mgfoster said:I am not familiar enough with the front control arm mounting to envision how that would work, but you make it sound quite easy.
The front control arms use two U-bolts to clamp the cross bar to the crossmember. Inside one of the U-bolt saddles is a "pin" that locates a shallow hole the cross bar so it stays in position. You just need to drill a new hole (just one, I unnecessarily drilled two):
Proof the project hasn't died. Will update soon!
Need some advice on my brake booster - When removing the brake booster vac line to pull the engine, I pulled the check valve and the booster still had a lot of vacuum in it. So it clearly holds vacuum, but the brake pedal has always been very hard in the truck and required too much force (in my opinion) to stop the truck. Is it possible for a booster to fail and still hold vacuum?
I ordered a new one, but didn't want to paint it and put it in if you guys think my problem lies else where.
In reply to mgfoster :
I have personally seen boosters do that. Hold vaccum and still be bad.
Looks great!! what are you using for the cooling fan on it??
In reply to Doubleoh9 :
I just ordered a new radiator so we will see if it all fits up, but the plan is the factory mechanical fan. I'll add some electric fans on the front side of the condenser for AC controlled fans.
Pulling the old drivetrain and mounting the new was by far the easiest part here. Reading online, people really over complicate the mounting in a 67-72 truck. My tuck had the single bolt style engine pedestals, so I purchased poly motor mounts for a 72 truck and bolted them on some $30 LS to SBC adapter plates. Done. Transmission crossmember was ~$100 on fleabay, tubular, slotted holes for around 4 " of adjustment, big hoops for exhaust clearance, bolted right in. Done. This whole process was done over a day roughly.
About this point is where I realized the slip yoke fit, but the tail shaft on the trans has about 4" longer than the th350. Off to Driveshaft Services in Marietta for a $90 shorten and balance.
Quick ADD project, cut up the stock gas pedal and dbw pedal, and graft them together and mount. I took it back out to drill the other mounting holes, finish weld and paint.
Factory battery box was on the passenger side, but I really wanted to make use of all the accessories from the escalade, so I began mounting battery tray, fuse box, ecu mount on the driver side. This will give me room for air box and expansion tank on the passenger side. Also, I LOVE the factory LS battery cable setup.
Lots of sawzall action on the plastics to get them to sit right.
Couldn't resist doing a full mock up with everything I had. Glad I did because this helped me realize that I really did not want to use the factory radiator. Inlet and outlet sizes are different, core seemed to be leaking a bit, no steam port or expansion tank provisions, etc etc.
So i ordered this. Important to note that some GMT800 came with a 34" core rad, and some had a 28" core rad. This 28" core dropped right in, mostly.
Radiator came in, and after cutting off the bottom pegs, it fit pretty nice. slight die grinder and hammer modification required, but overall a great fit. Shown is the LS mechanical fan, and the 72 fan shroud. a match made in heaven.
Right about now is when I really regretted having this rough, dirty, rusty engine bay. So had to take a few steps back and fix that. This is also the only good picture that shows the modified 72 radiator brackets that I shortened.
Ah much better.
Also notice the Sanden A/C compressor and ICT Billet bracket. I may have splurged on a full vintage air SureFit Gen IV setup.
Now I am working on identifying all the wires needed from the factory fuse box. Once everything is hooked up and functioning correctly, I will be able to pull out about 90% of those wires.
This brings us up to current date. I am hoping for a first start up soon, and then lots of exhaust fabrication.
put a holley high ram on it
In reply to papamilad :
High ram and a Mongolian motor mangler would be a lovely addition. 
Love the build!
Fyi, the high ram is good for astetics but they do kill a lot of low and mid range torque. Might be better to use a TBSS intake or stick with the truck intake.
In reply to OneSickGNX :
Thanks! I fully plan to keep it all stock, as much as I would love to have one of those sweet show trucks haha
Small update with big progress.
