Picked this up back in June and have slowly been picking away at things. Coming this winter:
Holley Sniper EFI w/ Hyperspark master kit (master kit currently on backorder) Dakota Digital dash w/ add-ons (18 week backorder) New front suspension - upper/lower control arms, coilovers, spindles, and either blazer or c5 brakes New bench seat Fixing all of the rubber gaskets around windows/doors
TBD: Wheel/tire combo - dislike what's on there
Currently in the truck: 383 Stroker built by RPM engines in Georgia, VT Built TH350 transmission Currie 9" rear end Vintage Air S10 xtreme frame power steering Griffin radiator lots and lots more parts
Welcome to Stovebolt! Your '1942 resto-rod in progress' will be of great interest to our forum participants. I'm really looking forward to watching your project move forward.
Here's an interesting little detail item I did recently that I think adds a nice touch to the truck. I needed a new set of tailgate chains desperately as my last ones were going to give someone tetanus. Believe me, I like the rust and patina on this truck, but these chains were next level. I found a nice set of stainless chains but they were going to be too shiny. I hit them with some acid and dull them just a bit however still had the issue of "too new" for the truck. Looking at the traditional rubber chain covers in black and clear again seemed too modern for me. Poking around eBay I found someone selling cut pieces of old firehose for covers for $15. Got a pair and decided I was going to age them a bit. I left them in a bath of tea bags for a day to color and them and this was the product. Very happy with the outcome and as they age I'm sure they will lay flatter.
Love the door graphics. Are you on the north shore? I think I’ve seen this truck before, maybe at Fudruckers?
Yes, that's me!
Originally Posted by DonBolt
Love the fire hose idea. I bought some tubing made for chain covers and they were so inflexible and awkward, I took them off and trashed them.
Got these off eBay. Just search for firehose tailgate chain. There's only one guy with them. Item #162643160166.
NOTE: They were very "white" when I received them. Did not fit the look of the truck. I cracked open 4 tea bags in hot water and left them soaking in there for a day to give them the dirty look. Worked great.
There's alot of stuff in the works right now. Truck is currently having a full Holley Sniper EFI kit installed, Hyperspark ignition, new Dakota Digital gauge cluster, new GPS speedo, and much more installed. Down in the basement I've been stocking up parts for a 99-00 2WD Chevy Blazer disc brake conversion, full UMI tubular front suspension with coilovers, as well as I'm working on collecting parts to redo the interior this winter.
Haven't posted an update in a while. Lots going on with the resto-rod. The work on the fuel injection continues but ran into some major hang ups. The previous owner who had the engine built with square port heads decided to use a round port header which resulted in all 8 cylinders having a significant exhaust leak. 4 sets off off the shelf square port headers did not correctly so Sanderson is currently making a custom set for the truck. While we had the wheels off, we noticed that there we not one, not two, but THREE wheel spacers stacked up. None of them were hubcentric, all lugcentric. An absolute disaster waiting to happen. At this point in time I've ordered UMI upper and lower tubular control arms, UMI sway bar, and Viking coilovers with 550 lb springs. In addition to those suspension upgrades, we are removing the 2" eBay s10 drop spindles and installing OEM 2wd blazer spindles which will let me run OEM sealed wheel hubs with 2 piston blazer calipers instead of the 1 piston s10. Last item, the power and ground wires the previous owner used a 4 gauge amplifier wiring kit to wire the truck and stripped all the wire back too far and used no heat shrink so all of the wire is corroded. It's all being replaced by 1/0 welding wire.
Yes, this is very much non-original build and a total resto-rod, but it's going to my and my son's little go-kart for the summer months. Looking forward to Spring.
The project continues... All of the UMI suspension and Viking Coilovers are installed. The s10 to Blazer brake conversion is complete taking me from a single piston with spindle to dual piston with sealed hub. Rewired the power and grounds with 1/0 welding wire. Custom Sanderson headers just arrive so we'll be wrapping the EFI project soon.
Truck came back this weekend after close to 5 months in the shop working off and on. I learned an incredible amount about this truck along with all countless things that the previous owner did incorrectly. Issue after issue after issue we believe we surfaced them all and corrected them. When I have some time I will write down everything that was taken apart and replaced, as well as upgrades and other modifications we did. For now, enjoy the photos.
Completed the install of the Holley Sniper EFI kit Completed the install of the Dakota Digital gauge cluster (what an effort this was) Completed the install of the entire new front suspension with UMI control arms, UMI sway bar Viking coilovers, 2wd blazer big brake conversion, all new hard lines, etc. Completely rewired the truck with new 0 awg welding cable for power and ground, new fuses, relays, and proper cable wrapping Completely revamped the exhaust over with custom Sanderson headers (no off the shelf would fit) and full new stainless exhaust with the cutouts plumbed to the sides and mufflers to the rear (what a difference!)
Last edited by Phak1; 10/08/20241:58 PM. Reason: Typo
