Avenger1647545502 Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 You found this on West Broad? Was it owned by a short stubby fireplug guy named Ricky? He used to deliver for some pizza place on the Hilltop, that truck is missing the tonneau because a 300+ lbs tranny hooker decided to trampoline it Wrestlemania-style while he was stopped at Central one night... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 You found this on West Broad? Was it owned by a short stubby fireplug guy named Ricky? He used to deliver for some pizza place on the Hilltop, that truck is missing the tonneau because a 300+ lbs tranny hooker decided to trampoline it Wrestlemania-style while he was stopped at Central one night... LOL awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted April 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2018 Got sick of the exhaust sounding like shit, with leaks and flopping around.. so I ripped it out and put in the heartthrob kit I bought for use with the ls.... Took about an hour to install, with welding up a new "test pipe" and painting the pipes. Sounds OK.... For a gutless 4.3, will sound a lot better with the 5.3 and stainless works longtubes. The muffler is in with band clamps and the tailpipe will get welded once the 5.3 is in. You found this on West Broad? Was it owned by a short stubby fireplug guy named Ricky? He used to deliver for some pizza place on the Hilltop, that truck is missing the tonneau because a 300+ lbs tranny hooker decided to trampoline it Wrestlemania-style while he was stopped at Central one night... Dont recall the PO name. But may have been his son? Got it from an older dude, maybe late 40s early 50s... Had a daughter that looked older than me.... But that's just fucking dandy :dumb: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avenger1647545502 Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 Dont recall the PO name. But may have been his son? Got it from an older dude, maybe late 40s early 50s... Had a daughter that looked older than me.... But that's just fucking dandy :dumb: Could have been Ricky's dad, age range is about right. He took good care of it from what I saw. This was 5 or 6 years ago. It stuck in my mind because there were 4 GTs delivering pizza in the area at the time. That one on the Hilltop, a black one at the Donatos on Norton, another black one at Josie's, and a repainted orange one for Papa Johns. What are the odds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted April 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 It stuck in my mind because there were 4 GTs delivering pizza in the area at the time. Thats pretty crazy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted April 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2018 Got the engine painted over the weekend. personally I think it's gonna look dope in the truck, the "cast iron" paint I used is about 1 shade off from the Argent secondary color on the truck so...unintentional cordinatin. Also started work on the harness and have it ready to be rewrapped and add a few new plugs. Yesterday after work I finally decided to install the HD2 shift kit that has been sitting in my garage for about 4 years.. only did the valve body/servo parts and a new trans-go separator plate since the check ball was jammed in the the factory one. Planning to start ripping the truck apart this coming weekend if the weather stays nice..so if all goes as planned with paint and everything, should be "done" in a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted April 24, 2018 Report Share Posted April 24, 2018 Hell yeah! Looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted May 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2018 Officially started work on Betty White. Over the weekend I started pulling body parts off. Got the hood under paint And with the help of my girlfriend we got the rear bumper off, sanded down both front/rear bumpers and the bumperettes. For paint We're using Eastwood High build primer on the steel, PPG Shopline Single stage Urethane for the white and grey, so far it's turning out really nice... and I'm thinking about repainting my motorcycle the same as the truck. Also did some rust patch work on the tailgate and bottom of the bed... Wire brushed it, gave my girlfriend a bottle of rust convertor and then put down a few really heavy layers of duplicolor perfect match, since the tailgate is not worth saving (just keeping it from looking like crap) and the bed will come off eventually for proper repairs/paint. This coming weekend I've got a friend coming out to help me and We'll probably get the front end off the truck, and get the 4.3/trans out.. going to have the cab painted while the engine is out. Goal right now is to have her back together by June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted May 8, 2018 Report Share Posted May 8, 2018 Great progress! Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted May 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 More pictures. Over the week I started pull the front end apart after work everyday. then Yesterday got the engine ripped out. Today we're gonna try to degrease everything and get it ready for paint so I can reassemble the front end. The A/C system came out as a whole and it currently sitting in the bed of the truck.. so hopefully that works out. Decided I'm going to run all the pcm outputs directly into the bulkhead plug so I shouldn't have to mess with any of the wiring in the dash.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted June 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2018 Progress is being made! Don't mind the hole in the floor.. But in other news. It's white primer, not a top coat. after work throughout the week I'm going to get the wiring done/tested and then this weekend I'll get the transmission in, hook up the exhaust and hopefully get it started up and moving... THE EXCITEMENT of having my baby back on the street is unreal.... Nearly a year driving around with the pathetic V6 I'm so ready to have the LS back....also not creating a smokescreen at start up and idling at stop lights is a huge plus.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted June 4, 2018 Report Share Posted June 4, 2018 Hell yeah! Coming along nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted June 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2018 Getting closer to being done on the mechanical part of things... still waiting on paint work.. All that's left to do is bolt on the torque converter, mount the headers, make the y-pipe, tighten up the lines and work out mounting some other stuff.