Do you also have 1:1 project cars?

[Mattilacken]

36 minutes ago, redscampi said:

Transformation has begun!

Sweet! Looking great!

[restoman]

On 7/8/2025 at 12:14 AM, 89AKurt said:

We have become conditioned to "put an LS in it".  This pickup deserves the original treatment, the original Pontiac engine needs rebuilding, would rather sneak in today's technology there.  But need to see how the Small Block does, and go from there.  Challenge is how to get that engine into the bed, truck has not run for 20 years.  Blue Cloud pulled it out to get washed, his Jeep got it back under the roof.

Got the air compressor for dirt road camping, tires were still holding air!  Blue Cloud has a 350 H.O. crate engine, so I'm set with POWER. 😁  The load of ABC and flagstone had to be over half a ton, no problem.

After it's first bath in decades.  Grey primer are the usual rust areas fixed by a bodyshop decades ago, in trade for a vehicle.  Driver door has a little dent.

I have the AMT '57 Chevy Cameo kit, is there a transkit for doing a GMC?

The GMC is pretty sweet, but I frigging love the Blue Cloud Chevy! My idea of an old pickup.

[Falcon Ranchero]

14 hours ago, redscampi said:

Transformation has begun!

Looks better already 👍

[redscampi]

A little more headway this morning before it gets too hot outside. The new buckets line up fairly well but some tweaking and shimming will be necessary. These old cars have such miserable gap tolerances. Now waiting on some 7" round retaining rings. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 7/8/2025 at 12:14 AM, 89AKurt said:

I have the AMT '57 Chevy Cameo kit, is there a transkit for doing a GMC?

Yes, but I can't recall where I saw it.

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 7/8/2025 at 12:14 AM, 89AKurt said:

We have become conditioned to "put an LS in it".  This pickup deserves the original treatment, the original Pontiac engine needs rebuilding, would rather sneak in today's technology there.  But need to see how the Small Block does, and go from there. 

'Twere me, I'd rebuild the engine that came in it...but I have the equipment and skills to do it.

LS swaps aren't particularly difficult, but remember a junkyard pullout will need the complete wiring harness and computer as well, and don't forget the throttle pedal assembly if it's drive-by-wire.

If you go junkyard LS, save yourself some grief by buying a standalone harness and a reflashed computer, or you'll inevitably have a ton of dangling wires that do nothing and most likely a lot of operational bugs to boot.

You will also need a new fuel tank most likely, or one modded to accept an in-tank EFI-compatible pump, and all the lines.

Last LS swap I did was an LS1 from a Corvette with a slushbox into a '47 Caddy convertible. Made a nice car, a whole lot faster and lighter that what was OEM.

As mentioned above, most everything for a relatively painless LS swap is probably available aftermarket...but remember too that most of that stuff never works and fits right out of the box...like your diff cover.

On the other hand, what would be really cool is a 3X2-equipped 389 "GTO" engine in there, since it's already Poncho.

GMCs also had Olds engines...

Edited July 9 by Ace-Garageguy

[89AKurt]

Thanks for the input!  I've (at the moment) decided to stay original, the '68 is my hot rod.  Looked at the engine in the back 40, literally against the National Forest.  I could see doing tube headers and twice pipes, but that's it.


I understand it would cost more to rebuild than a "normal" 350.

Owner signing the Title.

It was a pain to read the odometer.  He owned it 23 years, drove only 376 miles!  I assume it turned over at least once.   Oh look a screw is missing.

[89AKurt]

8 hours ago, restoman said:

The GMC is pretty sweet, but I frigging love the Blue Cloud Chevy! My idea of an old pickup.

Thank you!  It's not a garage queen, been hauling 1,300 pounds no problem.

[89AKurt]

Now I'm legal.
 

[89AKurt]

Now it's official, I have a hoarding problem.  😅   First thing was pulling the original Pontiac engine out of the back yard.

Tow truck driver is a member of the Prescott Antique Auto Club too, met an engine rebuilder here, while he transferred the engine from the deck to the pickup.

Yard art until it's running.  The '68 can park out back.

Every vehicle I ever got, learned so much right away *after* getting it.  In this case, I just like the hood ornament to begin with, I'm going to make exhaust for the cruises.  One key looks like a vintage coin, and I learned these trucks did not have a lock on the driver's door, so you wouldn't be blocking traffic unlocking it, slide across the bench seat.  You think the price of models on eBay is stupid, look at what one of these is hoping for.

This was in a box of extra parts, some from another truck.  Clamps onto the steering column, runs off vacuum.

