were used to build the truck from the previous owner, but it's clear the attention to QC was not there. I love the truck though and look forward to getting all this stuff fixed up, putting a new interior in it and enjoying the heck out of it with my family. Even with the slipping transmission it was a rocket ship.
I'm sure there will be more craziness we discover as time goes, but that's the fun of owning a restomod, or ratrod, or just someone else's problem?
In for the ride...see you around.