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted June 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 getting there.. torque converter is bolted in, pan has 5qts of fluid in it *so needs more* and obviously the cooler lines are tight.. wiring just needs to be wrapped and strapped down.. Next times on the to do list are the exhaust, brakes, and mounting the battery where the spare tire is supposed to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted June 14, 2018 Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 Sweet. Keep it up :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted June 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 Got a new battery mount made Going to get some tubing to put over the all thread and a 3rd nut to tighten those up to the crossmember, and then tighten the nuts up under the tray to the pipes so the battery isn't pressed against the crossmember. and the new distribution block I'll be mounting to the fender well... using the factory starter wire which I need to put a new terminal on, and a new 4ga wire to the alt. And the "new" exhaust It's not perfect, but it doesn't leak and slides right in to place.. still need to adjust the tailpipe since I changed the angle everything when I twisted the muffler on it's side... using a premade 3" to 3" Y made the muffler hit the frame or the driveshaft if I left it flat.. Did a test start up to make sure there weren't any major leaks and it sounds really good... a little quieter at idle than the old dual 2½" on the old truck and a lot angrier as it revs up. inb4: Yes I know the power wire shouldn't be zip tied, I've got new P-clamps and grommets coming to mount it to the frame correctly.. same for the trans cooler and fuel lines... Which I still need to figure out how I'm going to mount the fuel filter under the hood... HOPEFULLY this weekend I'll be able to take it for a test drive...Kinda scared the new poly trans mount is going to vibrate like a MF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted June 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2018 was not able to do much of anything over the weekend after injuring my back at work again, leaving with one arm essentially. Although I was able to get the the heater hoses installed, the shifter cable complete with "custom" bracket, bleed the power steering system and the Hydroboost seems to function properly, did a little more wiring and got the cruise wired up, got the new fans mounted, and hooked up a ghetto double steam crossover using two Truck crossover T'd together with a bit of hose.. So honestly all that needs to happen is getting paint done, put the interior back together, get a new master cylinder (I'm really lazy), the body mount stuff... And then it's just the little stuff that I forgot I had bought like all new lock cylinders, door handles, new brake pads/shoes, seals...and once the front is back together I have a hood strut kit to install She's just sitting waiting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted June 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2018 Messed around and hooked up a few grounds, did a "system" check... found I had the speedo wire hooked up to the wrong wire in the truck, ran the transmission through all the gears which seems fine... tried troubleshooting the hydroboost which has a soft pedal at idle with a slow return, while engine is off it's firm and springs back like normal.. so that weird.. Got the battery mount finished with some square aluminum tubing. I did also get a new master cylinder installed. And lastly I drilled holes in the cab mount "washers" I made, just need to weld them on. Over the weekend my dad has promised to get the front clip under paint. and I'm going to work on getting the floor of the cab refinished and getting the interior back together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted June 28, 2018 Report Share Posted June 28, 2018 I have to admit...Sonoma GT with an LSx is going to be pretty damn awesome once you're done. Definitely something to be proud of. Watch that rust on the bed floor supports. Once the truck is driving, may want to spray some of the surface areas with Corroseal and throw bedcoat on them. $75 fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted June 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2018 Crappy pics... Didn't clean anything up, didn't edit. Still need to chop off the excess all thread on the battery tray, fix some alignment issues with the exhaust and figure out why the hell none of the new band clamps are sealing, I can put an old one on and it seals just fine, it's like the last batch I bought are just slightly under 3" I was able to get a little bit of welding done today after work, got the tailpipe done up... had to add 5" off the back of the muffler and remove about the same from the actual tail pipe to the pipe over the axle. and the Ghetto little shims I made for the cab mounts are welded in. need to add paint. Once I get the mounts bolted down, I'll patch over the holes in the floor with fiberglass, get something coating the floor pans and put the interior back together. Since I have to redo the A/C system, is there a CR member that does Automotive A/C? I have to admit...Sonoma GT with an LSx is going to be pretty damn awesome once you're done. Definitely something to be proud of. Watch that rust on the bed floor supports. Once the truck is driving, may want to spray some of the surface areas with Corroseal and throw bedcoat on them. $75 fix. Gonna be a lot cooler than the old hoopty ass S10 was lol Really hoping to make at least a couple shows/meets this year in it.. CC&C obviously but I'm also trying to hit LS fest in september if I don't go full sy/ty status and break it before then. I'll get around to getting the underside of the truck coated with...something later this year... right now I'm throwing all my money at it just trying to get it back on the road... Just from what I've seen with the eastwood rubberized undercoating that I used on the front portion of the frame... it seems really nice so long as you don't get fuel or oil on it.. trying to sand it off for ground wires proved to be a PITA, very abrasion resistant... ended up using a scuff pad with a little bit of gas on it... iirc it's a rust encapsulator/convertor as well and where I "wiped" it off had clean bare metal, which I did no prep other than washing it before applying it. so I might just order a gallon or two of it and slop it on the whole under side of the truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted July 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 everything is starting to go back together... interior is done, with bed liner on the floor pans and brand new carpet with mass backing. Engine is done, exhaust is done (save for some leaks at the clamps), battery tray is complete, wiring is all done, cruise control is wired.. the only things I have left to do are lock cylinders, brakes, door handles and a T fitting for the coolant crossover tubes. Bonus exhaust clip. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk0tLkOA18a/ full 3" exhaust that was bought as a muffler back kit for the original 4.3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted July 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Not a huge update but... hoping to have it semi back on the street this weekend.. Paint is almost done, and it's just putting it all back together. Still waiting on the grey to get done on the cladding and body... which I was told will get done next weekend.. Waiting on clips for the door panels, and a T fitting for the coolant crossover. Trying to get the hood and fenders on monday.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 This is going to look awesome! Congratulations on getting to this point. Almost there.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS_Sonoma Posted July 21, 2018 Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 LS Sonoma's, its kind of what I do. Yours is looking good, man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted July 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2018 Still making progress...slowly.. got a few more minutes or "elected" things I need to do, but for the most part she's done just waiting on the paint to get finished. Got the back brakes done, driver door put back together after hunting down a OEwindow channel. And drained the oil trying to figure out what the hell the new knock is. No metal in the oil, doesn't change with temp, goes away around 2k and is not louder under the truck.. I'm thinking piston slap or carbon? Could also Be an exhaust leak. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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