There is a Phillips 66 tire on one of the 6 wheels, and 2 ice scrapers from a station in Prescott, changed ownership decades ago.  It's also fun to see how pickup basic design has evolved, this series has indoor running boards, something the model kit does not convey at all.  Now that I'm looking, the molded in armrest is giving me an OCD attack, put it away.....

[Russell C]

59 minutes ago, 89AKurt said:

..... think the price of models on eBay is stupid, look at what one of these is hoping for. ....

If I was to shell out the cash to get one of the buy-it-nows off eBay to put on my 39 year-old daily driver VW, I could potentially double my car's value ......🤣

[Ace-Garageguy]

Taking a day off from cars for a hike...though I might do a little touchup on the black trim on the Blazer later.

Tomorrow I'll start serious cleaning of the '05 Neon head, which I got torn down and checked for several things on the 4th.

The valves and guides are pretty good and it's flat enough, so after everything is sterile, it's time to hand-lap the valves, then another very thorough cleaning to get rid of the lapping compound.

Even though the cam is a roller, there is a little visible wear on the surface hardening of one lobe, so I'm on the fence as to what to do there.

I'm thinking maybe a mild cam, but the cheap part of me is leaning towards just running it, with a little extra ZDDP, until a few other things in my life stabilize.

She ought to be good for at least another 50,000 miles after the head and cam belt and water pump and front seal are done, either way.

If she was a 5-speed car, I'd definitely do a cam and headers at this point, but under the circumstances, probably not, as she may need to find a new home after I get either the drop-top Celica or the white XJ-6 or the PT back on the road.

Long term plan for the PT if I live long enough...

Edited Saturday at 03:29 PM by Ace-Garageguy

[espo]

Don't recall ever seeing a PT/Pickup before, like it a lot. Depending on the cost of a new cam, weather OEM or something better, wouldn't it be worthwhile to replace it since the engine is already apart than maybe had to do it all over again if or when the cam lobe goes flat?  Been my limited experience that once the hard surface is gone on a cam they can det

4 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Taking a day off from cars for a hike...though I might do a little touchup on the black trim on the Blazer later.

Tomorrow I'll start serious cleaning of the '05 Neon head, which I got torn down and checked for several things on the 4th.

The valves and guides are pretty good and it's flat enough, so after everything is sterile, it's time to hand-lap the valves, then another very thorough cleaning to get rid of the lapping compound.

Even though the cam is a roller, there is a little visible wear on the surface hardening of one lobe, so I'm on the fence as to what to do there.

I'm thinking maybe a mild cam, but the cheap part of me is leaning towards just running it, with a little extra ZDDP, until a few other things in my life stabilize.

She ought to be good for at least another 50,000 miles after the head and cam belt and water pump and front seal are done, either way.

If she was a 5-speed car, I'd definitely do a cam and headers at this point, but under the circumstances, probably not, as she may need to find a new home after I get either the drop-top Celica or the white XJ-6 or the PT back on the road.

Long term plan for the PT if I live long enough...

eriorate rapidly. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, espo said:

Don't recall ever seeing a PT/Pickup before, like it a lot. Depending on the cost of a new cam, weather OEM or something better, wouldn't it be worthwhile to replace it since the engine is already apart than maybe had to do it all over again if or when the cam lobe goes flat?  Been my limited experience that once the hard surface is gone on a cam they can deteriorate rapidly. 

If it wasn't a roller cam I'd be more concerned. I can't feel any texture on the cam lobe nose, but there's a slightly different color on it than the rest of the lobes.

That's why I'm thinking roll-the-dice and load her up with ZDDP. Roller cams are much easier on cam lobes than flat tappets.

ALSO...the head that's coming off is definitely in better shape than the junkyard head that's going on, and I'm thinking if A) I can find a manual gearbox to swap in later, that would be the time to build the original head and do a cam and headers (I already have a set of 40mm sidedraft Webers and a design for an intake manifold and cold-air box, which ought to get little car up to around 175 HP...enough to be entertaining), or B} if. I can find an SRT-4 or a B16 or B18 Honda to swap in, there's no point wasting effort on the little 2-liter.

I don't have any idea what the potential is for the 2.0 SOHC, but I've seen folks say 150HP is easily attainable. The last Neons weigh right at 2600 pounds, the SRT-4 makes about 230HP, so if I could get around 200 out of the 2 liter and get it to stay together, I could probably get enough weight out of it to match an SRT-4's performance.

Of course, Honda B16 and B18 engines will make a LOT more than that and stay together...but they can be spendy.

