It's been awhile and coming out of the bank today seemed like a good time for a pic.

 

Purdy slick!

 

Nice truck! I love the old chrome reverse wheels!

 

Thanks!

Yes, I think the wheels look really good on it. I was on the fence about getting something fancier, but I think wheels that look sort of stock are best.

Next stop is Hellwig sway bars in front and back whenever they get here.

 

I wouldn't change them. The wheels are perfect for the truck. In my eyes, new swanky wheels on a patina'd truck, just draw attention to every flaw on the body. I like looking at the truck, not it's accessories. But hell, I'm old and irrelevant now.

 

Lol, no I agree completely.

After I get the sway bars installed I'm going to take on trying to rebuild an engine for the first time. I just need to find an FE block in my area that's not in terrible shape.

 

Are you sure your block needs replacing? If it's running now, surely it's worth tearing down and taking to a machine shop. Just tell them to inspect it thoroughly before machining.

FE's have a lot of unique features. One feature that gets folks during tear down is the "ears" on the cylinder heads where the exhaust manifolds bolt up. They break easily. When I stripped a T-Bird 390, I sprayed every bolt, especially the exhaust bolts, several times before disassembly. Two bolts were still stubborn, so instead of risking breaking the head, I cut through the exhaust manifold. Then I drilled out the bolt and used a bolt extractor. I planned to use helicoils if I had to drill it out completely, but didn't have to.

 

I love my 390 and it runs pretty good. I want to have another block to tear down in the garage while I keep running with this one. Probably a long term project as I don't have any experience with rebuilding a bottom end, but it will be a good learning experience for me.

 

I agree the original style wheels are the best. I couldn't be happier how mine turned out.

Great looking truck! Love the stance.

 

Ahhh, sound reasoning. Engine leap frog. I've got a 400 block on a pallet, that I'll start building in about a year. It will replace then engine in my '79. And if the truck's current engine is in good shape, it'll get it machined, wrap it up, and place it on the same pallet.

 

Exactly. Then down the road if I get another truck, I'll have my original 390 ready to mess with. I've always wanted to rebuild an engine from the ground up.

 

Nice dent side buddy.! Love the patina.!

 

I don’t even like patina and I think that truck is cool. With those wheels and stance it looks like it rolled right out of the 70’s . Good job man.

 

You're gonna have so much fun building your first engine. It's also very satisfying. And building one without a deadline is even more satisfying, because you can take your time and science out the components you want. And you don't have to settle for cheap parts in order to meet a deadline. I've got a build just like that going right now. I had a late model 302 roller block machined last year, and it's been sitting untouched on the stand. I've had the entire rotating assembly sitting next to it for months. I'm gonna start assembling the short block this week. And hopefully make a choice between 3 camshafts, and order it this week. I don't even have a vehicle to put this engine in! It'll probably go in a Jeep TJ or YJ.

 

At first the U bolts for the I-beams I received with the front sway bar were too short, but after some conversation with Hellwig they made it good by sending some replacement bolts. Now the front bar and rear bars fit properly and perform well.
Here you can see the final configuration on the front bar at the I beam with the replacement U bolts.


Hellwig front stabilizer bar attachment to I-beam