Took Monday off and was able to spend a chunk of time wrapping up the trans cooler lines, removing the grill to install the new ac hoses through the core support, and finish wiring.
it always amazes me how daunting the wiring looks and then how simple it is to finish.
Was able to tap this oil cooler block off for the factory 72 oil pressure gauge fitting.
Thanks to @youngboomer for lending me an ecu and getting VATS deleted. First start was quite successful.
https://youtube.com/shorts/aAje9ogR7Vc?feature=share
After that, I temporarily hooked up the whole cooling system and filled with water so I could drive it onto the lift. Did not even check trans fluid, but it shifted into all gears perfectly and drove nicely for the 60 seconds I was able to drive it.
Next step of the project is quite daunting. Starting with a generic 16 pcs stainless 2.5in exhaust kit, 2 MagnaFlow cats, 2 flex pipes, and 2 Thrush mufflers, I need to create greatness.
After about 20 minutes of playing with mockup, I threw in the towel. The stock shift linkage has to go, it is right in the path of the exhaust. I ordered an adjustable one that you can bend and cut to your preference.
Next problem, parking brake cable mechanism. It is very in the way, too high to run the exhaust above up in the frame, but too low to go under them. I am going to play with adding a cross member to push them down and out of the way.
Hopefully nice stainless exhaust content to follow.
This is coming along nicely! I'd love to have a modernized truck some day,
This stuff is hard! I completely melted my steel cold cut blade, so I ordered a stainless blade. Going to be complex to get it the rest of the way out the back.
Looks great so far! Looks like the perfect driver.
Some folks cut through that rear crossmember for the exhaust to exit.
Looks uniform and slick! How close is the shifter linkage there?
In reply to iansane :
Uhhhh, very, very close. Going to play with moving the lever at a downward angle. Currently it is about horizontal in park.
I don't know if there is something equivalent for full size trucks, but my (in progress) solution for the e brake cable issue in my S10 swap was to use the cables from a 2nd gen S10 Blazer. They run along the driver side frame until right before the rear axle.
Ok so, I bought a Mustang Cobra coolant overflow tank on Amazon, and it fit great. Needed something long and narrow like this to avoid the incredibly massive hood hinge. I put about 100 miles on the truck (no the exhaust isn't finished yet and yes it sounds like a race car) and the coolant temps were steady at 205 deg F. Cooling system done!
I will add more pictures later because these are weak, but I worked on installing the Vintage air kit. This in my opinion is the most important part of making this truck daily drivable. Kit was fairly easy to install, definitely could be done in a weekend.
I would say the coolest parts about this kit is the flat firewall, and the servo activated blend doors. This allows you to throw those sticky cables and flap doors in the trash. Vintage air uses these linear potentiometers to adapt the factory cable control panel to be electric. They also provide a snazzy new cover plate since the functions of the levers do change. Levers are so smooth and easy now.
The indoor unit is quite small and tidy, considerably smaller than the original interior box, and that one only contained a heater! All new ducting was added, which was quite a chore, but the original stuff was completely rotted, so it was a needed replacement regardless.
After hooking up the included wiring harness and calibrating the control panel, it all appears to be functioning correctly! I am going to charge it with freon tonight, it held vacuum for over 24 hours without budging.
and here's the obligatory gas station pic.
AWESOME! That Hvac unit is pretty Trick, I have to admit.
Good call on putting the tank under the bed. I tried converting the factory tank to use an in tank pump, and the smell and noise were annoying.
What are your plans for the speedometer?
In reply to MadScientistMatt :
Great question. I have an obd2 heads up display that I bought on amazon for like 20 bucks, I have yet to try it out, but it claims it will display GPS speed and coolant temp. I have yet to plug it up, so TBD how well that works.
Long term, there is a dakota digital box that coverts the speed output signal from the ecu to a cable drive. Thats about $350 so its a bit harder to swallow. I was looking at getting a full new gauge cluster for around $700, but now that I have coolant gauge, fuel gauge, and oil pressure all working appropriately, driving the cable speedo seems like the best way forward.
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