Edited Saturday at 08:46 PM by Ace-Garageguy

[Falcon Ranchero]

Got the Highway Star more chromed up; if you've noticed there's a somewhat dissapointing lack of chrome on the car, other than the window trim, door handles and side mirror. Got the wheel opening trim all put on; my dad having done the front ones earlier in the week while I was away. But we tackled the rear ones this morning. What a pain. It was tricky because at somepoint during the bodywork, all the holes for the trim on the rear openings were covered up. Some of the holes on the front were there, and some were covered up also. But what made doing the rear ones even worse was that the screws that came with the trim set were actual garbage; very easily stripped. Mind you they are designed for the holes that are already there, not ones you drill yourself, but we ended up using stronger screws that also had a self tapping end, which made a night and day difference. From what I heard, the front ones went on pretty well with just the screws they came with, but again, most of the holes were already there on the front.

What we did was kinda trying to set the trim in place, and drill the holes in the body through the holes in the trim. Had to take the wheels off to get the drill in there.

Looks pretty good. Used all but one of the screws it came with on this side. The other side didn't like any of the screws it came with so we used those self-tapping ones.

This side was the most tricky for some reason. Gotta watch you don't scratch the paint with the trim piece. You can see it got pretty scraped on the lower front side. We got two screws in and decided to break for lunch.

Finished with the better screws.

And bonus, yesterday afternoon, in the garage while it was raining, I put strips of chrome vinyl in the grille to brighten that up, make it look more stock. Stretched the vinyl a bit too much going up that curve that leads out to the beak, but if you take a hairdryer and blow the area with intense heat while rubbing the sticker in, it melts and comforms to the shape better. They should stay on pretty good now.

[89AKurt]

On 7/11/2025 at 10:44 PM, Russell C said:

If I was to shell out the cash to get one of the buy-it-nows off eBay to put on my 39 year-old daily driver VW, I could potentially double my car's value ......🤣

Oh geez, look folks, you think that unopened Holy Grail kit is expensive? 😳  I think those sellers have the same higher-than-a-kite expectations.  I watched a video posted 7 years ago, of a guy who was thrilled to win a bid for one of these at over $300.  Side track, would something like that be a cool model rocket?

I will attempt to relate some things to model building, because the thought process is about the same (which means the plans of mice and men....) in some cases.
First off, polishing chrome, full scale Bare-Metal foil.  These headlight trim rings are amazing, not a straight line to speak of, diecast metal is thick!  That turn signal lens is almost broke in half, managed to get back on without breaking.

I spent hours since it was delivered, polishing the glass and chrome and stainless steel trim.  First "barn find" for me, I was surprised that no class cleaner would touch it, used the same 3M polishing compound intended for paint buffing to get a 🥁 glassy finish, then the glass cleaner.  Masked the center of the windshield to see the difference.  Novus polishing model window parts.  Leaving the mirror alone, reduced glare.

I have not done some chrome parts yet, can you tell which ones?  I have 6 wheels, taking 3 to Discount Tire just up the highway (first parts of this truck to attend cruises).  Will switch out and have a complete set of correct wheels.  This is the first big step to commit doing a Survivor relic, resist modernizing everything (which happens to save 💸), the exception of installing new radial tires is one.  What WIP on the bench does not have missing wheels?

Testing out some spots on the interior paint.  There is a new gas tank.  Welded striker plate.  Look, another common theme, need to get a parts catalog.  I love the color.

The spotlight is too cool, even though it's dead.  The lens is also the bulb, it's broken.  Wires were cut long ago.  Found some rust.  Maybe I could scratch-build an LED light into that?

There are 3 holes in the roof for the bubblegum machine.  Bummer they drilled through that headliner.  The rubber on the perimeter is dry rotted bad, so that is off limits.  There are two sets of visors, mounts are different.  The driver side is another color.  So this is the first Dorky Cheapskate Engineering modification, used a scavenged ceiling fan blade.  Table saw cut it parallel then cross cut to length.  Eased the edges, this is where I will use sandpaper like on a model.   Drilled holes into the metal with the visor clamped in place, did the first, put in the bolt, then went from there.  Polished the paint in that corner.  I need to find out if that is a WRC roof vent knockout.

The engine was pulled out of the back 40, then lifted into the bed.  I need to rebuild it, but will see if the existing engine will run.  I got a sheet of plywood, cut to fit on the bed, cut out a hole for the engine, got a tarp just in time.  Now to ponder the Pontiac......

Is that a decal?   Would it look too stupid to save the patina on the valve covers, and install on a new looking engine? 😏