6.0 LSX Swap

Cab metal work

Small block 350 restoration and clean up

The truck came with a basic 2 bolt main 350 small block. I forget the details, but we ran all the codes and it wasn't anything special. The intake manifold gave it some cool mid 60s vintage, but the short block was from the early 70s.

The motor ran pretty poorly. In hindsight, I should have done a better job trying to do a compression test but the starter teeth were worn out and had trouble spinning the motor over. I saw 125+ PSI on a few cylinders and that was good enough for me. Later, after I'd gotten the motor all refreshed and looking nice, I'd realize several cylinders were low on compression. So I've pulled this drivetrain setup and stowed it away to worry about another day.

Body mockup: round 2

Today we test fit the front end so we could see how the cab sat with the modified mounts and also clearanced the front end for the tires.

Body drop: Cab mount relocation and modification

Lowered the cab mounts 5/8" to give the body a little more drop.

Frame painting

The frame modifications were not quite complete but I was getting antzy to clean it up and paint it. It had been 7 weeks since I took the truck apart and I wanted to feel like I was heading in a forward direction. I created a Dexter type lab with some plastic and fired up the paint gun.

Converting a long bed frame into a short bed frame

Removed the rear cab mounts, they will need to be relocated 12" back. Then marked the center of the frame to remove 12"

Cut!

Tacked.

Welded. Main frame now complete. I later added a fishplate on the inside of the frame.

Then cut 8" off the rear.